bennyguitfiddle Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 So I was at my friends dads house today playing his new epiphone hollowbody through his old Woodson amp. this amp is awsome loud as you could ever want. 2-12 combo with reverb and tremolo. And just has a great over all TUBE SOUND . I have played on this amp many times in the past since it was my best friends dads (that what sons and friends of sons do barrow equipment). :grin: :grin: So any way I'm playing this thing and admiring the tone. when I ask what kind of tubes are in this amp. He said there aren't its solid state. NO WAY!!!!NO WAY MAN!!!!!! SOLID STATE. as sure as the sun comes up this amp is solid state. but it sounds like tubes. and the tremolo is so smooth Woodson amps where made in the 70's I think from the info I can find. and the made solid state amps. and they where in Missouri some where. I don't know much more was hoping for some more info if any of you know about these jems. I still can't believe it SS how come they had technology to make great ss amps in the 70's But the ones today don't sound as warm or smooth as tube amps. if you ever get the chance play a woodson. Why do you lay down? I say that it beats standing up! whats got you feeling so down? I hold up my empty cup! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennyguitfiddle Posted May 10, 2007 Author Share Posted May 10, 2007 I figured these were rare. Nobody knows anything about them? Why do you lay down? I say that it beats standing up! whats got you feeling so down? I hold up my empty cup! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picker Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 They were inexpensive solid state amps. I had a power amp that we used for monitors in our PA. It lasted a few years, then died. A friend had one of the 2x12, and it was pretty loud, but somewhere between mediocre and awful tonally. Maybe they made more than one 2x12? Found this link, but he seems as in the dark about the company as everybody else; http://www.broadwaymusicco.com/kustom17.htm Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edchristl Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 Please place your ad in the Classified section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Fraser Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 So any way I'm playing this thing and admiring the tone. when I ask what kind of tubes are in this amp. He said there aren't its solid state. NO WAY!!!!NO WAY MAN!!!!!! SOLID STATE. as sure as the sun comes up this amp is solid state. but it sounds like tubes. Well, it sounds like you've just discovered what a bunch of us have been saying in the pro audio world for a long time: "There is no such thing as 'tube' sound." Tubes can sound any way the designer makes them sound, & the same with solid state. Seems you found a real good solid state design. One of my favorite amps is a late 60's solid state Standell that somebody gave me. Clean tone for days with no breakup. Would I trade in my JCM900 & 70's Deluxe Reverb for solid state models? Nope. But there are transistor amps which can hang in there for certain kinds of tone. Scott Fraser Scott Fraser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picker Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 Good luck. You might get $150 out of the amp, but only an idiot would pay more. They are not great amps, or collectible. And a Fender Redondo acoustic with a pickup might bring $500 or $600 from a really rabid Fender collector, but as an acoustic guitar, they suck wind. By the way Ed, there is a classified thread where we post our for sale items. You can find it at the top of the thread list. Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennyguitfiddle Posted July 29, 2009 Author Share Posted July 29, 2009 wow 2 year old thread I still think this amp rocks I would drop a $150 bones for sure Why do you lay down? I say that it beats standing up! whats got you feeling so down? I hold up my empty cup! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillWelcome Home Studios Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 What is often considered to be the 'tube' sound, I have been told has more to do with the transformers. And certain mic pre manufacturers offer an output transformer option for their mic pres... my two John Hardy pres have the transformer option. "I believe that entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot." Steve Martin Show business: we're all here because we're not all there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudcat Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 What is often considered to be the 'tube' sound, I have been told has more to do with the transformers... This is one of the reasons the solid state Vox amps manufactured by Jennings in the 60s are noted for having a "tube-like" clean tone (if you can keep them operational - LOL!). There was something about the tranformers in the output circuit on these things that positively affected the their tone. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers have been using these amps forever. Mudcat's music on Soundclick "Work hard. Rock hard. Eat hard. Sleep hard. Grow big. Wear glasses if you need 'em."-The Webb Wilder Credo- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillWelcome Home Studios Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 Interesting. I've had a mid1960s Cambridge Reverb for years... the amp works but the Vox Bulldog speaker is blown, and I haven't been serious enough about it to hunt up a repair shop. I had to do extensive restoration of the cabinet, replacing the piping, some of the corners, and the grille cloth (which is not to period, but as close as I could get today.) The amp sounds good with external speakers. and on Saturday I just traded my Yamaha DX7 for a Vox Kensington bass amp. No restoration needed, this amp is in great shape. Even has the original cover. "I believe that entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot." Steve Martin Show business: we're all here because we're not all there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudcat Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 I bet the tremolo on that Cambridge is really nice. I had a friend who owned one of those and I loved it. BTW - I meant to say "...manufactured by Thomas Organ..." in my earlier post, not Jennings, which would have been the original British company. Mudcat's music on Soundclick "Work hard. Rock hard. Eat hard. Sleep hard. Grow big. Wear glasses if you need 'em."-The Webb Wilder Credo- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 Which SS guitar-amps are you guys referring to that have output-transformers? Don't most SS amps operate without output-transformers between the output-section and the speakers? Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudcat Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 Which SS guitar-amps are you guys referring to that have output-transformers? Don't most SS amps operate without output-transformers between the output-section and the speakers? Hmmm....you know, I think you're right. They used a "transformer coupled driver section." See this LINK for some more info. This isn't the same as the output section, is it? Mudcat's music on Soundclick "Work hard. Rock hard. Eat hard. Sleep hard. Grow big. Wear glasses if you need 'em."-The Webb Wilder Credo- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillWelcome Home Studios Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 Well, I wouldn't know about the output sections of a SS amp, never viewed one that I know of. But I was referencing a microphone preamplifier (one of the first sold as such in the modern day, and still considered to be one of the best), based upon an old console mic pre design. It has an optional transformer output section, which I purchased. As to my refering to transformers being what really causes the 'tube' sound that everyone is loking for in pro audio, I picked that up at a discussion over dinner with a handful of the top preamp designers in the US... it was something that they were discussing, far over my head, but one of the few things that I understood in the whole evenings conversation. "I believe that entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot." Steve Martin Show business: we're all here because we're not all there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Fraser Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 I was referencing a microphone preamplifier (one of the first sold as such in the modern day, and still considered to be one of the best), based upon an old console mic pre design. It has an optional transformer output section, which I purchased. Neve preamps from the 80x8 series consoles, which are sort of a gold standard for thick rich textures are all solid state & full of transformers. In fact one of my frequent tactics with a Neve preamp is to turn the EQ section on but leave the controls at zero. The signal goes through 2 additional transformers & often that alone is what's needed to get the fullness I'm looking for. Scott Fraser Scott Fraser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillWelcome Home Studios Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 ...leave the controls at zero. The signal goes through 2 additional transformers & often that alone is what's needed to get the fullness I'm looking for. Scott Fraser Glenn Meadows showed me the same trick many years ago with compressors. When I had a lot of outboard gear, I used that method. Now the only outboard that I have is on the input side of tracking. But you are right, that works a treat. "I believe that entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot." Steve Martin Show business: we're all here because we're not all there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 Yeeeeeeeeah, that's all cool- it really is!- but we were talking about speaker-driving amplifiers, guitar-amplifiers in particular. We went (by degrees) from O/Ts to O/T. With almost no exceptions, tube-amps have to have an output-transformer between the output-tubes and speakers. Many, pretty much most (probably damn near all) such amps, when SS, do not have them at all. And they certainly don't need them to function; although, as has been pointed out, maybe a design using one will get a more tube-amp like feel and sound. Anybody got a schematic (or a link thereto) for one of these '60s SS Jennings Thomas Organ Voxes? Do these Woodsons use O/Ts? Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillWelcome Home Studios Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 "Anybody got a schematic (or a link thereto) for one of these '60s SS Jennings Voxes?" Were there any? I know about the Thomas Organ Voxes made by special arrangement for the US market, I'm not familar with Jennings SS models. "I believe that entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot." Steve Martin Show business: we're all here because we're not all there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 "Anybody got a schematic (or a link thereto) for one of these '60s SS Jennings Voxes?" Were there any? I know about the Thomas Organ Voxes made by special arrangement for the US market, I'm not familar with Jennings SS models. I bet the tremolo on that Cambridge is really nice. I had a friend who owned one of those and I loved it. BTW - I meant to say "...manufactured by Thomas Organ..." in my earlier post, not Jennings, which would have been the original British company. Whoops- I carried that over into my posted reply, as well! Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larryz Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Are transformers being confused with transistors? Tubers have very large transformers and thus weigh more than SS amps...either way I haven't heard an SS that sounds as clean as a tube amp yet (to include the Carvin immulator that I took back after doing a side by side against my Hot Rod De Ville)... Take care, Larryz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terrell Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 tubes definitely have a sound... When headroom is absent, they add compression and slower response. So squares and triangles are curvy. Among other artifacts they introduce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriel E. Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 SS amps certainly have their place. They do clean REALLY well and they are generally more portable and reliable than their tube counterparts. I have a Quad stereo from the mid-60s that still sounds amazing. There are some good SS amps from the 70s out there. At that time the designers were working within the perameters of what SS could provide and just concentrated on getting a good sound. Not necessarily a "tube" sound, just a good one. The problem is that most SS amps since then have been designed to try to cop a tube sound which they can't do because of the odd-order harmonics. Like the crappy Peavey TransTube or Marshall Valvestate amps. Yuk! "You never can vouch for your own consciousness." - Norman Mailer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larryz Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 I'm just glad they keep making tubes and tube amps to include the new hand wired jobs that copy the details of the older tube amps (but get expensive)...many of todays amps combine SS boards with tubes and get really great sounds...you even see new pedals using tubes...SS amps can sound great too especially with the right guitar and player making those sounds...I'm just old school and like the warmth of a tuber... Take care, Larryz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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