Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hey Folks:

I was inspired after reading the "I need a new amp..." thread, so recorded my 1999 Rick 360/6 (Hi Gains) through a few of my amps and made some MP3 files. If your browser is set up to play MP3 files, you can click on the links below to hear how the different amps sound with this guitar. How good are your ears at spotting the differences? It's harder than you may think!

The amps were all set to deliver clean sounds and I tried to keep them all consistently flat in terms of EQ. I used a large diaphragm tube compressor mic and ran everything into Pro Tools. There are some strange sounding MP3 artifacts...sorry, it's the nature of the beast, but hopefully you will get the idea. The files are about 500K each. If you think this is worthwhile, I can post more clips with overdrive or perhaps a 360/12 in a day or two. I tried to keep the clips simple so you can concentrate on the sounds rather than my weird playing style:-)

1. Fender Hot Rod Deluxe w/ Celestion V-30
http://www.coe.unco.edu/jeffbauer/fender.mp3

2. Ampeg Jet II (2002)
http://www.coe.unco.edu/jeffbauer/ampeg.mp3

3. Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 201 w/Celestion Greenback
http://www.coe.unco.edu/jeffbauer/marshall.mp3

4. Vox AC-15 TBX w/Celestion Blue Alnico
http://www.coe.unco.edu/jeffbauer/vox.mp3

5. Mystery amp! Can you guess what kind of amp this is?
http://www.coe.unco.edu/jeffbauer/mystery.mp3

Fun "taste test" here, Jeffrey...

I've listed to each a few times, going back and forth, and can hear subtle differences between each. While I don't know what the Mystery amp is, I am most impressed with what is probably the lowest-cost one of the bunch: the Ampeg.

Here are some visuals (and, no...the mystery amp is not visible in any of these photos!):

http://www.coe.unco.edu/JeffBauer/studio.jpg

http://www.coe.unco.edu/JeffBauer/studio2.jpg

http://www.coe.unco.edu/JeffBauer/vox.jpg

More photos and MP3 clips at:

http://home.attbi.com/~drjeffreyb

Jeffrey: Nicely done. I prefer the Vox. No surprise to me. I am not sure what your mystery amplifier is but it sounds like a solid state amplifier.

The mystery amp is not solid state. In fact, it is the only point to point non-pcb model in the lot...circa 1970.

Interesting Jeffrey. To me the mystery amplifier does not have the "rich royal ring" that the other sound samples have.

Great Taste test Dr.Jeffery thanks! Is the mystery amp an Orange?

Good guess, Edmond, but no, it's not an Orange (I wish I had one though). Here's a hint that is sure to give it away. The amp has a 4 ohm 8" speaker.

I would guess that it's a Fender Bronco.

Dr. Jeffery, is it a British or American amp?

Y'all are getting close. R.C. has the correct brand, wrong model.

OK is it a Fender Champ then?
1 6V6, 1 12AX7, 1 5Y3
If it is, perhaps this explains, in part, why I did not hear the same ring in this mp3 as I did in your other sound samples.

Yes, indeed. I installed a Torres Champ kit (new capacitors, etc.) and a Jensen alnico reissue speaker in this one. The original speaker was an 8 ohm JBL (CBS was using all kinds of strange components back then).

I updated my website over the weekend and added some fresh songs and photos. Check out "Murder" for some Rick 360/12 and 650 Dakota sounds. I ran the 12 string through a tube preamp straight into my Digi 001 interface and processed it with Pro Tools. The Dakota went through a little Crate VC 508 (solid oak cabinet model) which was close miked with a tube powered large diaphragm condensor. The lead guitar is a Les Paul Classic. The acoustic is a Martin D-18 from 1971. Let me know what you think.

http://home.attbi.com/~drjeffreyb