Elektra 185 with a vintage 40's field coil

**Valdez** · 04-26-2019, 10:48 AM

Oh WoW! I love it.

**Jabberwocky** · 04-26-2019, 01:53 PM

That was a really astounding good tone. The DeArmond Guitar Mike C is an overlooked gem. A refreshing new "old" tone distinct from the predominant tone of humbuckers. You are now on my Persons I Envy list. That Trenier Jazz Special is a great buy.

Hope they encourage you to reach for great heights, Omph. Gear like these compel you to raise your game.

**omphalopsychos** · 04-26-2019, 02:29 PM

Originally Posted by Jabberwocky

Hope they encourage you to reach for great heights, Omph.

That's the plan, Jabs. Glad I have this community to provide additional encouragement. It's funny that you say this - you can't imagine the amount of motivation I feel at the moment and have been feeling throughout the year. I'm traveling next week to NY to get some guidance on my playing and some mentorship from some of my all time favorite musicians. We'll see what becomes of it. This year has already been a stepwise progression in my playing and musicianship. Even more than ever before I feel I am just scraping the surface, which is a wonderful feeling. I look forward to feeling it even more strongly the deeper I dig.

**ruger9** · 04-26-2019, 03:01 PM

Just gotta' post another video showing the love for the Elektra...

**BBGuitar** · 04-26-2019, 03:29 PM

How is the field coil powered? As a choke or a fixed voltage?

**gitman** · 04-27-2019, 04:51 PM

Hey Jonathan, let me know when and where you'll be playing in Heidelberg !

**Phil59** · 04-27-2019, 10:43 PM

Originally Posted by omphalopsychos

How freaking cool is this amp? It's an EH 185 with a master vol, made by Michiel Helsloot in the Netherlands. I always wanted one but the cost to ship was prohibitive. Anyway, I found one used for a solid price and ordered it. It underwent some minor shipping damage, so I had to take it to the local amp wizard, Chris Barnett, whom I STRONGLY recommend for anyone in the bay area. Anyway, while he had it on the bench, he sent me a text "Do you want me to put a field coil in it? I've got a 40's Rola if you want." I said "Are you f**ing kidding me? Do it!" So he did. The result is just amazing.

Attachment 61617 Attachment 61618

Here's a clip of an arrangement I'm messing around with of Eric Dolphy's "Serene". For you swing purists, I apologize for desecrating your amp with flatwounds. You're probably also wondering why I got something like this to play Dolphy. And you may be wondering why I'm wearing a DEATH t shirt.

The pickup on this tele is made by the one and only TK Smith.

You sound great, and so do your guitar and amp! Regarding the Elektra, how does it compare to the Vintage 47 VA-185G amp and/or the JR Barnyard pedal? If I remember right, you own at least the pedal and maybe the amp.

**omphalopsychos** · 04-28-2019, 05:16 AM

I’ve got the pedal and I’ve got a V47 Tonemaster, which is somewhat similar to the VA185. I haven’t played the VA185, but neither my pedal nor the V47 sound anywhere near as good as this. However, the JR Barnyard fits in my backpack. This does not. They both sound great in their own way but there’s no comparison. It’s really hard to capture the difference with a video because so much of it has to do with how the amp responds to your playing. You have to interact with it to understand the difference. Now to be fair, the barnyard/pescadero were not made to replace these amps; they’re for having a good sounding minimalist rig you can take anywhere. I don’t think you can beat the nocturne preamp for this type of sound. Another OD I’ve really liked lately that isn’t necessarily in this type of world but sounds absolutely killer is the Fairfield circuitry barbershop.