Ceriatone Forum

Hi! I'm Into looking for a new amp that gives the nice John Mayer tone of a Two-Rock Sig without paying 50,000$. Is the Ceriatone OTS a good way to go or any other suggestions?

/thank you, Erik!

100 watt BLUESMASTER HRM.

 I agree 100% get a bluesmaster 100w, the lows are like floating on a football field of marshmallows

Why just the 100 watt BM? are there any sound difference between the 50 and 100 wattage amp? i dont need the extra volume that 100 watt gives.

100 watt gives very little extra volume, but you get a bigger tone, even at lower volumes.

 Yeah the 100w has big fat lows whilst the 50 just doesn't feel the same. Of course some prefer 50w just out of taste and in this case to save a few $.

 

and the extra weight  ;)

okey! but is it a fact that the 100w has a bigger tone or is it just what some people think? because i could really need to save the extra weight but tone goes before weight  8)

All guys are correct here!
Bigger output transformer = bigger tone, more HEADROOM for the clean tone and smoother drive.
Not much difference in weight.

Direct A/B comparison with a OTS 50 w and 100w; the 100w sounded better/bigger at the same volume level.

Okey thank you all!

Any mods that i'll have to do to get it closer to the 2rock CRS tone or is it very close stock?

I'm going for the Bluesmaster if it's the closest to John Mayers (clean) sound. I'll probably love the OD when it arrives, but at the moment I'm considering modding the OD channel to regular HRM.

I have a OTS 50-Watt that I bought used, so I don't know what mods were done on amp if any.  I've found with my amp, that the clean channel is good, not great, but OD channel is were the amp comes alive -has JM "Slow Dancing" to Trio Blues tone written all over it.  I can clean up the OD with volume control on guitar and turn it up to get his blues tone - very, very transparent tone.  So much so, that lately, I''ve been playing with no pedals up front, just Dr Scientist Reverbertor and Trex Replica in loop with Kleinulator - also helps minimize tone suck.   I play through two seperate 1x12 cabs.  One loaded with EVM12L and the other cab is a TR Sig Cab with TR1265R speaker. 

Not sure this helps, but I would agree on 100-watt not being much louder, just more headroom....a positive.

Good Luck!!

You can also go with a normal OTS and evm12l speakers. EVM12l is the way to go for cleans IMO. I tried; G12-65, Emenince RWB,Celestion v30 and EVM12L.

And a special tip from me: Get some Klein Jazzy Cat Strat pickups

+1

Klein or Torres Engineering BuzKuts pickups will do fine or just be patient and spend another $100-150 more for Dippers on e-bay.

That depends on what you like. I owned the klein S-5 pickups. They are modeled after the Dippers. They sound like Johns Signature Strat. Thinner and brighter. The Jazzy Cats sound more like the black strat he uses.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEpR6KC1NhI&playnext_from=TL&videos=mBYE0Dx-Fhg

How can "Kleins Jazz Cats" sound like TBO pickups, when nobody has played the TBO straight into a clean amp, looked at the windings, etc - they just heard JM live going through a Two Rock and Dumble amps with a plethora of effect pedals.  Also, TBO guitar could be used on songs where JM uses different pedals and hence people think it's a different tone from his other Strats. 

It's this horrid talk that has poor kids chasing to buy these pickups thinking they're going to get TBO Holy Grail Tone - I think that people at these pickup shops start this talk on these forums without forum members knowing it's them starting a buzz to create sales.

All in the Fingers!

True
but...I have owned both. Still have the jazzy cats actually. I can compare them in combination with the OTS.  But you are right.

Hi guys...newbie here.

I've been looking into the Overtone/HRM's too....looking for the JM sound.
I thought I'd chime in....
So, the Bluesmaster would get me there the easiest. I'm wondering which speakers would be a good match in a 2x12" cab. Anyone an idea?

Cheers,

Daniel

Hey Daniel,

I'm running a 2x12 with an EVM-12L and a reconed EVM-12S.  Sounds killer with the 100w bluesmaster.  These speakers rock.

Stephen

+1 on EVM12L. 

I'm not sure if the Bluesmaster is best for JM tone foundation or not, but keep in mind JM plays amps ultra clean and uses stacked OD pedals for his blues tone. I guess this model would be best maybe for his Trio tone, but for most of work/tone, I would think if JM had to use a Ceriatone, it would be OTS 100-watts - just my opinion/guess. 

regardless klein makes awesome pickups. i have a set in my tele

I haven't heard a HRM BM(or any D-style amp) in real life(playing it myself I mean), so I'm not really able to say which one I'd really want.
I'm in the oppotunity to check out a HRM 50W...which I'm certainly going to do...just to see what it sounds like. I surely want a 100w model though.
Is it true the HRM is more modern than the BM, but the BM is more modern than the OTS?

I really love JM's tone...for example on the "Where the light is" DVD. Does he ever use the drive channel on his amps or is it really just the clean with pedals? I'm a "clean amp-dirty pedal" guy myself, playing a Twin Reverb and/or Sound City 50+(in stereo) so I like that setup very much.
But...I want a different flavour too...and that comes with a new amp too. I love Mayer's tone...but there's Santana and Bonamassa too, so....does it make sence I want an Overtone/HRM(BM)?

On the speaker story....so the G12-65 and EVM12L are favorites for a lot of people...how about a mix of speakers? Maybe one of both of these?

Oh...another question...What's with the effects-loop? I'm reading the standard loop isn't really happy with too many pedals or long cables?

Comfort-Dan,

Others here can share more about the differences tonally/sonically on amps, but I believe the OTS would be the closest amp to Mayer's everyday tone on Where the Light is.

Mayer uses clean channel and gets OD for solo's and blues songs with stacked OD pedals - generally a Klon and a TS-808 or TS-10 or Blues Breaker.  His Signature Two Rock is just a one channel amp - Clean...Hi-Fi Clean.  So when I hear an amp with a name of HRM and Blues, I don't hear this amp associated with JM's everyday set-up.

Bonamassa is a different animal, in that he uses Les Pauls and mixes two styles of amps together: Fender Style and Marshall to get his tone. he actually uses a Marshall at all times and mixes in a Carol Ann, Two Rock, etc to get his tone. Only thing simple about his rig is his pedals  - all can be pretty much bought at Guitar Center, so no worries on that front.

Speaker Question on mixing speakers: That's what I do, I run through a 1x12 Two Rock Sig Cab loaded with a TR12-65R speaker and other 1x12 cab is loaded with EVM12L.  When I pieced these together with my OTS with K-lator, Reverb and delay in loop, I found my tone foundation and never looked backed.  I can get Mayer like tones from my set-up - but like Mayer and Beck, most of their tone comes from their fingers.

Effects Loop: I have my K-lator, reverb and delay sitting on top of amp, so my cables runs are very short.  Anytime you can reduce hose/cable, you will get better sound.  I don't need these pedals to be on the floor, as I always leave them on. Latley just been using the OD/Lead channel of amp and posted recently a little noodling you can listen to on soundclips thread at top of page - will be one of the more recent posts - excuse the playing, but his will give you a good idea of what my OTS sounds like through OD channel with no OD pedals in front.

Thanks for the info Tommy!

So...would you say the clean channel of a Bluesmaster is suited for his sound? I mean...I can always use the drive channel for other music I guess.
I have a couple of amps. A Fender Twin Reverb, Fender Blues Deluxe, Sound City 50+ and two solidstates I haven't used in years. And indeed, I only use them with pedals in front. I think a OTS or Bluesmaster would fit nicely between those.....

About the speakers again...Do you think a combo of the EVM12L and G12-65 would do a good job?

Effects-loop/pedals....I have my pedalboard in front me...with delay on it too. I could put a reverb pedal on top of the amp, that's no problem, but the delay is, I think. I guess on the clean channel there's no problem with delay in front of the amp, but the drive channel could be. I guess I could put another delay in the loop, but I don't know if I could make it work easy on stage.

I think any Dumbleish amp, Strat with Rosewood neck, reverb, delay and a couple of OD pedals will get you in the JM ball park, but you could achieve this with a Fender Vibro King, Super Reverb in all honesty - heck I get that tone from my Tweed Blues Jr and a couple of pedals.

If you're searching for JM tone, not sure above mentioned Fenders wouldn't work as well.  I love my Ceriatone OTS, really love the OD channel, but I've played a Super and it was as good or better on cleans - just my opinion.

P.S. JM has used a Fender Tweed Blues Jr and Fulltone Fulldrive in studio for recording.

Yep...I can get in the ballpark with my Twin and a couple of pedals...not even with a rosewood neck strat. Though with the maple neck it does sound a little different...a bit brighter maybe, but that's no problem...I don't even have a Strat with rosewood neck...ghehehe

But...I want a new amp...love those tones and these amps look like they're great!

I don't use my Blues Deluxe very much...it needs servicing too, as somehow it stops working every now and then. When I used it, I only used the clean channel too. With the OTS/BM I'd be able to get a good drive out of the amp...and one that I'd like in my mind. I don't really like the drive sound of the Blues Deluxe and a Twin on 10 isn't always wanted too...lol

It's just that I don't really now much about Dumble style amps, besides the people who use(d) them and the sort of tone/sound. I really need to go try one soon.

you won't find a clear answer here I'm afraid. These amps are very tempramental. Sometimes I even feel my OTS doesn't sound the same every day. The tubes you put in these amps also have a big impact on the sound. Plus people tweak them. I feel you need to get used to these amsp and stick with it. Sometimes it's a bit of a struggle but it's worth it.

I had an interesting talk with Matt Schofield last night. He's on tour and didn't bring his TwoRock. He wanted a simple setup. He said the Dumble style amps he owns are to sensitive to different voltages etc etc. Minor things have an influence on the sound.

There are some excelent examples on YouTube of people using different types of Ceriatones.

an example of a great sounding Bluesmaster
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXBMYYJtXqI

Like Matt's playing a lot and good to see he's coming to U.S. - hope it helps him get more recognized.  I was surprised he was no longer going to use Two Rock on tour and wasn't that long ago he was going to use Brandon's amps from Bludotone and now he's with Dr. Z, etc...is Matt a little fickle or was it an endorsement deal? 

+1, I agree, they can be a little sentimental, somedays they sound better then others, but always good. I don't think if you're looking for Mayer tone that a Ceriatone is your missing ingredient sorry.  Your Fender Twin on clean channel with some reverb played, Strat with scooped pickups and two OD pedals stacked in front (one on all the time with drive set to 7-9pm - alomst nothing and the other -in front with higher OD setting should put you as close as you'll ever get - the rest is in the fingers. By settign this up this way, all you have to stomp on is one OD pedal when time to solo via blues tone he has in Trio.

Yes I think this will be the year he really breaks into the big arena. He deserves it and Ishall always cherish the times I've seen him in a small intimate venue. Next time round he'll be in much bigger venues I'm sure. I urge anyone who who has any interest in guitar playing to go and see him, the passion in his playing is something else.

Matt is certainly not fickle and whilst he got a good deal I imagine, he paid his onw hard earned for his EZG-50. The reason for the change was mostly for simplicity but also to get away from the comparisons with RF and the Dumble clone hype. I have to say I think he sounds better through his new rig, but its only a 1% thing, he always has had a phenomenal tone.

@Tommy: Yeah, I know...I do get very close to JM's sound with the Twin Reverb and a couple of pedals.
It's just that I want a different amp at the moment and I think an OTS or BM would fit in very well...especially because it has a great drive channel , but still has an awesome clean. Most of the time I don't like multi-channel amps , but these are great.

Here's my current little allround board by the way...except for the Fat Boost, which has been swapped for a Crunch Box.
(http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/1125/p1010351t.jpg)

nice board!!

He didn't say what he was going to play. Maybe he likes to change things depending on his mood. The Bludo is made form him so I guess it will be " tuned" for him.

Only time will tell I guess.

Look forward to seeing where Matt goes, love his playing and straight forward tone.

8 gigs in California coming up in 3 weeks time http://www.mattschofield.net/shows.html (http://www.mattschofield.net/shows.html)

Spread the word, I hope he gets a good crowd.

HYwelg:  Nice Matt just had a show added/confirmed for a club not far from me on 6-19-10 - I'll be their and I look forward to meeting Matt after the show and offering pint, etc.

Tell him I sent you! Ha Ha.....

Boy what a steal, no cover charge to see Matt...Free!!