What kind of amp do you dig? (Page 1 of 4)
Posted: 11/7/2008 3:54:38 PM EDT
|
So back when I was working at Guitar Center, I was pretty set on buying a Mesa. Our store didn't carry them (Mesa has a stipulation that only one dealer per, say 100 miles [don't remember the exact distance] can carry Mesa amplifiers) so, to my store manager's dismay, I would still essentially sell my customers on what I believed in; Mesa, but I would send them to another Guitar Center to make the purchase.
As time would pass, several dozen Mesa sales were attributed to me (though I wasn't able to get any credit for it thanks to their clause...) and I decided it was time to get one. I contacted Mesa about buying directly from them at cost, which is what the G.C. discount was... they denied me, citing my store didn't carry Mesa-Boogie products, and essentially saying it wouldn't benefit them... Mind you, in my band (of which I am the drummer) my guitar player and singer both play Mesas... I was pissed... What else could I do? I bought a Marshall TSL-122... ...but I still wish I could've gotten that Mesa... a Lone Star 2x12 specifically... mmm... 
What's your dream amp? |
I already have it. But it's fully custom-made. 
The amps I've enjoyed most, whether I owned them or not, have been, in no particular order... Mesa Blue Angel Mesa Mark IIB 100 watt head, with reverb and EQ. Mesa SINGLE recto head Vintage transitional period 18-watt Marshall combo. The most responsive amp I've ever played through. It reads minds! Restored Marshall Plexi, 50 watter, slightly modded. My custom amp. Late silver face era Fender Pro Reverb combo, 70 watt version with middle and master volume controls. LUSH clean tone...but no distortion you want to hear. CJ |
"Now they will know why they are afraid of the dark.
Now they will learn why they fear the night."....Thulsa Doom
"My body is a temple."
"No, it's an amusement park. Have a beer."
Now they will learn why they fear the night."....Thulsa Doom
"My body is a temple."
"No, it's an amusement park. Have a beer."
|
I got these to putter about with now. Well, except the 65 amp which is back at the factory being restored to new as I bought it used and the first owner made some mods I didn't like. It will be back next week.
Ehh, can't see them well. They are from left to right: Matchless Lightning with reverb Dr Z Maz Jr with reverb London 65 Mesa Boogie Mark VI Supro Tremolectric I am also pining for an EVH 5150. But that might be overkill for a 12x15 foot room 
|
|
I have a couple crates and a marshall.
the Crate do a better job than the marshall, imho. my bass amp is a crate too, but I'd much rather have an old Acoustic or any tube Ampeq. |
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson
|
I've been spending most of my free cash on weapons and ammo these last few years strangely enough and stopped spending it on music gear being happy enough for my needs with my Traynor YCV 40 running a Weber Californian 12 ceramic and a mix of JJ, Electro Harmonix, and Sylvania tubes.
I don't care about playing live anymore and mostly just enjoy expanding my chops and writing, but I'd still like a Soldano HotRod 50+, 2 channel head on top a matching Soldano 2-12 cab with Weber 12 Californian ceramics in it. UMMMMM, black snakeskin!!!! 
I'm about done with buying firearms after getting a new compact Beretta and maybe,..maybe a 551 if Sig ever makes an actual replica in time. If not maybe an ACR for fun, but I don't really need it. Soldano I am going to pick up an AMT ss-20 preamp as soon as someone buys my Guild GAD JF20 I've been trying to sell, but no one seems to have the cash for it even though the price is sweet at $625. AMT SS-20 demo |
What don't kill ya' make ya' more strong.
Joined:
Sep 2004
Posts:
10368
EE: 100% (16)
OH, USA
|
I'm simple. I've probably had the most fun playing through little Fender Champs and Deluxe Reverb reissues.
For something with more girth and gain, I'm a big Orange fan. ETA - Once I get some other fish fried around here, I'm thinking something from one of Arfcom's own - Blaculo and Tungsten Amplification. |
Barack Hussein Obama is not my President.
| I know it's on the cheaper side, but since I play a custom tele, I'd have to go with the Fender hot rod deville blues tweed reissue. I have a friend who has one and the thing is awesome. I would buy one, but since I'm a poor high-school student, I can't afford 900 bucks for an amp. |
|
Originally Posted By Zakk_Wylde_470:
I would do horrible, vile things for a MKIIC+. No doubt. If there's a "classic" Boogie that deserves legendary status, that's the one! 
Personally, the ultimate dream rig I'd love to own, but would never want to move, would be a Mark IIC+ Coliseum series head, (That's the one with three pairs of power tubes, four 6L6s and two EL-34s, or six 6L6s, giving up to 180 watts) with a pair of 4x12s each loaded entirely with EVM-12Ls. And better yet, put them all in hardwood cabinets, I'd prefer curly maple. This would not be a rig that went anywhere. It would just be used to kill small animals with sound. CJ |
"Now they will know why they are afraid of the dark.
Now they will learn why they fear the night."....Thulsa Doom
"My body is a temple."
"No, it's an amusement park. Have a beer."
Now they will learn why they fear the night."....Thulsa Doom
"My body is a temple."
"No, it's an amusement park. Have a beer."
|
Originally Posted By cmjohnson:
Originally Posted By Zakk_Wylde_470:
I would do horrible, vile things for a MKIIC+. No doubt. If there's a "classic" Boogie that deserves legendary status, that's the one!
Personally, the ultimate dream rig I'd love to own, but would never want to move, would be a Mark IIC+ Coliseum series head, (That's the one with three pairs of power tubes, four 6L6s and two EL-34s, or six 6L6s, giving up to 180 watts) with a pair of 4x12s each loaded entirely with EVM-12Ls. And better yet, put them all in hardwood cabinets, I'd prefer curly maple. This would not be a rig that went anywhere. It would just be used to kill small animals with sound. CJ This is always the part I don't understand about these over 100 watt tube amps, is that unless your using it for big shows where you can crank it up hard to heat the tubes up so the tone is fat and juicy, it's serious overkill. Yeh you can use an attenuator to reduce the volume while heating the power tubes up, by your still running a huge rig sucking the power out of your wall socket and skyscrapering your power bill when you could have gotten a sweet 50 head and smoked up pretty much everywhere while getting more than enough volume for just about any normal show. A real big show too will have a good PA anyways and you can mic it for even better stereo volume and sound. Sorry, I don't want to stomp on people's amp dreams, but that's just my two cents on it.
|
|
You're right, but it's like cars. A high performance car is FUN even if you're not driving along
at 150 MPH. There's nothing wrong with having a Ferrari in the garage for fun weekends and a Prius for the working week. I'd want that rig because to me it represents practically the ultimate in big amps. It'd be so loud it'd tear holes in your head, but what the hell. Once in a while... 
CJ |
"Now they will know why they are afraid of the dark.
Now they will learn why they fear the night."....Thulsa Doom
"My body is a temple."
"No, it's an amusement park. Have a beer."
Now they will learn why they fear the night."....Thulsa Doom
"My body is a temple."
"No, it's an amusement park. Have a beer."
I like them all! 
My son has added a few amps to the collection. 
Fender Bassman 100- an incredible guitar head. Marshall 1960a cab Fender Hot Rod Deville 410- my sons amp. the band yells at him when the master vol is over 2! Great Fender sound out of a new production amp. Line6 Spider 50w- Don't tell anybody but this thing is more fun then a drunk prom date!
1965 Fender Princeton amp. The bell-like tone that comes out of this amp is heart warming. Crate G-60- bought it new over 25 years ago, my first amp. Has NEVER failed me yet! Mesa Boogie Single Rectifier solo 50. Sweet tone when playing clean and balls to the wall when cranked. Mesa Boogie 412 cab- Has a 1/2 open back with 2, 90w black shadow speakers showing. I've heard that the sealed 1/2 of the cab has celestion speakers. IDK. Missing- Marshall 50w 900- This 900 was retubed and biased for EL34s. Plugging the LesPaul into this is great! Not my style but you have to love the sound. 
If I had to pick ONLY one to stay....The Boogie single rec would be it! |
|
My favorite amp is my Marshall JVM. I love it!
It gets all the tones I want & the MIDI switching makes it a breeze when you use it with a effects processor & a MIDI foot controller. It has 128 memory slots, just like most if not all processors. The only things I'd change would be to have the option to switch both of the effects loops on & off with MIDI, have level switches on both loops (not just the one). But that's nit picky stuff that I get by just fine without. It really is the closest to the ideal amp for me in both tone & function. I would love it if they made a low wattage combo version of this amp too. ETA: I should also say that I've heard an Engl (can't remember the model) that sounded like a sonic orgasm.
|
|
so far..MARSHALL all the way. SL 100, MKII, 800, 900 liked em all I tried the Mesa Boogie Triple Rec.... returned it (maybe I shoul dhave tried it with different tubes?) Edit1- I have been wanting to try out an ENGEL but have not come across one yet. I am spending my money on Guns and Ammo these days though. edit2- Ha! I was replying and then editd and added the above, then I noticed you said it too.. edit3 revised old thread |
Die Free
| I play a homebrew tele, so naturally it sounds the best out of a fender. My dream amp, which I'm actually planning to build is the 57 twin. It's a 40 watt 2x12 with 4 preamp tubes (12ax7) 2 power tubes (6l6) and 2 rectifier tubes (5u4) which totals about 100 bucks in tubes |
| I've had sever al amps in my life and I love the Mesa Dual Recto. I got rid of the VHT Pitbull for the Mesa. This thing simply has more tone than most other amps. That said, some other names to remember are Budda and Soldano. I'm kinda looking into Laney a little right now also. Then, of course, there's Marshall. I think you couldn't go wrong with a Mesa Dual Recto though. |
Don't move Granny.. I'm gonna tease you with the tip of it....
|
This might not be very useful info but I've built my favorite amp.
Currently I'm playing a 5 watt JCM800 homebuilt (ax84.com High Octane project). Many of my favorite tunes of the '80's were recorded using the JCM800. I just can't crank 50 or 100 watts of Marshal awesomeness in my bedroom. Even at 5 watts using an efficient speaker I can keep up with the lighter hitting drummer in our band. Sometime in the future I'll build something low wattage and Plexi based to get most of the other tones of my favorite bands. |
just an ordinary guy, with nothing to lose
Joined:
Jul 2004
Posts:
4719
EE: 100% (80)
IL, USA
|
My two favorites are my old Music Man 212's. One is a "Sixty-Five" with Tremelo, and the other is a much more rare "Seventy-Five" with Phaser.
The last few years I played for a living, I used a Blues, Jr. whenever I had the chance. That is one under-rated little amp. Believe it or not, I've never had the chance to play thru and old Marshall Plexi, but I did gig on a house Valvestate one night. Wasn't too bad at all. I can see why there is all the lust for the Marshall's, especially if I had time to find my own "sweet spot". |
"...Sometimes I wish I was a fucking water buffalo or something. I think life would be a lot simpler. Just be ignorant and eat and fuck and make little water buffalo and then get eaten by a crocodile or something." - Echo_Hotel
|
Originally Posted By Quintin:
Originally Posted By rdymadeQ:
if I could swing it, I'd get a Two-Rock. Are they serious with the prices they quote on their website? A 100 watt all tube head is like $10,000?  They think they are the new Dumble or Trainwreck. I get a kick out of these guys who act like their stuff is made of solid gold. Yeah... their stuff is good, even great. But you'd think that they'd want as many people to play their product as possible –– not from a money-making standpoint but from an "art" standpoint. Jim Marshall may not make true boutique amps, but he changed the music world in ways that none of these unapporachable elitists could ever dream of. |
|
Originally Posted By Quintin:
Originally Posted By rdymadeQ:
if I could swing it, I'd get a Two-Rock. Are they serious with the prices they quote on their website? A 100 watt all tube head is like $10,000? They're serious. Here's a sample |
|
I listened to every Two Rock sample I could find on YouTube.
Frankly I'm not very impressed. Those are good tones, to be sure, but I'm not hearing the magic that justifies the high price. A friend of mine is a custom amp builder and I really prefer what he does. Except that for my own tastes, if he builds me an amp he has to tame the treble just a little bit because I haven't blown my ear's frequency response in the highs yet.
Most boutique builders make amps that aren't REALLY worth the price. Mostly, their best amps are pretty close remakes of vintage classics we can't get anymore at any reasonable price...like short panel Plexi Marshalls. With the price a real one being sky high, one of these builders can get you 90 percent of the way to that tone for half the vintage price, but they're still making a fat profit if they are working efficiently. I'm glad these builders are out there, though. It puts great tones into something resembling a reasonable price range even if not all of them manage to go beyond vintage tone and into the realm of magical tone. CJ |
"Now they will know why they are afraid of the dark.
Now they will learn why they fear the night."....Thulsa Doom
"My body is a temple."
"No, it's an amusement park. Have a beer."
Now they will learn why they fear the night."....Thulsa Doom
"My body is a temple."
"No, it's an amusement park. Have a beer."
|
I've had lots of amps. I regret getting rid of each of them, for different reasons.
Mesa .50cal. Marshall JTM45 Fender Silverface Pro Reverb Fender Silverface Vibro Champ And I now have a Peavey Classic 30, which, honestly, is a great little Amp for knopck around gigs and dragging all over to friend's places to Jam. |
|
Originally Posted By cmjohnson:
I listened to every Two Rock sample I could find on YouTube. Frankly I'm not very impressed. Those are good tones, to be sure, but I'm not hearing the magic that justifies the high price. A friend of mine is a custom amp builder and I really prefer what he does. Except that for my own tastes, if he builds me an amp he has to tame the treble just a little bit because I haven't blown my ear's frequency response in the highs yet.
Most boutique builders make amps that aren't REALLY worth the price. Mostly, their best amps are pretty close remakes of vintage classics we can't get anymore at any reasonable price...like short panel Plexi Marshalls. With the price a real one being sky high, one of these builders can get you 90 percent of the way to that tone for half the vintage price, but they're still making a fat profit if they are working efficiently. I'm glad these builders are out there, though. It puts great tones into something resembling a reasonable price range even if not all of them manage to go beyond vintage tone and into the realm of magical tone. CJ Ain't that the truth... No magic here. You can buy $400 of parts and assemble a Fender Bassman, Marshall Plexi, a Dumble, or a Two Rock. With a little knowlege or a good amp tech you can tweek any of the above to your preferences. I doubt anyone will argue Jimi was a "tone god". While tone is very subjective, I don't think this gives up much to the Two Rock clip which is recorded in more favorable conditions. Listen to the excellent live tone. I'm not sure if this is in Jimi's Fender days or if he'd switched to Marshalls by '67 but here's a very simple amp, by modern standards. The Wind Cries Mary |
|
Originally Posted By Lympago:
Originally Posted By cmjohnson:
Originally Posted By Zakk_Wylde_470:
I would do horrible, vile things for a MKIIC+. No doubt. If there's a "classic" Boogie that deserves legendary status, that's the one!
Personally, the ultimate dream rig I'd love to own, but would never want to move, would be a Mark IIC+ Coliseum series head, (That's the one with three pairs of power tubes, four 6L6s and two EL-34s, or six 6L6s, giving up to 180 watts) with a pair of 4x12s each loaded entirely with EVM-12Ls. And better yet, put them all in hardwood cabinets, I'd prefer curly maple. This would not be a rig that went anywhere. It would just be used to kill small animals with sound. CJ This is always the part I don't understand about these over 100 watt tube amps, is that unless your using it for big shows where you can crank it up hard to heat the tubes up so the tone is fat and juicy, it's serious overkill. Yeh you can use an attenuator to reduce the volume while heating the power tubes up, by your still running a huge rig sucking the power out of your wall socket and skyscrapering your power bill when you could have gotten a sweet 50 head and smoked up pretty much everywhere while getting more than enough volume for just about any normal show. A real big show too will have a good PA anyways and you can mic it for even better stereo volume and sound. Sorry, I don't want to stomp on people's amp dreams, but that's just my two cents on it.
The problem with attentuators is that they're said to be rough on transformers - IMO, a better solution is pulling a pair of power tubes to knock it back to 50/60 watts... - georgestrings |
كافر
|
I really like my Dean Markley CD-60, but also can get excellent results from a TSL-50...
For bass amps, I'm getting excellent results from a pair of Peavey T-Max heads, but would really like a Genz-Benz GBE 750, or a Mesa M-Pulse 600 for SS amps - for bass tube amps, I really like the old SVTs, the Mesa 400, or Peavey's 400 Classic... - georgestrings |
كافر
|
Originally Posted By georgestrings:
Originally Posted By Lympago:
Originally Posted By cmjohnson:
Originally Posted By Zakk_Wylde_470:
I would do horrible, vile things for a MKIIC+. No doubt. If there's a "classic" Boogie that deserves legendary status, that's the one!
Personally, the ultimate dream rig I'd love to own, but would never want to move, would be a Mark IIC+ Coliseum series head, (That's the one with three pairs of power tubes, four 6L6s and two EL-34s, or six 6L6s, giving up to 180 watts) with a pair of 4x12s each loaded entirely with EVM-12Ls. And better yet, put them all in hardwood cabinets, I'd prefer curly maple. This would not be a rig that went anywhere. It would just be used to kill small animals with sound. CJ This is always the part I don't understand about these over 100 watt tube amps, is that unless your using it for big shows where you can crank it up hard to heat the tubes up so the tone is fat and juicy, it's serious overkill. Yeh you can use an attenuator to reduce the volume while heating the power tubes up, by your still running a huge rig sucking the power out of your wall socket and skyscrapering your power bill when you could have gotten a sweet 50 head and smoked up pretty much everywhere while getting more than enough volume for just about any normal show. A real big show too will have a good PA anyways and you can mic it for even better stereo volume and sound. Sorry, I don't want to stomp on people's amp dreams, but that's just my two cents on it.
The problem with attentuators is that they're said to be rough on transformers - IMO, a better solution is pulling a pair of power tubes to knock it back to 50/60 watts... - georgestrings That certainly works, but I think someone looking to run a balls out 200 watt tube amp in the first place is a person who desires extreme in things, likely doesn't care about roughness on the transformer and wants to run all the tubes. Most of these modern high power amps have class A power cut anyways. Whatever makes them happy though as we all deserve happiness. 
|
|
Originally Posted By code99:
I bought a MESA/Boogie back in 1989 and I've to this day never found a better-sounding amp... Yeah, Mesa makes some great stuff - I picked up a Mesa Powerhouse 610 for bass gigs not long ago, and it's certainly a pleasure to play through... - georgestrings |
كافر
|
I love Vox AC-15s.
|
gonzo_beyondo-No, divorce rates correlate with the increasing rate of crazy. cmjohnson-I pushed HARD for max flow. omega62-Well I'll be dipped in shit! Fat_McNasty-Hell i live at home in moms basement with my real doll. And Im cool about it! totaly cool.
|
Originally Posted By Rod_Fitswell:
So back when I was working at Guitar Center, I was pretty set on buying a Mesa. Our store didn't carry them (Mesa has a stipulation that only one dealer per, say 100 miles [don't remember the exact distance] can carry Mesa amplifiers) so, to my store manager's dismay, I would still essentially sell my customers on what I believed in; Mesa, but I would send them to another Guitar Center to make the purchase. As time would pass, several dozen Mesa sales were attributed to me (though I wasn't able to get any credit for it thanks to their clause...) and I decided it was time to get one. I contacted Mesa about buying directly from them at cost, which is what the G.C. discount was... they denied me, citing my store didn't carry Mesa-Boogie products, and essentially saying it wouldn't benefit them... Mind you, in my band (of which I am the drummer) my guitar player and singer both play Mesas... I was pissed... What else could I do? I bought a Marshall TSL-122... ...but I still wish I could've gotten that Mesa... a Lone Star 2x12 specifically... mmm...
What's your dream amp? There is no dream amp for me, just flavor of the month, lol. Well, maybe a diezel, or a /13. Anyway, I've stuck with Hughes and Kettner Triamps for the last few years, so I don't see them going anywhere, but I would like to try a VHT Pitbull... |
Please take a listen to my band: myspace.com/EvenHeroes
|
I'm too new to know what my favorite kind of amp sound is. I guess most of the artists' tone I admire use Marshall.
Is there a site out there where you can listen to different amps/effects/whatever? I always hear these descriptions like "Fender chime" and "Marshall growl" or whatever, and it just means nothing to me. |
|
Originally Posted By Knutzen:
I'm too new to know what my favorite kind of amp sound is. I guess most of the artists' tone I admire use Marshall. Is there a site out there where you can listen to different amps/effects/whatever? I always hear these descriptions like "Fender chime" and "Marshall growl" or whatever, and it just means nothing to me. If you go to www.musiciansfriend.com they usually have audio demos for the stuff that they sell. |
I was blessed with the ability to make a living playing for 25 years, until my back got too bad to move my gear–– Best guitar amp I ever heard (to my admittedly biased ear) was a 1960 cream-Tolex Fender Bandmaster, with a pair of old-school Jensen 12" speakers. Highs on fire, lows of liquid ice–– clean as a razor until you leaned on it, then it would sound like every Ritchie Blackmore album you ever heard. I own it now.  The joke is, I was always a bassist–– for bass I use Gallien-Krueger amps, JBL speakers (the old K145's later the E145–– hard to argue with 22 pounds of Alnico 6) and Fender basses, of which I have an assortment. I can cause earthquakes with this setup.
There's a company called www.torresengineering.com that does a nice job of altering an old Bassman head into a good, ballsy guitar amp–– to my ear they sound better than a lot of gear out there that costs six times as much. Just sayin'. They also make kits to do your own work–– and they're great people.
|
Just because it stopped smoking doesn't mean you can pick it up. --FotBR
Totus vestri castrum es belong nobis.
|
Originally Posted By locrain:
Originally Posted By theFatAirsoftKid47:
Mesa Triple Rec flame away  Hey man, no flame from me...I love my dual. For some things, they're great amps, not my fav but still great. Frankly I like the single rec best of the series. The others add too much trash to the signal, and the trip in particular has definite reliability issues. CJ |
"Now they will know why they are afraid of the dark.
Now they will learn why they fear the night."....Thulsa Doom
"My body is a temple."
"No, it's an amusement park. Have a beer."
Now they will learn why they fear the night."....Thulsa Doom
"My body is a temple."
"No, it's an amusement park. Have a beer."
|
Originally Posted By cmjohnson:
Originally Posted By locrain:
Originally Posted By theFatAirsoftKid47:
Mesa Triple Rec flame away Hey man, no flame from me...I love my dual. For some things, they're great amps, not my fav but still great. Frankly I like the single rec best of the series. The others add too much trash to the signal, and the trip in particular has definite reliability issues. CJ I absolutely love my Rect-O-Verb (series II) combo, but I've gotta be honest... I'd sell it and upgrade to a Dual Recto and a 4x12 without thinking twice if I had a few grand to drop on guitar equipment. I need a third channel I'll admit that I have no real need for a half stack, but I've always wanted one. The third channel will be my excuse for the upgrade.
|
Sic Semper Obamae
| Been looking at these lately Hughes and Kettner Switchblade |
|
Originally Posted By cmjohnson:
Originally Posted By locrain:
Originally Posted By theFatAirsoftKid47:
Mesa Triple Rec flame away Hey man, no flame from me...I love my dual. For some things, they're great amps, not my fav but still great. Frankly I like the single rec best of the series. The others add too much trash to the signal, and the trip in particular has definite reliability issues. CJ I hear you. My Dual is #752, I swear it sounds better than newer ones, lol. Maybe you just prefer the solid state rectifier that you get in the single? Although you can switch the dual and trip back and forth... |
Please take a listen to my band: myspace.com/EvenHeroes
|
Originally Posted By oTECHNOo:
ENGL Special Edition E670 Matchless Chieftain Engls are incredible. I've only heard two of them to date, and they have an incredible harmonic structure that has to be heard to be believed. It's most definitely NOT in your general Fender, Marshall, or Mesa categories. CJ |
"Now they will know why they are afraid of the dark.
Now they will learn why they fear the night."....Thulsa Doom
"My body is a temple."
"No, it's an amusement park. Have a beer."
Now they will learn why they fear the night."....Thulsa Doom
"My body is a temple."
"No, it's an amusement park. Have a beer."