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Topic: McClostoneTweed Tremolux |
Tim Whitlock
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 23 Apr 2024 8:10 am |
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I play a 1958 Fender 1000 pedal steel. I long held a theory that since it was designed for and tested with Fender tweed era amps, that is what it should sound best with. I finally acquired a little tweed Vibrolux clone and bingo, there was that classic 50s steel guitar sound. I needed more headroom for stage so I commissioned a 5g9 Tremolux, upgraded with 6L6s and a Weber Neomag 12 speaker. The Weber sounds nearly identical to my beloved Altec 418b that was in my Twin Reverb.
This amp was built by Aaron McCloskey at McClostone Custom Amplification (https://www.mcclostone.com/amplifiers). I am completely delighted with how perfectly the Tremolux pairs with my 1000 and my 50s Custom and Stringmaster. The price was reasonable, though a bit of a stretch on my budget, and I am more than happy with my decision to go with Aaron. If you are looking for a custom built amplifier, I highly recommend him. Terrific guy to work with!
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 23 Apr 2024 8:52 am
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Looks good. I totally agree on the tweed Tremolux amp. I had an original '58 - beat to hell, but great. I kept the original speaker but put in an EV SRO for actual use. I used it with a '57 Magnatone 260 in my rockabilly band (guitar - most of the time 50s Gretsches) 30 years ago. Like a damned fool, I traded it away when I decided I had to have onboard reverb in my amps. Same with my '58 tweed Pro. Arghh. Well, at least I still have the Magnatone.
I now use a 5C5 tweed Pro and 5D3 tweed Deluxe quite a bit for my Clinesmiths. I recently came upon a clone tweed Deluxe and Super, and I'm gonna try them. I'm OK bringing vintage amps out if it's not a total puke dive. But especially for steel, the extended headroom in the newer amps is nice. With fresh everything, they tend to sound stronger. That is precisely the reason a lot of guitar players prefer the old ones, but for steel, it's sort of the reverse.
Honestly, steel is a hard sell around here these days, most of my gigs right now are guitar in pretty quiet stage situations. Covid did a number on the band/honkytonk scene. But this stuff cycles and I'm sure I'll get a chance to get those amps out with a Clinesmith. Just gotta find the right people. They sound good at home, but the acid test is in a bar/honkytonk. |
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Tim Whitlock
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 23 Apr 2024 9:29 am
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Ah the ones that got away, eh Dave? I had a brown Pro in high school that I eventually traded away. Back in the pre-vintage days they were just outdated used amps - didn't even have reverb. I weep to see them going for $5k and up nowadays.
The Tremolux passed the acid test at a recent bar gig, though just barely. To keep up with the guitar player's Deluxe Reverb I had to push the volume to 9 out of 12, where I was beginning to get a bit more drive than I would like. Just a tad more clean headroom would be perfect, but it still sounded spectacular. Aaron offered to build me a tweed Super with tremolo, which would have been ideal, but it was beyond my already stretched budget. I would love an original Tremolux but for 1/4 the price and the assurance of no functionality issues in my lifetime, this was a terrific option for my situation. |
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