Reb 30 Combo Speaker/ Tubes 4 Chan-2 & PI

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duffman

duffman

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I have been on the fence for the last few months, sell-don't sell. Man I love the cleans but channel 2 really leaves me wanting. I have a TourMaster 4100 and wish I could get its channels 3&4 sounds out of the the Reb 30 channel 2, or something even close. What a thumpin small package this would be. I just dont seem to be able to dial in "that sound."

To try and get there I got a V30 on order and will be following Steedees tutorial...Thanks again Steedee!

Next up I'm looking at the phase inverter tube. So anyone have any ideas would like to hear them. Right now I am leaning towards a Sovteck 12AX7LPS.

Then of course we are back to V1 & V2 and what to try in there for a higher gain sound.

Any other mods? Anything? Anybody?

Duff
 
What about going the other way- Can you get the Tourmaster channels 1 and 2 to replicate the Rebel clean? I have never quite been able to do it but haven't really tried much.

:scared: :confused: :rock:
 
duffman":2065u9bb said:
Next up I'm looking at the phase inverter tube. So anyone have any ideas would like to hear them. Right now I am leaning towards a Sovteck 12AX7LPS.

Then of course we are back to V1 & V2 and what to try in there for a higher gain sound.

Any other mods? Anything? Anybody?
Duff
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Hey duff, my suggestion is if you really want to alter the gain character on channel 2, then put a Mullard re-issue in V1.
It is the only tube I've found that significantly changed the character of the gain on the Rebel.
Be aware many of these seem to be micro-phonic.... like 50%. but find a good one and this tube significantly smooths out channel 2.
Just order from a source with a good return policy.
As for the V30, your gonna find that it reduces the low mids on the Rebel, and is more efficient than the Elite 80. And the highs seem to be just a bit more crisp. Almost like there's a little more "presence" in the amp. If you ordered your V30 brand new you'll need to break it in.
The LPS is a great choice for the PI, nice and quiet, but dont expect to hear huge tone differences at low volume.
Some people think the Mullard re-issue and the LPS are the same tube, but I dunno....
Hope you can get something going with these mods, but I have a feeling this wont change the actual "voicing" enough on your Rebel to convince you to keep it.
Good thing is they seem to hold value pretty good and sell quickly if thats what you decide.
 
Hey Duffman,

I feel your pain. I had been playing thru a Rebel 20 for almost 2 years but really needed a 2 channel amp. So I tried a Rebel 30 head a couple of months ago. I tried everything I could to jive with channel 2 and just couldn't get it to work for me. Tube changes, OD pedals, etc but none of that stuff really changed the voicing of that channel. Problem was, I assumed it would sound just like my Rebel 20 but have the bonus of 2 separate channels. I was wrong.

The Rebel 30 has the most amazing clean channel I have heard in a long time but the OD channel is, sorry my amp vocabulary is not as good as others but the OD channel is more vintage, loose and "open" sounding whereas my Rebel 20 with a good OD pedal in front can be very high gain, modern and tight sounding which is what I primarily need. I finally determined that channel 2 just wasn't going to work for me. If channel 2 was closer to the Rebel 20 gained out then I would have easily kept it. It still hurt saying goodbye to that clean channel.

So I still have my Rebel 20 and I use a Suhr Riot as my 2nd channel for now. Until they actually release...(don't mention it)...the E2. Damn, I mentioned it. I promised myself I was not going to mention that thorn in my side again until it became a reality but I couldn't help myself.

Sorry, back on topic. Bottom line is the Rebel 30 is a great amp but if you didn't jive with channel 2 initially, then it's just not voiced the way you need it to be. I doubt different tubes, speakers, etc will change the voice enough but give it a go and let us know how it works out. Best of luck.
 
Thanks for the replies. The TourMaster is a great amp and although the clean channels are not the same spanky sparkly cleans as the R-30, I like their flavoring just as much as the R-30. I bought both of these about a month apart for my home recording studio. I bought the R-30 through a catalog house....breaking my own rule of don't buy before you try!!! The idea behind the R-30 was its silent recording option used at 3:00 am without the wife b*@chin at me. Since then she has broke down and told she can't hear the TourMaster in our bedroom, 3rd floor, from the basement anyway unless I really crank'er up. Well phhhttt me!

So now I have the dilema of:
1) Sink some cash into this and see if I can get a higher gain, tighter channel 2. (Really the thought of doing this makes me wanna puke, cause I have this feeling it wont get it to where I want it to be.)
2) Take it in the shorts and sell it. (I see used they go for $660-$680)
3) Or hang on to it and hope someone eventually, like Fargen, comes up with a mod to channel 2.

Right now the wife says,"Stop your complaining, pick door #2 and go find something that makes the same noise as whats in your head!" Well most of the time that would be HER VOICE in a naggin tone!

Duff
 
I really like my Reb30, but could use a slightly warmer 2nd channel. I am thinking of getting a Weber Silver Bell speaker - which sounds kind of like a Vintage 30 but a little less spiking on the highs.

I am also thinking of sending the head up to VooDoo Amps in New York state. Tray has worked on a number of amps for me and I am sure if I tell him what I want it to sound like he can put in some different value components to get that sound. He charges by the hour for non-standard mods, so give him a call. He did a couple of small changes for me on an old Mesa Boogie and it was about 100 and change (less mailing) - which I thought was very reasonable.
 
duffman":365qwaxo said:
2) Take it in the shorts and sell it. (I see used they go for $660-$680)

Right now the wife says,"Stop your complaining, pick door #2 and go find something that makes the same noise as whats in your head!" Well most of the time that would be HER VOICE in a naggin tone!

Duff
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Lol Yeah, yeah, just do it.... No sense in trying to make it work Duff. Personally I think it will just cost you in the long run.
You could always head over to TGP and see if you can get a good trade out of it too.
 
I am not a big fan of taking an apple and trying to turn it into an orange. I say get rid of the Rebel and get something that is built to sound the way you want.
 
Yeah you guys are right. Gonna hang on to it until I find its replacement then up on ye olde choppin block she goes. Anybody lookin for a Rebel 30 combo?

But the TOURMASTER, it defintiely stays and will be pried from my cold, dead fingers.....

DUFF
 
Finally another Tourmaster fan amongst all of the Rebel and Renegade cloneheads!

;) :D :lol: :LOL: :thumbsup: :confused: :doh: :rock:
 
Just listed it on Gear Classified pages. Asking $650 and will split shipping. Or open to trades.

And yes I bought this on a pre-order before they where availible so it is one of the first ones. And yes it had a pre-amp tube rattel issue which John Ewing @ Egnater took care of for me and I have not had another problem since. Pictures of Johns fix for the pre-amp tube rattle are in the ad.

Duff
 
The amp that I thought was going to be the replacement for the R-30 showed up Friday, and I spent 3 hours or so A/B ing. I didn't like to the sound of what I thought would be it's replacement at all, so back it went.

Then yesterday I had some time and decided what the hell the R-30 is sitting here, lets check the bias and change the pre tubes....Well slap me silly and call me Sally.....WHAT A FREAKIN DIFFERNCE!!! Bias was running a bit cold around 37mV each side & I took out 4 Sovtek 12AX7WA and replaced them with 4 Groove Tubes ECC83-S I had laying around. 3 minutes of futzin with EQ & Gain and BINGO there it was....THE SOUND! Even my wife commented, "What a difference!".

I usually run the tube mix around 80% EL84-20% 6v6. But I spent time running it full on on either side. I found I have a very slighty audible intermittant paper ripping ending with a pop static sound when full on the 6v6 side. So I need a new set of these.

So now I'm gonna keep it. I'm gonna retube the whole thing as I dont remember where the pre tubes I dropped in came from or how old they are. And while I have it on the bench I gonna yank out the speaker and have a look at it as well.

Duff
 
One other tid bit you might want to try is bypassing the combo speaker and running everything through a closed back 2x12 or 4x12.
Especially the Elite 80's, they really fill out alot better on the low end.
 
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