Amp Suggestion

[ChoppinBroccoli]

Hi there,

Basically I want to try to emulate John Frusciante of the Chili Peppers' tone and I'm looking for an amp that can help achieve this. Now, I don't want to get a full marshall stack like he has, basically I just need a small amp for practicing at home and micing up to record. I'm thinking I would need a small tube amp to mimic the Marshall full stack. Anyhoo, does anyone know of any smaller amp that can get me that tone or at least close to it?

Thanks

 

[ChoppinBroccoli]

So i did some research and I'm leaning towards either a Blues Junior or a Deluxe Reverb. Does Marshall have any smaller amps such as these and how do they compare?

 

[BroKenSticKs]

i know someone who has a blues junior and it sounds awesome....my guitar player has a hotrod deluxe which sounds really good but its probably to loud for your needs...

 

[Bassman Brad]

Well, I'm not really any kind of expert on guitar amps, and I'm sure that you already realize that no 15 watt guitar amp with a single 12" speaker is going to completely replicate the sound of a screaming Marshal stack.

However, I've been looking at the Blues Jr. myself, recently, and have done a little research on this amp. I do know that the power amp section is based around EL84's which, if I'm not mistaken, is the same power tube used in the Marshal big rigs. So, I suppose that you could say that it's sort of a variation on the same basic sound.

By the way, one of the really cool things about the Blues Jr. is that it is very easy to hotrod. Should you decide at some point that it just isn't quite doing the job for you, there are lots of things you can do to soup it up a bit, from swapping out the speakers to rolling the tubes, to more complex circuitry mods. It is incredibly easy to find information on the internet about customization options. I consider that a pretty big selling point for me. It's probably also the best value in low wattage all tube amps in the marketplace today. I've been pretty impressed with it.

Hope that helps you.

Brad

 

[Bassman Brad]

By the way, Carvin, Peavey and Traynor (a Canadian company) also make low-wattage tube amps based upon the EL-84.

Brad

 

[gusfinley]

hmmm.........

Well, I'm not really any kind of expert on guitar amps, and I'm sure that you already realize that no 15 watt guitar amp with a single 12" speaker is going to completely replicate the sound of a screaming Marshal stack.

well each speaker in a "screaming marshall stack" of 100W is going to be 25W on a 4x12 cabinet. If you're recording you're only going to mic one speaker most likely, so running 25W into a single speaker in a closed back cab should give a pretty similar result...

However, I've been looking at the Blues Jr. myself, recently, and have done a little research on this amp. I do know that the power amp section is based around EL84's which, if I'm not mistaken, is the same power tube used in the Marshal big rigs. So, I suppose that you could say that it's sort of a variation on the same basic sound.

Actually you ARE mistaken the Marshall big rigs commonly use EL34 tubes rather than EL84 tubes, but have also been known to 6L6, KT66, and 5881 tubes...

The EL84 is sometimes described as a mini EL34, if that helps - it will definately give you a good british tone.

 

[gusfinley]

Does Marshall have any smaller amps such as these and how do they compare?

I own a Marshall JCM2000 DSL401 combo, running a 20W (stock is 40W) to give me a nice power tube distortion at lower volumes and I am loving it. At high gain situations it sounds like a marshall and at lower gain it enters VOX AC30 territory, and the clean is SO nice... very versatile, I could recommend it if you are looking for a marshall sound - since it IS a marshall. There is also a 20W stock DSL201 although it has less features... I got my 401 on ebay for less than $500 shipped,. I've done some Mods on it to get even more tone charachters out it. GREAT sounding amp once you play through something nicer than the stock speaker...

If money is of no object there are the classic 18W marshalls that use EL84 tubes. One is the BluesBreaker. Marshall recently has reissued some handwired lower power amps.... One is an 18W head and the other an 18W combo... If money is of concern there is always used and clones....

DSL401 - http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/fg=42/g=home/search/detail/base_pid/483125/
30W bluesbreaker combo - http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/fg=42/g=home/search/detail/base_pid/482795/
18W blusebreaker combo - http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1974X/
18W head - http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/2061X/

 

[Jim Marquard]

I have a Fender Pro Jr. This is about as basic of an amp as they get. It has a volume knob and a tone knob. 15 watts through a 10" speaker. There is a hum that is very characteristic of the amp with stock tubes. A switch to JJ or Electro Harmonix tubes seem to the trick. Let me tell you, this thing screams when turned up. but it sounds very much like a Marshall. With an attenuator this beast is about perfect for home recording. Less than $350 new.

Jim

 

[Ptownkid]

The small traynor amps sound amazing, highly recommend the 20 or 40 watt.

 

[ChoppinBroccoli]

That's so funny you mentioned the Pro Jr. I just played one today and it sounded sweet. Plus the guy there said it can take pedals pretty well. So now basically for me it's deciding between the Blues Jr. or Pro Jr. The reverb and more tonal control of the Blues Jr. seems to make me sway that way.

I have a Fender Pro Jr. This is about as basic of an amp as they get. It has a volume knob and a tone knob. 15 watts through a 10" speaker. There is a hum that is very characteristic of the amp with stock tubes. A switch to JJ or Electro Harmonix tubes seem to the trick. Let me tell you, this thing screams when turned up. but it sounds very much like a Marshall. With an attenuator this beast is about perfect for home recording. Less than $350 new.

Jim

 

[ibanezrocks]

I'm actually considering trading in my crate for a small tube amp since I don't need all the volume and would rather have a better sound, and I'm going to look at the Blues Junior next weekend, Ill be sure to post my thoughts as well.

 

[bongolation]

If you get a used Blues Junior, be sure to get a whiteboard one and not the earlier greenboard.

The quickest way to tell is if the amp is made in Mexico. Fender did the significant circuit changes about eight months before moving production to Ensenada, so all the MIMs are fixed. Only a few of the US-made ones are. When in doubt, just pull the back cover and see what color the mainboard is.

A greenboard is not hopeless, but it requires that some circuit misdesigns get squared away to get past an atrocious reverb circuit and some other less extreme problems. The fixes themselves are very easy, but you have to pull the PCB to do them, which is a hassle.

Greenboard or whiteboard, I don't think you're going to have much chance of getting a Marshall stack sound out of a Blues Junior.

 

[wesley tanner]

you really want to know a secret?

seymour duncan made an amp in the 80's called the convertible. find one of those bad boys.

I picked mine up for $300 delievered with brand new el 34s.

 

[bongolation]

The EL34 is considered to be the backbone of the real Marshall sound.

There aren't a whole lot of EL34 amps around compared to 6L6GC-based, but there is a version of the Ampeg SuperJet that used 2xEL34 and a 12" speaker in a combo that sounds pretty impressive, and Ampeg made a head version of the same amp, the V-50H, packaged as a sort of vintage-style 50W non-master Marshall. If you can find one they turn up fairly cheap. I bought a new one about five years ago in Seattle and haven't really cranked it yet.

 

[Dave_M]

I'll second the motion for a Carvin... maybe a 112Nomad? http://www.carvin.com/products/single.php?ItemNumber=112NOMAD&CID=GA

I don't have this model but have played through one and have two Carvins; an MTS3212 that has awesome tube soak tones and an old XV112E. Both are awesome amps.

 

[Outlaws]

Take a look at a THD Univalve.

It is Class A, so I might not have the same type of punch, but it was a built in attenuator so you can crank it without surpassing bedroom volumes. Plus you can swap tubes to anything that is a normal guitar type tube. So you can use the EL34. Plus you can use a boost pedal to push it if it doesn't give you enough gain right off the bat. BUT, take a listen at www.thdelectronics.com in their sample section. Sounds VERY VERY versitle to me.

I am considering getting one. It isn't going to be loud enough most likely for a un-mic'd gig, but it should be good for any band practice. I am drooling just looking at all it offers.

I think this could well be the ultimate home recording amp.

Check out this Queen riff on one.