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Post by mulmany on Jul 22, 2016 9:57:39 GMT -6
If you were picking real amps for the studio, which three would you pick and why?
FENDER
MARSHALL
VOX
ORANGE
PEAVEY
...?
Looking to expand the range. Recording a wide variety of music styles.
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Post by svart on Jul 22, 2016 10:59:37 GMT -6
Fender Deluxe.
Mesa Dual rectifier.
Marshall JCM800.
You can do just about anything with those 3.
A lot of the others are just shades of those. Peavey has a lot of different amps, which cover the gamut of clean to hella distorted. Orange is more like a a mix between a fender and a marshal. VOX is more like a fender but just about everybody I know with a vox has had problems with them.
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Post by Ward on Jul 22, 2016 16:55:33 GMT -6
1. Vox AC30, 1979 - 1982 era
2. Marshall Mark 2 50 watt master volume. 1975-1977 era
3. Dr. Z Stang Ray with a 2x12 celestion gold speaker complement.
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Post by mulmany on Jul 22, 2016 21:03:45 GMT -6
1. Vox AC30, 1979 - 1982 era 2. Marshall Mark 2 50 watt master volume. 1975-1977 era 3. Dr. Z Stang Ray with a 2x12 celestion gold speaker complement. Reasons behind those choices? I am not a guitar player so would like to know. |
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Post by Ward on Jul 23, 2016 6:14:21 GMT -6
1. Vox AC30, 1979 - 1982 era 2. Marshall Mark 2 50 watt master volume. 1975-1977 era 3. Dr. Z Stang Ray with a 2x12 celestion gold speaker complement. Reasons behind those choices? I am not a guitar player so would like to know. 1. The Vox for its sweetness when overdriven. Especially for lead when driven hard, and of course it's 'hairy tone' or semi-overdriven sound that is popular with a lot of country, americana and alt guys. 2. Marshall Mark 2 for that unmistakable crunch that is one of the best rhythm sounds ever. 3. Stangray for it's incredible chime and clean tones. It sounds like a Vox AC30/4 with the EF86 preamp but even better. |
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jul 23, 2016 8:19:25 GMT -6
Louis Electric Columbia (Princetone) The best "Fender" ever made. I've owned and used so many Fenders over the years, Bandmaster, Princeton, Champ, Hot Rod Junior, 66' Super Reverb, Twin, Deluxe, Amp Can, Harvard, Acoustasonic, Dual Showman, and the Louis Electric sounds as good and in fact, better, than all of them. Only the 66" Super Reverb could really compete, and part of that came from more power and more speakers.
Blankenship Leeds 21. Roy Blankenship is one of the last great amplifier gurus, and when he created the Leeds 21, he outdid himself. The best amp I've ever used was a 60's Marshall 100 I got from from the Allman Brothers. It had a tone and touch sensitivity that was remarkable. You didn't need a pedal or gain control, just the volume on your Les Paul. The Leeds 21 has all that Marshall I owned had, only at 21 Watts, it's much more versatile.
For gigging, I'd use the Bad Cat Cub III. It snaps your head around when you hear how big and full that little 15 watts box can be.
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Post by geoff738 on Jul 23, 2016 11:36:00 GMT -6
Interesting question.
For me, I'd definitely want a blackface Fender type. Probably a Deluxe (or maybe Princeton ) Reverb. I prefer the reverb versions because they have reverb, (duh), but that also means there's another tube to go through and that gives more dirt options. A Twin or Super would also be possibilities. Depends on whether a 6v6 or 6l6 floats your boat more, if you want more volume on tap etc.
Id want a more tweedy, nasty, dirty option. Anything from a tweed Delux, to an 18 watt Marshall/ Watkins dominator, to the Valco made stuff to 50s Gibson. Any of those would work. Some options for trem in there too. I really like the Swarts for a modern version of this kind of thing. Or you could look at something like a Tone King Imperial to do both the tweedy and blackface thing. Might be the way to go if limiting to only three amps.
Because I'd also want something in the Marshall voiced camp. JCM 800. Or if you want more modern, higher gain, maybe a Bogner, Wizard?
And and then something in the Vox camp. Ac30, Z, Matchless, Bad Cat, etc. Good clean, but different from Fender clean, and different mid-forward dirt than a Marshall.
That would cover a lot of ground. Still some holes (Hiwatt), cascaded gain preamp designs, modern scooped metal monsters, etc.
If I could only have one amp though, I'd go with a THD Bivalve, a stock of Nos tubes and a variety of cabs and speakers. Is that cheating?
Cheers,
Geoff
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Post by mulmany on Jul 25, 2016 20:23:48 GMT -6
Hmmm... not too many takers on this one.
I currently have
Early 70's Champ that's been overhauled and modded for eq bypass.
15w SEL, kinda a Champ on steroids but more Marshall esqu.
Vox Night train, "toaster" on permanent loan from a friend. Does the chime and crunch well, but I think it needs a better cab/speaker to really shine.
'72 Ampeg V4-B, a little to much bass for guitar but still sounds real good.
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Post by mrholmes on Jul 25, 2016 21:01:53 GMT -6
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Post by jazznoise on Jul 26, 2016 6:44:11 GMT -6
Fender Deluxe
Vox AC 30
JCM 800
DANGERZONE EDITION:
Fender Twin
Fender Bassman
JCM 800
I know the Standby on the Vox gives a lot of issues - remove it. I gigged with one last weekend in Dublin and the thing was great. Just set it to breakup, turn up the master and go!
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Post by Ward on Jul 26, 2016 8:24:27 GMT -6
Vox AC 30 I know the Standby on the Vox gives a lot of issues - remove it. I gigged with one last weekend in Dublin and the thing was great. Just set it to breakup, turn up the master and go! What's this witchcraft about 'standby' and 'master volume' on an AC30??? Get a real one!! LOL |
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Post by jazznoise on Jul 26, 2016 9:12:44 GMT -6
I only owned 1 ever amp with no master volume and my answer is no.
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Post by terryrocks on Jul 28, 2016 23:34:10 GMT -6
I'm currently using
Dripedge Fender bandmaster reverb
Ampeg gemini 1 g12
Vox ac15
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Post by Guitar on Oct 9, 2016 15:38:28 GMT -6
Hard question.
I would probably pick a big loud Fender, a British amp of some sort, and the last spot is a tie between a Tweed Champ and/or some kind of high gain 100 watt head. I guess that's 4 amps. Ok so I cheated, 4 amps to rule them all.
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Post by Johnkenn on Oct 9, 2016 15:45:58 GMT -6
Heard a drop edge deluxe not long ago...want one bad.
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Post by stratboy on Oct 9, 2016 21:13:01 GMT -6
I love this thread!
My choices for the studio:
Fender Blackface Champ or Princeton
Vox AC15HW
Some sort of Marshall (haven't found the right one yet - small but gets that 'sound', maybe a Ceriatone clone?)
Some sort of metal monster (maybe a Mesa?)
A variety of speaker cabinets (1x12, 2x12, 4x12, 2x10, 4x10)
That should cover it, right?
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Post by mulmany on Oct 10, 2016 7:51:04 GMT -6
Hard question. I would probably pick a big loud Fender, a British amp of some sort, and the last spot is a tie between a Tweed Champ and/or some kind of high gain 100 watt head. I guess that's 4 amps. Ok so I cheated, 4 amps to rule them all. I modded my silverface champ so that I can bypass the eq with a pull of the volume knob. A good alternative to finding a tweed in decent shape. |
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Post by mulmany on Oct 10, 2016 7:51:52 GMT -6
Heard a drop edge deluxe not long ago...want one bad. John, what was it about the drip edge that you likes so much? |
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Post by Johnkenn on Oct 10, 2016 8:20:13 GMT -6
That it sounded so good. That's all I can say about it.
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Post by Guitar on Oct 10, 2016 9:47:20 GMT -6
Hard question. I would probably pick a big loud Fender, a British amp of some sort, and the last spot is a tie between a Tweed Champ and/or some kind of high gain 100 watt head. I guess that's 4 amps. Ok so I cheated, 4 amps to rule them all. I modded my silverface champ so that I can bypass the eq with a pull of the volume knob. A good alternative to finding a tweed in decent shape. Absolutely, I did the same thing to my '68 Vibro Champ. Poor baby is broken down right now and I haven't got aroudn to fixing it. Also agree that speaker cabinets is something you need options for. I would want good options of 1x12, 2x12 open, and 4x12 closed back. Those just work for me. Same amp can sound so much different through each cab. |
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Post by Martin John Butler on Oct 10, 2016 11:54:51 GMT -6
OK, this has been fun. I'd like to know if you could only have ONE amp, what would it be?
My choice, the Louis Electric Colombia, the best "Fender" sound I've ever heard, and a pedal would get some grit if needed.
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Post by geoff738 on Oct 10, 2016 12:20:31 GMT -6
OK, this has been fun. I'd like to know if you could only have ONE amp, what would it be? My choice, the Lois Electric Colombia, the best "Febder" sound I've ever hear, and a pedal would get some grit if needed. THD Bivalve with a stock of Nos tubes and a bunch of different cabinets. Thats kind of cheating though. Maybe an Ac15, maybe a Marshall, maybe a blackface Fender, maybe a Valco. Would depend on the type of stuff the studio was mainly doing. Just for personal use? Probably a Swart. Cheers, Geoff |
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Post by Ward on Oct 10, 2016 12:35:27 GMT -6
OK, this has been fun. I'd like to know if you could only have ONE amp, what would it be? My choice, the Lois Electric Colombia, the best "Febder" sound I've ever hear, and a pedal would get some grit if needed. Probably a Dr. Z Maz (18 or 34 watt) |
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Post by mulmany on Oct 10, 2016 12:50:38 GMT -6
I am just amazed at the vintage amp market! My champ that I bought 5 years ago has doubled in price. Fender Deluxe Reverb $1600-$3000 depending on black or silver face. JCM800 around $1200 depending on version. Vox, $3000 for a true vintage unit. Fender Blackface Bassman head $1200 on average. Its crazy.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Oct 10, 2016 12:56:30 GMT -6
geoff, I had the THD Bi-Valve for years, both the 15 and 30 watt models. I had THD's 2 X 12" cabinet and a Matchless 1 X 12" cabinet. On paper it seems brilliant, changing tubes was easy, but i really sounded much too nasal, and nothing could get rid of it.
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