Amp Ideas Welcomed

Jazzmasterfan · Post by **Jazzmasterfan** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 6:35 pm

Hi all

I've not been on this forum long but thought I'd look for some advice. I've just returned to music after a long break (10/ 12 years)and am very out of touch gear wise etct. I did post on another forum but didn't really get anywhere so hope I'll get a few posts.

I've got a Valvestate VS65R amp which I bought a good ten or so years ago. It's been lying idle for quite a while and did spend 4/5 years in the garage. Now when using it, it makes humming noises on very low volume on the clean setting...with a guitar plugged straight in (no effects). I've had both of my guitars serviced and I get the same.

I'm going to get the Valvestate serviced and repaired if required (and if not too expensive) but it got me thinking that perhaps its time to get thinking about a new amp. I was thinking of up to about Â£1,000 would do the job.

I've got a Rickenbacker 360, Fender Jazzmaster and Fender Telecaster Deluxe (just arrived but had to be sent back - that's another story!). I'm into and play indie type music. I love many styles of music (not heavy metal or rock) from My Bloody Valentine to Sonic Youth to Dinosaur Jr to Jeff Buckley to Ride to Sigur Ros to the Vines.

I'm predominantly a rythm guitar player and I'm looking for a simple Marshall amp that can play lovely clean sounds (I will be doing solo gigs as well as play in a band) as well as get grungy/ dirty sounds when required. I know that perhaps a Fender amp would do the lovely clean sounds but I don't want my guitars to sound too Fenderish! There are so many Marshalls out there I'm not sure where to head and would appreciate ideas and advice.

Cheers and all the best

kim · Post by **kim** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 7:12 pm

if you like fender clean but want another type distortion coming from your amp i'd defo check out some orange amps too, i'm i'm only familiar with the rockerverb, rocker and od120 tops (don't own !! haha) over various cab setups and all three gave me goosebumps like no other amps have ever given me goosebumps, they all have their qualities and sound pretty different from eachother though. there's more options than either fender or marshall.

BobArsecake · Post by **BobArsecake** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 7:29 pm

I'd hit this, because I love them and am biased as hackery

Orange AD30TC

There's a head version too, but that combo would fit your budget perfectly and less lugg aroundy, especially for solo gigs.

Thom · Post by **Thom** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 9:06 am

And a third vote for Orange from me - you should be able to get something that fits your needs exactly in that price range.
Personally I have the Rockerverb50 which is lush - but the Rocker30 combo, or the AD30 combo might be ideal.
Definitely see if you can have a play on one.

timhulio · Post by **timhulio** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 9:22 am

Marshall cleans have never done it for me, so I'm gonna completely ignore what you said about Fender amps and recommend a Deluxe Reverb. The cleans are amazing, and it's a much warmer sounding Fender amp (with a slight break-up at gig volumes) than the Twins or anything high-wattage you might be used to.

Jazzmasterfan · Post by **Jazzmasterfan** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 10:41 am

timhulio wrote:Marshall cleans have never done it for me, so I'm gonna completely ignore what you said about Fender amps and recommend a Deluxe Reverb. The cleans are amazing, and it's a much warmer sounding Fender amp (with a slight break-up at gig volumes) than the Twins or anything high-wattage you might be used to.

I haven't discounted Fender or Marshall or anything else. Thanks for the recommendation re the Deluxe Reverb...would it be good enough to gig with? Isn't it only 22 watts?

Thanks for the Orange recommendations fellow posters. I'm thinking about these/ checking these out too!

I am totally open minded when it comes to a new amp.

Cheers

Thom · Post by **Thom** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 10:47 am

Also check out the Marshall JVM series - the 410 is their top of the range, but the JVM 2 series might be interesting - it's got a nice clean channel and that great Marshall overdrive.

euan · Post by **euan** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 11:11 am

22 tube watts is loud enough.

Though seriously, Orange. The Rocker series doesn't need any tone controls on the clean channel as it is lush as it is.

timhulio · Post by **timhulio** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 11:28 am

22 Watts is plenty. We can't even crank the amp loud enough to get it into proper tube distortion it's that loud. I'd love this thing even more if it had an '11 watts' switch.

Isn't the Deluxe Neil Young's main amp? He plays quite big venues. Lulz.

Jazzmasterfan · Post by **Jazzmasterfan** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 11:38 am

What's the minimum and maximum wattage I would need to gig with these days?

timhulio · Post by **timhulio** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 11:45 am

It all depends where you're gigging (the size of the room) whether your amp is mic'd and how much clean headroom you need. I played a bunch of German gigs early this year with a Tiny Terror set at about half volume into a 2x12 and still managed to be punishingly loud. If you give examples of the venues you play we might have an idea the size of amp you'll need.

blacktaxi · Post by **blacktaxi** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 11:46 am

best amp i've played is Fender Vibroverb, i think it was original because it was pretty battered. i never heard Oranges in person, but i think they are cool - i like the design, and they sound nice recorded.

kim · Post by **kim** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 12:03 pm

euan wrote:22 tube watts is loud enough.

Though seriously, Orange. The Rocker series doesn't need any tone controls on the clean channel as it is lush as it is.

it's a no nosense amp but maybe not everyone's cup because of the higher gain and lack of eq knobs for the clean channel, right now i'm using the dirty channel with a very light overdrive and use pedals for heavy fuzzes and distortions on that channel,
the non eq'd clean channel doesn't get used a lot tbh, mostly just when i want super cleans (because the channel stays SUPER CLEAN) or with modulation type fx but i think that's just because i love boosting mids on everything otherwise lol
so it's almost like a single channel amp to me right now, which sucks because i love the sound of it with the gain on max but then i have to go back to the clean channel to use heavy fuzzes because otherwise it gets wayyy too much.

compromises eh, definitely keep this in mind when you go to check amps if you're using fuzzes and distortions etc what you could do with the channels and if it really works for your type of setup and music, an amp sounding lush with just a guitar going straight into it at the shop or an amp that's the perfect tool for what you're doing aren't the same thing.

Jazzmasterfan · Post by **Jazzmasterfan** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 12:25 pm

heavium wrote:
euan wrote:22 tube watts is loud enough.

Though seriously, Orange. The Rocker series doesn't need any tone controls on the clean channel as it is lush as it is.

it's a no nosense amp but maybe not everyone's cup because of the higher gain and lack of eq knobs for the clean channel, right now i'm using the dirty channel with a very light overdrive and use pedals for heavy fuzzes and distortions on that channel,
the non eq'd clean channel doesn't get used a lot tbh, mostly just when i want super cleans (because the channel stays SUPER CLEAN) or with modulation type fx but i think that's just because i love boosting mids on everything otherwise lol
so it's almost like a single channel amp to me right now, which sucks because i love the sound of it with the gain on max but then i have to go back to the clean channel to use heavy fuzzes because otherwise it gets wayyy too much.

compromises eh, definitely keep this in mind when you go to check amps if you're using fuzzes and distortions etc what you could do with the channels and if it really works for your type of setup and music, an amp sounding lush with just a guitar going straight into it at the shop or an amp that's the perfect tool for what you're doing aren't the same thing.

Thanks for the additional info. I was planning on using pedals (Boss Metal Zone and DS2) to get distorted sounds but also planned on using the amps as well.

As for venues I will be playing...they won't be big...maximum 200/300. So I guess 22w or a little above would be fine.

euan · Post by **euan** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 12:37 pm

heavium wrote:i love boosting mids on everything

<3

superfuzz · Post by **superfuzz** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 5:26 pm

IMO the best amp fender makes is the super reverb. 40 watts through a 4x10 combo. Try one though, you may not like it that much, but I personally love them. They are also like 20 lbs less than a super six, and super sixes are extremly heavy. I have a hotrod deville 2x12 and its a pretty good amp, especially if you get a used one for 4-600 USD in really good condition. I would still probably keep my deville were I to shell out the 1400 on a new super reverb (or the like 800 now for a silver face). Good luck on finding an amp!

timhulio · Post by **timhulio** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 9:04 pm

superfuzz wrote:IMO the best amp fender makes is the super reverb. 40 watts through a 4x10 combo. Try one though, you may not like it that much, but I personally love them. They are also like 20 lbs less than a super six, and super sixes are extremly heavy. I have a hotrod deville 2x12 and its a pretty good amp, especially if you get a used one for 4-600 USD in really good condition. I would still probably keep my deville were I to shell out the 1400 on a new super reverb (or the like 800 now for a silver face). Good luck on finding an amp!

I've got a Bandmaster Reverb head, which is the same amp as the Super Reverb. It's a great amp, but it's a pretty huge proposition, even into a 2x12 cab. With a 4x10, I'd guess only one speaker will be mic'd when you play live... so which one do you pick?

LimpDickCheney · Post by **LimpDickCheney** » Sun Nov 30, 2008 4:48 am

If I lived in Britain, had 1000GBP and wanted a clean amp I would get a Sound City. I live in the US, so I have a Fender Bandmaster.

Wilbur · Post by **Wilbur** » Sun Nov 30, 2008 6:43 pm

euan wrote:22 tube watts is loud enough.

Not always. I sat in on a metal-core practice last night (playing bass of course

) and both JCMs were on 8. Not kidding. One bedroom apartment.

Jazzmasterfan · Post by **Jazzmasterfan** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 12:54 pm

I live in a small town with only one guitar shop with a small selection of amps (one Fender, two Marshalls, one Line 6 and some other stuff)...hence me looking for ideas on here, checking out reviews and having a route on You Tube. Thank you all for the advice...I'm beginning to think that I should get a decent Fender amp (the Vintage Reissue series) for lovely clean sounds and dirty it up with a distortion pedal or using the tubes. It looks to me as if the Fender amps handle pedals really well but some amps don'tâ€¦my Marshall Valvestate is ok but not great when using pedals.

For gigs I'm going to play the majority of them will be miked up. I noticed that the Deluxe Reverb starts to break up just after four on the volume. My question is thisâ€¦will that be loud enough to get out a nice clean sound? Or should I perhaps be looking at the Super Reverb with a bit more wattage if I want to get a louder clean sound? I did think about the Twin Reverb but that might be too powerful and almost back breaking to lug around.