Hi, my name is Fuse, and I am a Tweaker.

FuseG4

Our Neighbor Totoro
Well, as some of you know, I had some issues with the DSL being too loud by the time it really sounded good, and although it sounded OK at apartment levels, it was not what i was looking for. The small amp heads are much easier for me to cop some sweetness out of right now.

Classified ads and craigslist were going nowhere. I'm tired of ebay, paypal, and shipping fees as well. Thus i took the amp to GC to see what they would do for me. I walked in knowing that I might take a bit of a hit but not as bad as a pawn shop.

I played a few things with my telecaster. i played 3 BJrs (a regular, and NOS tweed and a BJr III), a pro Jr III, the Rebel 20, the JC20H, a used HRDx, a class 5, and an AC15. Finally I found the Tweaker and pretty much fell in love. I got basically a straight across trade for a brand new Tweaker head, but they threw in the 3 year warranty and some elixir strings. I think I made out alright, as the reverb wasn't working on one channel of the DSL and the tolex had rips in it.

Anyways, just the USA config by itself would be worth the price! Warmer than a blues jr by a lot, and it can get dangerously close to a blackface DRRI tone (minus the smooooth rectifier sag and fender reverb). I went back and forth between the tweaker and a NOS Tweed BJr and the BJr is just too bright. The tweaker gets into that deluxe reverb thing pretty good when the master is up. I'd never heard *that* USA 6v6 tone from any non-fender amp. My telecaster pretty much told me "this is it, if you can't afford a deluxe reverb, then THIS is what you get."

The Vox voicing is a notch below the Night Train in the amount of "chime", but it's still awesome. The british clean config is sort of like the DSL's clean channel, but a lil spongier. The british part with high gain reminds me of the marshall haze 40. Thick and growling, with a lil high end roll-off. The mids and bass reminded me of the Class 5.

I'm pretty damn happy as this thing gets some nice, rich, all tube compression and sparkle at volumes the DSL was still dead clean and kinda thin at. Now I can use a greenback again! YAY

As i was walking out I heard the GC people discussing my trade. they said stuff like the tweaker is "the poor man's Mesa" and I kinda see where they get that idea. Enough gain, a really warm american tone and a good british crunch, a good amount of natural compression, and a few switches for changing things up.

I know a few will be like "why'd he trade down?" but I feel like this fits me better. I'm not gassing for any blackface fender reissues now.

Pics later. Thanks for reading.
 
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Re: Hi, my name is Fuse, and I am a Tweaker.

Very cool man, sounds like you had similar motivations in your trade as I did when I sold off my JSX and grabbed the Tweaker. I've had the Egnater for a couple of weeks now and am still finding fun new tones to play with. I'm running a DD-6 in the loop and am loving this setup.
 
Re: Hi, my name is Fuse, and I am a Tweaker.

Very cool man, sounds like you had similar motivations in your trade as I did when I sold off my JSX and grabbed the Tweaker. I've had the Egnater for a couple of weeks now and am still finding fun new tones to play with. I'm running a DD-6 in the loop and am loving this setup.

awesome! yeah I remember doing a forum search the other night and noticed you did that, and after that I decided to research the tweaker a bit and see what the buzz was about. I remember thinking when it came out a few months ago "no way can a $400 egnater 6v6 amp do the vox and british stuff AND cop that american sound. I mean, look at the rebel 20! I hated that thing." But alas, playing is what matters. The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
 
Re: Hi, my name is Fuse, and I am a Tweaker.

Yeah, it doesn't cop those tones exactly but it nails the basis of them very well. It's super flexible, it sounds pretty nice at conversation volumes, and opens up nicely at louder volumes. I am confident that this guy with a dirt box or two through my Mesa 2x12 would handle a rehearsal or small gig just fine.
 
Re: Hi, my name is Fuse, and I am a Tweaker.

Yeah, it doesn't cop those tones exactly but it nails the basis of them very well. It's super flexible, it sounds pretty nice at conversation volumes, and opens up nicely at louder volumes. I am confident that this guy with a dirt box or two through my Mesa 2x12 would handle a rehearsal or small gig just fine.

yeah it's good that it has such nice wide-open sounds but without blowing out the windows.
The Vox thing isn't "dead-on vox" but neither was the night train IMO, and it's nice to have these mildly different takes on the classic sounds without having each one be a "rip-off". The tweaker feels a bit warmer and sometimes a lil looser than the amps I feel like these sounds are based off of, which really works for me. My telecaster's saddles are the threaded steel ones, so I don't need any "extra" brightness at this point LOL

If y'all will excuse me I'm gonna go play this thing some more. I usually never have fridays off of work and so today is pretty fantastic.
 
Re: Hi, my name is Fuse, and I am a Tweaker.

Amps are simply tools for making music. Glad you found one that works for your music.
 
Re: Hi, my name is Fuse, and I am a Tweaker.

Congratulations! Sounds like you've got a keeper. (at least for a good long while).
 
Re: Hi, my name is Fuse, and I am a Tweaker.

I'm probably going to get one eventually too. They're a great amp for less than $400. This series is going to be one of Egnater's greatest successes.

When I went to the LA Amp Show, I noticed that Egnater is coming out with 2 more Tweaker amps. 6L6 and KT-88....both higher wattage and 2 channel. Same basic features. I think they'll be $700 and $900.
 
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Re: Hi, my name is Fuse, and I am a Tweaker.

AmpShow2010115.jpg
 
Re: Hi, my name is Fuse, and I am a Tweaker.

those new ones look like channel switchers. Good idea.
 
Re: Hi, my name is Fuse, and I am a Tweaker.

those new ones look like channel switchers. Good idea.

I've never been blown away by all the Egnater amps, but the Tweaker serious looks to be some of the purest sounding amps they make. Many of the others sound versatile but a bit bland. Funny that their cheapest amps are the ones that seem to sound best. Go figure.
 
Re: Hi, my name is Fuse, and I am a Tweaker.

I've never been blown away by all the Egnater amps, but the Tweaker serious looks to be some of the purest sounding amps they make. Many of the others sound versatile but a bit bland. Funny that their cheapest amps are the ones that seem to sound best. Go figure.

Joe, have you played the 65w head, the Renegade? It looks pretty cool according to the specs, blend 6L6 and EL34's, 3 channels, 18/65w switch. If so what did you think.

I agree the Tweaker looks pretty sweet, and the soundclips on his site sound good too. That may be my answer to a tube head until I can afford the JCM 800 or something similar that I want.
 
Re: Hi, my name is Fuse, and I am a Tweaker.

I've never been blown away by all the Egnater amps, but the Tweaker serious looks to be some of the purest sounding amps they make. Many of the others sound versatile but a bit bland. Funny that their cheapest amps are the ones that seem to sound best. Go figure.

interesting. Y'know I had put off trying out the tweaker for so long simply because I disliked the Rebel 20 so much. The rebel was so stiff feeling, and the el84 side of that amp just felt like glass shards to me. The wattage control was lame too. Anything less than 20 was like throwing down comforters over the whole thing LOL. It had an interesting voicing but the feel was all wrong.

The tweaker still has that egnater voicing but now it's smoother. To me it sounds a lot like the fender hot rod series voicing with a lil tighter bass and less presence.

I'm digging the effects loop on this thing. It's quiet (no noise) and... smooth? My effects don't seem as "wet" through this loop, but it actually is great at keeping verbs and delays from getting muddy or washy. Sadly, putting reverb through the DSL's loop was like either "nothing" or "this"
 
Re: Hi, my name is Fuse, and I am a Tweaker.

Joe, have you played the 65w head, the Renegade? It looks pretty cool according to the specs, blend 6L6 and EL34's, 3 channels, 18/65w switch. If so what did you think.

The Renegade is one of the few I haven't plugged into, because I haven't seen one.

I didn't even get a chance to listen to the new higher wattage 2 channel Tweakers, and they aren't even on the Egnater site yet. I just saw them sitting there at the Amp Show. I asked the rep which one he likes the most, and he said "the KT-88." Now, I wish I'd demoed it.
 
Re: Hi, my name is Fuse, and I am a Tweaker.

cool man, can't wait 'til you have a post-honeymoon review:)

also, which GC did you go to? if it was the one in summerlin, did you deal with a guy named mark?
 
Re: Hi, my name is Fuse, and I am a Tweaker.

cool man, can't wait 'til you have a post-honeymoon review:)

also, which GC did you go to? if it was the one in summerlin, did you deal with a guy named mark?

'twas the one in SLC. Yes i also can't wait to discover this amp's ins and outs. should be interesting to see how i feel in a month or two.
At least i'm sure of one thing...
it's better than the blues jr
 
Re: Hi, my name is Fuse, and I am a Tweaker.

Congratulations on the new amp. Glad you finally got a real amp ;). All those posts a bout the DSL not cutting it... It's more suited for louder applications and don't sound good on low volume at all. No Marshall does actually.
Now all you have to do is change out that speaker and you're golden for a long time.
Does the amp have a crunch channel? How does it sound?
 
Re: Hi, my name is Fuse, and I am a Tweaker.

I've never been blown away by all the Egnater amps, but the Tweaker serious looks to be some of the purest sounding amps they make. Many of the others sound versatile but a bit bland. Funny that their cheapest amps are the ones that seem to sound best. Go figure.

I'm going to have to check out that amp now. The other ones I had experienced sounded pretty bland, but all it takes is that one right design that sings.

Glad to hear you found something you really like Fuse! :fing2:
 
Re: Hi, my name is Fuse, and I am a Tweaker.

I gave the tweaker a test run at my local GC thru the Tweaker 112 cab loaded with the Celestion G12-30h a couple months ago. Going off my first experience with the Rebel 20 the Tweaker in comparison had more tone shaping. The whole blend knob on the Rebel 20 (going from 6v6 to el84) didn'y have much effect on the overall tone, I felt it was kinda gimmicky. The cleans were fairly good on the Rebel 20 when played on the SD 59n pup on an LTD EC1000. However the gain left ALOT to be desired...just didn't feel inspiring.

The Tweaker on the other hand had so much going for it. Egnaters tonal variation of Fender, Marshall,and Vox in one box is genius and useable. The tight and bright, Vintage and Modern switches made subtle but noticeable changes to the overall tones and the gimmicky blend knobs are nowhere to be found. The Cleans are warm and crisp and the Gain Knob goes from a hint of breakup to 90's alternative rock....if you want Modern Metal you will need to get an overdrive/boost in the front to get it there because the gain structure has a certain sag to it which works well for Grunge (even with the Tight, Modern, Brit, and Gain at max) but not quite tight enough for teh brutz...but I really dig it. And for $399 the only worthy opponent in its price range would be the Blackstar HT5. Nice choice Fuse !
 
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