shagboy wrote:

llllllllllllllllllllllll wrote:ow, ice-picks

would you apply that description to similar fender amps too, or is this just a musicman thing for you?

I haven't played any fender amps comparable to the little 10-inch mm a friend had, so I suppose no? Keep in mind the guy had a strat and some crappy stomp boxes, so that probably didn't help the sound coming out of the amp.

I had a little deluxe clone that I used to get Neil Young sounds out of with an SG Classic... not bright at all.

celestion vintage 30's, or greenbacks.
I like the green backs.

From The Tube Amp Book: 4.1 Edition by Aspen Pittman:

"[Musicman amps] were some of the very first hybrid amps, using a solid state preamp to drive a tube output section...I think the very best sounding ones were the very first models with a 7025 tube driver to push the output tubes. They later changed this section to a solid state device and I think lost some of the warmth and touch the early ones had. The early ones to look for were the models 65 and 130 with the numbers written out in script (IE:one-hundred thirty) on the lower right hand corner of the cabinet"

Glueman - could the difference you noticed be attributed to this change in design?

beelzebubbles wrote: As far as replacement speakers...I'd go with the Vintage 30's or Greenbacks. You can usually pick these amps up for less than $500. Lotsa bang for the buck.

I play an HD130 through a Mesa 2x12 cabinet with vintage celestion 30s and I love it. When I drive the preamp hard, I can get a really unique kind of distortion. It's kind of blary, kind of shrieking as someone said earlier, but not in a negative way. It definitely stands out - people always complimented me on my guitar tone. When I drive it hard, I get very little fuzz or crunch (which I'm glad for). If you keep the channel and master reasonable levels though, you get a full clean sound, which is great if you have a lot of pedals, a weird guitar, or just want a clean sound.

I also agree with N.C. - my amp is really response dynamically to how I play the guitar plugged into it. I'm extremely happy with my setup, and the amp has held up well (I've been to the shop to replace guitar cables more than I have to get it serviced).

I have a 1x12 65 watt combo. A reliable workhorse (it was a back up on two month long tours that ended up being the main amp in the first week) that sounded pretty damn good. The original speaker finally crapped out and I had a Weber put in that sounds even better.

For the money I've put into it (initially $300 off Ebay, another hundred with the new speaker and a new reverb tank), its been more than worth that in quality and reliability.

readysetrawk wrote:From The Tube Amp Book: 4.1 Edition by Aspen Pittman:

"[Musicman amps] were some of the very first hybrid amps, using a solid state preamp to drive a tube output section...I think the very best sounding ones were the very first models with a 7025 tube driver to push the output tubes. They later changed this section to a solid state device and I think lost some of the warmth and touch the early ones had. The early ones to look for were the models 65 and 130 with the numbers written out in script (IE:one-hundred thirty) on the lower right hand corner of the cabinet"

I've got the 65 described above; my wife has the 130 combo (4x10). Both sound great. I use closed back 10" cabs, hers is open back and does sound pretty Twin-y, but there's something about it that I think is nicer. I always get compliments on my tone, although I've had a hard time getting it to tape. However, after a recent practice, during which I found myself marvelling all over again at my own tone , I've decided to rededicate myself to getting that amp on tape (I used an Alessandro Hound Dog on my last record, and a Sound City 50 on the previous two). -E

The guitarist in my band has a 212 HD130--we love it. A little less harsh (maybe) than the Twin in our shared space...softer in the upper mids. You might want to check out this very useful site.

Some of the "Phasor" units apparently had a neat trick involving pulling out the rate pot which allowed manual control of the sweep. Weird.

These amps are loud, heavy, and run hot. Put a fan back there and make your tubes last. Recap, if it hasn't been done.

I love this amp. Did I say that? And I play the stupid drums.

Hi!

My guitarist recorded all the clean & crunch (clean channel + keeley moded DS1) with a MusicMan head. With a cool '79 SG it sounded great (we like it at least).
As said , very "fenderish"... I think MM amps rules.

I know recording depend on many things but on the CLEAN part you can hear it there :

http://myspace.com/lesjoursseuls

All the clean are recorded with a MM head + Orange Cab.
Hope it help you in a way.
/Nick.

hey, i picked up the amp.... against my better judgement. but i've never seen another musicman for sale locally so i couldn't resist.

it appears to have been heavily modified, mostly for hte worse. input 1 on each channel has apparently been disabled and reconnected to two new jacks installed on the back, right above the power tubes. huh?! they seem to sound different, but i can't tell how, exactly. also, one of them has a grounding problem and hums and feeds back in the very high frequency. no matter, i can use the input 2 of each channel.

the reverb tank is non-original, and has the $40 price tag right on it. well isn't that great. the speakers are 120 watt dean markley 'magnums'... they are slightly dented... !

there's a switch that disengages two of the power tubes, resulting in saturation at lower volumes... but the power tubes are el34s, resulting in a different kind of distortion than one would expect from a fenderish amp.

the silver grille cloth and music man decal are gone, replaced with a black cloth. but the "212 HD one fifty" decal is still there in the bottom right corner.

the sound? interesting. not amazing. it can be very harsh if the treble is improperly set, and the reverb is extremely resonant at certain frequencies. the crunchy sound you get with the master turned down and the volume turned up is unique. the phaser can be stopped (you pull out the speed knob) and set to any point in the cycle (twist it either way when pulled out), which is interesting. the bass response is very good. the mid EQ does almost nothing, but the treble and bass knobs are extreme. there is a 'deep' switch which seems to add a lot of bass to the 2nd channel.

i managed to get the price down a hundred bucks by mentioning these oddities... i still think i overpaid, but i'm intrigued by the variety of quirks and possibilities for new tones.

oh yeah, and i'm pretty sure this is the amp used for the guitar on slanted and enchanted (and the earlier pavement EPs). in fact, it must be. i can turn a couple knobs and, with a strat, get the exact same recorded tone.

crazy world, crazy world

pretty fucking good at band practice... sounds like a gaddamn $2000 vintage fender amp

evanrowe wrote:Some of the "Phasor" units apparently had a neat trick involving pulling out the rate pot which allowed manual control of the sweep. Weird.

Wow. I've had mine for a couple months now and only just now heard about this. So I go over and check it out - sure enough, it's a pull pot.

Anyway, shagboy, I noticed you got the amp. I love my MM and I would have recommended it to you for the original price, but that deal is even better. You need to track down an unmodified one, now.