# Thinking of getting a new amp...



## Tim Plains (Apr 14, 2009)

L&M has their 12 month, no interest deal going on right now and I'm considering it. Problem is, I really don't know what I want and I like the sound of a lot of amps. I'd like to keep it under $2,000, taxes in. I have a Marshall JCM 2000, Vox AC15 & Blackheart Little Giant. I'm leaning towards a Fender Supersonic combo or Fender '65 Twin Reverb but I'm really open to anything. I think the Supersonic is a really cool sounding amp but a bit expensive...on the flip side, I think I'd rather have something with two 12s. I (try and) play rock, blues, etc but really I just fool around when I play and have fun. Like I said, I'm open to anything.


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## Powdered Toast Man (Apr 6, 2006)

I thought the Supersonic sounded great from the youtube demos Fender has out there but yesterday I was in St. John's Music and there was the combo sitting there...

So I ask if I can plug it in. They said sure, and then the one clerk says, "Actually, I'd like to hear what you think of this thing." So I plug in with a Tele and yikes... it sounded awful! Ok, so I swap to a Strat identical to one I have at home so I have a good baseline to compare to and... still yikes. I think you really gotta crank it to get any kind of usable tone. On the "vintage" side the Vibrolux setting sounded incredibly ice-picky and brittle. The Bassman setting was warmer, but still was very brittle sounding. The "Burn" side was a little better because of the ability to dial in some other tones but still I did not like it one bit. And this is coming from someone who owns both a Deville and a Super Reverb so I'm a huge fan of Fender amps. I told the guys there what I thought and they nodded. They said they get calls from people asking "do you have the Supersonic?" and they say yeah, so then they come in and try it and the same thing happens - they all thought it sounded great online but hate it in person. They apparently have had that amp in the store for quite a while and they're unable to sell it.

So, if you haven't tried it in person, I would definitely do so before buying because you really gotta know that's what you want.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

I tried a Supersonic in a store once and hated it as well. Go for the Twin! Super great cleans and takes pedals better than almost any other amp out there IMO.


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## Tim Plains (Apr 14, 2009)

Thanks guys! 
I tried a Supersonic a long time ago and, from what I remember, thought it was pretty cool. I've been looking at amps on GC.com all day and realized it's overpriced for what it is. Now, I haven't played one yet but the Fender Hot Rod Deville 410 looks like a great amp for the money. I definitely have to try this amp and the Twin Reverb now.


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## xmikex (Apr 18, 2006)

I think its yorkville month...

no fenders for no interest


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## Tim Plains (Apr 14, 2009)

Last October, I got my Fender Strat from L&M with 0% interest for 12 months.


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

If they carry Mesa check out the Lonestar Special. If it's got to be a Fender I'd go with a DRRI and a good pedal. You can always get an extra 1 x 12 cab and stack them. Keeps things nice and versatile too.


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## xmikex (Apr 18, 2006)

*shrug* just going by what they tell me! haha


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## bolero (Oct 11, 2006)

a fender with trem & verb would definitely round out what you have now....


I'd find a used silverface pro, or a super reverb; handwired, sound great, about 1/2 your budget


but if you're set on a *new* amp, a blackface reissue of something would prolly be great too


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

Music Gear and Credit....no a good thing..can't afford it?...don't buy it. It's things like that, that made the shitty economy we have right now.


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## guitarsmark (Jun 1, 2009)

hey r9, I would go for the drri, the twin's sound fantastic but are REALLY heavy


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## guitarsmark (Jun 1, 2009)

al3d said:


> Music Gear and Credit....no a good thing..can't afford it?...don't buy it. It's things like that, that made the shitty economy we have right now.


That might be part of the problem, but without the credit, and people who do pay their bills, it isn't gonna come back fast either


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## Tim Plains (Apr 14, 2009)

al3d, $1,200 for an amplifier seems like a lot of money. $100 a month does not. It's psychological.


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## Tim Plains (Apr 14, 2009)

guitarsmark said:


> hey r9, I would go for the drri, the twin's sound fantastic but are REALLY heavy


drri? Sorry, I'm missing something - what's that?
The weight isn't an issue. This amp won't leave the house.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

Are Nine said:


> drri? Sorry, I'm missing something - what's that?
> The weight isn't an issue. This amp won't leave the house.


That's the Deluxe Reverb ReIssue (DRRI). There's a also the Super Reverb ReIssue (SRRI). 

The DRRI can be a great amp, but I find the cleans on a Twin much, much cleaner because of its huge headroom. Twins _do_ weigh about 80lbs though.


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

hollowbody said:


> Twins _do_ weigh about 80lbs though.


When you're carrying one downstairs from a gig at 2AM, they weigh about double that.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

bagpipe said:


> When you're carrying one downstairs from a gig at 2AM, they weigh about double that.


Don't I know it. I've got a YGL-3 combo that's the same size!


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

Are Nine said:


> drri? Sorry, I'm missing something - what's that?
> The weight isn't an issue. This amp won't leave the house.


Then buy that Ampeg listed in the classifieds,, save up for a cabinet and then blow the doors off the house. 


So hard to resist this myself.. other than I can borrow one for free 

http://www.guitarscanada.com/Board/showthread.php?t=27726


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## Tim Plains (Apr 14, 2009)

DRRI, got it!
Thanks, I'll check them out.



shoretyus said:


> Then buy that Ampeg listed in the classifieds,, save up for a cabinet and then blow the doors off the house.


I already have a 100w JCM 2000, DSL 100, with both cabs. If that doesn't blow the doors off, nothing will. :smile:


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

A Twin is is a pretty loud amp for home playing.....A Princeton or Deluxe will also set you up nicely. Victoria also makes some nice low powered amps...

I had a Fender Twin '57 RI (low powered Twin)....it is still pretty loud but used an attenuator for home and tweaked the speaker....sounded really good.


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## ThePass (Aug 10, 2007)

I play thru a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe ~ great clean with alot of headroom, takes to pedals well, and is plenty loud with a single 12" speaker. I did have the 212 model, but it was way to loud for what I needed.....so I downsized.

And, they are all tube at a super cheap price!

I'd recommend it to anybody looking for a Fender amp on a buget.


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## Tim Plains (Apr 14, 2009)

Thanks for all the suggestions. I bought a Hot Rod Deville 410 last night. I'll see how I like it over the next week or so.

xmikex, you were right. Yorkville/L&M does not offer 0% interest on Fender products in October. When I bought my Strat in October of 2008, I also bought a Gibson and because I bought both at the same time, they let me finance the Strat for free.


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## dufe32 (Feb 5, 2007)

ThePass said:


> I play thru a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe ~ great clean with alot of headroom, takes to pedals well, and is plenty loud with a single 12" speaker. I did have the 212 model, but it was way to loud for what I needed.....so I downsized.
> 
> And, they are all tube at a super cheap price!
> 
> I'd recommend it to anybody looking for a Fender amp on a buget.



So true! And the thing is DAMN loud for a 40 watters. I was in the same situation, got rid of my 2x12 and got my hands on a Hot Rod (the deluxe version, snakeskin tolex) with a V30 in it: it absolutely slays. In my opinion, all Hot Rods should come with a V30, it sounds so much better.


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## ThePass (Aug 10, 2007)

Snakeskin tolex eh? Nice.....I really dug those solid colours Fender came out with not long ago too.....


Are Nine:

Congrats on the new amp man! I love the Hot Rod series.....even though mine is plenty loud as it is, I'd love an extention cab ~ just for bragging rights, lol

This amp should last you forever!

:smile:


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

Are Nine said:


> Thanks for all the suggestions. I bought a Hot Rod Deville 410 last night. I'll see how I like it over the next week or so.
> 
> xmikex, you were right. Yorkville/L&M does not offer 0% interest on Fender products in October. When I bought my Strat in October of 2008, I also bought a Gibson and because I bought both at the same time, they let me finance the Strat for free.


That is a nice amp, happy payments kkjuw


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

dufe32 said:


> So true! And the thing is DAMN loud for a 40 watters. I was in the same situation, got rid of my 2x12 and got my hands on a Hot Rod (the deluxe version, snakeskin tolex) with a V30 in it: it absolutely slays. In my opinion, all Hot Rods should come with a V30, it sounds so much better.


Absolutely. I had a HRD with a single 12" in it and it was fierce loud! I only ever got it up to about 2 or 3 before it was loud enough that even I started to be concerned about eviction. I never tried it with a V30 though. I guess I should have. I might still have it now if I did.


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## dufe32 (Feb 5, 2007)

hollowbody said:


> Absolutely. I had a HRD with a single 12" in it and it was fierce loud! I only ever got it up to about 2 or 3 before it was loud enough that even I started to be concerned about eviction. I never tried it with a V30 though. I guess I should have. I might still have it now if I did.


You definately should my friend, huge difference in my opinion, more bite and still the Fender chime. And I did biased it on the hot side a bit.


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## Tim Plains (Apr 14, 2009)

shoretyus said:


> That is a nice amp, happy payments kkjuw


No, the joke's on you - it's fully paid for. kkjuw

Just kidding, the joke's on me. :smile:
I wasted even more money on something I didn't need. kqoct
Wanted, yes...needed, no.


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## Thames (Oct 19, 2009)

'65 Twin... nothing like the good old thing, a superb platform for any tone builder...


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

I haven't tried them out, tho I am very curious to do so - what about the H&K Statesman and Bluesman amps? one of them is a 6L6 based 2x12. And they do qualify for 0%.

By the way, financing at 0% is a no brainer, even if you have the cash to pay for something. It makes financial sense from every single angle, you keep the cash and (in theory) invest and get a return, coming out ahead. Even if you don't, there is always value in holding onto cash. And if you don't have the cash but do have the cash flow, there's no net cost to the financing. About the only potential problem would be taking on more debt than you can handle.


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## vasthorizon (Aug 10, 2008)

I would've recommended an Orange or a Mesa...


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## Tim Plains (Apr 14, 2009)

Wise words, keto. I feel the same.
Vast, I was open to anything but was at the same time, leaning towards Fender. 
I grew up with Fender amps and have always had one lying around the house.


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## HarpBoy (Jun 10, 2009)

Are Nine said:


> L&M has their 12 month, no interest deal going on right now and I'm considering it. Problem is, I really don't know what I want and I like the sound of a lot of amps. I'd like to keep it under $2,000, taxes in. I have a Marshall JCM 2000, Vox AC15 & Blackheart Little Giant. I'm leaning towards a Fender Supersonic combo or Fender '65 Twin Reverb but I'm really open to anything. I think the Supersonic is a really cool sounding amp but a bit expensive...on the flip side, I think I'd rather have something with two 12s. I (try and) play rock, blues, etc but really I just fool around when I play and have fun. Like I said, I'm open to anything.


I recently bought Traynor's YGM-3 Reissue which is an absolutely beautiful amp; handwired, great speaker (Jensen 12 alnico), fabulous reverb and trem; it's very similar to a Deluxe Reverb, only cheaper (actually only slightly), better sounding and much higher quality :smile:

It's about 25 watts, which seems to fill a niche you still have wanting. 

Something to consider.

Cheers


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## bolero (Oct 11, 2006)

so when you finance at 0%, when do you get to take the amp home? after it's paid for? or the day you set up the financing & give them $100?

thx


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## Bevo (Nov 24, 2006)

They won't finance 100% but around 80%...Still need a couple bucks down before they let you have it.


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## Tim Plains (Apr 14, 2009)

HarpBoy, two guys I work with have Traynor amps and love them. I know they're good amps but I've only had bad luck with them. The three Traynors I tried (or attempted to try) at L&M all had issues. One had extreme static, the other would randomly cut out, & the other didn't work at all. All three came right out of the box. Again, just bad luck.

bolero, you take it home the day you set up the financing. Yes, they do want some money down and they'll probably tell you they want as much as 15% - 20% down but I financed a guitar with $0 down.


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