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So I've always wanted to read about what other people thought of as "Legendary" guitar amps. By legendary, I mean, amps that aren't too highly sought after that just deliver the goods.

I'm talking about somewhat little known amps (not too rare, not too common) that simply kick ass.
Here's a few amps that I consider to be great:

Marshall Lead 100 Mosfet
- $200-$300
- Came out in the 80's
- Voiced like a JCM 800, but solid state, some say it sounds harsh, but I think it sounds incredible.
- This has been my main amp since 2005, I blew the mosfets once and had them replaced and now it's better than ever.
- Lots of volume and tone options, but like I said, solid-state.


Ampeg V4
- $400-$800
- So these monster's are getting harder to find at a good price.
- 120 watts (approx) of tube destruction.
- Tons of cleans, but it can get dirty at deafening volumes.


Yorkville 400
-$300-600
- Looks like a VCR, but it sounds like the world coming to an end.
- 400 watts of power.
- Great solid-state bass tones.



Let's see some more!

Standards tend to change depending on where you're from.
In my parts these are the mainstay amps. Not a week goes by that I don't see one of these on a stage somwhere.

Sovtek MIG 50



Like a Bassman that boofed a quart of vodka.
Out of control grittiness and loudly unapologetic
These used to be cheap.

Peavey VTM60



Most versatile amp for the money IMO
Mess with the dip switches and go from Fender Twin clean to Ampeg Reverberocket in seconds.
You can still find them for a few hundred bucks.

Sunn Solarus


So you want a JTM45 with excellent reverb? Well shit son, look no further!
In the 400-600 hundred dollar range

Traynor YBA-1


That old Bassman design... at half the price. Extremely gigworthy, extremely loud, extremely clean.
Still plenty of them going for 400-$600.

Garnet BTO


Loads of creamy overdrive, interesting tone stack design, excellent trem and BUILT IN FUZZZ!!!!
Trully unique amp.

we get fuck-all sovteks or sunns here, and when they do come up they sell for stupid money. no cheapness = haet.

Yeah, my point exactly.
I wish there were some Carlsboro shit here from time to time but no...
I'd definitely give something like this a go...

check this out, i love it.

laterallateral wrote:Standards tend to change depending on where you're from.

Yeah man, I love this thread so far, on a roll! I want to hear about all the different local amps.

Are BTO's really common place in MTL? Sovteks too? I'd love to grab a mig100.

A local guy was on tour with his BTO and they got robbed.
Why take the super rare amp on tour?

Yeah, there's a surprisingly disproportionate amount of BTOs here. It's not like MTL is magical cheap BTO land, seeing as like 200 were made but compared to the ROC, there's alot here. I'm not sure why that is but I'd say they're about as common as Deputys and Rev IIIs... They still sell for $900+, though which really isn't that much considering how awesome these sound. I can think of at least three bands that play to the same crowd as me that have them. Sovteks come up in the classifieds like 4-5 times a year. People hold onto them. Awesome Bassist says Sunns are as rare as Pope shit, in the prairies.

Definitely an interesting thread, can't wait for more peops to chime in.

From my experience there is actually not alot of grit in a mig 50. It's got more clean headroom than any amp I've ever used. Even with the volume cranked it's barely breaking up.

Now my Mig 60... whole different story.

I've also heard the Mig 50 Midget has alot better grit than the regular 50, but I've never used one.

There is a sovtek mig-50 for $450 on the raleigh craigslist right now. If anyone is interested in it I could pick it up and ship it to them.

HERE


I've always heard good things about the Ampeg V4b and I've seen a couple go around here for less than $400. It's more rare to come by, but when you do they can be had for pretty cheap. I've never played one so I don't know about how they sound.

stewart wrote:we get fuck-all sovteks or sunns here, and when they do come up they sell for stupid money. no cheapness = haet.

+ a million

450 is a killer price.

laterallateral wrote:Yeah, my point exactly.
I wish there were some Carlsboro shit here from time to time but no...
I'd definitely give something like this a go...

Old Carlsbro amps are the business, I have a 1969 50 Top and I love it. I'm a bit scared to take it out gigging though hence me looking at getting a Bassman.

There are a couple of those 50 Tops in the shop where Mike got his JCM. Sound City heads seem to be the only thing that crop up here in the UK which are fairly cheap and desirable.

benecol wrote:There are a couple of those 50 Tops in the shop where Mike got his JCM. Sound City heads seem to be the only thing that crop up here in the UK which are fairly cheap and desirable.

How much are they selling the 50 Tops for? I bought mine for 250 quid for an old session guy that had it from new, he loved it but couldn't carry it anymore as he was getting a bit old. I have a white one but they guy was keeping it in his loft and someone spilt a load or brown paint over it so it looks a bit odd but it really rocks.

Are they the old ones or the reissues they made 10 years or so ago?

brandon. wrote:
Marshall Lead 100 Mosfet
- $200-$300
- Came out in the 80's
- Voiced like a JCM 800, but solid state, some say it sounds harsh, but I think it sounds incredible.
- This has been my main amp since 2005, I blew the mosfets once and had them replaced and now it's better than ever.
- Lots of volume and tone options, but like I said, solid-state.

There are a couple of these up on sale on Gumtree at the moment, one for £250 and one for £300 - although I get the impression that they are the same amp. Do people think they are worth these prices? They both have a matching 4 x 10 cab.

johnnyseven wrote:

benecol wrote:There are a couple of those 50 Tops in the shop where Mike got his JCM. Sound City heads seem to be the only thing that crop up here in the UK which are fairly cheap and desirable.

How much are they selling the 50 Tops for? I bought mine for 250 quid for an old session guy that had it from new, he loved it but couldn't carry it anymore as he was getting a bit old. I have a white one but they guy was keeping it in his loft and someone spilt a load or brown paint over it so it looks a bit odd but it really rocks.

Are they the old ones or the reissues they made 10 years or so ago?

About £350, if memory serves - both 70's ones.

lol typical EW

Out of interest what shop is this?

Remus Sound in Gloucester.

One of the best sounding amps that was knocking around when I was playing gigs when I was fifteen or so:



The best sounding amp that was knocking around when I was playing gigs when I was fifteen or so: