Ancient Mariner

Ovations were all about the playability, rather than the tone, and that's something you won't find in a typical 'proper' acoustic. If you already know what they're like and don't mind the idiosyncrasies then there's no reason not to love an Ovation.

I've long wanted an SGV: cross with myself that I missed the boat when they were cheap because no-one wanted such an odd looking instrument 10 years ago.

I used to find playing a P-type neck good preparation for playing my Tokai '59 Les Paul replica, making the neck feel just a little slimmer.

Like the look of the SC550 - very much like the shape of early Aria Pro II Les-Paul-alikes apart from the headstock.

Been fancying a Tele from HB for a while, but don't really need one.

I've given up on reverb for now, but thanks for the suggestion.

There's a small group that love original Fender short scale guitars like the mustang, and I guess this is trying to tap that particular market. Not for me though - scale is a big part of both how a guitar plays and sounds, and I'm not really keen on the shorter scale.

If this kind of thing appeals then also try the Brian May red special replicas - the more accurate versions are also short scale IIRC.

If he could find an old Carlsbro Top 50 he'll get about as clean and loud a valve amp as he'll find anywhere - breakup just isn't on the menu, but outrageous volume levels are. I had one for a little while (came along as a combined purchase with a Ceriatone 18watt trem clone) but I had no use for something like that.

Feeling miffed - I've kind of fancied a Washburn WI series guitar for quite a long time, and just 'won' a Trohman version on ebay for £67. 'Cept the seller cancelled the auction when he didn't get as much as he wanted.

Interested in case - fit dreadnought? Might be able to collect.

The THRs seem to be exceptional for a home practice amp - by reputation - though sadly I've yet to own one.

This: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151787032836?

I'd like a strat with 3 P90s and a 12 string dano. Don't 'need' either though.

Someone with excessive nostalgia and a bleeding wallet.

My strats are generally wired wth a blend on the 2nd tone pot to add the neck pickup to the bridge & bridge+middle positions. Mostly I use the neck or middle, plus blended neck&bridge for lead work and one of the in between tones for funky rhythm. The (master) tone control also gets a bit of use.

What is presently in there? Eminence 'made for Fender' with square magnet? I can't recall much about the G12-80, other than (IIRC) it was a lower cost high power handling speaker - probably a bit of a blank canvas than having a particular character.

Speaker breakup is where the speaker distorts and compresses too, along with the amp. Some speakers break up very musically (Celestion Greenbacks, Blue, G12H, Eminence Redfang) and others less so (I didn't like the speaker distortion from either the Jensen P10R or Eminence Cannabis Rex). A Celestion G12M sounds like warm thunder when it breaks up, pushed by the right amp.

I recently bought an Eminence Swamp Thang for similar reasons, and can confirm it is very fat and loud, and with 150watt rating, also has enormous headroom (no amp I own will overdrive that). Sounds fine with a 12W single ended amp gently pushing it, and it doesn't need some fire-breathing monster amp to make the cone move like some high power handling speakers. If you like a little sting and bite but want a bigger, deeper bottom end and more efficiency then consider a Celestion G12H - really - because they have a huge tight bottom end, slight mid-scoop and teeth at the top, all in a 100dB/1watt sensitivity. I have 2 here (1 almost new anniversary special sat in a box, 1 from the 70s in a pine home-made cab - both sound just the same) and I like the big bottom end, but find the top end a little too sharp-edged

18watt.com was the forum, but I'll not mention details (and they may now be erased anyway) to prevent BC from having legal trouble. The founder, Ted Weber, was by all accounts a wonderful guy, but the son not so much.

Weber are easier to get now, but I actively won't support weber - an unethical company who try to close web forums that publish factual information about poorly designed products - no matter how good their speakers are.

[quote name='Mcgiver69' timestamp='1438774384' post='2837077']
So you think that bass is just for playing the same bum bum bum notes and nothing more? Do you realise that Doug Wimbish is one of the most sought after session players after Pino Palladino and Victor Wooten is one of the most respected bassist around?

So this means a bass player should not push the boundaries of the instrument and just stay in the background?

I know this is your opinion and I respect it even though that kind of thinking really grinds me no end.

Rant over.....
[/quote]

See this little feller:

I suspect Doug Wimbish is a better guitarist than I am too, even though that's my main instrument. Peace feller.

It does sound like you want a Jensen-style speaker in there for more crisp top-end, but I doubt you'll get either more volume or bass out of it if you want to retain authentic Fender tone and behaviour.

[quote name='Jenny_Innie' timestamp='1438379484' post='2834193']
This is what you want

[media]http://youtu.be/JK4tzSf2jPk[/media]
[/quote]

With a 10" speaker, I'd agree, but 8" is just a bit too small.

Last year at the Marshall factory the guy I spoke with told me that all the handwired marshalls use EXACTLY the same components as the PCB amps and sound the same too.

It will probably be brighter, but may not give you more clarity since it's likely to be quite mid-rich and maybe honkey. Wilkinson make some good budget P90s, and you could also try Guitarfetish.com.

What kind of tones do you like and do you need much more volume? I like Eminence speakers mostly these days, and they are generally extremely efficient and very loud compared to anything by Jensen and some celestions. They have a wide range of tones available to suit, but if you want a typically vintage Fender tone then you should be looking at a Jensen Alnico speaker, probably a P12Q or P12N.

The vaporizer has a SS preamp running through a valve output stage AFAIK. That's not necessarily bad at all, but it's not *quite* what it seemed (I was very interested a while back and hunted down discussions on TDPRI etc). IIRC someone here has/had one too.

The Ramparte looks really good (not cheap) though I've no idea if it's great or not. I like small combos and have several around as well as my home-builds. Presently hunting down another blown Marshall MG30 to gut, because it's not hard to shoehorn in a 12" speaker to get a killer small combo. Look out for Pignose G40V amps - they're tiny and quite cheap, but with a decent speaker they can blow the doors off and shake the floor, and the tone is good with V1 swapped to a 12AT7 or similar lower gain valve.

Shame you're not down this way to try some stuff.

*edit*

Just had a quick look on the 'bay and there are several 30W and 15W Laneys that are likely to go well under £200. There were also a couple of Vox Night Trains/lil night train that might have suited.