unexpected nad - mmba!

Make it loud here.
Post Reply
User avatar
postchrist
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 306
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2019 8:48 am

unexpected nad - mmba!

Post by postchrist » Sun Oct 27, 2019 1:25 pm

fun story, bought an old twin from a local shop that ended up having some really rough issues, wasn’t grounded properly, speaker tears, etc... they took it back and offered me some deals on a handful of amps they had around... was considering either going for a nicer twin or reluctantly grabbing a rivera concert when this caught my eye... i had a musicmaster bass amp a couple years back that was lovely but not loud enough at the time for my purposes, traded it for an ampeg vt40 that sounds great but is a bit of a headache. plugged into this one and it just instantly felt so familiar, but sounded even better than the one i had previously. on a whim i left with this and a handful of pedals and parts for my jazzmaster.

one of the cleanest examples i’ve seen and heard... i’ve always felt these amps are underappreciated, and this one is one of the best sounding ones i’ve ever played the through. they’re inspiring to me in the same way that a princeton is, just so full and responsive, and the character of the gain is so lovely... also really nice to be able to run a bass through it when the urge hits, and to not have to worry when running pitch shifters. always recommend these for recording/bedroom or mic’d live use.

apologies for the lighting, it’s a very sunny day in ca. :)

Image
Image
Image
Image
lying dog-faced pony soldier.

User avatar
parry
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 8509
Joined: Sat Apr 05, 2008 10:08 am
Location: Ontario, CANADA
Contact:

Re: unexpected nad - mmba!

Post by parry » Sun Oct 27, 2019 2:36 pm

Yep! LOVE my MMBa 8)
Great score! What speaker is in yours?

I've had about four of them over the years. I kept moving them on in favour of trade-ups for other gear - only to realize rather quickly that other amps just don't do it for me, quite like these. The one I have now is my favourite of the bunch (luckily). It's the earlier version with the 6AQ5s and original speaker in it. I tried a bunch of different speakers - but I always come back to the originals. There's just something really unique about the character and presence of that combination.
Fighting for peace is like fucking for virginity.

User avatar
s_mcsleazy
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 18423
Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2011 7:30 am
Location: glasgow

Re: unexpected nad - mmba!

Post by s_mcsleazy » Sun Oct 27, 2019 3:23 pm

i used to have one. great amps.
offset guitars resident bass player.
'Are you trying to seduce me Mrs Robinson? Or do you just want me to solder a couple of resistors into your Muff?'

User avatar
PJazzmaster
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 5159
Joined: Tue Mar 10, 2009 6:59 am
Location: Bo Diddley Technical Institute of Cryptozoology (European HQ)

Re: unexpected nad - mmba!

Post by PJazzmaster » Sun Oct 27, 2019 3:44 pm

indeed one of the most underappreciated vintage fender amps.
It's sounds so sweet and it runs sooo quiet / free of noise :-*

User avatar
parry
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 8509
Joined: Sat Apr 05, 2008 10:08 am
Location: Ontario, CANADA
Contact:

Re: unexpected nad - mmba!

Post by parry » Sun Oct 27, 2019 4:00 pm

PJazzmaster wrote:
Sun Oct 27, 2019 3:44 pm
indeed one of the most underappreciated vintage fender amps.
It's sounds so sweet and it runs sooo quiet / free of noise :-*
YES!! I also have an Ampeg that is super noisy, no matter where it's plugged in. If I plug in to the MMBa and use the second input as an output to the Ampeg, the Ampeg is dead quiet also. I have no idea what's happening there, but I'll run that signal chain if I want to record the Ampeg and keep it quiet.
Fighting for peace is like fucking for virginity.

User avatar
W.L.Weller
PAT PEND
PAT PEND
Posts: 31
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2015 11:09 am
Location: Queens

Re: unexpected nad - mmba!

Post by W.L.Weller » Mon Oct 28, 2019 3:05 pm

Noisy Ampeg could be a grounding issue? Such that daisy-chaining from the MMB gives the Ampeg a quieter ground connection, through the sleeve of the instrument cable?

I scratched my head for a sec at the tube compliment, then looked at the schematic and noticed/remembered the interstage transformer. Good stuff.

User avatar
N0_Camping4U
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1673
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2013 1:59 pm
Location: Houston Texas

Re: unexpected nad - mmba!

Post by N0_Camping4U » Tue Oct 29, 2019 4:09 am

I've always wanted one and run in parallel with another amp, and use it to get that nice fuzzy gain to add a texture to the other amp.
"I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan. We meet again, at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but the learner, now I am the master."

User avatar
postchrist
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 306
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2019 8:48 am

Re: unexpected nad - mmba!

Post by postchrist » Tue Oct 29, 2019 9:13 pm

parry wrote:
Sun Oct 27, 2019 2:36 pm
Yep! LOVE my MMBa 8)
Great score! What speaker is in yours?
i believe this is the original speaker! my older one had some unmarked black speaker that didn’t quite match this one... this thing sounds much bigger and frankly more pleasant than my last. it’s so nice in the bedroom late at night, gets just enough grit and low end even around 2 to sound like a much larger amp than it is.
PJazzmaster wrote:
Sun Oct 27, 2019 3:44 pm
indeed one of the most underappreciated vintage fender amps.
It's sounds so sweet and it runs sooo quiet / free of noise :-*
yes!! it’s dead silent - soooo nice. actually has me noticing some very minor grounding issue or something of the sort in my jazzmaster - a very slight change in the hum of the pickups when i touch the trem/strings/bridge etc. :D
N0_Camping4U wrote:
Tue Oct 29, 2019 4:09 am
I've always wanted one and run in parallel with another amp, and use it to get that nice fuzzy gain to add a texture to the other amp.
close friend of mine has an ac15 that i plan on doing this with soon... seems like it would be such a great combo. i’ve thought before that i like the sound and portability of these amps so much, it might be cool to just run two or three of them in place of another amp. ;D :fp:
lying dog-faced pony soldier.

User avatar
duncanjames
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 609
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2010 2:43 pm
Location: Not Detroit, Michigan

Re: unexpected nad - mmba!

Post by duncanjames » Tue Oct 29, 2019 10:56 pm

Image
:whistle:

User avatar
postchrist
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 306
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2019 8:48 am

Re: unexpected nad - mmba!

Post by postchrist » Tue Oct 29, 2019 11:05 pm

duncanjames wrote:
Tue Oct 29, 2019 10:56 pm
Image
:whistle:
oh lord, that’s a dreamy dreamy thought. wow!

what sort of variety is going on between the three of them?
lying dog-faced pony soldier.

User avatar
duncanjames
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 609
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2010 2:43 pm
Location: Not Detroit, Michigan

Re: unexpected nad - mmba!

Post by duncanjames » Tue Oct 29, 2019 11:22 pm

Thanks! The photo is about 7 years old, and they're all gone now. I look back on it fondly, but then I remember how much extra work it was to carry and set up VS one larger amp.

The center amp is the later version with 6V6s, and the two outside amps are the earlier version with 6AQ5s. Far right was missing the original knobs, so I replaced them with what looked similar in the sale photo. As you can see, they ended up being way larger!

If you really want to get into it, the two on the left are all the later/heavier particle board, where the far right one had a pine shell. The 6V6 was my favorite, and I had later put that chassis into the pine cab. If I ever saw that one for sale, I'd probably have to buy it back!

User avatar
postchrist
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 306
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2019 8:48 am

Re: unexpected nad - mmba!

Post by postchrist » Wed Oct 30, 2019 11:56 am

duncanjames wrote:
Tue Oct 29, 2019 11:22 pm
Thanks! The photo is about 7 years old, and they're all gone now. I look back on it fondly, but then I remember how much extra work it was to carry and set up VS one larger amp.

The center amp is the later version with 6V6s, and the two outside amps are the earlier version with 6AQ5s. Far right was missing the original knobs, so I replaced them with what looked similar in the sale photo. As you can see, they ended up being way larger!

If you really want to get into it, the two on the left are all the later/heavier particle board, where the far right one had a pine shell. The 6V6 was my favorite, and I had later put that chassis into the pine cab. If I ever saw that one for sale, I'd probably have to buy it back!
you ran them all at once for shows?? :D that’s fantastic lmao... i have a bit of a rough back so while it’s a hassle three light amps and a few trips back and forth from the car might actually make more sense for me... hahaha. will probably grab an ac15 or princeton at some point and call it good.

also - wasn’t aware that the cab construction changed!! i’ve found so little info on these amps, it really surprises me - i wonder how many of these were made!

i’ve never been lucky enough to try the 6aq5 version - how would you describe the difference in sound?
lying dog-faced pony soldier.

User avatar
duncanjames
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 609
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2010 2:43 pm
Location: Not Detroit, Michigan

Re: unexpected nad - mmba!

Post by duncanjames » Sat Nov 02, 2019 5:03 am

To be honest, now I can't remember if I did! I may have just gone through hooking it up at home and decided it was more trouble than it's worth. If you're worried about your back, most AC15s(and especially AC30s) would not be something I'd recommend!

Aside from the tube change, I wasn't aware of a lot of those changes until I had them. The 6AQ5s look very different from a 6V6, but they're actually functionally quite similar. My favoring of the 6V6 amp was because I had it the longest, and the 6AQ5 sockets looked kind of precarious to me. I found a larger sound difference with swapping speakers than amps themselves. I didn't care for the stock speakers. They sounded the strongest with some higher wattage Eminence, but the extra weight led me back to the Jensen C12Q that was in the 6V6 amp when I first got it.

User avatar
somanytoys
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 3325
Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2017 1:59 pm
Location: Baton Rouge, LA

Re: unexpected nad - mmba!

Post by somanytoys » Mon Nov 04, 2019 11:33 am

I think you’ll like running this in tandem with an AC15, they should really compliment each other’s tone.

I use an AC15 & a Deluxe copy, they sound great together.
-David

It's a boost booster, to boost your boost - it makes your tone much muchier.

Post Reply