# Best amp, for now, so far, until the next...y'know



## Guest (Jun 3, 2009)

All right, I have to say that to me there's no such thing as best amp. But these I have to say really blew me away from all the rest. First the rest (part of it).

Pretty much all the Fenders, old, new, reissue, vintage/reissue/mod... LOL

All the Divided by 13's, the Swart (which I love) including the MkII with the 1x12 cab. Carol-Ann Od2 and Tucana. Savage, Elmwood, Matamp, Orange, Mad Professor, Garnet, Comet (a few models) and quite a few more.

But here is what really gets my juice pumpin' : 

Kingsley
Two-Rock (only the 10th anniversary, nothing else, no Sig... but too $$$)
and the last one is a Dumble (even more $$$$$ but man it sings)

That's it for me what about you !!!


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

My fave amps are the Matchless SC30 and the CAA OD-50 classic +......two different beasts.....no longer own the CAA but my fave EL34 amp....I have a Badger 30 on the way and we'll see if it passes the acid test..


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## Head (Feb 10, 2007)

I'd love to have a Marshall Silver Jubilee. Or a JTM-45.


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

I've owned 2 or 3 great amps over the years. The Traynor YGM-3 (Mark 3 aka traynor twin) is an absolutely great amp. It can be made better by adding better speakers. The Laney AOR Protube Lead 100 was absolutely devastating for punk and metal tones and it had a decent clean too. Those are probably the only 2 really good "name brand" amps I've had. My Mann (Garnet stencil) amp is pretty friggin' awesome too. You'll notice I have a preference for single channel amps though.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

I havent played enough amps to say.

amps I need to actually play on to hear for myself:

ENGL Invader, Savatage
VHT Sig:X, Pittbull UL w/ EQ
Mesa: dual rec roadster, mark III
Peavey: 5150II/6505+, JSX 50W, Classic 50 head, XXX
Laney: VH100R, AOR Pro Tube
Bogner: alchemist, uberschall, XTC
Orange: rockerverb 50, Thunderverb
Mako: Dorado, Mak2
Brunetti: 059, XL
Peters Halo/Hydra

All through my 412 with WGS British leads, and seeing how they react with my modded tubescreamer.


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## bcmatt (Aug 25, 2007)

mrmatt1972 said:


> I've owned 2 or 3 great amps over the years. The Traynor YGM-3 (Mark 3 aka traynor twin) is an absolutely great amp. It can be made better by adding better speakers.


Don't you mean the Traynor YGL-3? That one is the Twin style model that is up around 80 watts.

The YGM-3 is the 20 Watt amp that was reissued recently. It uses EL-84s and would be more comparable to a Marshall 18 Watt.


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

bcmatt said:


> Don't you mean the Traynor YGL-3? That one is the Twin style model that is up around 80 watts.
> 
> The YGM-3 is the 20 Watt amp that was reissued recently. It uses EL-84s and would be more comparable to a Marshall 18 Watt.


yeah, sorry - it was early.


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

Jay Christopher said:


> Pretty much all the Fenders, old, new, reissue, vintage/reissue/mod... LOL


I would have to disagree with this. The vast majority of Fender's amps that are in current production are crap. The ones worth having are in the same price range as hand wired boutique amps.

Yes, many of the vintage black and silverface amps are great, but they are getting old so reliability can become an issue. If I was going to spend 1500 bucks plus on an amp it would be a new amp and it would not be from Fender.


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## Rugburn (Jan 14, 2009)

mrmatt1972 said:


> I would have to disagree with this. The vast majority of Fender's amps that are in current production are crap. The ones worth having are in the same price range as hand wired boutique amps.
> 
> Yes, many of the vintage black and silverface amps are great, but they are getting old so reliability can become an issue. If I was going to spend 1500 bucks plus on an amp it would be a new amp and it would not be from Fender.


I hear what your saying mrmatt1972, but the Fender BF reissues of the early-mid 90's are now old enough to have leaky components, worn out filter caps
and tired speakers. Not really any different from any other old Fender amp. The big difference is how much easier to fix and well built the vintage Fenders are compared to the later models. *ANY* tube amp must be maintained properly or reliability issues can arise. Many players continue to gig with these older amps with no problems. Talking with some older players I was amazed at how many of them lamented trading/selling their old gear for some of the "new" SS amps in the 80's. Too many stories about "the amp started making wierd noises and the guy said he would have to change some parts, so I figured for a couple hundred more bucks I could have a brand new amp". I used to go to music stores in the 80's and I'd always see a bunch of beat up old tube amps going for peanuts. If only I knew then what I know now..............


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## Scottone (Feb 10, 2006)

The best that I've owned is the current one, a Stephenson 30 watt combo. It has a lot of great features (i.e. power scaling, variable NFB), but it's the voicing of the pre-amp that really puts it over the top for me. 

That being said, I could certainly get by with a more inexpensive option if I had to. I've played through a few R/I Bassman's that sounded really nice, and its always fun to plug into a Marshall 2203 and crank out some classic rock tones :smile:


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## warplanegrey (Jan 3, 2007)

Sig. 

I've been through soooooooooo many amps, and I can't get past how amazing the XTC and the Black Cat are.


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## danbo (Nov 27, 2006)

http://www.kustom.com/product_detail.aspx?TypeID=2&FamilyID=73&ProductID=98&Tab=0


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## Head (Feb 10, 2007)

Rugburn said:


> Not really any different from any other old Fender amp. The big difference is how much easier to fix and well built the vintage Fenders are compared to the later models.


On what grounds are you making that assumption?


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## Rugburn (Jan 14, 2009)

Head said:


> On what grounds are you making that assumption?


Well Head, that simple hand-wired circuits are easier to repair and modify than their PCB cousins, isn't an assumption....it's a fact. When Fender reissued these amps starting in the early 90's, they were built using PCB mounted pots and in some cases tube sockets as they still are today. This is strictly a cost saving measure, although it does have the added benefit of maintaining consistency from amp to amp. The chassis and the cabs are not as well built on the reissues. There have been issues in the not-so-distant past regarding the quality of Fender's PCB mounted circuits. PCB can be done very well, but surprise surprise, it costs money. Hence, cracked PCBs and lifting pads when being repaired are not at all uncommon. Now as far as how they sound: I've heard some reissues and originals that sound great and some originals and reissues that were Ok to poor IMO. Like mrmatt1972 said, the best of the current production Fender amps are priced similarly to the boutique products because that's what handmade quality costs.

Shawn.


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## Head (Feb 10, 2007)

Actually IRC, it was 1987. (Around the time they switched to "Red Knob" amps and when Custom Shop was established)

I can't see Fender back in the day churning out every original / hand-wired amp completely perfect either. Things go wrong with amps. Electronics are electronics. They'll degrade over time; it's inevitable. I mean if we're going to be picking on Fender; I'd pick on Marshall and the rest of them as well.

PCBs of definitely harder to work with - I wasn't arguing that.

If anything; switching from hardwiring to PCB is a GOOD thing. The only vintage Fender amp I've owned was a '66 BF Super Reverb. It was kept pretty clean and used lightly but regardless; it was a big liability to keep maintaining. Regardless, I am much more confident of a product which was derived from a bunch of engineering processes over that of human hands.

And if any I can complain about Fender amps is their scratchy pots.

And if PCBs are inferior; all of our computers would still be handwired.


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## Jimi D (Oct 27, 2008)

Well, I've owned many amps (its fun to try new ones!), but only a few that I've been playing for any length of time...

I have a 1980 Black Silver Face Deluxe Reverb I've had forever and ever... since new, basically... It's been through five or six speakers (there's a Cannabis Rex in there now), has been recapped twice, has had the odd non-invasive mod done to it and is still my number one favorite amplifier - I love it to death and I swear when it's my turn to go I'm taking this one with me; I'll play my harp through it (or my accordian, depending...) Just a great, great amp...

My main gigging amps for the past seven or eight years have been a pair of Tech 21 Trademark 60s... I can bring one to rehearsal, and then slave the second for the gig or run them in stereo... They're plenty loud and the TM60s have direct outs to get me to the board - mix with an SM57 for huge sound... They're bullet-proof, sound good, and easy to haul around. Yes, they're solid state, but they're still all analog, and despite the protestations of the tube snobs, I guarantee that no one can tell the difference between these and a good tube amp in a band setting in a blind test. No one. Period. End of story. Hell, truth be told, they sound a dmaned site better than a lot of the "tube" amps sold today... 

I use a Trademark 10 for practice around the house... My wife and kids don't mind the big amps, but we have a house full of cats, and they object to me cranking the volume to full gig level - it can really freak them out! - so I don't really hopitup at home much anymore...

I've also got a little Mesa Express 5:25 I've been playing with a lot lately... Great little amp - I have an old '80s Yorkville closed-back 2x12 with Celestion G12T75s that I run it through for rehearsal. There are some stellar tones in this amp, but I'm still playing around with it quite a lot... My bandmates prefer to see me haul in the TM60 or the DR, because they know I'll spend less time tweaking and more time playing - but sometimes I want to tweak!


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## Rugburn (Jan 14, 2009)

I LOVE Fender amps!! I own one. Regarding the quoted comment; have you heard the expression "apples and oranges". By the way the first *reissue* was the Bassman in 1990.




Head said:


> .
> 
> .
> 
> And if PCBs are inferior; all of our computers would still be handwired.


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## Kenmac (Jan 24, 2007)

Jimi D said:


> My main gigging amps for the past seven or eight years have been a pair of Tech 21 Trademark 60s... I can bring one to rehearsal, and then slave the second for the gig or run them in stereo... They're plenty loud and the TM60s have direct outs to get me to the board - mix with an SM57 for huge sound... They're bullet-proof, sound good, and easy to haul around. Yes, they're solid state, but they're still all analog, and despite the protestations of the tube snobs, I guarantee that no one can tell the difference between these and a good tube amp in a band setting in a blind test. No one. Period. End of story. Hell, truth be told, they sound a dmaned site better than a lot of the "tube" amps sold today...
> 
> I use a Trademark 10 for practice around the house... My wife and kids don't mind the big amps, but we have a house full of cats, and they object to me cranking the volume to full gig level - it can really freak them out! - so I don't really hopitup at home much anymore...


I agree with you on the Tech 21 Trademark 60. I have one myself and it really is a very good sounding amp. I bought it from the 12th Fret several years ago. I remember the ads in the guitar magazines at the time and basically they were saying it was the first solid state amp that actually sounded like a tube amp. I had to try it out myself because I couldn't believe it, but once I started playing through it, it really did sound like a good tube amp. I ended up buying it the same day.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

Any amp with a decent speaker(s), a good clean channel with an input for a good multi-effects processor like the the Line 6 POD XT should satisfy 95% of people's needs. :rockon2:

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Line-6-PODXT-Guitar-Multi-Effects-Processor?sku=482197


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Bogner Ecstasy
Marshall JCM 800
Peavey 6505+
Fender 5150 III
Randall RM100 Lynch Box (assorted modules)
Carvin Legacy
Mesa dual recto, Mark IIC


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