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Head/Cab Combo Question

#21
A 300 watt tube head and a 2x15 would be thunderously glorious! In lieu of that, a 4x12, 8x10, 6x10, one of those Mesa 4x10-1x15 combo cabs would be great! By chance are you a young, strong man? A hundred pound amp and a 150 pound cab, is something to consider. Both from a "do I want to move this?" perspective, to "do I have the transportation to do it?" perspective. A serious consideration for us old guys! Good luck with whatever you choose. It will be fun regardless.
 
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#23
Gougedeye said:
A 300 watt tube head and a 2x15 would be thunderously gloious! In lieu of that, a 4x12, 8x10, 6x10, one of those Mesa 4x10-1x15 combo cabs would be great! By chance are you a young, strong man? A hundred pound amp and a 150 pound cab, is something to consider. Both from a "do I want to move this?" perspective, to "do I have the transportation to do it?" perspective. A serious consideration for us old guys! Good luck with whatever you choose. It will be fun regardless.
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I'm 60 and built like a pencil. :D However I've worked at manual labor most of my life so I'm fairly fit. I could hang with it.
 
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#26
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#27
Passinwind said:
I'm just curious about how worthwhile such a mod would actually be, in my usual way. ;)
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@Passinwind ...
Ok, here's a segment of my conversation with the guy who did the tube mod:
  • "Well, both transformers are Mercury Magnetics. You'd have to reach out to them because Fender will not offer much. As far as the mod, the transformers can handle it. My Traynor and Sunn power transformers put out about 550 volts where yours delivers over 700. Actually I'm the tech. I don't have a schooled background but have worked in electronics as a hobby since I was a kid. I think I told you about SVT tech I know. He gave me all the moves to make. I won't do anything without his consent, enjoy!"
 
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#28
Having used KT120s in my Copland push-pull stereo, "more headroom" has been my experience as well. However, in comparison to some NOS 6550s which the amp came with, KT120s are not as elegant or articulate. After using KT120s for more than 2-3 years, I am planning to switch back to the 6550s. Also, while at it, you might try KT150s instead of KT120s which are nicer tubes, but require a different upgrade.

Wasnex said:
The people I have discussed the KT120 with suggest it is a bit fuller sounding. There is also a perception of slightly more headroom, but as you know that is very hard to judge accurately.
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#29
Alper Yilmaz said:
Having used KT120s in my Copland push-pull stereo, "more headroom" has been my experience as well. However, in comparison to some NOS 6550s which the amp came with, KT120s are not as elegant or articulate. After using KT120s for more than 2-3 years, I am planning to switch back to the 6550s. Also, while at it, you might try KT150s instead of KT120s which are nicer tubes, but require a different upgrade.
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I don't think I'm going any further into mod territory, but that's interesting. Down the road maybe I'll go back to the 6550s, but for now this thing is delivering and I'll run with it.
But it's good to hear some experience, thanks!
I'm open to wisdom derived from experience...
 
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#30
Count Bassie said:
So. I just got, by some favorable alignment of stars, dust, nuanced dynamic and convoluted karma, a large Fender tube-powered bass head (Bassman 300 Pro).
I'm looking for a cab for it, am currently using an SWR Big Ben. It sounds wonderful, the lows are beautiful...
I'm either picking up another Big Ben (Bag End loaded), or, I'm also looking at an Ampeg PR410HLF. That is one heavy bastard, but it's actually my old cab and is available.
I'm just interested in some feedback, especially about the apparently power-hungry nature of the Ampeg... which might be a good thing:
The Fender amp is 300 (tube) watts, and has been upgraded to handle KT-120 tubes, which it's loaded with now. So there's the relatively low efficiency of those Ampeg drivers and the upped power of the Fender amp. I don't know if that's significant, but I do wonder if the Fender amp is adequate to power the 410? It is more than adequate for the SWR

Any substantial input is appreciated! Thanks for your time.
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Yes. It's more than adequate to take the 300w tube amp. As long as it can run @ 8 ohms
 
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#34
Count Bassie said:
@Passinwind ...
Ok, here's a segment of my conversation with the guy who did the tube mod:
  • "Well, both transformers are Mercury Magnetics. You'd have to reach out to them because Fender will not offer much. As far as the mod, the transformers can handle it. My Traynor and Sunn power transformers put out about 550 volts where yours delivers over 700. Actually I'm the tech. I don't have a schooled background but have worked in electronics as a hobby since I was a kid. I think I told you about SVT tech I know. He gave me all the moves to make. I won't do anything without his consent, enjoy!"
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. It doesn't really address whether the KT-120 mod actually makes more measured power in your amp, but that clearly doesn't really matter to you, nor would it to me with a 300 watt baseline. I just need to finish up my 100 watt-ish build and use it for a while before I contemplate mods in any case. ;)
 
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#35
Passinwind said:
Thanks for that. It doesn't really address whether the KT-120 mod actually makes more measured power in your amp, but that clearly doesn't really matter to you, nor would it to me with a 300 watt baseline. I just need to finish up my 100 watt-ish build and use it for a while before I contemplate mods in any case. ;)
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It sounds great, and great enough to carry it somewhere and plug it in. Yep, I'm good! :)

Interested to hear how your build goes though.
 
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#37
Passinwind said:
My man. My build is just a living room indulgence, I'm probably never gonna take it out further than one of my neighbors' jam spaces, if that even.
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Creativity realized is always worthy. Maybe it sounds great, maybe you'll sell it to me!
It would be fun to have a small tube head for smaller, regular "working" gigs. I know that's not why you're doing it, but hey, it's a fun idea...
 
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#38
Count Bassie said:
Creativity realized is always worthy. Maybe it sounds great, maybe you'll sell it to me!
It would be fun to have a small tube head for smaller, regular "working" gigs. I know that's not why you're doing it, but hey, it's a fun idea...
Click to expand...

Yep. I built this first version bigger than it needs to be so I can swap test boards in and out easily, but a second one could be fairly compact for what it is, especially if I could get by with just two power tubes. I also want it to be able to double for guitar to save a little room in my living space.

I think if decide I really want to use KT-88, KT-120, etc. I'll just build something optimized from the ground up for that. Maybe next year...;)
 
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