In this first video Nic Clark is dialing in the amp, the first time he's tried it. He gets the sound he likes at the end, with both tone and volume on about seven and a half.
This is what happened next: Nic playing the amp in a typical blues jam set.
As you may know, the amp is 15 watts from two 6V6 power tubes and one 10-inch Eminence Cannabis Rex speaker in a tweed Harvard cab. The only change from the previous video I put up is the amp has a 5751 preamp tube instead of the 12AY7.
There are a couple more tweaks planned for the amp. Bruce Collins from Mission amps wants to move the tone Nic got at end of his sound check to the "middle" of the amp, if you get what I mean. That should be its main character. He wants to give the amp a bit more openness and presence, making it a tad brighter. Very subtle. Just a tiny bit more cut. Nic called it "more push."
At 15 watts the amp was impressively loud, easily loud enough to keep up with a typical blues jam. It did not sound at all boxy or nasal. It has a big low end and never sounded ratty. In these videos the amp is not running though the PA system.
The amp still does not have a name. The roll-out is planned for a few weeks from now, and the selling price will be around $900.
As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome. It has been fun to have you guys join in the development process for this new amp.
Couple of quick questions related to other Mission amps. 1) Is there a Deep switch? 2) Is there a Boost switch? 3) Is there a line out? 4) Can power output be adjusted by bias setting? Thanks!
Last Edited by SmokeJS on Mar 25, 2013 10:29 AM
No Deep switch. No Boost switch. Yes, there is a line out. Can the power output be adjusted by the bias setting? I doubt it, but that is a question for Bruce Collins. I'll ask him.
Well Rick, I wouldn't exactly call that a "typical blues jam set". The rest of the band were very restrained and most jammers are not that considerate of others as you well know. Having said that the amp sounds like it has good potential.
Nic sounds great. The amp definitely was sitting on top of the mix in clip two. I am assuming there wouldn't be much headroom left, but in a typical bar, it appears feedback won't be an issue.
Rick, where were the vocal mains? It sounds like Nic is playing pretty laid back and the harp is hot in the mix. That is a good sign. IMO, that would SEEM to be a perfect band volume (the harp might even be too high?), so the amp had enough juice.
I'd like to hear it with the blues rock guys you play with too. It is a 15w amp, and it is only going to get you so much volume...with an amp like that, you just want the right sweet spot. While I am sure something like a Princeton Reverb would have as much volume, this gives you a different tone.
I LOVED my Double Trouble, but always felt it should have been louder than it was. I bet this amp is louder than a DT. ---------- Mantra Customized Harmonicas My Website
Kingley, blues jams can and do get louder than that. In fact -- if you want to get all factual about this -- they can get loud enough to overwhelm any harp amp. When that happens the host should step in and restore order. That is what I try to do. This set was pretty typical.
Rick - Don't get me wrong. I'm not having a go at you and I understand why you posted the clips you did. Of course we all know how loud blues jams can get and that harp can get drowned out. The point I was making was that the clip you posted is not "typical" of those situations. Obviously you're trying to portray the amp in the best possible light. Which is of course understandable. It would be nicer though to have more real world examples of the amp in action. For example. It would be nice to hear how it would cope in these more typical jam situations.
Mike, I am standing maybe 10 feet feet from the stage, between the vocal mains. So, neither of the mains is pointed directly at me. Nic played a 4-song set and I walked around the room to listen during his other songs. I could hear him okay all over the room. People were really digging it.
But it's not a Bassman. I played my Bassman and the new amp at the jam last night and the difference is dramatic. The new amp is what it is: a little 15-watt amp with nice tone and a cool bark. I think it has enough sound for most blues jam settings. But there will be times... Hell, there have been times when my Bassman was not loud enough!
Kingley, this is getting comical. The 3rd clip you posted is not Ziggies, and the other two were not particularly loud. This amp has about the same volume as a Blues Junior. Does that make it clearer for you? I think we can all imagine a blues jam set that would be too loud for it.
The clip I posted was not staged. It was a typical set with four players picked from the list in the order they signed up.
I'm not saying that the clip was "staged". What I'm saying plain and simple is that the clip you posted is not typical of most jam sets. Even the ones at Ziggies. You only have to look at the videos you have posted in the past to see and hear this.
Like I've already stated Rick, I'm not trying to have a go at you. Like I've stated previously, the amp sounds like it has good potential. It would be helpful though to everyone to hear it in a variety of settings. For instance, did anyone else play through it that night? Did it cope as well as when Nic played it? Did you have to line out or mic it up at any point in the night? Do you have videos of it being used by the other players?
Last Edited by Kingley on Mar 25, 2013 11:40 AM
FWIW, I would mic this amp 100% of the time and try to use it for stage monitoring. If it is as loud as a Princeton Reverb it would have been fine. I have an acoustic duo now, so it is a moot point. ---------- Mantra Customized Harmonicas My Website
Thanks Rick. That's a much better "real world" example in my opinion. Nic is having to work the amp more as the band whilst not necessarily much louder are much busier. Which sometimes makes thing appear louder than they actually are. Often forcing the harp to work harder to cut through the mix.
Kingley, we plan to play the newest version Wednesday night at Dan Treanor's jam at the D-Note in Arvada, CO. It will be Nic playing the amp and perhaps Dan as well. I'll get video. I'm pretty sure that will be the last step before Bruce starts to build them for sale.
That amp sounds very similar to my '60 tweed Fender Vibrolux, which also happens to be @ 12 watts (2 6V6 tubes through a 10" speaker) or a '59 Harvard - that's a good thing for $900. In the right situation (guitar player who knows how to back a harp) that configuration is ideal. In the wrong situation (loud guitar & drums) the Vibrolux needs help through the PA and I start to wish I had brought a Bassman to the gig (I have a SJ410 that weighs 90+lbs in its road case). I think it is the timeless issue we all face - we like the tone and easy to carry of a smaller amp but are forced to lug the big hoss amp to keep up with the volume race we really don't want to run.
