The Blue Angel Appreciation Thread

[Bluewail]

who gave his all for this beauty!

Over the years i've owned 4 BA's, selling a 4X10 and 3 1x12's but I always loved the sound of the amp. When this one came up, I just couldn't resist. It's stuffed with an EVM 12L and mostly NOS tubes and is the best one yet. Only problem is now my amp is alway better dressed at the gigs than I am :roll:

 

[banjodon]

I wrote awhile back about tube rattle. It's really bad now. :shock: I've got JJ's in the 6V6, EL84s and rectifier tube sockets...I'm running the amp through a 4X12 extension cab to eliminate the rattle. i run the amp full out usually - love the tone.

Any ideas, forumites? Anybody else had this trouble?

Don

 

[Bluewail]

I'd check the rectifer first. I 've run across some rattling JJ rectifiers in the past.

Vince

 

[banjodon]

Thanks. Yeah it rattles, but it's not the only one. I'm going to put all the old tubes back in and start from there. I thought it was the EL84s at first.

I'll probably invest in a new cab with 10s and run the amp that way.

don

 

[Marco]

hi lads,

I already own a B.A. 4x10" which I love playing for the dynamic responsiveness, but I just did not love the tone (exept slaving it to my Bassman Ten for more bottom.

I pulled out the awefull treblish/harsh sounding eminence (I think) speakers and put in 4 x Jensen P10R speakers. This sounded a lot better, but still I missed that bottem end.

So what to do? well...bought a Blue Angel amphead which I now use with a Marshall 1960AX cab loaded with Celestion greenbacks. This is Heaven and the angels are blue and flying :lol:

volume down and nice clean. volume up and the angel is roaring.
Never seen/heard a real angel roaring. Maybe when they are matingor something. :wink:

Anyways...wanna keep the 4x10" combo aswell. Does anybody know a 10" speakers I can fit in the bottom which have bottom?

 

[Bluewail]

Try Eminence Ragin' Cajuns

 

[Marco]

Hi there Bluewail, thanx for the info.

I'll order 2 of those ragin hormones then and try ém out. :twisted:
Hope it will give what I need. The Jensens alone just don't give the bottom end I need.

It's really a design thing actually, because the 4x10"combo speakerspace is just to small (considering there's also an amp in there which consumes space).

A good friend of mine has got a 4x10" Mesa (open back) cabinet (Jensen P10R's) for the Blue Angel and its bigger than the combo and really gives more bottom. I really like a full sound with bottom end, so the amp is more versatile to play with. 8)

 

[Marco]

by the way bluewailer, did you put ragin cajuns in your Blue Angel???

 

[Marco]

Just dropped the idea of swapping my Jensen P10R's for Eminence Ragin'Cajuns. I'll just sell the 4x10" Blue Angel

Someone offered to trade my Fender Bassman Ten 4x10" for a Blue Angel amphead. Plan is to get/make a 2x12" speakercabinet (piggyback style) and stuff it with Celestion G12M or H (75Hz) Greenbacks. :twisted:

Problem solved 8)

 

[dumeril7]

JSomeone offered to trade my Fender Bassman Ten 4x10" for a Blue Angel amphead. Plan is to get/make a 2x12" speakercabinet (piggyback style) and stuff it with Celestion G12M or H (75Hz) Greenbacks. :twisted:

That will sound killer -- it was my main amp for about 8 years....

D7

 

[Marco]

It still is for me dude

So what do you play on now?

 

[dumeril7]

It still is for me dude

So what do you play on now?

A '76 Marshall JMP non-master or a '63 brownface Concert. I recently picked up an F-30 for cheap and I've been delighted with it. But I definately miss the Blue Angel from time to time. I personally think its one of the best amps that Mesa has ever made.

D7

 

[Marco]

those are very nice amps.

Apart from my blue angels I have a home made clone of a Matchless Spitfire (with a solid state rectifier in it for more punch). The darn thing is sounding really really good though.

I wanted a JTM45 (with the KT66's), but to get that fat singing tone, you need to put the volume wide open, and that's a bit too loud I think. Especially with KT66 which have so much headroom. So I decided to skip that one.

Still want to check a Matchless HC30 amphead and also that new Badcat amp with 6v6 bottles in it. Did not find a store nearby to hear the tone. American stuff is really expensive over here (Mesa/Matchless/Badcat/you name it. But I guess that's the same in the States for the stuff imported from Europe.

Nice pic from y'r Blue Angel setup. I'll post one of mine within a few days.
Tomorrow I'm recording with the B.A., so that will be another good day in the life of.... 8)

 

[dumeril7]

those are very nice amps.

Apart from my blue angels I have a home made clone of a Matchless Spitfire (with a solid state rectifier in it for more punch). The darn thing is sounding really really good though.

Nice! I wished I bought a Spitfire or Lightning when you could get them for (relatively) reasonable prices.

I wanted a JTM45 (with the KT66's), but to get that fat singing tone, you need to put the volume wide open, and that's a bit too loud I think.

Yep, that's exactly why I picked up the F-30. I have an Airbrake that I use to tame the Marshall, but it just turns it from "way too loud" to just "loud".

Still want to check a Matchless HC30 amphead and also that new Badcat amp with 6v6 bottles in it.

A friend of mine has a Matchless DC30 and it is probably the finest amp that I've ever played through. It is just glorious sounding. Perhaps you're already aware, but there's a company called Ceriatone that makes well-executed copies of classic amps, including the C-30, for very reasonable prices. Now, its just the chassis and electronics -- you have to supply your own cabinetry and speakers, but the price can't be beat.

D7

 

[Marco]

That's exactly what I had in mind 8)
I mailed Ceriatone and they told me they where prototyping a amp-head housing for it, so that's nice too.

Still...I don't know what it really sounds like. I found some soundsamples on the matchless website, but there is no info about which guitar/pickups/speakers it is played with. It sounds really thin on the samples.

 

[dumeril7]

That's exactly what I had in mind 8)
I mailed Ceriatone and they told me they where prototyping a amp-head housing for it, so that's nice too.

Still...I don't know what it really sounds like. I found some soundsamples on the matchless website, but there is no info about which guitar/pickups/speakers it is played with. It sounds really thin on the samples.

The C-30 is definately a bright amp, which is part of its charm for me. You know with the Blue Angel, the more you turn it up, the darker/warmer it gets. With the C-30, turning it up brings on this shower of harmonics. I've heard it called a "blizzard of nails" and that's kind of right. It just such a complex sound. Its also highly responsive to playing dynamics (like the Blue Angel), which is a must for me. Speaker-wise, the 2x12s are usually fitted with a Vintage 30 and a Greenback. Supposedly, they're specially tweaked for Matchless, but so often that's just marketing BS (being a marketing dude myself, I take all claims with a grain of salt). Actually, I think the cabinet is part of the sound; its a nice open-back design and the dissimilar speakers work well for that sound IMO.

I think you'd probably do well though to check one out if you can, because it may just not be your cup of tea. BTW, the Scott Henderson album "Dog Party" was recorded with a DC-30, I believe.

D7

 

[Marco]

aaaah...Scott Henderson rules. He'll be playing here on the 5th of april with the scott Henderson Blues band. 8)

I'll check the album you have mentioned out, to get a glimp of the tone. His albums are a bit overproduced, but do sound bloody good. :twisted:

I checked out some samples of the new Badcat and a new VHT amphead and they sounded really good to me.

But then again....the B.A. is giving me everything I need now, so the rest is luxury for me.