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List Your All-Time Favorite Amp - and Why


GAS Man

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Thread concept - try to list the amp you've bought or own that was a winner for you and that might be of interest to folks at various price points. I.e. does't have to be top of the market heap.

 

Also - try to list what you've owned so readers will get an idea of what your reference point is.

 

 

 

For me so far, it's

 

Vox AD60VTX

 

vAD60VTXo.jpg

 

Why -

 

Great Touch Dynamics - it really responds well with a quick thunking attack - probably the Celestion Neodymium NeoDog speaker deserves a lot of credit for that.

 

Good tone control, I usually have the tones flat or even have to back off some of the bass, so it's not lacking tweakability across the EQ

 

Great compact features of multitudes of OD/distortion and modulation effects free me of stomp box clutter.

 

So far, good reliability (although I read that's not always the case with these)

 

#1: Every guitar of mine that I've plugged into it sounds good or better than my expectation. The amp brings out the vibe in every guitar I've plugged into it.

 

 

My references

Sunn Stinger 60

Peavey Bandit

Vox AD50VT

Fender Super 112

Marshall VS8080 (least liked)

Fender Pro Junior

Fender DRRI

Fender '65 Twin RI

Marshall ASR80

Roland JC120

+ some smaller practice amps

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The best amp I've ever owned is a 1957 Fender Twin Amp. I sold it years ago before they became valuable. I bought it for $100 in the mid 70's... someone had tried to make it look more modern by painting the tweed black and spraying the grill cloth silver. I managed to get it back to original but it still looked pretty rough.

 

Nothing I've ever played sounds as good as that amp. Turned to 7 it would just sing. You wouldn't want to ruin the tone by putting anything between your guitar and the amp (didn't hurt that I had a 1960 ES-345 at the time). As a point of comparison I also had a silverface Twin Reverb at that time, and played various Ampegs, Sunns, etc.

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my BEST amp ever:

 

Line6 Flextone II XL 100 watt 2x12 combo

 

- from clean to blues to classic rock to metal, it can do it all, and more importantly, do it well. I can play at bedroom volumes, or bother the neighbors across the street. :eek::D It can easily keep up with a drummer, and can fit in the backseat of my Jeep. I can even hook it up to my computer via midi-to-usb...

 

l_a0d744cae98bd18a00acf49f504ee7d8.jpg

 

I LOVE it!

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For me, Fender Deluxe Reverb RI, definitely. Previous amps I have owned/own include a Mesa Boogie Single Recto, Peavey Classic 20, and Fender Princeton 65 (SS), and a Roland MicroCube. I am also very familiar with the Fender '59 Bassman RI.

 

Why I like it? Beautiful, rich clean sound that really brings out the "strattines" in Strats if you know what I mean. Warm low end and sparkling highs. Best clean in the price class, without question. Takes pedals really well too.

 

It also has the PERFECT amount of power. It is voiced so that it can get over the mix in a band (and we're a 6 or 7 piece, depending who's around!), but it can't get TOO loud - built in volume control. On 5 it's getting nice powertube crunch, but you can back off the volume for clean easily or hit it with a pedal and it roars. It's also easy on the back as far as lugging it around goes.

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Best period? That would be my old Kasha Rockmod II/Marshall EL84 20/20 rack setup. Quiet enough to practice with, but definitely loud enough to gig with. I've had a bunch of rack setups over the years, and that was the most practical of the bunch- the others were just too big and loud for most venues I'd ever play at.

 

Best non-rack amp? A hotrodded Marshall Jubilee 50 watt head that was my main amp for a couple years...

 

ew

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So far my favorite is my 60's Epiphone Galaxie. It isn't powerful enough to gig with, but perfect for recording.

 

 

I have one of those too!!! A guitar store owner pointed it out to me and told me to plug in. I bought it that day!! No tone knob... don't need one!

 

In time the speaker started frizzing a bit so after some research I replaced it with a a Weber equivalent to a Jensen PR10. It was a good choice.

 

Those 6AQ5A output tubes are absolutely great. I also have a Musicmaster Bass amp with those output tubes and I put a Celestion Alnico Blue in it. Absolutely incredible. 6AQ5As are very available NOS tubes at bargain prices. Some 'boutique' builder needs to make an amp with the stepchild 6AQ5A output tubes. They are truly fine!

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My favorite amp I've ever played through is my father-in-laws 60s Vox AC30. Nails that British Invasion tone (of course). My favorite that I've owned is my new Tweed Deluxe Clone. :D This amp does not hide anything. Every nuance of your playing comes through. It's as true of an amp as I've ever played.

 

IMG_7700.jpg

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weak by comparison to many here, my favorite thus far was my sovtek midget. simple, good near fender clean, good crunch.

 

i've got a a fender clone i built that i haven't really played that sounds good, but its not exactly for an apartment at 35 watts. i've got a '67 showman i've yet to plug in while trying to work speaker trades for my cab i have for it. i've got a tweed super hybrid on the back burner. i

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