looking for new amp head/combo

Progrockabuse · Post by **Progrockabuse** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 8:25 am

hey all, hope everyone is well and all is shizzle.

finally life has settled down and i can catchup on a few things. i've had to send my dual terror away for repair. a recurring problem that valve changes weren't fixing up. i've borrowed my mates DT for now, but i've been toying with getting a spare amp.

for redeploying to carphone from best buy, i got a big thank-you payout which has meant i can save a couple of grand and treat myself to a little something.

was thinking of a fender pawn shop excelsoir or something. maybe a marshall head if cheap. quite like the idea of maybe something with verb or trem. mustang II?

whats you thinking shortscale?

gypsyseven · Post by **gypsyseven** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 8:32 am

Yeah, the Excelsior or the new Super Champ head X2....

UlricvonCatalyst · Post by **UlricvonCatalyst** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 8:45 am

DON'T BUY NEW! Makes no sense when you can still pick up something with point-to-point wiring and without the made-to-fail inherent design flaw in most modern amps for the same money.

Look for a silverface Vibro Champ or an old British amp by Selmer/WEM/Elpico/Bird etc. Even if you have to get it serviced immediately it'll be a far better buy.

Ben79 · Post by **Ben79** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 10:15 am

Agree with Ulric, I'd go for the real thing and get an old point to point valve amp. There's always something interesting on ebay....like this or this or this

Not saying any of those are any good (and 2 are combos) but that's the road I'd be heading up if I had cash in my pockets.

gypsyseven · Post by **gypsyseven** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 11:28 am

Or a used AC15.They're going really cheap on eBay, at least here....

benecol · Post by **benecol** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 12:13 pm

Now watching that Traynor...

johnnyseven · Post by **johnnyseven** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 1:05 pm

Buy a Carlsbro 50 Top, actually buy mine.

kim · Post by **kim** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 1:45 pm

princeton reverb

jos keeding.

i opted for one of those blackheart 1w combos for home recording/practice because it has an emulated line out (can play at 4am with insomnia) but sometimes it's tempting to get a secondhand old amp instead, doesn't have features like that but indeed..usually better build quality (there's a reason they've lasted so long)

but usually by the time people here are selling their old amps they know exactly what they're worth and they go for stupid prices.

lorez · Post by **lorez** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 1:47 pm

benecol wrote:Now watching that Traynor...

are you seriously interested in it Tim? Looks sweet and local as well

benecol · Post by **benecol** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 1:58 pm

kim wrote:princeton reverb

jos keeding.

Why's that kidding Kim? The Princetons are great.

Lorez, am keeping an eye on it; might be worth a squirt if it stays cheap.

Progrockabuse · Post by **Progrockabuse** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 12:55 pm

hmmm maybe that mustang amp might be worth it. around 145 bones and can be used as a front end for my mac

johnnyseven · Post by **johnnyseven** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 1:03 pm

Progrockabuse wrote:hmmm maybe that mustang amp might be worth it. around 145 bones and can be used as a front end for my mac

Timhulio was selling one recently, Mustang II I think.

Progrockabuse · Post by **Progrockabuse** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 8:00 am

i think that's what i'm going for. thinking is that the II would be loud enough to use at a gig if my DT shits the bed again. though i do like the idea of a cute little 5 w valve amp or something

thickarms · Post by **thickarms** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 8:36 am

johnnyseven wrote:Buy a Carlsbro 50 Top, actually buy mine.

I have a 50 top and I loooooooooooove it. No frills. Mind you, there's no vibrato built in

Progrockabuse · Post by **Progrockabuse** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 8:56 am

think that's why the mustang appeals. small and got trem-o-lolz on it. did think the little super champs, but they're pricey for what you get compared to the mustang I/II

johnnyseven · Post by **johnnyseven** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:50 am

thickarms wrote:
johnnyseven wrote:Buy a Carlsbro 50 Top, actually buy mine.
I have a 50 top and I loooooooooooove it. No frills. Mind you, there's no vibrato built in

That's what I like about it, no bells or whistles - just an awesome loud clean sound, the rest I can get with pedals. Have been thinking of selling mine though as I rarely use it and my Bassman gets more use.

lorez · Post by **lorez** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 11:03 am

what's been the issue with the Dual Terror Proggy?

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 1:38 pm

I don't expect this is quite what you're needing but I Love my Blackstar HT-5 head. It's got that sort of usefulness half way between just a straight ahead plug and play amp like a TT but with the sort of bells and whistles you'd expect on some solid state modelling type thing. Maybe jack-of-alltrades/master of none but it's great fun to play through and you can pick up the old model pretty cheap.

Progrockabuse · Post by **Progrockabuse** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 6:08 pm

lorez wrote:what's been the issue with the Dual Terror Proggy?

at first i thought it was dying valves again, but after two sets in just over a year and then the new set sounding like they were failing i decided to take it in. it happens after the amps been on for about half an hour, sounds like typical dying valve sound, then it starts making ring mod/cheap fuzz sounds after you've played a note.

i plumped for the mustang II, picked it up today. very impressed with the sounds for Â£130 quid. just installed the fuse software and having a dabble making patches.

lorez · Post by **lorez** » Thu Mar 01, 2012 9:33 am

Rob, would you say its an isolated issue to your DT or is it a known issue on the model in general?