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[Steve Hurt]

Bob is a heck of a good guy.  I bought some SRX Cabs from him that look like they just came off the show room floor!


My question is, when does this man sleep!?!?!?!?!?

If it was the 722's, they were probably in better shape than showroom floor as they weren't ever abused by salesmen doing demos.

I don't think Bob sleeps.

[Bob Leonard]

You guy's are too much. I sleep when I fix amps.

Hey Steve, your amp was held up because I used the speakers to check Ned's Showman. Say thank you to Steve Ned. They both go out tomorrow aftger I unpack Ned's head and make one last change to the circuit (which I saw last night while posting the above photos.)

The 722s were only used in the basement for practice. Glad your doing well Greg, and after having worked with the three of you on one or more prejects the feelings are mutual. Thanks for the kind words.

[Ned Ward]

Hey Steve, your amp was held up because I used the speakers to check Ned's Showman. Say thank you to Steve Ned. They both go out tomorrow aftger I unpack Ned's head and make one last change to the circuit (which I saw last night while posting the above photos.)

Steve - thanks very much! Appreciate the help. If you're ever out in CA, let me know...

[Deryl Voutila]

And here's what the AB763 circuit should look like (with my secret cap combination mojo installed). All new tone controls, completely restored circuit the vibrato circuit works fine, and the all the voltages are correct. Take what you paid for the amp and multiply it by five. Good luck Ned, and have fun...

My vintage Deluxe Reverb will be on its way to Bob next week for a Leonardization.  Hopefully, the outcome will be as good...

Deryl Voutila

[Dave Dermont]

Hi Bob,

It's nice you take the time to make the world a better sounding place.

I have to ask, are you familiar with a gentleman named Cesar Diaz? He is now deceased, but I understand he was fairly well known in the guitar amplifier modification world, and had a line of his own amps. It seems like people have either never heard of him, or jump up and down when you say his name.

I work fairly regularly with a blues cat who has a Diaz modded Deluxe Reverb, and the tone is just sick. I often wonder how much of that tone is hardware, and how much comes from the soul of the musician.

I see that Diaz Musical Products is back in business with an East Stroudsburg, PA address. Interestingly, this not far from where Les Paul lived in the 1950's when some sort of guitar with his name on it was introduced. Les loved to talk about his time in The Poconos.

[Bob Leonard]

Hi Bob,

It's nice you take the time to make the world a better sounding place.

I have to ask, are you familiar with a gentleman named Cesar Diaz? He is now deceased, but I understand he was fairly well known in the guitar amplifier modification world, and had a line of his own amps. It seems like people have either never heard of him, or jump up and down when you say his name.

I work fairly regularly with a blues cat who has a Diaz modded Deluxe Reverb, and the tone is just sick. I often wonder how much of that tone is hardware, and how much comes from the soul of the musician.

I see that Diaz Musical Products is back in business with an East Stroudsburg, PA address. Interestingly, this not far from where Les Paul lived in the 1950's when some sort of guitar with his name on it was introduced. Les loved to talk about his time in The Poconos.

Ah yes, the late great Cesar Diaz. I had the good fortune to speak with him back around 1998 and it was interesting to me that we had such a common love for Fender amplifiers. More interesting was that we both agreed that there is no such thing as two amplifiers that will sound alike, or respond to a component change in an identical manner, a fact that holds true to this day. Diaz was a master at making small changes to a circuit and, as history has shown, was very fond of changes that would tend to produce additonal gain without changing the "voice" of the amp. When I say that what I mean is that in the end a Fender amp should still sound like Leo's child. 
 
Through the years Diaz's association with SRV, Clapton, Keith Richards and  countless others led to a legendry status. His changes to SRVs Vibrolux Reverb are still copied to this day, although not often with success. And then his association with Fender, along with his own line of amplifiers were the icing on the cake. Buyer beware though as it was Fender that took his mods and applied them to exisiting circuits, many which used descrete components, a move that negates the benefits of the mods.
 
Diaz and I would be the same age today if he was still alive. I only make that point because it was living in that crucial time period known as the 60's, listening to the raw real deal tone of the amplifiers of the day, that instills a need or lust for that once apon a time tone. In my time I have owned maybe 50 or more amplifiers I was happy with, and 50 more that I wasn't happy with. None of the happy amps used descrete components, had channel switching, or additional gain circuits. I've owned many Mesa products and own a pair of Lonestars right now, each custom made and neither has the tone of the Showman I just built for Ned. I could modify them, but with all the switching, descrete componets, additional signal paths, etc. it just doesn't make sense. They have their own voice, and changing tubes and speakers may help, but just like I tell people who ask me to mod their Fenders, if you want a Mesa, buy a Mesa, if you want a Marshall, buy a Marshall.
 
The Fender Deluxe, Super, and Pro Reverbs are my favorite amps. I have heard and listened to so many of them through the 60's to now that their voices are imbedded in my mind, and owning some originals from the day doesn't hurt either. I have no doubt the blues cat you mentioned is in love with his amp. Pure 6V6 tone, wonderful reverb, and a Diaz mod that probably gives it nice bottom end and just a bit more gain.
 
The sad part of todays world is that more and more guitar players just don't understand true tone. The Steve Hurt's and Ned Wards of the day certainly do, but all too often lifeless tone is the norm. That would be one reason I truely enjoy removing myself from the day job and undertaking a challange. I relax quite a bit during the rebuild, blueprinting process, and soon after greet myself with a big smile once I find the proper combination of components needed to bring out the tone of these great old Fender amps. I don't rush this part of the job, as every component has a job to do, every component has a unique quality to it, and every component effects another. Understanding those qualities takes hands on experience and a formula found only in your head. Hell, even the pictures I post don't show the final tone stacks  , that's my secret mojo based on a combination of components, and it changes amp to amp.
 
I built my first amp from an RCA tube manual 48 years ago at age 12 using components given to me by my uncle and my father. I couldn't afford an amp, so why not give it a shot. I destroyed a tone of electronics and all of the speakers from the family "HI-FI" building that amp, but I learned to love the tone of those big old bottles and the simplicity of those circuits. I don't and never will have the skills of a Leo Fender, Diaz, Weber or other greats, but , have had a passion for great tone ever since. I try real hard to make the owner of an amp  I rebuild as happy as can be, all with the hopes I can pass along some understanding of what that good old Fender tone should be.

[Steve Hurt]

Bob makes it sound like I know what I'm doing with a guitar.  I'm an "adequate" player, nothing more. 
My hope is good tone will fool people into thinking I'm a little bit better than I am, and Bob has definitely helped by provided better tools for the job!

[Dave Barnett]

How could you possibly destroy this work of ART?

[Bob Leonard]

It turns out the mod was done at some German guy's Chinese factory so if I need to replace this work of art all I have to do is order another one.

[Ned Ward]

Ha!  Well played - took me a minute, since I figured that if anyone could figure out who did these heinous mods, you could.

Thanks to Bob's incredible "Showmanship," amp knowledge and musical ear, another amp has been rescued.

[ProSoundWeb Community]