The mystery amp is the Studiomaster Valve Leadmaster endorsed by Earl Slick who replaced Stevie when he decided not to tour with David Bowie. Stevie used two of these amps instead of his Vibroverbs for one tour. 60 watts 1x12.
Stevie and Cesar were very close friends of mine and this is what I clearly remember. Stevie’s complaints were he wanted the amps to give a little bit but yet wanted clean headroom to a certain extent. Cesar went with the solid state rectifiers and that helped but the brightness Stevie did not care for and that was a result of the JBL’s. He liked the 15 D130’s in his Vibroverbs but in the Super’s the JBL’s were not working sound wise. Just to make it clear, Stevie knew almost nothing about gear and relied on otters to help guide him. Anyway Cesar did try regular EV’s but too stiff and clean. EV Forces ended up being the choice and were amazing! Stevie hated the Dumble 160 watters for the same reason Stevie hated Twin Reverbs, too clean. Stevie also loved his Marshall 50 watt trem head. He always said that it sounded like a built in Tube Screamer. Stevie also loved Telecasters but the lack of the trem bar kept him from using them. One of Stevie’s favorite amps were Blackface Bassman’s and in trade I reviewed a blonde Tele that Stevie received as a gift. It was missing the back pickup and tons control. I in turn I gave Stevie a Blackface Bassman piggy back rig. Many days traveling to Cesar’s house in Pocono’s PA just to work on amps and try guitars.
@@modusceo : Lowest wattage EV’s made and been outta production for at least 15 years maybe 20? Closest speaker made to it now would be the Eminence Wheelhouse 150 12 or Wheelhouse 200 15 inch. Depending on which amp Stevie was using sometimes he’s have (2) Tube Screamers on the floor. One would be set for a little grit and the other would be just past 1/2 way up.
@@darrenbaird989 : Well I don’t wanna make it sound like that Stevie hated other amps it’s just that he was one of those guys that had to have an amp not only sound good but the feel had to be right. He loved some old Marshall’s and as we all know Super Reverbs and Vibroverbs were always a go to for him. He absolutely loved Blackface Bassman amps but lack of reverb kept those from being used. Stevie also used an ART Power Plant preamp on some recordings but again solid state and wasn’t perfect feel and tone. I saw him try one of those old Legend amps which are hybrid amps that sucked! Dirty you could get it grind but clean was awful! Some people wanted him to try Demeter’s which some of the other popular players had been using either live or studio. Those were cool but I think too complex sounding?
The unidentified amps at 8.15 are Studiomaster VLM's, (Valve Lead Master) designed by my good friend Paul (PB) Belcher. They were built in Luton, England. I still have one and it is amazing...
@@TheFakeNewsFrog I was with them for about 24 years. Think by the S2 I was running the parts (or finished goods) stores. The boss was determined to have MIDI on the S2 because it was a big thing... I think it was Bill Kelsey who came up with the idea of using it for MIDI mutes. Everything was built to last back then.
@@charmandrews The S2 I have in storage due to it being a bit crackly now. I did pay to have it cleaned, but the problem kept creeping back. I’m assuming some pots, faders, etc, need to be replaced. Understandable though for the age. The Mixdown on the other hand… It just keeps going! There’s no crackling whatsoever, and when it does arise, a bit of switch cleaner and you’re good to go for month’s! If I could create a modern equivalent, I’d have motorised faders with MIDI, a single fader for the master, the same S2 EQ section but with added pass-filters for the high & low frequencies, split the sub-groups from 16 to half VCA, ports to the rear, then add the meter bridge from the Classic 8. I wouldn’t like to imagine the cost… But if it could be achieved for around £5000-6000, I reckon it’d still be a genuine contender with the likes of SSL & Neve. Studiomaster really was a great company! Those amp’s you were talking about still go for quite a bit too! I’ve heard some great stories from them, like how the EP3 power supplies were sometimes made by a husband & wife at home… It’s things like that, the overall quality they bought to the market at great prices… I just wish it was alive and kicking here in the UK today!
Hi Goose, I was a witness to Stevies' club era gigs during college in Texas from January 1981 through March 1983 and was fortunate enough to see Double Trouble a number of times, I seem to remember that for the small room we were in there was always a Super Reverb and another Fender, that I thought at the time was Twin as I was not familar with Vibroverbs back then but that's probably what it was. It was an increble experience and looking back it was like seeing and hearing the El Macombo video up close. After Texas Flood was released he was gone from the Texas club circuit and on to destiny. During that era he was unapproachable but we were more interested in talking to Tommy Shannon because he recorded with Johnny Winter and played at Woodstock. Thanks for the great history lesson.
I was with Cesar the night we both met Stevie and the band. It was in the summer of 1980 that I received the phone call from the band's road manager. Cesar and I were both working at Angela Instruments in Bethesda, Md at the time. The gig was at Deperado's in Georgetown Wash. D.C. not the Psyche-Deli in Bethesda, Md. If the gig was at the "Deli" we would have walked the one block instead of driving 30 minutes to Georgetown. (I should have mentioned that the reason their road manager asked us to come to the gig was because we had single guitar strings ie: 13,18, etc. and we had a service person that could work on older fender amps ie: Cesar. When we got there we came upon a brown Vibroverb and a black Vibroverb (both 64's I think.) Cesar pulled both trays, and started using his test equipment. He remarked , "Man, these things are fucked up! I'm gonna wait until they get back from dinner and see what they want" Both amps had JBL's with a gray speaker chassis at this time. The band got back from dinner, Cesar did some minor adjustments, We went back to Motel50 in Arlington Va. Me and Stevie had a trivial pursuit about blues guitarists (he won, but was surprised how many I knew because he considered me a punk-rock guitar player, I bothered Tommy about Woodstock with Johnny Winter, and Cesar and Stevie started a long and fruitful (yet sometime argumentative) from what "Mr.C" told me. I miss them both. Cesar and myself were pretty close, spending many late nights at the work benches of Angela Instruments. Thanks for letting me ramble on KC.
The Desperados gig was February 12-13, 1981. I was there. Stevie used two Vibroverbs and one 2x12 Marshall combo. The only effect he used was a wah-wah which only got hooked up for tunes that required it. Otherwise, he ran straight into the amps. Magnificent tone…best I ever heard.
Thank you so much for making this video. As sought after as the Dumbles are, I can understand why he got put off by Dumble for charging for phone calls. RIP to both.
Thank you for a motherload of tehcy knowledge i never knew of srv's lineup . Also im happy to hear his gifting a ricky to my man - mr hubert sumlin - a real one. Good stuff / Bless your work
I was fortunate enough to grow up in Texas and got to see Stevie a lot over the years.. saw his rig evolve.. got to see him in smaller venues.. met him and talk to him a couple different times.. what a nice and genuinely friendly guy.. i am a real superfan.. i've spent my entire life trying to cover his tunes in a musically faithful manner.. i even tried to mimic his rig best i could along the way.. with a split signal chain.. wet/dry/wet.. a lot of his mods.. didn't stay with the 13 gauge strings long though.. ouch.. i like to think i do an alright job.. i'll never forget where i was the very second i learned of his untimely passing.. imagine how much music we are missing today.. RIP Stevie..
Outstanding work! I never knew that all of Stevie’s Fenders were given solid state rectifiers! I personally love solid state rectifier, as there always seems to be more headroom and much tighter low end. Stevie’s tone NEVER sounded farty at all.
That was a revelation to me too ! I was once offered a '59 Bassman reissue at a reasonable price, that I turned down because someone had changed it to solid state rectification...I remember thinking "who the hell would do that ?!" 😊
@@shaunw9270 Haha, it’s crazy what the term “solid state” can trigger in so many of us. The reason I like solid state rectification is because I almost strictly play “rhythm” guitar, a lot of open chords and power chords. I think the more direct tone that solid state rec’s provide lends itself to rock n roll rhythm playing. But I always assumed that solid state rec’s are the bane of blues/lead players’ existence! I thought that blues and lead players always want that “sag” and squishiness that comes with rectifier tube. This video has totally flipped that notion on its head!
@@shaunw9270 The SSR was stock in Bassman reissue amps from their inception. It was in a socket tho and could be swapped out for a tube rectifier, along with required bias adjustment. I did it numerous times on numerous Bassman reissues and I can tell you that it completely changed the character of the amp.
@@TheFakeNewsFrog ok, the Dumble sss wasn't thin per se, but because it was so damn loud and clean it ended up being that most of Stevies overdrive came from the tubescreamer gain being cranked more which made his tone thinner. Nothing played on the Dumbles sounded as good as the tones he was getting from cranking his Vibroverbs and his Super Reverbs earlier on in his career. The mythos behind his SSS's doesn't hold up in reality as any comparison recordings will prove. Don't get me wrong, Dumble amps are amazing and Stevie Ray is number 2 to only Jimi Hendrix, but as great as his tone was with the Dumbles, his earlier blackface tones were so much better , more interactive, juicier, warmer, shimmerier etc
I got to see the amps at the Grammy museum up close. Both of the 59 reissue Bassman’s had four EV 10’s and replaced plywood baffles. I’d guess the baffles were 1/2” thick. Those speakers are very heavy compared to(everything really)the Eminence Alnico 10’s they came with.
Two guitarists that have always meant everything to me are SRV and secondly Don Rich. I can’t get enough of either and this video of Stevie’s amps is priceless. Thank you!🎶
I met Stevie in 1980 at Crossroads in Nacogdoches, Tx. He was playing through two blackface Super Reverbs and the two aforementioned Vibroverbs. After the show, Stevie gave me a rig rundown - the Vibroverbs had the JBL's, thought the Super Reverbs had a mix of speakers, unlike what this video states.
He had several Super Reverbs, and at least one had JBL's. Texas Flood was all JBL speakers, according to Cesar Diaz, but later used EV instead, because the JBL's kept getting blown-out, and the sound wasn't what he wanted.
Interesting documentary.. As usual.. At the end of the day, no matter how good the guitar is, the amp has the final word in the chain of tone.. Your friend Bob who must have spent a ton of money on really beautiful, excellent guitars also made that point in an earlier video...
I live in Memphis, and the local music store I now work at , would repair his amps on the spur of the moment. He stayed and jammed here a lot before he was really big. So I'm sure other places had to do whatever it took for him to get through that day. He was a artist.
Yep, I've had a few Peaveys. A Delta Blues 1x15. That was a heavy sucker! Sold it to a fellow Texan who gigged with it for many years somewhere in the Virgin Islands. But the all-time heaviest I had was the 80s 120w Deuce that a friend gifted me with. Cost me about $300-400 to get it back up to snuff. I didn't sell it out of respect for him, but man, that was not an amp I had any use of. Not just because it weighed a ton, was way too powerful, but because it just didn't sound all that great. It had those JBL looking speakers which I'll bet were more valuable than the amp itself. The phaser was pretty fun though!
Is it true that the vibroverb and the super reverb are the same amplifiers except for the output transformer's output impedance? (And speaker configuration ofcourse).
4:49 I think Twin Reverbs had the far larger transformer and a solid state rectifier, no? It sounds like they were basically turning Vibroverbs into lower-powered Twins. Did he ever try a TR and if so, what didn't he like about them?
I had a friend in my working days who was always trying to give me gear he had and didn't use as he was a blues harp player. One item he was always trying to give me was a Peavey Vintage amp. The tweed had been painted black. I didn't take his offers because I felt it would be taking advantage of our friendship. Maybe I should have.
Per an interview I read many years ago, Cesar Diaz tweaked Stevie's amps so they produced loud, clean and clear lows, with highs that contained plenty of breakup. Getting an amp to do that is not an easy thing--hence the diode rectification, beefier transformers, specific speakers, and a few small tweaks to the biasing and tone stacks.
The way you frame it, it seems that Stevie was never 100% satisfied with his tone and struggled with amplification to find the right formula, and now people are fighting to get something like what Stevie was doing. Something ironic there
So many of these tales and legends about Dumble amps don't match up when you start comparing them. Personally I think at least 35%-40% of the tales told and the mystique surrounding Dumble amps is complete and utter horse shite for guitar and amp collectors who will drop $500,000 on a pick once played by Hendrix and his famous Monterrey stratocaster.
This history vid is dangerous for guitar players with a credit card and eBay.... These vids get gear heads to buy gear,,(mostly when buzzed).. Currently very happy with a 1959 Supro 1615t..with fender Strat..dunlop fuzzface and octavio JH-OC1... Excellent recording through sm57 and Sennheiser MD421 on two channels. or just practicing in a high ceiling family room...
Good point - I hope people are wise and realise - SRV tone is multiple amps played very loud and thats after his technique and feel - its better to buy small/low wattage amps and drive them hard imo
At 17:01, it was Mark Knopfler who started using the SLO100 first in 1988. Eric bought two from Mike Soldano after using Marks amps at sound check, as Mark was playing second guitar in Eric’s band from 1987-88. Just nit picking though, your video is excellent!
I really like that Stevie could play on a wide range of amps and still have a "signature" sound. I'm not surprised that the rectifier tube was replaced with diodes for touring. In the studio, which is my domain, I prefer the rectifier tube as I think it records better and heat and travel abuse are not an issue. Thank you for this most excellent video.
My buddy owns one of Stevie's Fender Vibroverb amps. It has a ton gain very early, like on two on the volume. My friend is opening a small music museum and has been buying gear owned by famous players. He's got one of Townshend's HiWatts as well. I haven't had a chance to play thru that one yet.
Stevie was magic. BTW I remember either Guitar for the practicing musician or Guitar Player had a full page schematic of his gear/effects but I can't seem to locate it. Thanks for sharing this excellent run down!😀
Diaz is vastly mis-represented in the big picture.....and he is not a guru or a genius. Diaz took a mail correspondence course for electronics in the era when schools would have been teaching solid state and transistors as that was the state of the industry & manufacturing......and thus what you would see as a repairman. Diaz has stated he took the correspondence course. So it wasn't that he was educated in a school with a physical location where he had to go to class and thus be exposed and trained on actual physical equipment. In my past endeavors shopping....I came across a box full of booklets from a mail correspondence course...the complete course & course work about 1970 dated though earlier copy rights are noted in the booklets. As the example, if there are like 100 booklets in the course that I have as a representation .....only 4 of those 100 booklets involve VACUUM TUBE electronics.......it was obsolete technology that was no longer a part of mainstream manufacturing & thus about worthless to teach and learn when preparing students to do service in the real world. You'll have to excuse me for calling this out as it gets perpetuated mythically......leading down a pathway that's all pure hype. Most service people would repair only what is broken...obviously broken......when something doesn't power up and work to make proper noise. You mention 1964 Fenders, and by the late 1970's going into the 1980's.......the electrolytic capacitors in the power rail and in the signal chain as cathode bypass capacitors......would have been at their end of a service life and drying out or totally dried out. Service people doing solid state as their main focus of repairs in the industry would not know to change out the old electrolytics in the SIGNAL chain. The electrolytics that would commonly fail would be observed mainly in the power rail....as that would make the amp dead when plugged in.....or it would take out the power tubes and maybe a transformer......all obvious. In the signal chain, the bypass capacitor makes the amp sound fuller as that bypass cap is inserted in the circuitry as for frequency range and selected by value for the guitars frequency spectrum.......so when it is fresh and new it function for those frequency's. As it dries out...the value can change and thus the frequency range will shift. Vacuum tubes produce the fundamental plus over tones....not under tones. SO as the electrolytic caps dries out.......the fundamental is still there.....but the over tone aspect shifts and the spectrum range.......it starts sounding thin ever so slightly over time......and you wouldn't notice it drastically playing over time.........and you'd be compensating for that as well over time not understanding whats going on. SO when you follow what DIAZ was doing.......he was not fixing the problem but chasing the problem by not knowing what he was doing and chasing the wrong direction.......because he didn't know what he was doing. SO.........later in your presentation, you mention Soldano saying his amps were not "worked" on properly over the years. He just didn't state that directly or accurately to where that would lead to.......which was WHO...........who claimed to be that person.......and that was DIAZ. I mean no disrespect to the late DIAZ.....but it is what it is
as for the mention of the tube rectifier......and the explanation. That's all electronics bullshite.....no basis in fact.....but the real fact is clouded over......which is the HEAT factor. Its not the rectifier heating up the power transformer. Its like a car mechanic telling you that your machine need muffler bearings....sounds plausible via terminology.....but muffler bears don't exist. The rectifier as a vacuum tube evolved over time in the early era of electronics....till the silicon rectifiers became cheap and available......as they were much more reliable and permitted something. That something is the reserve capacitor in the power rail.......energy storage associated with the first node...the power tube plates (anode) also where the center tap of the output transformer is located in the circuitry........the point of maximum energy draw in the overall system. With a tube rectifier, the tube can only handle a maximum capacitance value in the functioning.......usually around 40uf and maybe stretched to 50uf. Any more than that will blow the tube when you power up......or shortly there after. SO when you examine a Twin Reverb with solid state rectification......its using a larger value reserve capacitor value in the first node in the power rail which translates to a better low end and a solid low end.......it's not flubby. In the old amps......that flubby gets exaggerated because they were mostly cathode biased power tubes.......fixed bias power tubes don't have that property. That's the SAG when sag is discussed with cathode biased power tubes and it plays in with the rectifier tube based on the capacity of the rectifier tube to do it job. If silicon rectifiers were stiff as a term, then a gz-34 is stiff as its close to silicon rectifiers in performance....but still limited for capacitance of the first node of the power rail. A 5U4 is not as stiff as a gz-34.....and has that sag factor when everything is proper with the circuitry design with respect to period electronics. So switching to a solid state rectifier let them increase the reserve power rail capacitor in the first node......which is NOT mentioned. As for the output transformers being changed, the original transformers were designed for 28/30 watts, and installed in an amp rated at 40 watts on average.......and that same design climbed to 50 watts later in the fender time line......before the ultra-linear series amps in the late 1970's......where it would have climbed to 70 watts. A Twin Reverb went from 100 watts....to 135 watts with the ultra-linear era amp lines. SO it would have been very wise to change out an under powered output transformer....and the BF/SF bassman output transformer is the logical transformer as the alternative in the line. As designed for a bass amp, the frequency range it was designed for went lower and the construction is much more robust and I think its an interleaved type construction, where as the original would not be interleaved. BF/SF bassman heads are great platforms for conversions. SO all this is concerning the 50 watt output transformers, an alternative which would be more heavy duty, would be a Twin Reverb output transformer. When run for 2 power tubes, its load goes from 4 ohms to 8 ohms. Speakers would typically be 8 ohms as a single speaker.....or 16 ohms.........the 4 ohm speakers are very uncommon. So essentially this would bring up the fullness as a result......but the electrolytics in the signal chain as the cathode bypass caps were probably being ignored the whole time. SO this leads to the speaker !
The speaker......>>>>>>>JBL's tend to be bright and can be ice picky......going to a 15 inch JBL would imply more low end to try to combat the high ice pick........then you'd do the tape on the speaker grill cloth to combat the high ice pick thing......all chasing it. Solution.....get rid of the JBL's and get EV's which are much more smoother with out the JBL ice pick. BUT you still have the other electronic issues.....>>>>>>SO when you go back to the beginning, you see the old tweed amp you noted. In the 1950's, Fender evolved and the amps were designated "A" in the beginning and at the end of the 1950's it was the "F" series in the evolution. SO that's 6 letters in 10 years...so considering....Fender changed up about every 1.5 years...so make it every 2 years. A big part of it was all about the phase inverter technology of the day as it evolved in the audio electronics end of electronics. BUT lets say the amp pictured and that he was exposed to playing around.....considering the time line, it might be an "E" series or an "F" series....though I haven't examined the picture. BUT the "E" & "F" were somewhat similar.....and the holy grail is the "F" series bassman 4x10. WHICH was what Jim Marshall cloned ......>>>>>>these were more mid-ranged amps that were not meant to be cranked up where they start to saturate and sing......they were meant to be played cleanly. AND in general, the "F" series started to use the fixed power tube bias method as opposed to the old style cathode bias. Either way, its a more mid range spectrum type response. Generally a dry type amp, and generally 3 pre-amp tubes and 2 6L6's and run at tube data book specs......so for 2 power tubes they were more like 30 watt amplifiers....though loudness is not linear but exponential. The number 30 is misleading, as its a factor in the cross over in the 1960's and the BF/SF era........the 2 power tubes paper power ratings went up......because Fender went outside the parameters the tube manufacturer's had listed in their tube manual as the values for optimum performance and tube life. SALESMAN trick is to point out why would you pay the same money for a 30 watt amp when you could get a 50 watt amp.....to imply the 50 watt amp was better and steer you that way in a purchase. >>>>>>>BUT by going outside the manufacturer's parameters, the response curves for the tube ere being shifted...the tonality aspects would thus change.......so higher voltages means more brittle and bright and more power on paper. SO the operational parameters of the 1950's era made the tubes operate in a range of their curves where the tone was nice and warm and fat and full of TONE....exaggerated with the mid's emphasis......then through a JENSEN speaker.
@@mikecamps7226 my favourite speakers are altecs again they have a reputation for being ice picky but once you play them in they have some beautiful tones.
Excellent video! I remember seeing him in November of '89 in Atlanta with Jeff Beck. That particular night did NOT go well for SRV. I guess it was one of the main amps he was using just kept blowing and blowing and blowing. The guitar tech was on stage behind the amps almost as much as SRV was. They still did a pretty good job, but you could tell SRV was getting pretty pissed off (who wouldn't?) at the thing going out over and over. So glad I got to see him, though. Had no idea he experimented with so many amps...
A good friend of mine and now SRV disciple told me that show in Atlanta with JB was the first time he had ever seen SRV play and it ripped his head off and sent him off on a lifetime love and study of Stevie. It must not have been that bad of a show!! He said Beck was great but Stevie just stole the show. One of my great regrets is that I never got to see my hero in concert.
@@beachcomber4141 I dunno about that. I've always been a fan of SRV, but quite honestly I'd have to say that Beck was in another world that night... Just my opinion, though... They were both great - that is certain!
@@cornfilledscreamer614 Nice!! I so wish I could have been there to see those two share the stage. Saw Beck in 2016 I think open for ZZ Top and he was just phenomenal. Actually paid a lot for the ticket and got a private sound check with Jeff and his band. They did 4 songs for around 30 of us, and did People Get Ready. I could have left right then before the actual concert and been thrilled. Jeff is the only player I know of whose style keeps evolving into old age to that degree. Stevie was my man though, the day he passed was a dark day that still haunts me. One of the greatest losses to Guitar, and lord knows we have had a lot of them. Cheers brother!
@@beachcomber4141 Agreed. I was driving in my car when I heard SRV died - and just pulled over and cried. He was just sooooo good. Completely agree with you about Beck, though. Nobody will ever sound like him - and (like you said) he just keeps evolving... Two of the greatest!
@@cornfilledscreamer614 I was in a blues band at the time, and Stevie was my absolute hero. My girlfriend called me and told me either Clapton or SRV had died. I sat down in front of CNN and when his picture came up, my heart and stomach just sunk. It took a few days to get back to some kind of normal, but my normal was never quite the same as my hero was gone. To this day it still makes me so sad as a part of my youth died when he did. He was really that good, and he was such a good person as well helping people with substance abuse recovery issues. Me and some friends nicknamed him St. Stevie. Two of the greatest indeed!!!!
The Marshall amp in the Grammy museum collection is a 1973-1974 Super Lead MK II not a Major. There are photos of the back of it online clearly showing this. I find this curious since these amps are definitely not renowned for clean headroom!
I had a dear friend who owned & operated a small guitar/amp shop ( and other instruments, gear, & components ) for years and he was one of the best local blues guitarists around central Florida. He gigged quite often. Being in business, he was always wheeling & dealing amps, gear, etc. So during one of his gigs back about 1995, he was playing through an old Marshall Country Gentleman ( I think that was it's name ) combo, BIG combo.......and man, did that amp bring the beef, with lots of headroom. One of his customers bought that amp rather quickly, ( no surprise there ), so I never heard him play through it again........nor have I seen or heard another one in person to this day. I have no idea if the amp was modded......but it sure sounded sweet.
Do you still work on amps? I'm into changing up my gear from a modern Fender Mustang head and cabinet and looking to get into some good blues tube tones and, frankly I'm freaked out by all the different amps out there. Any suggestions would be great appreciated. Thanks
Those Peavy Vintage amps are no joke. I had a buddy in high school so was huge into the blues and SRV along with his dad. They had a few of these amps and they sounded great. They also had an all original Super Reverb that was heavenly.
@@TheGuitarShow Hey I used to own the very first (Fender Twin Reverb prototype) for many years. It also had a D-130 Speaker in it. Feel free to watch my video I did on the amp. Just look up my name Ross Southerland Fender Twin Reverb prototype. Thanks again and I always enjoy your videos!
Cesar Diaz replaced the vibroverb output transformers with Fender Bassman output transformers? and replaced the superreverbs output transformers with fender twin reverb output transformers?
I understand what you are saying. The twin o/p txer is a better match for the Vibroverb. Bigger core and the turns ratio works out. I thought Tweed Bassman transformers were in the Super Reverb amps. That’s a good fit for those particular amps.
Really awesome video thanks for posting this. I always liked Stevie's tone better before he started using the Dumble amps. That said, in reality Stevie could use anything and sound great. RIP SRV
Excellent job. I first saw and met Stevie in Dec ‘81 or very early’82 at the Continental Club in Austin (small venue) and was using both his Vibroverbs and a pair of Club&Country Marshalls - shiny speaker domes visible thru all of them. VERY LOUD! He had six Strats in a home built stand sitting behind him. Unforgettable moment for me! Of course I saw him many other times using many different amps and the Steel String Singers were the greatest sounding ones in his hands.
If you’re looking for additional info there’s a fella in the Kentucky area by the name of Steve Wilson that was Stevie’s amp tech towards the last of Stevie’s life. Super amazingly nice fella and just a genius with amps and vintage gear. He now works with the Kentucky Headhunters. I can also attest that Mike Soldano is sheer genius as well. Been playing his amps for years. Appreciate you taking the time to put this video together!! Thank you!!
I've got a Marshall C&C 4140 I bought from Ray Hennig used... it had several problems, including speakers out of phase and a bad (post-PI) master pot. It screams now... with a Hammond output transformer and Tesla E34L's. Curiously enough, it had those red Goodmans speakers when I got it... but I put in a pair of Celestion G80K's. I had hoped it had belonged to SRV... I guess not! If you read Gerald Weber's books he talks about Billy Gibbons telling him that his secret is to have multiple different amps going.
Among the greats, SRVs and early Van Halens tones are at the top of the heap. Both are sinewy and muscular. This video is likewise legendary and priceless. My journey for tone is satiated. Thank you.
So he used the best amplifiers that ever existed ,in tandem ,with the highest playing action, powered by a talent and intensity never before seen, to produce the best electric guitar sound that ever was.
He didn't have the best guitar sound that ever was...it was a good blues tone but there are plenty of incredible guitar tones rather than his overdriven ratty tones, that after a while does get a bit monotonous.
The mystery amp is the Studiomaster Valve Leadmaster endorsed by Earl Slick who replaced Stevie when he decided not to tour with David Bowie. Stevie used two of these amps instead of his Vibroverbs for one tour. 60 watts 1x12.
Many thanks Bill 🙏🙏🙏🙏
The Bill Nelson? Wow
Any idea which tour?
@@bensblues right after the David Bowie sessions.
Probably the Serious Moonlight tour which supported the Let's Dance album and the only one that SRV was played on as far as I know.
Stevie and Cesar were very close friends of mine and this is what I clearly remember. Stevie’s complaints were he wanted the amps to give a little bit but yet wanted clean headroom to a certain extent. Cesar went with the solid state rectifiers and that helped but the brightness Stevie did not care for and that was a result of the JBL’s. He liked the 15 D130’s in his Vibroverbs but in the Super’s the JBL’s were not working sound wise. Just to make it clear, Stevie knew almost nothing about gear and relied on otters to help guide him. Anyway Cesar did try regular EV’s but too stiff and clean. EV Forces ended up being the choice and were amazing! Stevie hated the Dumble 160 watters for the same reason Stevie hated Twin Reverbs, too clean. Stevie also loved his Marshall 50 watt trem head. He always said that it sounded like a built in Tube Screamer. Stevie also loved Telecasters but the lack of the trem bar kept him from using them. One of Stevie’s favorite amps were Blackface Bassman’s and in trade I reviewed a blonde Tele that Stevie received as a gift. It was missing the back pickup and tons control. I in turn I gave Stevie a Blackface Bassman piggy back rig. Many days traveling to Cesar’s house in Pocono’s PA just to work on amps and try guitars.
Absolutely incredible. Any more info on the EV forces?
@@modusceo : Lowest wattage EV’s made and been outta production for at least 15 years maybe 20? Closest speaker made to it now would be the Eminence Wheelhouse 150 12 or Wheelhouse 200 15 inch. Depending on which amp Stevie was using sometimes he’s have (2) Tube Screamers on the floor. One would be set for a little grit and the other would be just past 1/2 way up.
Did Stevie not prefer his 150watt SSS amps for the reason being they didn't distort when turned up
@@darrenbaird989 : Well I don’t wanna make it sound like that Stevie hated other amps it’s just that he was one of those guys that had to have an amp not only sound good but the feel had to be right. He loved some old Marshall’s and as we all know Super Reverbs and Vibroverbs were always a go to for him. He absolutely loved Blackface Bassman amps but lack of reverb kept those from being used. Stevie also used an ART Power Plant preamp on some recordings but again solid state and wasn’t perfect feel and tone. I saw him try one of those old Legend amps which are hybrid amps that sucked! Dirty you could get it grind but clean was awful! Some people wanted him to try Demeter’s which some of the other popular players had been using either live or studio. Those were cool but I think too complex sounding?
Thank you for this very cool comment!
The main thing is to understand the JBL speakers. What that proves for sure is that SRV wasn’t carrying his own amps
LOL! Nice
The unidentified amps at 8.15 are Studiomaster VLM's, (Valve Lead Master) designed by my good friend Paul (PB) Belcher. They were built in Luton, England. I still have one and it is amazing...
I own 2 Studiomaster consoles… It’s a shame they sold to China, the UK equipment was awesome for the value!
@@TheFakeNewsFrog Which consoles do you have?
@@charmandrews I’ve got a Series II & a Mixdown 16-8-16 with 16 Channel expander. They’re not bad, and the Mixdown’s an absolute workhorse!
@@TheFakeNewsFrog I was with them for about 24 years. Think by the S2 I was running the parts (or finished goods) stores. The boss was determined to have MIDI on the S2 because it was a big thing... I think it was Bill Kelsey who came up with the idea of using it for MIDI mutes. Everything was built to last back then.
@@charmandrews The S2 I have in storage due to it being a bit crackly now. I did pay to have it cleaned, but the problem kept creeping back. I’m assuming some pots, faders, etc, need to be replaced. Understandable though for the age. The Mixdown on the other hand… It just keeps going! There’s no crackling whatsoever, and when it does arise, a bit of switch cleaner and you’re good to go for month’s!
If I could create a modern equivalent, I’d have motorised faders with MIDI, a single fader for the master, the same S2 EQ section but with added pass-filters for the high & low frequencies, split the sub-groups from 16 to half VCA, ports to the rear, then add the meter bridge from the Classic 8. I wouldn’t like to imagine the cost… But if it could be achieved for around £5000-6000, I reckon it’d still be a genuine contender with the likes of SSL & Neve.
Studiomaster really was a great company! Those amp’s you were talking about still go for quite a bit too! I’ve heard some great stories from them, like how the EP3 power supplies were sometimes made by a husband & wife at home… It’s things like that, the overall quality they bought to the market at great prices… I just wish it was alive and kicking here in the UK today!
Hi Goose, I was a witness to Stevies' club era gigs during college in Texas from January 1981 through March 1983 and was fortunate enough to see Double Trouble a number of times, I seem to remember that for the small room we were in there was always a Super Reverb and another Fender, that I thought at the time was Twin as I was not familar with Vibroverbs back then but that's probably what it was. It was an increble experience and looking back it was like seeing and hearing the El Macombo video up close. After Texas Flood was released he was gone from the Texas club circuit and on to destiny. During that era he was unapproachable but we were more interested in talking to Tommy Shannon because he recorded with Johnny Winter and played at Woodstock. Thanks for the great history lesson.
Can u elaborate on what u mean by Stevie being unapproachable? I’m genuinely curious, not being snarky. Was he just too busy? Or was it a rudeness?
I was with Cesar the night we both met Stevie and the band. It was in the summer of 1980 that I received the phone call from the band's road manager. Cesar and I were both working at Angela Instruments in Bethesda, Md at the time. The gig was at Deperado's in Georgetown Wash. D.C. not the Psyche-Deli in Bethesda, Md. If the gig was at the "Deli" we would have walked the one block instead of driving 30 minutes to Georgetown. (I should have mentioned that the reason their road manager asked us to come to the gig was because we had single guitar strings ie: 13,18, etc. and we had a service person that could work on older fender amps ie: Cesar. When we got there we came upon a brown Vibroverb and a black Vibroverb (both 64's I think.) Cesar pulled both trays, and started using his test equipment. He remarked , "Man, these things are fucked up! I'm gonna wait until they get back from dinner and see what they want" Both amps had JBL's with a gray speaker chassis at this time. The band got back from dinner, Cesar did some minor adjustments, We went back to Motel50 in Arlington Va. Me and Stevie had a trivial pursuit about blues guitarists (he won, but was surprised how many I knew because he considered me a punk-rock guitar player, I bothered Tommy about Woodstock with Johnny Winter, and Cesar and Stevie started a long and fruitful (yet sometime argumentative) from what "Mr.C" told me. I miss them both. Cesar and myself were pretty close, spending many late nights at the work benches of Angela Instruments. Thanks for letting me ramble on KC.
Amazing thanks for this 🙏🙏🙏
The Desperados gig was February 12-13, 1981. I was there. Stevie used two Vibroverbs and one 2x12 Marshall combo. The only effect he used was a wah-wah which only got hooked up for tunes that required it. Otherwise, he ran straight into the amps. Magnificent tone…best I ever heard.
Thank you so much for making this video. As sought after as the Dumbles are, I can understand why he got put off by Dumble for charging for phone calls. RIP to both.
Thank you for a motherload of tehcy knowledge i never knew of srv's lineup . Also im happy to hear his gifting a ricky to my man - mr hubert sumlin - a real one. Good stuff / Bless your work
@@ReaA-nn2jx pleasure bro
I always thought Stevie was going for a Hendrix sound. Which is funny because Hendrix doesn't have, a sound, he has 20 different sounds in each song
I was fortunate enough to grow up in Texas and got to see Stevie a lot over the years.. saw his rig evolve.. got to see him in smaller venues.. met him and talk to him a couple different times.. what a nice and genuinely friendly guy.. i am a real superfan.. i've spent my entire life trying to cover his tunes in a musically faithful manner.. i even tried to mimic his rig best i could along the way.. with a split signal chain.. wet/dry/wet.. a lot of his mods.. didn't stay with the 13 gauge strings long though.. ouch.. i like to think i do an alright job.. i'll never forget where i was the very second i learned of his untimely passing.. imagine how much music we are missing today.. RIP Stevie..
Thats a weird sentence to hear, "Stevie, you tone sucks". lol.
LOL!!! Yeah, no doubt!
Really appreciate all the work that into this video,
IMHO SRV could play through anything and still sound like SRV
thx for the video
Many thanks John
Outstanding work! I never knew that all of Stevie’s Fenders were given solid state rectifiers! I personally love solid state rectifier, as there always seems to be more headroom and much tighter low end. Stevie’s tone NEVER sounded farty at all.
That was a revelation to me too ! I was once offered a '59 Bassman reissue at a reasonable price, that I turned down because someone had changed it to solid state rectification...I remember thinking "who the hell would do that ?!" 😊
@@shaunw9270 Haha, it’s crazy what the term “solid state” can trigger in so many of us. The reason I like solid state rectification is because I almost strictly play “rhythm” guitar, a lot of open chords and power chords. I think the more direct tone that solid state rec’s provide lends itself to rock n roll rhythm playing. But I always assumed that solid state rec’s are the bane of blues/lead players’ existence! I thought that blues and lead players always want that “sag” and squishiness that comes with rectifier tube. This video has totally flipped that notion on its head!
@@shaunw9270 The SSR was stock in Bassman reissue amps from their inception. It was in a socket tho and could be swapped out for a tube rectifier, along with required bias adjustment. I did it numerous times on numerous Bassman reissues and I can tell you that it completely changed the character of the amp.
@@jeffmaloney8701 Okay , I thought it was the opposite way around. Anyhow I didn't buy the one I was going to because of SSR tbh.
The El Mocambo tone was possibly the greatest electric guitar tone of all time. No need for the thin sounding Dumbles
No doubt about that!
My personal favorite is Live in Tokyo 1985.
You’re the first person I’ve heard describe a Dumble as ‘thin’. In fact, I’d argue that’s completely personal opinion based on absolute nonsense.
Thin Dumble lmfao
@@TheFakeNewsFrog ok, the Dumble sss wasn't thin per se, but because it was so damn loud and clean it ended up being that most of Stevies overdrive came from the tubescreamer gain being cranked more which made his tone thinner. Nothing played on the Dumbles sounded as good as the tones he was getting from cranking his Vibroverbs and his Super Reverbs earlier on in his career. The mythos behind his SSS's doesn't hold up in reality as any comparison recordings will prove. Don't get me wrong, Dumble amps are amazing and Stevie Ray is number 2 to only Jimi Hendrix, but as great as his tone was with the Dumbles, his earlier blackface tones were so much better , more interactive, juicier, warmer, shimmerier etc
Fascinating stuff ......saw SRV several times thruout his career and so saw him play thru many of these amps .....how cool
Amazing thanks!
I got to see the amps at the Grammy museum up close. Both of the 59 reissue Bassman’s had four EV 10’s and replaced plywood baffles. I’d guess the baffles were 1/2” thick. Those speakers are very heavy compared to(everything really)the Eminence Alnico 10’s they came with.
That El Mocambo set is one of the best ever recorded, by anybody. It made me realize that I was a keyboard player. ;)
great comment Robert!
I ended up with a Club & Country 2x12 back in the 1990's. It definitely gave you his tones.
Nice
Two guitarists that have always meant everything to me are SRV and secondly Don Rich. I can’t get enough of either and this video of Stevie’s amps is priceless. Thank you!🎶
Don Rich is the fucking man!
Interesting pairing; I'm also a huge Don Rich fan, wonder what Stevie thought of him? Pete Anderson's another guy that has great Tele tone.
@@m0j0b0ne Yes sir! Pete is a legend in his own right as well.
I’m sure Stevie would’ve had good things to say about Don and Pete as well.🎶
I met Stevie in 1980 at Crossroads in Nacogdoches, Tx. He was playing through two blackface Super Reverbs and the two aforementioned Vibroverbs. After the show, Stevie gave me a rig rundown - the Vibroverbs had the JBL's, thought the Super Reverbs had a mix of speakers, unlike what this video states.
He had several Super Reverbs, and at least one had JBL's. Texas Flood was all JBL speakers, according to Cesar Diaz, but later used EV instead, because the JBL's kept getting blown-out, and the sound wasn't what he wanted.
Love that tone that Stevie gave us ! Was chasing info about Cesar and there it was in your presentation... Thank you greatly for sharing!
Pleasure bro
Jeezus buddy that was pretty comprehensive, I enjoyed the video, +1 am guessing the bottom line is Stevie liked to be heard😂. 👍🥃Respect to you.
Many thanks bro
Interesting documentary.. As usual.. At the end of the day, no matter how good the guitar is, the amp has the final word in the chain of tone.. Your friend Bob who must have spent a ton of money on really beautiful, excellent guitars also made that point in an earlier video...
I live in Memphis, and the local music store I now work at , would repair his amps on the spur of the moment. He stayed and jammed here a lot before he was really big. So I'm sure other places had to do whatever it took for him to get through that day. He was a artist.
Love waking up to your videos!
My God... that was a mind-blower...
Nils is talking about an actual Peavey Classic 50, I believe. I used to own one. Heaviest amplifier I’ve ever had.
Okay thanks for this - I just thought it too much of a coincidence that SRV once owned a Peavy vintage and that he gave away a Peavy -
@@TheGuitarShow true
Yep, I've had a few Peaveys. A Delta Blues 1x15. That was a heavy sucker! Sold it to a fellow Texan who gigged with it for many years somewhere in the Virgin Islands.
But the all-time heaviest I had was the 80s 120w Deuce that a friend gifted me with. Cost me about $300-400 to get it back up to snuff. I didn't sell it out of respect for him, but man, that was not an amp I had any use of. Not just because it weighed a ton, was way too powerful, but because it just didn't sound all that great. It had those JBL looking speakers which I'll bet were more valuable than the amp itself. The phaser was pretty fun though!
@@PaulSter true……
It’s funny that the Marshall head at 14:22 is not a major but a regular plexi 100 watt head.
Is it true that the vibroverb and the super reverb are the same amplifiers except for the output transformer's output impedance? (And speaker configuration ofcourse).
Yes those amps had very similar circuits Ill give a perspective on this soon.
Brilliant video thanks Ramon , and now you have me thinking about Soldano too. I never knew they used 5881 valves, which I am a fan.
Thank you for that lovely story about Stevie Ray Vaughans amps appreciated
Thanks for this really in-depth look at SRV many different rig choices over the years. Well done Goose!
Thanks 🙏🙏🙏
Excellent post ..thanks 👍
NO MATTER WHAT AMP STEVIE HAD USED, HE'D ALWAYS GOT THAT SQUEALLY TONE, MIND BLOWING TONE!
Agreed
I think thats true, tone is in the hands and ears
Stevie could use most anything and still melt your face.
agreed
Damn.
I had one of those Marshall 100w Club and Country amps. Sold it 30 years ago for $200. Heard Leslie West used them too.
Yes, I remember them also from the early 90s
This video was brilliant! Thank you for doing it!
pleasure
Awesome presentation, sir. Thank you.
Thank you Christoffer
4:49 I think Twin Reverbs had the far larger transformer and a solid state rectifier, no? It sounds like they were basically turning Vibroverbs into lower-powered Twins. Did he ever try a TR and if so, what didn't he like about them?
Great information on one of the greatest tone chasers of all time!!! Cheers!!!
Many thanks indeed Eric
I had a friend in my working days who was always trying to give me gear he had and didn't use as he was a blues harp player. One item he was always trying to give me was a Peavey Vintage amp. The tweed had been painted black. I didn't take his offers because I felt it would be taking advantage of our friendship. Maybe I should have.
Peavey made some black ones. I’ve seen the 30 watt combo in black from the factory. Most of the bigger ones were always tweed.
Per an interview I read many years ago, Cesar Diaz tweaked Stevie's amps so they produced loud, clean and clear lows, with highs that contained plenty of breakup. Getting an amp to do that is not an easy thing--hence the diode rectification, beefier transformers, specific speakers, and a few small tweaks to the biasing and tone stacks.
I'd say that's a fair assessment, and it's a wonder SRV didn't use a Boss DS1 instead, as a treble booster to push the highs into saturation.
The way you frame it, it seems that Stevie was never 100% satisfied with his tone and struggled with amplification to find the right formula, and now people are fighting to get something like what Stevie was doing. Something ironic there
Peavey Classic 50 was made in the mid to late 90s at the main assembly plant in Meridian Mississippi.
Thanks - My thinking is maybe SRV had given his vintage Peavy series away.
The Classic was the evolution of the Vintage
Dude, I played a Fender Twin for one day, took it back to the store the next day, tried a Peavey Classic 50, took it home and loved it!
This video is priceless.
Thank you Jose!
I want to have my own personal amplifier technician.
Cool video. Very informative.
Many thanks indeed
@8:15 at first glance they look like Carvin amps to me. But I’ve gotta dig around the inter webs to check.
Never imagined him with a Peavey. More proof that his sound came from his hands - and soul.
Great comment
Peavey’s do give a decent / AFFORDABLE version of the classic Fender “clean” sound, so makes sense he would have one in his arsenal
At least it wasnt a Peavey Bandit
@@larspersson5492 bandits kick ass
Peaveys are awesome, especially their Tube amps
So many of these tales and legends about Dumble amps don't match up when you start comparing them. Personally I think at least 35%-40% of the tales told and the mystique surrounding Dumble amps is complete and utter horse shite for guitar and amp collectors who will drop $500,000 on a pick once played by Hendrix and his famous Monterrey stratocaster.
This history vid is dangerous for guitar players with a credit card and eBay....
These vids get gear heads to buy gear,,(mostly when buzzed)..
Currently very happy with a 1959 Supro 1615t..with fender Strat..dunlop fuzzface and octavio JH-OC1...
Excellent recording through sm57 and Sennheiser MD421 on two channels. or just practicing in a high ceiling family room...
Good point - I hope people are wise and realise - SRV tone is multiple amps played very loud and thats after his technique and feel - its better to buy small/low wattage amps and drive them hard imo
Thanks Ramon.
Pleasure bro
Wow I didn't know the story about the phone calls. That's pretty wild.
Amazing story
Thanks to you !!! God bless you 🙏🏻
Thank you too!
At 17:01, it was Mark Knopfler who started using the SLO100 first in 1988. Eric bought two from Mike Soldano after using Marks amps at sound check, as Mark was playing second guitar in Eric’s band from 1987-88. Just nit picking though, your video is excellent!
Thanks for this Catherine - Im dong a MK video next!
THANKYOU FOR MAKING THIS! LOve it man, keep it going! (PLEASE MAKE A ERIC JOHNSON - GUITARS, AMPS, PEDALS PLEASE!!)
Thanks James - I already did Clapton - but Ill do his pedals soon
@@TheGuitarShow Man im so sorry i dont know why i put clapton, Ive watched that video 100s of times lmao. I meant JOHNSON lol
I really like that Stevie could play on a wide range of amps and still have a "signature" sound. I'm not surprised that the rectifier tube was replaced with diodes for touring. In the studio, which is my domain, I prefer the rectifier tube as I think it records better and heat and travel abuse are not an issue.
Thank you for this most excellent video.
Big Stevie fan... very interesting vid. Thanks !!
That explains why I have had years of trouble with my amps using Beefy Slinkies.
Could be!
Good watch, very interesting! thanks
Pleasure, thanks
My buddy owns one of Stevie's Fender Vibroverb amps. It has a ton gain very early, like on two on the volume. My friend is opening a small music museum and has been buying gear owned by famous players. He's got one of Townshend's HiWatts as well. I haven't had a chance to play thru that one yet.
That's really interesting - thanks for the info
great video - thanks!
Stevie was magic. BTW I remember either Guitar for the practicing musician or Guitar Player had a full page schematic of his gear/effects but I can't seem to locate it. Thanks for sharing this excellent run down!😀
Great information!
Thanks you Brandon 🙏
I'm poor, all I can afford are Harley Benton guitars and a 1980 Pro Reverb.....but it does alright.
yes thats a good solid setup and - its in the fingers!
Diaz is vastly mis-represented in the big picture.....and he is not a guru or a genius. Diaz took a mail correspondence course for electronics in the era when schools would have been teaching solid state and transistors as that was the state of the industry & manufacturing......and thus what you would see as a repairman. Diaz has stated he took the correspondence course. So it wasn't that he was educated in a school with a physical location where he had to go to class and thus be exposed and trained on actual physical equipment. In my past endeavors shopping....I came across a box full of booklets from a mail correspondence course...the complete course & course work about 1970 dated though earlier copy rights are noted in the booklets. As the example, if there are like 100 booklets in the course that I have as a representation .....only 4 of those 100 booklets involve VACUUM TUBE electronics.......it was obsolete technology that was no longer a part of mainstream manufacturing & thus about worthless to teach and learn when preparing students to do service in the real world. You'll have to excuse me for calling this out as it gets perpetuated mythically......leading down a pathway that's all pure hype. Most service people would repair only what is broken...obviously broken......when something doesn't power up and work to make proper noise. You mention 1964 Fenders, and by the late 1970's going into the 1980's.......the electrolytic capacitors in the power rail and in the signal chain as cathode bypass capacitors......would have been at their end of a service life and drying out or totally dried out. Service people doing solid state as their main focus of repairs in the industry would not know to change out the old electrolytics in the SIGNAL chain. The electrolytics that would commonly fail would be observed mainly in the power rail....as that would make the amp dead when plugged in.....or it would take out the power tubes and maybe a transformer......all obvious. In the signal chain, the bypass capacitor makes the amp sound fuller as that bypass cap is inserted in the circuitry as for frequency range and selected by value for the guitars frequency spectrum.......so when it is fresh and new it function for those frequency's. As it dries out...the value can change and thus the frequency range will shift. Vacuum tubes produce the fundamental plus over tones....not under tones. SO as the electrolytic caps dries out.......the fundamental is still there.....but the over tone aspect shifts and the spectrum range.......it starts sounding thin ever so slightly over time......and you wouldn't notice it drastically playing over time.........and you'd be compensating for that as well over time not understanding whats going on. SO when you follow what DIAZ was doing.......he was not fixing the problem but chasing the problem by not knowing what he was doing and chasing the wrong direction.......because he didn't know what he was doing. SO.........later in your presentation, you mention Soldano saying his amps were not "worked" on properly over the years. He just didn't state that directly or accurately to where that would lead to.......which was WHO...........who claimed to be that person.......and that was DIAZ. I mean no disrespect to the late DIAZ.....but it is what it is
Great points here and yes caps do dry out and I know from making pedals with NOS parts ..always measure the caps!!!
as for the mention of the tube rectifier......and the explanation. That's all electronics bullshite.....no basis in fact.....but the real fact is clouded over......which is the HEAT factor. Its not the rectifier heating up the power transformer. Its like a car mechanic telling you that your machine need muffler bearings....sounds plausible via terminology.....but muffler bears don't exist. The rectifier as a vacuum tube evolved over time in the early era of electronics....till the silicon rectifiers became cheap and available......as they were much more reliable and permitted something. That something is the reserve capacitor in the power rail.......energy storage associated with the first node...the power tube plates (anode) also where the center tap of the output transformer is located in the circuitry........the point of maximum energy draw in the overall system. With a tube rectifier, the tube can only handle a maximum capacitance value in the functioning.......usually around 40uf and maybe stretched to 50uf. Any more than that will blow the tube when you power up......or shortly there after. SO when you examine a Twin Reverb with solid state rectification......its using a larger value reserve capacitor value in the first node in the power rail which translates to a better low end and a solid low end.......it's not flubby. In the old amps......that flubby gets exaggerated because they were mostly cathode biased power tubes.......fixed bias power tubes don't have that property. That's the SAG when sag is discussed with cathode biased power tubes and it plays in with the rectifier tube based on the capacity of the rectifier tube to do it job. If silicon rectifiers were stiff as a term, then a gz-34 is stiff as its close to silicon rectifiers in performance....but still limited for capacitance of the first node of the power rail. A 5U4 is not as stiff as a gz-34.....and has that sag factor when everything is proper with the circuitry design with respect to period electronics. So switching to a solid state rectifier let them increase the reserve power rail capacitor in the first node......which is NOT mentioned. As for the output transformers being changed, the original transformers were designed for 28/30 watts, and installed in an amp rated at 40 watts on average.......and that same design climbed to 50 watts later in the fender time line......before the ultra-linear series amps in the late 1970's......where it would have climbed to 70 watts. A Twin Reverb went from 100 watts....to 135 watts with the ultra-linear era amp lines. SO it would have been very wise to change out an under powered output transformer....and the BF/SF bassman output transformer is the logical transformer as the alternative in the line. As designed for a bass amp, the frequency range it was designed for went lower and the construction is much more robust and I think its an interleaved type construction, where as the original would not be interleaved. BF/SF bassman heads are great platforms for conversions. SO all this is concerning the 50 watt output transformers, an alternative which would be more heavy duty, would be a Twin Reverb output transformer. When run for 2 power tubes, its load goes from 4 ohms to 8 ohms. Speakers would typically be 8 ohms as a single speaker.....or 16 ohms.........the 4 ohm speakers are very uncommon. So essentially this would bring up the fullness as a result......but the electrolytics in the signal chain as the cathode bypass caps were probably being ignored the whole time. SO this leads to the speaker !
The speaker......>>>>>>>JBL's tend to be bright and can be ice picky......going to a 15 inch JBL would imply more low end to try to combat the high ice pick........then you'd do the tape on the speaker grill cloth to combat the high ice pick thing......all chasing it. Solution.....get rid of the JBL's and get EV's which are much more smoother with out the JBL ice pick. BUT you still have the other electronic issues.....>>>>>>SO when you go back to the beginning, you see the old tweed amp you noted. In the 1950's, Fender evolved and the amps were designated "A" in the beginning and at the end of the 1950's it was the "F" series in the evolution. SO that's 6 letters in 10 years...so considering....Fender changed up about every 1.5 years...so make it every 2 years. A big part of it was all about the phase inverter technology of the day as it evolved in the audio electronics end of electronics. BUT lets say the amp pictured and that he was exposed to playing around.....considering the time line, it might be an "E" series or an "F" series....though I haven't examined the picture. BUT the "E" & "F" were somewhat similar.....and the holy grail is the "F" series bassman 4x10. WHICH was what Jim Marshall cloned ......>>>>>>these were more mid-ranged amps that were not meant to be cranked up where they start to saturate and sing......they were meant to be played cleanly. AND in general, the "F" series started to use the fixed power tube bias method as opposed to the old style cathode bias. Either way, its a more mid range spectrum type response. Generally a dry type amp, and generally 3 pre-amp tubes and 2 6L6's and run at tube data book specs......so for 2 power tubes they were more like 30 watt amplifiers....though loudness is not linear but exponential. The number 30 is misleading, as its a factor in the cross over in the 1960's and the BF/SF era........the 2 power tubes paper power ratings went up......because Fender went outside the parameters the tube manufacturer's had listed in their tube manual as the values for optimum performance and tube life. SALESMAN trick is to point out why would you pay the same money for a 30 watt amp when you could get a 50 watt amp.....to imply the 50 watt amp was better and steer you that way in a purchase. >>>>>>>BUT by going outside the manufacturer's parameters, the response curves for the tube ere being shifted...the tonality aspects would thus change.......so higher voltages means more brittle and bright and more power on paper. SO the operational parameters of the 1950's era made the tubes operate in a range of their curves where the tone was nice and warm and fat and full of TONE....exaggerated with the mid's emphasis......then through a JENSEN speaker.
@@mikecamps7226 I disagree that jbls can be icepicky...I've used them for years and once you wear them in they are a beautiful thing
@@mikecamps7226 my favourite speakers are altecs again they have a reputation for being ice picky but once you play them in they have some beautiful tones.
Excellent video!
I remember seeing him in November of '89 in Atlanta with Jeff Beck. That particular night did NOT go well for SRV. I guess it was one of the main amps he was using just kept blowing and blowing and blowing. The guitar tech was on stage behind the amps almost as much as SRV was. They still did a pretty good job, but you could tell SRV was getting pretty pissed off (who wouldn't?) at the thing going out over and over.
So glad I got to see him, though. Had no idea he experimented with so many amps...
A good friend of mine and now SRV disciple told me that show in Atlanta with JB was the first time he had ever seen SRV play and it ripped his head off and sent him off on a lifetime love and study of Stevie. It must not have been that bad of a show!! He said Beck was great but Stevie just stole the show. One of my great regrets is that I never got to see my hero in concert.
@@beachcomber4141 I dunno about that. I've always been a fan of SRV, but quite honestly I'd have to say that Beck was in another world that night... Just my opinion, though... They were both great - that is certain!
@@cornfilledscreamer614 Nice!! I so wish I could have been there to see those two share the stage. Saw Beck in 2016 I think open for ZZ Top and he was just phenomenal. Actually paid a lot for the ticket and got a private sound check with Jeff and his band. They did 4 songs for around 30 of us, and did People Get Ready. I could have left right then before the actual concert and been thrilled. Jeff is the only player I know of whose style keeps evolving into old age to that degree. Stevie was my man though, the day he passed was a dark day that still haunts me. One of the greatest losses to Guitar, and lord knows we have had a lot of them. Cheers brother!
@@beachcomber4141 Agreed. I was driving in my car when I heard SRV died - and just pulled over and cried. He was just sooooo good.
Completely agree with you about Beck, though. Nobody will ever sound like him - and (like you said) he just keeps evolving...
Two of the greatest!
@@cornfilledscreamer614 I was in a blues band at the time, and Stevie was my absolute hero. My girlfriend called me and told me either Clapton or SRV had died. I sat down in front of CNN and when his picture came up, my heart and stomach just sunk. It took a few days to get back to some kind of normal, but my normal was never quite the same as my hero was gone. To this day it still makes me so sad as a part of my youth died when he did. He was really that good, and he was such a good person as well helping people with substance abuse recovery issues. Me and some friends nicknamed him St. Stevie. Two of the greatest indeed!!!!
A very pleasant and interesting story, well told 👍
pleasure
The Marshall amp in the Grammy museum collection is a 1973-1974 Super Lead MK II not a Major. There are photos of the back of it online clearly showing this. I find this curious since these amps are definitely not renowned for clean headroom!
I had a dear friend who owned & operated a small guitar/amp shop ( and other instruments, gear, & components ) for years and he was one of the best local blues guitarists around central Florida. He gigged quite often. Being in business, he was always wheeling & dealing amps, gear, etc. So during one of his gigs back about 1995, he was playing through an old Marshall Country Gentleman ( I think that was it's name ) combo, BIG combo.......and man, did that amp bring the beef, with lots of headroom. One of his customers bought that amp rather quickly, ( no surprise there ), so I never heard him play through it again........nor have I seen or heard another one in person to this day. I have no idea if the amp was modded......but it sure sounded sweet.
Thanks for this, I played one back in the 90s ...great amp actually
I was first builder for DiazAmplification after his passing, i stil have documentation on his Vibroverbs..Cheers...
Amazing James - would be great to chat sometime
Do you still work on amps? I'm into changing up my gear from a modern Fender Mustang head and cabinet and looking to get into some good blues tube tones and, frankly I'm freaked out by all the different amps out there. Any suggestions would be great appreciated. Thanks
Damn Jim you’re still trying to profit off Cesar it’s disgusting…
Those Peavy Vintage amps are no joke. I had a buddy in high school so was huge into the blues and SRV along with his dad. They had a few of these amps and they sounded great. They also had an all original Super Reverb that was heavenly.
Yes I am sure those Peavys sounded ace
@@TheGuitarShow
Hey I used to own the very first (Fender Twin Reverb prototype) for many years. It also had a D-130 Speaker in it. Feel free to watch my video I did on the amp. Just look up my name Ross Southerland Fender Twin Reverb prototype. Thanks again and I always enjoy your videos!
@@rosssoutherland8118 that’s really interesting thanks I’ll check it out
Great video thank you
Cesar Diaz replaced the vibroverb output transformers with Fender Bassman output transformers? and replaced the superreverbs output transformers with fender twin reverb output transformers?
Yes but he did vary that
I understand what you are saying. The twin o/p txer is a better match for the Vibroverb. Bigger core and the turns ratio works out. I thought Tweed Bassman transformers were in the Super Reverb amps. That’s a good fit for those particular amps.
Great video Goose! I always learn something when watching your show, appreciate the effort that you put into making these.
“A Short History”, eh? Now where have I heard that before? 🤔
Really awesome video thanks for posting this. I always liked Stevie's tone better before he started using the Dumble amps. That said, in reality Stevie could use anything and sound great. RIP SRV
I agree with you although I loved his tone on the ODS amp before he had the SSS- thanks!
Excellent job. I first saw and met Stevie in Dec ‘81 or very early’82 at the Continental Club in Austin (small venue) and was using both his Vibroverbs and a pair of Club&Country Marshalls - shiny speaker domes visible thru all of them. VERY LOUD! He had six Strats in a home built stand sitting behind him. Unforgettable moment for me! Of course I saw him many other times using many different amps and the Steel String Singers were the greatest sounding ones in his hands.
If you’re looking for additional info there’s a fella in the Kentucky area by the name of Steve Wilson that was Stevie’s amp tech towards the last of Stevie’s life. Super amazingly nice fella and just a genius with amps and vintage gear. He now works with the Kentucky Headhunters. I can also attest that Mike Soldano is sheer genius as well. Been playing his amps for years. Appreciate you taking the time to put this video together!! Thank you!!
ruclips.net/video/uyfrMXgzUik/видео.html
Thanks for this info bro
@@TheGuitarShow Very welcome!! Here’s a video of a guy that found him and visited his shop. Such a cool guy!! ruclips.net/video/uyfrMXgzUik/видео.html
Peavey made great amps in the 70s and 80s
Agreed
I've got a Marshall C&C 4140 I bought from Ray Hennig used... it had several problems, including speakers out of phase and a bad (post-PI) master pot. It screams now... with a Hammond output transformer and Tesla E34L's. Curiously enough, it had those red Goodmans speakers when I got it... but I put in a pair of Celestion G80K's. I had hoped it had belonged to SRV... I guess not! If you read Gerald Weber's books he talks about Billy Gibbons telling him that his secret is to have multiple different amps going.
Gear obsession is beyond stupid. You don't need his amp, you need his fingers.
well said
I wonder if Dumble modded any of the other amps for srv?
Good question
Very nice. Thanks for sharing. Hail SRV!
Pleasure!
SHOUTOUT TO TOMMY! ... only playin his amps. best amps in the world imo
nice vid man.
...great overview!
Thanks Neil
great video!
Thanks Justin
@ 4:31 a bra hanging on a (mic?) stand 😁
this is cool info..but it was stevie
Among the greats, SRVs and early Van Halens tones are at the top of the heap. Both are sinewy and muscular. This video is likewise legendary and priceless. My journey for tone is satiated. Thank you.
The real master of the Stratocaster. Gone way too soon.
Agreed Ernest
Yes those are Studiomaster "LeadMaster: amps. I own two of them. Fitted with a Fane 12L
Thanks
What is in the rack at 12:00z
Very big thank you from Japan!!
Pleasure, my favourite guitars come from Japan - ESP Navigator!
I thought the Marshall Majors were 200 watts
Looks like at the .17 second picture, there is a blackface bassman, the cobra pictures, its on the left
So he used the best amplifiers that ever existed ,in tandem ,with the highest playing action, powered by a talent and intensity never before seen, to produce the best electric guitar sound that ever was.
He didn't have the best guitar sound that ever was...it was a good blues tone but there are plenty of incredible guitar tones rather than his overdriven ratty tones, that after a while does get a bit monotonous.
@@TheStrataminor you gonna back that up with some examples or just leave us to sigh at your ignorance of stevie's music?
Awesome! Thanks, i loved it.
Great video!
He should of just used a marshall jcm 800 half stack. Problem solved.
Hell ya. That, his strat, a few pedals and let’s go
@@randall9000 yep a few pedals and been done.