Music Man HD-130 Reverb

Not sure of the year. Does sound like a cross between a Fender and a marshall. At least with my Music Man Axis SS w/ humbuckers, very early breakup, but this may be due to JJ tubes I had installed. My only gripe is very hard to get a completely clean, undistorted sound, but you can get near clean for just about everything except maybe jazz. Where it excels is as a volume knob amp, as it does clean up nicely, and it does get as clean as I need for the cleaner Clapton type and country stuff I play. Bonus that it also functions as a bass amp.As I said, cleans up nicely when you back off the volume, but gets almost a dumble-ish bluesy type tone if set up right. This could be pushed to do distorted rock, but I use pedals. With it slightly dirty adn a tube screamer type of pedal in front, it cuts through tone wise and has all the volume I need (it better at 130 watts). Tremolo doesn't work on this can't comment on that. Rating it slightly lower on features, due to lack of a completely pristine clean and being one channel.

NOt noisy at all. Tweak it to find your settings. Cleans are even slightly gritty. This can actually be a plus. I'd say not a jazz amp for that reason, but good for everything else. Lot of variety in the know tweaking though.

I have used it without a backup, generally not a good idea with any amp, but reliable. Definitely!

Never used 'em, actually they were out of business long before I boguth it.

Been playing thirty years. Great blues/classic rock amp, even country if you don't mind the grit. I'd buy something smaller if stolen, only because its very heavy toting it to gigs. But I won'ybe getting rid of it anytime soon. It was a must buy at the price I paid for, biggest steal I ever got. Must note someone replaced the stock speaker with a Peavey BLack Widow. The original speakers were EV's from what I understand. It'll do anything I need it to, except , like I said, crystal clean. That said, I do like the clean you get out of this. Most folks, when say I might sell it becuase of the weight, call me crazy and tell me to buy casters:), due to the excellent sound. As I said I'm a gigging musician, and never been disappointed with the job it's done live. And with a TS type pedal the tone alone will cut through anything.

Made sometime in the 70s, This is a multi-purpose 2 channel Amp, designed for Bass/keyboard on the left side, or Guitar on the right side. You can also loop both channels together by patching from 2 to 1. The other features have already been described, I'll just add that it has the best reverb I've ever heard from any amp. I'm giving it a 9 instead of a 10 just because it doesn't have an effects loop.

Top-notch sound, I have yet to find anything that sounds bad through this amp. I've got it sitting on a matching Music Man 210 cabinet, converted to a single Celestion G12-65 speaker. When playing Bass I switch the speaker cable to another cabinet that I made myself, with an Eminence Basslite 10" speaker. Both sound fantastic even at low volumes, much more manageable at speaking level than my Blues Jr. This is a concern since I live in an apartment, and haven't gotten any noise complaints yet. No background noise at all at low levels, very little at high levels.
I play Blues, Classic Rock, Heavy Metal, a little R&B and it suits them all. Guitars used: 87 USA Strat (EMG DG-20 pickup set), 92 USA Floyd Rose HSS Strat (DiMarzio PAF pro) , 02 Highway 1 Strat (tex-mex pickups), Carlson Telecaster clone, OLP MM2 Bass, Squier standard J-Bass (EMG select pickups).

Rock-solid! This thing is over 30 years old, and sounds like brand-new. I've heard these amps often need a capacitor replacement job, but either mine has had one done or it doesn't need one yet. I do get a little pop from it every now and then, maybe once an hour, that could be a tube or cap. Music Man Amps have a great reputation for reliability.

as everyone else said, customer support no longer exists.

I've only been playing for about a year, and only had the amp for a few months. I've got a lot of other gear, mentioned above, but this MM amp is the best buy I've made in music gear, ever! If it were lost or stolen, I would be devastated, because I know I'll never find that same deal again (see price paid). I would certainly look for another one, not necessarily the same model, a 65W or 100W head would do fine for me, but certainly another Music Man.

Built in the 1980s. Very Versatile, for all types of music. Could of used a direct XLR out , but this can be solved with a lowcost direct out box. I use the amp when ever possible. The warm sound and sweet reverb make this amp wonderful. It has a rock sound that makes one want to boogie. I use the amp as a bass guitar amp.It drives two JBL 15 " speakers. Plenty of sound! The HD-130R was so good , I had to purchase a second as a back up. Every Bass player who sits in for a jam-session agrees "A great amp sound!" I truely believe few know of this amp and it's wonderful sound. I prefer the HD-130R over the Ampeg SVT-classic.

The warmth and reverb sound are what make the amp wonderful. I use an Ibenez electric bass guitar thru the HD-130R to drive two JBL-E140s. I have a big , sweet bass guitar sound. NOTE: The amp drives an 8 ohm speaker load the best! You get your full 120 watts rms power. I had to obtain 16 ohm jbl speakers, run both in parallel to get my 8 ohms.With the 120 watts power I get better head room...plenty of power for my bass...even at large gigs. The amp I'd consider very high end and professional in sound quality.

The amp is built like a tank. Extremely reliable. I purchased these amp, rebuilt them, adding a new power supply, coupling capacitors and new tubes. I prefer groove tubes. A true work horse. I have used the amps for 100s of gigs.....never a problem!

There is no support from a company that no longer exists. There are schematics out there, on line. A good service technician can repair these easily. Parts are available.

I have been a semi-pro 30+ years, playing bass guitar. I prefer the HD-130R over any Fender, Sunn or Ampeg. The SVT classic is too heavy and only a few dBs louder than the 130. Solid state amps are ok, but just don't have that warm sound, for example, Roland's "Cube 100", a great little bass amp, but not warm. The tube output is hard to beat as a bass amp. I also have a Music Man 110-RD50 guitar amp. Added/modified it by adding JBL-E110 speaker to it. Excellent warm ,sweet amp! Small ,easy to pack around. Powerful for most gigs. Music Man amps are some of the best ever built. One is fortunate to have one.

Amps were made during the 70's and I have been using them ever since. I play mostly rock/blues type stuff with an array of guitars from Gibson Firebirds to Teles to Hollowbodies and this amp smokes with all of them. I have 3 HD-130's w/2-12's. Two have the solid state preamp, one with the 12ax7. The solid state preamps are much louder and ballsier than the 12ax7 model but both are amazing amps.

My guitars are all stock. Amps suits whatever style I am playing. Not noisy. I usually play on the neck pickup so I put the treble and middle to 10, bright switch on, and bass at 0. Channel vol on 8 and master vol 2-4 depending on the amp.

Had only one minor problem recently and had it retubed and caps replacede, dust blown out by the guy who fixes Steve Vai's amps and not it is like brand new. Not bad for 30 yrs of dependable service. I dropped mine out of a truck, it has taken a spill lots of times and is quite beat up...but NEVER failed me until just recently and it was a very minor problem.

Amazing amps !!! Usually if you buy one and use it you keep it forever that's why you don't see many for sale. They last and last and last and sound GREAT!!!!

1975 Musicmaster with 12ax7 preamp. while this amp has a passable amount of cool tone possibilities, the tone knobs have very little range, and the preamp distortion does very little that sounds cool. I use pedals to overcome this weakness as, in my opinion, the pure sound of the MM makes up for it.

Gibson SG into Effector 13 TBD with a fuzz factory and sd-1 in the effects loop. I like the pure tone of the amp, which is why i've kept it. It has a unique quality to it that sets it apart from fender amps, to which this amp bears a striking resemblance. If any of you have ever played the Fender II series amps designed by Rivera this plays alot like those. Which is a good thing. As I said above, it could have alot more range tonally and in the preamp. A fender Twin Reverb II is a 10. I'll give this a 9 though.

I play experimental. This amp is currently the backbone of my set up after I had to downgrade from my Twin II to pay off the man for all the speeding tickets and traffic fines

This is a piggy back head which came with a sealed-back 212 speaker cab. The "130" is the wattage, RMS. Muy loud. It's an early model (pre-'77?) since it has the 12AX7 splitter tube in the otherwise solid state pre, feeding a power stage w 4 EL34s. Two channels, one very bare bones, the other with tremolo & reverb; EQ on both channels, and a master volume control. There's a Deep and a Bright switch. No channel switching: it has a footpedal jack which was probably to turn the reverb on/off. No loops or headphone jacks: it's genuine '70's tech. Hefty: I understand it's 45 lb. Black Tolex covering, still in nice shape. It has a removeable panel in the back, and a long heavy gauge power cord. Power & standby switches are on the back. I have owned it for about 10 years, and it has never left the studio, due the weight of the speaker cab. I use it for recording duty but I'd gig with it, if I had a helper to carry it around. For versatility...it's a massive clean, loud Music Man, the god of Country Rock lead guitar. I'll rate it a 10 since, for the era, it is full-featured.

It is the killer for loud & clean. A Strat w vintage single-coils sounded excruciating through it, like doing surgery with wire. My LP Deluxe with Seymour Duncan mini-hb sings through it, as does my MSA singleneck pedal steel (pedal steel pickups always seem to sound terrific). Due to the sealed cab, I tried bass but it didn't have the bottom I like. Recently I plugged the head into a Hartke 410XL cab and it's the cat's appendix for bass. A good friend has an HD-130 (no reverb) with a similar Hartke and it's a great, present bass tone. The combination of preamp tube and master volume allows turning the channel gain up to "10", and controlling the overall level with the master. I don't think you could overdrive those EL34s enough to distort without cranking up the pre, simply because it is so LOUD. I get a very fat distortion with the LP without the raw edge I have heard on other amps. I have also used a DOD Tube Emulator stomp box for a useful sound. All my other amps sound "grainy" next to this one. As noted above, I use it for recording, not gigging, and it is very quiet. I'll knock off a point for the lack of a really rude distortion sound (but for that I use another amp).

I bought it well-used. Not abused, but no longer pristine, either. By the way, avoid old amps that look mint: they invariably look that way because they weren't fun to play. A road warrior with a few scars is preferable to something that sat and looked pretty. Anyhow, I tried it out in the store, bought it and dragged it home (good thing I have a truck) and set it up. It wouldn't make a sound! I started to pull out the speaker cord, and it came apart in my hand. I substituted one I had made and it worked fine. Eventually the reverb failed, and a local tech found an original replacement (pricier than the substitute he suggested) and that fixed that. I retubed it, and it's been running like a train since. I downloaded the schematic from Ernie Ball's website in case I need it, but there's a tech here who has worked on all my tube gear and he probably doesn't need it. I have never gigged with it, but at this point I'd do it without a backup. It's a tube amp, and they need maintenance and repair and general TLC from time to time. Find a tech you trust with your baby and pay whatever it takes. These are not disposable molded plastic amps: they are built for the rest of your life, if you take care of them. But, since they aren't bulletproof (and personally I prefer personality) I'll give it an 8.

At the point that I bought it, MM had been defunct for 10 years. I don't think they'd answer my call.

After thirty some years of playing folk, rock, blues and country with acoustic guitars, a Dobro, electrics, bass and harmonica, I have a lot of stuff. Amps: 1963 Sears Silvertone Twin Twelve, 1963 Ampeg B15N, the MM, 1982 Carvin XV100 112 and a recently acquired Ampeg B100R; guitars: 2 acoustic flattops, one heavily modifed and the other custom made, a lap steel, a pedal steel, 3 basses, the LP, a 1963 Gretsch Country Gentleman and a Ventura copy of same and a Dobro. I also have a project studio based on Adobe Audition, which is where most of this gear gets used. I gig on Dobro, harmonica and bass with some folkies and on bass in an oldies group. I'd hate to lose this amp! If nothing else, it towers over everything else in my studio...but seriously, folks, it's got THAT SOUND for clean electric. As noted, it won't do everything, but it does what it does unlike anything else. A friend found this MM for me, by the way. He's a stone MM freak and has been trying for years to pry a 410 combo out of the hands of another local.
If you find one of these in reasonable condition, try it out. Don't expect a Marshall, or a tweed Fender, or a Boogie. It is what it is. I think I have under $800US in it, including tubes and repairs, and there's nothing on the market today at any price that sounds like it.

I can tell by the nameplate that this is a late 70's model. Great reverb and Tremelo. Plenty of power. Great two chanel amp. I would rate it a 10 in an instant, if only I could switch chanels with a foot switch.

I use it with a 93 Strat plus. The amps got a killer clean tone and moderate overdrive. When I need more drive, I use a Boss Turbo Overdrive. I've had this amp for 10+ years now. Paid $300 for it used. Used it on about two dozen classic rock gigs (everything from the beatles to Hendrix). It rocks. My only complaint is that I've never found a place to turn up past 7.

I've never done a thing to it. It's simply the most reliable amp I've ever used.

I've been playing for 25 years now. Mostly Beck, Clapton, Deringer. Old stuff. I alternate between a 93 strat plus and an 85 Les Paul Custom. I've tried numerous effects, but these days I stick with my Boss Turbo overdrive, Digital Delay, Chorus, and my trusty old Crybaby. I wouldn't know what to do if I lost the Music Man (probably have to settle for a Fender Twin or Messa Dual Rectifier.) I switched to the Music Man after playing a Peavy Classic for a number of years. What on earth was I thinking, Peavy sucks.

My HD 130 reverb amp was made in 1978. It has the DB-4 conversion which eliminates the 12AX7 tube and gives the amp almost twice the volume over the older HD 130 amps. Mine was bought (just the amp-no shell) from Music Man Inc.(through Farrow's Music-G.R. MI) and was a "test bench" amp. It uses the 4 - EL34/6CA7 tubes.
I have never had any trouble with this amplifier. I truely believe it is one of the best production amplifiers ever made. I play rock and blues and the amp does the job very well.
I built two 5/8" solid oak cabinets and loaded each with two EVM 12S speakers. These are the EV's from the early 1980's. Excellent built speakers! Also I built a solid oak amp shell to match the cabs. (If you'd like to see pics,just go to Google and look up "Guitar Witch," Pics should be there at her web site.)
The amp is an absolute killer in clarity and tone with a reverb to die for! The volume (especially with the EV's) will make your ears bleed!
The preamp distortion is older sounding but great for rock and blues. If I want to get more of a metal sound I use a floor effect. I have several.

I use Fender/Gibson/Carvin guitars. All guitars sound great through this amp.
The amp has great Bass, Mids and treble. This amp projects like no other! Reverb is perfect and lush. The vibrato in this amp is the best ever made. Super intense effect that can go very slow to extra fast. The sounds are amazing that one can achieve from this extra cool vibrato. If you are into using vibrato...this is the one for you hands down, no exceptions!

The amp is now 26 years old. Not one problem with it...not one!
Still has the original tubes!

Well...Music Man is long gone, that is for making the amplifiers. Although I do remember back when I was seeking the amplifier itself, building the cabs and asking for their advice...the staff at Music Man Inc. was grrrrreat with helping me!

I have been playing for 36 years. For amps I have a Fender Super Reverb,Vibro Champ & M-80, Carvin X100B and a Rogue 30R.
If my Music Man amp was stolen, I'd cry and then seek out the miserable thief for the rest of my life until I found him, to pound his sorry buttocks in the ground, make a new wallet out of his tongue and demand money to fill the wallet! If it were lost to fire or flood, I'd just cry a very long time.
Oh yeah...I would look for another Music Man replacement if my original was impossible to get back.

I bought my MusicMan HD-130 reverb head in 1977. It has 4 tubes--a 12AX7 rectifier and 4 EL34 power amp tubes, plus a solid state pre amp. At the time I was looking for something that had the beautiful chimey clean sounds of a Fender Twin, with better dirty sounds. This head fit the bill. I played it for a decade with a Gibson ES335, then for another decade with (mainly) a G&L S-100 (essentially a G&L strat), and then for the next decade (almost) with (mostly) a Gibson Les Paul Classic. I've loved the amp with all of these guitars. Its clean sounds are particularly beautiful, with nice compression and tons of head room. As a dirty amp it has an interestng 70's (Mark Knopfler/Eric Clapton)-style distorted sound, which is still quite valid. However these days though I usually set the amp up clean and use a stomp box (Rat or Ibanez Tube Screamer) for my distorted tones.

The reverb is Fender-like--vastly superior to Marshall and Mesa reverb. I've owned this thing for more than 25 years, and except for replacing some tubes, I've never had any problem. It has never ever failed me, through thick-gigs and thin-gigs. I love this head--I really do.

It's got a bright switch, which I find very useful with my Les Paul and moderately useful with my Strat, and a deep switch, which I don't generally use but you make like for scooped-out lead tones.

It has nice sounding tremolo, up to 4 anyway, and then has some dual modulation effect that kicks in above intensity=5. I don't find the dual modulation to be particularly useful, but I like the regular tremolo.

Nobody could possibly need more power than this thing puts out.

With single pickup guitars it sounds just great . With humbuckers snap the bright switch on.

In 27 years of regular use I've never had to do anything other than replace tubes (and adjust biases to the new tubes). It's ridden in the back of pickup trucks, under tarps in the rain, and on the back seat of VW Rabbits; and it's never ever let me down.

Never dealt with them

I know what I paid for it--$1K in 1977--but it as a package deal with (nice!) MusicMan 212 cabinet and a Gibson Ripper bass, so I don't know what to attribute to the amp head.

I love this head. I play it these days with a 4x12 angled cabinet. It had never let me down. But I'm getting old--I'll probably trade this in on a lighter-weight amp at some point.

I am the proud owner of an early/mid 70's HD-130. I bought it for a paultry sum in the early 80's and have never bothered looking for another amp. I pulled two tubes, sequentially and have since changed to 6L6's. The overdrive is INSANE and I didn't even have to re-calibrate the amp.

I use a '65 Gibson Non-reverse Firebird with three P-90's and a new-ish Epiphone Sheridan 2 with two 57 humbuckers. The difference in sounds is impossible to put into a few words. Suffice to say that the Firebird puts out a high ended crunch that can break glass, while the Epi put out warm (yet undeniably overdriven), fat tones that can mimmic anything from B.B. King to Ted Nugent. This amp has more tones and sounds than fifteen plastic amp modeling devices. Plus it's BOSS looking!

Over the past 15+ years I have been regularly working with this amp, the only problems I've had were these; the fuse saddle broke and was quickly and easily replaced with a heavy-duty aftermarket from radio shack. Also, the authentic spring reverb unit tend to shake it's solder joints every few months. Mostly due to heavy touring and uneccessary stage volumes. Both problems were my own fault and both were easily accessed and repaired by my self with no need of an amp tech. Of course, I do all my work myself anyway, but these heads are so intelligently assembled that anyone with a limited knowlege of electronics can make repairs.

I have no idea. I'm sure, mine being an original Leo Fender designed Music Man, I'd have more trouble getting tec-support than would an Ernie Ball owner, but I have no way of qualifying this so I'll just shut up.

If faced with the prospect of losing this amazing head, I would, indeed attempt to purchase another. After I sought out and dismembered the thief. It is relatively light and compact, it's construction rivals that of Detroit built stepsides in the 40's. Tough and reliable, there is nothing that compares with this amp for my purposes. Even Jim Marshall's stuff never sounded as good, and I've owned a few of those, vintage and contemporary, over the past 20-odd yeqrs I've been playing.