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WEM Dominator - Info needed


BetaFunk
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I'm looking to buy a WEM Dominator but have a couple of questions:


Is the only difference between the guitar & bass versions the speaker size?

As i'm only going to use it at home and never at full volume would it be o.k. to use the guitar version for bass guitar?


Any info much appreciated.

Edited by BetaFunk
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Bit cheeky of me to answer this, but, anyway...

I got my Dominator many years ago (about 1980). I also had a bass one (same amp, 15" driver). I used both as a guitar back line (guitar "wet", bass "dry"), before I saw the light and became a bassist. I lost the bass one when it was dropped (or thrown, I never really knew which) out of the back of a Luton van, and smashed.

As a bass amp, the guitar version is OK, at low volumes, and if you don't dig in too much. Fine as a practice/bedroom amp. It sounds lovely with my fretless Corvette. But it does start to fart (but not bottom) well before any valve grit starts (which is about 6-7 on the dial; mind you, so did the bass version). And it certainly doesn't cope well with the low B on my T-bird, at any volume! I've also used on occasions as a reinforcement for my double bass, and it coped moderately well, as long bass was rolled off a bit.

The only problem is the speaker - a Celestion G12-50 (an early replacement, I forget why, not the original). I reckon that with a more modern 12" bass driver it would be a good bass amp. But the problem there might be finding a 16Ohm driver.

Oh, and it sounds [i]fabulous[/i] with my telecaster.

Edited by hoiho
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No expert, but I'm sure the bass version differed only in its speaker size.
There were numerous different versions of the Dominator though...

I used to have a Power Musette (basically a Dominator - Mk3 I think - by another name) and played bass through it with no ill effects. ISTR it sounding quite nice for bass, as long as the knobs were kept within the limitations of a 70's guitar speaker.

Great guitar amp though.

Edited by barkin
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It would be a shame to ruin a vintage amp by playing bass through a guitar speaker, especially if it is in original condition.

You will almost certainly shorten the life of the speaker by playing bass through it and probably destroy it unless you play at very low volumes. Please don't do it.

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Use mine as a bass amp. WEM dominator MkII with 15" celestion. Tone to die for and much louder than the wattage suggests. Have some old Brimar ECL82's in mine with a JJ ECC83, sounds amazing. If you are local to Bolton feel free to come and have a noodle on it

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[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1388130833' post='2318696']
You will almost certainly shorten the life of the speaker by playing bass through it and probably destroy it unless you play at very low volumes. Please don't do it.
[/quote]
It must be very painful for you to watch old footage of The Who. :D

P.S. I can't say that i would lose any sleep over whether the speaker would be destroyed or not. There is enough musical equipment in museums that just sits there without being played. I use what i have and if it wears out and packs up then so be it. The fact that someone has used it and enjoyed it is good enough for me.

Edited by BetaFunk
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[quote name='ash' timestamp='1388264808' post='2320259']
You might find this link useful - [url="http://www.watkinsguitars.co.uk/index.htm"]http://www.watkinsgu...co.uk/index.htm[/url]
[/quote]
Thanks Ash. I'm familiar with that site because i have both WEM and Watkins basses but it doesn't answer what the differences are between the guitar and bass amps.

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There's a bass Dominator just appeared on fleabay:

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/wem-dominator-mk1-vintage-bass-combo-amp-/291049962739"]http://www.ebay.co.u...p-/291049962739[/url]

It's missing its aluminium trim strip, but otherwise looks pretty clean. It's an early one, as it still has the transformer voltage plug on the front panel, to the right of the fuse and power switch.

And it has a link to [url="http://www.vintageguitarandbass.com/wem/amplifier/Dominator_bass_mk1.php"]http://www.vintagegu...or_bass_mk1.php[/url] - which repeats the claim that the Mk III guitar and Mk I bas are electronically identical, only differing in speaker. I think the clincher for this being true is that the bass version still has the "treble boost" switch, which is a guitar amp feature, and not something you'd design into a dedicated bass amp, back in the 70s!

Edited by hoiho
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Cracking amp
Im not sure what version I have but it has two channels. Channel one has a bright switch the other channel does not.
It sounds amazing on bass with the old 15" speaker. I dont play it too loud though as its only 45 watts or so

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All the various WEM Dominators (and Musettes) had two channels, and only channel one, as you say, had the bright switch.

There was only one version of Bass-labled Dominator (ie with the cast 15" spider-frame Celestion speaker) - the Mk 1 (which is the same amp chassis and combo case as the non-bass labeled Mk III).

And it's only 15 Watts, not 45 - but it's bloody loud for that!

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Incidentally, here's another Dominator Bass Mk I on ebay. Still got the orignal cast spider Celestion speaker.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wem-Dominator-1970s-Vintage-Valve-Amp-Guitar-bass/321288961139

It's mising the aluninum trim strip, which is probably why it isn't specifically identified as a "Bass MK I"version, as that's the only place it says that.

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  • 4 weeks later...

And here's another bass Dominator, clean, and at a very good price:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/W-E-M-dominator-bass-mk-1-amp-/151224576188

Specs give the wrong wattage, though. It's 15W, not 50W. 50W is the rating of the Celestion driver. In fact, all the specs seem to have just been read from the speaker label!

Kinda tempted, myself...

Edited by hoiho
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  • 4 weeks later...

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