What to do with the "worthless channel" on Blackface amps

[Demo]

Can one of the channels be brown faced?

[Raybob]

Originally Posted by Demo

Can one of the channels be brown faced?

Not really. The brown face Deluxe had a different PI section as did the Tweed using a 12AX7 instead of the 12AT7 used in the black face. Also the brown face Deluxe only had a tone knob per channel rather than a treble and bass controls for each.

Raybob

[SASQUATCH]

This is from last month, but I just wanted to say my (very good) amp tech told me he could convert my DRRI normal channel to a tweedy tone with some componet changes. My amp already has the options to switch to cathode bias and turn off the negative feedback loop. These componet changes should get me most of the way to having a "Double Deluxe".

[fretbuzzard]

Rick-O-Sound, baby! Rickenbacker 360 through a stereo y-cable, one end into the reverb channel, the other into the normal channel, maybe with a dirt or fuzz box in line. Set it up so that the bass pickup goes through the clean reverb channel and the treble pickup goes through the normal channel with the fuzz. (that's how Rick-O-Sound works--it sends the signal from each pickup to a separate cable) Now, with a mere flip of your pickup selector switch, you've got a clean, warm, reverb (and/or trem) drenched tone in one position, a fuzzed out tone in another, and the middle position blends the two based on how you set the mysterious 5th knob on your Rickenbacker. Fantastic feature, and a great use for a dual-channel amp--that normal channel, being quite clean and more difficult to overdrive, is a great platform for pedals in this setup!

[getbent]

the two deluxes in one concept is what the Tone King Imperial is about.

I love it. I have a footswitch that takes me from smooth, clean blackface to raw tweed...

It is (for me) the perfect deluxe.

[JDaveG]

I go back and forth between the normal and 'verb channels. Mine has the trem wired to both, so unless I NEED reverb, the normal channel is usually perfect as long as I'm carrying enough volume. At below 3 on the volume, the 'verb channel is better.

Neither, IMHO, is "worthless," though I could see the utility in making one sound a bit more unlike the other.

[jjmantele]

Originally Posted by stantheman

nothing sounds finer than putting a 2 output Boss Delay last in the chain and runnin' into BOTH sides of a Fender Amplifier. If You love the BIG Albert King,SRV,EC "studio Tone" and You need it for a Club...
Think "ForeverMan" or "Flat Tire".

That's what I do. "Dry" into Vib channel and echoes-only into Normal channel. Makes the echoes clearer and no phase problems since echoes (by definition) are not simultaneous with the dry signal.

[Paul in Colorado]

Bruce Collins at Mission Amps took my Bandmaster Reverb and voiced one channel sort of "tweedy" and the other stock, but refined. He also made it so both channels have reverb and are in phase. I patch them together and it sounds stellar!

[holgaguy]

Originally Posted by gaddis

I happen to think the Normal channel sounds better. If I'm not using reverb I prefer to plug into the Normal channel.

I found the same thing with my Vibrolux. Go figure. Even tried swapping the 12ax7s and nothing changed!

[dtube]

If you dig the brown Fender tone stack, then the GregH mod is a great way to go with the normal channel (linked below). Greg Huntington was a great guy and really knew his brown Fenders inside and out. The amp community lost a major resource when he passed. RIP and thanks Greg.
-Darren