[Harp-L] Blackface Fender Mods

[John Kally <jkally3@xxxxxxx>]

Hi All,
Just a quick report on some work I had done by Don D (longtime list 
member and member of the Bernadettes band) to my 1964 Concert. Here's 
the story;  I got the amp cheap as it had previously been mucked around 
with electronically (a hole drilled in the front panel for a master 
volume, and other things done) and speakers switched to 12s so it was 
far from stock.  Anyway, Don rebuilt the tone stack (more bass on bass 
knob, and treble knob now acts as a feedback fighter for common 
troublesome frequencies)  and put in a master volume and midrange, a 
switchable negative feedback loop remover, and brought voltages down 
with a Weber copper cap.  All of this was done without drilling and 
everything is reversible, a consideration on valuable vintage amps.   
The result was a much more versatile amp, for sure, and it has some 
sounds now that I've never gotten out of a blackface, including more of 
a tweed bassman sound among others that can be dialed in.   I used this 
with the guys I usually play with, and they were pretty impressed.  I 
also loaned this out as the house amp for last weeks' Blues Harmonica 
Blowout at the Rhythm Room, and got to hear it played by a variety of 
pretty good players with different mics and styles before going up and 
using it myself.  It filled a medium sized club without mic'ing, with 
power to spare, and was as loud as the other amp on stage, a 62 Brown 
Concert owned by the host harpist Bill Tarsha.   Lots of raves from the 
players that used it, and others in the audience.
By having the mod done, I no longer need to use the mic preamp I'd been 
using previously, which is nice as I like to keep things simple.   And 
the range in tones is something I can spend a lot of time working with 
for some variety.
Additional plusses: Don knows his stuff. All work was done neatly and 
professionally.  And it took less time for me to send it across the 
country, get it serviced, and get it back than it might have taken my 
own amp tech (who is good, but not knowledgeable about harp mods)  who 
might still have it on the bench today.    Also, the charges were very 
fair considering the amount of work done and the results.  I'd 
recommend contacting Don if you're thinking about  making your Fender 
(point-to-point) amp more harp-friendly.   His email is
mdestefano@xxxxxxxx  and you can tell him I sent you (usual 
disclaimers: I'm just a happy customer, and maybe a repeat customer 
some day in the future!).