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--- EPIC Thread --- Best Multi-Channel Classic Rock Amp? Top Selections Inside! --- POLL ---


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--- EPIC Thread --- Best Multi-Channel Classic Rock Amp? Top Selections Inside! --- POLL ---  

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  1. 1. --- EPIC Thread --- Best Multi-Channel Classic Rock Amp? Top Selections Inside! --- POLL ---

    • Fargen Dual British Classic II
      0
    • Redplate Magica
      0
    • Bogner Shiva
      0
    • Bogner XTC
      1
    • Bogner Goldfinger
      0
    • Landry LS100G3
      0
    • 3rd Power Dreamweaver
      0
    • PWE Event Horizon 3
      0


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I play a les paul with 57 classics, and a strat with SSH. I currently play through a 59 fender bassman clone I built. The clean tones are fantastic, but the dirt just isn't there at reasonable volumes, and the cranked tones aren't quite what I'm looking for. I get my OD from pedals right now, and I'd like to get rid of them and get all my sound from the amp.

 

I play:

 

acdc

clapton

pink floyd

zeppelin

aerosmith

eagles

frampton

zz top

early metallica

bb king

boston

guess who

guns n roses

tom petty

rush

queen

hendrix

srv

etc...

 

I'm looking for a versatile channel switcher to cover classic rock tones 70s to 80s. Sparkling blackface cleans, dirty edge of breakup tweed cleans, warm marshall middy cleans, bluesy clean breakup, plexi tones, marshall bark, jcm800 tones, soaring floydian leads, zz top riffing, early clapton sg into cranked amp tones.

 

I can't stress enough - I don't want to use ANY gain pedals, I'd like everything to come from the amp. I have a couple of modulation pedals I would use in the FX loop, and a wah + volume. I need to be able to go from clean tones to gain just by changing channels. A built in boost for solos would be nice too.

 

I'm also certain I want a head and not a combo, for future versatility and portability. The cab size would be one or two 12s. I don't want something that sounds smaller or boxier than my bassman, which has a rich, full, 3 dimensional sound.

 

Thank you so much for any advice! This decision has paralyzed me for over 4 months now. I have watched hundreds of videos, read dozens of forum threads, and talked to multiple builders to get to the point I'm at now in my decision. (I can't try any of these amps locally, I have looked into this) Portability is nice, but I won't sacrifice tone for it. So if a larger and/or heavier head sounds better, that would be my choice. I'm looking for the ultimate no sacrifice tone. The sound I hear in my head. The sound that inspires me.

 

The results of my painstaking research so far:

 

Fargen DBC 2

Redplate Magica

Bogner Shiva / XTC / Goldfinger

Landry LS100G3

3rd Power Dream Weaver

PWE Event Horizon 3

 

 

Please let me know which amp would be the best fit for my requirements(or if I missed one)! I'm starting to feel like I'll never come to a decision and I'd like to get back to focusing on playing music!

 

p.s. No modelers, no digital, no solid state, no pedals. I'm looking to get as close as I can to what I seek, please avoid commenting that this is impossible. The cleans just need to be decent, not exactly like anything else. The drive section of the amp is MUCH more important than the clean side. This is for live use and I need the two sounds available instantly. Multi-amp is not an option. Master volume is a requirement.

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You didn't mention Tube or solid state so I guess you're open to both options.

 

Out of the items on you're list I'm only familiar with the Bogner. My buddy used one (and I've tried several times) and he's able to get many of those tones. He can get the ZZ Top, and Blues tones of SRV and BB King, Does pretty good getting many of the others but you wont get ACDC, Boston, Page, Rush, and others from it without using additional pedals. His is a combo however and I'm not sure what the gain extremes of the preamp might be gained up those high gain tones.

 

You have a huge array of tones in your list you want to get and nailing all of them from a single amp would be very difficult unless you use a modeling amp. I can get many of them with my Marshall Valvestate which has three channels, clean crunch and lead. Its also got a good effects loop which can be run in serial or parallel. I love that head and for the price its unbeatable.

 

I'm thinking about buying the new Marshall Code head which models most the different types of Marshall heads. Its got built in effects too so you don't have to jack with any additional pedals. Marshall makes some killer SS amps and their Mosfet power transistors are the closest thing to using actual tubes. The string touch in most SS amps doesn't come close to matching tubes. Marshall comes real close. The clean tone of the one I have nails the old 50W Plexi I used to own. Having all the various Marshall types would go a long ways to getting what you need. Some of the vintage 6L6 models should get you close to some Fender tones too. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifiers-effects/marshall-code-100w-guitar-amp-head

 

Brown/tweed vs Marshall tones will be your biggest challenge with most amps, that's why I mention modeling. BB King uses a lab series so you could definitely match those tones. I Know Vox modeling heads have a wide pallet of tones too. You could definitely nail the Tom Petty tones and come close to having some Fender tones. Not sure it would do as good nailing Marshall tones though. Given you have more users of Marshall amps on that list It would be my choice. Like I said, I can get most of those tones with some tweaking. I don't need to sound exactly the same as the artists however because much of sounding like other players comes from playing technique, not the gear.

 

I do run a 65 Blackface Bassman and Marshall together too so I can in fact get both sounds when needed. If I had to choose one over the other for variety of tones it would be the Marshall hands down. I love the string touch of tubes but the Fenders I own don't nail Marshall tones without pedals to help. I can get fairly close to a Fender with a Marshall however.

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I think he needs a Kemper or similar if trying to achieve all that in one amp.

Oops..... He said no modelers

 

i kemper is not just a modeller :)

 

but maybe he could get a mesa triple rect, never played one myself, too much knobs too much channels for me, but this could be what he is searching for

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These are pretty nice.Not cheap and will deliver a lot of classic tone, blues to metal and a lot in between.

It's a heavy 65 lbs. You'll want to ATA road case it.

 

They never go on sale. :D

 

 

 

mark-five-1x12-combo-front_highres.jpg

 

[video=youtube;48kAyb6tonw]

 

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The Bogner XTC 101b will do all of those without pedals...

 

That said, it won't jump between them without some tweaking. You get three basic channels that you can select from the footswitch - clean(green), crunch (blue), and gain (red). On top of that you get two footswitchable gain-boost selections that apply to all three simultaneously, along with a switchable FX loop. [There is also a plexi mode switch so you in effect get 4 main modes, but the footswitch won't select plexi mode.]

 

Now, to dial in your sound, you can also adjust the usual tone/presence controls, most of which are specific to a channel or shared between two (not three). You also have some damping controls and the FX loop in and out level trims.

 

If that's not enough, you also can change the 100W EL34 power section with three selections:

 

Full/half power

Class A or Class AB

Pentode or Triode.

 

Each of these has a slightly different character, and has the side effect of pushing your total power output up and down, in a range between 7W and 100W.

 

I have had this amp for about 10 years, and it has allowed me to leave everything else at home. It is without a doubt the most versatile gigging amp I have ever played through, and it sounds absolutely fantastic. Cleans are VERY close to Fender-quality, and the blue and red channels sound as good as anything else on the market - seriously. I can have the sound of both a Super Reverb clean and a JCM800, and switch between them with one button on the pedalboard.

 

There is only one little tiny annoyance: This is really three separate tube preamps in a single box, plugged into a single power amp. As a result, there are three completely separate master volumes. This means that you have to get used to adjusting all three when you are setting up, or you're going to have a forehead-slapping moment somewhere during the first song. It also means that the amp has a lot of tubes, so it's heavy, and re-tubing gets pricey...but that's a minor annoyance, like worrying about the cost of an oil change in your Porsche.

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