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Fender Studio Bass Club!

#221
pfschim said:
So, if you can get your hands on a Super Twin (which are a bit easier to find - more of them were made) you can always put some sort of EQ in front of the amp and still get the all tube greatness these amps can do for your tone.

good luck
Click to expand...

after owning 3 SB's and 2 ST's, I could hardly tell the difference between their graphic eq center frequencies, if at all, and the ST that I have right now is the best sounding one of the bunch so far.
 
#224
I am now thinking the Studio Bass seller may well be a time waster. He first contacted me after I posted an ad in Audiofanzine and OnlyBass and I have called him weekly since Dec 15. I have not seen yet the pictures that he promised, he often says he is away from his place, I am not sure now that the flood is real, he is either not serious or too busy recovering from the flood...

I will now rather jump on the first opportunity that arises, be it a Super Twin. I will address the head enclosure issue later on (as I feel reluctant to chop the head from a piece of history...)

Pfschim, the only cabinet that Mojotone lists with a 24-1/2" chassis width is their Twin Reverb, not the Super Twin (both and the Studio Bass need a 24-1/2" wide slot). It provides room for the spring reverb in the bottom (height: 9-1/2"). The Mojotone option is not discarded.

Just for fun, as I have a 1978 135W Twin Reverb at home, I will test tomorrow how it works for bass with my AK115 400W Hartke bass cabinet using the 'normal' clean channel. Just need to put some preamp valves back in the right position, if I can remember.

Thank you all for the advice given.
 
#225
BassNeo said:
I just weighed my combo - I scales in at well over 110 lbs. The head in the showman case weighs 47, the cab and 15 are - wait for it - 75! For my 40something purposes, id say brutal heavy. Someone has put handles on the cab, but at that weight I swore that (a) I'd never load it in/out to a gig and (b) leave it on stage for someone to knock over because the cab is so shallow and top heavy.

But that's personal opinion. Hopefully Glazenn gets the Studio reasonably and can add to the collection!
Click to expand...

sorry brother, I was only talking about the head, not the original combo config when I mentioned weight. I only have the head, so thats all the weight I have to deal with, and it's not so bad really.
 
#226
johnk_10 said:
after owning 3 SB's and 2 ST's, I could hardly tell the difference between their graphic eq center frequencies, if at all, and the ST that I have right now is the best sounding one of the bunch so far.
Click to expand...

John_K, Have you noticed any substantial difference in output power between the Studio Bass (rated: 200W) and the Super Twin (rated: 180W) with the same speaker? This makes on the paper a 10% gap only. Do you know what in the schematics makes that difference? 8 W single speaker vs. 4 W (2 x 8 W in parallel) speakers? This does not seem logical.

The Super Twin was produced in 1975-1977 and the Super Twin Reverb and the Studio Bass were in 1977-1980. From what you know, were all models of ST, STR or SB with a black grill cloth or were some with a silver grill cloth from factory ?

Last, I have come across this interesting discussion here.
 
#228
johnk_10 said:
I have noticed no power output difference between between the 180W and 200W amps.
and every one that I've seen has had black grill cloth.
Click to expand...

I do not have the electrical engineering knowledge to read schematics in detail, but I believe I read some discussion somewhere on the interwebs (could even have been here on TB AFAIK) that suggested the power ratings difference between the 180w STR and the 200w SB are just the result of Fender using a different (higher) distortion (THD%) rating for the SB.

Just as a bit of additional trivia; when I got my SB I wanted to have it checked out by a tech, so I went looking for schematics. johnk_10 has one on his web site, and I requested one from the Fender archive. In the end I got two schematics for the SB. One shows as 180w (not sure of the ohms), and the other shows as 200w 8ohm. There are some differences in the preamp tube types, and the trannies had a bit different codes, but otherwise they seemed the same.

who knows?

enjoy!
 
#229
i agree.
it's just like when the pre-cbs 1963 AB763 showmans, dual showmans, and twin reverbs rated at 85 watts, were later rated by CBS at 100 watts even though they actually had the same power output (same output tubes and transformers. IMO, it was more of a marketing ploy since people were always looking for more powerful amps in the late 60's/early 70's.

CBS did however, later change the power transformers, rectifier circuit and biasing circuits in the mid to late 70's dual showmans & twin reverbs to up their output to 135 watts, but IMO, they didn't sound as good as the earlier ones.

IMO, it's would be nearly impossible to tell the difference between a 180w and a 200 watt tube amp anyway.
 
#230
The quest is over... Just got this one from ebay. :hyper:

$_57.jpg
 
#231
Glazenn said:
The quest is over... Just got this one from ebay. :hyper:

$_57.jpg
Click to expand...

very cool. So tell us what you plan to do with this 45lb (20.4kg) wonder. Will you just use it as is, unplug the guitar speakers and run it into a true bass cab, or will you pull the amp section and put it into a proper headcase (original or aftermarket).

do tell.

congratulations/félicitations mon ami
 
#232
pfschim said:
very cool. So tell us what you plan to do with this 45lb (20.4kg) wonder. Will you just use it as is, unplug the guitar speakers and run it into a true bass cab, or will you pull the amp section and put it into a proper headcase (original or aftermarket).

do tell.

congratulations/félicitations mon ami
Click to expand...

Thank you.
I don't want to damage the combo cabinet and I will make a DIY head cabinet. I have already made the drawings, sourced 18mm pine wood, ordered the tolex and the grill cloth. I will recover hardware from the combo (handle, corners, straps, logo), keeping everything reversible. I gave up bothering with finger joints, I will glue and screw flat joints, and ensure the box will hold steady by gluing a plywood piece (with big vent holes) behind the grill cloth.
I have a Hartke AK 400W 115 that I am pleased with and that I have already tested for bass with my 135W Twin Reverb. With the Super Twin now, I think I will also need an AK410 soon.
 
#233
DSCN2312RR.jpg


Wood work complete. Copied from my Silverface Twin Reverb. After the picture was taken, the inside has been painted in black. Now waiting for the Tolex, grillcloth and hardware coming from Germany (for those in need of rare tubes for the Super Twin Reverb preamp, I have found this Invalid Link Removed)
 
#234
Glazenn said:
DSCN2312RR.jpg


Wood work complete. Copied from my Silverface Twin Reverb. After the picture was taken, the inside has been painted in black. Now waiting for the Tolex, grillcloth and hardware coming from Germany (for those in need of rare tubes for the Super Twin Reverb preamp, I have found this Invalid Link Removed)
Click to expand...
"Rare tubes"? I thought everything in the preamp was a 12AX7/7025 variant?
 
#237
very cool that you have finished the project.
but, for some reason, I cannot see the pics in your last post, or on the post you provided a link to.

I am about to have my Studio Bass recapped based on feedback I got here on TB. It sounds great, but I do not want to risk the 35+ year old electrolytics exploding on me and possibly taking out my transformers.

enjoy!
 
#238
I want to re-ask my question about how to record and DI the Studio Bass (which would also be the same for the Super Twin and Super Twin Reverb)

The Studio Bass (and the other amps mentioned) has a Line/Recording Out 1/4inch output jack. Can I just run a line from this output into the PA for DI purposes, or do I need a DI box in between.

For recording, can this output just be plugged into a board/interface ?

nothing in the very limited manual gives any solid info on this.
 
#239
pfschim said:
very cool that you have finished the project.
but, for some reason, I cannot see the pics in your last post, or on the post you provided a link to.
I am about to have my Studio Bass recapped based on feedback I got here on TB. It sounds great, but I do not want to risk the 35+ year old electrolytics exploding on me and possibly taking out my transformers.
enjoy!
Click to expand...

Thank you.

I hope it's back to normal now (I have confirmed the pictures permission in OneDrive to 'public').

Do you know a good article on the caps issue that you are mentionning ? I have a SF Twin Reverb that is 35 years old and never had this problem... However, the lady that sold me the Super Twin says it has stayed unplayed in the bedroom for 30 years...
 

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