Heartbreaker Advice

[Natman]

I grabbed a HB for a good price on ebay and have been reading up. I'm excited because I have wanted one for many years! A few questions:

-Is a speaker swap in order? I didn't like the MC90 in my Blue Angel at all.
-Can it take KT66 tubes if I remove the retainer clips?
-Has anybody done good mods that I should know about? The Marshall mod to the lust channel sounds interesting: http://www.grailtone.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=24611&hilit=+heartbreaker+mods
but sending the amp to Andy is out of the question (I live in Canada)!
-What is the reverb upgrade I hear about?

I will probably go with 6V6's as 40 watts is plenty of power for most everything I'll need to do, but I do have a quad of Tung Sol KT66's that I could try. It would be fun to try for an authentic Bluesbreaker tone!
Anyway, please share. Seems like this is an amp people either love or hate.

 

[pennman]

I have been pouring over my heartbreaker for almost two years now and i havent yet found the end of its possibilities. I have tried it with el-34s, 6l6s and 6v6s. ive used it with the stock mc-90s, with eminence redcoats, celestion gt-75s and webber silverbell speakers. its not that i tried all these things because i didnt like the tone i was getting, on the contrary i have enjoyed every combo thus far. this is why ill never get rid of this amp. it seems that no matter what i throw at it i can coax a tone from it that knocks my socks off every time. my advice is this: there are many changes you can make to this amp, it takes multiple tube types, works well with many speakers, and there are multiple mods which are available (voodoo mods may be closer in reach than andy), but before you do anything play it. figure out what you like and dislike about it, and then go about making changes to suit it to your taste. i will offer some tips however.

this amp does not come to life until you turn it up a good deal.
if you plan to use it at a lower wattage level consistantly, have your speaker selection reflect that.
the mid control on this amp plays a major role in shaping the tone.
I know its traditionalist mutiny, but dont shy away from the solid state rectifier.
It may seem a bit flubby on the bass end at times. the remedy to this (outside od modification) is to dial your tone in with your ears and not your eyes. it may seem odd to have your bass control set at 9 o'clock, butif it sounds right whos to say.

have fun with the new amp and i hope you love it as much as me. id love to hear your impressions once you spend some time with it.

 

[mdortona]

I would shoot Andy an email anyway. I have heard that he is currently having a sale on mods. You could ship the chassis only out to him, which would make shipping less (of course unless you live on the East Coast of Canada). I modded my Heartbreaker head and it sounded great!

Matt

 

[Natman]

Hey thanks guys! As much as I'd love to, I can't afford to send the amp out for mods (Montreal, Canada). I'd rather do them myself! I can match the schematic to the JCM800 on Ch.2, maybe allow more signal into the reverb circuit, but beyond that I would need help. Bias pots may be in the future and I'm leaning toward 6V6's so I can open the amp up like you said.
If the amp is only 40 watts, that lets me use many more speakers as power handling is no longer an issue. I'm leaning toward a Mojo BV30H and WGS Green Beret to start. Hope it doesn't detract from the Fendery tones! There are many reviews out there stating how misunderstood this model was and how professional its capabilities are so I feel good about this one.

What does the variac switch do to the sound in practice?

Keep the pointers coming... Thanks!

 

[pennman]

the variac switch lowers the incoming voltage from (i think) 114v to 90-something, making it more of a vintage setup and, as the manual says, gives it a more spongy, resilient feel. i would advise you to read through the manual ( its free online) because some of the settings involving the variac can cause harm to the amp. 6v6s for instance have to be used with the tube rec and tweed variac, and if im correct, i belive the tweed setting is more condusive to el-34s as well. if your looking for 40w, dont forget that you can also use el-34s in the 60w position for the same ultimate effect. this , however, would allow you to switch to the higher wattage setting if more volume was desired.

 

[mbman]

the remedy to this (outside od modification) is to dial your tone in with your ears and not your eyes

+1 to this. Actually this is good advice when dialing any amp but especially Boogies! I usually start with everything at 12 o'clock then tweak from there.

I know there are quite a few guys who like their modded HBs but to me mine sounds pretty **** good the way it left the factory.

Martin