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- Jun 29, 2006
- 5,148
- 3,217
- Disclosures
- President, CEO, CFO, CIO, Chief Engineer, Technician, Janitor - Reiner Amplification
Eric got his today so I'm sure he will chime in at some point. I've been working out some details of the DI/preamp, and hopefully will get another proto done soon. And of course on to #5!
Hello .. I received my own Studio 1200 today, serial number 4. The quality of build and sound is outstanding! I have a lot to say about it but I'm tied up in another endeavor right now so I will have to submit my full review later on Wedneaday, April 8.
We expect the full, detailed report by 9am at the first meeting of the morning...................
Well here it is, April 8th... And still no review. I don't want to use a harsh word like 'betrayed', but I'm going to think it... Very loudly!
Haha, sorry, Silky, I actually meant later today .. work interferes, you know .. but I'll do my best to post what I know so far:
I've only spent ten minutes with my new amp. So there will be much more to come.
I can tell you NONE of the pictures nor any of the videos do it visual justice .. not even close. This thing looks fantastic, both in material choices and superb craftsmanship. You just have to see it in person.
I played my 2012 Ric 4003 with RotoSound Roundwound LD66 strings and no effects. Cabinet was my 2011 Ampeg Heritage 810.
With gain at noon I found myself lowering the bass and low mid and hiking the mid and high mid. This gave me a sound most similar to the amp I have been playing lately: my 1967 Ampeg B15!
Being a Geddy fan I like popping those higher notes and hearing some mid grind. Well this amp delivers the goods!
And then some:
When I boosted the master I could not BELIEVE how loud this thing gets. Especially with my eight tens .. I never did get the clip light to come on .. not once .. not even a little .. I decided I better shut 'er down before getting the law called on me. I'll have to wait for the right time and or place for that! Couldn't do it in the ten minutes I had yesterday.
Now I haven't even touched the gain yet and I suspect I'll get the sound I am after with less knob twiddling just by adjusting the gain. But I'm there now with the sound I like .. or at least one of them. Again, I've only spent 10 minutes with it. But the EQ section is SO powerful and sounds great.
That's all I have for now. More later!
I've only spent ten minutes with my new amp. So there will be much more to come.
I can tell you NONE of the pictures nor any of the videos do it visual justice .. not even close. This thing looks fantastic, both in material choices and superb craftsmanship. You just have to see it in person.
I played my 2012 Ric 4003 with RotoSound Roundwound LD66 strings and no effects. Cabinet was my 2011 Ampeg Heritage 810.
With gain at noon I found myself lowering the bass and low mid and hiking the mid and high mid. This gave me a sound most similar to the amp I have been playing lately: my 1967 Ampeg B15!
Being a Geddy fan I like popping those higher notes and hearing some mid grind. Well this amp delivers the goods!
And then some:
When I boosted the master I could not BELIEVE how loud this thing gets. Especially with my eight tens .. I never did get the clip light to come on .. not once .. not even a little .. I decided I better shut 'er down before getting the law called on me. I'll have to wait for the right time and or place for that! Couldn't do it in the ten minutes I had yesterday.
Now I haven't even touched the gain yet and I suspect I'll get the sound I am after with less knob twiddling just by adjusting the gain. But I'm there now with the sound I like .. or at least one of them. Again, I've only spent 10 minutes with it. But the EQ section is SO powerful and sounds great.
That's all I have for now. More later!
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If this thing has "B-15" in its bag of tricks (note, I've never played one, but am itching to), that... well, that would be unexpected and cool. Am interested in hearing more about the amp generally, but more about this, specifically.
The reason for that could be that JGR is trying hard to stay within the terms of the TB Commercial User Policy, which do not permit general product updates (as this is basically free advertising). Fans of Reiner Amps who like to see JGR's very welcome participation in this thread could really help him by NOT asking for general updates, as this can cause problems. Specific questions about particular products are fine and can be responded to; more general questions are likely to put a product manufacturer in a diffcult position.
Thanks for understanding in this regard, folks, I'm sure this won't turn into any sort of major issue.
Thanks for weighing in Bill. In general, can those of us in the amp queue ask how far along recent builds have progressed without inadvertently creating a violation of the CUP?
Thanks, Bill.
For Eric, as you get more time with the amp, I'm curious to hear about it relative to the B15. Now, I don't think that one would look to this amp if looking for a B15 clone, and it doesn't seem to have been designed for that, but since you mentioned the comparison with that legendary amp, well I'd like to know.
Jonathan, about the amp, I know it's an original creation, but I wonder if you had any specific rigs or sounds in mind as inspiration when putting the thing together.
About the DI, I emailed Jonathan to ask about its development and he mentioned working on a variable impedance control. How is that feature working out?
For Eric, as you get more time with the amp, I'm curious to hear about it relative to the B15. Now, I don't think that one would look to this amp if looking for a B15 clone, and it doesn't seem to have been designed for that, but since you mentioned the comparison with that legendary amp, well I'd like to know.
Jonathan, about the amp, I know it's an original creation, but I wonder if you had any specific rigs or sounds in mind as inspiration when putting the thing together.
About the DI, I emailed Jonathan to ask about its development and he mentioned working on a variable impedance control. How is that feature working out?
Mark: I can't speak to the gain structure of the front end, or how it sounds as it drives the power amp, but I can say that Jonathan has referenced the EQ being flat with all knobs at noon. At least from an EQ standpoint, the amp seems to shoot for neutrality with a powerful EQ to let you get where you need. Again, that's irrespective to the gain structure which will potentially change the character of the EQ drastically.
- Jun 29, 2006
- 5,148
- 3,217
- Disclosures
- President, CEO, CFO, CIO, Chief Engineer, Technician, Janitor - Reiner Amplification
It's funny, I've owned a lot of different rigs (check my signature!) and I pretty much gravitate towards the same sound (in my head) regardless, and could get there to some degree with most of them in various combinations. I generally want a balanced sound that is warm and clear with some bite, and a lot of richness/harmonic complexity. And I want that with everything flat so that I can use the EQ to go anywhere I want should the mood strike. I don't want a stiff or a sluggish response - I want that initial give that makes it feel good to play - the touch response - followed by a big wallop. I don't like scooped or wooly (though that was my nickname when I was little) tones. What's interesting is that the majority of folks, regardless of their styles and other gear choices, seem to be able to get the tones they are looking for with very little EQ tweaking which is pretty cool - they mainly play with the gain and master - so that lets me know I got it right - design an amp with great EQ that nobody uses!!
I think the variable input impedance control has worked out well - it should add some nice flexibility to accommodate active, passive, and piezo instruments. It also adds another bit of tonal control - with my passive instruments, dropping it down low loads the instrument and darkens up the tone a bit, which might work well for instance in conjunction with the bass boost, for some thick vintage tones. Going the other way helps maximize fidelity.
Well said, I think that's a good synopsis. I need an EQ that starts out pretty flat - I just can't deal with the FMV tone stack with bass. I do shoot for neutrality, but in a musical context - I don't want things to be bland or sterile, so where gain stages are biased, how and where they are coupled, and all of the other bits that tailor the low and high end response and compression/overdrive characteristics are factored in to provide pleasing (hopefully) tones without any kind of strong baked-in voicing. It's about getting things optimized at the system level. Same with the EQ - the frequency ranges and Q's on the mids are dialed in so they just sound right. The gain, volume, and EQ interact in a manner that is intuitive and musical. I want to make it easy!
Dude, thanks, but take your time.MarkA .. I definitely will fully expand on that point. It will be between now and later in the day Saturday. Sorry for the wait .. I will explain that too.
More later
. No need to justify any perceived delay. It's not like I'm paying you. You just got the amp. Enjoy it, and note your impressions when the time is ripe. Of course, I can't promise that everyone else feels this way.Silky smoove, Jonathan, thanks for your replies. EQ is a tricky topic - for me, anyway - but I heartily agree that there's lots more that goes into making a sound.
MarkA and all,
Ok don't get me wrong .. as MarkA says, this box isn't touted to be a B15 clone. However, it was my 1967 B15 I had been playing every day when my Studio 1200 arrived. I also have a 1973 Kustom K200, a 1982 Peavey Mark IV, a 2014 V4b, and a 2014 Ashdown CTM-15.
But it was the B15 I had been playing when the new amp arrived, and so when I started playing the new amp the first thing I did was dial in that sound as closely as possible. And keep in mind .. I'm comparing the B15 through its own cab vs the Studio 1200 through my Ampeg 810. And still I believe I have found a comparable sound!
I'll A/B them this weekend, and also I will mic these up and see if I can post a recording of each to compare.
Anyway, I'm very pleased with the new amp and will post much more detail about my experiences with it later this weekend.
EDIT: By the way, my '67 B15 is all original except I re-capped it with the kit available from Fliptops (just the three electrolytics), and installed a three-prong power cord. It has original Ampeg driver and preamp tubes and (not original, of course) Winged-C 6L6GC power tubes. The speaker is original CTS. The B15 was purchased new by my dad in 1967, and now it belongs to me.
Ok don't get me wrong .. as MarkA says, this box isn't touted to be a B15 clone. However, it was my 1967 B15 I had been playing every day when my Studio 1200 arrived. I also have a 1973 Kustom K200, a 1982 Peavey Mark IV, a 2014 V4b, and a 2014 Ashdown CTM-15.
But it was the B15 I had been playing when the new amp arrived, and so when I started playing the new amp the first thing I did was dial in that sound as closely as possible. And keep in mind .. I'm comparing the B15 through its own cab vs the Studio 1200 through my Ampeg 810. And still I believe I have found a comparable sound!
I'll A/B them this weekend, and also I will mic these up and see if I can post a recording of each to compare.
Anyway, I'm very pleased with the new amp and will post much more detail about my experiences with it later this weekend.
EDIT: By the way, my '67 B15 is all original except I re-capped it with the kit available from Fliptops (just the three electrolytics), and installed a three-prong power cord. It has original Ampeg driver and preamp tubes and (not original, of course) Winged-C 6L6GC power tubes. The speaker is original CTS. The B15 was purchased new by my dad in 1967, and now it belongs to me.
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Oh yeah .. the neighbors across the street and two houses down just shut off their leaf blower-arounder and started looking over here, shaking their head ..
Of course I shake my head every time he runs that stupid leaf blower-arounder.
Of course I shake my head every time he runs that stupid leaf blower-arounder.
