Amp suggestions?

[blueballoon]

I used to hang around here quite a bit and trust this community's suggestions. I am in need of a nice home use amp for recording. I have used a Mesa F-50 when I used to perform and love the clean and od on it, but it's much too loud for my current needs. My rig is an old mij Mustang>old dirt transmitter> hm2>timebender/dl4. I want nice cleans and the option for some power tube overdrive. Price isnt a huge factor, but under 1k used or new would be nice. Any adcice? Crystal lettuce? I play some Kinsella esque stuff....EITS, MTB, etc. Thanks!

[Phil O'Keefe]

Princeton Reverb reissue? IMHO, they're one of the best recording / home use amps around. 12-15W, so they can still get pretty loud - but nothing like the F-50. They have world-class cleans, and you can crank it up to get some grit happening too, although they really need a pedal pushing them to get maximum grindage.

[thom]

If those abbreveations mean what I think they mean, we've got a verry silmilar taste in music. If we've got the same taste in amps, Phi'ls PRR might be right on the money.

I'm personally more of a vox guy though, so I guess you might try an ac15 as well...

[Trick Fall]

If I had our needs and budget the Princeton and AC15 are the first two amps I'd try.

[blueballoon]

Princeton Reverb reissue? IMHO' date=' they're one of the best recording / home use amps around. 12-15W, so they can still get pretty loud - but nothing like the F-50. They have world-class cleans, and you can crank it up to get some grit happening too, although they really need a pedal pushing them to get maximum grindage.[/quote']

 

I like the sound of "world class cleans." That's a huge priority for me. I always thought the F-50 had some nice, Fendery cleans so I will definitely find somewhere to try this out. The only OD I have is a Dirt Transmitter, I will have to tote that to a store to try it out for sure. That's been my go-to OD/Fuzz for years now and I am hesitant to switch it up. Thanks for your advice, I appreciate it!

 

 

 

[blueballoon]

If those abbreveations mean what I think they mean, we've got a verry silmilar taste in music. If we've got the same taste in amps, Phi'ls PRR might be right on the money.

I'm personally more of a vox guy though, so I guess you might try an ac15 as well...

 

Probably! I like stuff like Minus the Bear, Explosions in the Sky, American Football, Braid, etc...I used to run an AC30 head through a nice 2x12 cab back in the day and LOVED the dirt, esp with a line boost in front of it. Man, that thing was LOUD! Are the new AC15s ok? I think I've heard people saying to get the British made ones but not sure if it really matters. Any idea?

[blueballoon]

If I had our needs and budget the Princeton and AC15 are the first two amps I'd try.

 

Sounds like it! Thanks man!!

 

I appreciate all your replies, guys!!

[t_e_l_e]

a princeton reverb or a ac15 are great suggestions

but they are loud, gig worthy loud, can compete with a drummer loud.

 

its hard to suggest anything, cause you might define what your current need is?

if you are in need for a bedroom amp, forget those two and all tube amps above 5w

 

yes they are great "home recording" amps, but still they need a home where you can use the volume knob and the neigbours or your wife is not calling the police when you start playing

[thom]

 

Probably! I like stuff like Minus the Bear, Explosions in the Sky, American Football, Braid, etc...I used to run an AC30 head through a nice 2x12 cab back in the day and LOVED the dirt, esp with a line boost in front of it. Man, that thing was LOUD! Are the new AC15s ok? I think I've heard people saying to get the British made ones but not sure if it really matters. Any idea?

 

Dude...You should totally be in a band with me.

 

Anyway, I've never messed with a british made vox, but from what I've read they're not particularly more reliable than the new stuff that's made in China. I've got an ac15 C2, the 2x12 version. Haven't had it long enough to comment on the durability or anything, but for the money it sounds great. Loud and em...voxy:)

 

 

[popus]

What about a [h=1]Blackstar ID:30 1x12?[/h]

[Phil O'Keefe]

I haven't tried that particular Blackstar - sorry.

 

I do like the AC15 a lot too. I have one of those (an older AC15cc1 - the current model is cooler IMO), and I like to run it with one of my Princetons (I have an early 70s Princeton Amp, and a early 80s Princeton Reverb II) in stereo. As t_e_l_e said, both can get pretty darned loud - just about loud enough to hang with a drummer... but noticeably less than what an F-50 can do. A 5W amp can get pretty loud too, so it really depends on what your needs are and how noise-sensitive your neighbors and housemates are.

[thom]

Yeah, when it comes to neighbor-friendly recording in an appartement or something, I would go with something as small and quiet as possible. Even 5 Watt may be a problem if you want to sound great AND want to do late night recording sessings. So I guess it depends on how tolerant your nighbors are and on when/how/how much you actually want to record.

 

I've got an Ultimate Attenuator laying around that I use at home, works great as long as you don't completely choke your amp with it. In hindsight, I guess it would've made more sense for me to just spend that attenuator money on a 5 watt amp, or to spend a little extra on a combo that has some sort of build in attenuation.

[T ned]

Ever consider software? I've been using Guitar Rig for home recording, and been happy with it.

[WRGKMC]

An Epiphone Valve Jr is a cool low watt tube amp.

You can buy the head separately or as a combo.

There's a bunch of simple mods you can do to them too.

http://www.bitmomodkits.com/servlet/...-Jr/Categories

 

 

http://medias.audiofanzine.com/image...ead-349302.jpg

 

I use mostly Guitar preamp/effects units recording solo stuff.

They sound just like an amp if they have speaker emulation and you can get a huge variety of

tones from them without haven't to crank an amp up.

 

I have one of these older units and I can dial out thousands of different tones and effects combinations.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/181355946054?lpid=82

You can get the matching midi expression pedal for it as well.

 

Here's some other options.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/rocktron-prophesy-2-prophesy-ii-preamp-with-effects-processor-tons-of-gain-/151259185887?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item2337c002df

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SWEET-Digitech-GSP-21-Guitar-Preamp-Effects-Processor-/161165148658?pt=US_Signal_Processors_Rack_Effects&hash=item25863101f2

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ROCKTRON-VOODU-VALVE-ONLINE-GUITAR-DSP-PREAMP-MULTI-EFFECTS-PROCESSOR-USA-/141214002479?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item20e102ad2f

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/YAMAHA-FX770-Guitar-Effect-Processor-Rack-Mount-FX-Multieffects-Preamp-DI-Delay-/321326089594?pt=US_Signal_Processors_Rack_Effects&hash=item4ad087057a

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DigiTech-GSP1101-Guitar-Multi-Effects-Preamp-Processor-/291096334395?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43c6b1903b

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DIGITECH-2120-Artist-Tube-Guitar-Preamp-Effects-Processor-Cabinet-Emulator-/141140767606?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item20dca53376

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LEXICON-MPX-G2-GUITAR-MULTIPLE-EFFECTS-PROCESSOR-PREAMP-VERY-CLEAN-MINTY-LQQK-/301132330582?pt=US_Signal_Processors_Rack_Effects&hash=item461ce2b656

 

A small guitar amp can be cool too but you're much more limited to the amps optimal tone when recording and the room its recorded in, the mic

and the loudness is a problem tracking with headphones. I keep about 4 or 5 Preamps in a rack, then use a patch bay to swap them out for recording.

I use my studio monitors as amp speakers to hear what I'm tracking and to dial up the exact tones I want for the recording. A regular amp can take a lot more work getting your sound when you're doing the recording yourself unless you stick the amp and mic inside a padded iso box. Then you can hear what's coming

through the monitors with the amp cranked up like a pro studio does in the control room where they haven't got the amp blasting in their face.

 

One other option is to use your existing amp and connect it to a smaller iso cab. An iso can uses a speaker cab on one side and a mounted mic on the other side.

You plug your speaker cable and mic into the box and you can record the miced speaker from any head. You can make your own but resonance in a tight chamber like that can be an issue if it doesn't have the right air volume.

[groovezilla]

Fender Blues DeVille are great.

[groovezilla]

And of course, the Super Reverbs

[thom]

Not sure if it's doable under $1K, but if I'm not mistaking, those Vox HW amps all have a half power mode...

 

Meaning you could hook up an AC15 HW to an iso cab, flip the switch so it runs at 7,5 watts, and record stuff that sounds a zillion times better than any modeling amp or software amp sim:)

 

In normal mode, those 15watt should be more than enough for rehearsels and small gigs, especially with an extention cab. You'll even get the tubes nice and hot, to the point where the amp'll sound better than an AC30 with the volume way way down:)