Few questions on MMB -

Mackie · March 14th, 2004, 10:41 AM

Hi guys, I just used a "Buy-it-Now" on ebay to get a Musicmaster Bass that I've heard so many good things about on this forum and I have a couple of questions-

It's the 6AQ5 model, anyone have any comments on whether this is better/worse/ or no difference than the 6V6 model?

Also on the suggestions here I put a Weber speaker in my Vibro Champ and absolutely love the sound of this little amp, so I'm wondering if anyone has comments about the original speaker that the MMB's were equiped with? Would a Weber be an automatic upgrade in your opinion or are most of you happy with the stock speakers?

Also how do you tell who manufactured the speaker? eg, Oxford, JBL, etc.

Thanks for any help -

Mackie

Mackie · March 14th, 2004, 12:20 PM

I found the speaker code listing on the Weber site and from the "FEnder amp field guide" site it looks like the MMB came with Oxford or C.T.S. so I've got this part figured out.

Jef · March 14th, 2004, 05:28 PM

congratulations, Mackie, the MMB is a very nice little amp with a big mouth.
I don't notice any difference in tone between the 6V6 and the 6AQ5 versions. I kept the 6AQ5 MMB myself (replacement NOS tubes can be had for cheap!)
MMB's do benefit from a speaker upgrade. The stock speaker is rather inefficient. I put a Jensen RI C12N in and I am very pleased with the results. A weber would probably be even better, but Webers are hard to get over here in Europe.

Jef

Dacious · March 14th, 2004, 07:37 PM

For loungeroom or quiet jamming the stock speaker is fine for sound - there isn't a lot of power to push out much more volume. If it has a square magnet on the back and the code on the rim starts 137 it is a CTS unit.

For a louder upgrade an Eminence Legend alnico speaker would be good and are pretty cheap. Weber speakers are also fine, without question. I would tend to go for a 15-25 watt rated speaker as the Ps and Qs are more like 30+ watt speakers and better suited to a bigger amp.

Mackie · March 15th, 2004, 07:31 PM

I hadn't thought of Emenence at all and didn't know which Jensen would be appropriate for this amp. I will defiinately keep reading and searching the net to see if I can hear some sound clips of these speakers.

The sound clips on the Weber website are excellent and give some idea at least of how their speaker models vary.

Again - thanks for the help.

Tremo · March 15th, 2004, 10:17 PM

I know a guy with one of those amps, the 6AQ5 version. The stock speaker was CRAP. Really CRAP. He had an old original vintage Jensen P12Q gathering dust so he put that in. Holy crap what an improvement. Night and day difference. The thing was now considerably louder with much better tone.

A Weber P12R or P12Q would make a giant improvement in your amp.

Rob DiStefano · March 16th, 2004, 07:27 AM

I've had a mess of MMB's, ranging from a '70 through an '82, 6QA5 and 6V6 - they're all good as long as they're healthy (tubes, caps and pots) and you absolutely must replace the speaker for optimum tone (I've tried lots and have settled on the Weber AlNiCo 12A125/P12Q as the best tone to my ears). YMMV.

March 14th, 2004, 10:41 AM	#1 (permalink)
Mackie TDPRI Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Dublin, OH USA Posts: 39	Few questions on MMB - Hi guys, I just used a "Buy-it-Now" on ebay to get a Musicmaster Bass that I've heard so many good things about on this forum and I have a couple of questions- It's the 6AQ5 model, anyone have any comments on whether this is better/worse/ or no difference than the 6V6 model? Also on the suggestions here I put a Weber speaker in my Vibro Champ and absolutely love the sound of this little amp, so I'm wondering if anyone has comments about the original speaker that the MMB's were equiped with? Would a Weber be an automatic upgrade in your opinion or are most of you happy with the stock speakers? Also how do you tell who manufactured the speaker? eg, Oxford, JBL, etc. Thanks for any help - Mackie __________________ "IF you're going through Hell; keep going."- Winston Churchill

March 14th, 2004, 12:20 PM	#2 (permalink)
Mackie TDPRI Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Dublin, OH USA Posts: 39	Follow-up on the speaker codes- I found the speaker code listing on the Weber site and from the "FEnder amp field guide" site it looks like the MMB came with Oxford or C.T.S. so I've got this part figured out. __________________ "IF you're going through Hell; keep going."- Winston Churchill

March 14th, 2004, 07:37 PM	#4 (permalink)
Dacious Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Godzone Posts: 2,623 35 Photos	For loungeroom or quiet jamming the stock speaker is fine for sound - there isn't a lot of power to push out much more volume. If it has a square magnet on the back and the code on the rim starts 137 it is a CTS unit. For a louder upgrade an Eminence Legend alnico speaker would be good and are pretty cheap. Weber speakers are also fine, without question. I would tend to go for a 15-25 watt rated speaker as the Ps and Qs are more like 30+ watt speakers and better suited to a bigger amp. __________________ My other Telecaster is a Thinline The Tele Bible, Ch 1, v 10 Love thy Telecaster, covet not thy neighbour's Strat!

March 15th, 2004, 07:31 PM	#5 (permalink)
Mackie TDPRI Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Dublin, OH USA Posts: 39	Thanks for the suggestions I hadn't thought of Emenence at all and didn't know which Jensen would be appropriate for this amp. I will defiinately keep reading and searching the net to see if I can hear some sound clips of these speakers. The sound clips on the Weber website are excellent and give some idea at least of how their speaker models vary. Again - thanks for the help. __________________ "IF you're going through Hell; keep going."- Winston Churchill

March 14th, 2004, 05:28 PM	#3 (permalink)
Jef Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Antwerp, Belgium Posts: 691 2 Photos	congratulations, Mackie, the MMB is a very nice little amp with a big mouth. I don't notice any difference in tone between the 6V6 and the 6AQ5 versions. I kept the 6AQ5 MMB myself (replacement NOS tubes can be had for cheap!) MMB's do benefit from a speaker upgrade. The stock speaker is rather inefficient. I put a Jensen RI C12N in and I am very pleased with the results. A weber would probably be even better, but Webers are hard to get over here in Europe. Jef

March 15th, 2004, 10:17 PM	#6 (permalink)
Tremo Banned Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Silicon Valley, CA, USA Posts: 3,803	I know a guy with one of those amps, the 6AQ5 version. The stock speaker was CRAP. Really CRAP. He had an old original vintage Jensen P12Q gathering dust so he put that in. Holy crap what an improvement. Night and day difference. The thing was now considerably louder with much better tone. A Weber P12R or P12Q would make a giant improvement in your amp.

March 16th, 2004, 07:27 AM	#7 (permalink)
Rob DiStefano Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Park Ridge, NJ Age: 63 Posts: 4,915	I've had a mess of MMB's, ranging from a '70 through an '82, 6QA5 and 6V6 - they're all good as long as they're healthy (tubes, caps and pots) and you absolutely must replace the speaker for optimum tone (I've tried lots and have settled on the Weber AlNiCo 12A125/P12Q as the best tone to my ears). YMMV.