madbeanpedals::forum

General => Open Discussion => Topic started by: jkokura on September 25, 2012, 07:40:19 PM

Title: New Amp Day.
Post by: jkokura on September 25, 2012, 07:40:19 PM
So last weekend, I got tired of how loud my old Fender Concert 2 was.

So I traded this past weekend for an Egnater Tweaker 15 combo. Couldn't be happier.

(http://imageshack.us/a/img685/5676/imageblw.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/685/imageblw.jpg/)

Jacob
Title: Re: New Amp Day.
Post by: DutchMF on September 25, 2012, 07:53:27 PM
Very nice! Mucho interested in how it sounds, as I've been meaning to try it, but haven't gotten round to it. Enjoy!

Paul
Title: Re: New Amp Day.
Post by: pryde on September 25, 2012, 07:59:28 PM
Very nice. I had a tweaker 15, then a tweaker 40 for a while. Hard to beat for the price/quality/tone factor. Congrats!

Title: Re: New Amp Day.
Post by: Haberdasher on September 25, 2012, 08:08:09 PM
awesome.  I have the little head and cab and for the $ it rules.  every pedal I put in front of it sounds great.
Title: Re: New Amp Day.
Post by: Hangingmonkey on September 25, 2012, 08:26:06 PM
Nice amp.  I wish my guitar room was as clean and tidy as yours. :P
Title: Re: New Amp Day.
Post by: jkokura on September 25, 2012, 08:42:34 PM
Thanks guys! I'm pretty stoked, so it's exciting. What I'm most impressed with is it's versatility. I'm a Fender clean sort of player, and rarely use a lot of drive, mostly because I play rhythm mostly, but if you dial back the master and up the gain and throw the hot switch and the tone stack switch and go with a modern, tight sound... all of the sudden you have a completely different amp. It's called the Tweaker for a reason, it's easily the most versatile amp I've ever played.

Is it really as uniquely wonderful as the 50's tweed princeton I've played? No. Is it as chimey and clean as the 65' deluxe I've played? No. Is it as powerful and blow your socks off amazing as a JCM800? No.

But for the price I paid, and the intended use, it couldn't be more perfect.

Quote from: Hangingmonkey on September 25, 2012, 08:26:06 PM
Nice amp.  I wish my guitar room was as clean and tidy as yours. :P

Haha, yeah, that's not my guitar room. That's the Fireside room my church. I just snapped a couple pics of it while I  could. My office is where it lives, and I call my office 'my cell' because it's about the same size and makeup of a prison cell... But I have a corner for the amp and a small guitar rack stand.

Jacob
Title: Re: New Amp Day.
Post by: Bret608 on September 25, 2012, 09:02:50 PM
Color me intrigued...would you consider this a step up from a Blues Jr.? I've had mine since 1996, and since I turn 40 next year, am thinking of either modding it heavily and recapping it, or just trading up a bit!
Title: Re: New Amp Day.
Post by: jkokura on September 25, 2012, 09:27:33 PM
I haven't owned a Blues Junior, but I've played through one often enough. I haven't spent enough time with the Tweaker to say if it's 'better' which is a subjective term, but I can comment on it's versatility. The Tweaker is very much more versatile than a Blues Jr sonically, but they each have some benefits.

Tweaker:
- More sonic options (more switches than knobs)
- Tube Buffered Effects Loop
- 6V6 power tubes
- Selectable Voltage
- Selectable Impedance

Blues Junior
- Less sonic options (fat switch is a new thing?)
- Reverb
- EL84 Power tubes

So the one thing that the Junior has that I wish the Tweaker had is reverb. I can live with having a reverb pedal on my board though, and I prefer the 6V6 power tubes.

If it were me in your shoes, I'd save to buy/trade for a tweaker AND do a mod to my Blues Junior to make it more like a Princeton Reverb. Alternatively, I'd just have the tweaker, as I turned down several Blues Juniors on my way to this amp.

Jacob
Title: Re: New Amp Day.
Post by: pickdropper on September 26, 2012, 12:31:02 AM
Congrats Jacob, I hear those are great amps (never had the chance to actually try one).

I can completely understand why you would want to downsize to a smaller amp if it is in a smaller room.  I still remember the time I put a half stack (briefly) in my office; it was terrible.  Finding a versatile amp that fits the bill is great.

I really need a small amp that takes dirt pedals well.  I love my Blackface Fenders but they don't take dirt pedals well at all.  I think I'm going to just build an 18 watter.  The bigger amps are too big for the office (where I do most of my testing).
Title: Re: New Amp Day.
Post by: gtr2 on September 26, 2012, 10:59:49 AM
Sweet!

Josh
Title: Re: New Amp Day.
Post by: TNblueshawk on September 26, 2012, 07:54:30 PM
Very nice. A lot of people seem to love that amp.

But you should know better. You are not supposed to trade things. You are supposed to accumulate gear you can't/don't use any more let alone afford ! Logical purchases has no place in the DIY realm  :P

Oh and why aren't you building a Tweaker !!  :D
Title: Re: New Amp Day.
Post by: GermanCdn on September 26, 2012, 08:57:49 PM
Quote from: TNblueshawk on September 26, 2012, 07:54:30 PM

But you should know better. You are not supposed to trade things. You are supposed to accumulate gear you can't/don't use any more let alone afford ! Logical purchases has no place in the DIY realm  :P


This should be printed on T-Shirts and become the mantra of every GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) support group in the world.

Nice amp, Jacob.  Haven't pulled the pin on one of those yet, but seriously considering it as I'm really liking the low wattage micro heads these days.  Maybe time to trade in a Boogie.  No, wait, no trading allowed.
Title: Re: New Amp Day.
Post by: Bret608 on September 27, 2012, 07:56:12 PM
Quote from: jkokura on September 25, 2012, 09:27:33 PM
I haven't owned a Blues Junior, but I've played through one often enough. I haven't spent enough time with the Tweaker to say if it's 'better' which is a subjective term, but I can comment on it's versatility. The Tweaker is very much more versatile than a Blues Jr sonically, but they each have some benefits.

Tweaker:
- More sonic options (more switches than knobs)
- Tube Buffered Effects Loop
- 6V6 power tubes
- Selectable Voltage
- Selectable Impedance

Blues Junior
- Less sonic options (fat switch is a new thing?)
- Reverb
- EL84 Power tubes

So the one thing that the Junior has that I wish the Tweaker had is reverb. I can live with having a reverb pedal on my board though, and I prefer the 6V6 power tubes.

If it were me in your shoes, I'd save to buy/trade for a tweaker AND do a mod to my Blues Junior to make it more like a Princeton Reverb. Alternatively, I'd just have the tweaker, as I turned down several Blues Juniors on my way to this amp.

Jacob

Thanks Jacob...definite food for thought!
Title: Re: New Amp Day.
Post by: jtn191 on September 28, 2012, 12:19:58 AM
Quote from: jkokura on September 25, 2012, 09:27:33 PM

Blues Junior
- Less sonic options (fat switch is a new thing?)
- Reverb
- EL84 Power tubes

The fat switch has been around for a while, but the changes to version III include different speaker, "sparkle" circuit mod and a few small cosmetic/design changes. I bought my Blues Jr. quite a bit less informed than I am now--but it was a safe choice, it's kind of a standard

All those options on the Tweaker are definitely things I miss. +1 on Jacob's advice: I did the simplest mod you can for a Blues Jr--twin tone stack mod and I'm happy with it.

Congrats on the amp, my friend's been yapping about some model of Egnater
Title: Re: New Amp Day.
Post by: GermanCdn on October 11, 2012, 12:23:24 AM
All right, went out and bought the Tweaker 15 head.   Ran it through a 1x12, 2x12, and 4x12.  Freaking awesome.
Title: Re: New Amp Day.
Post by: jkokura on October 11, 2012, 02:55:10 AM
Good for you Curtis.

What continually amazes me about this amp is how good it sounds in the various settings. I haven't found a dud, but many useable sounds. If you like Fender Cleans, Vox grind, Marshall or Mesa whatever, it's there and it sounds good.

Very happy with this choice.

Jacob