good combo amp for "tuby" bluesy sound (for telecaster)????

[zachg]

hey guys-

 

what amp do you recommend for dirty blues with a telecaster?

examples:

fender hot rod deluxe

peavey classic 30

peavey delta blues

 

all of these have two channels which gives direct access to distortion. HOW DO YOU OERDRIVE AN AMP WITH ONLY ONE CHANNEL such as the AMPEG SJ-12T or FENDER BLUES JUNIOR????

 

thanks guys!!!!!

[Funk Jazz]

turn it up or put a tube screamer (or equivalent) in front of it.

 

i take it your in the under 1K range? take a look at a used fender vibrolux or deluxe. low wattage, growly, and perfect for blues.

 

my particular picks would be a mesa boogie blue angel, a matchless lightning, any budda, a tweed deluxe, a tweed champ, or a dr z charmen ghia.

[picker]

Originally posted by zachg:

hey guys-

 

what amp do you recommend for dirty blues with a telecaster?

examples:

fender hot rod deluxe

peavey classic 30

peavey delta blues

I really like the sound of the Delta Blues, especially if you can find one with a 15" speaker. That particular amp/speaker combo should pull a little more warmth out of the Tele's brittleness.

 

all of these have two channels which gives direct access to distortion. HOW DO YOU OERDRIVE AN AMP WITH ONLY ONE CHANNEL such as the AMPEG SJ-12T or FENDER BLUES JUNIOR????

 

thanks guys!!!!!

If you are in a situation where you can't turn it up enough to make the amp overdrive naturally, I agree with putting am overdrive pedal in front of the amp, but I recommend a Charlie Stringer Black Dog or Tweedy Dog, or a Keeley modded Boss Blues Driver. And the amp I would choose out of the two you mentioned is the Fender Blues Junior. I HATE the distortion channel on the Hot Rod Deluxe, and the HR DeVille is just as bad. The Classic 30 is a cool sounding amp. But if I had my drothers, I'd go with a 60 watt Boogie Mark III. They are very versatile, and sound great in all three modes. They don't make 'em anymore so you have to look around, check ebay, etc., but they are worth looking for. They usually sell for less than a full-dress 100 watt Mark III rig, and much less than one of the Mark IIs because they made a lot more of them. Mine sounded great right out of the box. Good luck finding the sound of your dreams.

 

Vande

[daddyelmis]

Well, here's my "I've become a disciple of low wattage amps" recommendation:

 

I recommend the Fender Pro Jr -- at 15 watts you can use the amps natural tube distortion, and roll back the guitar's volume to clean it up. Fender Champs are great as well (at 6 watts), though I've not played one.

 

Unless you're playing sizeable venues, you won't be able to turn up a 30 or 50 watt amp enough to get to the power tube distortion (blues territory) without killing everyone in the room and having the police show up at your door.

 

Amp wattage and volume are exponentially related, meaning:

 

40 watts is 94% as loud as 50 watts.

20 watts is 76% as loud as 50 watts.

10 watts is 62% as loud as 50 watts.

5 watts is 50% as loud as 50 watts.

1 watt is 31% as loud as 50 watts.

 

I've got a wonderful Bassman RI (45 watts) that's never seen volume past 3 without an attenuator, and even with the attenuator, getting to 6 (my personal sweet spot on this amp) is wwaaaaayyyy too loud for the stage & rest of the band.

 

If you're going to use a Tube Screamer, Fulldrive, etc (great pedals all) then any of the amps you mention will do well, but you won't get the power tube distortion and will rely almost exclusively on the preamp tubes. In fact, most folks rely on the preamp tubes because, again, it's hard to drive a 30, 50 or 100 watt amp hard enough to get power tuibe distortion without deafening yourself and everyone around.

 

My $0.02 -- YMMV

[picker]

Originally posted by daddyelmis:

Well, here's my "I've become a disciple of low wattage amps" recommendation:

 

I recommend the Fender Pro Jr -- at 15 watts you can use the amps natural tube distortion, and roll back the guitar's volume to clean it up. Fender Champs are great as well (at 6 watts), though I've not played one.

 

Unless you're playing sizeable venues, you won't be able to turn up a 30 or 50 watt amp enough to get to the power tube distortion (blues territory) without killing everyone in the room and having the police show up at your door.

 

Amp wattage and volume are exponentially related, meaning:

 

40 watts is 94% as loud as 50 watts.

20 watts is 76% as loud as 50 watts.

10 watts is 62% as loud as 50 watts.

5 watts is 50% as loud as 50 watts.

1 watt is 31% as loud as 50 watts.

 

I've got a wonderful Bassman RI (45 watts) that's never seen volume past 3 without an attenuator, and even with the attenuator, getting to 6 (my personal sweet spot on this amp) is wwaaaaayyyy too loud for the stage & rest of the band.

 

If you're going to use a Tube Screamer, Fulldrive, etc (great pedals all) then any of the amps you mention will do well, but you won't get the power tube distortion and will rely almost exclusively on the preamp tubes. In fact, most folks rely on the preamp tubes because, again, it's hard to drive a 30, 50 or 100 watt amp hard enough to get power tuibe distortion without deafening yourself and everyone around.

 

My $0.02 -- YMMV

BIG amen from here. If you wanna sound like Stevie Ray, turn that non-master volume amp UP and make the power tubes work for a living! And if you're in the same situation as most of us (ie, everybody around you screaming "TURN IT DOWN!" just about the time you get the sound you're looking for), that means low-powered amps. I had a silverface non-reverb Princeton amp that sounded pretty wonderful with the volume knob at about two o'clock. The guy I got it from used two non-reverb Princetons (a blackface and a the siverface)in stereo with some multi-effects floor unit, and I had to push my Boogie to keep up with his level. The only change I ever thought about making to it was having it modded for 6L6s instead of the 6V6s(better distortion characteristics, I was told), but the sound was great the way it was and I was pretty broke...

 

Vande

[gtrmac]

Fender Pro Junior was a good suggestion if you are mostly just jamming in a small room or if you can mike it for clubs. My personal favorite it the '65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue. I have a Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb and it's almost too loud most of the time.

 

The amps with overdrive channels all sound cheesy to me. They have IC's in the circuit and the overdrive is accomplished with the preamp tubes.

[zachg]

anyone know the difference between A watts and AB watts, etc.?

[Chipotle]

I'm going to give a little counter point on the "wattage" issue. My advice is to buy the amp which inspires you. Do not worry about the wattage as it does not tell the entire story. The speaker type and configuration will have just as much impact on the sound level. A 20 watt amp through a 4x12 may well sound louder than a 50 watt amp through a 1x12. The voicing of the amp will have an impact. The wattage also determines to some extent the feel of the amplifier. Buy the amp that feels right. Also, If you want to get some bass, it takes more wattage.

 

In my opinion, the best tones are achieved through a combination of different types of distortions. For example, a class a/b output section distorting cancels out even order harmonics. However, any even harmonics from the triodes in the preamp will pass through. I believe this is why so many feel they need to "push" the front end of their amp; it sounds better with the overtones of the triodes in the preamp. A lot of Hi Fi guys like single ended triodes because of the sweetness of the even order harmonics. Don't underestimate the distortions generated in the preamp.

 

To get the power tubes to distort, the preceding driver stage, and the preamp stages prior to the driver should not clip before the output tubes. This is not neccessarily the case in every amp. I suspect that a lot of players may confuse the crunchy distortion that comes from the phase inverter to be power tube distortion. In the case of a lot of Marshalls, I've read that you can get a lot of the sound with a post phase inverter master volume.

 

Also, each tube distorts in its own way. Buy the amp whose character you like. If you limit yourself based on wattage, you're limiting your tube options to some extent. Generally two EL-34's driven hard are going to put out more than two EL-84's. It's two different sounds, though.

 

Finally, in my experience, if you're going to play out in clubs, you may benefit from having a way to achieve your sound at a variety of levels. You can take a 12 watt amp to a show and it still could be too loud. You can take a 100 watt master volume head and be fine. Master volume, attenuator, or distortion boxes - no matter what amp you buy, you'll probably have to investigate those options.

 

Oh yeah, no difference between class A and A/B watts.

[gtrmac]

Originally posted by Chipotle:

My advice is to buy the amp which inspires you. Do not worry about the wattage as it does not tell the entire story.

Word

[BlueZet]

I've been playing a HotRod Deluxe for years now and you can get great blues tones from these amps, you just have to know how to use them --> the wrong way around

 

if I want "dirty" blues sounds, I use the following settings:

 

clean channel : 0 (this becomes effectively your "mute")

"drive" channel: master MAX - put the EQ to your liking - control volume with the 'drive' knob. put the volume control on your guitar about half way and get yourself a good clean sound, from there you can turn up to dial in crunch at about 75% and turn up all the way for solo.

 

"more drive" channel: this is effectively your 'panic' button - when your bandmates drown out your solo, hit the switch and they'll remember to turn down next time

 

actually, most of the time I don't bother plugging in the footswitch, I don't use it and it's in the way and gets stepped on accidentally, effectively ruining our sound balance, so...

 

this is MY way of using this amp, as far as "advice" for buying I can only say, try to borrow one from someone yuo know for a rehearsal or gig, and find out if the two of you get along (I mean the amp and you )

[strat0124]

If you're a shonuff bluesman, a Gorilla amp and a no name tele knockoff will sound fab! If you're looking for gear to make you sound like SRV......good luck!

I have to speak up for the Pro Jr. With nothing in between it and your guitar cept a cable, cranked about half to 3/4, I defy you to get a more authentic tone with the right guitar. And its PLENTY loud enough. Loud enough your soundman will beg you to turn down.

Yeah, a Deluxe sounds great, also has more knobs.......and they aren't known for havin tons of bass either. 22watts vs 15 watts. I doubt you'll tell the diff in volume. Maybe, but I have my doubts.

[strat0124]

Originally posted by picker:

Originally posted by zachg:

hey guys-

 

what amp do you recommend for dirty blues with a telecaster?

examples:

fender hot rod deluxe

peavey classic 30

peavey delta blues

I really like the sound of the Delta Blues, especially if you can find one with a 15" speaker. That particular amp/speaker combo should pull a little more warmth out of the Tele's brittleness.

 

all of these have two channels which gives direct access to distortion. HOW DO YOU OERDRIVE AN AMP WITH ONLY ONE CHANNEL such as the AMPEG SJ-12T or FENDER BLUES JUNIOR????

 

thanks guys!!!!!

If you are in a situation where you can't turn it up enough to make the amp overdrive naturally, I agree with putting am overdrive pedal in front of the amp, but I recommend a Charlie Stringer Black Dog or Tweedy Dog, or a Keeley modded Boss Blues Driver. And the amp I would choose out of the two you mentioned is the Fender Blues Junior. I HATE the distortion channel on the Hot Rod Deluxe, and the HR DeVille is just as bad. The Classic 30 is a cool sounding amp. But if I had my drothers, I'd go with a 60 watt Boogie Mark III. They are very versatile, and sound great in all three modes. They don't make 'em anymore so you have to look around, check ebay, etc., but they are worth looking for. They usually sell for less than a full-dress 100 watt Mark III rig, and much less than one of the Mark IIs because they made a lot more of them. Mine sounded great right out of the box. Good luck finding the sound of your dreams.

 

Vande

Dial in that Deville and you'll find a new amp. They ain't for everybody though.

[Werewolf by Night]

Originally posted by Geenard:

If you're a shonuff bluesman, a Gorilla amp and a no name tele knockoff will sound fab!

That rig-rx would seem kinda hifalutin' compared to Hound Dog Taylor's or Snooks Eglin's!

 

If you're looking for gear to make you sound like SRV......good luck!

Both of the above show that it's just as much- naaa, WAAAY much moreso- the player that counts.

[DIAMOND DUST]

http://namm.harmony-central.com/WNAMM01/Content/THD/PR/UniValve-large.jpg

[NMcGuitar]

Originally posted by badblues:

I've been playing a HotRod Deluxe for years now and you can get great blues tones from these amps, you just have to know how to use them --> the wrong way around

 

if I want "dirty" blues sounds, I use the following settings:

 

clean channel : 0 (this becomes effectively your "mute")

"drive" channel: master MAX - put the EQ to your liking - control volume with the 'drive' knob. put the volume control on your guitar about half way and get yourself a good clean sound, from there you can turn up to dial in crunch at about 75% and turn up all the way for solo.

 

"more drive" channel: this is effectively your 'panic' button - when your bandmates drown out your solo, hit the switch and they'll remember to turn down next time

 

actually, most of the time I don't bother plugging in the footswitch, I don't use it and it's in the way and gets stepped on accidentally, effectively ruining our sound balance, so...

 

this is MY way of using this amp, as far as "advice" for buying I can only say, try to borrow one from someone yuo know for a rehearsal or gig, and find out if the two of you get along (I mean the amp and you )

Now that I've got the Hot Rod Deluxe (BTW, for anyone following the saga, I decided to buy it from my friend ), I'm going to have to try this. So far I've been setting the gain at around 4 and adjusting the master to get a proper volume level (usually around 2). I've been pretty happy with it.

I do tend to use the clean channel a lot, though - it just sounds sooooooo sweet. I especially like it when using my pedals.

I set up with an Ibanez PH7 (phaser) into a TS7 (tubescreamer) into a Tubeworks Smooth (overdrive pedal with a 12AX7 tube). The various combinations of these with the options from the amp's channels gives me a pretty wide range of sounds. Some great blues tones included!