big bob Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Kinda interested in a showman head but would want something recently made. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 I'm sure KBP could whip one up for you? why not pick up an old silverface one? they're probably relatively cheap isn't it just a twin reverb, in head cab? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
111518 Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Man, a Dual Showman on top of the Sound City you already own ... got some neighbors you really don't like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredZepp Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Man, a Dual Showman on top of the Sound City you already own ... got some neighbors you really don't like? I used a Dual Showman for a long time... It was hot rodded a bit... and yes, loud. The Sound City doesn't cover this territory? .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbp810 Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Of course... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbp810 Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 It would be easily "buildable" - but judging by the cost they appear to be going for used, I'm not sure if it would make much sense to build (the cost of parts alone would likely far outweigh the current used values that I'm seeing at the moment) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big bob Posted January 21, 2012 Author Share Posted January 21, 2012 all the used ones I see are inexpensive, and that's cool. However they all look real abused and I already have a 40+ year old amp. I like the sound of the showman but would like something that does not require a lot of troubleshooting/ repair. And no I don't need one.. that's what makes it fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 what you need is an Ampeg SVT 300 watts of glorious 6550 tube tone....all the clean headroom you'd want & then some!! supposedly that Dumble guy based his "steel string singer" on one they actually sound great with guitar, I used to have one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trouble Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 all the used ones I see are inexpensive, and that's cool. However they all look real abused and I already have a 40+ year old amp. I like the sound of the showman but would like something that does not require a lot of troubleshooting/ repair. And no I don't need one.. that's what makes it fun. Maybe just snag a used one and get a good amp guy to go through it. That's a monster amp! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 I'm sure KBP could whip one up for you? why not pick up an old silverface one? they're probably relatively cheap isn't it just a twin reverb, in head cab? +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tulk1 Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 My brother played a Dual Showman. 2 x 15 JBLs - wow !! That thing was huge and had a sound to go with it. Not really just a Twin in a Head. It had something different. Maybe just the oversized cabinet. To keep up with him I had a Twin "Stack". Twin Reverb on top of a Bassman50 Cab. Used a crossoever to shunt the lows to the bottom cab and the mid-highs to the Twin. Yeah, baby!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredZepp Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 My old Dual Showman... I no longer have the amp, but I kept the cab.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tulk1 Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 My old Dual Showman... I no longer have the amp, but I kept the cab.. Looks like the short cab, Fred. Is it? Either one would be killer. But I recall that 3 of us could sit on my brother's cab when it was laid on the side. And it had something like 30 screws to remove the back. Standing up you were looking right at the head. But talk about tone, it had it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredZepp Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Looks like the short cab, Fred. Is it? Either one would be killer. But I recall that 3 of us could sit on my brother's cab when it was laid on the side. And it had something like 30 screws to remove the back. Standing up you were looking right at the head. But talk about tone, it had it! It does have a ton of screws in the back... it's a massive cab for only 2 x 12... this one has old "coffee can " EV SRO speakers. Here is a "vintage" pic.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCovach Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 A while back I ended up with two silverface Bandmaster Reverb heads--late 60s/early 70s and in very good shape. I had both recapped and black-faced by our local amp guru, John Nau. John is great at going through an amp and finding any potential problems; I have him work on all my stuff. Anyway, I could part with one of these for $650 plus shipping, in case that scratches this particular gear itch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 It does have a ton of screws in the back... it's a massive cab for only 2 x 12... this one has old "coffee can " EV SRO speakers. Here is a "vintage" pic.. hey that's a great pic!! you're obviously happy with your setup there...how long before that did you get the LP? dig the Page shrine on the wall, ha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuz Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Maybe a dumb question, but I have owned about every type of vintage Blackface Fender, EXCEPT a Dual Showman. So what does a Dual Showman sound like? I know they are loud, but do they need to be turn up to sound good (I am not talking about turning it up so it distorts, but turned up so it sounds fat and warm)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuz Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 And I guess a last question would be what is the difference from a Dual Showman and a Bandmaster? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hfan Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Wasn't the Bandmaster lower wattage? The Dual Showman I believe was 100 w like the Twin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
111518 Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 I think --and I don't know amps all that well-- that the blackface and silverface bandmasters were all 2 x 6l6 circuits, while the Dual Showman was a 4 x 6L6 circuit (indeed, like the twin.) I've certainly heard it said that the Dual Showman was essentially a twin sold as a head and paired with a 2 x 15 cab, but I'm not expert enough to know if the circuits were exactly the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredZepp Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 hey that's a great pic!! you're obviously happy with your setup there...how long before that did you get the LP? dig the Page shrine on the wall, ha! I don't know when that pic was taken.. but the LP probably came a year or so before that... I got it in '78. My Dual Showman was re-wired with basically a master volume set up... a preamp section into the main amp section. I'd put the preamp on 9 and then the amp was on 2 or 2 1/2 . 3 maybe in an out door situation. Really really loud. I'd use a wah from time to time , but usually just straight into the amp.. no reverb either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tulk1 Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Fred, you had yours rewired for a Master Volume? When at the time we were trying to get rid of the MV? :-) They were loud, that's for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCovach Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 I think --and I don't know amps all that well-- that the blackface and silverface bandmasters were all 2 x 6l6 circuits, while the Dual Showman was a 4 x 6L6 circuit (indeed, like the twin.) I've certainly heard it said that the Dual Showman was essentially a twin sold as a head and paired with a 2 x 15 cab, but I'm not expert enough to know if the circuits were exactly the same. The difference between the Twin Reverb and Dual Showman Reverb is the cabinet: the twin has a 2 x 12 openback configuration, while the Showman was a 2 x 15 closed back, non-ported cab. Both run best at 4 ohms. Late 60s and early 70s silverfaces can be blackfaced very easily. The master volume silverfaces are not so easy to return to 60s specs. The Bandmaster Reverb and the Pro Reverb are the corresponding pair at half the power (two power tubes rather than four). The Bandmaster cab had 2 x 12, as did the Pro, with the Bandmaster closed back and the Pro open. I have heard people complain the the power transformer on the Bandmaster is not hefty enough, but I have to say it's tough to get this amp past 3 or 4 without hurting someone. So maybe there would some difference if you were playing in a stadium where you could crank the amp past 5, but short of that, the rest is cork sniffing. I have a Dual Showmand Reverb that is the same vintage as my two Bandmaster Reverb heads. I can hear a significant difference between the heads based on the cabinet I use. My 2 x 15 cab has Weber JBL clones, and it sounds very different from the 2 x 12 cab with Celesion Vintage 30s, as well as from the 4 x 12 cab with Celestions. But the heads themselves are very similar. If you're up for experimenting, you can start with a good head and then begin trying different speaker configurations. Fender heads are good for this because they will tolerate impedence mismatches, so you can use either a 4 or 8 ohm cab without worry. Don't do this with a Marshall! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredZepp Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 The difference between the Twin Reverb and Dual Showman Reverb is the cabinet: the twin has a 2 x 12 openback configuration, while the Showman was a 2 x 15 closed back, non-ported cab. Both run best at 4 ohms. Late 60s and early 70s silverfaces can be blackfaced very easily. The master volume silverfaces are not so easy to return to 60s specs. The Bandmaster Reverb and the Pro Reverb are the corresponding pair at half the power (two power tubes rather than four). The Bandmaster cab had 2 x 12, as did the Pro, with the Bandmaster closed back and the Pro open. I have heard people complain the the power transformer on the Bandmaster is not hefty enough, but I have to say it's tough to get this amp past 3 or 4 without hurting someone. So maybe there would some difference if you were playing in a stadium where you could crank the amp past 5, but short of that, the rest is cork sniffing. I have a Dual Showmand Reverb that is the same vintage as my two Bandmaster Reverb heads. I can hear a significant difference between the heads based on the cabinet I use. My 2 x 15 cab has Weber JBL clones, and it sounds very different from the 2 x 12 cab with Celesion Vintage 30s, as well as from the 4 x 12 cab with Celestions. But the heads themselves are very similar. If you're up for experimenting, you can start with a good head and then begin trying different speaker configurations. Fender heads are good for this because they will tolerate impedence mismatches, so you can use either a 4 or 8 ohm cab without worry. Don't do this with a Marshall! I know that you've discussed this before... but let me ask.. This cab 2x12, closed back, 39" tall , would be considered a Bandmaster cab? ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 It does have a ton of screws in the back... it's a massive cab for only 2 x 12... this one has old "coffee can " EV SRO speakers. Here is a "vintage" pic.. Do you still have that sweet looking LP Custom? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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