advice on choosing amp

Q

question444

New member
When Christmas arrives, it will be time to buy a new amp. I want to be ready.

I play mainly rhythm chords and arpeggiated picking for 80s/90s influenced alt rock. (crowded house, nirvana, pumpkins, vast) I play an American HSS standard strat with no effects. I would like footswitchable clean/gain channels and I'm leaning towards tube. My budget is about $1000. I've been reading reviews, but I could really use any input based on my situation. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

So far, I've been looking at Vox AC50CP2, Fender Deville 410, and Mesa/Boogie Lonestar 212.
 
Any of those might do, just fine. I would suggest the Mesa, but you won't get a Lonestar for $1000.00 That amp, or the Lonestar Special, are awesome sounding amps.
I would look at the AC30 from Vox. It will be plent powerful, and you'll get more powertube saturation out of the 30 watt than the 50 watter, escpecially if the 50 watter has 6L6 tubes.

Peace!

~Shawn
 
All of those sound very usable for what you're after, I think you'll just have to try them. They'll all give you quite a bit of clean headroom
 
Clean on the Lonestar was the best I've ever heard.

If you don't need anything that fancy then the Fender Hot Rod series is a good choice for under a grand.

I've had lots of QC issues with Vox. YMMV.
 
I guess i am going to be saying this alot.

My suggestion is, play it! you wont know if you really like it until you do.

Personally i wouldn't touch a fender amp with a barge pole with another barge pole attached to the end, but if you like the squeaky pissy sound they all put out go ahead, i dont mind really if you like the sound it adds to your music go ahead.

Just remember the amp has more influence to the sound than the guitar and by the looks of it you'll be spending more money on it anyway so just make sure you take your guitar with you to the shop or it's a wasted journey, even if you dont end up buying the one in the shop go play on one.
 
TelePaul said:
All of those sound very usable for what you're after, I think you'll just have to try them. They'll all give you quite a bit of clean headroom
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Actually this isn't exactly the case for the AC30. When pushed to live volumes the AC30's tend to break up a little. It's a sound I actually prefer but I wouldn't say it had quite a bit of clean headroom. Having to use an AB switch for the 30 also sucks a little. All that being said it was by far my favorite amp for both clean and alt rock/punk style overdrives.

To the original poster, you really need to get out there and try all these amps to find the one you like. If you buy one without hearing what it can do you just might end up being disappointed. I've had a fair amount of experience with all three amps. The 30 was my favorite followed very closely by the Lonestar, with the Deville coming in at a VERY distant third. Just really didn't think the Fender was in the same league. However that's just how I felt, you might have a completely different experience.
 
ashley_B_Soton said:
Personally i wouldn't touch a fender amp with a barge pole with another barge pole attached to the end, but if you like the squeaky pissy sound they all put out go ahead, i dont mind really if you like the sound it adds to your music go ahead.
Click to expand...

Well, don't hold back, ABS! Tell us how you REALLY feel!:)

But I gotta say, I never subscribed to the vaulted "fender Tone" myth 'till I owned first a '78 Twin Reverb(no mods), then a '78 Deluxe Reverb(modest mods), and then a '78 Pro Reverb (extensive mods- basically totally rebuilt) Yeah, looks like a trend, but it just happened that way... All CBS/Silverface, I know- but man, oh, MAN, the clean tone was just to die for! In a blind test, my GF agreed. I will allow as to how the new Fenders I have auditioned at Sam Ash- Princeton Recording, one or two others- left me uninspired.

I will PM you about my Pro, get back to me if you are interested.
 
My supersonic owns. Preferred it to an AC30, a Lone Star, and a Stiletto, although like I said the clean on the Lone Star was amazing.
 
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