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Topic: Fender Showman |
Jack Devereux
From:
Brooklyn NY
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Posted 13 Jan 2015 6:10 am |
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Hey everybody- still looking around at different tube amp options, and have been considering the different variations of the Fender Showman (Black/Sliver face, dual, reverb, all that). Seems like it would be a great amp for pedal steel. Does anybody have any experience with these? Specifically, if you were gonna use one for pedal steel, which era/model would you look for, and once that's decided, what kind of speaker/cab would you run it through?
thanks-
Jack Devereux |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 13 Jan 2015 7:51 am
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The blackface Showman wants to see an 8-ohm load. The blackface Dual Showman wants to see a 4-ohm load.
Once had a blackface Showman with the tone ring Showman cab loaded with a D-130F. Awesome amp for nearly any application. Never should have let that one get away.
C'est la Vie.
Last edited by Jack Hanson on 13 Jan 2015 10:01 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Bob Hoffnar
From:
Austin, Tx
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Posted 13 Jan 2015 7:53 am
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I used a 66 showman with a 2/12" THD cab as my main recording rig for years. There is no reverb so I used a EHX Holy Grail with it. The blackface showmans are still not to expensive. Be careful with the condition though. Once the boards start crumbling inside they will have all sorts of problems until they are gutted and replaced.
_________________
Bob |
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Tom Wolverton
From:
Carpinteria, CA
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Posted 13 Jan 2015 9:56 am
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I've gigged a lot with a BF Showman head. I've used both a 4-ohm and a 8-ohm OT with these. They work great for PSG and lap steel. I usually use a single 15 in a Rick Johnson matching open-back cabinet, with a JBL K-130 or a Telonics Neo 15. I've been very happy with this set-up.
_________________
To write with a broken pencil is pointless. |
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Chris Boyd
From:
Leonia,N.J./Charlestown,R.I.
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Tommy Boswell
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 13 Jan 2015 6:13 pm
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| If I were a gigging musician, I'd be looking for a Showman as an upgrade from my Bassman 70. It took me a long time to learn how to get great sound out of the Bassman, with the right stuff going in (guitar and effects), and coming out (speaker cabs), and how to use the limited EQ. But I'm hooked on big Fender tube sound. |
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Tom Wolverton
From:
Carpinteria, CA
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Posted 14 Jan 2015 6:15 am
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Tommy, I think you would find that your Bassman 70 and a BF Showman head are very similar. That was my experience.
_________________
To write with a broken pencil is pointless. |
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Jack Devereux
From:
Brooklyn NY
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Posted 14 Jan 2015 8:07 am
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Cool, thanks all!
There's a '66 about an hour away from me I think I'm gonna go check out. I gather only the silverface Dual Showmans (Showmen?) have reverb, but I have a Neunaber which I absolutely love, so that's not a huge issue. Now figuring out the speaker side of things. Carty Thompson (who's on here frequently) suggested swapping the 6L6 quad for two 6550s so you can use an 8ohm speaker, which, based on what I've been reading this morning seems to make a lot of sense. |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 16 Jan 2015 3:24 am
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I own a 67 BF Showman head, wonderful amp, the owner before me installed a period correct 4 ohm OT which is the only difference between a Single Showman and a Dual Showman. I have always thought that this amp has the best NORMAL channel tone of any Fender amp I have ever owned, but keep in mind the BF Showman's Normal channel tone stack uses only 3 knobs, Volume Treble and Bass, no MID control. The MID control knob is on the Vibrato channel. I believe the Dual Showman Reverb heads ( SF) do have the MID knob on the normal channel. This may or may not be important.
_________________
Emmons L-II , Fender Telecasters, B-Benders , Eastman Mandolin ,
Pro Tools 12 on WIN 7 !
jobless- but not homeless- now retired 9 years
CURRENT MUSIC TRACKS AT > https://tprior2241.wixsite.com/website |
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billy tam R.I.P.
From:
baton rouge, louisiana
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Posted 21 Jan 2015 5:48 am Showman
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Like Tony, I also use a '67 Dual Showman with either a single JBL D-130 4 ohm or 2 8 ohm JBL's. Great steel rig especially going thru a Benado Steel Dreams unit.
Billy |
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Len Amaral
From:
Rehoboth,MA 02769
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Posted 21 Jan 2015 6:34 am
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| I have a 70's Duel Showman with reverb. I had new filter caps installed and retubed/biased and this amp has a sweet tone for steel or guitar. |
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Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
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Posted 21 Jan 2015 7:18 am
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| used to use a dual showman TFL5000D. fine amp. |
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Lee Dassow
From:
Jefferson, Georgia USA
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Posted 21 Jan 2015 1:35 pm
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I have a BF 66 Fender Showman amp with the 2 JBL 15"
speakers. I don't know what model JBL speakers they
are. All I know is the speakers are grey in color.
Got the amp in the early 80's. Heavey? Yes,But sounds
Great,especially for electric piano. Condition. Excellent. I would highly recommend these amps. T.L.
_________________
2015 Mullen D-10 Royal Precision 9x8,-1990 BMI S-10 5x5-1972 Silver face Fender pro Reverb amp,-1965 Fender Super Reverb Amp,- 1966 Fender Showman Amp Two 15" JBL speakers,- 2006 65 Fender Twin Reverb reissue Amp,- 1982 Peavey Session 500 amp,-1978 Peavey Session 400,Goodrich Volume Pedals,John Pearse Steel Bars, |
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Walter Bowden
From:
Wilmington, North Carolina, USA
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Posted 21 Jan 2015 5:02 pm
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Hi Jack.
I have a 1986 copy of "The Tube Amp Book II" by Aspen Pittman of Groove Tubes.
It has an extensive section on different types/models of Fender amps and changes made by CBS ownership to the original designs and modding options.
If you like tube amps, I would highly recommend you pick up a copy. He covers Ampeg, Gibson, Marshall, VOX, Selmer, Mesa Boogie, Music Man, Orange and other tube amps complete with schematics, history of the company, principles of tube electronic development and is an essential, must have resource in a single volume for us glass heads IMHO.
P. S. I've never known anybody who bought the book regret it.
Best wishes, Walter
_________________
Emmons S10, p/p, Nashville 112, Zion 50 tele style guitar, Gibson LP Classic w/Vox AC30, Fender Deluxe De Ville and a Rawdon-Hall classical |
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David LeBlanc
From:
New Brunswick, Canada
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Posted 19 May 2015 1:26 am Blonde Showman
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| There`s a 1964 blonde Showman with matching cab for around $1700. Those this sound like a good deal? It says it`s the rare transitional circuit? Are these good amps for pedal steel? |
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Tom Wolverton
From:
Carpinteria, CA
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Posted 19 May 2015 5:14 am
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If it is an original blonde Showman. That a good price. But be careful. It might be a repro cabinet. Or the rig was originally black and was re-tolexed in blonde. I've seen that a few times. Then the price is so-so.
I don't care much for the original closed back cabinets for steel. I prefer an open back cabinet. Sounds more like a TR to me.
I love running the new Digitech Polara reverb pedal with mine.
_________________
To write with a broken pencil is pointless. |
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Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
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Posted 19 May 2015 6:14 am
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| Bob Hoffnar wrote: |
| I used a 66 showman with a 2/12" THD cab as my main recording rig for years. There is no reverb so I used a EHX Holy Grail with it. The blackface showmans are still not to expensive. Be careful with the condition though. Once the boards start crumbling inside they will have all sorts of problems until they are gutted and replaced. |
"crumbling"???? i have never seen a fiber card crumble in any fender amp. i have opened and worked on many. |
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Tim Marcus
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 19 May 2015 7:24 am
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they don't crumble so much as warp and bend like a wet lasagna noodle
_________________
Milkmansound.com |
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Cartwright Thompson
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Posted 19 May 2015 7:35 am
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| And absorb moisture and crackle like an egg frying |
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Chris Bauer
From:
Nashville, TN USA
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Posted 19 May 2015 1:22 pm
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| Any of you ever have any real-world problems using either a Showman with with 4 ohms or a Dual Showman with an 8 ohm load? |
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Jon Light (deceased)
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 19 May 2015 1:44 pm
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Chris--I pushed an 8 ohm Weber Cali pretty hard with a Dual Showman Reverb in a loud bar band for many nights with no issues.
The natural caveat is that it is best to match up. But it's a cliche by now that Fenders will tolerate this mismatch. Until you become the one in a hundred that blows a transformer. |
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Cartwright Thompson
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Posted 19 May 2015 3:22 pm
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You can also pull two power tubes in a Dual Showman if you want to use an 8ohm load. For years I ran two 6550s in a DS into an 8ohm D-130, what a great sound. You need to beef up the screen resistors for 6550s, but that's no big deal.
Hey Jack, Mr. OP, when are you going to post some photos of that new amp of yours  ? |
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Chris Bauer
From:
Nashville, TN USA
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Posted 23 May 2015 11:04 am
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| If there's a choice to be made, is there any difference in risk/sound going up versus down (e.g. 4 ohm amp output into an 8 ohm cab versus 8 ohm output into a 4 ohm cab)? |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 24 May 2015 1:46 am
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Fender amps are known, for decades, with NO world known issues with an OT ohms mismatch.The only real issue that is taking place behind the scenes is a slight current draw and a loss of total output wattage, of which you would never know.
I ran my 70 Twin, 4 ohm OT with a single 15 JBL ( 8 ohm) for probably 20 years.
Just do it..forget the theory of it all. For 30 years we did this with no issues , then the internet came along and told us it wouldn't work and our amps would blow up. 
_________________
Emmons L-II , Fender Telecasters, B-Benders , Eastman Mandolin ,
Pro Tools 12 on WIN 7 !
jobless- but not homeless- now retired 9 years
CURRENT MUSIC TRACKS AT > https://tprior2241.wixsite.com/website |
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Cartwright Thompson
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Posted 24 May 2015 2:24 am
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| Chris Bauer wrote: |
| If there's a choice to be made, is there any difference in risk/sound going up versus down (e.g. 4 ohm amp output into an 8 ohm cab versus 8 ohm output into a 4 ohm cab)? |
I always thought that it was easier on the amp to run it "uphill" i.e. 4ohm OT into an 8ohm load. Some believe that it has the effect of "tightening-up" the sound of the amp. Like Tony, I used an 8ohm speaker in a Vibrolux Reverb for years with no problems.
But I have also been told the opposite too, by knowledgeable sources, that 8 into 4 is safer for the OT.
I think that if it's a Fender amp, you're not going to hurt it with either scenario, and that neither one has much of an effect on the sound.
If you ask four amp techs this question, you'll most likely get four different answers. |
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