Clean Amp

[miroslav]

I'm curious what people consider a great sounding clean amp. I'm mainly interested in good quality tube amps.

I know many amps have a "clean" setting...but there are those certain ones that get exceptional raves for their clean tones above everything else. I have a few pretty nice amps, and a couple of them can do clean tones well, but I might be in the market for a dedicated, exceptional clean amp...one that ins't realy wired a slew of crunch tones, but is mainly focused on cleans.
It might even be more of a jazz or country pickin' style of amp...and that's OK, I already have enough amps that do all kinds of crunch.

For awhile there I had a Bogner Shiva that actually had a fantastic clean channel...but at the time, I got it mainly for its crunch channel...and that ended leaving me rather underwhelmed. It seemed to just have one crunch tone no matter how I tweaked it...plus the difference in volume and tone settings between the clean and crunch were too weird.
Anyay...I got rid of it, but I do admit it had a great clean channel, and kinda' what I'm after...but I don't want another Shiva. It was much too loud and WAAAAAAY to heavy!!! My god...I could swear they lined that thing with lead. :eek.
It has to be absolutely the heaviest 112 combo I ever picked up!!!

OK...sorry for the segue about the Shiva...but I wanted to mention its clean sound as one reference for what I'm after.
I would prefer a small head & 112 cab...but a 112 combo is fine too.
Oh...and it has to be a great clean amp for humbucker guitars...not just Strats & Teles.
I play mostly HBs.

 

[mixsit]

I spend about 75% of the time 'clean, early 70's 355 with Duncan's and about half of that doing a mix of split/single coil and HB' on the neck position.
Little LoneStar compact is doing me real fine. (I was happy on a Pearce G2R
..that would be previously.
I would say it's quite a bit warmer than say Fenders overall.
'Sings with this wonderful thick saturation far as that end goes as well.

Gad, It comes it at about 50lbs(?), but they do the heads I believe.
.That was LoneStar Special compact BTW, forgot to put that in

Here you go-
My Documents/happy-easter2

 

[Muzzaman]

Roland JC120? it's an uber clean amp!

Muzza

 

[stevieb]

The Fender Twin earned most of it's reputation for being a clean amp with nice, pleasing tube tones, and LOTS of headroom to keep it clean when cranked. I've owned at least my share of Twins- Blackface, Silverface, Rivera-designed, ultra-linear- as well as a Pro Reverb- and I can tell you, the rep is well-deserved.

But, you also said you wanted something smaller and lighter than your 50-pound Shiva, so I might suggest a Fender Deluxe Reverb. "Only" 22 watts, but mine replaced a Twin, and I have never felt the need to go back.

BUT, if you can see your way clear to owning a hybrid (wait, don't leave! ) Fender's Champ 25 and 25SE have tubes on the power side (where you need 'em most) and have a WONDERFUL clean tone. In a blind test, my GF preferred the clean tone of the C-25 to my Deluxe, although the Deluxe probably needs a new speaker.

Not to be IYF, Muzzaman, but JC120's are SS- OP requested tube amps. And when I let a friend who loves his JC120 play through a Pevey Stereo Chorus 212 I have, he WANTED it. Said it sounded better than his well-cared-for JC120.

 

[Muzzaman]

Nah Stevie that's fine, I knew he requested tubes but I thought since a very clean sound was also requested I thought I'd throw it into the mix.

If you want to spend a lot of money, I would agree with Stevie's suggestion of a Fender Twin that's what I'd probably buy but if it's about buck$ then obviously SS is cheaper than tube!

Muzza

 

[Lt. Bob]

I think my Mesa Mark V has a great clean sound ...... really nice.

I have a Hot Rod deVille that also has an awesome clean sound. Mine is the 4x10 model but they make the deluxe with a single 12 in that series and not quite as many watts. It sounds prettyt much the same so I'm sure its' clean would be nice.

Also, believe it or not, my Marshall 6101 has a better clean than it does anything else.

 

[Milnoque]

It would help if we knew what you're doing with it. I like my Gibson Minuteman alot But it's darker than many people prefer and it wouldn't be loud enough for many. It sweetens up at very low volume. Great warm jazz tone.. An Ampeg ReverbRocket is another flavor of clean that's worth a listen, very fat. The Peavey Classic 30 is an underrated amp that's got plenty of bite if thats what you're after. +1 on the Deluxe Reverb but don't rule out the Princeton reverb. Fender clean tones are legendary for a reason.

 

[Lt. Bob]

An Ampeg ReverbRocket is another flavor of clean that's worth a listen, very fat.

Yeah, forgot about that and I actually have one.
A really nice clean sound but it starts to break up really quick. For recording it'd do clean well but probably not loud enough clean for gigging.

 

[Milnoque]

Yeah, forgot about that and I actually have one.
A really nice clean sound but it starts to break up really quick. For recording it'd do clean well but probably not loud enough clean for gigging.

Really?

The one I had was clean all the way up to about 8. Now that I think of it Ampeg circuits were subject to change without notice. Does yours use 6SL7s in the preamp stages?

 

[Lt. Bob]

Really?

The one I had was clean all the way up to about 8. Now that I think of it Ampeg circuits were subject to change without notice. Does yours use 6SL7s in the preamp stages?

hmmmm ..... I don't know. I'll check it if I can get to it.

This one really roars when cranked ..... a very sweet distortion to it.
I gigged with it a while but it just didn't quite get up to band volume without getting into pretty much saturated tones.

Bear in mind that when I want clean I want a pristine pedal-steel sounding clean.
I don't even like a tweed sorta clean with that tiny bit of dirt in it. Nope ...... I want freakin' CLEAN!!

Actually I could probably use it now that I'm mainly doing singles and don't need so much volume ..... hmmmmmmm

 

[Zaphod B]

A Fender Twin is well-known for being a good-sounding clean amp - headroom for days.

A Deluxe has less headroom but also sounds good at low gain settings.

Although Vox AC30s are thought of (correctly) as being great crunchy amps, with the gain down they are beautiful-sounding clean amps.

 

[Lt. Bob]

A Fender Twin is well-known for being a good-sounding clean amp - headroom for days.

.

no doubt ..... that's a great clean amp ....... however, I believe he mentioned something about rejecting some amps because they were too heavy.

Now ....... I'm not sure what his definition of too heavy was but I'm pretty sure the Twin qualifies!







My own definition of too heavy, BTW, is 65lbs. More than that I don't want to fool with. But screw me if I can't carry 65lbs.

 

[Zaphod B]

no doubt ..... that's a great clean amp ....... however, I believe he mentioned something about rejecting some amps because they were too heavy.

Now ....... I'm not sure what his definition of too heavy was but I'm pretty sure the Twin qualifies!

Right you are!

Same with an AC30 - heavy as shit for 30-watt output.

 

[miroslav]

Yeah...I know about the Twin...but that's just too much amp...volume and weight!
I'm looking for a very clean amp for recording purposes (not demolition).

The weight may not be a real issue for recording...I was just making a comment about the Bogner Siva being unbelievably heavy for a 112 combo, but man, that was one solid built amp and cab!

I want one that has that "Jazz-clean" vibe, fairly well balanced low to high...not real bright/ice-pick-in-ear or too heavy in the low end.
I know it's going to matter how one dials it in and the cab/speaker being used...but I'm saying, at it's most "normal" state, it should excel at clean tones. It need not be anything more than 30-ish watts.

Yes, I've thought about the Ampegs...but I haven't played one in a long time so I couldn't remember if they really nailed the clean tones.

And I do want a tube amp. I mean, I can just use a (dare I say it) sim box for pure cleans. My Sans Amp has a couple great settings... but I want the tube/cab clean vibe, and basically, I just want another amp.

 

[Lt. Bob]

That Mesa Lonestar's supposed to do clean well but I haven't personally used one.
I have a Mesa Blue Angel that's 18/33/38 watts that does clean very well and has the best 'verb ever!

I also have several early 70's Ampegs that do clean very well. The old V-2 head will do a LOT of different clean sounds and you could get one on the bay for not too much.
Man ......... there's really SO many choices now that I think about it.

 

[miroslav]

Yeah...I'm sure there are many choices...I just wanted to hear some recommendations so I could narrow it down.

 

[stevieb]

I, too, have a Reverberocket- 212 reissue, and although I love it's tone, to me it's more of a tube-distortion amp than a clean one- but it does clean well enough, I suppose.

Shame on me for forgetting the Peavey Classic 30. My ONLY complaints with that amp is it lacks tremolo- which the Delta Blues- same amp- has, and the oval on the front of the newer ones looks silly.

And since we are mentioning SS amps here, I have a Haynes Jazz King II- but it was trashed before I got it and I have never heard it play. On-line posters commend it on it's clean tone- but then, I wouldn't know. Fact is, almost anything SS that is well-made will play clean well- that "transparent" tone is what SS does well.

 

[drumslinger]

what about a carr rambler. Rambler « Carr Amplifiers. comes in a head version too (34lbs). a bit pricey.

 

[miroslav]

I, too, have a Reverberocket- 212 reissue, and although I love it's tone, to me it's more of a tube-distortion amp than a clean one- but it does clean well enough, I suppose.

Shame on me for forgetting the Peavey Classic 30. My ONLY complaints with that amp is it lacks tremolo- which the Delta Blues- same amp- has, and the oval on the front of the newer ones looks silly.

And since we are mentioning SS amps here, I have a Haynes Jazz King II- but it was trashed before I got it and I have never heard it play. On-line posters commend it on it's clean tone- but then, I wouldn't know. Fact is, almost anything SS that is well-made will play clean well- that "transparent" tone is what SS does well.

I'm not looking for an amp that just "does clean"...I have that already. I know there are amps out there that absolutely excel at clean tones, and often DON'T do crunch at all, or nothing to speak of.

AFA the Peavey Classic 30/Delta Blues...I had a DB 115...and I didn't care for it at all. Not so much the cleans, but man, it had some of the most ugliest preamp distortion.

I know there are SS amps that can cover clean...but I want a tube amp, otherwise, like I said, I can just use my Sans Amp.

what about a Carr rambler. Rambler « Carr Amplifiers. comes in a head version too (34lbs). a bit pricey.

I have a Carr Hammerhead MKII head and 112 cab. Love the amp. I've used it for some clean tones a few times, and it does the pretty good. Yeah, the Rambler is certainly a good choice for a clean tone.

 

[Milnoque]

Yeah...I know about the Twin...but that's just too much amp...volume and weight!
I'm looking for a very clean amp for recording purposes (not demolition).

The weight may not be a real issue for recording...I was just making a comment about the Bogner Siva being unbelievably heavy for a 112 combo, but man, that was one solid built amp and cab!

I want one that has that "Jazz-clean" vibe, fairly well balanced low to high...not real bright/ice-pick-in-ear or too heavy in the low end.
I know it's going to matter how one dials it in and the cab/speaker being used...but I'm saying, at it's most "normal" state, it should excel at clean tones. It need not be anything more than 30-ish watts.

Yes, I've thought about the Ampegs...but I haven't played one in a long time so I couldn't remember if they really nailed the clean tones.

And I do want a tube amp. I mean, I can just use a (dare I say it) sim box for pure cleans. My Sans Amp has a couple great settings... but I want the tube/cab clean vibe, and basically, I just want another amp.

I would really encourage you to try a Gibson Minuteman GA20 RVT or Epiphone Electra from the '60s (same amp). They're really cheap for a vintage amp and do warm and jazzy out the wazoo. They also begin to sing at really low volume. I love mine because I can sit in with an acoustic group and my tone doesn't suck at those low volumes. Warning!! some folks hate 'em. YMMV. You should be able to find one to try. They made a bunch of 'em.