Rick Davis
265 posts
Mar 15, 2010
3:16 PM
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Greg, in your normal rebuilding of Kalamazoo model 1 & 2 amps do you do anything that would increase the power output of the amp?
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-Rick Davis
Blues Harp Amps Blog
Roadhouse Joe Blues Band
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Greg Heumann
362 posts
Mar 15, 2010
7:26 PM
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Nope. It is pretty pointless to try to increase the power of a 5-8 W amp to what - 10-12W? It can be done, but it ain't gonna get you heard at jams no matter what. Properly used, for volume-controlled bands, coffee shop gigs, rehearsal, practice and recording - it has enough power as it is.
Every amp has its own character. I love the Kalamazoo's character in stock trim. I do everything I can to make it perform its best with the components it was spec'd to use.
Once you attempt tone or power mods, it will certainly be different -- but whether it is "better" or "worse" is subjective. The majority of my work is just to bring the amp back to spec - this always means replacing caps; occasionally it means resistors too. It also means cleaning and lubing the pots, tube sockets, etc.
The standard mods I do on every amp are for reliability (e.g. front panel reinforcement) and safety (3-wire power cord.) The optional mods I recommend are mostly to increase functionality (e.g., line-out) or versatility (e.g. speaker phase switch) as opposed to tone. When people DO ask about tone-altering mods (speakers, output transformers, etc.) I ask them to try the amp in stock form first so they know what they're starting with. Once they do, it never seems to go past that!
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/Greg
BlowsMeAway Productions
BlueState - my band
Bluestate on iTunes
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NiteCrawler .
52 posts
Mar 16, 2010
4:45 AM
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A quick ques.for Greg or anyone with they,re opinion on another Kalamazoo,The Bass 30.I bought a clean one last yr from a kid for $125. to add to the collection.It doesn,t have the overdrive or breakup like the Model 1 or 2 but I,m curious to know if anything can be done to it to make a little more Harp Nastie.Any advise would be appreciated.I really don,t use it because I have too many better sounding toys but couldn,t pass it up for the cleanliness and the price.Thanks
Last Edited by on Mar 16, 2010 4:45 AM
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markdc70
25 posts
Mar 16, 2010
6:09 AM
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NiteCrawler, if you go over to the Lone Wolf amp forum, there are a few guys there that could definitely help you out. There is a schematic of that amp on SchematicHeaven under bargain bin amps. More than likely with just a few changes, you'll have an entirely different animal.
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Rick Davis
267 posts
Mar 16, 2010
1:06 PM
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Greg, the reason I asked the question is that I saw on your website your referred to your K-zoos as "8W" amps. I've always understood them to be nominally 5 watt amps (at best), so I wondered what cool tricks you might have used to boost power by over 50 percent.
In fact, when I've bench tested Kalamazoo Model 1 and 2 amps with a dummy 8-ohm speaker load they've produced less than 3 watts at the point where the sine wave begins to distort, which is the commonly accepted method of measuring amp power. (Older Fender Champ amps are about the same, by the way.)
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-Rick Davis
Blues Harp Amps Blog
Roadhouse Joe Blues Band
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Greg Heumann
365 posts
Mar 16, 2010
9:32 PM
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Rick, I've never measured them.
According to Miles O'Neal's site, "The Models 1 and 2 use one 6BQ5/EL84 in the output stage, generating about five watts (pure Class A)". I suspect that to be about right.
I have been told by 2 different amp techs that actual output was closer to 8. Based on A/B comparisons with other 5W amps, I think it is reasonable. (And the difference between 5 and 8 would'n't be much.) I have an original Kalamzoo owner's manual - it doesn't say.
I have no evidence. But I'll tell you one thing. The Kalamazoo for harp is all about its fabulous distortion. Measuring it in its clean range is pointless and meaningless - I understand WHY you want to do it that way but especially for an amp like this, I repeat, it is meaningless.
You might have mentioned your motive in your original question. Because now it appears you were just trying to set me up. Why do I feel like it is deja vu all over again?
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/Greg
BlowsMeAway Productions
BlueState - my band
Bluestate on iTunes
Last Edited by on Mar 16, 2010 9:33 PM
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MP
83 posts
Mar 17, 2010
12:11 AM
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i like to set the volume on model 1s at 11o'clock and the tone at about 1 o'clock and that works really well for midrange crunch with most any mic. good sweet spot. nice little amps.
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Kingley
1030 posts
Mar 17, 2010
12:19 AM
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I don't care what wattage those little Kalamazoo amps are. All I know is that they sound really great for harp. That's all that matters in my book. As the saying goes "it's all about the tone baby!"
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Joe_L
90 posts
Mar 17, 2010
1:00 AM
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5 or 8? Not much difference. The tone is all that matters.
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toddlgreene
1043 posts
Mar 17, 2010
5:23 AM
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They've got sweet tone; that's for sure. I got my Epi V Jr back from Randy Landry with the mods done to it, plus a line out(which works nicely), and just as soon as I get the time I will do another side-by-side with the Kalamazoo Model 1 like I did before the mod. Same crappy camera, same postioning, same camera-shy nervous playing-but I'm VERY happy with the way this little Epi sounds now.
Now, I'm not setting out to discredit the Kali at all;it's an awesome, sweet-sounding little piece of history that's light and sounds fantastic. Rather, I'm using it as a benchmark, since it's an established, fairly well known amp that works well for harp. Additionally, I wanna bum a little digital Zoom recorder from somebody to do some good-quality clips as well.
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Todd L Greene. V.P.
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Joe_L
94 posts
Mar 17, 2010
11:25 AM
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Hey man! Don't worry about discrediting anything. It's always nice to have different options. The supply of Valve Jrs is huge. If they sound good, they sound good. The Kalamazoo will still be a nice sounding amp.
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