The Excelsior Lounge

[kingpinboogie]

I do but then again my band mates tell me that I play too hard so amp wattage for me never matters. I swear they whine your guitars too loud. Last gig I was playing through a Fender Pro Reverb on the 12Watt setting. Vol at about 3 all night long I'm getting turn it down from the bass player who plays through a 250Watt SS G&K head...

Ditto here! Glad I'm not the only one w/ this prob. No matter what I bring to the gig, irrespective of venue size, Vol. is on 2.5-3.

[drdos]

Originally Posted by kingpinboogie

I do but then again my band mates tell me that I play too hard so amp wattage for me never matters. I swear they whine your guitars too loud. Last gig I was playing through a Fender Pro Reverb on the 12Watt setting. Vol at about 3 all night long I'm getting turn it down from the bass player who plays through a 250Watt SS G&K head...

Ditto here! Glad I'm not the only one w/ this prob. No matter what I bring to the gig, irrespective of venue size, Vol. is on 2.5-3.

Good to know I'm not the only one. Played with a LOUD drummer this past weekend. He's a good friend of mine, and was subing for our main drummer. Our lead singer was just hounding this guy on vol. "Your playing Too Loud", "can't you play softer???".. HAHA I just about feel over now he knows what I have to deal with.

[Rxtele]

Posted this on Talk Fender, but maybe other people look here

Local dealer has been waiting for Excelsiors. Ordered 12 in January

Anyone know if its a supply problem, or if they had to modify the specs after the initial production????

[drdos]

Originally Posted by Rxtele

Posted this on Talk Fender, but maybe other people look here

Local dealer has been waiting for Excelsiors. Ordered 12 in January

Anyone know if its a supply problem, or if they had to modify the specs after the initial production????

I just think it's a greater demand then availability issue. They are selling out before waiting list sales are filled in a lot of the big stores.

[tele salivas]

Originally Posted by drdos

I just think it's a greater demand then availability issue. They are selling out before waiting list sales are filled in a lot of the big stores.

Word of mouth has been strong on this one.

[Wyzsard]

The Excelsior club seems to have settled into the "lesser clubs" realm. Wonder if it will ever achieve Pathfinder or Champion 600 status ?

Still dig mine though. Speaker seems to be breaking in some.

[tele salivas]

Originally Posted by Wyzsard

The Excelsior club seems to have settled into the "lesser clubs" realm. Wonder if it will ever achieve Pathfinder or Champion 600 status ?

Still dig mine though. Speaker seems to be breaking in some.

I think they've run out at the stores, so until more are in stock, this thread will be slow going.

I've been using my Boss Super Shifter's stereo capablities for the first time with this amp, and a Laney SS 50 watt. I use the Laney, which is a dark sounding amp, to create some deep lows and the contrast with the Excelsior's more midrangy sounds really creates something huge.

[Sean65]

Originally Posted by Rxtele

Posted this on Talk Fender, but maybe other people look here

Local dealer has been waiting for Excelsiors. Ordered 12 in January

Anyone know if its a supply problem, or if they had to modify the specs after the initial production????

Probably! Considering a shipment from China could take several months then if theres a problem it's several more months to send the dodgy load back and several more months for the new supply to come.

The joys of cheap Asian production eh!

[benderb9]

played my Excelsior last weekend at birthday bash in stereo with a Blackheart BH15H using 2 Celestion's in a mini stack and it was way good. The 15 and 2-12's are a match made in heaven. Left the tremolo on in the lowest setting and worked the stereo from various pedal's on my pedalboard, wow. I just keep liking this amp more and more. Cigar box guitars sound sweet playing slide through that 15...it handles my GR-33 synth and any other guitar that gets plugged as well. Big hit with everybody there...most thought it was some ancient artifact (there was a LOT of older vintage gear there) and were really surprised when they found out it was brand new. I suspect the pent up demand for this amp has caught Fender off guard. There's always demand for a good sounding amp that is portable, looks cool and is loud, the price point just makes it a complete no-brainer. The Excelsior delivers those wishes in full.

[tele salivas]

Benderb9, I was completely off guard by how well thing thing sounds in stereo with other amps. I've tried it with my C-600, my Princeton RI and the Laney. Something about that midrange through a 15" that locks in as the primary, and then the other amps kind of fill the rest out perfectly. I bet a 2-12" would be really excellent. I think that's hilarious that people thought it was an older amp. It certainly sounds like an older amp. On the dark setting, it sounds like the twin of a buddy of mine's Grandad's 55 year old Gibson amp.
I have heard two people say that the Excelsiors are not very loud, and that it has no headroom. None at all. At first I thought that maybe there were some bum amps that didn't make the journey very well. But when I asked if they had tried checking tubes or noticed any wiring issues, if the pots sounded like they were working ok , it turned out they didn't own one, or even try it out in a store, but they heard it on youtube and assumed that experience as their own. Phantom consumerism-or "beware the hungry ghosts".
I don't think many retailers were expecting stock until early summer, anyway. I feel that Fender's marketing and distribution plan is going according to schedule, and it seems like the same kind of schedule that most of their newer products work through. Somewhat limited initial run, see who what where and why feedback is generated and go from there.

[Extra Crispy]

Finally got a chance to retube my Ex amp last night. I have a friend that has a huge stockpile of NOS tubes so, we spent a while comparing.
In the end we decided that a Telefunken smooth plate 12ax7 for the pre and, a couple of RCA 6V6GTAs achieved the very best tone imaginable in this little amp.
The difference between the before and after was quite startling. I thought the amp sounded pretty great before but, after replacing the cheesey Chinese valves it seemed as though everything I liked about the original tone was significantly enhanced. Smooth buttery mids, even tighter bottom, and crystal clear highs.
I'd be interested to hear of anyone that has done or thought about a speaker change. My feelings are that, that might alter the original idea of the amp, too much. YMMV.

[theGecko71]

Damn, reading this gives me some serious GAS. This amp may be what I'm looking for, both in features, wattage, and price. I love the idea of having a 15" speaker, too. Back in the old days I used an old 18 watt Ampeg with a 15" jensen. Loved the bass response.

Now, how to convince the wife that I need this amp....

[t-luxe]

Mine shipped Friday from Sweetwater. Yippee!

[tele salivas]

Originally Posted by theGecko71

Damn, reading this gives me some serious GAS. This amp may be what I'm looking for, both in features, wattage, and price. I love the idea of having a 15" speaker, too. Back in the old days I used an old 18 watt Ampeg with a 15" jensen. Loved the bass response.

Now, how to convince the wife that I need this amp....

Ampeg's were my go to amps for many years. Serious road hogs, but they did eat a lot of tubes. Bumby van rides over thousands of miles don't help either, no matter how you pack 'em..but that 's another thread. The thing I like about 15" speakers is how the Lows and highs separate from the midrange as you turn it up, at least before you get it into oerdrive, giving that 3-D room sound. Finding lots of ways to trick that sound a little, especially with filter effects and oscillation.

[theGecko71]

I got rid of my Ampeg Gemini IV because of its tube eating abilities... or at least that's what I told myself because back then everybody was getting rid of tube amps in favor of solid state. But I never bonded with my solid state amps to such a degree that I finally got rid of them all, turned to acoustic guitar and quit playing gigs. Wish I'd never sold the Ampeg (for a mere $100).

Now I have a little Vox AC4tv that I love to death for basement jamming, but an inexpensive small-gig worthy amp like the Excelsior with a 15" speaker sounds right up my alley.....

[tele salivas]

I hear you Gecko71, used to be able to get those old AMPEG heads and combos for cheap, so we sold em cheap. Funny enough, I was looking specifically for a Gemini, when along came the Excelsior. I'm not looking anymore.

Here's a pretty damn fine performance from a guy with the Excelsior..

[benderb9]

I still have my Japanese AMPEG V3 and heavy as it is, it's a keeper. I'm am STILL happy with this new Fender Excelsior. Changing the tubes seems like it's almost a given especiallt the pre-amps, I used a matched set of JJ's and like Extra Crispy mentioned the difference is dramatic. I'm watching BillM's postings with great intrest, the tone control might be interesting and an on/off switch would be even better for the tremolo. No hurry for me beyond the tubes may even wait until the 1 year warranty is up to even think about anything like that as the amp is so damn solid and cool sounding just as it is. The romance continues...coming dear

[tele salivas]

Interesting that a lot of old Ampeg enthusiasts like this amp. The Excelsior has become my #1. I am thinking that the tone control would be great, but will probably leave this one stock, and get another one to use for BillM's findings. Definitely going to change the preamp tubes though, and I think the speaker is a keeper. Over the weekend it really took on a sweetness that was perfect for my lap steel, Bright setting, lap steel Tone control around 6 as the base(tend to play with the Tone control a lot when using the lap). When I get my pedal steel this summer, ,,well, that ought to be grand!

[TooManyHobbies]

Glad to see there's a group for this amp! Mine just arrived from Sweetwater yesterday evening.

I barely have had a chance to test it out, but I really like the sound of the amp so far. I played on it a bit with my Gibson SG, and I'll try it with my Tele this evening. I think the fit and finish on the amp is pretty good, too. It looks like an expensive amp.

I got this amp because it looks like it will be a lot of fun to mod. I've been following the Billm threads, and can't wait to see what comes out of that.

I'm thinking of trying either EH or Tung Sol 12AX7 tubes in it, and then either JJ or Tung Sol 6V6 tubes as well. I'll play it stock for a bit first, and then start to experiment.

Looking forward to seeing other folks' experiences with this amp.

[steve v]

Originally Posted by TooManyHobbies

Glad to see there's a group for this amp!
I'm thinking of trying either EH or Tung Sol 12AX7 tubes in it, and then either JJ or Tung Sol 6V6 tubes as well. I'll play it stock for a bit first, and then start to experiment.

Looking forward to seeing other folks' experiences with this amp.

Loved the Tung Sol 12AX7 in V1 of the amp, I felt like it really gave her a more rich, full sound. The TS 6v6s I had lasted about 5 minutes in the amp before one went bad - reduced output, very noisy. I believe I read that these amps push the output tubes pretty hard so I'm not sure if it was a bad tube or what. I'll probably pick up a pair of JJs when I can