Music Man Amp

Joel Hill · Post by **Joel Hill** » 6 Mar 2018 6:43 am

I ran across a Music Man "The One Hundred" amplifier in a pawn shop last Saturday. It had a 12 inch speaker in it that was mounted on an angle so as to face upward as if the amp were tilted backwards. It was a little on the heavy side but not overwhelmingly heavy. They wanted 400.00 bucks for it. Does anyone know anything about these amps. Thanks

Bill A. Moore · Post by **Bill A. Moore** » 6 Mar 2018 7:36 am

I have a Music Man RD115 One Hundred, (1981), that is great! I got it when I bought Ted's Sho-Bud from his widow. I was able to find, or substitute parts to rebuild the power supplies, and the output protection diodes. Since I don't play out, I always use the low power setting, but it can be loud!
(I just wish I could find some of the blonde "Pinwale" tolex they used, and recover it!)

Tim Whitlock · Post by **Tim Whitlock** » 6 Mar 2018 8:11 am

My amp tech loans me his Music Man amp whenever I bring my Twin Reverb in for service. I forget what model it is but it has a 15" speaker. It absolutely kills with six string electric guitar - best guitar tone I've ever achieved. I found it was a bit spiky and harsh in the upper mids with my Fender 1000 steel guitar - not nearly as smooth as the Twin. It might be better with a modern steel with high impedance pickups. Some of the players here on the SGF really like them. The price seems very fair although I don't know about the speaker angle you mentioned. The MM amps I have seen just have the usual slight tilt to the baffle. Can you grab a photo and post it?

Joel Hill · Post by **Joel Hill** » 6 Mar 2018 8:25 am

I will try to get back over there and get a picture or two if it. This one had the angled baffle that you described. Do you know about parts should something go out on it? I should call my Twin repairman I guess. The you tube videos have lots of telecaster and strat demos but nothing with a steel. It seems that it might be a little harsh for steel.

Larry Carlson · Post by **Larry Carlson** » 6 Mar 2018 9:34 am

I have a Music Man RD112 Fifty I bought a few years back for $300.
Very clean on the outside. I put new tubes and caps in it and it sounds good.
I like it a lot. It is a little heavy for it's size.
So I would guess that the one you have found is at a good price. YMMV

Gary Dillard · Post by **Gary Dillard** » 7 Mar 2018 1:10 pm

Played through a MM many years ago, I liked it, but just didn't have the tone, etc I really wanted. Pawn shop? If they are asking $400 for it they probably paid $150. Lay $300 CASH on the counter and see what happens.

Tim Whitlock · Post by **Tim Whitlock** » 8 Mar 2018 8:56 am

Joel Hill wrote:Do you know about parts should something go out on it?

Nothing out of the ordinary. It's a Leo Fender designed hand wired amp so it will be as easy to service as an older Fender amp. Some of them use EL34 power tubes instead of 6L6s.

Steel players are handicapped when it comes to buying an amp, especially when it's an amp designed for guitar. Unless you want to drag your guitar in and set it up in the store, you might find yourself in a cycle of buying and selling different amps in search of your desired tone. I think most of the steel players who have used MM amps describe them as "ok" or "good" but not many will say they are exceptional in any way. That's my take as well. I was always very happy to get my Twin Reverb back after a few weeks with the MM.

Bill A. Moore · Post by **Bill A. Moore** » 8 Mar 2018 12:27 pm

Music Man amps actually have printed circuit boards similar to the modern Fender reissue amps, but I don't see that as a negative. The traces are very good, and I had no problems replacing components when I refurbished mine. Some of the capacitor values are not popularly stocked today, but I managed to locate all I needed.

Joel Hill · Post by **Joel Hill** » 8 Mar 2018 2:37 pm

Thanks for all the responses! The forum is such a great place for information! I think I'll just stick with my Twin until I cant get it out of the truck anymore. Just haven't found anything lighter weight that sounds as good. Thanks again for all the replies. Joel

Jim Sliff · Post by **Jim Sliff** » 11 Mar 2018 1:17 pm

Another note re MusicMan amps - most run the power tubes at very high plate voltages and use of high-quality tubes is recommended. The EL34 based models are notorious "tube eaters".

It's also critical to have fresh power filter caps. In most amps I replace filter caps automatically if 15 years old (or older) . In MM amps I do it at 10 - I've seen too many failures.

Dustin Rigsby · Post by **Dustin Rigsby** » 12 Mar 2018 10:57 am

I use a musicman 65 head with a 15 inch Jensen Neo. Best steel sound Iâ€™ve ever had.

Lefty · Post by **Lefty** » 25 Apr 2018 10:20 am

"TUBE EATERS". I used my two HD130 2-12;s for years with the same valves (Sylvania EL34) without a single problem. I finally had them re-tubed a few years back and they work like champs and sound wonderful. The old tubes are still fine by the way.
There must be certain models the you are referring to Jim.
Lefty

Lefty · Post by **Lefty** » 25 Apr 2018 11:43 am

Incorrect biasing is the only thing that I can think of that would cause tube problems. I think some of the original owners got use to the Sylvanina tubes being so closely matched that you could get by without re-biasing. This is not true for new EL34s.
Lefty

Robert Parent · Post by **Robert Parent** » 25 Apr 2018 2:18 pm

I have a RD112 - 100 watt and a RD112 - 50 watt. Both are great amps.

Robert

Chris Boyd · Post by **Chris Boyd** » 25 Apr 2018 3:13 pm

I still have spare Sylvania EL34's from the 70's when I started using MM amps for pedal steel...used to replace them every 6 months (which upon reflection was unnecessary)..workhorse amps of which I still have 3... Back then I didn't know what rebiasing even was; I just popped in the new Sylvania EL34's which were 8 bucks apiece and available all over the road ! The 115-65 with a JBL D130F was and still is a great combo for steel to my ears..I have another with a Sica 15" which is superb too,although these days it gets used for keys..

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 28 Apr 2018 12:36 am

Many MM amps have solid state front ends and drivers to the power amps tubes. They can and will blow ! Not a difficult repair but may require a tech.

All in all, still excellent amps. I owned a 130 and a 65 for a while. Liked them both.

J Fletcher · Post by **J Fletcher** » 28 Apr 2018 12:29 pm

In the late 80's I repaired a couple of Music Man amps that had blown their driver transistors. Their output section was unlike anything else I had seen , or have seen since. The tubes are biased with very little idle current , about 6 ma per tube , very high plate voltages , and screen voltages about half the plate voltage. Tubes are driven from the cathodes not the grids.
One amp I worked on had two 6L6's , and put out 100 watts. I would doubt that 100 watt rating if I hadn't measured it myself.

Bill A. Moore · Post by **Bill A. Moore** » 28 Apr 2018 3:27 pm

I believe running the amp in class "B" operation, allows the amps to make more power than possible in class "AB".
http://www.tungsol.com/html/faqs11.html

Ken Fox · Post by **Ken Fox** » 28 Apr 2018 3:38 pm

From the net:

"Leo Fender, as I have read, thought that the design of the MM amp was â€˜backwardsâ€™. That is, he thought the preamp should have been Tube and the power amp section should have been solid state. He was not integral to the developement and production of the MM amps. He merely made space in the MM factory for the production."

Personally I think they got it right. The Music Man were and still are awesome amp, built to the highest standards and will be around for along time to come

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