Is it just me?

[strayGoat]

Does anyone else ever - often? - set out to find a particular piece of gear, only to trip across something else entirely that suddenly you MUST have? And you basically end up saying to hell with the original thing you'd decided you *needed*?

 

Current case. I've been looking for a practice amp. Been using a Fender Mustang for about six years, and I've just never liked the thing. I have no use for 99% of the modeling hooha or preset function, and I'm just not crazy about SS amps in general. But the thing has a headphone jack, and I can slap an MP3 player into it, so WTF. Recently, when I started looking for kind of an upgrade, I came across a few tube models in the 1 to 5W range (I'm a big fan of little 5W Class A fuggers) capable of accommodating headphones as well as an MP3 player... I damn near pulled the trigger this morning.

 

And then someone mentioned the Supro 1605R... And holy crap! The demos are awesome. It's twice as much $ as I wanted to spend, and would be useless for soundless practice. But I'm in love with the thing. So much so that I'm thinking, "Screw it, I can live with the Mustang another year or two for practice..."

 

Have not pulled the trigger yet. I usually do this. My tiny GAS-gripped brain has already decided to pull the trigger, but the sane part of me forces a short waiting period during which I fool myself into thinking I'm actually considering not buying the thing...

 

Am I the only one who does this ridiculous crap?

[DeepEnd]

Not exactly but sometimes I find something I don't remotely need and start wanting it, just because.

[Chordite]

 

 

George Best, an English soccer player was asked where his money went. He replied

I spent most of it on Women, Booze and Fast Cars, the rest I wasted.

 

[Mikeo]

Does anyone else ever - often? - set out to find a particular piece of gear, only to trip across something else entirely that suddenly you MUST have? And you basically end up saying to hell with the original thing you'd decided you *needed*?

 

Current case. I've been looking for a practice amp. Been using a Fender Mustang for about six years, and I've just never liked the thing. I have no use for 99% of the modeling hooha or preset function, and I'm just not crazy about SS amps in general. But the thing has a headphone jack, and I can slap an MP3 player into it, so WTF. Recently, when I started looking for kind of an upgrade, I came across a few tube models in the 1 to 5W range (I'm a big fan of little 5W Class A fuggers) capable of accommodating headphones as well as an MP3 player... I damn near pulled the trigger this morning.

 

And then someone mentioned the Supro 1605R... And holy crap! The demos are awesome. It's twice as much $ as I wanted to spend, and would be useless for soundless practice. But I'm in love with the thing. So much so that I'm thinking, "Screw it, I can live with the Mustang another year or two for practice..."

 

Have not pulled the trigger yet. I usually do this. My tiny GAS-gripped brain has already decided to pull the trigger, but the sane part of me forces a short waiting period during which I fool myself into thinking I'm actually considering not buying the thing...

 

Am I the only one who does this ridiculous crap?

 

 

I was a while ago that Sweetwater had those Supro 1605R's priced at 699 or something like that. I think it was a mistake and they are now at a grand.

 

If you want one call em see what they say. I think they sold out what they had too.

 

 

I have a few small amps, Gibson GA 5, Marshall Class 5 combo, the Fender PRRI, and Fender BJ Limited.

 

The last amp I bought for practicing was a Yamaha THR 10 Classic. 5.

 

I can plug in my guitar and head phones and not bother a soul at 11pm. Aux from my computer and I'm rockin.

 

 

 

 

[strayGoat]

 

 

I was a while ago that Sweetwater had those Supro 1605R's priced at 699 or something like that. I think it was a mistake and they are now at a grand.

 

If you want one call em see what they say. I think they sold out what they had too.

 

 

I have a few small amps, Gibson GA 5, Marshall Class 5 combo, the Fender PRRI, and Fender BJ Limited.

 

The last amp I bought for practicing was a Yamaha THR 10 Classic. 5.

 

I can plug in my guitar and head phones and not bother a soul at 11pm. Aux from my computer and I'm rockin.

 

 

 

 

I've always thought I would eventually get a GA-5 or a '57 Custom Champ. Just so far could never get myself to plunk down a grand or so... Yet. Something else always popped up that I wanted or needed more. I was completely unaware of the Supro, and the demos really grabbed me by the throat. The tonal range I always feel like I'm looking for is in variations of Keith Richards, and the 1605R just seems to be all over it. There is a simpler, no-reverb version for around 699, I think. The Super.

 

I'm not likely to get killed by my neighbors for making noise. I'm in an old pre-war building in NYC with walls no sound seems to penetrate, and my apt is on the 2nd floor over the building's garage, so no downstairs neighbors to drive insane. It's just my wife I have to worry about...

[nice keetee]

Since I have what I need, I usually wander my local music emporium until something catches my eyes/ears. I wander the aisles of stringed instruments and keyboards and...

[Axisplayer]

If I needed a low wattage practice amp, this would be it with zero hesitation. It is the practice version of my Valve 2-250.

My 2-250:

 

Handmade in Italy, quality along the lines of Matchless, Soldano, or Friedman, with tone to match. Not cheap, but stunning sound for a tiny amp. After I heard how it sounds like what I use, I want one for quiet practice.

 

 

 

 

 

And yes, I was not in the market for an amp when I found my Valve, but one listen and I took it home.

[strayGoat]

If I needed a low wattage practice amp, this would be it with zero hesitation. It is the practice version of my Valve 2-250.

My 2-250:

 

Handmade in Italy, quality along the lines of Matchless, Soldano, or Friedman, with tone to match. Not cheap, but stunning sound for a tiny amp. After I heard how it sounds like what I use, I want one for quiet practice.

 

 

 

And yes, I was not in the market for an amp when I found my Valve, but one listen and I took it home.

 

Wow, nice amps! Is the company out of business? Can't find their website.

 

 

 

[Phil O'Keefe]

I totally understand the GAS - the modern-era Supros are incredibly cool sounding amps.

 

 

You know you want it.... go on ...do it!! do it!!

 

 

But if your wife gets mad, don't blame it on me.

 

 

[strayGoat]

I totally understand the GAS - the modern-era Supros are incredibly cool sounding amps.

 

 

You know you want it.... go on ...do it!! do it!!

 

 

But if your wife gets mad, don't blame it on me.

 

 

I really don't think there's any way I can resist.

 

 

My wife may ultimately murder me over the noise, but not likely over the purchase itself. Thank GOD she's not a musician. So many guitars have come and gone over the years, she literally can't keep track of what's new and what's been around for a while. As long as she's not here when UPS shows up, I'm golden.

 

Famous last words?

 

Because it's not in stock yet, I've been poking around and have stumbled over brands and models I never knew existed (I know next to nothing about amps), including from this thread. Dr. Z, for example. Never heard of the brand before, but DAYUM! Nice amps.

[Axisplayer]

Unfortunately yes. They were great amps, and only went out of business recently. I emailed the owner (the guy who talks in the throwing it out the window video) and he assured me that support would always be around, as well as repair services, but sales were not enough. I suspect a lot of it was price. You saw what a 5 watt head sells for used. My amp was just under $3000 for a 2x12 45 watt combo, so not exactly cheap. I have to say I love it though. If you look on the European eBay, you can sometimes find some of them at decent prices, but they rarely show up in America. Thanks for the kind words though. Almost no one has ever heard of them in America.

[Phil O'Keefe]

Well as long as we're throwing things out there, did you read my Supro Comet review?

[strayGoat]

Well as long as we're throwing things out there' date=' did you read my Supro Comet review?

 

Doh! Nope, had no idea it was out there. Will check it out!

[Phil O'Keefe]

Let me know if you have any questions about it - it's a wickedly cool sounding little amp.

[Etienne Rambert]

It's a symptom of GAS I suspect.

 

I was shopping for a Mexican Jazzmaster or a Korean Guild Starfire III.

I saw the prices on US-made Les Pauls and gave one a try.

 

I'd never been interested in Les Pauls. Never wanted one.

But at the prices right now --- they're hard to pass up.

 

I got no vibrato w/the LP and I didn't get a hardshell case.

But I saved $200-300. And I really like the guitar.

 

[strayGoat]

It's a symptom of GAS I suspect.

 

I was shopping for a Mexican Jazzmaster or a Korean Guild Starfire III.

I saw the prices on US-made Les Pauls and gave one a try.

 

I'd never been interested in Les Pauls. Never wanted one.

But at the prices right now --- they're hard to pass up.

 

I got no vibrato w/the LP and I didn't get a hardshell case.

But I saved $200-300. And I really like the guitar.

 

I'm glad you like the guitar. For the price, even if you ultimately decide you hate the thing, it would be almost impossible to lose money selling it. This is one of the rationales I used to justify buying the double cut. But I actually love it.

 

I've always known I'd eventually have to have a LP. Virtually all my favorite music from childhood was recorded with either a Strat, a Tele or a Les Paul. Years ago, someone posted on one of the HC forums that if you were to ask any kid to draw a picture of an electric guitar, s/he would draw a Strat or a Les Paul. Not sure if this is true now, but if I were a kid, that's definitely what I'd do. And I already had a Strat...

 

I just figured I'd never be able to plunk down the $ for a LP [standard]. And then I get this email offering a truly indecent discount. Couldn't resist.

 

I really hate the idea of being "sold," but the sad truth is that I'm a ridiculously easy sell if the right button is pushed.

[strayGoat]

Let me know if you have any questions about it - it's a wickedly cool sounding little amp.

 

Very cool amp and nice review! Good attached demo as well.

 

No specific questions about the amp, but more generally I know almost nothing about tubes themselves, and I've been very curious about the crazy variety of manufacturers out there. Maybe that's a separate thread, or has been covered already (will take a look). But I've wondered for a long time whether there are dramatic differences between different makes of tubes (can the difference between a Telefunken 12AX7 and a JJ 12AX7 be easily detected blind?). And if so, what are the diffs? Or is it all hype?

[Phil O'Keefe]

I did an article on tube substitutions once, but not on the more corksniffery aspects of Mullards vs Telefunkens vs RCAs... short answer - yeah, there's a difference, but today it's hard to find truly NOS tubes, so it's more about getting good, quiet tubes that perform well... you really need to know your stuff before you start wading into the waters of old classic tubes or you can easily be swindled.

[onelife]

My wife and I were travelling when we stopped at a little mall for coffee. There was a guitar shop in the mall and I walked out with a Gibson ES-137 Custom. My wife picked up the coffees.

[crustoleum]

I had a Supro Super and a tweed Fender Champ when I was 12-13 years old no idea where they are now. I think my mom rip brought them to the "trading post" when I moved to the cape , along with the Champ and a mandolin...I still have my Stellas I did like that Supro was great the tweed was disintegrating on the Champ was great too 1950's I wonder what they are both worth today ? billions maybe lol

[hellion_213]

I do that almost every time I set about buying something. I was looking for a 2nd 4x12 this year and wound up snagging another Warlock, an 80s EPI Strat, a Digitech RP360, and a Peavey Supreme 160 along the way, lol. It happens but I did Finally snag a 2nd 4x12 - Fender, 90s w/70/80s, pretty killer, lol.

[strayGoat]

Nice! I nearly bought one almost a decade ago. One of the best values ever in Gibson's lineup, IMHO.

[DeepEnd]

. . . Because it's not in stock yet' date=' I've been poking around and have stumbled over brands and models I never knew existed (I know next to nothing about amps), including from this thread. Dr. Z, for example. Never heard of the brand before, but DAYUM! Nice amps. [/quote']

Back when I was still looking for a new amp I stumbled across an Albion TCT35 on CraigsList. Never heard of them before then or been in the same room with one AFAIK. Too much gear out there to keep track of it all.

[hellion_213]

Too much gear out there? Pffft, I call shenanigans! No such thing.......