Victoria 35210 & Double Deluxe

Interesting thread.

I have both the Bassman and the Tweed super

I built both from scratch. The Bassman has cleaner tones and the Super with 6v6 tubes is used for distortion.

The tweed Super with 6l6 is also nice. I have set up the Super so that I can switch the tubes and reset the bias and have either a 6v6 or 6l6 in a few minutes.

The tweed super has the advance over the Double deluxe of clean tones and a more versitile tone stack.

The transformers ae also custom wound.

You can not go wrong with a authentic reproduction of these tweed amps if this style of tone is your bag.

I use the Bassman and tweed together and I am in Tweed heaven !

 

Re: Harsh OD and Jensens

Not to mention that the 5E7 3x10 bandmaster is the jump-blues amp!


Teddy

 

Double DeeeLuxe

Of course the overdrive sound on my Vic is the trick that it does better than most, and why I love it ! 8)

However the clean sound is also terrific !

With efficient speakers you can get the clean sound to be loud enough.

JJ

 

IMHO a speaker upgrade is a must for Victorias. Weber offers killer alternatives that will really improve and allow the Vicky's gorgeous tones to come through. If you want a lower cost option check out some of the new Eminence speakers. But I think it's really hard to improve on the Webers. JMHO YMMV. 8)

 

A friend of mine has a 35115 which I've played through on stage with my Tele Jr (P90's). I'm not sure but I think he has a Weber California 15 in it. It really sounds great, can't compare it to the other two configurations. He's got a reverb tank on it, I think reverb really helps a tweed amp. I've got a Vicky low power twin which is more amp than I need, I may sell it and get a super myself, 310 or 115.

 

stevieboy,

I have a Victoria 35115 Tweed Pro with a Weber P15N (15A150). I've had it for about 3 years now and wouldn't trade it for anything. A killer combination for a Tele, Strat, or anything with HB's. I use it mostly with my USACG Tele (A&F/Hamel in the bridge, Lollar special wind neck).
Also use a Cold Fusion for a slight boost and to add sustain to very lightly overdriven tones. I've A/B'ed it with and without the Cold Fusion. The pedal is one of the very, very, very, few that I like and actually adds a certain high end sweetness to the tone. However, the amp sounds fabulous even without it. The CF just adds something that my ears like, although I play 95% clean. It just sort of really clicks with the Vicky Pro/Weber P15N/Tele combination. And I've always been an anti-pedal kind of guy. 8)

 

Jumpnblues: Your 35115 was where I was headed before the Tyger came my way. Now, after hearing that similar/same circuit with the 3x10s, I even more want to try the single 15 version. No money, but the tweed bug keeps biting.

I'm having a similar pedal surpise. Never really liked any pedals. Buy em, try em, don't use them. I've had a Klon Centaur for the longest time, used it all of 3 or 4 times with my BF amps. For kicks I try it with the Clark. Now I get it. The clean boost settings with that amp are highly effective, with no sense that you're even using a pedal. Just that perfect sound, bigger and deeper. I can't not use the Klon. It's quite a switch for me.

 

Downsizing from a tweed Bassman to a tweed Bandmaster or Super will not result in much of a volume reduction. If you are looking to work the amp a little harder but reduce the overall volume, you will need to drop the amp's power by at least half. It's much easier to get a great tweed tone at a lower volume with a 15~20 watt amp than a 35~40 watt amp.

Another option for reducing the volume in your tweed Bassman is changing the power tubes from 6L6/5881 to JJ 6V6's. The JJ's are the only tube I'd recommend for this swap. They will be able to handle the higher plate voltages present in your amp. Ideally you should double the speaker impedance. You can do this by either swapping out your speakers, or rewiring the present speakers for a 4ohm load instead of the stock 2ohm load. The JJ 6V6's and speaker impedance load change will allow your Bassman to put out about 20 watts. This should allow you to turn up the amp for more great tweed overdriven tone, but not peel the paint from the walls from the volume.

I own one of the 3x10 Victoria Soul Cactus (Victoriette) amps as well as a couple of tweed Bassmans. The 20 watt EL84 ouput is ideal for someone looking to downsize from a tweed Bassman amp. The first thing I did when I got the Soul Cactus was to remove the Jensen P10R reissue speakers and install a set of WeberVST P10Q's. The speakers made a big improvement in the sound of the amp.