Most diverse studio amp

[dementedchord]

FWIW... a good buddy of mine got one of those classA crates his is the 32 wt version... under$600 and he uses it for all kindsa sounds... though he's a shredder by nature... it seems to be a real sleeper of a deal as not many people think of crate as the amp du'jour....

 

[BrentDomann]

For blues: DRRI, Univalve, Classic 30, Tech21 Trademark, Blues Jr., Ampeg Jet.

Tons of choices. If it were me, I wouldn't go much beyond $500. You can get a used DRRI for $600 or $650 without much trouble if you look around, but there are other choices on that list that are cheaper.

Used you can get a Tech 21, a Classic 30, a Blues Jr. or an Ampeg Jet for $300 or less.

 

[BrentDomann]

tc4b,

I use a Marshall 1960A. Even with just 15 watts, it's got that 4x12 "thump". I like the little Orange cabs they sell, too, though.

 

[ofajen]

If I were to go into a store and play on X number of amps with my personal guitar, that to me wouldn't qualify as a "diverse" amp, because I'd be looking for a "specific" sound. What I mean by diverse, is something that universally has a generally good sound (any person can play on it and not get a 'bad' sound. Maybe not what they're looking for, but certainly not 'bad').

Well, I've never actually had the privilege of playing it, but my friend Mitch Easter swears that his Matamp 2000 is the "amp of the gods" and can make anyone sound like they can play guitar. I believe that some of the Carr amps borrow some of the design features of the Matamps.

I got a Gibson GA-79-RVT from Mitch in a trade and I can honestly say that it was pretty much impossible to get a bad tone out of that amp. It's a pity I couldn't find anyone in my area able to fix the problems it had with it's reverb circuit. I sold it to a guy living out in California, the land of tube guitar amp techs.

Cheers,

Otto