Guitar amp poll

  • Thread starter Thread starter strmkr
  • Start date Start date

Favorite guitar amp

  • Marshall

    Votes: 276 19.8%

  • Mesa Boogie

    Votes: 203 14.6%

  • Fender

    Votes: 301 21.6%

  • Vox

    Votes: 133 9.5%

  • Soldano

    Votes: 27 1.9%

  • Peavey

    Votes: 104 7.5%

  • Anything but a peavey

    Votes: 34 2.4%

  • other

    Votes: 316 22.7%
  • Total voters
    1,394
5150 original block letter - can be noisy (hiss), but I can get every sound I need live. Would never own any other Peavey though.

I also have a reissue Fender Twin - sound great, just not enough power for live with the band I'm in now. But I use it to record all the time. Great tone always.

I love the sound of a Marshall, I just can't get a great sound from them, but I'm not done trying. I've tried a couple JMP super leads, and several JCM 800s. Great tones, but they just don't breakup without 130db. Maybe adding a power brake, or a pedal may help but I want a simple signal chain.

Never heard a Mesa I liked, too muddy.
 
I had a peavey VTM120 for a while with the celestion cab. That amp rocked!!
 
The only reason I voted for Vox is because I would have to spend 2 or 3 times more money to get the same quality and variety of sounds from a Fender. If $$$$ were no object, I would probably buy Fender every time...

I suppose the fact that I just got the Fender Strat Noiseless pickups put on didn't hurt my fondness for the Vox any. Better than the stock pu's that came on it, and I'm sure it helps the amp sound better in the end....
 
I voted Mesa Boogie. I only like M/B's Dual and Triple Rectifier heads.
I really go back and fourth between good ol' Marshall (JCM 2000. AVT150). Right now, I'm back in my "low" phase in guitar (Drop-B and such). When I get tired of pinch harmonics and slinky strings, I'll love Marshall again!
 
VesuviusJay said:
Damn I am amazed at how few voted for mesa...
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I would never buy a Mesa purely because of their marketing and pricing policies, which I regard as grossly outdated and monumentally anti-consumer.
 
soundchaser59 said:
The only reason I voted for Vox is because I would have to spend 2 or 3 times more money to get the same quality...
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Vox amps seem to dispute an engineer friend's assertion that within the same price range, all amps fail at about the same rate for the same reasons.

I have never seen such failure-prone amps as Vox. It's just amazing. I've tried to get a good one but in the end, I had to give up and just repair the dud amp right out of the box, because they were all bad from the moment they were unpacked in one way or the other and I was tired of taking them back to Guitar Center. I went through all the ones they had of that model, and wound up repairing the reverb on the one I kept. I hope the rest of it holds together. :confused:

The design concepts and the looks are great, but the actual amps are just terrible.

My GC guy was saying how much he liked his Vox and how great it was, but when I saw him the other day he told me that it died on him two days after I talked to him. :(
 
I just got a B-52 AT212. 100w all tube. If you get a chance, listen to one. Great amp at a good price.
 
It depends what style of music I am playing. It seems like the industry standard has become Marshall but they aren't necessarily the best amps. My Marshall DSL100 has been fairly reliable but I'm about ready to purchase a Mesa Rectifier Recording Preamp as a new platform for recording next year at University.

I also enjoy the Fender '65 Twin Custom 15. It has an extremely nice tone that can be used for lighter moods of music. Any which way you go there are great amplifiers out there, and some of the better ones are from lesser known companies.
 
Here are my amps:

1981 Marshall JMP 50W combo (all tube)
1972 Vox AC30TB Reverb (all tube) - needs a bit of work
1960 Dynacord KV12 (all tube) - undergoing recapping
1960 Dynacord DA15/V (all tube)
1962 Dynacord Eminent EMT (all tube) - just got it, need to be tested
1960's Klemt M40 (got two of these) (all tube)
1990's Ampeg AX70 (hybrid)

What I'm still looking for is a Fender all tube with reverb onboard.

Every amp has a different tone and I like to have different amps and guitars to match and get the sound I'm looking for in certain songs I write and record.

I also have two Marshall SE100 Speaker Emulator/loads so I can crank all the tube amps up and use this for recording. Also in combination of my ART SGX2000's preamp section this is very nice.

There's also a Celestion Greenback 12" laying around that I have to install in a speaker enclosure. Purpose is to experiment and combine different guitars, fx, amps, speaker, mics and SE100 DI's to look for different sounds.

Greetz,
The Niz
 
Bedrock

I've got two of their 100 watt heads with a 4x12 Marshall cab. Loud as fuck. Sounds good too!

tim
 
jaykeMURD said:
I voted Mesa Boogie. I only like M/B's Dual and Triple Rectifier heads.
I really go back and fourth between good ol' Marshall (JCM 2000. AVT150). Right now, I'm back in my "low" phase in guitar (Drop-B and such). When I get tired of pinch harmonics and slinky strings, I'll love Marshall again!
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Don't underestimate the other Boogie amps. The first Boogie I ever played was a 50w 1x12 combo based off of the MK-II I believe. That fucking thing sounded AWESOME and was loud as hell. I couldn't believe it was a small combo. It might as well have been filled with bricks though. The little bastard was a backbreaker.
 
Its funny Peavey continues to be so underestimated by many. I used to be a skeptic myself years ago until I heard one my friend onwed.

But as faw as amps with leprosy goes... I was sorta raised on the idea that Crate was for nothing better than to be smashed in a side-yard with a pick axe - which is what we did. Twice. :D :p
 
Orange
Matamp
Dr Z
Hiwatt
Reeves

best bang for the buck is the all tube Peavey stuff though
 
Yea baby...I've got a Uni...if you're into fiddling for that perfect sound, it's nice. The built in Hotplate makes it perfect for studio recording and late night practice too.

I tend to lean towards a hard rock/vintage metal sound myself which is doable with the Uni. A couple 12Ax7 input/driver tubes and an EL84 on the output or even an EL34 on the out. You've gotta drive the input tube just a little harder...an OD and EQ pedal really help too. But as you pointed out, where this thing really excels is in the tube final distortion area...a 12Ax7 on the input and a 12AT or 12AU on the driver and again with the EL34...sweet tube breakup. So nice and tasty for jazz/blues stuff.

It's a different kind of Class A amp. Too many times on the forums I see people wanting this thing to do metal/mesa like tones. While it can approach this, it's not considered it's strong suite (IMHO of course). I consider myself very fortunate to have rounded out my sounds by adding the Uni to the collection.
 
Years ago I would laugh my butt off at guys playing Marshall Stacks because they all sounded the same and they all sucked from both a sound and engineering standpoint. A friend of mine used a Traynor stack and it would blow the Marshall right out of the room. Lately I have been getting the itch to play out again so I have been trying out amps ... Marshalls and Pevey still suck. So I have been trying amps .... it is between a Fender Delux, Ampeg Reverb Rocket and a 40 watt Traynor ( Model escapes me). So far the Traynor still has the edge. I am going to get one.
 
>>>Marshall Stacks because they all sounded the same and they all sucked from both a sound and engineering standpoint<<

Depends on the music and the sound you prefer. I doubt they "suck" if they have been used for years by some of the best rock bands in history. I like mine because of the mid-range crunch it gives the more you push it...its a simple workhorse amp stripped down and ready to be cranked...boutique amps are cool, but they are expensive and for me have more features than I need. my JCM 800 i bought for $300 12 years ago and has been retubed twice...i'm not a sound engineer, i'm a guitar player, so for me i want something solid that is going to work everytime i plug in and deliver enough power and overdrive to support my playing style
 
magic man said:
>>>Marshall Stacks because they all sounded the same and they all sucked from both a sound and engineering standpoint<<

Depends on the music and the sound you prefer. I doubt they "suck" if they have been used for years by some of the best rock bands in history. I like mine because of the mid-range crunch it gives the more you push it...its a simple workhorse amp stripped down and ready to be cranked...boutique amps are cool, but they are expensive and for me have more features than I need. my JCM 800 i bought for $300 12 years ago and has been retubed twice...i'm not a sound engineer, i'm a guitar player, so for me i want something solid that is going to work everytime i plug in and deliver enough power and overdrive to support my playing style
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You couldn't keep tubes in the Marshalls, they would self destruct. Some guys would keep two heads around for back up and a case full of tubes. BTW because a lot of rock bands use them means nothing to me. Most rock "players" can't play anyway. That is why they all sound the same thru their Marshall Amps. The old Traynor stacks sounded ten times better. If you ever get a chance check one out you will then know what I mean. Of course I'm a fossil ... I was on the road playing in the 60's and 70's. I never did like that Les Paul - Marshall sound because every body sounded the same playing their minor pentonic licks through a fuzzed out Marshall. Had to lend my amp to guys in other bands a few times at concerts due to Marshall failures.
 
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