NAD - 3rd Power Wooly Coats Extra Spanky

[tsp17]

Was really trying to sell my Dr. Z EZG-50 (great amp, but not quite right for me) before trying something new, but got an offer I couldn’t I couldn’t refuse on this Extra Spanky.  It was very appealing as a Princeton size and less than 35 lbs clean high headroom black panel voiced 6L6 amp so I took the plunge.

It has proven to be right on target.   It is taking a little dialing in to get my sound, but I’m close now after a few days of playing it for 30 minutes here and there in the evenings. It arrived on Monday.  Looking forward to this weekend when I’ve got a little more time.

The patented Hybrid Master is a really good feature.   Very effective at maintaining so  close to the same sound/tone at variable volume.  Seems like it will be highly  useful for gigging depending on the room, crowd noise, band volume, drummer’s mood, etc.  and at home for the sake of family harmony.  Another great  feature is that i’m not as scared that my back will give out when lifting it into the car.  That was my primary motivation in looking for something in a package like the Extra Spanky.  It was down to this one or an Allen Accomplice with the bigger transformer and 6L6 tubes.  That is also a great amp, but this one is almost 10lbs lighter.   I might put a neodynium  speaker in it to  save another 3-4 lbs. I use Eminence Deltalite 2512 in my other amps.  Great speaker for a clean jazz sound.

[bolero]

I can't think of a more obtuse name for a guitar amp. But congratulations. What is the stock speaker?

[tsp17]

1 hour ago, bolero said:

I can't think of a more obtuse name for a guitar amp. But congratulations. What is the stock speaker?

Yep - i dont get the name either except the “Extra Spanky”. It is indeed very spanky, kind of like a deluxe reverb, 

Speaker -

WGS ET-65 12″ Speaker (8 Ohms) I didnt expect to like it, but after some break-in, it is great.  plenty clean, not as midrangy as i thought.  sweet high end.

[tsp17]

Wooly Coats Extra Spanky

[Gitfiddler]

38 minutes ago, tsp17 said:

Wooly Coats Extra Spanky

Sweet rig! 

[bolero]

This is a nice little amp!

[tsp17]

11 hours ago, bolero said:

This is a nice little amp!

Thanks.  I am liking it more and more.  First gig with it is 3/14, so we will see how it performs.  Sounds great in my living room.   I think it will be my new go to gigging amp.    It is definitely a buyer’s market.  I made an offer on it and they gave me an even further discount (return customer good will i suppose) as they are having some trouble moving new amps right now.  I didn’t order it custom, it came with nice upgrades: “buggy whip” (kind of wine color) tolex and cane grille.    It is a cool look.  

It did not come with a cover so i just ordered a Studio Slips.

[bolero]

Yup I like yours better than the one on their webpage. Good luck at the gig!

To quote some brilliant musical visionaries: "whip it good"

[tsp17]

these pics give a little better sense of the color and the nice layout.  some good user friendly details: bias points and pot on the back panel, tube dampening rings on the tubes, 2 4ohm outputs so i can add another cabinet (looking forward to trying that.)...Dylana Nova Scott founder and still tinkering owner of 3rd Power knows her stuff and what musicians need.  I believe she's got a patent on the Hybrid Master.   Really good feature, very useful. 

I'll pull the back off and post some interior shots later. 

[bolero]

Yeah looks great!

[tsp17]

First gig last night with this little powerhouse went well.  Sounded very good.  Plenty room filling for a medium sized wine bar/restaurant.  Saxophone player said: "great tone! I love that guitar."  He didn't know that this amp was new and less than half the size/weight of my other rig (head/cab combined).

I pulled the back panels today to try a different speaker.  Eminence Neo Deltalite 2512.  I've been using these speakers for a while in other amps. transparent, tight bass, maybe a little on the dark side, but pretty neutral.  They take a little break in so we'll see how it goes.  definitely sounds cleaner now.  not sure better, but definitely more guitar sound and less speaker coloration.   was good before, but not spot on, so I thought I'd try something that I like in other amps. 

Here's some interior pics to show the guts.  it is roughly the size of a Princeton Reverb with beefier components for higher wattage and headroom, so the interior is super clean and very efficient use of space, tight!  so much so that to get the speaker out I had to remove some tubes and the reverb tank.   

[tsp17]

Last pic shows the new speaker installed.  Not sure it is the right speaker for this amp, but sounding better the more i play it.  Might try a Neo Creamback to warm it up a bit.  Will give this one some more time to break in.  VERY transparent, but needs to time to warm.   We’ll see. 

[bolero]

pretty cool!