Seymour Duncan Convertible

Features have been pretty well covered by others.

I've played amps by just about all of the major manufacturers and I can honestly say that I like this one the best. Not because it sounds the best - it doesn't - Fender does a better Fender sound and Mesa does a better Mesa sound etc, etc. The thing is that this amp can do all of those sounds PRETTY well. Not perfectly - but the versatility more than makes up for it IMO. The active EQ is a great tool, and the variable power circuit works very well to adjust headroom. Reverb sounds nice - I'm thinking about trying a longer pan. Fans make a little noise, but it has external speaker jacks, so a remote cab can be used for recording.
I have 1 combo version and 1 head version of this amp. I recently bought the head version with a non-working power section, but all 5 of the preamp modules work great, so I've been able to use them in the combo version I already had while the head's getting fixed. The tags on the module are a pretty accurate description of the sound. I haven't experimented much with other brands of preamp tubes, or substituting 12at7, 12au7, etc. but have gotten a lot of great sounds just by swapping modules. It's a fantastic recording tool. I spend 10 or 15 minutes tweaking preamp modules and eq and can get pretty much any tone I would want.

The modules plug in kinda like the way that video game cartridges did. Keeping the connections clean and snug is essential to getting reliable performance from this amp. It's the ownly downfall - everything else appears to very robust. I'm considering using a different material inside the module cover to keep things secure as the original foam is starting to get old and crumbly. A little regular cleaning on the modules and the sockets with a non-conducting contact cleaner keeps everything working well. It's a great studio amp, but I wouldn't take it on the road without a good road case and a backup. Great for jamming at home or with friends, and the variable wattage, while not a true attenuator, is very effective and works exactly how you would expect it to.

No way - get a good local tech.

The amp is incredible versatile - a deadly combination of reconfigurable preamp, variable power, and a very well voiced active EQ.

my convertible 60 was made in 87` and is in great condition after quite a lot of gigs throughout southwest england. I play in a country band but also dep in blues and rocky bands a fair bit and it`s versatile to cope with most styles but its a bit too noisy for studio work. I would like to get a good service done but no one will touch it without circuit diagrams, does any body know what type of modules are,presence the other ones self explanatory(hi gain),is it
for fender sounds as it`s still quite hi gain,anybody with more info any chance getting in touch. Taff martin england . ps ,i use a tele with std pickups, and love old vibrolux type sounds

I bought this amp because of its versitility. I bought my amp from Nadines in Hollywood in the summer of 1986. It has adjusted to the various styles I've encountered. Be it Rock, Country and even Jazz. The one sound it really doesn't do well is the Class A amp ie. Vox, small fenders.

My previous amp was a Fender Twin which gets a great clean sound. I wanted distortion as well as clean fender like sounds. I feel I can get real close to a Marshall with the celestion in it. As far as great clean fender twin type I use my EV speaker. Although it may not totally nail these sounds to the wall it certainly gets close. With the normal mods it is a very clean flat kind of sound. Being totally tubes it is a dynamically responsive sound. Yet on its own it does tend to be on the sterile side. I've always felt that it needs some kind of preamp. In the past I've used a stand alone Fender Reverb Tank and that softened the sound. It is also part of the preamp on the Fender Vibro King. Once I did that it nail the fender tone. I also found that this amp sounds great as a platform for modeling other amps. I presently use a Korg AGX 1000 effects pedal on the front end.(Use the FX loop its a little bit more dynamic) The amp modeling is something this sucker was born to do. It really did come to life. I wonder what a vetta head would sound like on the front end.

I've used mine on gigs for years and never had any serious problems. I guess my biggest complants are its one heavy mother.It has the Electrovoice 12 speaker. The other problem seems to be that the knobs crackle when it hasn't been played in a while. I can get rid of this just by turning the knobs.

I have not needed any repair yet. I've been playing it for 15 years.

I've been playing since 1969 and teach for a living. If it were stolen I might purchase something lighter. Maybe I would purchase a modeling amp but right now they all sound so artificial. I've played everything and haven't been impressed yet.
Other then that I love it. And wonder if anyone has experimented with tube types. Like NOS Mullards, 6L6's Vrs EL 34's. Or has tried any of the new tubes like Electro Harmonix, Svetlana ect.

Who says great sounding tube amps are expensive?


Mid 80's 100 watt head (I have two) with 2 channels with seperate gain, master volume, eq and reverb. This amp has 13 tubes! EL34's in the power section and 12AX7s in the preamp. It even has a tube rectifier.
This amp has a "Wattage dial" from 5-100. Switchable from Pentode (Marshally) to Triode(Voxish) mode. Speaker dampening knob which controls how tight the bass sound is. (This knob affects the sound of the amp even when you are not using that output) This amp uses different "modules" that can be changed to achieve different sounds. Each channel uses 3 modules.
It also has an effects loop with a level control that is useless. If you turn it all the way down no sound comes out of the amp! It also has a direct out which is useless for recording as it does not mute the speakers.
This is basically the original modelling amp but unlike the crappy digital ones it's all tube baby!

My main guitars are a '91 Les Paul Studio and a '77 Ibanez Artist. I use this amp for BIG CANADIAN RAWK! (www.stereorock.com)
This is how I make this amp rock:
Pull out two power tubes and put the wattage dial at 60 watts. This effectively puts you at 30 watts which is tonnes for clubs and gives you that beautiful power tube distortion.
Put the master volume on your clean channel (Green) at like 9 and your preamp at 2-3. This is loud! Use a volume pedal or your guitar volume knob to control how much CRUNCH you get. At this setting you will get an awesome vintagey Neil Young, Pearl Jamish crunch. Use some sort of boost pedal to really kick it over the top (MXR Microamp, Ibanez Tubescreamer, EQ Pedal)
I use my neck pickup for full chords and my bridge for power chords. I use the dirty channel (Red) very little but I have it set up for a more gainy sustainy sound for mellower solos.
This amp is very complicated and has so many different configurations that it took me 2 years to find this perfect setting.

I have never gigged WITH a backup. (Who would want to carry two amps!)
The only thing that ever went wrong was that two modules died. Luckily I have more as without them the amp won't work.

As this amp is no longer made if you have a problem or need parts Seymour Duncan can not help you.
However they have been helpful in providing manuals and schematics.

Basically once you figure it out this amp rocks! Especially for the price! If I could have any amp in the world it would not be this one but on my budget this amp is pretty close to the sound I want which is basically a rockin throaty roar!

Bought used in '93, dual channel, nice accutronics tank reverb, transformer from hell that can power multi cabinets and weighs a TON. Full tube power amp, tube and solid state preamp modules. Load resistor input to match impedence to your pickups, variable power 5-100 watts can be adjusted with knob on front or with a passive volume pedal. On the back, effects loop with send level adjustment, pentode/triode modes, variable damping speaker output, 4 & 8 ohm speaker outputs, and a slave output that's wired after the amp's output stage so all the good stuff can go out to a board or recording device, etc. Anything else in there? Oh, a nice little thingy tht holds a spare preamp tube, thanks seymour.

Does pretty much whatever I want it to except carry itself. Like I and others have said, it weighs a ton for a single 12 combo. So far I haven't seen any really nasty limitations that couldn't be fixed with standard support gear. Clean at high volumes, and can get really really nasty at low volumes with the right modules and a 5 watt setting. I scored, I live a few miles from the SD plant here in Santa Barbara. They used to ( and might still do) have "garage sales" once a year and I went to one in like '94 and got 7 more modules (pretty much all the had left), in addition to the 6 I already had. I still haven't tried all the combinations because I found four or five I like with only 6 or 7 different modules and after a few weeks of toying with it I just stuck with what worked great already. I mean a few of these guys have active EQ's built into them which makes that one module highly variable in tone!

So far no problems other than it's reverb is getting a little noisy with age, but then I haven't done anything to it and it could probably use some new tubes and maybe some other basic cleanup work. I've heard that they were considered unreliable due to the modules vibrating out of place or getting jarred out in transport but I've never had that happen and if it did the fix would be simpler than changing a fuse.

I just emailed them to see if they had any more modules around, of course they didn't.

Well, i'll never get rid of my old Deluxe Reverb ;) but the convertible is my workhorse and a hell of a lot more flexible and of course very very loud! I wouldn't hesitate to recommend one unless it was stoked with all solid state modules, kinda defeats the purpose and the lower gain tube modules do a fine job with clean output anyways.

I don't know what year my specific amp is, but it is in great condition. It's 100% tubes and you can drastically change the sound of the amp by messing around with different module combinations. My favorite Module setting is this:

Module 1: Classic
Module 2: Normal
Module 3: Normal
Module 4: High-Gain
Module 5: Normal

It takes knowing what you're after and a little bit of patience to find "that sound." The amp sounds great on everything I play--especially dc Talk. It's got a ton of gain available, though I only put it to 6. Like most amps of this genre, it's got two channels and an effects loop (I don't use the effects loop though). The 100 watts are way more than I need, considering the loudest I usually play is at my youth group at 1* volume (out of a 10). The only thing I wish it had is a master volume for both channels, so instead of having to mess with both channel volumes all of the time you just have one to deal with.

I can get a killer sound out of this thing. I use an Ibanez RG 120 (Humbucker-Humbucker pickup config)-->Crybaby 535Q-->Duncan Convertible. Suits any style, at least with my combination. Both the distortion and clean channel are excellent. The clean channel makes even my heavy metal guitar sound good clean; it does a better job clean on my guitar than my dad's $3000 amp. The whole reason Seymour Duncan made this amp was to make one of the most versatile amps available through 100% tubes. To find the sound you want, just start swapping the modules into different slots. For example, if you want absolutely isane amounts of distortion, put two "High-Gain" modules on one channel--that'll make any setup scream.

I just got the amp a couple days ago, so I sure would hope that it wouldn't break down. I don't have enough money for a backup (even if I wanted one), so I guess I'd have to use it alone at a gig, which wouldn't bother me at all. It is old, however, so I suppose it's at a higher risk than most amps of breaking down. But, then again, because of its age, I suppose if it were to break down it would've already done it. :-)

Check the other reviews on this; I've not dealt with them.

This is a great amp and I would recommend it to anyone who asked about it. Like I said earlier, I use an Ibanez RG 120, Crybaby 535Q, a tuner and volume pedal, and this (I'm not much for effects and all of that stuff). If it were lost or stolen, I'd die. LOL. I would be at a slight advantage if it were stolen, because this thing's a TANK! The thief couldn't run very far with it.

Early 1980s model.This thing is amazing but you have to try the different modules.This is way the amp didn't take off the way it should have.I sold my whole blackface collection and kept two of these.i have the combo and the head.EVs rule in this amp.JBLs don't have the mids you need.

Aything you need you can get but you have to have the modules.I found a few if you look and advertise.

No problem.The only thing that goes wrong is the module sockets but my friend bought the last 100.We got them if you need them.

No support but Gary Munns brother in Brantford is a wiz on these.Call the Brantford musicians association in Canada and ask for GARY.

I always go back to this amp.I has tha best workin mans sound i have ever heard.No wonder Jeff Beck uses these still.At a recent concert i think i saw one in the pit behind the marshalls.

I like the features on this amp.Seperate eq's are a big thing for me.I do not change the modules.I liked the first combination that I tried when I bought this amp 8 years ago.

I play a heavily distorted blues style(think Gary Moore).I have been playing for about 20 years.This amp has the exact sound I was looking for.I like amp's that don't fight you.This amp makes playing even more enjoyable than it already is.All of my friends beg me to sell them this amp.It screams,but still has a warm ,thick sound.That said,I have played about 5 other Convertibles and none of them have sounded anywhere near as good as mine.I might have got lucky,or the other ones might just need different modules in.

I love this amp so much,I don't play it out much.I worry if something happens to it,that I might never get that sound again.I do play it very loud at home.It has held up very well.The tubes need changed,but even that scares me.

No idea.

I play a custom made Strat,made buy a man named Dave Lautner from around Pittsburgh.It is an awesome guitar.The best I have ever played.It has stacked Duncan Humbuckers.They sound great.I have opwned about every guitar imaginable.They all sounded fantastic on this amp.I also use a Nighthawk,Godin SP-90,and hopefully soon a Quilt toppes Gogin LGX.I can not compare this to any other amp,because for my tastes I haven't found one I like as much.

Unlike most of the other reviewers here, I bought this amp new in 1985
and have had it ever since. There were two reasons I was initially interested in the Duncan. The first was that when I played it in the store and compared it to all the other amps around it had this incredible, solid bottom. Sitting on a concrete floor you could feel the bass tone out of the amp. A lot of people complain about the weight of this beast, which I admit after 15 years of gigging with it is still a drag to lug around with one arm. But I attribute a lot of the depth of the sound to the density of the cabinet. The other reason I went for this is that I've owned a number of other amps in my time, including Fender Twins and Marshalls, and every couple of years I would tire of the sound and look for another amp. I thought maybe with the Duncan I could keep chaging the sounds periodically through the use of the modules. Yes, this is in fact the case, which is probably the main reason I've kept the amp so long. Every couple of years, when I start getting itchy for something different, I spend a few days experimenting with different module combinations and come up with a completely new set of tones that keep me going. I should mention that along the way about ten years ago I bought another used Convertible, swapped the Celestion speaker in that one into mine (which had an SD speaker), sold the other one for what I paid for it and kept all the tone modules the other guy had (which were many), so I now have about a dozen modules of many different types - a gold mine among Convertible owners. This amp has more controls and features than most guitarists would ever use in their life.

I've used the Duncan primarily with a Gibson ES-345 and a Fender Strat. It can be set up to work well eith either. I play a range of styles from blues and rock to progressive jazz (I've also used it to play country, punk rock, traditional jazz, etc.). For a tube amp it's reasonably quiet. I've used it for a number of years with various multi-effects units, but found these added too much noise and interfered with the "natural beauty" of the Duncan tones. I currently am using Fullertone pedals with it, which is a great match that keeps the noise down and provides a broad range of classic tones. This amp can crank! As others have said, it can emit dangerous sound levels - I never turn the volume controls above 2 or 3, and have never had any trouble being heard over an rock band. One anomaly, however, is that the speaker is very directional. I have to be careful to set up the amp so that I'm in the direct path of the speaker or I won't hear myslef clearly. The best setup for gigs is to mike it through the sound system. Depending on the combination of modules it can do anything from glassy clean to full-metal distortion, and all the sweetness in between.

What can I say, I've been using the same amp steadily for 15 years, and it's still in like-new condition. I probably take care of my stuff better than most people, but I still give it high ratings for durability. The only problems I've had in 15 years were one blown pre-amp tube and once the speaker coil came loose and had to be re-glued. I change the pre-amp tubes about once a year, I've only changed the power tubes a few times since it was new. A couple of weeks ago I tipped over a caqrt and the Duncan fell right on its side. I thought it was a goner, but it didn't phase it a bit.

I haven't dealt with the service people for many years, but when I did they answered a lot of questions I had and sent me a complete book of the schematics (which my ex-wife refused to turn over to me after I got divorced - I should go back to them and see if they still have them.)

I've been playing for 35 years, I also have a Marshall Valvestate and a small Peavey. At the time I bought this it was at the high end of the amp market, but I have never regretted the purchase. I've often thought about buying something else just for the change, but every time I go out and try other things they don't match up. I do wish these hadn't gone out of production and that parts and service were still readily available. It would have been great if a cult had developed around these and more variety of tone modules had been developed. C'est la vie, most people don't know a good thing when they see it (or hear it, in this case). I was once talking to a guy in a guitar store and he said he had tried one but he thought it was too "hi tech" for him. Sure is tough pulling out those modules and sticking in the other ones - thank God for computers!

My head was made sometime in the eighties (83?), and I can't help but wonder why it isn't one of the most popular amps made. I play indie rock/emo/hardcore and the fact that it has modules makes me very happy. I run Prescence up front with Hi-gain and clean in on channel, and classic distortion and classic clean in the other. This combo lets me get clean, just a little dirty and pure overdriven tube sound very easily. Plenty of power.

I play with humbucking gibsons only, and the gain on the amp is enough to make any metal head happy. When compared to a Peavey 5150 you can tell it's more punchy and powerful, even though the 5150 is a metal machine, it sounds tinny and fake by comparison. Both channels retain clarity at all volumes. The only downfall is that when the power attenuation is turned down, the clean channel get really dirty, no big deal though.

The only problem i've ever had is that a fuse blew, and the rectifier tube broke. Regular cleaning of the modules' contacts is highly recommended though. I once almost had the whole thing retubed, only to find that the contacts were dirty. I would use only this amp for gigs. Nothing else satisfies.

The company is nice, but offer little to no support, because they don't make them anymore. I like that though... pretty soon it will be "vintage"

I've been playing for almost 5 years now, and I've owned a marshall valvestate, which I loved, and was stolen, and I consider it a blessing in disguise, because I might never have found it. I play it through a Marshall VS-412 cab, and with a Les Paul and Hawk, and I've never been unsatisfied yet. I would like to buy another, but haven't been able to find one for less than $500.