I recently acquired a used Mission 32-20 from a forum member. I only had a short period of time to mess with it inside the house. The advertising on the Mission web site is 100% spot on.
"This is not a bedroom amp!"
It is similar to trying to crank a Bassman in the house. It is way too loud. I had to turn the bass down a bit and flip the Deep switch to the off position to get this video. In the video, I was sitting way too close to the amp to avoid feedback. It's a very toneful little box with quite a few options that alter the tone which I don't think came across in the video.
After messing with it a bit at home, I decided to take it to Aki Kumar's blues jam. It held it's own quite nicely. I wish I had been able to get more video, but the battery on my camera suffered a premature death. I dont believe that it was as loud as Aki's Sonny Jr 410, but it was pretty darn close. As far as the tone, no one was complaining. It was fantastic.
It's pretty feedback resistant in fixed bias. I look forward to playing again. Possibly as soon as tonight or Monday night.
Joe, so glad you like it! To bad you had to flip off the Deep switch at home. It works the same as the Loudness switch in vintage HiFi gear.
The amp sounds great at the jam. That is the exact tone I was after when Bruce Collins and I developed it. It is powerful enough for all but the very loudest jams. It throws to the back of the room well. Nice crunch and color.
The 1x12 version like yours (and mine) are actually the model that Bruce sells least. Players demand multiple speakers. I don't understand it really... The amp sounds great in a relatively small and light package with the single 12-inch Eminence speaker. I've seen 50 watts on the scope while playing the amp!
Anyway, happy playing Joe. Go ahead and try all the combinations of setups, including Fixed/Cathode bias switch and the cathode bypass switch on the bottom of the chassis. The amp has many personalities. The one where Aki was playing at the jam is my favorite.
I don't have enough experience with it to tell which I like better. I didn't buy it to replace the DT, which I like a lot. I was going to buy a Masco PA, but this came up and you don't see them used very often. I decided to snag it.
I think this one is louder than the DT, but I'm not totally sure yet. The tone is different. ---------- The Blues Photo Gallery
I've had the opportunity to play this Mission amp out a few times. I've had it out five times.
The first time, I took it to Aki Kumar's jam. We used it on several tunes and were planning on doing an A-B test with his Sonny Jr 410. Unfortunately, there was some grounding issue on stage which effected both amps and made for an electrifying experience. (It has since been rectified.)
The second time, I took it to a jam. I brought a camera. Unfortunately, a sax player sat right in front of the camera. It didn't affect the sound quality dramatically, but I thought a video of the crotch of a middle aged, overweight sax player wouldn't be interesting to anyone.
The third time out, I took it to another jam. I forgot the camera. The fourth time, I loaned it to Aki Kumar for a low volume gig. The amp was way too loud for that place. It was on the lowest usable setting. He had the volume control on his mic way down in this video.
A few days ago, I replaced the 12AX7 in the preamp socket with a 12AY7 and it gave me quite a bit more usable range on the volume control. The amp came with a 12AX7. The volume control was pretty touchy.
Friday night, I sat in with Steve Freund. I brought the amp with me. I had the camera. I found a good spot to set it up. I had a hard time keeping the band in the video frame. This was all that I got with every one on stage. So far, I am pretty happy with this amp. I still have a bit of work to do to dial it in a bit where I want it.
There is a lot more volume to be had than where I had the amp and microphone set. I have noticed that the amp matches up pretty well with most of my microphones, but some do sound better. Right now, I am using a JT30 with a Shure 99A86 in it. There is less feedback and it seems to sound better.
I think the amp cuts although I,m not hearing a fat bottom end and believe that a delay or reverb unit of sort would enhance the Mission more,not overkill but maybe a touch.Maybe its the recording but thats what my ears are hearing.Thanks for the demo Joe.
The recording didn't pick it up or it could have been my playing. The one thing about this amp that surprised me is the amount of bottom end it has. When you are standing around it, you can feel it. I don't think it transferred over to the video.
Sounds good, especially on the 2nd song. Nice playing.
I don't think Bruce ever shipped a Mission 32-20 amp with a 12AX7 tube in V1. That had to be a mod from the previous owner. I recommend the JAN Philips 5751, about $30.
I've got one of those tubes in the stash, but I decided to run the Electro Harmonix 12AY7 instead to see how it sounded. I was using a JT30 with a Shure CM element that I picked up from Greg a few years ago.
I think the volume was set at 6, bass on 10, treble on 6 or 7. The volume control on the mic was at about 75%. I started with the volume around 7, but it seemed too loud. I dialed it back. (Surprisingly, it wasn't feeding back.) I didn't want to overpower Steve (guitar) or Burton (bass). Fixed bias setting. Deep switch was on. I can't remember where I had the little toggle switch on the bottom set. I think it was on.
I captured this one while messing with the amp at home. It still had the 12AY7 and 6L6's in it.
When I was going through the purchasing process, I contacted Bruce. He mentioned in one of the email messages that we exchanged that the first handful of amps went out with 12AX7's in them, but settled on the 12AY7 afterward.
While I own several pedals, I don't really use them outside of the house. I may try the Harp Delay and/or Harp Octave pedals with it. I'm really interested in trying the Harp Octave pedal with it.
I rarely use any pedals with the Mission amp, except a delay sometimes.
You have the treble up a little higher than I use it. Not saying I'm "right" about this, but I like the treble on about 3. The rest of your settings are the way I like them for blues jams.
Yeah, I'd like to hear how that Harp Octave pedal sounds with the amp. Since I know the amp so well I'd be able to tell exactly what effect the pedal has on it.
