Rick Davis
478 posts
Jul 04, 2012
10:36 AM
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I decided to change things up. I swapped out the Weber alnico speakers I had in the bottom of my Bassman and put in two Eminence Lil' Buddy ceramic speakers. They got some Thump! (The top two speakers are stock Fender Alnico Blue.)
These speakers sound good not only in the little VHT Special 6 but also in the big 4x10. I don't think I'd want four of them in the amp but the mixture of mismatched speakers sounds cool.
Happy July 4th, everyone!
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-Rick Davis
Last Edited by on Jul 04, 2012 10:38 AM
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Greg Heumann
1674 posts
Jul 04, 2012
10:48 AM
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I think blending speakers is ALWAYS a good idea.
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/Greg
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bonedog569
557 posts
Jul 04, 2012
1:44 PM
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If your thinking of selling the original blues let me know.
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dougharps
211 posts
Jul 04, 2012
3:14 PM
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I recently put a 10" 'Lil Buddy in my 61/62 Gibson Explorer, GA 18T, 2 - 6V6 amp, and it made a remarkable improvement in the low frequencies. This GA 18T has the Tweed circuit with controls on the back of the top, not the Crestline circuit.
Previously the amp sounded too bright for the harp sound I wanted. When I spoke with a tech about amp tone mods to provide more low end in this amp, he suggested that a different speaker might be the place to start.
There was an old stereo woofer was in it when I got the amp. It was already cut for a 12" speaker when I got it. Specs said it originally came with a 10" speaker. I cut a new baffle and tried other 10" speakers (Mojotone ceramic, and Jensen alnico and ceramics) that I discovered emphasized the highs too much, and would feed back before getting loud enough. I tried putting a Weber 12A125S in it using the baffle that was in it when I got it, and it was loud enough, but too much treble.
I learned about the 'Lil Buddy from Rick's site, and decided to try one out.
My Gibson amp is now at least as loud with the 'Lil Buddy 10" as with any other speakers, even the 12" Weber, it is less prone to feedback, and has much better tone.
Thanks, Rick!
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Doug S.
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Rick Davis
479 posts
Jul 04, 2012
9:30 PM
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Doug, you're welcome!
When we were first modifying a VHT Special 6 amp last year we tried the Eminence Lil' Buddy because I had been using it's big brother -- the 12-inch Eminence Cannabis Rex -- for some time. I like the dark tone from the hemp cone. The improvement in the VHT amp was remarkable: deeper, bigger, and more colorful tone. I like the speaker a lot; very punchy. It has become the "go to" upgrade for many harp players who own the VHT Special 6 amp.
Bonedog - Sorry... I loaned the two other Blue Alnico speakers to the guitar player in my band. He installed them in his original blackface Super Reverb amp. Great tone.
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-Rick Davis
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Shredder
352 posts
Jul 05, 2012
9:37 AM
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Hey Rick, if you don't mind. What tube arraingment are you running.
Please start from left to right from the picture you posted above.
I have a Bassman like yours and was just looking for a compairison to my selection.
Mike
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Rick Davis
480 posts
Jul 05, 2012
10:01 AM
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Shredder, I don't mind at all. That's an old GE 5R4 rectifier. The power tubes are Tung Sol reissue 6L6GC STR. The preamp tubes are a mixture of NOS JAN Philips 5751 and NOS JAN Sylvania 5814A. Nothing too exotic or expensive.
The only mods that required soldering were beefing up preamp plate load resistors to deal with the 5814 tubes (12AU7 clones), and the installation of bias trim pots for the power tubes. The power tubes are biased rather cold.
That's it. It is pretty much a stock 1991 Fender Bassman RI. I do use some pedals with it.
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-Rick Davis
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Rick Davis
481 posts
Jul 05, 2012
10:13 AM
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I rarely use the Boss EQ pedal with the Bassman.
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-Rick Davis
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mrdon46
82 posts
Jul 05, 2012
9:37 PM
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Thanks for sharing, Rick. I recently finished my own 4x10 Bassman project (Mark Burnessified 5F6A circuit) and loaded it with a Lil Buddy, 10A125, 10A125-O, and one of those THD Vintage 10s they blew out on eBay a couple of years ago. I'm a fan of mixing speakers, and a particular fan of the Lil Buddy/10A125-O combo. I'll probably get around to replacing the THD with another Lil Buddy one of these days, I love the warmth and thump of these speakers for harp, but was wondering if 2 might be a bit too much--apparently not from your experience. Oh, and thanks too for your review of different coupling caps you did a while back on your blog--largely on your recommendation I went with the K40Y-9s, and though I can't say that it wouldn't have sounded just as good with another type of cap, it sure sounds great with them.
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Rick Davis
484 posts
Jul 06, 2012
10:16 AM
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Mrdon46, yeah, two Lil' Buddy speakers might be a bit much. They are way more efficient than the alnico speakers, particularly the Webers.
I actually took two Weber 10A125O 30-watt alnico speakers out of the Bassman and replaced them with the Lil' Buddys. The Webers were farting out on big low draw notes and were sounding a little too crunchy. I think the speakers were getting tired.
The two Lil' Buddys make the amp sound and feel louder before feedback, more muscular, deeper without being too muddy, and tons of thump. I'm not saying it is necessarily better tone than having four alnicos, just different. I'll leave the amp this way for a while and see how it feels in a few months. One of the Lil Buddys is already well broken in and the other is new.
BTW, any amp that has been breathed on by Mark Burness has gotta sound great...
ADDED: I'm glad you like the K40-Y paper in oil caps. I thought they were the clear winners when we did a head-to-head comparison test of a bunch of tone caps. I have them in most of my amps, but not the Bassman.
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-Rick Davis
Last Edited by on Jul 06, 2012 10:23 AM
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Rick Davis
485 posts
Jul 06, 2012
10:38 AM
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There is a downside: The Lil' Buddy speakers make the amp a little heavier. It weighs in at 61 pounds. A stock Bassman RI is 53 pounds.
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-Rick Davis
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Rick Davis
493 posts
Jul 08, 2012
10:20 PM
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I played the Bassman tonight on the stage at Ziggies in Denver and it sounded awesome. With the two Lil' Buddy speakers in the bottom the amp sounds bigger and brawnier. It is way more dynamic with less crunch and more thump. That is the biggest difference I think.
People noticed. I got tons of nice comments about my tone. I'm definitely happy with the speaker swap.
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-Rick Davis
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kenkneeb
1 post
Feb 05, 2013
10:21 PM
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I'll chime in here on both the "Lil' Buddy speaker upgrade and the VHT Special 6 (English - eBay) amp mod that Mike Sabitini (of MGS Sound Tech in So. Oregon) did for me... Wholly Fat, Raspy, Chain Saw-Totin' Moley!!! What a Great Sound! So far, it's my fave amp to date to play, no kiddin!
I happened to be lucky enough today to A/B my modded VHT 6 w/a 1967 Fender Vibrochamp (w/stock fender speaker) today at the local Guitar Center I was happily amazed at the differences in: Tone, Projection, Volume, Puch, Timbre, etc., that the VHT exhibited when comparing it to the Vibrochamp. IMHO, the VHT was clearly superior to the Vibrochamp in every category, hands down.
My next desire would be to put the VHT 6 into a larger cabinet and put a 12" Cannabis Rex in it to compare the difference in the above categories. Anybody have an idea whether a combo cabinet exists which would fit/be easily retrofit, to house both the Special 6 and a 12" Cannabis or am I left (again) to my own devices?
And I hear y'all on the 'weight gain w/the Lil' Buddy, however, I feel like this is puttin' on the pounds in exactly the right areas.
BTW, shortly I'll be selling my nearly new Harp Gear 1210 and Sonny Jr. Avenger amps. Both are in excellent condition, Never Gigged with and come with custom amp covers. Both amps have very little playing time on them and have rarely been out of my heated/AC studio however, its time to help them find a new homes.
I bought the HarpGear directly from Brian Purdy himself about 6 months ago and I did the finishing. I applied a total of 8 coats: 1 coat of shellac & 7 coats of lacquer, to the tweed. It looks great!
The Sonny Jr. Avenger is, I believe, about a year and a half old & I bought it off of a fellow player on eBay, and I've played it rarely. It's got massive tone, crunch, etc. along with the upgraded copper rectifier that Gary/Sonny Jr. recommended. It also came with Fender Tilt-back legs that I removed, but I will include.
I'll be taking pictures of both amps and uploading them shortly in the proper thread here and also listing them on eBay. I'm asking $1400 for each amp.
Thanks for this great resource and many thanks to Greg Heumann for all his time, his magic mics, the mods and his good listening skills!
Harp On!
Ken Becker
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Rick Davis
1282 posts
Feb 06, 2013
6:03 AM
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Wow, it is cool to see this old post pop up again. It is also cool to see that I have not changed the Bassman at all since then (July 4, 2012). My compulsive tinkering has moved on to other projects. I like the Bassman the way it is now.
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-Rick Davis
The Blues Harp Amps Blog
The Mile High Blues Society
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Rick Davis
1283 posts
Feb 06, 2013
6:14 AM
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The Weber alnico speakers that I had in the bottom of the Bassman were the good harp speakers: 10A125-O with the smooth cone and H dustcap. Compred to the Lil' Buddy speakers they sounded kind of dead in the Bassman. The speaker swap really made the amp sit up and sing.
So, I put the Weber speakers in a 2x10 Avatar cab and gave it to my GF's son who plays in a rock band. Yikes! He gets massive tone from the Webers. Ya just never know...
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-Rick Davis
The Blues Harp Amps Blog
The Mile High Blues Society
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