Amp talk

[jarvep]

I'm a Fender-man...Brownface Vibroverb and two Blues Juniors modded to 6L6 and 6V6 tubes.

[Geiri]

Previous amps:
1988 Marshall JCM800 2204 50w head with it's original cab - Great amp!
Line 6 Spider II - Shameful piece of crap. Didn't take long for me to sell it again. What was I thinking??
Jet City JCA5212rc - Pretty good and very american sounding

Current amps:
1984 Marshall JCM800 2204 50w 2x12" combo - Great for whatever type of rock you wanna play. Not good for clean.
Bad Cat Hot Cat 30 1x12" combo without reverb. Custom made tube only, no solid state rectifier - Amazing amp that sounds amazing right away. Doesn't take pedals too well though.
Orange Dual Terror head - Love this little guy!

I don't like Mesa Boogie amps. I've tried a couple and I couldn't get a good tone out of it.

[Olav]

Two trannys and a t00ber. Trannys are a Squier 15 and my go-to Fender 85, The t00ber is a VOX AC4 head and cab.  O, and a couple 9V miniature amps. Been wanting an AC30 or AC15 for some time, can't afford, can't justify right now.

[Freppo]

If there is one thing I've learned about amps - always buy used!

I got my Marshall JMP 2203 head for about 400€ from a friend that mostly plays drums.

Got my Fender Bassman head for about 300€ from another friend. She actually had forgot she owned it. It was just lying around in our rehearsal-space for years under a bunch of broken stuff/trash.

Traded my crappy Vox Valvetronix amp straight up for the Peavey Classic 30. Gee... :D

Got my Orange Tiny Terror head as payment for a one-day recording.

Got my Peavey VT Classic combo from my brother who works at a recycle/dumpster place. It only had one problem, the wire from the speaker was loose. Lol... He has also found a bunch of stompboxes, a small Hiwatt combo amp from the 70's, a great working PA that we use at our rehearsal space, and alot of videogames (like nes 8-bit games and consoles, snes, megadrive ect.)

Did buy my Vox AC15 new, but it was worth it.

Anyone else made some stupid good deals on stuff? Lets hear it

[Milkit]

And uncanny as Jim Marshall was a drummer himself!!

Yeah, got my 210RD for free!  I bought it from a lady on eBay. She & her husband were emigrating to Spain & wanted rid of things they didn't need anymore. I paid around £250 for the amp, but it was DOA. I contacted her to ask if there was a known fault with it, I wasn't nasty & I didn't expect any money back. But without further ado she refunded the entire amount back into my account & apologised!  I was astounded, but told her that she really didn't need to refund. She said she couldn't be arsed with all the ballache of it all. 

Not satisfied with that, in the back of the amp was an original MIJ boss OD-1 & a boss double overdrive thingy (I forget the model number). 

Sold the pedals & eventually the amp. BIG SILLY EFFING MISTAKE!  I rue the day!  

Matt. 

On 19 Jan 2013, at 13:20, "Freppo [via Guitar FX Layouts]" <[hidden email]> wrote:

If there is one thing I've learned about amps - always buy used!

I got my Marshall JMP 2203 head for about 400€ from a friend that mostly plays drums.

Got my Fender Bassman head for about 300€ from another friend. She actually had forgot she owned it. It was just lying around in our rehearsal-space for years under a bunch of broken stuff/trash.

Traded my crappy Vox Valvetronix amp straight up for the Peavey Classic 30. Gee... :D

Got my Orange Tiny Terror head as payment for a one-day recording.

Got my Peavey VT Classic combo from my brother who works at a recycle/dumpster place. It only had one problem, the wire from the speaker was loose. Lol... He has also found a bunch of stompboxes, a small Hiwatt combo amp from the 70's, a great working PA that we use at our rehearsal space, and alot of videogames (like nes 8-bit games and consoles, snes, megadrive ect.)

Did buy my Vox AC15 new, but it was worth it.

Anyone else made some stupid good deals on stuff? Lets hear it

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NAML

[Surgeon]

I'm an Orange man mostly.

Custom diagonal 2x12 cab with Eminence governors (from Saxon cabs in Canada, amazing builder).
-Orange TH30 head
-Orange Rocker 30 head
-Blackheart KillerAnt 1watt head
-Home-made 1x12 cab with Eminence Reignmaker speaker (attenuation system, pretty cool for low-volume practice).

I owned a JCM800 4210 which I liked a lot but still prefer my Oranges.
I used for 5 years a Genz-Benz El Diablo 60 combo. By far the most versatile amp I'Ve ever owned. I miss it just for the sheer versatility of the thing. It is, IMHO, one of the most underrated amps ever. Bought the thing used on ebay for 460$, retailed for 2100$ in Quebec city at the time... it was like new too! They can be had on the cheap and do sound very very good.

[otalgiafx]

Selmer Treble 'n' bass Reverb is my main amp, lovely warm cranked sounds and glassy clear tones.

[jtn191]

re: Madferret,

I have a blues junior too, only mod I've done is the "twin tonestack mod"...super simple: just a jumper
The jr sounds better imo through a 2x12...got an empty 4x12 I'm anxious to fix up

I'd like to make a 5e3 in the near future

[Dave]

Here is my little Zt lunchbox, very happy, the perfect amp for any situation.

[GermanCDN]

Got a few, really been on the low wattage head kick recently.

From loudest to quietest (is that a word)

Boogie DC 5 - great clean channel, killer lead channel with the graphic EQ.  Can't play it at home, as it only sounds good loud.

Bogner Alchemist 212 - Love both channels, and the parallel effects loop

Traynor 20W tweed 112 combo - sweet sounding blues amp

Jet City 22H - It has absolutely no idea what "clean" is, but it's not supposed to.

Hughes and Kettner Tubemeister 18 - set it to 1W, dime the gain and the master on the clean channel, and you are in warm breakup heaven.

Egnater Tweaker 15H - horrible name, great amp

Blackheart Handsome Devil 15H - It was $90 used, what do you want me to say?  It's fuzzy, but in a good way.

Epiphone Valve Jr - Bought it to mod it.  Haven't started yet.

Running a Marshall 412 cab, a Boogie 112 cab, and an Eminence 110 cab.

[peeps]

1974 Ampeg VT-22 (I have two).  Loves pedals because it stays clean until the walls explode.  
1979 Fender Champ for circuit testing.

[rocket88]

reviving a dead thread like a zombie from the grave.....

Bass Rig:
Mesa Boogie M6 Carbine Head (600 Mesa Boogie Watts) Mesa Powerhouse 4x10 cab possible 2nd 4x10 or 2x12 cab practice/gigging amp
Fender 25watt BXR 1x12 combo - room amp

Guitar Rig:
Bugera V22 1x12 Combo - re-tubed room/gigging amp
Soon to be built (ordering parts now) green master volume 7 knob 120watt all tube el-34 tubes clone and have not figured the cab yet, maybe 4x10's or 2x15 (may be too bassy)

i know a lot of you guys aren't crazy about mesas, but i feel in love with mine from the moment i plugged into it at the store 3 years ago. i love the tone i get from her, and for me she doesn't sound like an Ampeg SVT. i know its sacrilege to most bass players to say this since so may lust after them but, i don't like Ampegs and the SVT at all. i find that whatever you plug into an SVT you will always sound like an SVT.

 oh and i can't agree more with what has been said before about mesa amps, she is LOUD. she's rated at 600watts, but i swear she's more like 1200watt, no exaggeration. i don't know what black magic mesa uses, but they're just massive in sound and tone. i think with mesas you need to play around with them awhile to get what you want out of them, they're not very forgiving with settings, you have to learn how to play with them. i got lucky that the setup on the amp when i plugged in was pretty good, but after reading the manual, any played with their suggested settings, i was able to tweak her to where i wanted, but before that i would get a lot of shitty tones. even now if you change the voice knob setting 1/2 of the settings are meh......


but i love the beginning of the manual, its just so warm and inviting:

"...You, smart player and intuitive human, have put your trust in us to be your amplifier
company. This is something we do not take lightly. By choosing this instrument to be a
part of your musical voice, you have become part of the Mesa family...WELCOME!"

[alltrax74]

My main amp for home use is Barry's WF-55 Tweed 5f1 replica (from ampmaker)
Amazing clean sound and takes pedals like a pig !
I mounted it in a home made cab with a 10" kendrick blackframe, I love it
http://guitar-diy.jimdo.com/ampli/

Next on the list is Barry's new P1800 18w

[dbat69]

Mmmm, been doing some "Homer Simpson" drooling reading about some of the amps mentioned.

Had a few amps in the past when I was gigging and makin' lots of noise
Had a Marshall JCM800 with 2 4x12 cabs, a MusicMan 2x12 combo (can't remember what it was, didn't use it much, but got it cheap and sold it for more than I paid), a couple of 'home made' 4x12s and other smaller cabs (for monitors)

I made an amp once, but it was a little unreliable and after electrocuting myself trying to 'fix' it - (forgot to switch it off before attacking it with a screwdriver) I've stuck with buying them.

I've still got a Carlsbro Stingray Lead II 150W head (used to use it as a slave for the 4x12s) and a lovely Little Rock VIntage 50 Valve amp.  This thing sings, is in excellent condition considering it was built in the 70s - its all valve and hand wired.  It is based on a Mesa / Fender cross and comes into its own when cranked past 6.  At low volumes you can still use the two preamp gain controls for some valve dirt.  The distortion and sustain are so creamy, but it is LOUD (must be the Mesa in it )  Its great for everything, clean, dirt, pedals etc. I really should get it re-capped and re-valved, but it hardly gets used.  I hope I never part with it.

My main amp at the minute is a Roland Cube 60 and I have a couple of Marshall DXF combos which are mainly for monitors/backing tracks (I don't really gig, just one-offs doing a few "tunes")  My fingers and brain are a little too slow these days

[Silver Blues]

@Rocket I concur, the Carbine amps are AWESOME. I'd love to be able to afford one, or be able to even justify owning one

My typical guitar rig is actually a Fender Mustang III (blasphemy, I know). I don't really build pedals for guitar and I find the Mustang's extremely good models sufficient for my skill-less noodling. (It doesn't really like pedals either.) My bass rig is an Ampeg Micro-VR with the SVT210AV 2x10, monster tone out of that little seven-pound head. I use it to test how my pedals respond with guitars too, IMO it sounds really good with guitar, lots of clean headroom to play with.

[Travis]

Dang Selmer Treble n Bass that's pretty sweet

You guys have some killer amps! I love reading what we're using our builds with.

I have a Vox ac30 (1x12) as my main amp. It doesn't work well with very saturated gain pedals like a big muff, but sounds really great with an FZ-1A or rolled back fuzz face

My amp that I first test builds with is a little ac4tv, which is pretty good for a tiny amp but obviously not much headroom

[rocket88]

@silver - I really couldn't justify it to be honest. I had a fender baseman 2x12 that I bought new and it blew up during a show at 1 week old. When I brought it back got to guitar center to have them fix it, one of the managers I knew told me it would be easier for him to refund me and give me something else. He gave me a more expensive acoustic brand amp, and 20% off. Brought it home, played it, hated it, brought of back, started playing around with other amps they had, and fell in love with the mesa M3, then I thought, "hmmm 600watts is better then 300watts. I'll never have to be miced again." i almost bought the m9, but thought that was over kill considering how much the m6 has.

The sad thing is my band broke up a week after I bought the amp, so now I just use her at home. I started with a $550 amp, then a $750 amp, and ended up spending like $2600 on the amp and cab. But you know what, I wouldn't change it at all. I LOVE my mesa. Even my buddy with an orange bass head love my mesa. It's that mesa black magic.

[Ciaran Haslett]

I'm currently building an AB763 voiced amp (think Fender Twin, Deluxe, Super etc).  I gig with a wedding band at least twice a week.  I know a lot of guys here are into the hard rock thing so gun for the high gain marshals/bogies etc but that doesn't work for me.  I need loud and clean.  This site has more than sorted out my dirt options!

My plan is to build an AB763 into a head but i've a few questions if anyone can offer advice.  If I went with a 6l6 output stage should I go with 22-40w (2 tubes) or 80w (4 ala twin reverb)?

The reason I ask....I've never played through a twin before.  They are loud and clean but reading the forums seems to suggest they are lifeless at lower volumes (we like to keep stage volume comfortable and let the PA do the work).  Or should I go with the Deluxe reverb 22w or super reverb 40w.

The confusion is with headroom.  Nothing annoys me more than playing a clean song but with a bit of grit on my tone.  I understand that more watts = more headroom but with a twin this may be bad if on a lower volume???

The caveat is that I hate my guitar in the stage wedge in front of me.  I have to hear my amp from behind me (comfort thing) so it has to be loud and clean enough for that.

Any advice?

The cab will be a 212 vertical with a slant top speaker.  i HATE my amp stand that my Hot Rod Dx sits on.  Decoupled from the floor KILLS the bass.  Sounds like a box of wasps.  But on the floor its shouting at the back of my legs so I have to turn it up but that in turn messes with the FOH mix.

With the vertical cab I can put all on the floor and the slant will help with personal monitoring and the beam will spread horizontally so better stage coverage for the rest of the band.  I'm also considering closing the bottom speaker and leaving the top open or even making it modular so I have the choice of closed or open over both speakers.

Interested to hear what you guys have to say.

Cheers

Ciaran

[motterpaul]

I have had a ton but like others, I keep going back to the Marshall DSLs - "the classics" more than the new ones with one exception; the NEW 40C is just tons better than the old 401. 40C has EL34s while 401 had EL84s, a world of difference.

I do think you have to change out the speakers. I don't care for the "new" Marshall lite magnet (made in China) stuff, which is what comes in the new DSLs. I out in a V30 because I felt the amp was a little bright.

My main rig that cured my GAS right now is an EVH 5150iii. These are great high gain amps, plus you get a decent clean sound (they are Fender after all). The highest gain channel is a bit too hot but the middle channel 2 is "just right."

Before that I was using a DSL100 (old one) - in a 1938 Marshall 2x12 cabinet with Greenbacks. Between these two heads and thqat cabinet I literally have no more gas:

Now, I know 2203/4 are the official "pedal" amps, right now I don't really use an overdrive, just a boost in the loop to get my leads over the mix. But If I ever by another amp that will be it. I had 2205 for years and it took me a long time to learn how to dial it in - but once I did I loved it, but the low end you get from the DSLs and the EVHs is unbelievable. Both have "Low" boosts.

The amp is use to test pedals is a Spectrum 30 - precursor to Dean Markleys originals. I paid $100 for it and saw Dean Markleys just like it at NAMM going for $1000. I have put in EL34s and an EVM12L. Its a surprising little amp, especially with pedals.

IvIark - if you have an ENGL I can't imagine you would need a gain pedal. Those things are full of gain and sound fantastic (just can't see myself spending $2500 on an amp). I will buy Guitars, but not amps. Got a Les Paul, Strat Deluxe, PRS Cu10, PRS 408.

[Heath]

I've mostly been a Guitar guy and really criminally ignored the Amp side of things for a very long time.  Most of my stuff is bedroom-studio recording so I've tended to manipulate things until they sound how I want them.  Some stuff recorded direct and a LOT of older material recorded on a stock Ibanez RG-270 (go ahead and Google it... it's kind of pitiful) and a shitty little solid state Crate amp.  You wouldn't know it from the recordings, though.  Not that I'm some kind of Studio-Ninja or anything, but I sort of took the quality of the amp out of the equation (within reason) for a long time.

About 3 years ago I finally decided to see what the Tube fuss was all about.  Being the cheap-ass that I am and holding onto some healthy skepticism, I bought a Bugera V22 1x12 Combo for a very reasonable price.  I know, I know, Bugera isn't exactly something one brags about having, but I will tell you this in all seriousness, that amp freakin ROCKS.  It rocks a little TOO much or my bedroom, however.

So instead of looking for a higher end tube amp to replace the Bugera (which I am totally happy with right now), I started looking for something I can push to break up without being evicted from my apartment.  I've seen some 1 watters out there but I'll be fucked in the eye socket before I'm going to pay $1000 for LESS watts.  Right now I'm playing with an Epiphone Valve Jr. which is still pretty damn loud.  Sounds pretty decent through my little home-built 1X12 cab with a Fender Special Design (Eminence) 12" speaker.

So, yeah, I'm not nearly on the same level, amp-wise, as most of you... but I do have 42 guitars, so NYAH NYAH NYAH NYAH NYAH NYAH!!!!