Dan1122

Myles, I am having the following problem with a Rivera Fandango. When the unit is switched out of standby I am hearing what - for lack of a better description - sounds like a piece of rotating machinery (compressor, motor, etc). The noise almost sounds like the blower motor in one of those old practice organs from Sears??? Anyway - I realize there are no rotating parts in the amp and I'm just wondering what the sound could be. Also, when the Focus control is set at zero the sound disappears. Kind Regards, Dan

I think I inadvertantly posted this in the wrong location previously.... Hi Myles, I recently purchased a Rivera Fandango 1x12 Combo and am having trouble dialing in an acceptable distorted/overdriven sound on channel 1. I realize this is subjective but harsh is the best way I can describe the channel 1 tone. I have experimented over a period of four weeks with a myriad of EQ settings as well as both the Vintage and Modern modes. There seems to be no middle ground between harsh and flat. This particular amp has the adjustable boost volume modification for both channels so I have worked with this as well. I would also note that I have experimented with master volume settings between 5-8 in an attempt to really work the power tubes. With the harshness issue aside the amp is an excellent performer in other areas: it is very touch sensitive and cleans up readily with a soft attack. Channel 2 has a simply beautiful clean tone with tons of headroom. Im not sure if these are pertinent items but I would also note that there is very little distortion available on channel 2 even with the boost engaged and both volumes approaching their maximum settings. Also, the amp produces what I would describe as static or white noise. This noise does not change levels as the volume controls are adjusted and disappears completely with put on stand-by. This is my second tube amp so I dont have a lot of experience with this type of equipment but I think I have done the due diligence when it comes to exhausting the settings I can change. Im wondering if you see anything in the tube compliment below that would explain the harshness issue noted above and if so could you recommend the necessary changes. I hope Im describing this clearly but what I would like to achieve is a smooth overdriven/distorted sound similar to early ZZ Top, Allman Bros or AC/DC V1 JJECC83S V2 GT12AX7R (ECC83/7025) V3 12AX7LP Sovtek (00 05) V4 GT12AX7R3 (ECC83/7025) V5 12AX7LP Sovtek (00 04) V6 Winged C EL34 (I assume this to be a Winged C the letter C is in a circle with three horizontal marks on each side of the perimeter) these tubes are both marked in hand written ink #8 on the base. There are also numbers handwritten on the end of the tube in ink 153 on one 147 on the other. Ive included the function of each tube as given in the Rivera manual below: V1 Input buffer and tone control driver for Channel 2, and also the first Preamp stage of Channel 1. V2 Tone control follower for Channel 2 and an additional gain stage for Channel 1. V3 Third gain stage for Channel 2 and for Channel 1 V4 Reverb follower gain stage, and mixer for both channels V5 Phase inverter driver tube for the power amp section V6,7 Power amp tubes Kind Regards, Dan Snyder

The Rivera amps that have this feature are great at it .... They have two options in the same amp for the most part .... One is lowering the plate voltages and the other is switching from pentode to triode mode. They all work great and sound great. In my own TBR-1M I can switch between these wattages per side ... 60/30/15/8 by using the low/hi and pentode/triode switches. Myles, Are you familiar with the Rivera M-60 and Fandango amplifiers and if so could you detail the significant differences in these models with respect to tone. I have narrowed my search to these two models, however, I have not had the opportunity to hear the M-60 in person. If the construction is similar the 8W capability of the M-60 would be a deciding factor for me. Kind Regards, Dan

Myles, I have a question regarding the "reduced" power modes available on some Rivera amp models like the Fandango and Knucklehead. The ability to reduce the power by at least half seems appealing to me as it would address my problem of very rarely needing a 50W amplifier. What can one expect in terms of the tonal qualities of this type of setup when running at a reduced power level? Is it possible that this type of configuration would make a good practice/small club amp while still having more than enough power to keep up with a loud drummer when needed? Thanks for your help, Dan