Members Preacher Posted September 13, 2015 Members Share Posted September 13, 2015 So I picked up a used Tech 21 Trademark 30 in great shape. It had one issue in that it was apparently humming or somesuch until the previous owner plugged a 6-inch cable into the send and return of the effects loop at the advice of Tech 21 Tech Support. I was totally fine with this because, hey, an effects loop on small amp - woohoo! After playing it for a couple weeks a few observations: It's hard to keep up with a drummer on the clean Tweed setting, but you can hang pretty good using the Marshall ("British") or Mesa ("California") settings. The accutronics reverb tank sounds great though it adds a little hum on the cleanest settings. Good spring reverb though, does the whole weird squiggly sound when the amp is jostled while playing and everything. It's a little magic box with totally usable dirt, all kinds of great sounds in this little guy. I'd play with settings more if I didn't just stick with the great settings that I stumbled into. Great sound for a pretty tiny box with a 10" speaker, and I love the wicker face. Pics! Lame cell phone pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted September 13, 2015 Members Share Posted September 13, 2015 Congratulations. Happy New Amp Day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted September 13, 2015 Members Share Posted September 13, 2015 Congrats! I've always heard good things about these and wanted to try one. Everything from that company actually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wankdeplank Posted September 13, 2015 Members Share Posted September 13, 2015 Big congrats and echo Koiwoi's words^. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybilly Posted September 13, 2015 Members Share Posted September 13, 2015 I've been curious about those for a long time based upon reputation. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 Very cool! While I'm a big fan of their pedals, I really don't have much experience with Tech 21's amplifiers - they have a great rep though. Happy New Amp Day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Preacher Posted September 13, 2015 Author Members Share Posted September 13, 2015 Congratulations. Happy New Amp Day. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Preacher Posted September 13, 2015 Author Members Share Posted September 13, 2015 Congrats! I've always heard good things about these and wanted to try one. Everything from that company actually. Big congrats and echo Koiwoi's words^. Thanks! Yeah, I picked up a Tech 21 Blonde pedal first; I really liked it and that made me curious about the Trademark series. I'm not disappointed in any way with either of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Preacher Posted September 13, 2015 Author Members Share Posted September 13, 2015 I've been curious about those for a long time based upon reputation. Enjoy! Very cool! While I'm a big fan of their pedals' date=' I really don't have much experience with Tech 21's amplifiers - they have a great rep though. Happy New Amp Day! [/quote'] Thanks! There's not a whole lot written about them, especially recently, but what I could find was almost all good assuming it's the kind of thing you're looking for. The XLR out makes it pretty dang versatile. Phil, thanks for your reviews of the Tech 21 character pedals, that's how I ended up with the Blonde and that was kind of a gateway product. Now if I could just scratch together the funds for a DLA.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badpenguin Posted September 13, 2015 Members Share Posted September 13, 2015 Congrats, and thanks for the intel on them! Always been curious about them, now I think it's safe to say, I may have to have one myself soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Preacher Posted September 14, 2015 Author Members Share Posted September 14, 2015 Congrats' date=' and thanks for the intel on them! Always been curious about them, now I think it's safe to say, I may have to have one myself soon![/quote'] Thanks! My understanding is that it is a Sansamp GT2 + the following: power amp, speaker, effects loop (!), XLR out. Great for bedroom playing, recording, small gigs or gigs where you can go amp-to-board with the direct out. Definitely worth a tryout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 Thanks! There's not a whole lot written about them, especially recently, but what I could find was almost all good assuming it's the kind of thing you're looking for. The XLR out makes it pretty dang versatile. Phil, thanks for your reviews of the Tech 21 character pedals, that's how I ended up with the Blonde and that was kind of a gateway product. Now if I could just scratch together the funds for a DLA.... You're welcome. Thanks for reading. Glad to hear you like the Blonde too. I'm definitely a fan of the Character series - all three of the ones I've tried are first-rate. Same for the rest of the Tech 21 gear I've used. And they're good people too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted September 18, 2015 Members Share Posted September 18, 2015 I have one of those two that I bought about 5 years ago or so. I like it too EXCEPT, I've had trouble with some popping sounds when I have the volume cranked up. I've never been able to figure out if it's some sort of clipping or if the speaker is bottoming out, etc. Have you heard anything like that on yours?? I may very well have gotten a lemon, but unfortunately it got added to my collection and I put it aside rather than addressing the issue with the store or mfr. BUT, other than that, I agree it's a nice tone machine. For quite some time, it was my favorite practice amp. After that I binged a bit on buying other smaller low watt amps, so it got slightly lost in the crowd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Preacher Posted September 18, 2015 Author Members Share Posted September 18, 2015 Sorry to hear that, GAS Man. I haven't heard anything like that on mine. Apparently the problem the previous owner was experiencing was an episode of no sound, not popping sounds. Still, he sent me a copy of the email correspondence between he and TECH 21 support; here's a snippet: There are a couple more things you can try. Take a standard guitar cable and plug it into the send and return jacks of the efx loop and try the amp. You can also test the speaker but it seems unlikely it is blown unless you were playing at a really high level. To test the speaker take a 9 volt batter and touch one of the terminals to the plus side of the speaker and the other terminal to the negative lead of the speaker. You should hear the speaker make a sound and the cone will move. If you have DeOxit cleaner you can spray a small amount into the efx send and return jacks as well as the 4 ohm and headphone outputs. Then take a standard 1/4" cable and work it in and out of the jacks. Let us know how you make out. It's possible if that doesn't do it that there is a mechanical problem and one of the jacks may need to replaced in which case it's best if we repair it. Regards, Chris/Product manager Tech 21 USA, Inc. 790 Bloomfield Ave., Bldg. B Clifton, NJ 07012 973 777 6996 973 777 9899 Fax www.tech21nyc.com In the email the previous owner disclosed that he had bought it used but Tech 21 still helped him out, you might have similar success running it by Tech 21 support, they seem to have a pretty good reputation. Hope you can get it worked out, I agree it is something of a little tone machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted September 18, 2015 Members Share Posted September 18, 2015 Thanks for the info Preacher. I'll pull that amp back out and play around with it a bit to see if I can figure out what's going on. IIRC there's a speaker out, so if it still makes an extension cab have some of the popping sound, then I'll be able to narrow it down to the electronics. And thanks for the contact info! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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