Your favorite all-around amp?
GregD
I've owned it a couple of times. I prefer the one with the Jensen C12K over
the pre-2000 ones with the Eminence, but both are fine.
What's yours? The one amp that if that's all you could have, you'd pick???
Greg
LarryV
haven't had the chance to try most of them to actually see what they
sound like under working conditions. That said, I really dig my Trace
Elliott Bonneville C50. The amp has such a huge variety of different
tones plenty of power. With the ability to use 5 different types of
power tubes, you can change the tone completely. Only 400 of them were
made so they're pretty rare as well.
http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data/Trace_Elliot/Bonneville_112_Combo-1.html
GregD
news:1138542628.0...@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com:
> That's really tough to answer with all the great amps on the market.
> I haven't had the chance to try most of them to actually see what they
> sound like under working conditions.
I should have qualified that, Larry. Of the amps that you have owned, which
one amp would you take to a desert island?
> That said, I really dig my Trace
> Elliott Bonneville C50.
Excellent amp or so I've heard. Same for the Speed Twin. I've had one of
their very compact acoustic guitar amps, the TA35CR.
Greg
Pt
Marshall JCM 900 50 watt dual reverb head.
Model 1936 cabinet with 2X12 Celestions 75 watt.
EL-34 power tubes.
When people think of Marshall amps they think distortion.
I put a bigger power transformer in this amp and had it biased for
clean (cold bias).
This is the best sounding clean amp I ever played through and I have
played through many amps.
I can kick in the high channel for distortion but I rarely use it.
I use a Mesa V-1 (2) tube preamp.
I have been gigging with this amp since 1989 with very few problems.
Musicians in the audience expect Marshall crunch but they are
surprised when they hear the lovely clean sounds I get from this amp.
This is the ONLY amp I have had that is a keeper.
I even play my elec/acoustic through it and it sounds beautiful.
Very woody.
Most tube amps can be set up the way you want them.
It takes trial and error and a few tubes to get it right.
For SS amps I like the Roland JC 120 (with a moise gate).
Pt
Texas Pete
>What's yours? The one amp that if that's all you could have, you'd pick???
Ampeg B12XT.
Texas Pete
Pt
mark (sixstringtheoryDOTcom)
Ah....amps! Skip this ppost now unless you have a few minutes to burn,
cus I can go on and on about em : )
I've been through most of the under $500 ones it seems, including:
Fender Blues Jr: I had the tweed, "greenboard" older version made in the
USA. It was very nice. Prior to this, I had bought one of the newer ones
from Guitar Center to try out and take to a rehearsal. It was
terrible. Couldn't dial out the highs on it - icepick. And the reverb
was so hissy it was unbelievable. But I'm in the minority apparently on
this. Most people seem to like the newer version better, or so it seems
based on internet discusions at the fender forum.
Peavey Classic 30: the one I had sounded phenomenal and had just the
right amount of power for me. But then after a few months it started to
sound not so great. Just kind of dull. The one I got came used (as
almost all my amps do) and it had a Celestion V30 in it (which I don't
like as it's mid-rangey) so I sold it. The guy I sold it to,
fortunately, was apparently a collector/officianado of Peavey Classic
30's and told me that when he received it he went through it and found
that it had been running on only half of the power section and it had
cracked solder joints inside. I had no idea. Fortunately for both of
his, he didn't mind, because he said he always goes through and checks
those amps for this problem because it is common. Great amp for the
money. I would like to try a Peavey Delta Blues.
Traynor YGM-3 GuitarMate Reverb: excellent clean. This was a closed-back
combo that was a heavy 50-55 pounds, and LOUD at 25 watts. Super loud.
Couldn't use it for home practice because it was so loud, I think mostly
because of the closed cabinet and directional nature of the sound. I
took it to an audition and it was too directional sound-wise. Good amp
overall, but not worth the weight.
Traynor YCV20WR: this was the wine red tolex one. 15 watts, Celestion
greenback speaker. It had lots of options - every feature you could
possibly want. They now have a newer revision of it that even has XLR
output. But, like all 'do it all' amps with tons of knobs, this one was
lackluster in every department. Sounded lifeless to me. Big disappointment.
Mesa F30: I got screwed around by a salesman at Guitar Center one time
and it came at a bad time, as I needed an amp (my current amp at the
time was broken)for a rehearsal one evening and I always wanted to try a
Mesa amp but could never spend that much money on one. So I 'rented' one
of these for the night. Amazing distortion. Singing sustain. Really fun
distortion. Clean was lackluster, dull. But, after playing it for 2
hours, one of the preamp tubes burned out during rehearsal. So maybe
that was the issue with the clean channel. Nice amp but not for the
dough, unless you want distortion.
Mesa DC2: After trying the F30 I scoured ebay for a cheaper Mesa amp.
The DC2 gets rave reviews. It, again, had all kinds of features. Clean
channel was okay at best. Distortion/overdrive channel, in atypical
fashion for Mesa, was absolutely horrible. Oh, and when people mention
"Mesa watts" they ain't kidding. A 20 watt Mesa amp is louder than most
40 watt amps to my ears.
Tech 21 Trademark 10: the little one. Great amp, especially for the
money. Not enough power for what I needed at the time, but surprisingly
loud for only 10 solid state watts. I think I read on this NG someone
saying that anyone who says solid-state watts are not as powerful as
tube watts is full of shit. Well, maybe theoretically, but in reality,
come put your ear next to the amps and you'll soon see. You won't hear
again. But you'll see.
Tech 21 Trademark 60: the latest amp I'm now trying to sell. Every
feature imaginable. Sounds dull and lifeless for the most part. People
rave about them though, so maybe it's just me.
Music Man RD112 Fifty: most amazing clean ever. Beautiful clean sound.
Nice and light amp too. The "limiter" channel was useless. I think
"limiter" referred to tone quality - because when I hit that switch the
amp was terrible. This amp, to my ears, was like a single-sided knife:
on one side the clean was phenomenal. And normally that's all you need
because the pedals can handle the rest. But pedals sounded like terrible
with this amp. I spoke to a tech about it and he said that because of
the solid-state input, everything I use in front of the amp will turn to
mush. It did. Shame. I got a great offer (doubled my money) on it so I
sold it to a jazz guy in Austin. I regret selling it. The clean was that
good.
Fender Pro Jr: I got one of these when they first came out. I hated it.
But I can't stand to play without a little reverb so that could have
been it.
Of all of these amps (and there were probably a few more I had over the
years that I just forgot about), the best all-around amp was definitely
the Peavey Classic 30, and the Older version of the Blues Junior was
real nice too but not as good as the C30. The Music Man blew away
everything in the clean department. One trick pony. Which usually means
it's good. I'm searching for a new amp now, and am considering going for
either a mid-sized solid state Roland Cube or Polytone type amp, or an
older Fender small tube. But if I had to pick just one to take to an
island right now, it'd probably be the Classic 30 since it did
everything so well for a $300 amp.
YMMV
mark
Peter Grey
distortion. Impossible to find. I'd buy another as a back up in a second.
jdah...@uiuc.edu
any longer (with the
necessary JBL or Weber Alnico speakers) I'll say a Fender DRRI with a
Weber P-12N
RCA black plate 6v6's, RCA rectifier, and a mix of Mullard, Amperex,
and Telefunken 12ax7's
and 12at7's.
(I have this setup now and owned it years ago too)
John
Adam Gottschalk
GregD <Your...@nowhere.com> wrote:
My Hafler P3000 power amp. 150w/channel into 8ohms, 400w mono into 8
ohms. Either I plug one of various small DIs/preamps directly into the
amp, or I put various DIs/preamps into my small 6-channel Peavey mixer.
Usually I use it with two bass cabinets; just sold a GK 200w, and I'm
looking for a lightweight cab rated at 400w so I can use the rig in mono
with just that one cab when situations warrant it. I use this
amp/speaker setup for guitar, bass, voice, and whatever else needs to be
amplified. Takes anything you throw at it and makes it sound awesome.
It's dead silent; it has no fan, passive cooling. My mixer makes noise
but the amp is so silent you can't tell it's on. The amp I'll go down in
flames with.
Texas Pete
>> Ampeg B12XT.
>>
>
>Bass amp?
Guitar/Accordion. Flip-top 2x12. 60-watts, I think. Has reverb
and true warbling vibrato. As I (dimly) recall the vibrato knob was
push-pull and did tremolo as well. Absolutely a wonderful sounding
amp. Wish I'd kept it.
Texas Pete
Formerly Sideways
For me, right now, it's my '65 Reverberocket II.
If weight and size were no issue, the B12xt is it hands down.
I played with a keyboard player who owned one of these. It had JBL's
in it. It weighed a ton, but it screamed like no other amp before or
since.
google...@yahoo.com
> What's yours? The one amp that if that's all you could have, you'd pick???
>
> Greg
I'll let you know once I've found it. :)
Chip L
66 BFPrinceton Rev). They are killer R&R/blues amps but I rarely play
them.
For every gig for the last couple of years, I've played a late
80's/early 90s Yamaha G100-112 III solid state amp. This is the cube
shaped amp w/ the colored knobs. Its a fantastic jazz amp and a nice
transparent amplifier for multi fx/amp modelers. Weights a ton
though...
Chip L
Tom Walls
pete...@aol.com says...
ton, of course. The odd thing is: I don't remember what happened to it.
A senior moment.
--
Tom Walls
the guy at the Temple of Zeus
dunlop212
stuff. Really love my Evans AE-100, but most versatile, desert island,
great sounding amp? Easy call: 410 tweed bassman. Sounds great in every
venue, every style, with every instrument (great for bass, too).
Faithful copies of the real thing are pretty affordable. Has anyone
ever owned one of these and not liked it?
Starcaster
couple of tube amps. I've owned a Fender Super Amp since 1992 when I
bought it new. It's 60w all tube with 3 switchable channels, has the
absolute best bar none (IMNSHO) clean tone ever, is warm and smooth as
can be, deep tube reverb, etc. The amp has 4 blue 10" speakers and is
basically a new take on the Super Reverb. It was part of the "Pro Tube
Series" by Fender for a few years in the early 90's. It's heavy
though.
Other favorite small amp is my SF Princeton Reverb. Really great
one-trick pony, and very portable. But pricey nowadays.
A perfect amp for me would be in between these size-wise, weigh less
than 40 lbs, be all tube with fantastic clean and Boogie-esque singing
distortion channels, etc. Haven't found it yet, but then again I've
been too busy enjoying my Super to pay much attention!
Roger
e...@cypress.com
volume head with 1960tv 4x12 greenbacks cab sounds so sweet...clean or
nasty (mostly clean with pedals).
I a/b 'd it against a ton of amps, nothing has the "touch", or
"harmonic tones" like a nice Marshall. - fasteddie
Phil
Blackface specs) w/ JBL speaker.
oasysco
>Blackface specs) w/ JBL speaker.
That would be a fine choice!
Greg
Dave Stephens
"oasysco" <wilder...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1138634713.4...@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
Yeah, I love JBL's but they'll really stretch your arm.
Dave
Pt
I have a JMP Mk2 but mine is 100 watts.
Fantastic rock amp but very, very loud.
Too bad it's not 50 watts.
You got a good one there.
Pt
thom_j.
For got my meds! phuuuweeee I feel better much now!
juru...@aol.com
now, but some favorites were
'62 blonde on blonde Fender Bassman
Old rust colored tolex fender concert - can't remember the year, maybe
'60 or so.
'64 Twin (I used to run this thru a Kustom cabinet with 2 D-130F's and
it would knock airplanes out of the sky with spl's.)
Peavey Artist w/ 4 6L6's and a 12" speaker, think it was a 'black
widow' or something like that - aluminum cone.
That's all for blues and rock. for jazz, about anything will do for
me.
Clif
Peter Huggins
<<< For every gig for the last couple of years, I've played a late
80's/early 90s Yamaha G100-112 III solid state amp. This is the cube
shaped amp w/ the colored knobs. Its a fantastic jazz amp and a nice
transparent amplifier for multi fx/amp modelers. Weights a ton
though...
Chip L >>>
I just got one of these amps. Haven`t played with it much yet but it
seems quite versatile. I liked the old G-100 II and thought it quite
useable though a bit noisy. This one was hard to pass up for only $125
with the foot pedal and manual. It sure is deep (cabinet depth) compared
to a Fender amp though, it won`t sit on some chairs, `cause its just too
big. The weight is not as bad as my bud`s Mesa with the EV which we
nicknamed the 'Hernia Boogie' ....
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
" I`d dance with you Maria, but my hands are on fire " - Bob Dylan
" We had a knob, and all we had to do was turn it." - Les Paul
Grins, Peter
http://community.webtv.net/guitarmaniax/THISISTHE
http://community.webtv.net/guitarmaniax/unfinished3
e...@cypress.com
400 w Gauss 2x15'. fasteddie
Texas Pete
wrote:
>Marshall!! Marshall!! Marshall!! Attica! Attica! Attica!
>For got my meds! phuuuweeee I feel better much now!
>
EZ does it. bro. You gotta been there so's you can really know what
was up. Oops! Thought you said "forgot my medals." Sorry.
Stay outta "real" jail is my advice. There's a lot of genuinely bad
people there.
Texas Pete
Vince
set to Marsall Plexi on the other channel. Once those tubes warm up - it's a
sweet sound.
I also love my old Crate VCH50 Head - it's has a great clean tone - cost
me $150.00!
Winston Castro
wrote:
>Yeah, I love my 1970 Bassman - Blackfaced By David Allen on one channel, and
>set to Marsall Plexi on the other channel. Once those tubes warm up - it's a
>sweet sound.
I have a cheap knockoff of a Bassman circuit. A Sovtek Mig-50 head.
Basically, circuitry wise, a direct ripoff of the 1959 fender bassman
electronics. (Note, half the "boutique amps" out there probably use
this same circuit or some slight variation thereof)
Great amp really... I believe it uses 5881 tubes instead of the more
common 6L6s.
45w, no master volume, and no reverb, but sounds like the proverbial
"creamery butter."
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Under democracy, one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is
unfit to rule and both commonly succeed, and are right.
- H.L. Mencken
Greger Hoel
wrote:
>Yeah, I love my 1970 Bassman - Blackfaced By David Allen on one channel, and
I wish I'd bought the VC50 combo I tried out back in the nineties.
Fantastic amp, but it felt as heavy as two Twins.
--
_______________________________________________
Always cross a vampire, never moon a werewolf
To reach me, swap spammers get bent with softhome
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pt
wrote:
>Yeah, I love my 1970 Bassman - Blackfaced By David Allen on one channel, and
A lot of people don't know about Crate's Vintage Club amps.
They are excellent tube amps.
I played through a 20 watt, 30 watt (3 speakers) and a 50 watt.
I like them all.
Very Fender like but with more gain.
Pt
Max S.
the clean sound so much I bought a G50-410 - it's a big black
superclean "Super Reverb" killer - and it's got Tremolo!!! Needs wheels
though...
I love the sound of tubes, but they just never work for me night after
night in different venues - they just never sound consistent to me. I'd
rather just plug in a nice pedal.
I love the old Music Man stuff.
Several '80s incarnations of Peavey Bandit are nice.
It's a lot of fun to get an old Fender Champ and dime every knob and
just smash away at the strings...
Max S.
Vince
tone - a variation on Fender tone.
"Greger Hoel" <gre...@spammersgetbent.net> wrote in message
news:f15ut1l0ok0jc6c2o...@4ax.com...
Vince
warm - you get the tone without reverb.
"Winston Castro" <cas...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:4mott19m3tf2i3kdr...@4ax.com...