Fender showman 115 combo 1x15

Kay Whitesides · From: Texas, USA

I got this showman combo when I got my BMI steel at a pawn shop. At the time I knew nothing about playing steel or tone or anything. I played in my living with sound tracks at a low volume. I've started playing at church with the band, drums, guitars etc. so I have to volume up and I don't like the tone. I've lost the warm sound I had at the lower volume, the higher range seems be muddy, especially with full chords. Has anyone played through this amp. When I researched it, fender ads from 1983 claimed it was a good amp for pedal steel. So do I just don't know how to set all the dials; midi 1 and 2, treble, bass, bright, EQ, gain, reverb, and regular volume? Or is this normal, since I've never played at this volume?Or do I need some sort of effects added to warm up tone and even out sound.
Thanks to all of you for taking time with newbies.

Dave Meis · From: Olympic Peninsula, Washington, USA

Edit: Sorry, wrong Showman...

Godfrey Arthur · From: 3rd Rock

If this is the 200 watt solid state (Rivera designed) Showman with the 2 mid knobs, a treble, bass and THEN a graphic EQ section, in addition to a Gain knob and a Master, you have one complicated overbuilt amp to work with.

It would take a lot of figuring out what each does and how they interact with each other.

Fender is known for designing tone stacks that don't work the way the knobs are named. Meaning one has to understand how they designed the tone knobs to work rather than assume treble, middle and bass is all those knobs do. What more this feature laden model which may in fact be ACTIVE EQ? Mad scientists at Fender got control of the budget and Paul Rivera was way out there in design stretching the envelope in design back in the day trying to compete with Mesa Boogie.

But in the right hands it could sound fine.

The Master knob has a push/pull feature for an even brighter tone adding to more "flexibility" that borders on too many options for the novice.

To get a clean sound turn the Master all the way up and the Gain to like one or two if you need louder at church, use the gain as your basic volume knob. Leave the bright switch on the Master off for now.

The Volume knob start off at one. The Gain knob is the preamp of the circuit so you'll need to balance the Volume and Gain to see how your guitar reacts and figure out where distortion sets in by moving these two knobs.

Leave the graphic EQ off as well until you get the hang of the treble, 2 mids and bass knobs.

On channel 2, the 1st mid controls frequencies at 600hz cut/boost and the 2nd mid controls the 300hz frequency again cut/boost.

You can select on the input which channel you play through.

Basically you want to use volume before you go for tone shaping.

I'm guessing that flat setting on the mids is 5 if the mids are a cut/boost. So set the mid knobs flat @ 5. Set treble and bass knob to 0 to start and if you have the loop select on the bass knob "on" make sure it's "off" to keep things simple.

Play your guitar at the venue, first turning up the volume knob on the amp (assuming you already set the Master to 10 and the Gain to one or two) and then as you get the volume you want, start to shape the tone. Move the 2 mid knobs and see if you get a thicker/thinner tone and then add the treble and then the bass. Do these moves sparingly at first. The mid knobs are cut AND boost. Sometimes it's better to cut than to boost.

Keep in mind that air density changes at a venue as the air heats up from a packed church so the setting you get at the start of the music may change as people flock in which means you would have to adjust your amp throughout the set.

Try and get a tone you can work with first and then just try increasing the volume, taking note if certain frequencies increase or get lost and then adjust to taste.

Again in the case of the mids since those are also a cut (attenuation) feature, you can take some of the lower mids 600hz and 300hz out and then either add treble/bass and/or more volume. But do one mid knob at a time. For some reason the 600/300hz frequency was chosen so how that circuit sounds in that amp with a 15 inch speaker is only known by hands-on fiddling.

Since you complained about the chords not sounding good, try setting your amp to your chord playing instead of single notes.

It's a balancing act. You will have to multi-task remembering your settings, what you hear of your guitar and then figuring which knob to touch on the fly in a hurry at the gig.

If you get confused you might want to source a modern modeling amp that could prove an easier dial-in for you rather than the older amp you are using now.

Or go to a basic Fender tube with the three knob tone stack, or perhaps a Peavey made for steel since you are used to solid state.

Is this it?

If so, this is a rare amp as it was only made for a year or so.

The solid state Showman was Fender's answer to Mesa Boogie. Their, Fender's, top of the line solid state back then.

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Kay Whitesides · From: Texas, USA

Yes that is it. All that sounds confusing as I am reading it maybe it will be easier when actually working with the amp. I just used channel 1 last time as I thought the 2nd channel was was for distortion. I wasn't sure if the mids worked on both channels. I'll definitely need to spend some time. Thanks so much for the information.
Oh, as for solid state, I've never had anything else to compare and also a fairly new player. I've heard the tube amps are Bette. Also heard the pedal steel black box helps a lot. I also didn't know about volume pedals. I had just gotten an Ernie Ball and I now know the pot is 250k and I need a 500k. Don't know if that matters so I've got another one on the way.

Godfrey Arthur · From: 3rd Rock

Keith Murrow · From: Wichita, KS

Godfrey - Thank you for such interesting and informative posts. Back in the early/mid 80s, I was looking to go from a Twin Reverb with 2-12s to a 115 amp. The Nashville 400 had just come out, and the Fender dealer in town told me about a new Fender amp that was coming out at that time as well, a 200w, 1-15 combo that they said would make a good steel amp. They did not have one on the showroom floor, they only had a brochure with a picture. Since I had been playing through a Fender, I would have really liked to have tried one of the Showman 115s, but I would have had to order it, and it was literally several hundred more dollars than the Nashville, so I bought the Peavey.

I never did see one of the Showman 115s in a music store, and always wondered if they were ever produced. I didn't even remember the name of them until I read your posts. Mystery solved!

Kay - hang in there with your amp, it takes time to find "your" sound, even on amps with fewer tone controls. A large part of your sound will come from your hands, anyway. Good luck! You've got a really cool, and rare, amp.

Tom Gorr · From: Three Hills, Alberta

1. Research the Munson Fletcher effect to first understand how volume levels effect perceived tone.

2. any amp dialled in at home will sound different than in a hall. The volume and dimensions and overall ambience of a room will effect what frequencies are reinforced or diminished. For example, It takes a lot more energy to fill an auditorium with bass than a living room. Thus I always found my living room settings to sound thin ina stage situation.

3. what your ear wants for tone -changes depending on whether you are playing solo at home or blending with other instruments.

Dialling in an amp is not a static endeavor. Every room and stage context requires fresh attempts. You need to really know your amp and have a developed ear for dialling it in.

I also hate to dial in an amp when pointed at my ear. I prefer hearing its overall reflection in the space.

Godfrey Arthur · From: 3rd Rock

Tom Gorr · From: Three Hills, Alberta

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