New amp day! Magnatone Panoramic Stereo 2x10

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rbrcbr
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New amp day! Magnatone Panoramic Stereo 2x10

Post by rbrcbr » Thu Sep 16, 2021 11:47 am

The day has finally come...after needlessly searching for deals on newer Magnatones, I stumbled on this Panoramic Stereo on the GC site and pulled the trigger just for the sake of trying it out and having a return policy (and GC financing making it reasonable to purchase).

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Holy moly, talk about tone. I'd heard a number of people play these live - Big Thief swear by their Twilighters, Sam Evian plays a Twilighter as well, Adam Brisbin (who plays guitar with Sam and a billion other bands) continues to blow me away with his live tone everytime I've seen him play, also through a Twilighter. If you're not familiar with any of these bands/musicians, check em out. Thanks to them these amps have been on my radar for a little while. I barely passed on a stupid good deal for a 1x12 Twilighter during COVID lockdown, and since then I've been kicking myself. Now this guy comes along.

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It's a bit different than the Twilighter I've had my eyes on (1x12, 6v6s) - the Panoramic Stereo is 2x10, 4 EL84s split across two power amps, each power amp being directed out of an individual speaker for that glorious stereo Magnatone vibrato. I've struggled to find vibrato pedals useful in the past - I've got a Diamond and while it sounds incredible, I just haven't had much application for one. But this built in vibrato is something else. I could leave it on all the time and not be bothered by it. It just sounds that good that even having it turned down to a low rate/intensity adds a certain air to the sound that is magical.

I've never considered myself an EL84 fan - they're often amps that are voiced too harsh/bright for my tastes, especially since I play single coils pretty much exclusively. 6L6 was always my go to (no longer have room/a car for a super reverb though here in NYC) or 6v6 (my 65 Princeton non reverb holds it down well). But damn, something about this amp. It's really bright with my Jazzmaster, but has super responsive tone controls and rolling back on the volume and tone knobs actually works well with reigning in some of that treble. I'm still debating whether I should keep it - I just finished recording my album last month and will need a gig worthy amp and not sure I want my old Princeton to take the beating. This is plenty loud and stays clean til I really dig in or throw overdrive pedal in the mix. It's also wild to me that it's barely bigger than my Princeton and maybe weighs like 10 lbs more.

I'm almost ashamed to say that I've hardly plugged in my Princeton since I got this thing...it kind of blows it out of the water. Will need to spend more time A/Bing the two but they're so different I'm not sure it's a fair comparison.

Anyway, here's a demo video - my '59 Thin Skin w/ Lollar Black Bobbins/280K Vintage Inspired pots/Mastery bridge, tuned to open G. Amp bass knob at noon, treble at 10 o clock. First bit is clean with a bit of compression, volume at like 7 o clock, then I switch the vibrato on, then with a Hudson Broadcast AP for overdrive. The last bit is with the overdrive off and the amp volume cranked up halfway/at noon and my compressor acting as a boost to push the amp into overdrive. Sounds wild. The vibrato almost gets like a Univibe at times. So stoked. I hope the phone video does it a decent job of getting the point across!

https://youtu.be/Lg0FLb44Nyg

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Re: New amp day! Magnatone Panoramic Stereo 2x10

Post by JSett » Thu Sep 16, 2021 12:50 pm

I admit, I know next to nothing about Magnatones apart from the fact I played an OG one on Denmark Street a while back and was blown away. I didn't have the ££££ they wanted for it so put it out of my mind.

This looks stunning, and really 'deluxe' in it's finish. The demo sounds great too and the slow vibrato sounds almost like a lush phaser!

Congratulations :-*
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Re: New amp day! Magnatone Panoramic Stereo 2x10

Post by Veitchy » Thu Sep 16, 2021 3:55 pm

I've had a bit of a hankering for these lately. I always was drawn more curious about the mono ones as I thought the stereos would be a bit too much, but that sounds glorious. Nice overdrive sound too - kind a brown-panel Fender vibe. How heavy is it with all those tubes?

Now I want to see a pair of these run in stereo - that'd sound huge.

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Re: New amp day! Magnatone Panoramic Stereo 2x10

Post by marqueemoon » Thu Sep 16, 2021 6:33 pm

That’s real nice.

I’m partial to amps with 6V6s too, and I wish I understood better what it is I actually like about the amps because It probably doesn’t have much to do with the power tubes.

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Re: New amp day! Magnatone Panoramic Stereo 2x10

Post by rbrcbr » Sat Sep 18, 2021 7:55 am

Veitchy wrote:
Thu Sep 16, 2021 3:55 pm
I've had a bit of a hankering for these lately. I always was drawn more curious about the mono ones as I thought the stereos would be a bit too much, but that sounds glorious. Nice overdrive sound too - kind a brown-panel Fender vibe. How heavy is it with all those tubes?

Now I want to see a pair of these run in stereo - that'd sound huge.
Yeah, love the driven tone myself. Two in stereo would be something else, I’m sure. It weighs like 30 lbs? It’s a bit more unwieldy than the Princeton but could still be moved around with one arm, it’s not a two arm bear hug type situation like a Super Reverb would be. Feels like a great portable mid size amp.

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Re: New amp day! Magnatone Panoramic Stereo 2x10

Post by rbrcbr » Sat Sep 18, 2021 7:59 am

marqueemoon wrote:
Thu Sep 16, 2021 6:33 pm
That’s real nice.

I’m partial to amps with 6V6s too, and I wish I understood better what it is I actually like about the amps because It probably doesn’t have much to do with the power tubes.
Do you feel like this applies across the board when it comes to other amp brands? I’m definitely a fender 6L6/6V6 lover, but haven’t spent much time with other amps that use those power tubes. This one is also a class AB amplifier, so although it’s got EL84s it’s still different from something like an AC30 and it’s Class A amp design. There are so many nuances in design that I don’t know enough about to really articulate what it is that I like about X amp/tube combo.

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Re: New amp day! Magnatone Panoramic Stereo 2x10

Post by HarlowTheFish » Sat Sep 18, 2021 8:57 am

rbrcbr wrote:
Sat Sep 18, 2021 7:59 am
Do you feel like this applies across the board when it comes to other amp brands? I’m definitely a fender 6L6/6V6 lover, but haven’t spent much time with other amps that use those power tubes. This one is also a class AB amplifier, so although it’s got EL84s it’s still different from something like an AC30 and it’s Class A amp design. There are so many nuances in design that I don’t know enough about to really articulate what it is that I like about X amp/tube combo.
I have a H&K Grandmeister (4xEL84) and while it can do the chimey high-mid Vox thing, it also has a metric crapton of low end, low mids, and very flexible EQ to get it sounding how you want it. I honestly find it harder to get a traditional Voxy kinda tone than big, massive Dual Rec vibes.

The tubes are part of the sound because amplifier design is limited by the physical/electrical characteristics of any given tube, but it's certainly not true that EL84 tubes sound like X, 6V6 sound like Y, etc.

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Re: New amp day! Magnatone Panoramic Stereo 2x10

Post by marqueemoon » Sat Sep 18, 2021 9:36 am

rbrcbr wrote:
Sat Sep 18, 2021 7:59 am
marqueemoon wrote:
Thu Sep 16, 2021 6:33 pm
That’s real nice.

I’m partial to amps with 6V6s too, and I wish I understood better what it is I actually like about the amps because It probably doesn’t have much to do with the power tubes.
Do you feel like this applies across the board when it comes to other amp brands? I’m definitely a fender 6L6/6V6 lover, but haven’t spent much time with other amps that use those power tubes. This one is also a class AB amplifier, so although it’s got EL84s it’s still different from something like an AC30 and it’s Class A amp design. There are so many nuances in design that I don’t know enough about to really articulate what it is that I like about X amp/tube combo.
I do. I don’t own a Fender amp right now.

I like how the amps I have handle transients and break up. A lot of that has to do with low power I’m sure.

I also like an amp that holds together in the low end when it starts to break up. I don’t like a particularly bassy sound, but farty bass is a big no.
Last edited by marqueemoon on Sat Sep 18, 2021 5:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: New amp day! Magnatone Panoramic Stereo 2x10

Post by s_mcsleazy » Sat Sep 18, 2021 3:01 pm

i've always been curious about magnatone amps after seeing a picture of rickey lime from scarling using one. mainly because i always thought on the record, scarling had such a big guitar sound.
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Re: New amp day! Magnatone Panoramic Stereo 2x10

Post by Maggieo » Sat Sep 18, 2021 3:54 pm

That's gorgeous. If it's anything like the old ones, it's magic.

Billy Gibbons has been seen using one and, no surprise, he sounds like a monster through it.
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Re: New amp day! Magnatone Panoramic Stereo 2x10

Post by Surfysonic » Sat Sep 18, 2021 4:51 pm

Congrats! I've heard nothing but awesome positivity about Magnatone amps, old and new. I've become really enamored with my Fender 2x10 configuration amps - well, basically, any 10" speaker config (1x10, 3x10, 4x10).

I'm definitely going to have to try one of these out! :?

Slight derail question - do you happen to know what year your Princeton is? I've got a '64 (date code on tube chart is NL) with a 12" Fender by Utah speaker. Wonderful amp, as well. 8)
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Re: New amp day! Magnatone Panoramic Stereo 2x10

Post by rbrcbr » Mon Sep 20, 2021 7:07 pm

Surfysonic wrote:
Sat Sep 18, 2021 4:51 pm
Congrats! I've heard nothing but awesome positivity about Magnatone amps, old and new. I've become really enamored with my Fender 2x10 configuration amps - well, basically, any 10" speaker config (1x10, 3x10, 4x10).

I'm definitely going to have to try one of these out! :?

Slight derail question - do you happen to know what year your Princeton is? I've got a '64 (date code on tube chart is NL) with a 12" Fender by Utah speaker. Wonderful amp, as well. 8)
Yeah the 2x10 config is new to me, but I've always loved the 4x10 set up so I'm stoked to have a pared down version of that. If only it had 6L6s :whistle:

Yeah the Princeton is great! Mine is coded "OH" on the tube chart - August of 1965! Mine's been through it - it was dropped in shipping and arrived with a broken speaker baffle, and a janky old Radioshack speaker hahaha. It since has gotten a Mojotone replacement baffle and a Weber 10A125 and seems to be doing quite well. All of my electric guitar parts on this record we just finished were done using that amp, and my buddy on guitar 2 played through a silverface PR. They really are the perfect studio amps.

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Re: New amp day! Magnatone Panoramic Stereo 2x10

Post by rbrcbr » Mon Sep 20, 2021 7:29 pm

HarlowTheFish wrote:
Sat Sep 18, 2021 8:57 am
rbrcbr wrote:
Sat Sep 18, 2021 7:59 am
Do you feel like this applies across the board when it comes to other amp brands? I’m definitely a fender 6L6/6V6 lover, but haven’t spent much time with other amps that use those power tubes. This one is also a class AB amplifier, so although it’s got EL84s it’s still different from something like an AC30 and it’s Class A amp design. There are so many nuances in design that I don’t know enough about to really articulate what it is that I like about X amp/tube combo.
I have a H&K Grandmeister (4xEL84) and while it can do the chimey high-mid Vox thing, it also has a metric crapton of low end, low mids, and very flexible EQ to get it sounding how you want it. I honestly find it harder to get a traditional Voxy kinda tone than big, massive Dual Rec vibes.

The tubes are part of the sound because amplifier design is limited by the physical/electrical characteristics of any given tube, but it's certainly not true that EL84 tubes sound like X, 6V6 sound like Y, etc.
Gotcha. I'm pretty unfamiliar with electrical work/amp design so I always sort of operated under the assumption that most amps are based on a Fender/Vox/Marshall circuit and certain tubes lent a certain quality inherent to that sound. But yeah this has got me a bit more curious/interested in other amps that aren't 6V6/6L6 now, and this Magnatone has definitely helped shift that perspective. Thanks for the input.

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Re: New amp day! Magnatone Panoramic Stereo 2x10

Post by Surfysonic » Mon Sep 20, 2021 10:02 pm

rbrcbr wrote:
Mon Sep 20, 2021 7:07 pm
Yeah the 2x10 config is new to me, but I've always loved the 4x10 set up so I'm stoked to have a pared down version of that. If only it had 6L6s :whistle:

Yeah the Princeton is great! Mine is coded "OH" on the tube chart - August of 1965! Mine's been through it - it was dropped in shipping and arrived with a broken speaker baffle, and a janky old Radioshack speaker hahaha. It since has gotten a Mojotone replacement baffle and a Weber 10A125 and seems to be doing quite well. All of my electric guitar parts on this record we just finished were done using that amp, and my buddy on guitar 2 played through a silverface PR. They really are the perfect studio amps.
Very cool! Congrats again! 8)
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Re: New amp day! Magnatone Panoramic Stereo 2x10

Post by 46346 » Wed Sep 22, 2021 2:06 am

nice!! i have two 50's Maggies, a 260 and a "Da Vinci" 213, both with the classic vibrato. also had a stereo 280 back when...
so when these new cats came on the scene having bought the Magnatone name and look, i was intrigued.
i always stop and play them at NAMM shows, and they had a few open chassis for a look at the insides,
they look well made with good components, and even the mysterious vibrato circuit looks like the classic approach.
props also for maintaining the cabinet quality and look, they were outstanding in their day, and i'm impressed with how the new company kept all the best that they could about the legendary original designs.
the only bug of course is the price... i'm not at all saying that they're not worth it, but i've always found vintage Maggies for a bargain, at least here in the Western U.S. good to see that the newer models are now within reach on the used market - well done.

if i had my choice of endorsements for an amp on tour, i would probably talk to these guys first!
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