"What makes a blonde..blonde" 411'd an HDVDL forumite long ago

A fellow tone fiend on this forum who holds a penchant for a particular freemason number and german firearms once asked a great and simple
question one day at another web forum;
"what makes a blonde..blonde".. great question that got a great
answer...thought I'd cross post the response for those that really
get their nips on with amp tech talk:

"Blondes
came along after several increasingly clean and higher-fi iterations of
Tweed. The preamp tubes had long since become standard audio types--the
venerable 12AX7, often used in hi-fi preamps of the day. They had
learned to run the tubes at higher plate voltages to give them more
headroom, which the guitar input of the Blonde Bassman certainly had.
The guitar side ran one 12AX7, through a two-knob tone stack for
minimal impact on signal strength and available overdrive, and then out
to a second 12AX7. Still a fairly hot setup, but cleaner than a Tweed.
Such a setup, btw, persisted well into the Black and Silverface years,
with the addition of a the much lower-gain 12AY7 in the first tube
position, and eventually the three-knob tone stack that consumed much
more signal level, therefore cooling the front end considerably. Plate
voltages also went up as time went on.

But the Bass input channel on the Blonde Bassman was a very unique
beast, and it was built very hot. Your guitar first saw two 12AX7s
running in series, and with Tweed plate voltages to boot. That's a
remarkably hot setup for Fender anything. But then your signal ran into
a single-knob tone control and the volume for very little signal
reduction, and then on into yet two more 12AX7s before encountering a
treble control. In other words, four cascading gain stages in the
preamps before hi-gain was even heard of. Cool. From there, the two
input channels merged into a type of phase inverter still in use
today--the Long Tailed Pair. This is the most linear and clean of the
PI architectures, and has the added advantage of adding more clean gain
to the signal than earlier types--which meant you could hit the power
tubes nice and hard. The power tubes were still 5881s, but newly
employing the cleaner Fixed Bias design, and running at higher plate
voltages than their Tweed brethren. Cleaner yet, the power supply
featured a solid-state rectifier, thus eliminating much of the sag,
compression, and feel of the tube variety. Overall, it resulted in a
very sweet and Tweedy character, but with a lot more note definition
and clarity than the earlier circuits. That said, stick a clean boost
in front of one of these and look out!"

hmm... I wonder who THAT could be?

BTW... Sturm-Ruger is an AMERICAN firearm company... LUGER is the German one.


Never thought of posting that info here. Good on ya'! Still looking to get the Marsh 6G6-B, when the bank account will allow.

Dude, WHERE are you getting those awesome sexy avatars... those are some of the coolest chick pics I've seen in a long time...

brilliant.

I get ye olde taxes done today, so hopefully some uncle sam money can be put towards a 6G6-B.

Then I can relish in a fat punchy and jangly blonde and filtertron sandwich...with me in the middle

ruger9 wrote:

hmm... I wonder who THAT could be?

BTW... Sturm-Ruger is an AMERICAN firearm company... LUGER is the German one.

dohhhh!!! thats a serious mistake... especially from someone who dreams of owning a python elite w/ a 6"

I have the Colt Python in 4", better for carry. As for German flavors, you can't beat the H&K USP series IMHO, especially the 45s. Hey, The Cave is for gear talk. It doesn't always have to be about guitars!

Twenty Flight 45

I've always wanted, but could never afford, a Sig-Sauer. Someday... when I stop buying amps & guitars...

...riiiiiiight...........

The base models are very affordable now, especially if you get one previously owned. I like tritium night sights, etc, though that can lift the price point. I have a 220 that I will probably trade when I get ready to spend some $.

The P239 is what I want... small enuff to conceal, big enuff caliber for a one-shot stop. I've already got a Ruger P89 (full-size 9mm), and a Remington 870, a .22cal "youth rifle", and I still need to get a .308 at some point, a buddy has a Springfield M1 "scout" that's awesome. We were hitting with iron sites at 100 yards.

Those Springfield Scouts are sweet. There's also a SOCOM version you may want to check out, although now that I think about it the specs and features may be very similar to the Scout. Is the 239 the one with the modular capability? If so, that's also a good option if you only want one. Those come with 3 drop in barrels: 9, 40, and 357 sig. At least one mag each is included if memory serves. The P89 is a good piece. I like 9s, in terms of ballistics I recommend 147grain Hydra Shock.

Hydroshocks are nice. For 9's I go with Cor-Bon 115g +P, hollowpoint of course, years ago I read (still have) a huge handbook all about handgun ballistics, "one-shot stop" power, some FBI studies, etc. It's been years since I read it, can't remember the name. Basically, they rated the .40 S&W as the #1 handgun caliber for human defense, with the 9mm +P a close 2nd... or maybe the .45ACP was a close 2nd, can't remember.

Remember Black Talons? I actually have one a buddy gave me, and ANOTHER buddy who used to pull them out of gangbangers in the ER.

Those Cor-Bons are good, but the truth is that my M9 Beretta cycles so flawlessly I can make it sound like a full auto! I read those FBI case studies and ballistics tests pretty religiously when I was in the Army. I would have to respectfully disagree on the best round though. I've never been a big fan of the 40. For me, 45 is the best for one shot stop, and I basically "grew up" on the classic Colt 1911 45 - those are still my favorite. Civil liability being what it is, for carry I prefer external hammer/external safety that I can leave engaged, with a single/double capability. That pretty much rules out the Sigs for me, even though I really like them. They are dependable as hell, rugged, and have awesome accuracy right out of the box. I tell you what though, these hobbies are hell on the bank account!

Twenty Flight Rick wrote:

I tell you what though, these hobbies are hell on the bank account!

Amen brother! My 3 "big hobbies" are guitars, firearms and outdoors (which includes mountain biking, road cycling, and backpacking)- NONE of which go easy on the wallet!

The only good news is, all 3 hobbies have gear that can last a lifetime. So why do I keep buying & selling guitars & amps?


Oh, and as far as the "best" caliber for a one-shot stop, I think we can agree that accuracy is far more important than caliber! I'd rather be a good shot with a snub-nosed .38 than a bad shot with anything else.

Gun Control is hitting your target.

Good point. Speaking of snubs, I am in the market for either a 38, or one of those S&W 45s that use the half moon clips. I've had to slow down my Gretsch acquisition for the last few years. My '99 SSU is holding it down though!

That 239 is a sweet piece!

yeah- I got to fire one at a range recently, fit my hand like a glove. I generally like the double-stackers/high-capacity mags, but it just felt so right I don't care. And like I said, I won't need more than 1 anyway... maybe 2.

My mom, sister, & niece all have the LadySmiths. Great size, but they kick like hell! (for a girl)

I noticed that Marsh raised the price of the 6G6-B 25 bucks (1075). You now have the option of getting just the completed chassis for 900 bucks. He also offers speaker cab packages now with either Jensens or V30's.

I'm Incinerator wrote:

I noticed that Marsh raised the price of the 6G6-B 25 bucks (1075). You now have the option of getting just the completed chassis for 900 bucks. He also offers speaker cab packages now with either Jensens or V30's.

he gets his parts same place I do so trust me he's not making a dime
buy adding the head cab price to the chassis.
Can lose with that for a repro!!

tvthewiredturtle wrote:

I'm Incinerator wrote:

I noticed that Marsh raised the price of the 6G6-B 25 bucks (1075). You now have the option of getting just the completed chassis for 900 bucks. He also offers speaker cab packages now with either Jensens or V30's.

he gets his parts same place I do so trust me he's not making a dime
buy adding the head cab price to the chassis.
Can lose with that for a repro!!

I'm not complaining about the price...you can have a new one for the same price (or less) as a sketchy vintage one that may or may not need an overhaul right away. If I had a time machine, I'd buy a whole pallet of these 6G6-B's and 2x12 cabs get some vintage celestions( when were V30's released?) and some vintage tubes while I'm at it and have a stock for myself today...or sell the ultimate repro

I've come to the conclusion that guitar, amp and effects building is a labor of love