zguitar71 Posted December 7, 2012 Posted December 7, 2012 I took the plunge and bought a Tungsten Crema Wheat. I ordered it back in February and received it in late June. It was a long wait but worth it. My first gig with it was a wedding so I used it for quiet jazz outside then rock `n roll later that night in the upstairs of a barn. The clean tone at about 1.5 - 2 with my ES 347 is very nice and creamy. I used the normal channel and keep the tone around 5-6. At 3 on the volume things get really nice and start to break up a bit, very Kenny Burrell. At 3; however, the volume is fairly loud so I could not keep that up, I got a look from the "sisters," so the volume went back to 1.5. For me the amp is not about clean though. I have played the 150gt through it now for a number of gigs. I prefer to have the bright channel 1 with volume on 8 (out of 12) and the tone on 6. On that setting I can get very raunchy and the p-90's really sting, soloing over a loud drummer is not a problem. Lots of overtones and such. The change from Blackface to tweed was an eye opener. The fullness is something I had to get used to. Now I gravitate toward that tone and it is a natural match with the p-90's. I don't like the cranked volume with the es347 though, it's a little to muddy but some of that is the crappy pickups in the guitar. The amp shines at the edge of breakup and beyond. It is super responsive to attack and the guitar volume, probably the most dynamic amp I have. It is not a small club amp, I still use the SF Camp for that, it gets very loud. I used it at one of the smaller gigs and had to block the amp on all sides, it was just too loud. In a big room it needs to be mic'd but a medium sized room is what this amp was built for. It takes modulating pedals (wah, roto vibe, chorus, ect...) ok, no different than any of the other amps I have. I see no need for a booster pedal or a OD or distortion with the natural overdrive that this amp is all about. I have tried JJ, Tungsol and EH 6v6's and by far the best are the Tungsol. I would like to try some NOS RCA's but $$$$ is a little prohibitive. I have also tried the same brand 12ax7's and the TS are again the best. I am also using an RCA 5u4gb and tried a 5y3 but it got a little to flubby for me. The 5u4 keeps things a little tighter. The TS 6v6's will burn out with a gz34 so I cannot go there. I can also use the normal channel 2 with an A/B box and get much more head room, I run that channel at about 5. I have the Schumback M75 speaker in it, a little less efficient than the other choices through Tungsten, which is what I was looking for.
rockabilly69 Posted December 7, 2012 Posted December 7, 2012 If RCA 6V6's are too spendy try NOS Sylvania (green label), they sound great and can handle the voltage!
zguitar71 Posted December 8, 2012 Author Posted December 8, 2012 Ok. Ok. I promise some pics. I need to find a way to post them directly from my iPhone. Any ideas?
DetroitBlues Posted December 8, 2012 Posted December 8, 2012 If you created a photobucket account, you can email the photos to your account or upload them to the photobucket app (it's free). Then paste the IMG link here...
zguitar71 Posted December 8, 2012 Author Posted December 8, 2012 The Gibby es347 with the TCW I will take some with the 150gt a little later, I promise. You guys are a tough crowd!
GuitArtMan Posted December 8, 2012 Posted December 8, 2012 I picked up a Crema What about a year and a half back - great amps! I took it over to pickup maker Ron Ellis's house and his buddy liked it so much he went out and bought one himself. Ron thought is sounded better than his Clark Beuafort (I had one of those about 4 or 5 years back and agree). The Crema Wheat is one fine sounding amp. Which speaker is in yours? I bought mine used and the guy had a Greenback in it - sounds great and haven't thought about swapping it.
zguitar71 Posted December 8, 2012 Author Posted December 8, 2012 Mine has the Schumback m75. When I talked to Adam the builder he thought the green back option would be too loud for what I wanted. I think he was right. I have heard through the grape vine that the green back sound the best, it is a Very effecient speaker. My most honest friend and critic loves the sound of it, he will let me know when he does not like something. He said the tone really stands out in the mix. I use a analog delay with a slap back setting and it nails a 50's rock sound especially when it is right at the edge of breakup. When I looked out at him in the crowd he had a huge smile on his face, as did I.
H Posted December 8, 2012 Posted December 8, 2012 That is an amazing amp - well done! There's a great YouTube clip with Greg V putting a Crema Wheat through its paces; well worth finding Try putting a 5751 in V1 for a bit more headroom - its gain factor is 70 compared with a 12AX7's 100. This is the amp that made me build my Limey
GuitArtMan Posted December 8, 2012 Posted December 8, 2012 Mine has the Schumback m75. When I talked to Adam the builder he thought the green back option would be too loud for what I wanted. I think he was right. I have heard through the grape vine that the green back sound the best, it is a Very effecient speaker. My most honest friend and critic loves the sound of it, he will let me know when he does not like something. He said the tone really stands out in the mix. I use a analog delay with a slap back setting and it nails a 50's rock sound especially when it is right at the edge of breakup. When I looked out at him in the crowd he had a huge smile on his face, as did I. Is Adam offering the Greenback now? I thought the Celestion speaker he used was the G12H30. Anyway, when I bought mine the story the guy gave me was he bought it empty as he already had the Greenback. I've thought about trying the Scumback and/or the G12H30, but it sounds so good with the Greenback I think whey bother. Kinda interesting how many builders are putting British speakers in Tweed Deluxes - with excellent results.
GuitArtMan Posted December 8, 2012 Posted December 8, 2012 That is an amazing amp - well done! There's a great YouTube clip with Greg V putting a Crema Wheat through its paces; well worth finding Try putting a 5751 in V1 for a bit more headroom - its gain factor is 70 compared with a 12AX7's 100. This is the amp that made me build my Limey Yeah I think that Greg V video sold a lot of those amps. I love the part where he just gets that look on his face - you can totally tell what he's thinking "it just doesn't get any better than this."
zguitar71 Posted December 8, 2012 Author Posted December 8, 2012 Oh I thought the celestion he sold was aka a greenback. Ingnorance is bliss I guess, oops!
zguitar71 Posted December 8, 2012 Author Posted December 8, 2012 Here are Se more pics TCW and the H150GT Inside the CW Very clean on the inside
H Posted December 8, 2012 Posted December 8, 2012 That's an RCA 5u4gb Wow! That's a serious piece of glass!
zguitar71 Posted December 8, 2012 Author Posted December 8, 2012 Nice clean wiring! Very nice GT too! Thanks. It goes well with the amp.
zguitar71 Posted December 9, 2012 Author Posted December 9, 2012 Wow! That's a serious piece of glass! I have an RCA 5Y3 too
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