Fender Excelsior

Pyroman

  Tried out one of these today, and fellas- you need to try this amp if you like vintagey tone and/or tremolo!  2x 12AX7, and 2x 6V6.  15" speaker gives it lots of bass.  bright/warm switch.  3 inputs: guitar, mic and harmonica.  These serve as different voicings, apparently.  The tremolo on this sounds great!

  Sounded great with a Squier VM 50's strat with lipsticks.  Tone for days, and it looks great, too.

  So, what say you lot?

Adam_MD

I'm a big fan of small 6v6 loaded amps.

ThePrettyDamned

Wanna know a top tip?

Jam the tone switch in the middle for a middle sound! I found the bright too bright and warm too muddy. So there you go!

Mixed reports about build quality (rattling cabs) but they're beautiful to look at and have fantastic clean tone.

ToneControl

there are some mods for that switch, I recall - adding a pot, etc I think, have a look around

ICBM

I don't think you really need a pot - the three settings you can get with the switch are enough, and there's no easy way to fit a pot without hacking the panel.

I'm not a huge fan of these amps. They can sound very nice clean, but the overdrive sound is a bit hit or miss - they seem very variable both for build quality and tone. They're also quite valve-sensitive, particularly with the effectiveness of the tremolo, and are a bit of a pain to work on - the sort of thing that will have you cursing them if you have to try to track down a problem like a rattle.

If you're lucky and get a good one with a chassis that doesn't rattle, an overdrive tone that doesn't go into harsh rasp and a tremolo that works properly, they're great for the money.

jonnyburgo

I love mine apart from a bit of valve rattle (cheapo stock valves) Ive put a pot in mine for tone and did something with resistors can't really remember now, although I keep it pretty much at 12 o'clock so maybe a bit uneccesary, I just like messin wi stuff until I break something usually and have to call the pros in

But yeah I Love it, I dont have it loud enough in the house to overdrive it but its loved every drive or fuzz pedal I've put in front of it.

ToneControl

jonnyburgo said:

I love mine apart from a bit of valve rattle (cheapo stock valves) Ive put a pot in mine for tone and did something with resistors can't really remember now, although I keep it pretty much at 12 o'clock so maybe a bit uneccesary, I just like messin wi stuff until I break something usually and have to call the pros in

But yeah I Love it, I dont have it loud enough in the house to overdrive it but its loved every drive or fuzz pedal I've put in front of it.

put some silicone or viton rings on the valves, they can stop rattling on heavy amps, probably will still work on this one

Dave_Mc

ICBM said:

They can sound very nice clean, but the overdrive sound is a bit hit or miss - they seem very variable both for build quality and tone. They're also quite valve-sensitive, particularly with the effectiveness of the tremolo, and are a bit of a pain to work on - the sort of thing that will have you cursing them if you have to try to track down a problem like a rattle.

If you're lucky and get a good one with a chassis that doesn't rattle, an overdrive tone that doesn't go into harsh rasp and a tremolo that works properly, they're great for the money.

Agreed, exactly. I really wanted to keep mine, as I did like it, but eventually I got sick of it and sent it back. If you get a good one, though, they're pretty nice, and nothing else (that I'm aware of) similar is really available, at least at that kind of money.

ThePrettyDamned

Dave_Mc;92006" said:

ICBM said:

They can sound very nice clean, but the overdrive sound is a bit hit or miss - they seem very variable both for build quality and tone. They're also quite valve-sensitive, particularly with the effectiveness of the tremolo, and are a bit of a pain to work on - the sort of thing that will have you cursing them if you have to try to track down a problem like a rattle.

If you're lucky and get a good one with a chassis that doesn't rattle, an overdrive tone that doesn't go into harsh rasp and a tremolo that works properly, they're great for the money.





Agreed, exactly. I really wanted to keep mine, as I did like it, but eventually I got sick of it and sent it back. If you get a good one, though, they're pretty nice, and nothing else (that I'm aware of) similar is really available, at least at that kind of money.

I think I prefer the Peavey delta blues, but it's nowhere near as cheap and, assuming it is just a classic 30 with tremolo, it'll be a bit of a mare to work on by classic 30 accounts.

Pyroman

  I'm an apartment dweller, so cranking it for valve drive isn't an option...  I'm glad to hear they like dirt boxes, as that was my plan!

  I'd love to get my hands on a Delta Blues to try out.  None of the Peavey dealers around here carries them.  I'm not sure it's exactly the came as the classic 30- same valve compliment, but different voicing.  FWIW, the Classic 50 also has that same set of valves.

koneguitarist

Great amp, love mine to bits, been gigging it 18months no issues what so ever. Been thinking of modding it using http://billmaudio.com/wp/?page_id=1203 He seems to know the amps well.

ICBM

I would need to check the schematics component by component to be certain ,but I'm pretty sure the Delta Blues is exactly a C30 with tremolo. There is possibly a very marginal difference in that a 150K resistor (C30) is replace by two 100K resistors (200K in total, Delta Blues) where the tremolo acts on the signal path, but I wouldn't expect it to change the tone much if at all. The difference in sound is mostly down to the larger cabinet and the different speakers.

It's quite a different sound from the Excelsior though - much more a "proper" amp with tremolo and a 15" speaker, whereas the Fender is much cruder and more lo-fi - in a good way, if you get one that sounds good.

Shark_Eyes

I have to say I love my excelsior, @Pyroman it certainly responds well to a Mooer Hustle Drive. I agree with you that the tremolo is brilliant, would love it in a pedal.

I was thinking about doing the tone pot mod, but the dark setting nicely offsets with the brightness of my telecaster, however I've found the bright side to be unusable, so when I want a change I tend to jam it in the middle rather than go all the way.

koneguitarist

Playing a tele as well, I tend to leave it on bass setting, works fine, treble is too sharp for me. sounds nice with SG though on treble setting.

Dave_Mc

Pyroman said:

  I'm an apartment dweller, so cranking it for valve drive isn't an option...  I'm glad to hear they like dirt boxes, as that was my plan!

From what I can remember mine liked pedals. I didn't try that many though it, though. Most of my time with mine was spent troubleshooting.

ICBM said:

whereas the Fender is much cruder and more lo-fi - in a good way, if you get one that sounds good.

Agreed. Though although it sounds quite crude, I'd also say it sounds like a proper amp, too. Unlike some of the single-enders which can sound very rough and ready.

Shark_Eyes

@koneguitarist well to make the most of my amp I better buy an SG then!

ThePrettyDamned

More importantly, they're wonderful to look at.

No, really. A 15" speaker combo that looks good in the living room is a rarity! Easy with 10 inchers...

EdGrip

My mate's got one, it's good - the stock speaker and cab don't do it any favours. I wonder why companies don't build more affordable amps around 6V6s rather than EL84s? Because EL84s are more readily available? Hmm. 

koneguitarist

Shark_Eyes said:

@koneguitarist well to make the most of my amp I better buy an SG then!

A ES335 sounds even better, may need to get one of those as well !!

ICBM

EdGrip said:

I wonder why companies don't build more affordable amps around 6V6s rather than EL84s? Because EL84s are more readily available?

Because EL84s - and their sockets - are cheaper.

Shark_Eyes

koneguitarist said:

Shark_Eyes said:

@koneguitarist well to make the most of my amp I better buy an SG then!

A ES335 sounds even better, may need to get one of those as well !!

Only in the interest of getting the most out of my amp, wouldn't want to waste money now.