Bit of current Eric Clapton/Dumble inside info

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drew
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Re: Bit of current Eric Clapton/Dumble inside info

Post by drew »

norburybrook wrote:
Eric's not really that up on the technicals though of gear so if he wants a 100w bandmaster then HAD will make him one.

You'd wince if you knew the price!! not that Eric can't afford it though.
It's probably about what the ashtray cost in this.
Aaron
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Re: Bit of current Eric Clapton/Dumble inside info

Post by Aaron »

I read a recent interview about EC and he mentions that he now has a working relationship with HAD. And that he has a modded Vibrolux. Although his favourite amp at the moment is an old Bandmaster.
Maybe he getting HAD to build him one for the road?
Aaron
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Re: Bit of current Eric Clapton/Dumble inside info

Post by Aaron »

Here's what he says:-

If you can’t name guitarists, let’s discuss guitars. What gear did you use on the album? Anything new?

Well, there's always something new. New stuff comes in from [amp builder] Alexander Dumble. We have a dialogue now, which is stronger than it's ever been. He tells me what he's up to and he's helped me out with a few things. I've given him amps to restore, so I used a restored Fender Vibrolux that he looked at and did a little modification on.

Also a Fender Bandmaster, which is kind of my constant amp right now. It's an interesting amp because it's quite big sounding, but you could use it moderately at the same time, so it's very adaptable. And if I want to go down in size, the Vibrolux is the one I’ll use. The guitars on the album were a Strat with modifications—my signature guitar that's got a compressor in it. Plus a 1960 ES-335. It's a beautiful, very rich-sounding guitar. I used that when I was playing slide because it can sustain really well. I used a Les Paul as well, but mainly those were the two electrics. And I used a couple of different Martins.
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Mr. dB
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Re: Bit of current Eric Clapton/Dumble inside info

Post by Mr. dB »

Is that a 1x10" tweed Vibrolux?
Bombacaototal
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Re:

Post by Bombacaototal »

Mr. dB wrote: Fri Feb 10, 2017 3:17 pm Is that a 1x10" tweed Vibrolux?
I would think so: 5E11 or 5F11. And the bandmaster is a tweed 5E7

Would anyone venture to guess which tweedle mods will go in there
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rp
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Re: Bit of current Eric Clapton/Dumble inside info

Post by rp »

I never played a tweed Bandmaster real or otherwise but I know enough to know it’s sui generis - tube rectifier, choke input power supply, under spec’d and mismatched OT, 3 x 10s, and of course the light baffle common to tweeds. Is this really scalable?

That choke becomes at least 300mA maybe bigger to run cool for pro use - that’s BIG. The tube rectifier can maybe go, depends on how Clapton likes his tweeds to feel, the 5U4 is a very saggy rectifier especially compared to ss. Fender spec’d big interleaved high quality iron for the tweed Bassman and low power Twin but dinky (non-interleaved looking) iron for all the other 2X 6L6 amps throughout the timeline. Does this build get special big shitty iron or just a HP Twin OT configured run properly 5E7 mismatched? Weird.

Speakers definitely don’t scale well, 3X modern 10’s for a 80-100 water are going to sound a lot different then the original P10Rs that were in there (or C10Ns that would be spiffy too).

So, interesting project, but in the end I think it winds up just like an ss 5F8A with a cathodyne PI, HAD's rawking tweaks, and with 3 modern 75w 10” speakers on a thick baffle. Might sound great, didn’t Orange and Hiwatt do the cathodyne into 100 watts? But not sure it’s going to sound much like a 5E7. AND if a combo, heavy as all f*ck too - 3! giant transformers and 3! 75W tens, in an extra sturdy cab! Ampeg VT40 anyone? OUCH!

I guess that’s why you pay HAD the extra big bucks, to make the magic happen.If Clapton came to me and asked for a scaled up 5E7 I’d say buy two nicely restored vintage players and put one on top of the other. Save money, easy to move around, and you have roadies anyway, for recording you can grab just one. But thinking like that is why I have no money.
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Mr. dB
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Re: Bit of current Eric Clapton/Dumble inside info

Post by Mr. dB »

rp wrote: Sat Mar 04, 2017 10:49 am ...choke input power supply...
No.

It's the Pete Townshend "Who's Next" and "Quadrophenia" amp.
jph118
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Re: Bit of current Eric Clapton/Dumble inside info

Post by jph118 »

I'm about to start a 5E7 build with some Tweedle ideas... balanced PI, GZ34, bigger filter caps... how would you guys go about that choke input power supply? There's not much drop happening, wouldn't a 30/30/16/16 array get the job done just as well? I like a little sag.
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rp
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Re: Bit of current Eric Clapton/Dumble inside info

Post by rp »

jph118 wrote: Thu May 18, 2017 3:26 am I'm about to start a 5E7 build with some Tweedle ideas... balanced PI, GZ34, bigger filter caps... how would you guys go about that choke input power supply? There's not much drop happening, wouldn't a 30/30/16/16 array get the job done just as well? I like a little sag.
The fact that the choke input PS was limited in the fender line up and very quickly abandoned tells you it was not worth the time, weight, money to Leo, and since he had the finest tonemeister test pilots not worth any or enough sonic gains, so thumbs down from marketing, accounting, and engineering from a company that never made a bad amp (leo era of course). For how we play and live in the present I would drop it, but for myself as I like screwing around with old oddities, and big heavy amp parts, I would love to own or build a stock 5E7.
jph118
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Re: Bit of current Eric Clapton/Dumble inside info

Post by jph118 »

rp wrote: Thu May 18, 2017 11:05 am The fact that the choke input PS was limited in the fender line up and very quickly abandoned tells you it was not worth the time, weight, money to Leo, and since he had the finest tonemeister test pilots not worth any or enough sonic gains, so thumbs down from marketing, accounting, and engineering from a company that never made a bad amp (leo era of course). For how we play and live in the present I would drop it, but for myself as I like screwing around with old oddities, and big heavy amp parts, I would love to own or build a stock 5E7.
I was thinking along those same lines... maybe a smaller choke before the screens like a 5F6A, if a CR network doesn't make me happy.
RB
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Re: Bit of current Eric Clapton/Dumble inside info

Post by RB »

The tweed Super/Pro/BandMaster do not have a choke input filter. It has a capacitor input filter in a Pi configuration. The choke is a 200ma choke. I don't recall the DC resistance.

If you use a standard Fender 90ma 6L6 choke between the plate and screens you will not have the power supply regulation you get with the Pi filter and the 5U4 rectifier. This will change the feel and sustain characteristics of the amp.

Mojo kits use the 90ma a choke in there kits and they have corrupted the design. I haven't looked at the Weber kits in a long time but originally Ted had a 200ma choke in their kits and the schematic is correct. They also sold the choke individually. I have used that choke in repairs of vintage tweed amps and it performs as expected.

I am of the opinion that these particular tweeds are some of the best sounding and feeling amps of the era and I believe the power supply design, weird CF driven tone stack and use of some local NFB is what set them apart in tone and playability.

Regards
Randy
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M Fowler
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Re: Bit of current Eric Clapton/Dumble inside info

Post by M Fowler »

Mojotone and Weber both use a choke.
jph118
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Re: Bit of current Eric Clapton/Dumble inside info

Post by jph118 »

M Fowler wrote: Sat May 20, 2017 2:41 am Mojotone and Weber both use a choke.
Yes, but like RB says, Mojo uses it differently than the original design, and it's smaller... more like a 5F6A choke, between the plates & screens. I may try it both ways, and alternatively with a CR filter network like the Tweedle Dee, see which I like best.
Roe
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Re: Bit of current Eric Clapton/Dumble inside info

Post by Roe »

RB wrote: Fri May 19, 2017 6:33 pm The tweed Super/Pro/BandMaster do not have a choke input filter. It has a capacitor input filter in a Pi configuration. The choke is a 200ma choke. I don't recall the DC resistance.

If you use a standard Fender 90ma 6L6 choke between the plate and screens you will not have the power supply regulation you get with the Pi filter and the 5U4 rectifier. This will change the feel and sustain characteristics of the amp.

Mojo kits use the 90ma a choke in there kits and they have corrupted the design. I haven't looked at the Weber kits in a long time but originally Ted had a 200ma choke in their kits and the schematic is correct. They also sold the choke individually. I have used that choke in repairs of vintage tweed amps and it performs as expected.

I am of the opinion that these particular tweeds are some of the best sounding and feeling amps of the era and I believe the power supply design, weird CF driven tone stack and use of some local NFB is what set them apart in tone and playability.

Regards
Randy
the weber choke seems to be 200ma/125 ohms/5-8 henry
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Mitch Roberts
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Re: Bit of current Eric Clapton/Dumble inside info

Post by Mitch Roberts »

Just thought I'd point out that my '66 Bandmaster has the holes already cut for 2 additional power tubes. So a "100 watt Bandmaster" is completely possible with transformer upgrades.

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