The best current amplfier investment ?

[myles_rose]

The hot tip on today's best amplifier investment

The world's next great amplifier investment?

 

Over the years there have been many amplifiers that we have all wished that we had purchased when new, or never sold, or bought when there was that great deal that comes up from time to time.

 

One of the last amplifier classics in the last decade or so to some, was the Matchless DC-30. Mark Sampson, who had vast Vox AC-30 experience, wanted to incorporate some of the best of the Vox amp, reduce its shortcomings and limitations, and add a number of his own ideas. The Matchless DC-30 was a resounding success, and today, many of us look back at what we could have picked up one of these for, and did not in many cases.

 

I have a few amps in my personal collection where I was in the right time at the right place. $325.00 for a brand new Marshall JTM-45 half stack from Ace Music in Santa Monica at the time, was a labor or working all summer when I was in high school. My eyes are always open, and I am always on the lookout for what may be the next great find, "the next Matchless", 59 Tweed Bassman, or Black Face Deluxe Reverb, as a few examples.

 

Today, many amp designers build for the current wave of public preference, rather than designing to break new ground while retaining qualities from the best of the past. We see a lot of clones of "Vox AC-30 types", or Marshall type clones. There are point to point wired amps at very high prices that do not always bring anything new to the table in cases. When Mark Sampson did his magic on his small line of amplifiers, each one brought new ideas and quality aspects to the table.

 

To design and build a truly great amp, one has to understand history of amplifiers, and how they really worked. There are many amp designers that just copy another basic circuit, change a resistor here or a pot there, and voila, we have the new high gain 100 whatever. Some take a classic design that was mass produced, add a FET in the front end maybe, add a tube here and there, maybe some XLR connectors to make it a studio amp, ask a $5000+ price, and make you stand in line for the privilege perhaps.

 

There are many great amp builders today that put their own twists, ideas, and improvements on history and our future. Some of these folks to my way of thinking produce amps like Rivera, Diezel, THD, and Demeter to name a few.

 

I see more than a few amps each day, to put it mildly. My current focus is toward the attention of who is, to my thinking, one of the finest amp builders around today. Mark Baier of Victoria Amp. Known to many as the King of Tweed, or as a tone god, as he is described in many very high end publications. Mark took the classic Fender Tweed Amps of the past, and spent years studying their interactions and qualities. It is funny to me that there is a parallel in a way here . Mark Baier Mark Sampson . In the area where when Carbon Comp resistors were needed, new ones, not old dried out stock, that these two Marks were the only folks that stepped up to the plate and committed to have enough of them ordered for their amps to have the manufacturer of the originals resume production for them exclusively.

 

IVictoria is well known for their Tweed classics. These amps equal or surpassed the originals in many cases, and show up these days on countless stages. These amps are wonderful investments which are a joy to play every single day as their value escalates, but are not the object of this short paper.

 

The amps I am referring to, are Victoria amps, but amps of Marks that are less well known. Victoria has a few amps that are of Marks original design. His EL-84 based amps are not just another Vox, or these days, another Matchless clone. The VICTORILUX and VICTORI-ETTE are two of Marks own designs, that are, to my prediction, the Matchless DC-30s of the 21st century, or at least the first decade of this century. In ten years, these will be some of the amps that will have doubled in value at the least. The VICTORI-ETTE is an EL-84 based amp, with two EL-84s that is not just another AC-15 clone. It has much more versatility, and Marks knowledge gained over many years on component interaction, shows here big time. The VICTORILUX is the big brother to the VICTORI-ETTE, with four EL-84s or two 6L6s depending on user choice of the two models of this amp. Unlike the 5U4 rectifier of the AC-30 types, this amp sports the stronger 5AR4, and a number of changes, that show off what an EL-84 based amp can do. There are many aspects of the EL-84 small pentode, that have been overlooked as the earlier British amps, and some American amps, deployed this tube in much the same way, over and over. Todays modern EL-84 based amps such as the Fender Blues Jr. and Peavey Classic 30 type amps, are terrific amps in their price ranges, but there has been little moving from the prior path of how this tube was used in many ways.

 

The two Victoria amps mentioned above, will give you all the magic of the past designs, and open new paths to future tones and the ability to use these EL-84 based amps from clean to crunch to rock. After all, if you can pull off the best of the tweeds, the highest aspects of construction, and true pride in workmanship, then you can most definitely direct these attributes to any amp Victoria took on as a design project.

 

At the 2003 Winter NAMM, I spent a lot of time in other booths, but I found I returned over and over, and OVER, to a few booths. A lot of time was spent at the Rivera, Matchless, THD, and the Victoria booths. I spent more time in these booths than I spent in my own booth during the show. The largest part of of my time ended up being spent at the Victoria booth. What I noticed, on just about every occasion during my visits, was that folks would sit and play these amps, and if I came back a half an hour later, or even later, the same folks were there still playing. Folks were captivated. A lot of these folks were not some of the typical NAMM attendees either, there were many that know their stuff. Sure, there were the great players who are known as great players, but when I see folks like Charlie Kittleson of Vacuum Tube Valley fame stuck in a chair for 30 minutes, oblivious to the crowd, just sittin, grinnin, and playin, then I have a bit of support in my mind, that I am not the only one that sees the light here.

 

All I can suggest if you are interested in an amp with tone, versatility, build quality, and features that are hard to approach in many other high end amps today, you find a dealer and take a look at these amps. They are still pretty darn cheap (maybe 30% less than some of the boutique amps) in many cases. Their build quality, components, and warranty cannot be improved in any way.

 

You may want to take a look and play one or more of these amps next time you are wondering, what next? Be sure to have enough time available to really play the amp and explore its ranges. These are not one trick pony amps, and you will only scratch the surface in 30 minutes.

 

You can find out more detail on the Victoria amps on my own website at http://www.guitaramplifierblueprinting.com/Victoria1.html where there are also links to the true Victoria website.

 

Myles S. Rose

Guitar Amplifier Blueprinting 2003

[Blue Strat]

I think that the Mesa Dual Rectifier will be the next "Amp Classic". It's gained a lot of attention over the past few years, and like Marshall, it excells at what it does. It will either be the Mesa, or it will be the Soldano SLO. Basicly the same design, but I think that the Dual Rectifier is better known and more widely used.

[Dank]

Myles: You just told us how great the Univalve is; where does it end? I only say this, as your posts are terrific and I truly value your opinions.

[myles_rose]

Originally posted by Dan Kleiner:

Myles: You just told us how great the Univalve is; where does it end? I only say this, as your posts are terrific and I truly value your opinions.

Dan,

 

There are a lot of great amps out there, for use in different styles and ways. The UV is more of a studio amp in most ways, and not performance oriented. The Victoria's are player's and studio amps. After all, it was the tweed amps of the 50's that gave birth to rock and roll

[myles_rose]

Originally posted by bluestrat:

I think that the Mesa Dual Rectifier will be the next "Amp Classic". It's gained a lot of attention over the past few years, and like Marshall, it excells at what it does. It will either be the Mesa, or it will be the Soldano SLO. Basicly the same design, but I think that the Dual Rectifier is better known and more widely used.

bluestrat .....

 

These are popular amps I agree, but just like Ford sells "the best selling truck in America", the Mesa is something of a comodity, not in my feeling, something that is destined to be a classic amp. Most won't last that long actually. They do have their distinctive sound, but that is their main sound, and not as versitile or nearly as well built as some other amps. Don't get me wrong, they are a great amp for the money if that is the tone you are looking for, but they are a very high production mass produced amplifier, whose assemblers for the most part don't play on too many stages or gig as often as a lot of players.

[Curly Dan]

Myles,

thanks again for an informative, provocative post.

I've been looking at some of the amps you've mentioned. The THD to me is a very original amp. From a purely design standpoint, it's obvious he designed the Univalve "from the ground up" and not as a reaction to anything else that's out there.

Tweed amps got outrageously expensive at the high arc of the vintage boom, but they've still continued to increase in demand and price. Tweed amps have all the fundamental tone, with rich harmonic content and feeling to boot.

You've discussed different amps' topologies a lot and the fact that modern amps have a higher gain structure.

Still, I've never heard anyone who played a tweed or tweed clone complain that they didn't have enough gain. Just great amps.

 

Thanks again

[strat0124]

I'm a huge fan of Victoria amps, probably cause I'm such a Fender guy. Haven't purchased one yet, maybe down the road.

From current non boutique amps, I'd have to say the Fender Pro Jr, and the Reverend Hellhound. Not that I think they'll be an investment, moreso that they'll be sought after. Already Carvin's Vintage 33, though I'm not a fan of Carvin, is one I'd snag if one came in the store. Amps to look out for...the Traynor 40 watt combo, folks will be pleasantly surprised.

I'd say Peavey, but after working on them, I've learned to not like them very much. Too bad, cause the Classic series sounds pretty good. Two amp series that are an absolute pain to work on are any current Mesa and the Peavey Classic series. Once you've pulled the chassis, you'll totally understand why I say this.

Supro's won't win any beauty contest, but they are definitely sought after amps. I love the seperate power and preamp sections.

Current Marshalls? The only ones that are unique in my opinion (tube amps) are the DSL401 and the JTM45. Just can't cozy up to the rest.

AHA....yes, don't count out the red knob supers......I get the feeling they will have a following....one day. Once folks learn how to dial em in.

My old Super Six was a silver face, and damn if it wasn't my fave amp of all time. I guess its what you're used to, and where your comfort lies. Objectivity anyone?

[dave251]

Originally posted by Geenard Skeenard:

From current non boutique amps, I'd have to say the Fender Pro Jr,

I sure like the sound of my Pro Jr..but DAMN!! it's noisy...pain in the ass trying to record with it.

 

I ended up with a 12AT7 in V1 and back to a 12AX7 for the splitter...

 

But, shit, it's STILL NOISY....I tend to play on the "clean" side, so the noise is probably more apparent...

[myles_rose]

Originally posted by Curly Dan:

Myles,

thanks again for an informative, provocative post.

I've been looking at some of the amps you've mentioned. The THD to me is a very original amp. From a purely design standpoint, it's obvious he designed the Univalve "from the ground up" and not as a reaction to anything else that's out there.

Tweed amps got outrageously expensive at the high arc of the vintage boom, but they've still continued to increase in demand and price. Tweed amps have all the fundamental tone, with rich harmonic content and feeling to boot.

You've discussed different amps' topologies a lot and the fact that modern amps have a higher gain structure.

Still, I've never heard anyone who played a tweed or tweed clone complain that they didn't have enough gain. Just great amps.

 

Thanks again

Dan,

 

You are more than welcome.

 

The gain of some of the tweeds such as the Deluxe, can be a lot higher than a lot of folks think

[myles_rose]

Originally posted by dave251:

Originally posted by Geenard Skeenard:

From current non boutique amps, I'd have to say the Fender Pro Jr,

I sure like the sound of my Pro Jr..but DAMN!! it's noisy...pain in the ass trying to record with it.

 

I ended up with a 12AT7 in V1 and back to a 12AX7 for the splitter...

 

But, shit, it's STILL NOISY....I tend to play on the "clean" side, so the noise is probably more apparent...

Dave ....

 

lots of ribbon connects and SS stuff in those amps for cost reasons.

[dave251]

Originally posted by myles111:

Dave ....

 

lots of ribbon connects and SS stuff in those amps for cost reasons.

Myles: the only "solid state" device I can find on the schematic for the Pro Jr. is the rectifier(is there something I'm missing?)...BUT, I'm impressed enough with the circuit itself to try and make a similar copy....maybe with three EL84's in a class A output....Brett and I are talking about it anyway. NO RIBBON CONNECTS, and perhaps add a DC filament supply. I REALLY like the "hifi" sound of the EL84's....less "clanky" than a 6L6 and less gritty than a 6V6...at least the tubes I've heard anyway.

 

BTW...should have the new 300B wired up by the end of next week. (I know, I've said this before), but we changed the format a bit...took out the dual buffered EFX loop and went with a tone stack instead. I've gotten to where I just don't care about reverb with my guitars. Just want to hear the instrument, with nothing else in the way...maybe it's my acoustic background...

[myles_rose]

Originally posted by dave251:

Originally posted by myles111:

Dave ....

 

lots of ribbon connects and SS stuff in those amps for cost reasons.

Myles: the only "solid state" device I can find on the schematic for the Pro Jr. is the rectifier(is there something I'm missing?)...BUT, I'm impressed enough with the circuit itself to try and make a similar copy....maybe with three EL84's in a class A output....Brett and I are talking about it anyway. NO RIBBON CONNECTS, and perhaps add a DC filament supply. I REALLY like the "hifi" sound of the EL84's....less "clanky" than a 6L6 and less gritty than a 6V6...at least the tubes I've heard anyway.

 

BTW...should have the new 300B wired up by the end of next week. (I know, I've said this before), but we changed the format a bit...took out the dual buffered EFX loop and went with a tone stack instead. I've gotten to where I just don't care about reverb with my guitars. Just want to hear the instrument, with nothing else in the way...maybe it's my acoustic background...

dave251 .........

 

You are missing a lot .....

 

Look at Q1 in the tone circuit for the fat switch.

 

U1A and U1B (TL072) are the reverb send and return, no true tube driven reverb in this amp.

[dave251]

Originally posted by myles111:

dave251 .........

 

You are missing a lot .....

 

Look at Q1 in the tone circuit for the fat switch.

 

U1A and U1B (TL072) are the reverb send and return, no true tube driven reverb in this amp.

Myles- You must be thinking of the Blues Jr. The Pro Jr. has nothing but a tone and volume control, in addition to the power switch.

[myles_rose]

Originally posted by dave251:

Originally posted by myles111:

dave251 .........

 

You are missing a lot .....

 

Look at Q1 in the tone circuit for the fat switch.

 

U1A and U1B (TL072) are the reverb send and return, no true tube driven reverb in this amp.

Myles- You must be thinking of the Blues Jr. The Pro Jr. has nothing but a tone and volume control, in addition to the power switch.

Dave ....

 

Right you are .... I was referring to the Blues Jr.