Music Man HD150

[JTE]

Input 2 on all the Music Man amps was just like the two on Fender amps since the '50s. It's got a resistor across it so if you plug ANYTHING into jack 2, the level from BOTH jacks is reduced. It's a hold over from everyone in a band plugged into one amp, and this gave the amp a little protection...

Never had any time with an HD-150, but I used an HD-130 as my sole amp form 1977-1981, and kept it for a lot of gigs until about 2000. Spoke with a nice tube authority- there's something I like about the way good tube power amps react. The tone stack is very Fenderish, and the owners' manual did indeed say the Bass channel was designed for "bass heavy" instruments. I think the center for the tone bass tone control was different. I used the Bass channel, never found jumpering the two channels to offer anything useful.

Worked great with my Precision and my StingRay (I had a full Music Man set up for a long time- HD-130, 212RH cabinet, and a brand new 1979 StingRay). Never used the 2nd input because even the early G&L L-1000 didn't overdrive the preamp with the normal input.

John

[RCCollins]

Originally Posted by B-string

You are aware that it is a hybrid amp? SS preamp and tube output.

Those kind of hybrids are pretty rare, making them desirable to some of us!

[sunbeast]

Originally Posted by RCCollins

Those kind of hybrids are pretty rare, making them desirable to some of us!

+1- I didn't ever realize that it was a great tone until my guitarist bought one. I actually ended up trading him my coveted vintage 50 watt Bassman head for it and never regretted it (he also threw in some cash on his end too, so that worked out well for me). I didn't find the 2 amps to sound that similar, but come to think of it I think that was mostly due to the much higher headroom of the HD-130 (though it definitely couldn't get the smoother compressed bass tones of the Bassman).

[eddiemac]

I've got an HD-150 I picked up at a pawn shop for $165 about ten or more years ago. I thought it might be an answer to my prayers, but I actually never warmed to it. Every time I've brought it to a gig, I've ended up switching back to my GK 800RB. It doesn't have the punch I want, and it always seems to have a slightly raspy tone no matter how I set it. I found the normal channel to be superior for most use, but the bass channel really does get down there. Maybe I should run through both. What's kind of cool is you can get fully usable sounds all the way down to zero on the volume knob. I can't tell any difference in the high or low gain toggle, so I always used the low.

[B-string]

Originally Posted by RCCollins

Those kind of hybrids are pretty rare, making them desirable to some of us!

You maybe read too much into my statement?
The fact is it is no more a "classic tube" amp than my Fusion 550. I was just hoping he would not go looking for preamp tubes since he called it a tube amp

[RCCollins]

Originally Posted by B-string

You maybe read too much into my statement?
The fact is it is no more a "classic tube" amp than my Fusion 550. I was just hoping he would not go looking for preamp tubes since he called it a tube amp

Maybe, but it's pretty different from your Fusion 550 (which may well become a classic *eventually*). Despite the current trend of tube preamps (even in class D amps!) a tube power section is where a lot of the vibe and FEEL of a tube amp comes from - especially with clean sound.

[B-string]

Originally Posted by RCCollins

Maybe, but it's pretty different from your Fusion 550 (which may well become a classic *eventually*). Despite the current trend of tube preamps (even in class D amps!) a tube power section is where a lot of the vibe and FEEL of a tube amp comes from - especially with clean sound.

I have played both tube and SS for decades (and been repairing longer than gigging). JIMHO I disagree. But that is what makes the world keep spinning .
The Fusion 550 is unique in that it uses high plate voltage. Unless I want output section saturation it's preamp delivers what I long for. YMMV

[sunbeast]

I've owned and played through lots of tube and solid state amps and never had or was fortunate to play through another amp that sounds/feels like these Music Man heads. There are plenty of solid state amps with nice saturated preamp capabilities, but they don't have the same dynamic feel or unique clean punch under pressure (a very forgiving and punchy saturation) of a high voltage clean tube power amp. I have played solid state preamps through the power amps of all the tube amps I've owned, and that combination can give some of the best punchy clean tones I've ever come across. The Music Man HD-130 wasn't my favorite head all things accounted for, but they definitely have their place, and I often regret flipping mine for yet another bass I didn't need! Have you ever actually played through one?

[RCCollins]

Originally Posted by sunbeast

I've owned and played through lots of tube and solid state amps and never had or was fortunate to play through another amp that sounds/feels like these Music Man heads. There are plenty of solid state amps with nice saturated preamp capabilities, but they don't have the same dynamic feel or unique clean punch under pressure (a very forgiving and punchy saturation) of a high voltage clean tube power amp. I have played solid state preamps through the power amps of all the tube amps I've owned, and that combination can give some of the best punchy clean tones I've ever come across. The Music Man HD-130 wasn't my favorite head all things accounted for, but they definitely have their place, and I often regret flipping mine for yet another bass I didn't need! Have you ever actually played through one?

My feelings exactly

[BZadlo]

Originally Posted by RCCollins

My feelings exactly

+2
A great platform for effects too.

[ninepoundjammer]

Originally Posted by sunbeast

I've owned and played through lots of tube and solid state amps and never had or was fortunate to play through another amp that sounds/feels like these Music Man heads. There are plenty of solid state amps with nice saturated preamp capabilities, but they don't have the same dynamic feel or unique clean punch under pressure (a very forgiving and punchy saturation) of a high voltage clean tube power amp. I have played solid state preamps through the power amps of all the tube amps I've owned, and that combination can give some of the best punchy clean tones I've ever come across. The Music Man HD-130 wasn't my favorite head all things accounted for, but they definitely have their place, and I often regret flipping mine for yet another bass I didn't need! Have you ever actually played through one?

My feelings exactly.

[ninepoundjammer]

Originally Posted by B-string

You maybe read too much into my statement?
The fact is it is no more a "classic tube" amp than my Fusion 550. I was just hoping he would not go looking for preamp tubes since he called it a tube amp

Exactly not my feelings.

[jnewmark]

Guys, I appreciate your input, but I hope this is'nt going to turn into another TUBE vs SS pissing contest. Please ?

[Chef]

You heard the OP: let's stay on topic.

thx

[B-string]

Originally Posted by jnewmark

Guys, I appreciate your input, but I hope this is'nt going to turn into another TUBE vs SS pissing contest. Please ?

Thumbs up!

Originally Posted by Chef

You heard the OP: let's stay on topic.

thx

Best wishes

[Chef]

Actually, I have the power to keep things on topic.



I'd much prefer not using it though.

[jnewmark]

This low power/high power switch thing is interesting. Her is a quote from Steve Kennedy, who runs the Music Man Amps website, and seems to answer all the tech questions on the site:

"Generally, it is MUCH easier on a Music Man amp if you run it ALL the time at Low power and only use the High power setting when Low Power proves to be inadequate for the situation. The amp will run cooler and the tubes will last a LOT longer at Low Power.

The audio level difference between the two settings can vary from un-noticeable to "just enough to get over the top" (depending on a variety of factors including speakers and impedance and AC power sourcing). The audio difference your ear will hear between 75 and 150 watts is not all that much and is actually much smaller than the numbers would indicate."

[sunbeast]

I definitely noticed it on mine, especially when it was biased correctly with some really hefty power tubes in it. When I first got it and for awhile after that it had some cheaper tubes in it that were getting a pretty hot bias for their taste (only realized this later) and developed some noise issues after not too long- my guitarist that traded it to me would always run it on the lower power with those tubes (I came along and pushed them over the edge by using the full power for bass!).

[nashvillebill]

Incidentally, Peavey also had a SS preamp/tube power amp design from the same time period. Look for the Classic, Deuce,and Mace heads (more typically they were found in combos though) in the VT or VTX series. Maybe the Heritage too?

My Classic VTX is also switchable between High and Low power, it cuts B+ in half for low power. The really interesting part about this design: it uses a transistor bias circuit for the power tubes, which always delivers constant bias current. I think some of the Musicmans might've used a similar bias arrangement.

[jnewmark]

Originally Posted by sunbeast

I definitely noticed it on mine, especially when it was biased correctly with some really hefty power tubes in it. When I first got it and for awhile after that it had some cheaper tubes in it that were getting a pretty hot bias for their taste (only realized this later) and developed some noise issues after not too long- my guitarist that traded it to me would always run it on the lower power with those tubes (I came along and pushed them over the edge by using the full power for bass!).

Might have to look into a tube swap sooner or later. What tubes did you finally use ? The head I'm getting from a fellow TB'er visited a tech not too long ago, so should be trouble free for awhile ( I hope ! ). Gonna run this as clean as I can, so, any tips on where the knobs should be ? The channel bridging thing is interesting also, never did this before. From what I've been able to learn on the Music Man site, it seems to be 50-50 as to if it makes a huge difference or not; seems to be more of an added eq option more than anything else.