Marso Posted January 29, 2002 Share Posted January 29, 2002 Hi, I'm tired of struggling with my amps so I want to buy a new one. (geezz, will I ever stop??)I do a lot of blues gigs and a few rock too but I also work in studios and then need the amp to give me any type of sound from rock to pop to blues and so on... I owned a fender twin amp (loud, very loud, tough to make the clean channel break), a fender concert (not bad but...), a mesa boogie mk111 coliseum (you wanna buy??) an old marshall modified bass head (this one is too dirty, the amp only develop 35 watts and is not able to really have a clean sound when needed!!) and a crate blue voodoo. (this one was for jingles, easy to carry, but definetely not a great amp by all means) No, this time I want to get an all around good sounding not out to lunch too pricey versatile amp!!! I'm dreaming again right??!! Any suggestions? (just to add to my psychosis) What about mesa's Nomad or Maverick?? or new Marshalls? Any thoughts?? TY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dak Lander Posted January 29, 2002 Share Posted January 29, 2002 I like the Fender Hot Rod deVille 212 for the types of music you stated. It's a nice, LOUD, fairly versatile amp. It won't get rightiously dirty with the onboard distortion so when you want that, go with your favorite pedal. Look at the Carvin stuff too. They'll definately have something that will work for you. I never done that before... Our Joint "When you come slam bang up against trouble, it never looks half as bad if you face up to it." The Duke... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minnie The Moocher Posted January 30, 2002 Share Posted January 30, 2002 Maybe the Reverend Hellhound could suits you, with his american/english switch . But to be true, I think there's no amp that could cover every style - or maybe the THD univalve, with a good stock of spare NOS tubes and 3 or 4 differents cabinets; but you will say it's not powerfull enough outside of the studio ... [ 01-29-2002: Message edited by: Minnie The Moocher ] Philippe - aka "Minnie The Moocher"- is a proud member of the Xanadu Team - visit us at www.Xanaduteam.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtrmac Posted January 30, 2002 Share Posted January 30, 2002 If you wanna play real tube amps then you probably need three to cover all the bases. Fender, Marshall and Vox. I can't get behind that modeling thing but I'm a bit closed-minded I'll admit. I've mostly been a Fender guy and I have a Custom Vibrolux Reverb made by Fender that I love. I'm planning to get a Tweed style boutique amp soon too. My other favorite is the '65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue. I had a Blues DeVille 212 but I thought that the opamps made it too noisy for my taste. Mac Bowne G-Clef Acoustics Ltd. Osaka, Japan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wickerman Posted January 30, 2002 Share Posted January 30, 2002 Originally posted by daklander: I like the Fender Hot Rod deVille 212 for the types of music you stated. It's a nice, LOUD, fairly versatile amp. Look at the Carvin stuff too. They'll definately have something that will work for you. Fender DeVille. Good amp for clean and light overdrive but even on the light end of hard distortion it's crappy. You can get a pretty decent blackface/boutique amp sound outta it. It's nice but you can do better... Carvin... The better. The Carvin Bel Air... 2x12, 50 watt tweed. 4 EL84s, five 12AX7s, eminence designed speakers, reverb, $590 including shipping... It's got better clean than the Fender DeVille and some GREAT overdrive/distortion. I play jazz and blues mostly and this is what I use. Well, I use the 1x12 version. Great amp. Otherwise a Fender Bassman reissue is great ($900) or a Reverend Hellhound. That's a nice little amp... Not great but worth checking out. Um... Carvin Legacy and Master Tube series... Gibson Goldtone (good but very expensive...) I'd say check into the Carvins... If you can't find any, you can order one and return it for a full refund. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sylver Posted January 30, 2002 Share Posted January 30, 2002 Originally posted by Wickerman: Fender DeVille. Good amp for clean and light overdrive but even on the light end of hard distortion it's crappy. I dunno, but I just re tubed my HRDx with EH12AX7's and Svetlana's and I think the drive is smokin. It was a little harsh before, but retubing and then rebiasing to 68ma seemed to do the trick. It's so damn versitle. And for $500, I think it's a winner. Of course, I never played the Carvins of Peaveys in the same price range. Just my 2 cents. Jack I really don't know what to put here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marso Posted January 30, 2002 Author Share Posted January 30, 2002 Carvin hmmm, we don't see that around here, sounds interesting with that full refund thing. I was interested in the Reverend as well or the Univalve but I would have to get two units for live purposes I guess. What Carvin model would you really believe in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sylver Posted January 30, 2002 Share Posted January 30, 2002 Originally posted by Wickerman: Carvin... The better. The Carvin Bel Air... 2x12, 50 watt tweed. 4 EL84s, five 12AX7s, eminence designed speakers, reverb, $590 including shipping... It's got better clean than the Fender DeVille and some GREAT overdrive/distortion. I play jazz and blues mostly and this is what I use. Well, I use the 1x12 version. Great amp. Otherwise a Fender Bassman reissue is great ($900) or a Reverend Hellhound. That's a nice little amp... Not great but worth checking out. Um... Carvin Legacy and Master Tube series... Gibson Goldtone (good but very expensive...) I'd say check into the Carvins... If you can't find any, you can order one and return it for a full refund. These are the models I've heard are pretty good (Though I might have heard that from another Wickerman post ... lol) You can only buy Carvin new stuff direct. Carvin.com Jack I really don't know what to put here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dak Lander Posted January 30, 2002 Share Posted January 30, 2002 Originally posted by Marso: Carvin hmmm, we don't see that around here, sounds interesting with that full refund thing. I was interested in the Reverend as well or the Univalve but I would have to get two units for live purposes I guess. What Carvin model would you really believe in? All the Carvins are hot. It just depends on what you're looking for, tube or not. The Legacy VL212 is great but in another vein, so are their tweed series as it the master tube series. Jump on their site & read about what they have. I never done that before... Our Joint "When you come slam bang up against trouble, it never looks half as bad if you face up to it." The Duke... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
take5 Posted January 30, 2002 Share Posted January 30, 2002 You live in Montreal...go to Steve's music and try a Traynor Custom Valve 40 or Traynor Custom Valve 80. I own the 40 (paid $600.00 Cdn) and it is a great amp...two channels...terrific clean and crunch tones with a spring reverb. Covers a lot of ground, very versatile...does not have a bad tone on any setting! And it is a loud 40 watts! More than enough poop to play with a band. Very quiet when idling...great for recording. I bought a Les Paul from Steve's a few years back...and later a VS 1680...good store to deal with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Gauss Posted January 30, 2002 Share Posted January 30, 2002 buy a used fender deluxe reverb (early 70's silverface are much cheaper and easy to convert to blackface). that and a pedal or two and you can do most anything you want to do.... -d. gauss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenton Posted January 30, 2002 Share Posted January 30, 2002 I know you have tried a Mark III, but you might give a Mark IV a run through. They might take a little work to get what you are looking for, but once you get everything dialed in, they are sweet. Three (almost) independent channels too. If you try one, be sure to really give the Class A/Simulclass, Tweed and Pentode/Triod switches a good workout. These switches can really make a difference, as you might imagine. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenton Posted January 30, 2002 Share Posted January 30, 2002 Oh yeah, the Maverick sounds REALLY great, but from my limited exposure it might be a little retro sounding for any modern pop tones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marso Posted January 30, 2002 Author Share Posted January 30, 2002 Oh yeah, I know Steve's music store, gave them a lot of good money. Thank you all for your answers. I'm such a maniac with gear that by the end of my life I will probably have enough of everything to open a store!(too bad I won't be around to get some good deals!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wickerman Posted January 31, 2002 Share Posted January 31, 2002 Carvins? For blues? The Bel Air. (What everyone is refering to when they say "The Carvin tweed") Definetly. It's a 2x12 50 watt with five 12AX7s and four EL84s with a bias switch (EL84s to 6L6s) incase you want to switch to 6L6s. It's got real nice reverb and comes with a footswitch. (channel and reverb) It's clean channel great. A lot say it's better than a Fender. The OD is AMAZING! So thick you could cut it with a knife! Ohhh it's nice. Carvin's Master Tube series are also great but a little more metal/hardrock oriented. The Legacy are Steve Via's little Carvin collaboration. They're GREAT amps but I doubt it's the thing you're looking for. Carvin also sell's matching tweed covered ext. cabs for the Bel Air. Great investment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaccursi Posted January 31, 2002 Share Posted January 31, 2002 I've played the Carvin master tube 212 and loved it. I didn't experiment with it too much, but it was loud and thick with a lot of gain if you needed it. I like the Fender Hot rods a lot too, the gain is pretty harsh stock, I'd like to hear one set up as Sylver mentioned. Ever play a Budda? If you want to drop about 1300 the Super Drive 30 is one of the sweetest sounding amps I've heard, it's class A with 3 gain stages, so you get some versatility. good luck As for new marshalls, they don't seem to be very reliable, when I worked at Sam Ash, we seemed to be sending a lot of them back. Buy my Strat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marso Posted January 31, 2002 Author Share Posted January 31, 2002 Would you be able to do a rock gig (not heavy metal, not that type of dist.) with the Bel air?? Let's say from Zep to Arc Angel or Black Crowes type of sound. Or the opposite, is it doable to make a blues gig with the master tube 212?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wickerman Posted February 1, 2002 Share Posted February 1, 2002 Originally posted by Marso: Would you be able to do a rock gig (not heavy metal, not that type of dist.) with the Bel air?? Let's say from Zep to Arc Angel or Black Crowes type of sound. Or the opposite, is it doable to make a blues gig with the master tube 212?? Blues with the master tube? Yes, but the Bel Air is more oriented for blues. Rock with a Bel Air? Yes. You can get some great AC/DC-Iron Maiden hard rock distortion outta it. Those EL84s give you a dirty sound like an old Marshall Plexi. They can get pretty high gain. ... MAN I love my Nomad. (The 1x12 version of a Bel Air) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marso Posted February 1, 2002 Author Share Posted February 1, 2002 Wick, Thank you, I really appreciate... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wickerman Posted February 1, 2002 Share Posted February 1, 2002 No problem. Anything to help one of my "canuck" friends to the ... east-north-east type direction! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marso Posted February 1, 2002 Author Share Posted February 1, 2002 Above some distant parrallel... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedi Posted February 1, 2002 Share Posted February 1, 2002 I like the Fender Hot Rod deVille 212 for the types of music you stated. I love this amp also. You could also try the Hot Rod Deville 410. They both sound great, IMO. You will need a good Dist. Pedal for them, the overdrive channel sucks for me. A Fender BlackFace Super would be ideal, but to find one in good condition is difficult. Also, those amps can cost you. Never tried the Carvins, but now I'm very interested. Jedi "All conditioned things are impermanent. Work out your own salvation with diligence." The Buddha's Last Words R.I.P. RobT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strat0124 Posted February 1, 2002 Share Posted February 1, 2002 You may not believe it, but there are less expensive tube amps that will roar with authority, very toneful. Last night we played Dixie's Tavern, thats part of the Jillians corporate drinking holes throughout the country. The stage was elevated with stairs in the back. I only brought small amps cause its a bitch toting that stuff through this mall like environment that is Jillians. I had a blues jr and a pro jr setting behind the stage miked up. Putting them back there allowed me to turn them up about a third of the way up....which is LOUD. Killer tone last night and had the soundman (who does sound for our amphitheatre) coming back after a break to check out the amps. I didn't even use a pedal except for a boost for certain fills and leads, it was growling and roaring as it was. For roughly 2 bills I don't see how you can go wrong with a Pro Jr. Down like a dollar comin up against a yen, doin pretty good for the shape I'm in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myles_rose Posted February 1, 2002 Share Posted February 1, 2002 Originally posted by Marso: Hi, I'm tired of struggling with my amps so I want to buy a new one. (geezz, will I ever stop??)I do a lot of blues gigs and a few rock too but I also work in studios and then need the amp to give me any type of sound from rock to pop to blues and so on... I owned a fender twin amp (loud, very loud, tough to make the clean channel break), a fender concert (not bad but...), a mesa boogie mk111 coliseum (you wanna buy??) an old marshall modified bass head (this one is too dirty, the amp only develop 35 watts and is not able to really have a clean sound when needed!!) and a crate blue voodoo. (this one was for jingles, easy to carry, but definetely not a great amp by all means) No, this time I want to get an all around good sounding not out to lunch too pricey versatile amp!!! I'm dreaming again right??!! Any suggestions? (just to add to my psychosis) What about mesa's Nomad or Maverick?? or new Marshalls? Any thoughts?? TY Marso ... Tough question. Sometimes the best compromise is to have two different amps with different front end gain structures and tone stacks. Marshall and Fender tone stacks are very different. With two amps and an A/B switch, you can have a bit more variety, and a lot of time the two amps can be found in smaller versions at less cost than a lot of today's boutique amps. If you go to my website, I have graphs on the tone stacks of both Fender and Marshall amplifiers. Virtually all amps today use one of these basic tone stacks ... hence the "British" or "American" sound. Look at Paul Rivera's amps. He has some smaller ones that are something of a bargain in today's dollars, loud, and portable. Look at the Quiana Studio as an example. One of the nice aspects of the Rivera products is that they are about the only multi-channel amp (outside of the $3000 + Bogner Ecstacy), that have one channel voiced US and the other channel voiced UK. Most other amp designers just have the same EQ configuration on both channels, with more gain on one of them. Regards Myles S. Rose www.guitaramplifierblueprinting.com www.la-economy.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/mylesr www.twitter.com/myles111us Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewJoe24 Posted February 1, 2002 Share Posted February 1, 2002 AS Wickerman posted: The Gibson Goldtone series (especially the GA30-RVS) is sweet sounding. Nothing I have heard sounds like as sweet and responsive. Lay back and get great gold tone. Dig in and get dirty enough at a tubular drinking fountain. With humbuckers no need for a volumne pedal or a fuzz box. Try one and see. If endorsements are cool - Joe Perry and Eric Johnson and other studio players I have heard are in awe. It is a little pricey but it's stereO from the effects in to the 2 power amps at 15 rms each. A very loud (too loud) amp that doesn't need much , if any, volumne to sound sweet. My amps includes a Fender 59 Harvard and a 60's Super Reverb. Goldtone beats them both (great with Strats). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marso Posted February 1, 2002 Author Share Posted February 1, 2002 Goldtone, Rivera, Carvin, the usual Fender and Marshall...Budda, Dr Z., aaaaargh!!! That's it, I need two aspirins! As soon as I'm free, I will have to do some serious thinking and testing, I will not find every make and every model mentionned here but I will get on the case big time. I'm going to sell some amps that I don't really use anymore (like the Crate Blue Voodoo) and maybe buy 2 instead of one.(then I'll wake up and go to work) Nevertheless I find that thread quite interesting and I will keep you guys posted on my discoveries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marso Posted February 2, 2002 Author Share Posted February 2, 2002 I forgot... What are the basic differences in sound between amps powered with EL34, EL84 and 6L6. Well, I know the diff. between EL34 and 6L6, in fact it's the EL84 that I don't know of, I've never use an amp equipped with EL84. The Bel-Air has EL84. Rivera uses 6L6 for the Quinia but El34 for the Fandango. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emperator Posted February 2, 2002 Share Posted February 2, 2002 Marso, what are you using for guitars and pedals? Also in the clubs it's usually better to use smaller amps that come up to tone when you bring them full up in level. Old twins are a great sound. You just have to turn them up so loud that you have to want to be in front of that kind of volume if you're going for that beautiful natural sustain. They work great for Hard Rock in large halls with stock SG or Les Paul. Way to much volume in bars or small clubs. I don't have much use for amps that have overdrive without a strong clean sound (ok crunchy slightly hot rhythm). I say use pickups that are strong but not to hot. Because you can't clean them up. I also think they only tend to have one sound when they're to hot. Good use of the volume control on your guitar for tone as much as level. Use a good overdrive (preamp) pedal. Delay is a good option to make it have sustain easier (reinforces the note). Be cognizant of where and how you pick in controlling your sound. A couple of my partners build amps from scratch as well as have gone through numerous vintage amps (59 Bassmans, Marshalls, HiWatts, Fenders of all different eras). They cross polinate so many circuits it's mind boggling. He's done hundreds and hundreds. I could give you his email if you're interested. I don't want to be spamming here. I've known these guys for 30 years. He could tell you a lot, it's important not to waste his time though. The caveat is that it is still always difficult to get what you want. You can try a zillion things sometimes. For me it's the same amp I used in high school. 50 Watt Marshall plexi (NOS Mullards). Actually mine in highschool was a 100 watter. I'm getting older so 50 watts is better. I do really like the JCM900's though. It would be a real test for me to get in front of a PreCBS Twin on 7 or 8 now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emperator Posted February 2, 2002 Share Posted February 2, 2002 I've seen somebody here had a Seymour Duncan Convertible always thought those were quite versatile. Mesa's always seem to be solid and versatile. I'd say a medium size vintage type Fender combo amp with the above mentioned techniques and pedals is a pretty good choice. I haven't tried any of the newest profesional Fender amps, they have a lot of popularity. Matchless always gets a lot of respect. Combination of all the elements that make the sound. It can be tough for some people. I've known musicians that play great on practically anything. It just drives me up the wall when the sound isn't right for me though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonedog Posted February 2, 2002 Share Posted February 2, 2002 I know you had a boogie but you might want to check out the Tremoverb. I bought one and almost cry every time I turn it on. I've owned Marshalls, a 5150, an Egnater, played all kinds of fenders (Vintage and New) etc. This amp is by far the most versatile that I've had. I generally use the red channel in blues mode with the gain set to about 2:00 great for rock stuff/blues. I had previously not really been into the clean channel but a few weeks ago I was playing with my friend who owns a Fender Tone Master head with cab. You know, the really expensive ones...tweed with the white knobs? And he actually commented on how much better my Tremoverb sounded than his amp....I'd have to agree. Obviously the amp ain't gonna sound exactly like a vox AC30 or something but you can get something similar...and some tones...well this amp owns them, like the high gain thing. And like I said, I'd put it's clean against any Fender. All that being said, as of late I've been hearing horror stories about Mesa amps, namely the Nomad series. Alot of amps DOA, and if they actually made it out of the box alive, died shortly after. My Tremoverb has given me a couple of problems but nothing really serious and it's travelled the country, and has taken a couple of spills. Check one out if they have one in stock at Steve's. As always YMMV, Scott http://www.gearboxmusic.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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