Hey guys!!! Well, Ive been posting numerous threads latley about my quest for my favorite style of tone and I think I found it!!
Man it sucks being out there in that lost world of tones... But I think ive found one that has pulled me in. I posted a thread earlier about my guitar teacher selling his halfstack, and I asked to play on it at his house and he said, why not just take it home for a week or so?? I said really!!? He said yeah I trust you, so Hes let me bring home his halfstack. Well, after about 5 days of non-stop playing and tweaking I got the amp to a decent sound and kept playing and playing and couldn't stop playing. I love it, it screams high, and has an incredible low.
What it is, is a Carvin MTS 3200 Head, and a Peavy 5150 Cab. The head is about 4-5 years old, and the cab is almost 10 years old. It was his gigging amp for all of his years. So I asked him how much and he thought for a second and said, 550$?? I said sounds good. Wait, it gets better. I talked to my mom and she said since were already paying him 320$ a month for lessons, Why not ask him if we can make payments on it. He said yes, and the payments are 100$ a month, so not only is it affordable for me, but I love its tone, sound everything. Plus it gets INCREDIBLY loud if I were to ever need it to. I mean 100 all-tube watts, its SCREAMS loud.
The knobs seem to be firm, power switch and everything seems to be intact, but I do have some quick questions about it. Im a complete newb to tube heads and 4 X 12 cabs.
As I was playing, I noticed the knobs, and the head itself get very VERY hot after an hour or so of being on. The knobs almost get to hot to touch, and the head gets very very warm. Not the actual surrounding of it, just the "smart" part of the head I guess you would call it. The tubes inside it are glowing orange/yellow light bulb glow I guess, really dim, and nice. The longer the amp is on, the warmer it gets, the warmer it gets the better it sounds.
Is it a problem if the head gets very very hot after about 2 hrs of being on??
Other, then the getting real hot thing, it doesnt seem to have any problems at all. It will make my room hot if I have the door and windows closed, and it gets very warm thats all I can say. It sounds EXCELLENT, warmer it is better it sounds, knobs are intact, switches all work ect ect ect..
However it is very dirty. Can anyone reccomend the best cleaner to make cab mesh, and the head mesh and knobs polished and "black" again??
Its pretty tore up but I want to make it look cleaner.
Thanks for all your opinions on anything and any future tips for being a new halfstack-tube owner let me know!!!
Thanks guys! :D
Sing Me A Song Your a Singer, Do me a wrong, your a bringer of evil. - Dio
Congrats on the new equipment and all, but if you're paying him $320 a month for lessons, I think he ought to throw in a guitar with that halfstack! :shock:
Geez, are you taking daily lessons, or what?!
Margaret
When my mind is free, you know a melody can move me
And when I'm feelin' blue, the guitar's comin' through to soothe me ~
Congrats on the new amp and cab. Carvin makes some great sounding amps. I am not familiar with the speakers in that cab, most likely Peavey's. Peavey makes great speakers. They are also known to be very heavy, there is a joke that says if they blow you can always use them as boat anchors. :D
Tube amps naturally get hot, I wouldn't be too worried about that. Some tubes get especially hot like EL84s. You can always pick up a small fan at Radio Shack to draw heat away from the amp if you'd like. Make sure the amp can breathe, don't put it right against a wall or cover the cooling vents by throwing a towel over the amp head or anything like that.
If you really want to get great tones, look into an attenuator. This allows you to really crank the amp but keep volume down. Weber makes some very affordable attenuators.
Try cranking the amp way up but turning the volume way down on your guitar as well. You will like what you hear. :twisted:
As far as cleaning, I would just use a damp cloth, especially on the amp head. You can use a glass cleaner, it will clean away grime, but don't spray it on the amp. Spray it on the cloth and then wipe the amp with the damp cloth. Don't get the amp wet.
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
fucking LOL at 320 a month for lessons
he better be paul gilbert or satch or something christ
I talked to my mom and she said since were already paying him 320$ a month for lessons, Why not ask him if we can make payments on it.
Thank your mother, tell her you love her.
Used to be, was a part of me felt like hiding.. but now it comes through. Comes through to you.
Good deal MM!
#4491....
enjoy the amp mm 8)
even god loves rock-n-roll
I'm glad for you that you like your new amp, but I gotta agree... $320 a month for lessons?! :shock: That's just insane! :roll:
Dan
"The only way I know that guarantees no mistakes is not to play and that's simply not an option". David Hodge
Well, they could be two-hour lessons, twice a week, which would make them pretty cheap. :)
Congrats on the amp! I remember how blown away I was by the tube tone of my little peavey. Enjoy!
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
MM. I am happy you found your tone. inspiring isn't it.
tube amps get hot. normal. give em breathing room.
a few care tips:
let the amp warm up in Standby. it takes a few minutes. the plates on the tubes need to warm before they can transfer those electrical dealies.
I usually turn the amp on standby to warm then get my gear out; pedals , tuner, etc. then I know the amp is ready.
like light bulbs tubes have filaments in them. when hot they are fragile. just as a light bulb filament will break when hot and shaken so will a tubes.
so after you shut off the amp let it cool a bit before moving it.
some amps are notorious for heat. the old Voxs would burn fingers when reaching behind there.
dont leave anything on top of that hotter side too.
enjoy.
HOLY MOTHER OF MONKEY NUTS! 320 dollars a month? You should take that and get an apartment by your high school. Chicks would dig that more...
Too funny. But grats on the amp and I really really really hope those lessons really long and frequent for that much dough. :D :shock:
Congrats on the new equipment and all, but if you're paying him $320 a month for lessons, I think he ought to throw in a guitar with that halfstack! :shock:
Geez, are you taking daily lessons, or what?!
He's in California and if he's in a big urban area it can be that expensive. Here in Silicon Valley it's about $40 to $80 per hour. At the low end of $40 / hour you only get a relatively inexperienced teacher. Of course, the cost of living here is pretty high (~$1500 for a basic 1 bedroom apt.). I'm paying $60 / hour for four 1 hour lessons per month but if I want to take any workshops it's extra.
Pop music is about stealing pocket money from children. - Ian Anderson
Good deal! That would be my choice in a tube head if I ever needed one ;) I don't know why, but the V3 doesn't interest me for some reason.
Too many knobs maybe. ;)
ok ok, I'm here to explain lol. Thanks dogbite for the great tips, and everyone else for all your input and responses I expected less replies!! Thanks everyone!!
Ok, well What my guitar situation is, is Im doing one hour on fridays at a music store with him, and then doing another hour on sundays at his studio. Both with the same guy, 2 hours a week, which is 8 hours a month, and personally I think 500$ a month is reasonable for this guy. We get along GREAT, hes a laid back awesome guy who has absolutely excellent skills. I mean he fully tabbed out "Eruption" By Van Halen, Like he already knew it by just listening to it for 15 mins. Unbeleiveable guitarist. He's actually doing a album with Ben Harper right now, hes playing guitar for his next album.
Technically his lessons are 80$ an hour, and im doing 8 hours a month. But Idk, it all works out, because I have fun, look forward to them every week, and keep coming back, and in my opinion that price is limitless. :D :D
Sing Me A Song Your a Singer, Do me a wrong, your a bringer of evil. - Dio
I talked to my mom and she said since were already paying him 320$ a month for lessons
Technically his lessons are 80$ an hour, and im doing 8 hours a month. :D
If lessons are $80 an hour, times 8 hours per month, doesn't that work out to $640 per month?
Wondering if you might want to divert a little of that guitar lesson money for a math tutor. My rate is a mere $40 per hour. :twisted:
Margaret
When my mind is free, you know a melody can move me
And when I'm feelin' blue, the guitar's comin' through to soothe me ~
