Noob wants to talk amps

[Omaha]

I posted before about my quest for an electric setup. I've been playing acoustic for years. Time to expand my kit.

 

I've settled on the guitar: Epiphone Lucille. Love it.

 

But I am stumpped on the amp.

 

It boils down to this: There are a couple of tube amps I really like...the Mesa F50 and/or the F100, and the Fender Twin Reverb. They both sound great in their own way.

 

BUT...I'm starting to think that I should go a different direction in amps. The truth is, I really don't know what I want, and I don't think I will until I have a reasonable amount of gig time with something. I have a few ideas of the kind of sounds I want to make (clean, BB King style blues, maybe some Santana sounding stuff. Nothing really gnarly). Thats about it.

 

So, I'm starting to think about some other options like the Vox Valvetronix AD50VT or the Tech21 Trademark 60. Lighter, more versatile. Even if they don't have the "pure" sound of the Mesa or the Fender.

 

Talk to me. Anything else I should be considering?

[Trucks]

I think BB King uses solid state amps... ??Lab Series??

 

If you would like to sound like every other blues guitarist you could get the Fender.. or maybe a Marshall.

 

May be an idea to get something like a Line 6 Flextone or Vetta (Digital modelling amps). That way you can find YOUR tone then go and buy the Amp that the Line 6 is emulating.

[PBBPaul]

Personally, I would look at an old Gibson Tube amp if you're looking for more of a BB style sound. They are relatively inexpensive compared to Fenders but are solidly built and have (IMHO) a warmer tone. Personally, I've been jonesing for a GA-77RVT for years. Santana is known for multi-gain staged Mesas. This is a very different animal. I would try to decide which tone is more important to you. Remember, it's easier to muddy up a clean amp with effects than to clean up a muddy amp. What kind of gigging are you going to be doing? The Twin is a very LOUD amp - particularly if you want any power tube distortion. Unless you really need all that clean headroom (and weight), I'd look more at a Deluxe or Super.

[J J]

cant go wrong with any fender tube amp

[Dr. Ellwood]

A Lucille sounds fantastic through a Marshall amp!

[Kramer Ferrington III.]

Originally posted by J J:

cant go wrong with any fender tube amp

I don't know... I've never really liked them. They sound a bit brittle to me. Kind of like the sound of broken glass. But that's me, I guess.

[EmptinesOf Youth]

peavey classic 30

[strangedogs]

Best amp I ever had was a Marshall 100 watt Super Lead (1970 model). I had 2 Fender Twins but that Marshall made my day I'd give my left nut for a LUCILLE

[BluesWithoutBlame]

Omaha,

 

Couple of things. Even just naming two guys, you already are looking at possibly a wide spread of sounds.

 

Let me first off just say, after not a lot of thought, I would just say get something fairly little and inexpensive, but definitely tube, to start with. I kinda second the "Classic 30" as I have one (among a few amps I have) and I know it to be both versatile and not expensive, and it sounds great with a good deal of ability to get different sounds.

 

Back to the only two you mentioned. B.B. King, I learned to play guitar by trying to "get" "Live at the Regal". On that album, let's say...King is one of my all time faves, but he is no "tone-meister"...his tone was mostly in his fingers, and he could milk the tone, but his "out of the box" at that stage anyway was pretty brittle sounding...lotta treble. Way more than folks use nowdays. Later on he ran the gamut really...sometimes getting a fat mellow tone, sometimes a mid-rangy (though not often I think) and sometimes trebly. In a book they have on him, I saw the "rider" for when they play somewhere and it stipulated Fender Twin-Reverb I think, even getting to the speakers in the spec.

Kings sound in later years seemed to me to be "cleanly overdriven"...not fuzzy at all but defnitely tube-compressed.

 

I think IF you can do his vibrato, his style, his sparseness and signature licks...you can play him on ANY thing. I get damned close on "Thrill is Gone" using a STRAT! and a Hot Rod DeVille. BB is in the fingers more than anything.

 

Santana...you need that overdrive and sustain. You probably are going to need a decent OD pedal for that.

 

Still, an amp like the Classic 30 can do this and has some beautiful tones in there.

 

The touted "Cube 60" (Roland) if you wanted to go solid-state and wanted to save some money, or just get your feet wet would be an alternative. Or a modelling amp. The Cube60 can get some great sounds and vary varied...only thing, to my ears there is some presense (not as in that presence frequency...) missing in the cube60. Can't explain, but the guitar sound sounds to me like it is IN the speakers, where the tube amps all have it coming out to say hi, here I am!

 

GOod luck!

[Omaha]

Thanks for all the great thoughts and advice.

 

Up until a month ago, I thought the world of acoustic guitars (with endless debates about tonal properties of Brazilian vs Indian rosewood, shaved bracing, kerfed or solid bindings, etc, etc, etc) was complicated. Little did I know.

 

After its all said and done, I'm thinking about a Peavey Classic 50 410. My dealer has one and I think we can get to where the price is right. It seems like as good a place to start as anything.

 

Thanks again!

[Gruupi]

The 4x10 setup sounds sweet with a semi-hollowbody. The Peavy Classic series is pretty nice. For the price not a bad amp. A similar amp would be a Fender Blues Deville or Super Reverb. A Twin is nice but it sure is a loud if you want it to sound good. I personally have switched over to modeling amps. Its just easier to get lots of great sounds. Its hard to argue against a great tube amp, but not all of them are great.

[ThisSiteSucks]

I have a Gibson LP, so I imagine that the humbucking sound would be *somewhat* similar.

 

I play through a Fender Super Reverb reissue. I find it lacking that rock and roll tone when matched with the humbuckers.

 

I love the amp and the sound is great, but I think the LP would be better off through a Marshall.

 

My $0.02

[s mel gibson1642606968]

Get a Marshall. Preferably a used JCM 800 combo. Just to get your feet wet. You won't be left wondering what you missed out on with anything else. JCM 900's and 2000's are cool too!

 

Gibson+Marshall. It's hard to go wrong.

 

Anything+Marshall, It's still hard to go wrong.

[Sugarhouse]

Omaha, I'm pretty new to the forum, but you hit a special place for me and that's tube amps. All of the suggestions so far are excellent. I have owned just about everything under the sun including the Mesa F50. I have owned several other Mesas as well, and well, I don't own them any more. If you want BB King and Santana (I love his tone), you'll definately want to go tube. I would recommend a well designed class A circuit. BB recently uses a Fender Twin, but complained that modern Twins don't have the mojo the the pre CBS ones do. If you have some money to spend look at Bad Cat, Matchless, and I highly recommend Pierson or Victora tweed amps. I own a Bad Cat and a Pierson, and both those amps authentically nail the tones your seeking. If your looking for a budget amp, a Vox AC115 is an excellent choice, this is my workhorse amp, an it's killer. Just spend some time, and don't get hung up on how many knobs or features an amp has, in some cases this degrades the tone circuit. Hope this helps, good luck.

[Dr. Ellwood]

"I think IF you can do his vibrato, his style, his sparseness and signature licks...you can play him on ANY thing"

 

Right on BWB!! you said it all man!

[picker]

Originally posted by Omaha:

After its all said and done, I'm thinking about a Peavey Classic 50 410. My dealer has one and I think we can get to where the price is right. It seems like as good a place to start as anything.

Dude, that is a great amp to start out with. It has all the power you'll ever need, and a lot of great features besides; reverb, channel switching, effects loop, and a great master volume. Go for it.