Quest for Tasty Tube Tone (geetahr)

  • Thread starter Thread starter punkin
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4 or so months ago I visited the guitar shop where the B Crowes second guitarist taught and was told that both guitarists for the Black Crowes were using the Bogner Ecstasy live. Who knows.
 
I would recommend the Peavey Classic amps, especially if you're not looking to drop a ton of coin on a new rig. The Classic 30 and Delta Blues combos are pretty versatile, and at only 30 watts you can crank them and get some of that power tube saturation (el34s though). But a 30 watt cranked tube amp is still pretty loud... Also check out some Ampeg stuff, like a Gemini or the Reverb-o-Rockets (very cool, under-rated amps!). In Fender land, you're probably gonna want to check out a Deluxe Reverb reissue. Personally I would stay away from the Hot Rod series (including the Blues Juniors & Pro Juniors), but you may like them. Fender Twin Reverbs are LOUD & CLEAN and you have to push them ridiculously hard to get them to break up at all. Yeah the Vibro Kings are great but they are basically in "boutique-land". Also check out the Fender Bassman, thats the Tweed-tone that somebody already mentioned. They're kinda loud too (though not quite as loud as a Twin), but they sound really good when cranked.

I would stay away from the modeling amps. I don't mess with them myself, and I HAVE HEARD guys sound great while playing thru them, which probably has as much to do with the player as the gear... But the general consensus seems to be that these modeling amps have the most trouble nailing these types of tones, where you have a delicate responsiveness to pick attack and touch-sensitive break-up. but your mileage may vary...
 
Hi_Flyer said:
I would recommend the Peavey Classic amps, especially if you're not looking to drop a ton of coin on a new rig. The Classic 30 and Delta Blues combos are pretty versatile, and at only 30 watts you can crank them and get some of that power tube saturation (el34s though). But a 30 watt cranked tube amp is still pretty loud... Also check out some Ampeg stuff, like a Gemini or the Reverb-o-Rockets (very cool, under-rated amps!). In Fender land, you're probably gonna want to check out a Deluxe Reverb reissue. Personally I would stay away from the Hot Rod series (including the Blues Juniors & Pro Juniors), but you may like them. Fender Twin Reverbs are LOUD & CLEAN and you have to push them ridiculously hard to get them to break up at all. Yeah the Vibro Kings are great but they are basically in "boutique-land". Also check out the Fender Bassman, thats the Tweed-tone that somebody already mentioned. They're kinda loud too (though not quite as loud as a Twin), but they sound really good when cranked.

I would stay away from the modeling amps. I don't mess with them myself, and I HAVE HEARD guys sound great while playing thru them, which probably has as much to do with the player as the gear... But the general consensus seems to be that these modeling amps have the most trouble nailing these types of tones, where you have a delicate responsiveness to pick attack and touch-sensitive break-up. but your mileage may vary...
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Not sure how much of a difference it makes, but the Peavey Classic 30's have EL-84's.
 
see if you can plug into a late 1960ies Fender Deluxe Reverb - you might find you quest stops just there ...

from clean to bluesey to very ballsy rock ... vol at 9+ is pure AC/DC but in a very rich way!
 
hiwatt357 said:
Not sure how much of a difference it makes, but the Peavey Classic 30's have EL-84's.
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oops... I always seem to get those two confused!!!
 
Anyone heard or played the THD Univalve?

Looks promising. Low power with a legit 6L6 tube and a built in hot plate. Looks tempting.
 
Hi_Flyer said:
I would recommend the Peavey Classic amps, especially if you're not looking to drop a ton of coin on a new rig. The Classic 30 and Delta Blues combos are pretty versatile, and at only 30 watts you can crank them and get some of that power tube saturation (el34s though). But a 30 watt cranked tube amp is still pretty loud... Also check out some Ampeg stuff, like a Gemini or the Reverb-o-Rockets (very cool, under-rated amps!). In Fender land, you're probably gonna want to check out a Deluxe Reverb reissue. Personally I would stay away from the Hot Rod series (including the Blues Juniors & Pro Juniors), but you may like them. Fender Twin Reverbs are LOUD & CLEAN and you have to push them ridiculously hard to get them to break up at all. Yeah the Vibro Kings are great but they are basically in "boutique-land". Also check out the Fender Bassman, thats the Tweed-tone that somebody already mentioned. They're kinda loud too (though not quite as loud as a Twin), but they sound really good when cranked.

I would stay away from the modeling amps. I don't mess with them myself, and I HAVE HEARD guys sound great while playing thru them, which probably has as much to do with the player as the gear... But the general consensus seems to be that these modeling amps have the most trouble nailing these types of tones, where you have a delicate responsiveness to pick attack and touch-sensitive break-up. but your mileage may vary...
Click to expand...
I've heard really good things about those peavey classics, and I thought no way, its a peavey. Then on thursday I saw Pearl Jam, and Stone Gossard (the rhythm guitarist) had a bunch of peavey classics, and he sounded amazing through them.
 
ibanezrocks said:
I've heard really good things about those peavey classics, and I thought no way, its a peavey. Then on thursday I saw Pearl Jam, and Stone Gossard (the rhythm guitarist) had a bunch of peavey classics, and he sounded amazing through them.
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Yeah, I remember when they came out and heard that they were pretty good. Then I heard a friend of mine play through a Classic 50 410 at a show...wasn't even his...it just happened to be in the club, and it sounded amazing. Not long after that, I was in the market for a new amp, and I tried a Classic 50 410 myself, and I was sold.

Paid $500.00 cash...brand-new, still-in-the-box (literally...first time I'd bought an amp in a box). They seem to be holding their value pretty well, too. I've seen them used on ebay for nearly what I paid new.

To this day, anytime I see my friend who played the borrowed one at that show, he asks me if he can buy mine.

They're just a really good all-around amp and hard to beat for the money. The clean channel sounds great, and the distortion channel sounds pretty damn good too...and they're very pedal friendly. Seem to be built well too.

Plus...they go to "12". ;)
 
Rich Robinson does play through Harry Joyce on a regular basis. They are hard to find and very expensive. Another option, although not cheap is the Dr. Z route 66. This is a beautiful amp. Another thing you might try is using The new Fulltone OCD pedal. I love this thing. It puts out some of the nicest distortion I've ever heard. I have not unhooked it since I bought it.
 
I'm going to make a little road trip tomorrow. I found an independant music store about an hour away which has a couple Joyce amps...going to check them out.
 
punkin said:
I'm going to make a little road trip tomorrow. I found an independant music store about an hour away which has a couple Joyce amps...going to check them out.
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Good luck, man.
 
I've heard Fender Hot Rods break up at around 3. I personally like my champ's distortion channel at or below 5. It gives it the type of nasty crunch you'd expect from a Marshall, but with the warmth of Fender. Of course, I tend to play dirty rock n roll, but you can get the idea. It really sounds like you want a Fender that breaks up pretty early.
 
I've stopped my quest for tasty tube tone (for now anyways)...I checked out several "boutique" amps this week...can you say kachinG! I also demo'd a THD Univalve. A way cool amp, low power with awesome tone, a built in hot plate and the thing is desinged to let you swap out different tube types to your heart's content. I scored it and played all day today...can't put it away.

I can say that the ticket really was to play some lower powered amps. They all sounded really nice...some very bluesy some with more edge but again, getting into a lower power unit lets you turn it up to the sweet spot on the pot. My other two beasties just don't sound good until they're cranked. My little ZVex is nice but a little more edgy than I like but still a nice rockin' amp.

This THD is going to keep me grinning for quite some time. Thanks for the input everyone! :D
 
amps to check out:

Fender 65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue - A classic amp with great lower volume cleans and bluesy dirty sounds.

Marshall 1974X Combo - Blues to Hard Rock - An amazing amp. Get the extention cabinet for true tone HEAVEN.

Vox AC30CC2 - Great Clean AND Dirty - Classic amp tones!

I own all these amps and I love playing all of them.
 
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