So which amp is your favorite?

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I've owned a lot of amps but my all time favorite is always a Blackface Deluxe Reverb...

I have a '69 that was Blackfaced and tuned up by one of the best amp techs in the Bay Area: Hal at Guitronics. Know what I liked about this guy: when I took the amp in I told him to "do a job" on the amp - just really do it right and good. He quoted me $400.00 for the Blackface mod and any caps and tubes.

When I got it back he charged me $187.00... He said that someone he knew in the business already had done the Blackface mod and all he had to do was replace some power tubes and caps... How many guys do you know would be that honest and take less than half of what they quoted you. Oh yeah, the amp is really sweet.


I can't think of a more flexible and pretty sounding amp - makes just about any guitar sound really, really good.
 
bigmike, we definitely agree. The BF deluxe has got to be the best all-around guitar amp ever made. Perfect size, perfect volume, perfect amount of grit when you crank it up to that perfect volume... the best club amp ever for blues, rock, or jazz. At jazz volumes it's wonderfully clean. At blues volumes it has that perfect breakup... dimed out it has a great rock n roll crunch... what more can you ask for in an amp? It does it all. At the perfect volume. At about 35 lbs...

NOT a pain in the *** to take on the subway! Easy to throw in your car and go! Not too heavy to carry for 5 blocks once you get OFF the Subway!

I have a 1968 Twin Reverb too but between the deluxe and the pro jr. I've got it covered. The twin sits at home mostly and occasionally makes it out when I have an engagement for more than 3 nights at the same place, or if I have to fly (it has an ATA case)... maybe one day i'll take up pedal steel. 8)
 
I can only speak to the amps I have, which are a 70's Fender VibraChamp (bought on ebay for $200, but came with a spare set of tubes) and my fave Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, bought for $200 but actually ended up only costing me around $50 -- an all-time best buy. Also have an old 70's Yamaha solid state 55 watt sucker I got for $50 from a guy at work, cant recall what model it is, but for the price it sounds fine to me.

The Hot Rod Deluxe of course is my fave. My just delivered 85 TLC 60 sounds awesome through it. Now if I could only learn to play better . . . .
 
I had my hands on a lot of amps, but my SLO 100 and the CAE/Suhr OD100 are keepers forever. Wait a minute: I played a Peter van Weelden modded Marshall at a friends place and that was Van Halen I sound out of the box. Awesome, but only available custom made.
CT
 
there's something really sweet about an old silvertone 1481. That 6X4 rectifier, one 6V6 and one 12AX7 really nails that sweet small-amp, compress-y sound.
 
marcusnieman

1962 Magnatone 460 -> cool amp ;)

My current favourites, have to be my homemade tweed champ and homemade tweed deluxe, both unfinished at this time... ;)

I fully intend to own a brownface amp, either made by me, or bought... one of these days
 
Most of them have already been mentioned:

VOX AC30 1965 grey panel / silver speaker and 2004 Reissue (Vox ist Vox, what elese could I say? I use a TAD Silencer attentuator with the 60s and a Weber Mass with the RI)

Marshall 18 Watt Reissue (fully cranked = best distortion ever, with a Les Paul of course)

Marshall JTM 45 Reissue with 2x12 1966er Vox Alnicos (not used very much until now ... more to come)

Peavey Classic 30 with Framus 2x12 Vintage 30 Extension Box (versatile with the band, great sound)

Peavey Classic 20 (full overdrive at home)

Peavey Ultra 120 head from the 80s with 4x12 (for the heavier parts with the band)

That's all at the moment. I once had a Twin Reverb, but that was not the one for me, I definitely don't like fender sounds. Also had a Peavey Delta Blues 15", which was great for Solos, but muddy for my rhythm style.

Would like to try a Valvetech Hayseed and a Mesa Lone Star Special (5W mode!)
 
Dang it .... I haven't tried enough amps to know if I would like some other amp better than the one I've owned for 28 years. Or maybe that's a good thing for my bank account?

That amp's a 100 watt Marshall Master Volume head (model 2203 IIRC).

I have a couple other more recent solidstate Marshalls for those times you don't want to haul around a 100 stack. The Lead 12 (model 5005 IIRC) is quite a nice little practice amp. I recently used that for a gig in a small brew pub (capacity of 74 I was told).
 
65 deluxe non-reverb model plus '64 outboard stand-alone fender reverb unit is my rig these days. Awesome. I like the tone better than any blackface deluxe reverb i've tried actually :D
 
My Marshall 1959 SLP Reissue from ?92, my original 1970 JMP50, my JTM45 RI, my 1964 fender Tremolux, my 1967 WEM ER15, and of course my homebrew amps that base on the Marshall 18-watter....

DID I SAY THAT I AM AN TUBEAMP-JUNKIE..... DID I SAY THAT???? :D
 
Homebuilt Mission Tweedy Deluxe upgraded with NOS 6L6s, multi-impedence OT, Bruce's volume-control mod and a Reverend Alltone speaker.....a close second is my '68 Bandmaster with 2x12 Weber Signature 12's in the cab.

Overdrive everywhere!
 
Recently I picked up a Session 1x12 combo (tiny little guy with a big voice) but am having a hell of a time figuring out how to get a decent sound out of it. The amp has the most difficult pre-amp, channel-switching-combo-thingy I've ever seen. Matter of fact, if anyone wants to own this thing for a reasonable price - let me know...


Mine is a mid 80's model. Treat it like a valve amp and max the volume and gains. Zero the tones and then add in the bass tone until you get the volume you want. The little guy just might surprise you.
 
hans-j?rgen said:
Yes, especially the Marshall JMP combo and the Fender Bassman head with 4x12 Marshall box, because I see them everytime my band meets again in the rehearsal room. :p
I thought this thread could use some amp porn... :wink:

The other day my band mates shot some pictures of the '69 JMP Plexi combo, and I had to do some maintenance anyhow, so I took the chassis out:

marshall_front.jpg


marshall_back.jpg


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marshall_tubes3.jpg


marshall_plexi.jpg


marshall_serial_no.jpg


marshall_check.jpg


marshall_inside.jpg


marshall_inside2.jpg


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marshall_t1281_cb24.jpg


marshall_t1281_cb25.jpg


As you can see, the tremolo tube is missing, and it has an additional master volume where usually the pilot lamp is located. I like how it works and sounds, so there's no need to build it back to the original non-master specs in my opinion. The date code on the speakers and the inspection decal both say March 1969.

Here's a close-up of my Bassman. too:

bassman.jpg


And finally a scan of the '79 Mesa Boogie Mark IIB 60w head with self-built 1x12" EV12L Thiele cab:

mesaboogie.jpg
 
I made my experience with several amps. The last try was a GT-Soul-O-30 Reverb Head but I sold it after one year of searching for T h e R e a l T o n e ! In vain (I think I wasn?t good enough!) . :cry:
Returned to my favourite: a Fender Blues De Ville, 60 all tube watts, 4x10? Blue Alnico speakers, two extension cabs 2x12 with 2 ToneTubbys and 2 Weber BlueDogs.
Very reliable and sweet sounding combination, from excellent clean to nice overdriven sounds. I love the mix of Blue AlNiCos, ToneTubbys and Webers, they complement one each other exceedingly.
I also tested numerous tubes before I found the appropriate ones. Using the Tube Amp Doctor (TAD) Tonebones gives the chance to run it in ClassA and changes the tone dramatically (positive).
I never use the second channel of the BDV (gain), because either TS9 (TS808 mod.) or Radial Tonebone Classic between guitar and amp give all I?m looking for.
My back up is a DeluxeReverb RI from ?94 with a ToneTubby. I changed the speaker for the sweet tone ? an upgrade IMO - I hate the sound of the Fender stock speakers (except the old ones of the BF or SF - series).
This little handsome amp is also good for playing at bedroom level ? used with a THD hotplate ? during the long and lonely nights! :oops:
I will keep this gear as long as I live! :lol:

Roger
 
Although I'm rather new here, I might as well join the party.

One of my favorite ever live tones was with a borrowed Classic 30. I still don't own one myself, but intend to someday. I do have a silverface Deluxe Reverb that I rebuilt to blackface specs, including new tolex, grill cloth and faceplate. But I guess my favorite amps are a few homebrew Dumble clones. Here's a pic of some of the family.

the_family.jpg


Bill
 

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