New songwriter 30 video

[DocJames]

Here it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwggN96wsNc

Or at least it's the first time I've seen it. The sound is typical youtube quality, but it does have more "character" to the tone then I've heard from other videos.

[Blackburn]

Thanks for posting that! It's not 'amazing', but it doesn't sound too bad. Very few clips on YouTube showcasing that amp.

[jestaudio]

I would agree, nice sounding amp but doesn't ring and bells for me

[sliberty]

Heard one of these at last year's amp show in NJ. Nice, but unspectacular. I like my Rocket and my cleaned up (tweaked, toned down) Express a lot more.

[randalp3000]

I bit the bullet last spring for one and used it for a few gigs. It ended up being the backup for my Z Wreck on my gigs last summer.

I felt it was a bit bland and the Z had just a bit more balls when needed. It did have a weird sustaining quality when played clean that I have not experienced before. Notes would almost go into feedback when playing clean. I put a really nice set of 7189's in it but I think they might be the reason I don't enjoy it anymore. I need to pull it out and put the stock JJ's in it and try it out again. If I had time to sit around and play I would probably use it more but for gigs it just couldn't keep up.

Been using my own amp lately and not looking back. The other two have been sitting in the garage and basement for awhile. We have two really big dogs so don't come sniffin' around my garage for free amps...

I'm in West Mi if anyone wants try one out.

[selloutrr]

Despite the YouTube audio quality. You can tell its fighting to sustain and just doesn't have the bloom. Though he never took it out of the neck pickup position.. And his fingers sounded like they were muting his playing as much as the amp wasn't dialed in. I'm not rushing out to buy one. The tone is very reminiscent of a sundown SD1000c's clean ch.

[HeeBGB]

Despite the YouTube audio quality. You can tell its fighting to sustain and just doesn't have the bloom. Though he never took it out of the neck pickup position.. And his fingers sounded like they were muting his playing as much as the amp wasn't dialed in. I'm not rushing out to buy one. The tone is very reminiscent of a sundown SD1000c's clean ch.

SUNDOWN?!!!!!!! Holy Dennis Kager sighting batman!

[Blackburn]

Despite the YouTube audio quality. You can tell its fighting to sustain and just doesn't have the bloom. Though he never took it out of the neck pickup position.. And his fingers sounded like they were muting his playing as much as the amp wasn't dialed in. I'm not rushing out to buy one. The tone is very reminiscent of a sundown SD1000c's clean ch.

SUNDOWN?!!!!!!! Holy Dennis Kager sighting batman!

That's what I was thinking.

[DocJames]

Man, if I lived in Michigan, I'd look you up Randal. I've never heard a clip that makes me want to lay down the money for one either. That being said, I've always been curious, as it was Ken's last amp. It sounds very typical el84 with the bell like quality when attacked hard. I didn't hear any bloom either, but that sustaining quaility that you've heard randal is maybe the magic of the amp. You can kind of hear it when he lets the notes sustain.

[selloutrr]

Despite the YouTube audio quality. You can tell its fighting to sustain and just doesn't have the bloom. Though he never took it out of the neck pickup position.. And his fingers sounded like they were muting his playing as much as the amp wasn't dialed in. I'm not rushing out to buy one. The tone is very reminiscent of a sundown SD1000c's clean ch.

SUNDOWN?!!!!!!! Holy Dennis Kager sighting batman!

True that!!! I've picked up at least one of almost every model of sundown product. They are so cheap its hard to pass them up. i will say im not a big fan of the 4x12 cabinets.
Sundown are interesting amps. Same with Risson amps... Bob Rissi?

[selloutrr]

Man, if I lived in Michigan, I'd look you up Randal. I've never heard a clip that makes me want to lay down the money for one either. That being said, I've always been curious, as it was Ken's last amp. It sounds very typical el84 with the bell like quality when attacked hard. I didn't hear any bloom either, but that sustaining quaility that you've heard randal is maybe the magic of the amp. You can kind of hear it when he lets the notes sustain.

.

Ken's songwriter used a no longer produced transformer and octal PI. It has less short comings.

[Dugmore]

I'd like to hear the amp turned up a bit more.

[Blackburn]

Despite the YouTube audio quality. You can tell its fighting to sustain and just doesn't have the bloom. Though he never took it out of the neck pickup position.. And his fingers sounded like they were muting his playing as much as the amp wasn't dialed in. I'm not rushing out to buy one. The tone is very reminiscent of a sundown SD1000c's clean ch.

SUNDOWN?!!!!!!! Holy Dennis Kager sighting batman!

True that!!! I've picked up at least one of almost every model of sundown product. They are so cheap its hard to pass them up. i will say im not a big fan of the 4x12 cabinets.
Sundown are interesting amps. Same with Risson amps... Bob Rissi?

+1 for Risson Amps!!! My friend and I had one head come in the shop a long while back. That thing was from '65 or so and one of the heaviest suckers I've ever picked up. A couple 6550s in that one. Too bad some monkey with a soldering iron had at it before us...

[wsaraceni]

i kinda liked it. wasnt a great demo but the amp sounded fine you a youtube demo

[Hogy]

Ken's songwriter used a no longer produced transformer and octal PI. It has less short comings.

Ken built two Songwriter prototypes. I sent him the base amps incl. transformers for both of them. The transformers were the exact same ones used in the production Songwriters. I guess I should know.

One of the chassis happened to have a hole for an octal tube in the PI position, it was an early Constellation prototype. So Ken made use of that. The second prototype had a 12AX7 PI, and was the better sounding of the two.

The current production Songwriter 30 is 100% identical to the prototype. Transformers, chassis, all components, everything. I had the original in my possession for close to a year and they sound indistinguishable.

Yes, the Songwriter 30 is my favorite amp of all time. No, I take no credit for it, so I guess it's hardly bragging. It's just a magical amp that reacts to my touch like nothing else, incl. the Rocket which held my #1 spot since the 1990s. Like all things, it's not going to be that for everyone.



"selloutrr", you post a lot of stuff as gospel that would benefit from more thorough research before being thrown out there. Last was the Trainwreck I supposedly "rebuilt", which I've never seen. I am available for fact checking...



Hogy