HRM Bluesmaster Registry and Opinions Thread

[plasticvonaband]

I kinda wanted to start a thread for the Bluesmaster, to get an idea of how many of us, at least on this forum have Bluesmasters. I don't think that there as many of us out there as the other Models, and there seems to be not so good a consensus on whether owners love em or hate em for one reason or another or differ on how they think they should sound, so how bout you amp's specs and your opinions. i'll start...

50W HRM Bluesmaster.

Built by Ceriatone

Mods: Switchable Sag Resistor, Switchable PAB Resistor 68k/22M, Half Power Pentode/Triode, 3 way switch for HRM: On with 33k resistor, Off, On with 100r resistor (stock setting).

2x12 Combo Cab built by GabKits with 2 Weber 1265 Alnico Drivers.

Ceriatone C-Lator


To me, the amp sounds just as it should. Amazing cleans reminiscent of a BF Fender, or with the right settings early Tweed Bassman. It is more scooped than the rest of the OTS series, and that can throw some people off. The clean channel sings and sustains, and when pushed either by PAB or an external boost pedal it can straight up rock! It is very punchy and dynamic and just very big in every way. As far as the OD goes,  I think that alot of confusion comes from the fact that being a D-Style amp, people expect a ceratin overdrive sound out of the amp, but the Bluesmaster sounds nothing like any of the others. The OD is gritty, nasty, raw thick and not overly compressed. I'll be honest, the OD sound best to me with the 22M PAB resistor engaged. (the PAB should always be engaged when the OD channel, bypassing the clean tonestack and allowing the HRM stack to control things for best results on HRM amps). The 22M resistor was supposedly the original design, and the 68k was fitted so that there is less of a volume jump when the PAB is engaged. if you don't wanna mod your amp, you can get the same effect with a hot clean boost pedal.Once you get a good hot signal going to the OD side and the PI power section, it is a different animal. Still, raw, still edgey, thick, not overly compressed, but it will sing and sustain forever. i run mine this way and i keep the OD trim at about 11 o'clock and the Drive at about 11 o'clock (3) and the level at about noon (5) and have no issues with fizziness or weak sounding OD at all. That's my opinion....

Gregg

[mcinku]

50W built by me... mods done to mine are increased slope resistor (I think I have 56k but I'm not sure) and bass pot reduced to 250k.
I use 1x12" Celestion Gold with the amp... sometimes I add 1x12" G12-65 cab as well.

Well for me this amp is not "by the book" D sounding amp. Clean tone is very Fenderish and OD is more aggressive compared to D sound standards.
Sometime I use pedals with the amp and sometime D-lator with my Lexicon MPX1. I like both configurations... my main guitar is Tele but last gig I had, I used LP as my main axe and the amp was sounding just as good. String definition on this amp is excellent... that's why it takes pedals well I would guess.
Bass response can be challenging, so if you are after bright sounding amp than this is definitely not for you.

I would say with this amp you need to learn how to use it or you can make it sound really bad.
Definitely a good amp but not for everybody... lt's like you need to learn how to love it.
 

[StratUltra]

Argh, I typed up a massive deep, detailed meaningful response on the iPad, and lost it when I minimized the browser!

50w BM with clator built into the head with the following mods done by Ceriatone
- LNFB
- Tone stack lift mod
- tone stack lift adjustment pot
- PAB volume adjustment pot

Tubes
- v1 Tung sol reissue
- v2 Tung sol reissue
- v3 Sovtek
Stock JJ's for the 6l6 and a Low gain TAD in the clator

All of the above played through a Ceriatone made cab with a EVM12L.

Guitars used is a fender strat with lollar blondes and a Gibson les Paul R9.

Pedals used are keeley katana, lovepedal eternity roadhouse, OCD, Zendrive 2 (waiting delivery) and a carbon copy delay and TC hall of fame reverb in the loop. This amp takes pedals extremly well, but a reminder that you'll need to tweak your pedal's settings based on how youve set up your amp....and you will be changing the settings on your amp a lot...more on this later...

Impressions are.....

Cleans... As a few above have mentioned, certainly voiced similar to a fender. Articulate, raw and aggressive which can cut through the mix with no issues. I've owned and played a few fenders and have always had to use reverb to add a little more dimension to the tone, but on the BM, this can be achieved with no effects at all. The cleans on it's own has almost a 3 dimensional tone to it...astounding really..... The amp is naturally a dark, however in conjunction with a clator, by having the drive at 11 o'clock and the output adjusted to compensate for volume and the left bright switch on, it can sound nice and chimey. Sustain on the clean channel is abundant, and all the nuances of your playing come through on this amp. To be frank, the cleans are the best I've ever played, and it will get you the John Mayer type tones with ease.

OD..... Certainly not your typical sounding D style OD. Definitely rooted within the Marshall family, but not as aggressive as a JCM. To me, it sounds more of a classic OD that is thick and articulate. For those looking for the D style OD, you'll be disappointed. Go for a HRM or OTS instead...but you'll miss out on the amazing cleans! I've found that this amp needs to be cranked quite loud for the OD to shine. At lower volumes, the OD doesn't appear to sustain and sing as it does when cranked, but this is typical of tube amps. The OD on this amp has by far been the most difficult to dial in, and I did and still do encounter issues with a fizzy OD...still working on it. I know I haven't got the settings at it's best by far and this opinion may change after some further time with it. For those that can't be bothered dialing in the OD side of the amp, this amp will also serve as a great clean base platform for pedals.

Now, if there are those that have found this thread by researching on the Internet as I did, let me tell you that this amp will frustrate you and the initial "discovery" period will probably have you with tones that are less than average... Well in my experience anyways. I had never owned a d style amp before and have only owned the more traditional fender amps which are by far easier to dial in. This monster on the other hand, prefers subtle tweaks on the controls, and are extremely interactive with each other which can lead to frustrations, but when you have it right, it's well worth the effort and you are rewarded with tones far more complex and articulate than your normal off the shelf amps. I will never again be buying a new fender or Marshall at the local music shops again. I've had this amp for about 6 months now, and am only starting to feel like I understand this amp a little more, but at the start it was quite overwhelming. Be prepared for a love/hate relationship if you are not familiar with d style amps, or not have a good understanding of how a tube amp works, but again.... Get it right, and you'll be grinning from ear to ear...

[CeeEm]

100 watt BM built by Nik and topped up with Classic Tone transformers, LFNB switch, and 1/2 power switch by Henry
(tenguitars). I've had EL 34's put in place of the 6L6's and a grounding mod done by my tech to eliminate noise in the OD section. I am going to have the 22M PAB mod done soon too.
- C-Lator w/ TC electronic M300 and Suhr Mini-Mix
- 2X12 Avatar cab w/ WGS ET 65 speakers
- 1X12 1985 MesaBoogie/EV12L cab (thinking of selling this one though and moving to a bigger 1X12 box)

This is one beautiful and complex amp! After having several Mark series Boogies, which I thought had significant learning curves, I am still learning things about the Bluesmaster owning it for a year. Wonderful cleans, and thick singing OD (similar, to me, of RF's "Keep on Running" and whatever else you need depending on the gig) and totally responsive to touch which I've never experienced with any other amp to this level. This amp also responds differently to which ever guitar is being played through it whether it's a Tele, Strat, or 335, each one a completely different flavor needed for that moment.
Yup, love this amp - it's a keeper!

[sduck]

I've got a 50w BM, that I built from a kit. It's green. It's completely stock, no mods, the only things that are odd are the power and standby switches are installed upside down (by mistake), as is the deep switch (on purpose), which actually makes it right side up (comprende?). No klein/c/lator or anything. It's sitting on top of a Mesa Boogie Mark IV and a Mesa Theile 1x12 extension speaker, and I switch the speakers in these between these 2 amps. I tend to prefer whichever one I'm playing at the time - they're both amazing!

Knobs are typically used in these settings. I back off the front volume control a bit for humbuckers. The OD knob on the back is set at about 11 oclock I think. I almost always use the PAB when in OD mode - I spent a lot of time getting those internal tone knobs set - I have them quite a bit different than what Nik recommends.


Green Amp front by sduck409, on Flickr


Green Amp back by sduck409, on Flickr

[StratUltra]

Seeing sducks settings, can you ask people post theirs as well?

- Preamp volume =7 with humbuckers and 9 with strat
- deep and mid switches off, rock switch on
- treble = 8
- mids = 5
- bass = 3
- tonestack bypassed
- gain = 6 with strat and 4.5 with humbuckers
- level 3 or 4
- master = 4 or 5
- OD trim = 10 to 11

Clater
- drive = 11 o'clock
- bright 1 = on
- input = max
- bright 2 = off
- output = set to taste for overall volume

I've noticed without the bright switch on, the neck humbucker sounds muddy. Anyone know have ideas on how I can improve my settings?

[boldaslove6789]

I had a 100w Bluesmaster built by Jon Mernyk (Mill Creek Audio) a while back. Since then moved on to a Quinn SDO-Reverb with built in D-lator).

The BM was a great amp, I just prefer NON-HRM's and not hauling a rack around etc.

Here's the spec's and settings:

100w (4 6L6) Bluesmaster
BM tonestack
HRM OD (had some of Jon's tweaks, more like a standard high plate HRM)
Fender Twin Rev Pwr Tafo
Fender Tonemaster OT
I added FET with a level control to the front panel to it after about 6 months

Svetlana 6L6 Pwr tubes
Sylvania long plate 12ax7 in PI
Telefunken ECC83 (smooth plate) in V2 OD
RCA short plate in V1 Clean

Used a Mill Creek D-lator with (2) 10' RG-400 cables and a 100pF Bright cap.

Also added a LNFB switch on V1 and I usually had the LNFB: ON

 Here's my amp and D-lator settings:

Volume: 2:00
Bright: OFF
Deep: OFF
Rock/Jazz: ROCK
Treble: 2:00
Middle: 10:00
Bass: 9:00
OD Level: 11:00
OD Master: 1:00
Master Vol: 10:00
Presence: 12:00

OD Trigger: (Set at 27.5K)

D-lator Send: 12:00
D-lator Return: 10:00

I also used a Suhr MiniMix II in the Loop with the D-lator and a TC-M300

I've moved on to a Providence Chrono (because the quality is second to none and it runs in Parallel with Zero tonal coloration and is completely transparent in the Loop of my Quinn SDO-R

[citizen]

This is how I set my Bluesmaster 100 & Klein for last gig - it's built by Nik's team - no mods done. I use it with a 1x12 open back EVM12L. I'll adjust the treble and presence controls depending on how loud I'm 'allowed' to go on the amp - it has a half power switch which I'll use at home but not for gigs. Rear OD trimmer left at 11 o'clock.

@SDuck - I'd be interested to know how you've adjusted your HRM trimmers - I still haven't touched mine. For a while there thought I'd like a bit more mids & less bass on the OD but it's growing on me gradually as I've got a better handle on the gain structure. Still loving the clean channel boosted on this baby!

[sduck]

@SDuck - I'd be interested to know how you've adjusted your HRM trimmers - I still haven't touched mine.

I wish I could remember - I'll have to make a note of it next time I have it out of the cabinet. All I know for sure is that I kicked the treble up to 1 or 2 oclock, and the middle pretty low, and the bass almost off, and it finally sounds right - it was really muffled sounding before.

[Tone Control]

BM50 is my favourite amp out of my 15 boutique amps after 2 years or more. I play this in preference to Matchless and Victorias
Just tried a Two-Rocks Classic reverb, the first shop amp I have tried that is comparable. The jet ones weren't as good as the BM50
tried a Kleinulator, it did nothing for me

[citizen]

The Klein simply makes the effect loop work as it should at gig volume - that's what I got it for & it works!

[Tone Control]

If you want to use FX in the loop, then it is a good idea - it worked fine for that for me.
I choose to use all my FX up front

I just meant that for me, the K-lator alone did not add extra tones I wanted, although I read other people find it does things for them, letting them get different kinds of overdrive - I just wanted to ensure that people thinking of getting a K-lator know that not everyone feels the same - for me the amp sounds better without it

[Tone Control]

This is how I set my Bluesmaster 100 & Klein for last gig - it's built by Nik's team - no mods done. I use it with a 1x12 open back EVM12L. I'll adjust the treble and presence controls depending on how loud I'm 'allowed' to go on the amp - it has a half power switch which I'll use at home but not for gigs. Rear OD trimmer left at 11 o'clock.

@SDuck - I'd be interested to know how you've adjusted your HRM trimmers - I still haven't touched mine. For a while there thought I'd like a bit more mids & less bass on the OD but it's growing on me gradually as I've got a better handle on the gain structure. Still loving the clean channel boosted on this baby!

I'm a bit confused, isn't that a normal ODS?
They do look like the settings I use on my BM though, except I use lower preamp vol with higher master vol

[citizen]

It's a bluesmaster with a normal faceplate - simples The HRM 'royal' faceplate just doesn't do it for everyone I guess..

As I said, if you gig an OTS with pedals in the loop then a buffer is needed - if you play it at home friendly bedroom volumes then agreed, a buffer probably isn't vital to the tone of the amp..

[M Fowler]

100w Bluesmaster HRM built by Ceriatone.  Running it sans cabinet because the Sourmash cabinet does not fit the chassis.  They forgot to allow for the side screw heads.  No response from Sourmash either.  Ordering a new cabinet from Henry.

Ran the BM HRM through a EVM12L and this amp has clean all day long.  The OD is fizzy so I need to work on that and see I need to adjust the HRM trimmers as the OD trimmer sounds best down low with volume up.

Still messing around before I can post anymore.

Mark