After years of playing through solid state and digital Fender Amps, I'm jonesing for a small tube amp to connect to a JBL e120 for Jerry tones. I've read some good things on this forum about the Fender Blues Jr. I also recently came across the H&K Tubemeister online and wondered if anyone had experience with this amp -- in particular the 18w head. I've found some great clips online of Jerry tones coming from a H&K Blues Master, but nothing related to the Tubemeister as a Jerry amp. Any input is appreciated.
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Silence here suggests to me that nobody has tried the H&K Tubemeister. On further review it looks like the 18w head does not include reverb (though the combo does). Thus, it's value as a Jerry rig decreases. So back to looking at Blues Juniors. Perhaps I can find a used one and convert into a head for the JBL.
I use a Boss/Fender reverb pedal with my Blues Master and Tweed Deluxes. Sound great.
Thanks, Dwarf Rat. That's helpful to know there are reverb options out there. All of my previous amps have included onboard reverb.
For those who are interested, looks like John K is a fan of the H&K Tubemeister 36w head. On August 14th he posted this on his Facebook Page:
"Hey guitar gear freaks, check this out!
This is a seriously cool-ass rig! It's been a long time since an off-the-shelf guitar amp had me noodling for hours. I was looking for a 20-40 watt 1x12 combo and this 36 watt head paired with a Line 6 1x12 speaker cabinet I picked up a few years ago mopped the floor with everything else I tried. And, no, Hughes & Kettner is not paying me for this post or giving any endorsements, but the folks at Chuck Levin's Washington Music Center did give me a pretty sweet deal on the display model. With all the Fenders, Boogies, etc that I tried, the closest runner up was actually a Blackstar HT40 (!)"
For those who are interested, looks like John K is a fan of the H&K Tubemeister 36w head. On August 14th he posted this on his Facebook Page:
"Hey guitar gear freaks, check this out!
This is a seriously cool-ass rig! It's been a long time since an off-the-shelf guitar amp had me noodling for hours. I was looking for a 20-40 watt 1x12 combo and this 36 watt head paired with a Line 6 1x12 speaker cabinet I picked up a few years ago mopped the floor with everything else I tried. And, no, Hughes & Kettner is not paying me for this post or giving any endorsements, but the folks at Chuck Levin's Washington Music Center did give me a pretty sweet deal on the display model. With all the Fenders, Boogies, etc that I tried, the closest runner up was actually a Blackstar HT40 (!)"
Sorry folks I have been away for some time but......Talking 80's gear hear....H&K Blues Master as well as the Tubeman plus (note this has to be the rack mount unit!!!) achieves a very Jerry sound. I have A/B my Blue Master to the Tubeman plus and they are/can be Identical.
I went on a 3 year hoarding spree and acquired a few pieces. If anyone is interested, I may thin the heard to make room for new gear.
I went on a 3 year hoarding spree and acquired a few pieces. If anyone is interested, I may thin the heard to make room for new gear.
For those who are interested, I did end up purchasing this amp and wrote the following review on GC website after several months of use:
Comments about Hughes & Kettner TubeMeister TM18H 18W Tube Guitar Amp Head:
This amp both looks and sounds great. I play a lot of Jerry Garcia/Grateful Dead music and occasionally gig so I normally use the clean channel with the gain rolled up. I have this paired with a JBL E-120 in a custom Baltic birch 1x12 cab. Really does a good job of getting into the Jerry Zone (Jerry used modified Fender Twin preamps with McIntosh power amps connected to JBLs for much of his career). The power soak function is really useful: 1 watt at home is plenty loud; 18 watts for gigging in bars is great. I have yet to mic through the PA or use the redbox DI function. The size, weight, and bag make the head highly portable -- which is helpful if you know how heavy an E-120 is! The only marks against the amp from me would be the lack of on-board reverb and the difference in volume between the clean and gain channel. The first problem I solved with a TC Electronics Hall of Fame mini reverb which works well. If you need reverb, factor the cost of a reverb pedal into the purchase price. As for volume discrepancy between channels, it's not really a problem, just a fact to consider. Even when just practicing with the band the full 18 watts is desired to keep up with bass and drums to keep relatively clean tones. As a bonus, the blue led/plexi front just looks cool. I get many compliments whenever out in public with the amp.
http://images2.powerreviews.com/media_p ... 3xvtcq.jpg
Comments about Hughes & Kettner TubeMeister TM18H 18W Tube Guitar Amp Head:
This amp both looks and sounds great. I play a lot of Jerry Garcia/Grateful Dead music and occasionally gig so I normally use the clean channel with the gain rolled up. I have this paired with a JBL E-120 in a custom Baltic birch 1x12 cab. Really does a good job of getting into the Jerry Zone (Jerry used modified Fender Twin preamps with McIntosh power amps connected to JBLs for much of his career). The power soak function is really useful: 1 watt at home is plenty loud; 18 watts for gigging in bars is great. I have yet to mic through the PA or use the redbox DI function. The size, weight, and bag make the head highly portable -- which is helpful if you know how heavy an E-120 is! The only marks against the amp from me would be the lack of on-board reverb and the difference in volume between the clean and gain channel. The first problem I solved with a TC Electronics Hall of Fame mini reverb which works well. If you need reverb, factor the cost of a reverb pedal into the purchase price. As for volume discrepancy between channels, it's not really a problem, just a fact to consider. Even when just practicing with the band the full 18 watts is desired to keep up with bass and drums to keep relatively clean tones. As a bonus, the blue led/plexi front just looks cool. I get many compliments whenever out in public with the amp.
http://images2.powerreviews.com/media_p ... 3xvtcq.jpg
