Son of a Boogie

[OneMoreAugust]

I was going to check one of these combos out today...any info about them? Opinions welcome too. Thanks

The guy said that it isn't a channel switching model w/ 1X12, unsure of the watts, just loud as hell.

 

[BPski]

I have an SOB amp. 60w with black tolex. Mesa MS-12 speaker. It sounded good when I got it. It sounds better now that I removed the "Limit" circuit (which says Presence on the faceplate) and converted the phase inverter to Mk I spec's. Now where it says Presence it really is a Presence control. After I did the change it sounds like a 60w Mk I. It is definitely loud and sounds pretty darn good. I have 2- 100w, '77 Mk I's and the SOB is a little dirtier sounding. It is a good amp for not alot of money. I hope this helps.

 

[Bluesbob]

Did you just put the pot in line with the negative feedback loop? Different pot? Also, how to change the PI circuit, please. Thanks for any info I can use on my SOB.

 

[patrickginnaty]

I have an SOB amp. 60w with black tolex. Mesa MS-12 speaker. It sounded good when I got it. It sounds better now that I removed the "Limit" circuit (which says Presence on the faceplate) and converted the phase inverter to Mk I spec's. Now where it says Presence it really is a Presence control. After I did the change it sounds like a 60w Mk I. It is definitely loud and sounds pretty darn good. I have 2- 100w, '77 Mk I's and the SOB is a little dirtier sounding. It is a good amp for not alot of money. I hope this helps.

I had my tech do the same, as per the MK IIB schematic that came with the original package of papers along with the amp. I replaced the Black Shadow with a JBL, that helped, too.

 

[Musical123]

I just picked up a SOB 60W combo. Are there any instructions to make the mods listed above?


Thanks

 

[conroy]

Love the SOB combo. It's got a tone that you'll never tire of. Juicy. Use the Groove Tubes Sylvania 6L6s. This amp is something special.

 

[MusicManJP6]

What type of tones can it be compared to?

 

[phyrexia]

Use the Groove Tubes Sylvania 6L6s.

What GT 6L6s are you talking about?

 

[conroy]

I'm talking about GT-6L6C. I sat down once and tried out all the Groove Tube 6L6 types back to back. Also tried Mesa Brand, Sovteks, and Fender. Mind you, this was a few years back but the GT-6L6C was the best sounding tube for the S.O.B. I purchased a pair with a rating of 7. I would go for 8-10 next time to hopefully get a little more clean headroom. The S.O.B. isn't the loudest cleanest amp but man does it have a tone.

 

[MusicManJP6]

IIRC, all Mesas have a fixed bias and the Groove Tubes' equivalent should be b/w 4 and 6 distortion rating to meet the specs of Mesa tubes...

 

[conroy]

With all this talk about power tubes I just changed mine. Put in some new GT6L6CHPs. They sound great. Much like the GT6L6Ss but fresher.

It's hard for me to compare the sound of the S.O.B. to a famous guitar player's sound. It has a sound of it's own. Throaty, rich, expressive but not necessarily over the top. It's a lot of fun to play both rhythm and lead. I usually just turn the volume dial on my guitar up for leads.

I've often thought that the sign of a good amp is one where you don't have to crank the tone controls too far from their middle (5) position. If you are constantly having to crank the controls to some oblique setting it's a sign that you are fighting the amp/speaker/guitar's natural tone.

I'm a bit of a signal path purist. A lot of fancy switchable amps offer many choices but sometimes none of those choices are 100%. The S.O.B. doesn't have a whole lot of variety. It just seems to do one sound really well. It's a sound that I've never tired of.

 

[conroy]

What type of tones can it be compared to?

Here's a recording I made of a song called Aura. Listen for the solo and you'll hear the S.O.B. shining!

http://www.reverbnation.com/tunepak/155521

 

[Alivefor5]

Nice tone, Conroy. I want one.

 

[lyman]

What type of tones can it be compared to?

Here's a recording I made of a song called Aura. Listen for the solo and you'll hear the S.O.B. shining!

http://www.reverbnation.com/tunepak/155521

cool stuff! i dig the horns that come in at the middle. nice throaty lead tone as well. it does seem a little grittier than mk1 tones i've heared. i assume you weren't using any pedals, right?

 

[conroy]

Thanks for checking out the track! No pedals, just straight into the amp. For the recording enthusiasts, the amp was set on a chair in the middle of a 15' x 15' room. I used three microphones. One on axis in the middle of the cone, one on the back, and a PZM mic 5 feet away on the floor. The guitar is a Gibson ES 135 arch top.