Members tidalwaveGB Posted September 15, 2009 Members Share Posted September 15, 2009 I love and hate my Classic 30. I have upgraded the speaker and tubes, which improved things somewhat, but I still struggle with whether I should keep it. At the moment, I have it for sale on CL, for $300, but there have been no interested buyers yet. I am selling it because I mainly only use it for practice and recording in my apartment, and think a lower wattage amp with a more modern sounding lead channel would benefit me more. Thus, I have been scoping the Blackstar HT-5 combo as a replacement. I have heard plenty of impressive clips, and there appears to be mostly love for these in the forums and reviews I have checked out. So, the Classic 30 is on the chopping block, in order to help fund my next amp purchase. Being that my amp hasn't sold yet, I have spent some time with it, and have discovered that I am really having a love/hate relationship with the thing. A few days ago, I figured that I disliked the Classic 30 enough that I might as well let go of it. The lead channel is lacking the bite and crunch that I need to play convincing sounding metal riffs- it just sounds mushy to me, if that makes sense. If I throw my OD-3 in front of it, crank the level, keep gain low and max out the tone knob, I get a fantastic tone that fits my needs and style. The only problem is that I cannot keep this amp a low, apartment-friendly volume- its either loud or almost no sound at all. In a band, I'm sure it would work really nice, but I already have another amp to handle those duties. I need an at-home amp, and the Classic 30 is not cut out for this.I understand that the Classic 30 was not designed for my needs, although I really do like the clean channel. It also sounds much better with an EQ in the loop, and some compression. This leads to another issue: it needs pedals to sound its best. Sometimes I just wish I had a portable amp I could plug straight into, and have it sound great at lower volumes (i.e. for practice, and no need for pedals). The Classic 30 has turned out to not be this type of amp at all. So, in short....LOVE: Clean tones. Sounds great when pushed past breakup, and supplemented with an overdrive (same thing goes for the lead channel). Its been reliable for the most part, besides replacing tubes yearly. Its a fairly small amp, yet it can easily hold its own with a drummer and bass player. Definitely a great amp for playing clubs and other small-to-medium sized venues. I should also mention that it sounds even better when being pushed through a 4X12 cab. HATE: The amp is really lacking in the tone department at lower (conversation-level) volumes. The drive channel is pretty uninspiring, unless pushed with an overdrive. There is no standby switch, and it runs pretty hot. Its an open back amp, which takes away from low-end definition. It needs an OD pedal, and EQ and compressor to sound its best (to my ears, at least). Ok, enough bitching on my part. What is your "love/hate relationship" amp? Is there an amp that you often find yourself wanting to get rid of, but then end up keeping (for one reason or another)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sixtonoize Posted September 15, 2009 Members Share Posted September 15, 2009 I hate how my VTM sounds by itself in the room.I love how it sounds on tape and in a band mix. I've sold two already, and I'm not going to sell the one I have now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MightyThor Posted September 15, 2009 Members Share Posted September 15, 2009 I hate when an amp sounds really good and then I see it's a Line 6. BTW: CSB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thefyn Posted September 15, 2009 Members Share Posted September 15, 2009 Recto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tidalwaveGB Posted September 15, 2009 Author Members Share Posted September 15, 2009 Recto What don't you like about the Recto? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thefyn Posted September 15, 2009 Members Share Posted September 15, 2009 What don't you like about the Recto? Not tight enough. No sweet spot. Either not enough gain or too much. Mushy. Saggy. Horrendous leads. Cookie cutter sound. Most of all, I hate it for making me play Chevelle style riffs when I jam on one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sixtonoize Posted September 15, 2009 Members Share Posted September 15, 2009 Most of all, I hate it for making me play Chevelle style riffs when I jam on one. Which is funny, because their main amp is the Mark IV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thefyn Posted September 15, 2009 Members Share Posted September 15, 2009 Which is funny, because their main amp is the Mark IV. Along with rectos. I have a love hate with MKIV's too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vic Posted September 15, 2009 Members Share Posted September 15, 2009 rectos for sure love it one day hate it the next Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rvschulz Posted September 15, 2009 Members Share Posted September 15, 2009 if i have any amp which is not a LOVE relationship ... it's gone. period. then again, i ain;t poor, so it's kind of a no-brainer. ALSO, i don't need 37,954,365 different sounds, so a certain style of amp works for me. see sig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pioneerprogress Posted September 15, 2009 Members Share Posted September 15, 2009 I hate how my VTM sounds by itself in the room. I love how it sounds on tape and in a band mix. I've sold two already, and I'm not going to sell the one I have now. This pretty much sums up how I feel about my Triumph. Playing by myself, my HT-Dual rapes the tone I get from the Triumph's crunch channel.Then I decided to record with the Triumph on a whim.It records fabulously, and sits so perfectly well in the mix.Oh, and are you sure you don't want to sell your VTM? I accept returns :poke: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SnowStorm Posted September 15, 2009 Members Share Posted September 15, 2009 I have a love hate relationship with Rivera amps. The cleans sound Fenderish but with EL34's. The Drive channels are totally going after a Marshall but just don't get there. I want to love the amps but they just leave me unsatisfied. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sixtonoize Posted September 15, 2009 Members Share Posted September 15, 2009 Oh, and are you sure you don't want to sell your VTM? I accept returns :poke: Only if you promise to sell it back to me when I realize how stupid I was for selling it back to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tbdmlog Posted September 15, 2009 Members Share Posted September 15, 2009 my jmp. I kinda hate that you have to crank it to sound good. But, I love how it sounds when its cranked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pioneerprogress Posted September 15, 2009 Members Share Posted September 15, 2009 Only if you promise to sell it back to me when I realize how stupid I was for selling it back to you. I think I see a ponzi scheme we could cash in on here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tidalwaveGB Posted September 15, 2009 Author Members Share Posted September 15, 2009 my jmp. I kinda hate that you have to crank it to sound good. But, I love how it sounds when its cranked. Yeah, that's just about the ultimate example Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chrisjd Posted September 15, 2009 Members Share Posted September 15, 2009 Yes: Uber Dragon Rivera Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MalcolmTex Posted September 15, 2009 Members Share Posted September 15, 2009 My THD BiValve is like that. Sometimes it kicks ass, sometimes it has no dimension whatsoever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guidedbyechoes Posted September 15, 2009 Members Share Posted September 15, 2009 all my gear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MRAAJR Posted September 15, 2009 Members Share Posted September 15, 2009 Mark III and IV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sheik_Yerbouti Posted September 15, 2009 Members Share Posted September 15, 2009 Definitely my Tone-Master.Much more love than hate, at least on the drive channel, though.The clean channel on the other hand... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members White_Van Posted September 15, 2009 Members Share Posted September 15, 2009 My Einstein: I love everything about it except for the fact that I can't have it in my dorm. I tried last year, a {censored} show ensued. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members boatshoes Posted September 15, 2009 Members Share Posted September 15, 2009 my 6505+ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarman502 Posted September 15, 2009 Members Share Posted September 15, 2009 My Legacy is very much love/hate. It really depends on my mood. I love the clean channel and the lead channel is great for LEADS lol Rhythm is hit or miss a lot of the time. I'm thinking of getting a parametric eq like a Furman PQ3 to shape the toan for rhythm.Oh and the Reverb just broke!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ej Posted September 15, 2009 Members Share Posted September 15, 2009 The Red and Green channels on my Recto... The green channel sound sweet and fenderish sometimes, other times it sounds so weak and lame. Sometime the Red channel sounds PERFECT other times it sounds a fizzy. However, I love how it sits in the mix. Its yet to disappoint live. The orange channel however, i just LOVE. I've found such good settings for it, imo. Its just... wonderful. In the mix and when its just me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.