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I may have to reevaluate my import amp prejudice


wankdeplank

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I know, I know, this is the EG forum, but I know you guys - you stop by to chat even if it is a friendly F-you. Just kidding, I get a kick out of some of the banter (not taking sides mind you but that papyrus line was pretty funny). OK back to brass tacks: I'm kind of a no-nonsense kind of guy that likes to have nice things but also likes to save money wherever possible and definitely doesn't require the validation of name-brand to make me feel good about what I'm playing. I mean I know quality, and if I can get it at a discount all the better.

 

So here's where I've arrived as far as gear bias: Electric Guitars - definitely prefer US made overall for consistent quality (haven't played any European or Australian makes), second tier for me would be Japan Mexico and Korea made (hit or miss) and as far as Chinese and Indo fare, my bias is entry level, though some may be good, not for me. Acoustic guitars - same as above, though here I'd be more inclined to include Chinese fare in the hit or miss category as for whatever reason string spacing at the nut is wider and more good options for me (love the import Breedloves, and have a cheapy Silvertone that is very serviceable, even played it out at open mic.) Amps - American made all the way, had bad experience with the import Crate, Line 6 Spyder and heard bad things about the import tube versions (more on that later). Pedals - No nationalistic bias here although I'm still a little leery of the real off-brands that sound like a sex toy or a Karate chop (Joyo and Biyang to name a few).

 

So one of my friends stops by to jam yesterday (preclude to a full on jam with drummer and possibly bass player next week) and he's toting this little amp. And come to think of it, it's the same amp he brought over several months ago (his work schedule has changed for the better) - it's a VHT Special 6 http://www.zzounds.com/item--VHTAVSP16?siid=133553&gclid=COSRl7eBksMCFYlefgodiFkAzQ and he can't stop gushing about it. I mean it really does sound great with the Music Man Sterling he's brought over (actually sounded amazing with three of my guitars played through it as well). It's hand wired he says. I say "how much?" He says about $250 new. My jaw drops, "no way, really" I say. Turns out he bought it used for $180, had a minor issue (cold solder joint) which was resolved by soldering over a few joints and that he put a better (Jensen) speaker in it. And this guy is a total gear junkie - has forty guitars (some in the $3000 range) and ten amps at home (mostly Fender). But he'd rather tote and play through this thing than one of his equally compact Blues Jrs. I inspected it - seems rock solid. And the kicker is that at 6 Watts, I had to ask him to turn down and no question he can play it in a band situation un-mic'd with a drummer. I mean it's really got me flummoxed and thinking about restructuring gear-wise and maybe getting one of these things. (My tote and play "good" amp is a Custom 413 Magnatone from the 60's that's now worth a bit of change and I'd hate to damage resale.)

 

Anything to share regarding your experience with import (budget) amps. Love to hear the good and the bad. Any horror stories with those Mustangs? Please spill.

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All of the amps I own, except my Micro-Cube, are American made. A friend of mine became a distributor for Jet City Amps, and I tried out their single 12, 22 watt combo. I gotta say, that thing sounded really good and seemed like a great value. If someone was looking for Marshall tone on the cheap, that's where I'd steer 'em.

 

I can't imagine a 6 watt amp having enough clean headroom for me to use it for jamming. My Fender Musicmaster Bass Amp is around 12 watts, and it breaks up pretty quick when I'm playing at gig volume.

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The best amp I have is an import from Birmingham, England: Laney AOR. The AOR and other Laneys are generally great and can be found used for very reasonable numbers.

 

Laneys do tend to have that "Dark British Sound" to them, so they're not everyone's pint of bitter. Coming from The Black Country though (the place that inspired Mordor in the Tolkien works) this isn't really a surprise.

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No I think you're right about clean headroom. My friend has a rocker mentality even though he does play a little country as well. He has that thing dialed in where it stays pretty clean til he digs in a little. And with a dirt pedal in front he can get real crunchy. Kind of a dirty blues setting I'd say.

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"Black Country" huh? That cracked me up. Hey, nothing wrong with "dark" esp. when it comes to rock and blues. With all the great amps coming out of the UK, kinda makes me feel remiss for not mentioning them. I've actually never had the opportunity to play through a Marshall, Vox, Orange, Laney etc. though I know that the circuits in my Mesa (at least) were influenced by what came out of the UK.

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I've said this before but I love my Bugera V22, loads of headroom, takes pedals well and cleans are amazing (clear, warm, musical). If I had to fault it the reverb lacks that "lushness" but for $350 brand new with a 5 year warrenty, it's amazing... Sounds good at low volumes too.

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I've said this before but I love my Bugera V22' date=' loads of headroom, takes pedals well and cleans are amazing (clear, warm, musical). If I had to fault it the reverb lacks that "lushness" but for $350 brand new with a 5 year warrenty, it's amazing... Sounds good at low volumes too.[/quote']

 

Holy Swiss Cheese Batman, sounds like my prejudice is just that - full of holes. C'mon guys try a little harder, somebody must've had one that went hopelessly out of wack or something!!! I mean I found fault with my old Peavey Delta Blues (ran hot and tube location) and it was made right here in the US of A. Must be somebody (besides Knotty and Virg) that can help reinforce my prejudice.

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No, I hear ya. I probably need to go back and revise that initial post in the amp bias section. I know that it probably sounds a little jingoistic, but because I've never even played any of the legendary English made Amps (or other top shelf stuff from elsewhere) I actually just kind of forgot about it. I guess for me right now, it's all about American made (which I already have) and the Chinese made VHT Special 6 which I'm gassin kinda hard for at this point. There's just so much utility to a lightweight but solid, loud little amp that breaks up so nicely, particularly at that price point.

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After spending years on tube amps, ranging from an early 70 Oliver Sound G150R, to a old Flip top Ampeg, I went for amps that sounded as clean as possible, as loud as possible. Best budget import, a Roland Blues Cube 60. Really is my ideal perfect amp. (I know opinions vary, so take it with a grain of salt) For recording, the Yamaha THR-10 is a dream!

Worst.... Hard to say since I owned a lot of crap in the last 30 years.... Worst I have played thru, and didn't own, was a Fender FM212 or some crap like that. Yes I know it's fender, made in China, but still Fender. It needed to work hard to be garbage.

Worst that I admit spending money on..... Would have to be a Marshall Valvestate something or other. Sounded GREAT at 3. At 3 1/2..... garbage. at anything above 4, sounded like it had a bad speaker. (never buy an amp in GC when kids are around playing their versions of "Smoke on the Water... really messes with the thought process.)

 

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