67-18C - 18W COMBO
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OVERVIEW
Like the 50W Head, this is a tonal clone of a specific 1967 18W Combo I borrowed from a good friend of mine. After a quick tune up and a rectifier replacement I realized I had in my possession THE BEST sounding 18W I'd ever heard and I've played and worked on a lot of them. This was the perfect example to tonally clone. Much of the same process of component selection and changes were made as with the 67-50H model.
The most difficult things about these amps to replicate are the grille cloth and speakers. See below for the grille cloth explanation.
With regards to the speakers, the original had a non-stock byt period correct 25W Greenback. I tried many different Greenback models including the Heritage 20W , which is similar to what would have been installed in this amp. Nothing sounded right.......that was until I put it through a Carol-Ann 1x12 loaded with a 65W Creamback. Damn....that sounded good but I thought that would be a difficult sell. I talked with Jake, the owner of Humbucker and he reminded me not to get hung up and focus back on the tonal replication aspect. If thats what sounds right, go with it ! So the change was made from the 20W heritage to the 65W Creamback. It just sounds right and like the original 67 here, so that's that !! Obviously people can order it with the 20W Heritage, but I strongly advise them to go with the Creamback instead.
Specs:
Power: 18 Watts
Power Tubes: 2 x EL84
Preamp Tubes: 3 x 12AX7
Rectifier: EZ81 (New NOS from Late 60's)
Controls: Channel 1: Speed, Intensity, Tone, Volume, Channel 2: Tone, Volume
Switches: On/Off , Standby/On
Grille Cloth: EC Collins Bluesbreaker Grille (read about this below)
Speaker: UK Made Celestion Heritage Series G12M 20 Watt Greenback (read about this below)
Initial Production Limited to Only 5 of these!
About the EC Collins Grille Cloth used on this amp:
People who know me well and even some that don't know me well, know I cannot stand anything to do with Mojo BS or snake oil in my industry, yet its crammed full of it...... I'm an Engineer and a Guitar Player. I can smell a rat at 100 yards. $300 power cords, technically incorrect usage of phrases like Class A and don't even get me started on boutique Tubescreamer clones..... all of those things can get me in to a rant that lasts for days. It makes for a very frustrating time when customers have had their heads so full of marketing mumbo jumbo that actual real world physics have long been surpassed.
So we come on to the Grille cloth.....I thought with all my heart this was another snake oil product. IT IS NOT. 100%. The original pinstripe grille cloth has a MASSIVE effect on the tone of the cabs it was fitted to. I had to A/B several different cabs to be sure.
.Believe it or not, this grille cloth accounts for about $300 in the 67-18C's cost. This stuff is pricey! Why? Well, it's very hard to manufacture accurately. There knockoffs out there, while they look fine, DO NOT replicate the tonal changes the fabric makes.
Paraphrased from the EC Collin's Website: The EC Collins Bluesbreaker grill's surface is covered by wide, heavy and dense rubberized stripes which are divided only by narrow areas of venting, making it *not* acoustically transparent. Grill cloths typically strive for total transparency, but this creates a unique equalization filter that changes the tone. When stretched, this considerable and "weighty" displacement lightly impedes airflow and dampens the free movement of the speaker's cone. Most importantly, the cone delivers 100% of the sound with air the transmitting medium, but the cone also weighs mere grams and is by far the lightest, most acoustically sensitive component in the entire amplifier. It really doesn't take much to generally manipulate its performance (as chemically removing the edge doping or using a closed vs. open back cabinet can demonstrate), but it does take quite a lot to precisely improve a speaker cone's tone in an authentic JTM kind of way.
In Michael Doyle's acclaimed book The History of Marshall, he states on Page 124: "It is worth noting that not all grille cloths are acoustically transparent. In fact, I refer to the Bluesbreaker-type cloths in particular as 'tone cloths,' because they are of such a heavy weave that they alter the sound."
THE TONE: As the front side of the cone is mildly restricted and subjected to a significant amount of reflected sound, phase cancellation is a considerable factor. This causes the highs to be sweetened in a musical way, but they are not over-attenuated, nor do they lose the critical definition needed to cut through. The lows are similarly affected, yet also nudged to a higher, tighter frequency range, partially through the slight reduction of pushed air. The toughness in the midrange is essentially accentuated, as those frequencies continue to flow through more-or-less unimpeded. The Tone this cloth brings forth is more focused and fused as a cohesive whole, highlighting the harmonic content with a thick, burnished, and almost reed-like throatiness, which is not obtainable in any other way.
THE TOUCH: Because the air is being forced into a tighter sonic space, pressurized damping causes a slowing of cone reaction speed. This creates a subtle breathing effect as resistance builds with hard/ fast playing and releases as you relax the speed or attack of your phrase. The air pressure is continuously changing as each note decays. This feature produces an ever-shifting harmonic and dynamic complexity, which is touch sensitive and varies greatly with amplifier volume and technique. Lay back and the response is diffused and three-dimensional with a considerable swirl - Hit it hard and it suddenly struts with a surprising snarl that begs to be worked. This inherent instability makes the amp almost feel alive as you discover yourself interacting and playing differently to explore the new nuances and possibilities.
These amplifiers are only available from Humbucker Music !!!
Like the 50W Head, this is a tonal clone of a specific 1967 18W Combo I borrowed from a good friend of mine. After a quick tune up and a rectifier replacement I realized I had in my possession THE BEST sounding 18W I'd ever heard and I've played and worked on a lot of them. This was the perfect example to tonally clone. Much of the same process of component selection and changes were made as with the 67-50H model.
The most difficult things about these amps to replicate are the grille cloth and speakers. See below for the grille cloth explanation.
With regards to the speakers, the original had a non-stock byt period correct 25W Greenback. I tried many different Greenback models including the Heritage 20W , which is similar to what would have been installed in this amp. Nothing sounded right.......that was until I put it through a Carol-Ann 1x12 loaded with a 65W Creamback. Damn....that sounded good but I thought that would be a difficult sell. I talked with Jake, the owner of Humbucker and he reminded me not to get hung up and focus back on the tonal replication aspect. If thats what sounds right, go with it ! So the change was made from the 20W heritage to the 65W Creamback. It just sounds right and like the original 67 here, so that's that !! Obviously people can order it with the 20W Heritage, but I strongly advise them to go with the Creamback instead.
Specs:
Power: 18 Watts
Power Tubes: 2 x EL84
Preamp Tubes: 3 x 12AX7
Rectifier: EZ81 (New NOS from Late 60's)
Controls: Channel 1: Speed, Intensity, Tone, Volume, Channel 2: Tone, Volume
Switches: On/Off , Standby/On
Grille Cloth: EC Collins Bluesbreaker Grille (read about this below)
Speaker: UK Made Celestion Heritage Series G12M 20 Watt Greenback (read about this below)
Initial Production Limited to Only 5 of these!
About the EC Collins Grille Cloth used on this amp:
People who know me well and even some that don't know me well, know I cannot stand anything to do with Mojo BS or snake oil in my industry, yet its crammed full of it...... I'm an Engineer and a Guitar Player. I can smell a rat at 100 yards. $300 power cords, technically incorrect usage of phrases like Class A and don't even get me started on boutique Tubescreamer clones..... all of those things can get me in to a rant that lasts for days. It makes for a very frustrating time when customers have had their heads so full of marketing mumbo jumbo that actual real world physics have long been surpassed.
So we come on to the Grille cloth.....I thought with all my heart this was another snake oil product. IT IS NOT. 100%. The original pinstripe grille cloth has a MASSIVE effect on the tone of the cabs it was fitted to. I had to A/B several different cabs to be sure.
.Believe it or not, this grille cloth accounts for about $300 in the 67-18C's cost. This stuff is pricey! Why? Well, it's very hard to manufacture accurately. There knockoffs out there, while they look fine, DO NOT replicate the tonal changes the fabric makes.
Paraphrased from the EC Collin's Website: The EC Collins Bluesbreaker grill's surface is covered by wide, heavy and dense rubberized stripes which are divided only by narrow areas of venting, making it *not* acoustically transparent. Grill cloths typically strive for total transparency, but this creates a unique equalization filter that changes the tone. When stretched, this considerable and "weighty" displacement lightly impedes airflow and dampens the free movement of the speaker's cone. Most importantly, the cone delivers 100% of the sound with air the transmitting medium, but the cone also weighs mere grams and is by far the lightest, most acoustically sensitive component in the entire amplifier. It really doesn't take much to generally manipulate its performance (as chemically removing the edge doping or using a closed vs. open back cabinet can demonstrate), but it does take quite a lot to precisely improve a speaker cone's tone in an authentic JTM kind of way.
In Michael Doyle's acclaimed book The History of Marshall, he states on Page 124: "It is worth noting that not all grille cloths are acoustically transparent. In fact, I refer to the Bluesbreaker-type cloths in particular as 'tone cloths,' because they are of such a heavy weave that they alter the sound."
THE TONE: As the front side of the cone is mildly restricted and subjected to a significant amount of reflected sound, phase cancellation is a considerable factor. This causes the highs to be sweetened in a musical way, but they are not over-attenuated, nor do they lose the critical definition needed to cut through. The lows are similarly affected, yet also nudged to a higher, tighter frequency range, partially through the slight reduction of pushed air. The toughness in the midrange is essentially accentuated, as those frequencies continue to flow through more-or-less unimpeded. The Tone this cloth brings forth is more focused and fused as a cohesive whole, highlighting the harmonic content with a thick, burnished, and almost reed-like throatiness, which is not obtainable in any other way.
THE TOUCH: Because the air is being forced into a tighter sonic space, pressurized damping causes a slowing of cone reaction speed. This creates a subtle breathing effect as resistance builds with hard/ fast playing and releases as you relax the speed or attack of your phrase. The air pressure is continuously changing as each note decays. This feature produces an ever-shifting harmonic and dynamic complexity, which is touch sensitive and varies greatly with amplifier volume and technique. Lay back and the response is diffused and three-dimensional with a considerable swirl - Hit it hard and it suddenly struts with a surprising snarl that begs to be worked. This inherent instability makes the amp almost feel alive as you discover yourself interacting and playing differently to explore the new nuances and possibilities.
These amplifiers are only available from Humbucker Music !!!