Odd amp question...Blackface-style 6L6 POWER AMP??

[tjalla]

Hi guys, was hoping someone here might have a suggestion about a tone dilemma - My Tone King Comet (2x12, 4x6V6) sounds great, but when cranked at times I miss the "throat" of a good 6L6-powered BF amp - (played a '64 Bassman head and a '65 Pro Reverb recently)

What I'm thinking about is using the fx send from the Comet's excellent BF preamp into a 50w, 2x6L6 mono poweramp into either an extension cab, or maybe even one of the Comet's internal speakers ie having the Comet driving one internal speaker, and the fx send>6L6poweramp>other internal speaker. (The Comet would see a safe impedance mismatch, btw). My questions:

1. Does anyone make such a poweramp ie mono, styled on a 50w BF-era fender
2. If not, would it be easy to build?

I've toyed with the idea of getting a Hot Rod Deluxe/Deville chassis and using its poweramp-in, and the cab as an extention, but I never liked those amps inherently.

Kinda odd setup, I know, but I'm open to suggestions!

Cheers,
Trevor

[Ben Harmless]

My first thought was close to your Hot Rod idea, but involved an old BF Pro Reverb or Vibrolux some such thing.

I'm sure you could whip up a BF-style power amp just by copying the design of a Fender's power section, and using an appropriately different power transformer.

OTOH, I think it'd be easier to get yourself a BF-style amp (I'm thinking an Allen Amps kit or something) and mod the preamp to be more like your Tone King - not that I know much about the Tone King...

What does "throat" mean though? Maybe there's an easier (and less expensive) solution.

I still like the Pro/Vibrolux idea though, 'cause then you'd have two really cool amps that you could use individually too - heck, running the both of them might give you more of what you're looking for without hookin' em up all weird.

[jhundt]

can't you remove the 4 6V6's and install 2 6L6's?

[telel6s]

How's this idea:

• Get a Bassman head and set it on top of your Comet.
• Daisy chain from the Comet to the Bassman (or Bassman to Comet) (or separate lines from a stereo pedal)
• Then as you suggested with the power amp, use one speaker for the Bassman and one speaker for the Comet

I've thought about doing something simlar with a Super Reverb and a Carmen Ghia head (send the SR to 2 speakers + a 4ohm load dump, and send the Ghia to the other two speakers). (Of course I don't have a Ghia and I moved my SR to a 1x12 cabinet....but I still like the idea of this.)

I've never modded an amp in my life, but if one is to believe an eighth of what is written on the internet, the Bassman preamp can be modded pretty easily to tweak your sound.

[klasaine]

I know my Meteor II can be re-biased for 6L6's - can the Comet?

[maestrovert]

'fit was me (& it ain't) i think i'd find a Bf Bandmaster head, run 'em both in stereo & be done with it....

y.m.m.v.

[Dacious]

You should be able to mod the 'normal' channel on a two-channel Fender. I modded the normal on mine to incorporate some components on the preamp closer to what a Marshall or Tweed Fender has. This has introduced what I would call 'throatiness'. It's not really Marshall but it's very middy and quite aggressive sounding.

[tjalla]

I agree a Bassman head would probably would be the easiest solution in terms of availablity, and I *am* considering this. There's a few I been watching on the bay...

Stock, the Comet can't do 6L6s, and whether a Meteor power tranny can be retro-fitted to the Comet I'm still unsure - I'm still corresponding with Mark Bartel (from Tone King) about this.

Peavey do make a 60w standalone tube mono poweramp, its called the Classic, but I'm not sure how "classic fender" it would sound... fwiw, when I say "throat" I'm trying to describe the way BF Fenders roar (rather than sing) when cranked - less compression and more body than my Comet's 6V6s, which get creamy and compressed - a nice sound, but maybe a tad too nice - need less sweet, and more atittude, but not necessarity in a Marshall way.

the tone quest continues...

[BloozeGit]

Damnit Trevor you just can't leave good enough alone can't you? Hahahaha...

I've been listening to some Neil Young lately, the stuff that he plays through his cranked Deluxe...coincidentally my neighbours have moved out and the new ones haven't shifted in, so...

At the rate you're mixing and matching stuff you'd might as well find someone to build your dream rig from scratch...tell the missus it'll save you a bunch in the long run

[klasaine]

If you could find a Groove Tubes Solo - 75 used? That's a high powered 6L6 amp.

[Chicago Slim]

I think that you might be better off with a Fenderish sounding amp, with effects send and receive jacks. Like a Kustom '36 Coupe or Traynor YCV40. I've owned a '60's era Bandmaster, Deluxe Reverb and Pro Reverb. I've gone to a Traynor YCV40WR, Kustom '36 Coupe and '72 Hardtop. I like the vintage tone, with modern features, like Mid control, boost, speaker simulated line out, selectable speaker out (4, 8 or 16 ohm), effects send and receive.