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Topic: Dual Showman Reverb as a bass amp? |
Mike Simpson
From:
Gilbert, Arizona, USA
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Posted 5 Jul 2004 2:47 pm |
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To avoid buying yet another amp I was wondering if my 1968 Dual Showman Reverb head would work OK for an occasional bass amp? I also have a bandmaster 2x12 cab with d130f JBL's and I assume that it would be bad for these speakers to be used for bass. Any opinions or suggestions?
Thanks
Big Mike Simpson |
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R. E. Klaus
From:
Montana, USA
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Posted 5 Jul 2004 4:14 pm
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For practice and small gigs it should work fine. I used a 2-12 Bandmaster head and closed back cabinet for bass in small clubs about four life times ago and it sounded ok. The JBL's will probably sound better than the Celestion's that were in mine and there should be no problem using them just don't push them too hard. Any thing past "5" won't make you any louder, it'll just add distortion.
R.E.
[This message was edited by R. E. Klaus on 05 July 2004 at 05:20 PM.] |
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Ron Whitworth
From:
Yuma,Ariz.USA Yeah they say it's a DRY heat !!
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Posted 5 Jul 2004 4:57 pm
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Hello Mike,
I would suggest only using a closed back cab with prefferably a 15" in there.I know other speaker sizes would probably work also but the 15 would be my preference for bass.Also, make sure the ohms are correct & don't crank it hard & it should be OK..Ron |
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Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
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Posted 5 Jul 2004 6:50 pm
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The D130 is a 15" speaker not a 12. You must have D120 12s in the bandmaster cab.
The Dual showman is one of the best bass amps you could use for moderate vol gigs. I used one for 15 years and wish I had it back.
The output on the Dual Showman is 4 ohms. Any nice single or double 15" cab would be fine. A very low volume gig, your 2 12 JBL loaded cab would work. |
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Jerry Tillman
From:
Florida
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Posted 5 Jul 2004 7:30 pm
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| Mike you might damage the head and the two two 12s running your bass through them.You should send the head and cab to me and I will send you a peavy tnt 130 bass amp to play through. smiles lakeshrk |
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Mike Simpson
From:
Gilbert, Arizona, USA
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Posted 5 Jul 2004 7:30 pm
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Thanks for the info,
Bill you are probably correct on the speaker model number, I haven't had the back off of the cabinet in a while and was going from memory. It is a 67 bandmaster cab with original JBL's and I don't want to mess them up. I will probably just buy a 4ohm bass speaker cab and use the Showman head. I do not have the 2X15 Showman cabinet.
Big Mike Simpson |
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John Floyd
From:
R.I.P.
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Posted 5 Jul 2004 11:02 pm
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| Back in the early 60's when there wasn't a lot of choices for bass amps, I used a Showman single 15" Cabinet and Head, no reverb, made a great bass amp for clubs. Wish I still had one. It also had a JBL D-130f [This message was edited by John Floyd on 06 July 2004 at 12:03 AM.] |
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Jeremy Steele
From:
Princeton, NJ USA
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Posted 6 Jul 2004 10:28 am
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| I'll never forget being in Manny's Music in the early 70's when Larry Graham (then playing with Sly and the Family Stone) came in with his bass tech and bought 6 Fender Dual Showmen, paying cash...I was impressed. |
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Jon Light (deceased)
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 6 Jul 2004 11:30 am
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Yeah, I imagine I'd be too. Man, why didn't I decide to be a rock star!?
Hey Mike--good choice to not use the JBL's for bass. Maybe back when they were still being made you could take a chance but right now, assuming they are original, they are worth their weight in gold. Good idea to get a proper bass cab. |
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Mike Simpson
From:
Gilbert, Arizona, USA
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Posted 6 Jul 2004 7:18 pm
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Jerry, I wouldn't want to pawn this old mismatched rig off on you and do you out of your Peavey bass amp.....It has never had any work done to it except for a new set of tubes a couple of years ago, I would worry that it would give you trouble....It's all old... 
Jon, yes they are original, I bought this from the original owner and 1 speaker was replaced under factory warranty in 1968 (written inside the cabinet). A friends father bought the Showman new and returned the 2x15 cab cause it was too big to haul around and bought the Bandmaster cab. I assume that it must have been in early 68 since the 2x12 cab is a 67. I haven't had the back off in a while but as I remember they are the grey frame JBL's not the orange ones.
So are amps not specific to a particular frequency? In other words they amplify whatever signal they are given and then the speaker is more instrument specific.
As if I haven't stunted my progress enough over the last 10 years by working on guitar in several tunungs and lap steel in a couple more I thought I would dabble in bass too.
Thanks all
Big Mike Simpson http://www.blueswizards.net |
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