Guitar amps

Hi,

I think it depends heavily on what style of music you want to play.

Let me know and should be able to give you some advise.

cheers,
ray

 

For very heavy sounds I recommend equipment from MESA BOOGIE, it blasts. But the outcome is definitely depending also on the kind of guitar you play. What is it?

 

nice. i like those bands alot too. i use an american strat and a marshall jcm 900. i get most of the sound i want out of it. ATDI uses alot of FX on their guitars though. you just have to play around with every piece of equipment you can untill you find what you like. itll have alot to do with your particular style of playing as well.

a friend of mine just bought a roland combo. i cant remember the exact model but he loves it.

check out the sonic maximizer. it makes your guitar sound great.

Brian

 

The only Fender amp that will get you a tone like those bands is the Twin. I would check out Mesa Boogie, Marshall and for vintage stuff Ampeg. Fender amps have too much twang for that kind of music.

Now if you were playing the blues it would be a whole different story!

 

Maybe alot has changed since I converted to playing keyboards 15 years ago but why would a tube amp be "very high maintenance"?

Tubes are relatively cheap and they can be replaced by yourself without the need for a technician. A weak and/or overly distorted signal is usually an indicator so just pop in some fresh tubes and you know instantly whether you have a more serious problem. I recently had all of my vintage Mesa and Fender amps gone over by the best amp tech man in Austin and except for his ability to check the bias, I basically paid him big bucks to replace tubes (and one set of ancient capacitors - a caution if you go the vintage route).

From what little I know of todays pop music, I would say the FX are more important than the specific amp as long as it's a good one.

 

Mesa Boogie if you want something to "CRUNCH"

Marshall Combo or half stack w/ a JMC 900 should do it pretty well too.

Fender Twin Reverb are usually good for blues based rock or pop rock - great tone though

 

Buying a guitar amp and even a guitar are some of the most frustrating experiences I've ever encountered as a guitarist. Basically, everyone has an opinion one way or another. The guy at the music store is primarily just wanting you to buy something so he's of little help. Obviously, you need to pick a solid state amp or tube amp. Also, you need to define your criteria you want in the amp. Do you want a 1 x 12, 2 x 12, 4 x 12? Will it be a practice amp or an amp you may use in live in performances? I've never heard a bad thing about the Fender Twin Reverb. You also have to consider the types of effects you may be using. Do you want an amp with built-in effects or will you be feeding effects to the amp with an effects processor? If that's the case, then certain amps work better than others with the different effects processors. I currently have an effects processor that sounds best going through a PA system than it does any amp.

The basic thing I always hear is take your guitar in to the guitar shop and play it through the amps your considering until you find the sound you like. Obviously, they say the same thing about buying guitars is play the guitar and play it through your amp if possible. Those bits of advice don't necessarily mean you will always end up with the ideal equipment. You can always look on the web and read product reviews/ratings but that's another case of frustration in itself.

I also tend to look at what my favorite artists are using for amps and guitars if I play certain music from certain bands or a specific guitarist fits my style. I would look into equipment from their equipment lists as a priority.

Eventually, your just going to have to say WTF...this is it...I'll take this one. The final decision is in your court. Everyone and their mother is going to recommend something different.

 

I love guitar amps - even more than guitars. There's nothing like finding the right amp that makes you sound bigger than you have any right to be.

No amp is going to give you all the sounds of all the bands you listed. Like guitars, amps usually have specific sonic characteristics and thus they excel at certain types of music. For example:

-Fender amps tend to be have a clean, glassy sound (and can be easily EQd to sound twangy) at low volumes and have a mild, bluesy distortion at higher volumes (although a Fender Twin will usually not have any distortion even with the volume knob dimed). Listen to any country song and you'll hear a Twin.

-Marshalls tend to be darker and thicker, and are built for heavy, distorted sounds (think AC/DC).

- Vox amps are known for their compressed (meaning all notes are very even-sounding), midrangy clean and break up into a very cool distortion. Listen to the Edge (U2) for the classic Vox sound.

- Mesa Boogies are considered "modern" sounding amps. They are somewhere between a Fender and Marshall, although they lack the EQ bumps of either amp. They're most famous for their super heavy and scooped midrange distortion (think Metallica or Korn).

Basically, if you need versatility, look for an amp with a good clean sound (a Fender Twin would be a good choice) and use pedals to change your sound. I would look at a good overdrive pedal (Ibanez Tube Screamer TS-9 is the classic but their are other good ones), a delay (analog or digital, but that's a different topic) and some kind of modulation pedal (flanger, chorus or phaser).

On the issue of tubes, they aren't too expensive ($50-$60 per quartet for power tubes, $5-$10 per preamp tube) and you don't have to replace them very often (maybe once every 2-3 years). Tubes tend to prevent "spikes" in your sound due to the fact that they compress the sound as the volume gets louder. There are good solid state amps out there (Roland JC120, Polytone MiniBrute) but they work best in low volume settings where the player is playing clean (think jazz).

I would suggest that you go to www.harmony-central.com and look through their guitar amp database. That way, you can read other players' opinions.

Good luck.

 

It depends on the speakers you have in the amp. It's been my experience that stock Fender speakers blow out frequently. I have a 1971 Twin Reverb...built before they put master volumes in them. I had the tremelo taken out, a master volume put in, and two 100 watt Celestion speakers and Russian military tubes installed in it. It gets Marshall crunch and Fender Twang, and I've never blown the speakers. I also have a VibroVerb reissue with vintage Jensen ceramic speakers in it...never blown those either.

 

ebay. try usedrockgear.com.

or music123.com

or guitar center.

 

chicken boy,

Unless you are playing outdoors with no PA system, you should NEVER need to turn up a Fender Twin all the way. These amps are ridiculously loud and most soundmen will physically assault you if you insist on playing the Twin at full hilt. While some amps (Marshall in particular) need to played with the volume turned up to get their signature sound, Fender Twins will sound good at moderate volume. Plus, playing at really loud volumes will wear down all the components of your amp (speakers, tubes, other innards) much more quickly. If your band is playing with their amps dimed, they need to turn down as most clubs will look poorly on bands who play too loud on stage.

A 1971 Twin (all original) can probably be had for under a grand, provided you're not looking for a museum piece. 70s Master Volume Silverface Twins usually sell between $600-$800. One thing to consider - while original blackface twins (manufactured from the mid to late 60s) are the most prized of the twins, you can buy any silverface twin and have it modified (for about $150)to sound just like blackface.

You can easily use a pedal to create distortion (I know for a fact that Radiohead uses pedals for distortion). If you need a really thick heavy sound, try an Electro Harmonix Big Muff or a ProCo Rat (any version). These can be found used at virtually every music store.

One point I forgot to mention is that if you can afford it, try to buy a point-to-point (PTP) wired amp. What that means is that all the components are hooked up via wire rather than via a printed circuit board (PCB). While there is some debate whether PTP actually makes an amp sound better, there is no question that it is easier to repair and is less prone to permanent damage (I've heard some pretty nightmarish stories about PCBs melting from the tube heat).

I'm not a big fan of Mesa Boogies as they just sound bland to me. But if it works for you, go ahead and buy it.

 

I've owned it since 1979...back then it cost me about $350 used and then another $300 or so for the modifications.

If you are looking for a good guitar shop where the people who work there will be straight-up with you, I advise you to check out Fuller's Vintage Guitar. They are located on the feeder road of Loop 610 North near Yale. 99% of their stuff is used or vintage, so if you are looking for a brand new amp, they might not be the place for you. However, they are stand-up people, and they WILL tell you the truth about any gear they have in stock. Plus, unlike Rockin Robin, they will make deals and work with your budget. I highly recommend them...I wouldn't buy used or vintage gear anywhere else in Houston. Fuller's is where I bought my VibroVerb reissue and where the vintage Jensens on it were installed.