Premier Rock Forum

D'Piucchstre wrote:I think he's looking at the weight factor.

Yeah, it's the weight issue. That and the the volume, I guess - the Roland doesn't really begin to do its thing until it's turned up to at least 1 1/2, and that's just not going to work in the house, even if I do cope w/the lugging. I'm trying to find a good clean sound that will also sound pretty hot when I pretend to be Bob Moul or Ron Asheton or whoever through it - that I can also move around fairly easily.

I'm skeptical about sinking money & effort into an endeavor that I don't really know what it's going to sound like in the end, you know?

Ace Zero wrote:I'm skeptical about sinking money & effort into an endeavor that I don't really know what it's going to sound like in the end, you know?

as well you should be.

looking into a new rig, done responsibly, is a lot of leg work. unless you go to old standards.

plus you're looking at house volumes. which is it's own set of hassles.

what i'd do...is get the ts50b being sold here. they work alright for guitar. much better with a box in front of it. and get me an avatar 2x12.

probably spend about as much as you'd get selling the roland. with enough leftover for a nice stompbox.

that's what i'd do if i were you.

oh, and on talkbass a guy has been trying to sell a traynor ts200 for weeks now. i think he wants like $200 plus shipping for it. it's actually a guitar amp and has a load more power than the 70w @4ohms the ts50b puts out.

yep. good luck.

I'm having nearly the same dilemma but will soon eliminate the house volume concern. I have played a roland JC-77 for some time but want something with more clean headroom and a "rounder" sound. I want to play clean and HARD (think of a very angry les paul mixed with chet atkins, not that I even come close to those skill levels) with enough volume for small clubs without a PA. I've played every amp I can get my hands on and the only thing that came close to what I am seeking was a Budda superdrive 18 but at $1200 plus it can not be a reality for some time and I still favor solid state for consistency and reliability. I have found that the Clean channel on the Intersound IVP is very versatile at any volume, likes all of my guitars and will not overdrive unless you intend it to ( not to mention that the distortion channel is otherworldly). I will probably be buying a poweramp of some sort and a 12" or 15" cabinet for use with the IVP as soon as I sell a couple of other amps that I am not using.

The TS200 would be an interesting choice. 200W solid state, but it's also got a speaker built into the side of the head, for playing at home and whatnot. How weird is that?!?!

The last thing I'd suggest to someone with a Roland who's looking at a Crate would be something like a Bogen PA amp.

There are so many decent combo amps out there ready to plug in and play.

The local craigslist here has tons of lightweight, decent-sounding combos for less than $100.

zom-zom wrote:The last thing I'd suggest to someone with a Roland who's looking at a Crate would be something like a Bogen PA amp.

There are so many decent combo amps out there ready to plug in and play.

The local craigslist here has tons of lightweight, decent-sounding combos for less than $100.

Thanks for the word, Zom-Zom. Sadly my local craigslist is shit (because I am in the middle of nowhere). But I got a line on that same model Crate for substantially cheaper, courtesy of a fellow EA forum person, so I think that solves my problem. keep the Roland, pay not very much for a house amp, spend what I save on a new volume pedal (as my old, beloved Morley went missing some time ago).

The best, most versatile amp I've ever found that comes in a small yet loud package, is a Mesa Boogie Mark IV. You can find an 85-watt combo that weighs shy of thirty pounds for something like $600-$900, which may sound like a lot but they'll never fucking die. My Mark head has survived many moves, drops, etc. etc. And it has so many fucking tube options...seriously, my favorite amp ever.

I know a guy selling a Boogie .50 for about $450. It's a nice amp. Very versatile and stout. Loud as balls too.

In this day and age, why is your location an issue?
Ebay, Craig's List - pretty much international. I'd happily pay shipping for something cool over being stuck with what a one-horse town has to offer.

You can do better than a Crate, I think. They are good enough, but you should be able to get more than $500 out of your JC120, so spend it all on something good.

A 70's Silverface Fender Princeton might be nice, but I don't know if it's loud enough for you. I used one in the 80's and it worked fine. It will hold it's value. If you look hard, you can have one shipped to your door for less than $500

I'm a Vox guy. I think they sound great. They can stay clean and they can distort nicely. Laney makes a clone of the AC30 called the VC30 (clever). The 1x12 model can be had for less than $400 on Ebay. It's a good amp.

Look at old Sovteks too. Still a great deal.
They ripped off the best.

-A

Another bargain amp if you can find one is the Fender 75.

Rivera designed point-to-point wired, very linear circuit though, some people don't like the distorted sound, as it's touchy to dial in. Extremely loud but has a low power switch. Either 1x12 or 1x15. Very well-built, great reverb. Usually less than $400.

And don't get me wrong about Bogens, I still have my $5 Bogen from college days. It's a '50s model I think, 2 6L6s, metallic green with big plastic copper knobs. Sounds incredible and I've used it to record.

In my dark days of the mid '80s I played a JC120. I kept it less than a year. I think you can do much better.

alex maiolo wrote:In this day and age, why is your location an issue?
Ebay, Craig's List - pretty much international. I'd happily pay shipping for something cool over being stuck with what a one-horse town has to offer.

Only because my ability to test something out for myself is seriously limited. I don't know what stuff sounds like & how it feels to operate unless I can give it a go in person. So if I had a shop with a big selection around here - or multiple little shops - I could test what I wanted and then hit the Internets.

As it is, my plan is to keep the Roland (though Zom, I'd love to hear what you don't like about them) and go w/the Crate (if it works out) for in the home. Neither are probably perfect, but my resources (time and energy in addition to money) are pretty limited, and I'm not sure how serious I am about playing at this point, so I think this makes the most sense.

Althought: you really think I could get that much for the Roland? I am sorely out of the loop...