Amp Journey Thread

[express50express]

Here is a journey of my amps. Thought this would be interesting to hear what others owned, liked, or disliked.

1. Fender Blues Deville 4 x 10 - Too loud, harsh sounding, and simply grew tired of it.

2. Fender Hot Rod Deluxe - Purchased new and Probably would have kept it longer but it broke, and was still under warrenty so I just returned the amp.

3. 65 Twin Reverb Reissue - Everyone knows how loud and clean this beast is, and it sounds great. Probably the best clean ever for me, and the best platform for pedals. Compared to the Blues Deville and HRD, I was suprised at how managable the volume was at bedroom levels, didn't really jeapordize tone no matter what volume. No annoying volume jump like the Devile and HRD. The trade-off is, you need pedals. It was a great amp accept for the fact that it also broke down on me. I really think new fenders are hit or miss these days with quality.

4. Sold the 65 Twin and got a Mesa Boogie Express 5:50 Combo and then converted to a head. Pretty cool amp actually, but the sound was a little too sterile for my taste, and again, grew tired of it, and sold it.

5. Sometime in between the Twin and the Express I purchased on craigslist for 200 bucks a Pro Junior with JJ's and an Eminance RamRod speaker - Why the F did I sell that amp after a year!!!!! Probably the coolest, best, and most simple amp I've ever owned, I didn't appreciate it at the time, and let it go. I guess I could pick one up again. I like reverb though, and don't want to mess with a Pedal for it.

6. Next was a Mesa Boogie Mark III Combo Purple Stripe. Purchased last year from a 70 year old man that never let this thing out of his house, and was in prestine condition. All original paperwork, even all his written corespondence back and forth to the reps at Mesa building his amp for him. Back then, everything was custom ordered. I still own this amp, not letting it go. I had a custom head build for it, only becasue the EVM speaker in the combo is just massive. Pound per inch this combo wins. Overall, I think I like that amp, but the overall sounds that come out of this amp are "stiff" sounding. The reverb works, but the $300 Super Champ X2 I now own blows it away.

7. Had a Deluxe Reverb with a Weber 12F150 and added a mid pot and negative feedback control. It was ok. I sold it because I had to buy a Gibson SG.

8. On an impulse someone sold me a Fender Blues Junior with Bill Mods already performed and an Eminance Texas Heat speaker, hoping I could recreate the Pro Junior I loved, with added reverb. I'm happy I didn't pay much for it becasue its nothing special. Nothing against Bill Mods, but I think I like stock better. Anyone interested in buying it off me

9. Finally, I purchased a Fender Super Champ X2. I really only use Channel 1, not into Channel 2 with all the modeling. Channel 1 is great classic fender tone, use it as low volume, and it takes pedals great. Highly recommend this amp.

So I currently own the Mark III, Blues Junior (trying to sell) and Super Champ X2.

After all of this, the Super Champ X2 Combo (stock) is probably my all around favorite amp. I don't play in a band anymore, so any lack of power hasn't been an issue for me yet.

[Poster]

Cool man. Where to begin  .... could take a while.

[Buffered]

I like the idea of this thread.

1. Fender Hot Rod deluxe - First tube amp, Dad got it for me and it was a great pedal platform.

2. Mesa Mark III - traded the Hot Rod for it, and it broke down after a week so I really didn't have a lot of time to spend with it. Great tone though. I should've just had it repaired.

3. Fender Twin '65 RI - Like Express said, this thing is a tank! Great cleans, but having to haul around a big board of pedals was a pain. If I strictly played jazz or clean funk - this amp would be fine. Mine also broke down, actually.

4. Mesa Nomad 45 - Traded the Twin + cash for this, decent channel switch with usable tones. I just didn't gel with it as I thought I would when I saw the specs.

5. Traynor YCV40 WR - Great amp! Installed some NOS tubes and a Cannabis Rex and it actually was a great gigging amp - very reliable. It was kind of polishing a turd in the sense of adding all that stuff but the amp sounded good. Dirt channel was a lot better than the others...

6. Supersonic 22 - Solid amp, but had issues that the V1's of that line have - noisy reverb, shitty effects loop. Sold it for a DRRI.

7. DRRI - great amp for apartments and jams, but not enough headroom for me.

8. Groove Tubes Soul O 45 - Got as a combo, converted to a head and it was the best pedal platform and suited my needs really well. Needs change.

-Sold most of my Dirt, Reverb, Comp, and side gear for channel switchers-

9. Fuchs ODS 50 mod - Fender hot rod deluxe chassis with Dumble esque guts. Built in dumbleator works great for my delay. Really nice amount of power with great headroom but also a fat OD circuit. Still playing around with preamp tubes, I was to try the Mullard next but I'm really happy with it. Nice grab and go too. Smooth is an understatement. I also like how it's extremely easy to bias. I mainly use the clean channel set up for a Kimock

10. Mesa Boogie Express 5:25+ head: Saw a store demo model for $899 and I bit, but Im really happy so far with it. Can cop similar tones to the dumble but with much more gain on tap. 5 watt setting is good for home, but Im still getting the hang of the "Blues" channel.

[express50express]

Damn you, now I want an express 5:25+! Sell everything!!!!!!!!!

[Jkendrick]

1. Some Peavy SS shit

2. MkIII

(Stop playing in a band)

3. Blues Jr.

4. Fender Champion (practice amp only)

5. THD UniValve



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Buffered]

Damn you, now I want an express 5:25+! Sell everything!!!!!!!!!

I don't think you'll regret it! So nice having a Boogie back in the jam cavern.

[Heady Jam Fan]

Here is a good portion of them:

Fender Princeton 65 Reverb

2X Fender Super Champ XD - even tried with larger cabs and upgraded speakers, but it was not my thing.

2X Fender Blues Junior + 2 PA speakers for delay & reverb - tried several of these, some modded and some stock. An upgraded output transformer, speaker and tubes made the biggest improvement out of the things I tried.

Fender Blackface Bassman + 2 PA speakers for modulation, delay & reverb - bought it from an amp tech, it was one of his personal amps and was originally wired similar to a Dumble, but had it switched back to stock on the instrument channel and the bass channel was modded to an overdrive channel. It was in a 112 cabinet with an Eminence Red Fang, but I found it too bassy and sometimes ran out of headroom.

Mesa MKIII (which I still have)

Fender Silverface Deluxe Reverb - Got it as a grab-n-go alternative to the MKIII

Mesa Express Plus 5:25 - Replaced my SFDR because I wanted something light, but with a fatter clean like my MKIII. Loved it at the shop (after testing it for about 5 hours), but couldn't jive with it at home even after speaker and tube swaps.

*Put both my Mesa's in rackmounts and paired various speakers in 212 cabs*

Fender Silverface Twin Reverb Head - Replaced the 5:25, but found the 6L6's too sterile/hi-fi, way more bass than I needed so I sold it.

Fender Blues Junior - Got it in a trade, a limited edition with a C Rex, sold it soon after.

Fender Silverface Deluxe Reverb - Still rockin' this, nearly original aside from some changed caps, speaker, NOS tubes, I fixed the tremolo clicking problem amps of this era had, removed the V1 tube, shorted the trem jack so its always on. Great grab-n-go, but doesn't have enough headroom for my band, so I use a Badcat unleash with it. I also found the amp sounds a bit thin with the bass knob under 3, but a bit muddy with the bass knob at 3 or higher, so I'm using a high-pass filter in the effect loop of the Badcat Unleash. I'm also using a Hemp Cone, 100w, Ceramic Weber Blue Dog with Pre-Rola doping - a very dark speaker, but the DR has plenty of treble on tap, and with the HPF controlling the bass, the amp is pretty midrangey.

[express50express]

Damn you, now I want an express 5:25+! Sell everything!!!!!!!!!

I don't think you'll regret it! So nice having a Boogie back in the jam cavern.

Ya, it's a bit pricey. I like the Mark III boogie i have, I just need to soften it up a bit (if that makes any sense to anyone). It feels/sounds very stiff sounding. Not has dynamic as a fender. This amp really enhances every mistake! Can't hide a thing.

[No Nice Guy]

Here's mine:

1.  Marshall MG15:  Cheap SS which came with me first Squire Strat

2.  Line 6 Spider IV:  You know this one

3.  Ibanez TSA15H:  First tube amp, I should've gotten a better cabinet.  I had a terrible one, so I ended up selling it.

4.  Blues Jr:  Had it a little over a year.  Great little amp, I'm trying to trade it for another amp though.

[Poster]

1. vintage hi fi tube amp inherited from my father, modded take a 1/4 inch input into those old awesome white coned jbl 1x12 ported hi fi cabinets. That was my first amp modded by my dad's friend when I was like 10. Ended up being too fucking loud...

2. Fender Bullet Reverb SS 1x8? 1x10? combo amp had for forever, bought at the crack head consignment music in Memphis. Probably the best solid state guitar amp ever made. I thought it was nostalgia that made me so loyal at first, but I encountered another one in college, years later, and across the country, and the thing sounded fucking great. Totally grab one if you see one, kinda rare these days. First one was burned in a campfire, second was given to a student on loan.

3. Peavey Classic 30 2x12 Tweed - Pretty great amp for having stock everything is piss pouring out of my guitar

4. Peavey EVH 5150 and matching 4x12 cabinet - Used mainly with a variety of electric mandolins in my college band in vermont

5. Hot Rod Deluxe I 2x12 combo (modded with torress mods for everything) -> Hartke 4 x 12 bass cabinet - some singer songwriter dude bought it from me in Memphis for 750 dollars. I had put some of the hartke speakers actually in the combo by that time, he loved it! I did not.

5. Peavey Classic 50 4x10 new tubes, tube tamer. Pretty sweet cheapy amp. Did the rage against the machine thing pretty spot on somehow. El84's i think were in there. Heavy as shit, but super loud. Reverb wasn't complete crap.

6. Matchless Clubman Head plaid tolex stock w/ lopo 2x12 open back cab - lit on fire at the Antenna Club during a nautilus set. Should have kept it as a trophy, ended up throwing it into the dump behind the club as it was too rank and hot to put in my car lol. More hilarious is that this was housed in this enormous fucking 4x12 plus tube head ata roadcase I had bought for some reason (you are reading that right a 2x12 in a giant 4x12 case). So I wheel this sub zero fridge sized thing into this old club, and it is just fucking ridiculous big, the head is protected by inches of shockmount foam etc. And it just burst into flames about 30 minutes into the set! LOL. Needless to say, I never played another matchless. I got it second hand but yeah, that actually happened.

7. Dr Z Wreck head stock - Bought and returned to Martin Music. Loved it less than half the time. This is around the time I took on alot of amps trying to figure out my own sound with different circuits and tube compliments, lots of ebaying shit at a loss for the sake of experimentation...

8. Trainwreck Clone Head with power soak

9. Heritage Liberty Head with half watt mod

10. Heritage Freedom Head with assorted mods

11. Mesa Transatlantic Head and Matching Cabinet - worst amp Ive ever bought (technically fits after the reverbs below chronologically. got it right after they came out)

12. 02' DRRI with multiple mods, mid cut, feedback, etc tone tubby speaker replacement, re tube, tie dye silk grill cloth

13. 66? DR with purple silk batik grill, tone tubby, mid cut mod, and reverb disable mod (pull pot)

14. 2x Carr 6v head clones with higher output, couple mods to the reverb circuit, ie reverse feedback, hand picked tubes etc. Used one mainly (super loud and reliable only 1 road case big enough) second one sat at home and eventually went to a buddy.

15. 3x Lunch box handwired heads, 1 green plaid and blue lamp, 1 black with green light and green bird, and one tweed with a red light. All are dumble voiced fenderish amps. All vintage components where it matters, hand picked tubes, rock solid components, but all three have different circuits. Currently I only use the black and green bird one. Its like 60-70 tube watts, no reverb (none have reverb), and will peel your face off with clean tone. I had pieces of the Carr circuit included to I could get that slap your face responsiveness. There is only 1 volume, T M B, and a very interesting set of presence knob + toggle switch that kinda can take this thing all over the place. Anyway, the green plaid and blue is a gainy version of the other two if that makes any sense. Super fucking loud, but articulate klonish breakup. At least thats whats modded into the circuit. I'm hoping to have a full sized reverb head wired up eventually to use with all three of them. Also hoping the tweed will turn into a backup for blackie mc greentown.

16. Fender Mustang I practice modeling amp. I sawed off the bottom of the combo and turned it into a little portable headphone type head for practicing on a fender model. Pretty damn sweet. Sparks flew, girls cried, but eventually the people rejoiced. Fucking thing sounds great for being a plastic chinese piece of shit. Isnt alot to break in there unless you get the PCB cracked or water damaged. Dig being able to tweak it on a computer

(im missing about 3 amps, and bunch of cabinets in there, speaker swaps, mods etc, Ill add to it as I have some time! Can anybody reimburse me for buying all that shit?)


Notes so far: Why in the fuck are you guys gigging Fender RI gear before taking it to a tech? Not smart. If you cant afford it, take um in FIRST, let somebody go in there and make sure the chinese didn't put one of those please help us letters on the board first.

[express50express]

Here's mine:

1.  Marshall MG15:  Cheap SS which came with me first Squire Strat

2.  Line 6 Spider IV:  You know this one

3.  Ibanez TSA15H:  First tube amp, I should've gotten a better cabinet.  I had a terrible one, so I ended up selling it.

4.  Blues Jr:  Had it a little over a year.  Great little amp, I'm trying to trade it for another amp though.

Dude, you sold me your Ibanez amp. I forgot to put it on my list. Funny how we forget how much stuff we have owned.

[Down_With_Sco]

1. Fender 15w starter-amp

2. Marshall solidstate MGfx 50w 1x12 combo

3. Fender Hot-Rod Deluxe 40w 1x12 combo tube amp

Would like to get a Mesa 1x12 combo.

[Arafel]

Cool thread. Here is my list:

1) Blues Jr. Bought it stock, swapped out the stock speaker for a Weber and that improved the sound. Liked the amp, and it worked for my first few shows, but eventually, I needed more volume as I started playing in bands with loud drummers.

2) Hot Rod Deville 4x10. A pretty good amp, a little heavy, but I used it for several years.

3) Twin Reverb 65RI. Got this one in exchange for dog sitting for a friend for three weeks. Love this amp and still have it. Have had the tubes swapped out for some NOS. After I got this amp, I sold both the Blues Jr. and the HRD4x10.

4) Bogner New Yorker. Got it on Craigs List in exchange for a Telebration Tele that I wasn't playing much. As much as I love the TR, it's a beast; the only way I could get it around was on a dolly, and in some practice situations, I find it too loud. The New Yorker is a great amp; I was a little leery of getting something without reverb, but find I don't miss it, and if I really want it, I have two delay channels, and I've set one to a very light slapback that mimics reverb.

So, currently the Bogner is my main amp, and I have the TR in reserve.

[the_great_lemon]

Cool thread idea Express!

1) Fender Frontman 15 - Just a little combo an 8" speaker or somethin.  Worked for practice purposes before my quest for THE TOANz began.

2) Crate XLS(?) 65 - A step up from the fender but still in solid state realm.  This is the amp i started to experiment with pedals on in particular I used an SD-1 stacked into a Seymour Duncan Twin Tube Classic.  Worked remarkably well for the harder classic rock I was playing at the time.  (Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Sabbath, etc.)

3) Peavey Valveking 100 - My first tube amp!  I experimented heavily using this with a myriad of pedals (mostly drive) including a DS-1, SD-1, BD-2, Graphic EQ and Carbon Copy.  I used this for over 50 gigs over 2.5 years before I grew extremely tired of the clean channel, which was lifeless to begin with, and the overly crunchy and scratchy drive channel.  The EQ in the loop helped for a while though...

4) Epiphone Valve Jr Halfstack - I still use this to record regularly.  I find it blends really really well with my main amp (blues jr.) in a studio setting.

5) ADA MP-1 preamp - I hooked this up to both the Valveking and Crate as a studio tool for getting epic and extremely 80's metal tones.  It even has a built in chorus unit 

6) Fender Blues Jr NOS - My main amp to this day and it is still bone-stock minus some tube changes.  I've been flirting with the idea of upgrading the transformers to Mercury but the labor and parts costs at my tech would be quite expensive.  Still a consideration for late summer after I make some money though....

7) Ampeg GT-5 - Picked it up used and on sale at Sam Ash for 99 bucks.  The cabinet rattles a bit with C# and a low E but I mostly ignore it    It's plenty loud to keep up with a dynamic drummer which is a plus considering I just us it in my dorm room at the moment.  I want to replace the 10" speaker that comes standard but haven't really looked into it too much...any suggestions?

[No Nice Guy]

Forgot to add one:

Ampeg BA-115 - Saw a listing for a bass amp on craigslist for 50 bucks, decided I couldn't say no.  I taught myself bass on it (then subsequently forgot it after I moved away from my bass/bass amp).  Great little thing, used on a few albums some friends have thrown out.