I want an old amp

  • Thread starter Thread starter Vurt
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Vurt

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I've decided against the amp I had my eye because I don't think it is right for me. I want something older, with rich character that'll come through whether it's being crunched or smoothed out. Think sort of along the lines of Meat Puppet leads, etc.

A friend came over last night with a Korg Tone Works pedal and an old Sears cabinet with two speakers in it that he ran via a little vox amp. The sound we got was incredible. The problem is that I don't know the first thing about amps and would really appreciate some ideas based on this vague explanation. The amp would be used stricly for recording. Nothing live.

Does this make any sense?
 
Look in the pawn shops for an old Traynor tube amp like the Guitar Mate Reverb. Retube it with Russian Sovtek (?) tubes and replace the cheesy speaker with a Jensen or Celestion 12" speaker. You might have to spray the inside of the potentiometers with some tuner cleaner (Radio Shack) to get rid of scratchiness cause these things are old (early '70s). Has a different sound to it and its all tube. Won't get points for looks but it's very loud for a 25 watt amp. Shouldn't have to pay more than about $50 - $100. I'm sure the right pedal could get some good sounds out of it. Try it out before buying it. Good luck.

DD
 
DigitalDon said:
Look in the pawn shops for an old Traynor tube amp like the Guitar Mate Reverb.
Click to expand...

well...I hit the Nashville pawn shops on a regular basis, and I say, you might spend YEARS trying to find this last item in a scavenger hunt:eek: It might be the 'solution'...but there is a saying about 'supply and demand'.

I'd say..get a POD....or a ProCo Rat.... Yikes!!! sure...I said 'dat!:) ...and plug in to your Grandma's old stereo console that she's had for 40 years now...
 
Thanks Don - sounds good to me. I like the price, too! I had the POD in mind for a couple weeks before changing it to the Fender HRD, but after what I heard last night, I don't think so. I have a good time with mic placement and am not thrilled with the POD sound, as convenient as it is. If the amp you Mention, Don, is a tough find, don't you guys think I could use any cabinet and put a couple Jensens in it and run it from a signal out of another amp?

Grandma's stereo is a hearing aid - do I need both of them?
 
Vurt
You would get a good sound out of any of the small tube amps from the 50s and 60s like Champs etc.I have a 58 Gibson GA6 I picked up for $40 in the ancient 80s.Be sure and replace the old filter caps on older amps.
The basic idea for using these tiny tube amps for recording is that you can crank them at living room levels.As we know,its the tone of saturated output tubes that gives the natural compression,sustain and distortion valued in the old gear.Try that with your 69 plexi and the neighbors will quickly call the cops on you!
Tom
 
Thanks Tom - I thought this move was going to cost me, but the more I hear, the better it gets! I'm going to tour the local pawn shops next week...thanks for the help, guys.
 
Check out matchless. They are popular for the retro Vox AC30 type sound.

The meat puppets are from here and friends of friends of mine. I'll see if anybody knows what they use. If they have any gear left they are probably selling it for crack or heroin. Maybe I can get you one of their old amps, got any tar to trade? ;)
 
I like the meatpuppets more now

Meatpuppets, sound like my kind of guys!
 
I don't know the whole story behind their drug problems, but what I do know is sad. They are/were a great band. Thanks for the recommendatoin, Tex. That would be great if you could find out what they use!
 
Holly crap, that's a little more than I had in mind... About $2400 more!
 
I called my buddy but he was out of town. I have a feeling he's gonna say they use marshalls.

The matchless amps are amazing but yes they are not cheap. I can promise it will be the last amp you will ever need if you like classic tube overdrive tones.
 
Forget that overpriced boutique stuff....

....and get yourself a Mesa/Boogie Simulclass amp. My MarkIII head has that class A bark with the option of a push-pull tetrode pair for more volume but you'll rarely need it. Run it into some nice highly efficient speakers (may I suggest the 'Vintage 30's' or perhaps EV's are more your flavor) and piss off a soundman near you with tone for days!:D
 
Gotta share my story on how I got my Traynor Guitar Mate Reverb.

About 5 years ago my son (14 then) wanted to mess around with a guitar. I started looking around but didn't want to pay much cause what's the attention span of a 14 year old? Anyhow, went to several pawn shops but nothing. The last one I went in to (we only have about 6 of them) I decided to look for the one with the most dust on it. You know, nobody wants it so the owner would probably sell cheap because its been there forever. He wanted $100 for it. I wiped off the cobwebs and checked the fuse. It was missing. I told him the transformer was probably bad and someone had pulled the fuse because it kept popping them. Told him the transformer would cost about $75 (or whatever) and that I was really taking a chance if I bought it from him. He said "how much would you offer"? Bingo - I had him. Well I just don't think I could pay more than $20 for it. He said $30. Man he dropped fast. I said $25 if he throws in the guitar cable laying beside it. Deal! I know, I know. I could have bought $25 worth of crap but I was willing to take the risk for $25. Got it home, dropped the amp out to look for burnt wires and dead rats. Popped in a fuse. Hit the power on the back, wait for a minute, hit the standby on. It worked! Pots were scratchy but it worked. Used the same tubes until last year then retubed with Sovteks.

Moral of the story. Take a chance if it's just a few bucks. Don't spend more than you can afford to throw away. Look for the one collecting dust. I had never even heard of Traynor but got a diamond in the rough.

Tip of the week. Look for an old pawn shop (especially in a small town) that doesn't carry a lot of audio gear. They probably won't know what they have. Don't appear too eager. Know what you're looking for but don't get too hung up on the name.

If you get stuck with a loser. Sell it on Ebay but PLEASE let the prospective buyer know what he's getting. He may know tubes inside and out and be able to fix it easily.

Hope this helps in some way

DD
 
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