Need Tone!

[Doug Ferguson]

I've had my Peavey Windsor Studio for a few days now. Great little amp all around. However, the tone just doesn't cut it for me. Not much definition, slightly muddy, few brights to speak of. I'm thinking of putting in a Jensen P12R. Any other possibilities I might want to consider?

[telbert twang]

Classic 50!



tt

[JohnnyCrash]

Not sure if it will help or how much it would help, but might as well try it.

The next step I would go for is putting in a Negative Feedback Loop, and if it has a Triode/Pentode switch, never using Triode mode.

[JohnnyCrash]

HAHAHA

Or trading it for a Peavey Classic 50 like Telbert suggests!

[Billm]

I'm not all that impressed with the Windsor. Kinda harsh-sounding.

I'm even less impressed with the P12R. I think it makes most amps sound like a 1950s radio--a kazoo on steroids.

[Doug Ferguson]

Originally Posted by Billm

I'm not all that impressed with the Windsor. Kinda harsh-sounding.

I'm even less impressed with the P12R. I think it makes most amps sound like a 1950s radio--a kazoo on steroids.

Hey Bill. How about a C. Rex?

BTW, I love the C30's; had one for years, and a C50 410. The Windsor has that Peavey sound, just not as much as I would like. I've experimented with different power tubes -- the stock EL34, a KT88, and a 6L6GC (a SED that comes in one of those plain white boxes and makes you think Scud Missile ) It sounds best with the 6L6. Tried a 12AT7 in it, too, but it seems to need the extra gain of a 12AX7. So I thought I'd give the speaker a change.

[Billm]

The C. Rex couldn't make a harsh note if it tried. It might give some body and roundness to the Windsor. I agree that a 6L6GC is a good choice for that amp. It knocks off some of the hard edges and has enough power for most purposes.

[DickensCPA]

I dropped my Windsor off at UPS this morning after selling it. I really liked it and wanted to love it, but we wound up divorcing. One thing I fiddled with was running the Windsor thru my EVJr cab, which has an Eminence Lady Luck in it. There was a very noticable difference. Actually had some bass sound to it and dialed back some of that broken glass treble.

[chabby]

Nice classic 50 1x12 on ebay for 300 bucks I'd get in the bidding if I were you, by the time you get messing around with that windsor you could prooly own it anyway. Learned long ago, if it don't sound good outta the box get ready to spend alot of cash and still never get it right enough.

enough being the key word

[Ricky D.]

+1 Chabby!

Don't try to fix it, it's just the wrong amp for you.

[Doug Ferguson]

Chabby and Ricky, I hear what you're saying. It may come to that eventually, but I'm not throwing in the towel just yet. The 6L6GC helped a lot, as did raising off the floor. The thing is, it's close to the tone I'd like; it's very Peavey-ish, just not as rounded or defined as, say, a C30. I'm thinking a speaker swap might do the trick, and a C. Rex might be the way to go -- and they're inexpensive. But before I pull the trigger on one, I may try the Blues Jr. stock speaker currently running in an ext. cab.

Dickens, I'm sure sorry things didn't work out for you and your Windsor, but I know how that goes. Some amps cut it for you, others don't.

[DickensCPA]

Originally Posted by Doug Ferguson

Chabby and Ricky, I hear what you're saying. It may come to that eventually, but I'm not throwing in the towel just yet. The 6L6GC helped a lot, as did raising off the floor. The thing is, it's close to the tone I'd like; it's very Peavey-ish, just not as rounded or defined as, say, a C30. I'm thinking a speaker swap might do the trick, and a C. Rex might be the way to go -- and they're inexpensive. But before I pull the trigger on one, I may try the Blues Jr. stock speaker currently running in an ext. cab.

Dickens, I'm sure sorry things didn't work out for you and your Windsor, but I know how that goes. Some amps cut it for you, others don't.

Yeah, that's how it goes. If someone hadn't done the Buy Now, I would have kept it and kept the cab of the EVJr and ran it thru that. It was a much better sound. I don't think the Blue Marvel is a bad speaker at all, I just don't think it matches the Windsor very well. I think it magnifies the wrong parts. If the Windsor is close to what you want, I'd say a speaker change would be good for you.

Take your rig to Guitar Center and plug your Windsor into different cabs. That will at least give you an idea what kind of difference you could expect from a speaker change. Of course there are variables in a cab and combo, open/closed back, but you could at least get an idea for free. Plug it into an EVJr cab, they always have one on the floor. If you like it, you could pick up the whole cab off ebay for $60-70. A lot of benefits and advantages if you do that and you could use both speakers at the same time or go back to the BM easily for certain sounds.

Brad

[Doug Ferguson]

Originally Posted by DickensCPA

I don't think the Blue Marvel is a bad speaker at all, I just don't think it matches the Windsor very well. I think it magnifies the wrong parts. Brad

That's pretty much my take, too, Brad. In general, I like the Blue Marvels (I know some folks don't care much for them, and they're probably not the best sounding of Peavey's speakers -- I personally like the Black Widows), but they don't seem to be a good choice for this amp. I'm going to run it through the ext. cab I'm using with a BH5H (now there's some kinda amp!). It's got the Fender Special Design (Emminence) speaker out of a Blues Jr. -- a great combination, btw -- in it, so I'll see what that does. If I wind up getting a C. Rex, I can always use the Blue Marvel in either another cab or the BH5 cab.

[JohnnyCrash]

I like Peavey Blue Marvels as well. I'm not embarassed to say it :)

They're actually very nice sounding for a variety of amps/circuits and styles.

If the speaker swap doesn't work out, at least you gave the amp a good try.