BetaFunk Posted December 26, 2013 Share Posted December 26, 2013 (edited) I'm looking to buy a WEM Dominator but have a couple of questions: Is the only difference between the guitar & bass versions the speaker size? As i'm only going to use it at home and never at full volume would it be o.k. to use the guitar version for bass guitar? Any info much appreciated. Edited December 27, 2013 by BetaFunk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoiho Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 (edited) Bit cheeky of me to answer this, but, anyway... I got my Dominator many years ago (about 1980). I also had a bass one (same amp, 15" driver). I used both as a guitar back line (guitar "wet", bass "dry"), before I saw the light and became a bassist. I lost the bass one when it was dropped (or thrown, I never really knew which) out of the back of a Luton van, and smashed. As a bass amp, the guitar version is OK, at low volumes, and if you don't dig in too much. Fine as a practice/bedroom amp. It sounds lovely with my fretless Corvette. But it does start to fart (but not bottom) well before any valve grit starts (which is about 6-7 on the dial; mind you, so did the bass version). And it certainly doesn't cope well with the low B on my T-bird, at any volume! I've also used on occasions as a reinforcement for my double bass, and it coped moderately well, as long bass was rolled off a bit. The only problem is the speaker - a Celestion G12-50 (an early replacement, I forget why, not the original). I reckon that with a more modern 12" bass driver it would be a good bass amp. But the problem there might be finding a 16Ohm driver. Oh, and it sounds [i]fabulous[/i] with my telecaster. Edited December 27, 2013 by hoiho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barkin Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 (edited) No expert, but I'm sure the bass version differed only in its speaker size. There were numerous different versions of the Dominator though... I used to have a Power Musette (basically a Dominator - Mk3 I think - by another name) and played bass through it with no ill effects. ISTR it sounding quite nice for bass, as long as the knobs were kept within the limitations of a 70's guitar speaker. Great guitar amp though. Edited December 27, 2013 by barkin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Starr Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 It would be a shame to ruin a vintage amp by playing bass through a guitar speaker, especially if it is in original condition. You will almost certainly shorten the life of the speaker by playing bass through it and probably destroy it unless you play at very low volumes. Please don't do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pow_22 Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Use mine as a bass amp. WEM dominator MkII with 15" celestion. Tone to die for and much louder than the wattage suggests. Have some old Brimar ECL82's in mine with a JJ ECC83, sounds amazing. If you are local to Bolton feel free to come and have a noodle on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BetaFunk Posted December 28, 2013 Author Share Posted December 28, 2013 (edited) [quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1388130833' post='2318696'] You will almost certainly shorten the life of the speaker by playing bass through it and probably destroy it unless you play at very low volumes. Please don't do it. [/quote] It must be very painful for you to watch old footage of The Who. P.S. I can't say that i would lose any sleep over whether the speaker would be destroyed or not. There is enough musical equipment in museums that just sits there without being played. I use what i have and if it wears out and packs up then so be it. The fact that someone has used it and enjoyed it is good enough for me. Edited December 29, 2013 by BetaFunk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ash Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 You might find this link useful - http://www.watkinsguitars.co.uk/index.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BetaFunk Posted December 29, 2013 Author Share Posted December 29, 2013 [quote name='ash' timestamp='1388264808' post='2320259'] You might find this link useful - [url="http://www.watkinsguitars.co.uk/index.htm"]http://www.watkinsgu...co.uk/index.htm[/url] [/quote] Thanks Ash. I'm familiar with that site because i have both WEM and Watkins basses but it doesn't answer what the differences are between the guitar and bass amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barkin Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 http://www.vintagehofner.co.uk/britamps/watkins.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoiho Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 (edited) There's a bass Dominator just appeared on fleabay: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/wem-dominator-mk1-vintage-bass-combo-amp-/291049962739"]http://www.ebay.co.u...p-/291049962739[/url] It's missing its aluminium trim strip, but otherwise looks pretty clean. It's an early one, as it still has the transformer voltage plug on the front panel, to the right of the fuse and power switch. And it has a link to [url="http://www.vintageguitarandbass.com/wem/amplifier/Dominator_bass_mk1.php"]http://www.vintagegu...or_bass_mk1.php[/url] - which repeats the claim that the Mk III guitar and Mk I bas are electronically identical, only differing in speaker. I think the clincher for this being true is that the bass version still has the "treble boost" switch, which is a guitar amp feature, and not something you'd design into a dedicated bass amp, back in the 70s! Edited January 5, 2014 by hoiho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulie Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Cracking amp Im not sure what version I have but it has two channels. Channel one has a bright switch the other channel does not. It sounds amazing on bass with the old 15" speaker. I dont play it too loud though as its only 45 watts or so Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoiho Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 All the various WEM Dominators (and Musettes) had two channels, and only channel one, as you say, had the bright switch. There was only one version of Bass-labled Dominator (ie with the cast 15" spider-frame Celestion speaker) - the Mk 1 (which is the same amp chassis and combo case as the non-bass labeled Mk III). And it's only 15 Watts, not 45 - but it's bloody loud for that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulie Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Cheers Im not sure which one I have now, must inspect it,. It defo doesnt say bass anywhere though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoiho Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Ah, so you must have the 45AP, 45W, 4xEL84, rather than the "classic" 15W, 2xEL84, Dominator? If so, it's a pretty rare beast. And I'm jealous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoiho Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Incidentally, here's another Dominator Bass Mk I on ebay. Still got the orignal cast spider Celestion speaker. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wem-Dominator-1970s-Vintage-Valve-Amp-Guitar-bass/321288961139 It's mising the aluninum trim strip, which is probably why it isn't specifically identified as a "Bass MK I"version, as that's the only place it says that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoiho Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 (edited) And here's another bass Dominator, clean, and at a very good price: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/W-E-M-dominator-bass-mk-1-amp-/151224576188 Specs give the wrong wattage, though. It's 15W, not 50W. 50W is the rating of the Celestion driver. In fact, all the specs seem to have just been read from the speaker label! Kinda tempted, myself... Edited February 4, 2014 by hoiho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulie Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Correct I checked it out and my version is the Wem Dominator A P 45w It seems to have an old RCF speaker in there, a 15 This amp sounds amazing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Being an open-backed cabinet (at least, my Dominator Mk111 was) the cab is not optimal for bass, but if it sounds ok you wont be doing too much damage to the speaker. I regret selling mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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