bazzzzou
99 posts
Sep 26, 2011
5:42 PM
|
it is a harp friendly amp????
|
Joe_L
1475 posts
Sep 26, 2011
5:52 PM
|
Have you tried playing it? If not, why? If so, did you like it?
Did you search the archives and/or check David Barrett's Vintage Collection web site?
----------
The Blues Photo Gallery
|
bazzzzou
100 posts
Sep 26, 2011
6:01 PM
|
yes its in the David Barrett's Vintage Collection web site, but I want the opinion of others haha, i didnt find anything in the archives
|
shbamac
166 posts
Sep 26, 2011
6:10 PM
|
I love silvertones. Got two 1432's. One of which I'll be making a new cab for with two twelves.
|
Joe_L
1476 posts
Sep 26, 2011
6:38 PM
|
It's been my experience that David Barrets site is accurate. I would ask this question on Ted Weber's forum.
----------
The Blues Photo Gallery
|
orphan
78 posts
Sep 26, 2011
7:30 PM
|
I have a Silvertone 1484 Two Twelve. It is a good amp for harp IMO. Although it is called a 50w amp, it is more like a 30w. It gets good break up both in the tubes and the alnico speakers. It doesn't have a big fat bottom. The tubes are all original Silvertone tubes. Skip Simmons said they were made by RCA. I had him check out the amp this past summer. It is light compared to most other amps. When I gig with it, I almost always have to mic it through the PA. Has a nice warm tremolo, which I seldom use, The reverb isn't useful to me at all. I agree with Joe L, you should play through one to see how it sounds to you. But to answer your question, it is a harp friendly amp without doing any tube subs or mods. That is not to say it couldn't be better with some tweaking. After talking with Skip, I decided to leave everything as is.
|
Matzen
332 posts
Sep 26, 2011
7:44 PM
|
About 12 years ago I worked in a guitar shop and I'd get people comming in selling old Silvertones all the time. I purchased a bunch of them (8 or 9) for around $20 a peice. I really wish I would have held onto them. I just thought they looked cool. I didn't really play them much since I was rocking out on Marshall half stacks and Mesa Triple Recs, which I thought were the best amps out there at the time!
----------
|
MP
1846 posts
Sep 27, 2011
12:21 PM
|
Pete Sheridan, a great guy and author of 'The Quest for Tone in Amplified Blues Harmonica' used the brain from one of these driving a home made 4X10 cab last i looked.
some years ago we spent quite a few hours talking,buying, and trading gear.
the twin twelve seems to be Silvetones lower budget answer to the fender twin but has more crunch.
it's been a few years since i've played these amps but i remember they sound pretty good if you dial them in just right.
----------
MP
doctor of semiotics and reed replacement.
"making the world a better place, one harmonica at a time"
Last Edited by on Sep 27, 2011 12:22 PM
|
bharper
58 posts
Sep 27, 2011
5:48 PM
|
I have never owned the Two Twelve Silvertone, but a friend was considering buying one and asked me to try it. I advised against it for a couple of reasons: As it says on Barrett's Vintage Collection page, the amp is cheaply made and not really rugged enough to take the punishment of regular gigging. Also, it was not nearly as loud as I expected. This may have been due to some worn-out components (everything looked original).
Getting it fixed up by a reputable tech will take some money, and that makes little sense with the current availability of great new harp amps that are road ready and have monstrous tone. Really, old vintage amps don't offer much advantage at all. The mojo is in your mind. We are in the golden age of harp amps right now.
|
jimr
25 posts
Sep 27, 2011
7:06 PM
|
Silvertone amps are generally at least very good harp amps. A 1957 amp is probably quite different from the more common 1960's Twin Twelve. One of the double twelve in speaker Silvertones from about that time, model 1474, had four 6l6 power tubes (vs two in the 1484) and two output transformers, one for each speaker. I am pretty sure the amp has a particle board cabinet which is pretty delicate. But... a 1474 in good shape would be a real find. I have not been inside a 1474, but the 1484 circuity is a rats nest, and therefore difficult to service.
|
