Which Amps Am I Overlooking?

  • Thread starter Thread starter soundchaser59
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Gandydancers said:
Hunt down a used Fender Cybertwin for about $600
That's all you need,Ed
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I've played through these many times, and I must say, while they sound decent, it's not even close to playing through the real thing (i.e., the amps that it's modeling).

There is nothing like the sound and/or feel of power tubes breaking up ... especially where you're the one playing through the amp.
 
soundchaser59 said:
(Am I turning into a tube tone snob? :eek: The more I play, the less I like any solid state sounds. Maybe it's terminal for me....)
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Keep in mind that most solid state amps are low tech entry level jobs. I'm a total tube snob myself, but I for one am blown away with my Tech-21 Trademark 30. The "Brit" mode on that thing, well, if Marshalls really sounded like that I'd own one.
 
2 cents,

For that money you could get two older amps, mod them and A/B them.

There are plenty of great sounding amps out there from the '60s and '70s that go for $500 - $600. Many are American made hand wired point to point just like the boutique ones.

The effects in/out is a cheap mod that doesn't compromise the original circuit. Add the servicing they will no doubt need and you're still well within budget.

An example might be switching an Ampeg Reverbrocket and a Gibson GA-30
 
Milnoque said:
2 cents,

For that money you could get two older amps, mod them and A/B them.

There are plenty of great sounding amps out there from the '60s and '70s that go for $500 - $600. Many are American made hand wired point to point just like the boutique ones.

The effects in/out is a cheap mod that doesn't compromise the original circuit. Add the servicing they will no doubt need and you're still well within budget.

An example might be switching an Ampeg Reverbrocket and a Gibson GA-30
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You're not the first person to recommend old Ampegs. And the others who did are also people whom I trust to know their stuff. So you definitely have my curiosity peaked here with that Ampeg tip......

But where to look? Ebay doesn't have much, and I'm leary of buying an amp from the bay anyway.....
 
I got the my Ampeg M-15 from the internet but didn't use e-bay. I found it just by typing "Ampeg M-15". It's not a very common model so I only got a few hits but several were from well established dealers that I was able to validate before buying. If you were looking for a Gemini or Rocket you should find alot more to choose from.
 
The used place here has a very new looking VHT Pitbull 50CL. That thing sounded awesome, very smooth, very easy to dial in, etc. No idea if it's worth the $1300 bucks they want for it though.
 
And now I'm adding Carr, Brown Note, and Mesa Roadster/Road King to the list! Awesome stuff!
 
First I started thinking about an amp with a wattage switch-- there must be a ton of them out there, but here's one that's well under your budget that is not quite the "toy" Valve Jr you've ruled out.

Tiny Terror demp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WWFbueJYuw

Seems to me that you probably would do well to have a seprate gig amp and practice amp.
 
Nice demo! The Tiny Terror is quite a pleasant surprise! I had no idea it could kick out that kind of sound! CoooooooL!
 
I would have mentioned the Swart Atomic Space Tone earlier but you were looking for a bunch of channels and footswitch versatility. This amp doesn't have that. It's just one of the best sounding amps I ever tried. JMHO
 
I have a Stephenson Stage Hog. It's a 1watt tube amp, with a power scale control (which is like a continuously variable wattage switch). It lets you get power tube saturation at any volume, which is great for recording.

He also makes 30 and 40 watt amps with power scale, but are much more expensive. The 30watt head is 2500 Canadian Dollars, which might end up close to your 2000USD budget.
 
Milnoque said:
I would have mentioned the Swart Atomic Space Tone earlier but you were looking for a bunch of channels and footswitch versatility. This amp doesn't have that. It's just one of the best sounding amps I ever tried. JMHO
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Never heard of it, I'll have some more research to do! CoooooL! Maybe they'll have some sound clips too!
 
louloomis said:
Why not a Rivera Clubster 45? Great all around portable 1x12 combo with channel switching. Very portable yet deafening.

LL
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Is Rivera a unique sound all its own? Or is it just what Fender wants to be?Will it be like the best Fender ever? Or more versatile than that?
 
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