This is kind of a banal topic, and maybe annoying, but I'm looking for an amp reccomendation. I'd like some suggestions on something with a more marshall like vocing. I play through a hot rod deluxe, but I really have to crank it so much to get a good sound. The way it's voiced is just kind of .... hokey to me, until I have it cranked, and more distorted than is ideal. I really liked the sounds I got when I've used my Sansamp on the marshall setting. It sounds really good even with less gain, but I haven't had much seuccess with it in an amp setup. So....
What would you reccomend as fairly cheap, and preferably a combo amp comparable to the Hot Rod deluxe, at least size, volume, etc.
I'll probably still use it intandem with my hot rod, either both distorted, or one clean.
Marshall like amp
3Ampeg made some nice JCM-800 like amps in the late 80s and 90s. Ive never seen a combo.
Here is one example.
Also, Peavey Butcher. Again, a head.
Here is one example.
Also, Peavey Butcher. Again, a head.
"You get a kink in your neck looking up at people or down at people. But when you look straight across, there's no kinks."
--Mike Watt
--Mike Watt
Marshall like amp
4Stay away from the Lee Jackson designed Ampegs from the early 90's, (they have the light up logo, and require a key to turn the amp on.)
Look around for a VT-40 Ampeg, 70's Traynors, Sovtek, or a Bedrock 1200 which is tonally closer to a Vox. I'm not that familiar with the SansAmp, though tube amp emulators simulate the sound of a tube amp cranked up. You aren't going to get the same sounds out of a tube amp at low volumes, as most of the good tones associated with tube amps are produced by playing them loud, unless you spend serious cash on an amp that has some form of power amp attenuation/power scaling.
Look around for a VT-40 Ampeg, 70's Traynors, Sovtek, or a Bedrock 1200 which is tonally closer to a Vox. I'm not that familiar with the SansAmp, though tube amp emulators simulate the sound of a tube amp cranked up. You aren't going to get the same sounds out of a tube amp at low volumes, as most of the good tones associated with tube amps are produced by playing them loud, unless you spend serious cash on an amp that has some form of power amp attenuation/power scaling.
"Fuck compose, Fuck melody, Dedicated to no one, Thanks to no one, ART IS OVER".
-Juntaro Yamanouchi
-Juntaro Yamanouchi
Marshall like amp
5D'Piucchstre wrote:Stay away from the Lee Jackson designed Ampegs from the early 90's, (they have the light up logo, and require a key to turn the amp on.)
Haha, youve got to be kidding. I had no idea.
A friend has a nice Ampeg from around that era and it sounds fantastic, thus my linky link. It has no key though, so I suppose it's not the same thing. I dont think it has a light up logo either, though that could just be a burned out bulb, I suppose.
A key to turn the amp on. Just fantastic.
"You get a kink in your neck looking up at people or down at people. But when you look straight across, there's no kinks."
--Mike Watt
--Mike Watt
Marshall like amp
6You might want to try an Orange Tiny Terror (about $500) with a 1X12 cab. You can get a cab from Avatar with a choice of celestion for about $200. Don't know if $700 is within the range you are thinking about. Not a combo technically but quite possibly more portable than most. The amp comes with a shoulder bag and the cabinet wouldn't be much to heft.
I've been playing through a Tiny Terror with a 2X12 cab for about a year now and I really like it. For such a simple amp (master, tone, gain) it's pretty versatile. With the gain all they way up it reminds me most of a Sovtek mig100. The clean tone is serviceable but nothing thrilling. All the levels of dirt I would say range from sort-of vox-ish to sort-of Marshall-ish. I emphasize the "sort-of" here. It offers a choice of 7 watt or 15 watt operation. It sounds better the louder you go but is perfectly decent at quieter volumes.
I won't attempt poetic descriptions of the tone but I like it a lot and think it might be worth looking into.
There are a few posts about the Tiny Terror on Electrical.
I've been playing through a Tiny Terror with a 2X12 cab for about a year now and I really like it. For such a simple amp (master, tone, gain) it's pretty versatile. With the gain all they way up it reminds me most of a Sovtek mig100. The clean tone is serviceable but nothing thrilling. All the levels of dirt I would say range from sort-of vox-ish to sort-of Marshall-ish. I emphasize the "sort-of" here. It offers a choice of 7 watt or 15 watt operation. It sounds better the louder you go but is perfectly decent at quieter volumes.
I won't attempt poetic descriptions of the tone but I like it a lot and think it might be worth looking into.
There are a few posts about the Tiny Terror on Electrical.
Marshall like amp
7The current-production Yorkville/Traynor amps might fit the bill. I had a YCV-40 for a while, and it got a nice really-distorted sound. I always wanted to check out the YCV-80, which is a 4x10" combo, but never did. I'm not really a fan of combo amps, and I just prefer the old-style Traynors so much for the ease in working on them.
Only bad thing I've heard from a couple places about the new Yorkville guitar combo amps is that the cabinets tend to be rattly, and at higher volumes they make noise that can be a problem. A friend of mine even went so far as to add bracing and try to make the connections more solid, and still couldn't get rid of the rattle. So if you're gonna consider one, make sure you play it in person first and give it a good high-volume workout and listen for rattle.
I really like the Laney Pro Tube (some are called AOR, also, even if they don't have the AOR circuitry) 30W and 50W amps, which are from the late 80's/early 90's. I compared the Laney up against my faux-Marshall (JCM800-style), a real JMP master volume, and a JMP Super Lead (non-master) and liked the Laney the best out of all of them, which is why it's what I'm using these days for my dirt amp. I've heard bad about the channel-switching version, which seems reasonable cause channel-switching amps can often suck compared to single-channel. If you're gonna check out one of these old Laneys, I'd make sure it's got 6 knobs and no more. That's the easiest way to identify them.
Only bad thing I've heard from a couple places about the new Yorkville guitar combo amps is that the cabinets tend to be rattly, and at higher volumes they make noise that can be a problem. A friend of mine even went so far as to add bracing and try to make the connections more solid, and still couldn't get rid of the rattle. So if you're gonna consider one, make sure you play it in person first and give it a good high-volume workout and listen for rattle.
I really like the Laney Pro Tube (some are called AOR, also, even if they don't have the AOR circuitry) 30W and 50W amps, which are from the late 80's/early 90's. I compared the Laney up against my faux-Marshall (JCM800-style), a real JMP master volume, and a JMP Super Lead (non-master) and liked the Laney the best out of all of them, which is why it's what I'm using these days for my dirt amp. I've heard bad about the channel-switching version, which seems reasonable cause channel-switching amps can often suck compared to single-channel. If you're gonna check out one of these old Laneys, I'd make sure it's got 6 knobs and no more. That's the easiest way to identify them.
"The bastards have landed"
www.myspace.com/thechromerobes - now has a couple songs from the new album
www.myspace.com/thechromerobes - now has a couple songs from the new album
Marshall like amp
8endofanera wrote:A key to turn the amp on. Just fantastic.
Here's some pics. From what I've heard, some of the long jumper leads that you can see in the chassis shot of the amp contained high voltages, and were prone to shorting out catastrophically and pretty spectacularly.
"Fuck compose, Fuck melody, Dedicated to no one, Thanks to no one, ART IS OVER".
-Juntaro Yamanouchi
-Juntaro Yamanouchi
Marshall like amp
9I like the idea of needing a key to turn on an amp, though.
It's like when I administered a SPARC, or used Reaktor to signal process, I wore the little keys/USB dongle around my neck, a "geek key"
I think I still have those SPARC keys somewhere....
It's like when I administered a SPARC, or used Reaktor to signal process, I wore the little keys/USB dongle around my neck, a "geek key"
I think I still have those SPARC keys somewhere....
Marshall like amp
10D'Piucchstre wrote:Stay away from the Lee Jackson designed Ampegs from the early 90's, (they have the light up logo, and require a key to turn the amp on.)
Look around for a VT-40 Ampeg, 70's Traynors, Sovtek, or a Bedrock 1200 which is tonally closer to a Vox. I'm not that familiar with the SansAmp, though tube amp emulators simulate the sound of a tube amp cranked up. You aren't going to get the same sounds out of a tube amp at low volumes, as most of the good tones associated with tube amps are produced by playing them loud, unless you spend serious cash on an amp that has some form of power amp attenuation/power scaling.
I actually do use a Weber Attenuator to crank my amp, so I'm definitely looking for something to crank into power tube distortion( not an amp that will need a pedal, other than maybe a clean boost). I think a big part of what I don't like about the HRD is the power tubes, but to be honest I'm not that familiar with the differences among power tubes.
