Hi everyone, new on here but have been lurking around after recently purchasing a slightly used Bluesmaster HRM 50 watt combo with an EVM. To be honest I bought this Ceriatone, my first I might add, on a whim without knowing much of anything about them other than they are D - Style amps made overseas of high quality. I actually didn't even investiagate any youtube clips till after I hit the BIN! Anyways, I'm a Fender guy by heart and love the sound of a pushed Fender ala SRV and early Colin James. My limited impressions with D - Style amps was that they are like Fenders with more umph but not too much to be pushed into Marshall territory. I found this to be true with the BM, but not at first..

Honestly when the amp first arrived I was somewhat quickly dissapointed. I spent four straight days tweaking the amp like I have never done before with any other amp. It even beat out the long standing tweaking record held with a Mesa Boogie Mark III from many moons ago! Usually I get right on a sound quickly and settle in. Again being mostly a Fender guy, there are way less choices/options to go at with them. The frustrating part with the BM was getting all three footswitchable tones to play nice together. When that fell through I focused on the Clean and the Drive w/PAB engaged 100% on both. At that point my ear told me something.. The magic held inside this amp lies within the clean channel pushed with the first volume knob set high. I should mention I play single coils (Strats). With this set-up all the Fendery sparkle I like was there, with a lot more balls, exactly what I wanted, A massive sounding Fender amp!

I'm over the fact I have an amp with a ton of options, but found only one real usable sound for my style. Hey, that's more than I can say about a lot of other amps that have come and gone over the years. Thanks for your time. HRK

Thanks, I'll try those tubes. I already replaced the JJ's Power w/ Svetlana C-Wings, took some of the fizz away. I think I have those RCA shorts somewhere??

 I fooled around with the OD a little more today and was able to get a nice Keef sound with some slap back but anything for searing leads is just too over the top for me. More of a vintage guy.

What about the scooped tone on the OD, any ideas? Or is that just the way it is?? Thanks, HRK.

Ok. Maybe I'll just throw the JJ's back in and blow through them.    I guess my daily little practice amp is going on vacation! Thanks, HRK.

Agreed ^ It adds more than just gain, it adds highs, lows and general fullness. Again, not being in the know with these designs, I was under the impression I was going to use the pab like a solo boost but that ain't happening.

Although my original plan was to get into more of a plug-&-play type of amp this amp has grabbed my attention. Initial frustration has turned into a quest. I like that the sound is not generic and the fact it shows the individual character of different guitars.

I read statements on here where guys are comparing the od to that of a Marshall. I had a lot of Marshalls in my day and maybe at certain settings I can hear some Plexi tones, never 800 or newer.. I mostly hear cranked Tweed tones with that signature thick harmonic od. Actually this amp, the more I listen to it, reminds me of a Boogie Mark I, ala Carlos Santana. Even the clean channel, very Blackface Twin to my ears. I like it. This amp at 30-35 watts would be perfect.

Yeah, I was just playing it again and I'm starting to hear that. I was able to dial in a perfect Black Crowes (First Time To Say Goodbye) tone. I read somewhere that song was recorded with a cranked Victoria Tweed of some sort and a Marshall Jubilee.

Another thing is all my humbucker equippet guitars have hot pu's in them, JB's, Tone Zone, etc. The extra bass from those hot pu's are not helping matters. I need to get some low output paf's through this amp in order to find the ultimate sweet spot. My Strats sound superb. Time to break out the solder gun - There's work to be done! HRK

Only affects the OD. I can email the BM Manual or you can download it from ceriatone website. It clearly shows the layout of the internal OD trims.

Email sent.

Yes, this amp is really bass heavy. I have the front panel bass knob set on 2 1/2, and the internal trimmer just barely turned on. It's still got more than enough low end like this!

My strat thru clean is fantastic.

The Les Paul was way too bassy in OD mode on the neck pup position. First thing I did was lower the pickup height of the neck pup (the low E string side) on the Les Paul which helped alot, to my surprise. So I have held off on adjusting the internal bass OD trim, but I will soon. Also my 2x12 cab was closed in back, so I took out one of the back panels which helped as well.