Re: Amp question

[Russ Bradley <wbradley@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Mark,
Interesting observations.  Nothing like the empirical method to settle 
an issue.
Couple of questions from your amp tests:
1.  Was the Pro Jr. an original tweed with the alnico speaker, or was it 
the black tolex with the ceramic speaker?  BIG difference in the sound 
there.  If your friend has a black tolex one, tell him to try changing 
to an alnico speaker.  If it was a tweed/alnico Pro Jr. you were testing 
against, that puts the test in whole different light to me.
2.  How did the Kalamazoo hold up in the jam?  Did it have to be miked? 
 My tweed/alnico tubed-down Pro Jr. does a pretty good job of holding 
its own against a 50W Mesa Boogie and a drummer on steroids, and the 
Kalamazoo only has 1 EL84.  I like the sound of the Champs, but have 
found they don't cut through well when playing with loud guitars.

Thanks,
Russ

Mark Wilson wrote:

> > My vote is for a Fender Pro Jr. In my inexperienced, humble opinion it's
>definitely in the top 3 for
>
>>the money.
>>
>
>Lots of votes for the Pro Junior, but I have to disagree.  Mike Curtis got
>stuck in traffic coming to the Irvine Jam yesterday.  We had 7 or 8 harp
>players standing around so we decided to do an amp test/comparison.  We had
>4 small class A tube amps on stage, the Pro Jr, a 1955 Tweed Champ, a 1968
>Silverface Champ, and a Kalamazoo Model 1.
>
>We tested the amps with a Hohner Bluesblaster, an Astatic T3, and a Green
>Bullet.
>
>The Pro Jr. is a very good harp amp but really did not compare to the other
>3.  We even tried a couple of tube changes to try to improve the tone with
>no luck.  I would have no problem using the Pro Jr., but if I had a choice
>I'd go with either of the other 3 first.
>
>The 1955 Champ was a great harp amp.  This particular amp was owned by Rod
>Piazza up until a few years ago.  Very good tone and the amp broke up nicely
>even at lower volumes.  It would be the perfect amp for a low volume jam in
>your living room with a guitar player.  Once the music started it was a bit
>of a different story.  With the amp cranked and a tight cup on the mic it
>broke up too early and was almost too dirty sounding.
>
>
>The 1968 Silverface Champ is a supreme harp amp and performed much better
>than the 1955 Champ once the music started.  More volume and punch and quite
>a bit more leeway before it started to break up.  Clearly the better choice
>in a live music situation.  For low volume living room stuff I'd give the
>nod to the 1955.
>
>The good news for all you harp players on a  budget is that the Kazoo held
>its own just fine and was judged by several harp players as the best of the
>4.  The owner of the Pro Jr. is now in the market for a Kalamazoo Model 1
>himself.  The Kazoo has the stock tube setup but does have an upgraded
>Jensen C10Q speaker.  Great tone, smooth creamy breakup, and nice solid
>punch when you need it.  I let all the players choose which amp they'd like
>to play through and the Kazoo was the amp of choice followed closely by the
>1968 Champ.
>
>You can pick up these Kalamazoos on Ebay for about a hundred dollars.  Add
>the $35.00 Jensen C10Q and you've got yourself a harp amp that will hold it
>own just fine with all the other (class A) Fenders, Gibsons, Silvertones
>etc..
>
>Mark
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>--
>Harp-l is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org
>Hosted by ValuePricehosting.com, http://www.valuepricehosting.com
>
>