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The Amp Thread!

Soni

By Soni,
in Making Modern Music

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tel

tel

Posted
Posted

just bought a 15w behringer tube amp ,to be honest im only just getting into learning guitar and although i know a little about the instrument i know very little about what constitutes a good amp or a bad one.

my behringer sounds fine to me but hey what do i know?

 

sorry no pic but it looks cool too! bolt.gif

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1-0-0-1-0-0-1
1-0-0-1-0-0-1

Yeah, I don't see it as a waste to have an involved guitar rig and not gig with it. For those of us who aren't in a position to be in a band, building a rig is a hobby. It can be an expensive one, but

PW_Guitarist
PW_Guitarist

Ideally, you should replace the fuse with the exact specs it calls for. Slow Blow fuses are designed to withstand excess current for short periods of time and are generally used in circuits that need

Maverick
Maverick

After years (since 2007) of owning and hawking tube amplifiers over solid state, and later modeling amps, I took the next logical step, and purchased a Kemper Profiling Amp.   What I actually bough

ChroniclesOfRush

ChroniclesOfRush

Posted
Posted

http://chroniclesofrush.com/gallery/2/17.png

 

THE DEATH STAR

 

Channel A:

Rocktron Prophesy

DBX 1231 Equalizer

DBX 166XL Compressor Limiter

BBE 882i Sonic Maximizer

Mesa Boogie 2:90

Marshall 1960A

Marshall JCM900 1960B

 

Channel B:

Rocktron Voodoo Valve

DBX 1231 Equalizer

DBX 166XL Compressor Limiter

BBE 882i Sonic Maximizer

Mesa Boogie 2:90

Marshall 1960A

Marshall JCM900 1960B

 

Misc Rack Components:

Monster Cable PRO 3500

Furman Power Conditioners

Sound Sculpture AB Cadabra

DigiTech GSP-21 Pro

Korg GT1000 Tuner

 

Wouldn't leave home without it...

 

bolt.gif

 

 

 

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Herbie the Rad Dorklift

Herbie the Rad Dorklift

Posted
Posted

QUOTE (mrbarlint @ Nov 13 2009, 04:38 PM)
How do you like your Mark IV, Herbie? I'm in the market for a new amp. BTW, that is really nice looking.

The Mark IV is excellent.

 

I've had 2 years now and keep finding new excellent and different tones.

 

You can pick them up fairly cheap second hand too.

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Fridge

Fridge

Posted
Posted

QUOTE (1-0-0-1-0-0-1 @ Oct 29 2007, 03:30 PM)
QUOTE (_pete_ @ Oct 29 2007, 07:03 AM)
I made up my mind this weekend. The Switchblade is going on Ebay in the next few days.

The zenTera does everything I need and sounds better doing it. I started using the G-Major's noise gate and that took care of the noise issue so I'm done looking at other amps.

What really clinched the decision was how much the zen can sound like the amps Alex used. One example is the tone on Hemispheres (Hiwatt BTW!). I can absolutely nail that one with the zen  and the SB doesn't get close.

Damn, I should have borrowed your zenTera for my latest (actually, first) recording project. My Marshalls aren't quite nailing that Hemispheres tone.

 

Looks like the SB is one of the many new tube amps with too modern a tone. I think I can scratch that one off my list.

Bit of a necropost here, but I just took delivery of a new Switchblade head and matching 4x12 cab.

 

I've had a day to play with it.(have had to go offshore so will be a further two weeks before I can get to it again).

 

The cleans on this thing are absolutely beautiful with real warmth and decent break up when the gain is cranked a bit. You can get a pretty decent crunch tone at the higher gain settings of this channel.

 

Initialy I was not very impressed with the distortion at all, finding it rather fizzy. I was really rather disappointed and was considering returning it, until..... here's the clincher.

 

This thing LOVES pedals. I set up my GT8 in the effects loop, making sure it was serial and ran it in the 4 cable method, with the SB head in the "Loop" part of the chain. I then manipulated the effects chain to ensure everything was in the proper place pre and post amp and wow! what a difference.

 

The distortions are warm and tight, and with a little subtle eq-ing I was able to compensate for the minor tone shift. Theres plenty of headroom available and the tube sag is a joy to hear with wonderful sustain.

 

It sounds absolutely killer and blows away the other guitarist in my bands Fender Twin (which is no slouch itself in the tone dept).

 

The only drawback is that it is almost obscenely loud, and there is just no way I can properly crank it without investing in a HD Hotplate or similar.

 

All in all, very happy with it and it's a definite keeper now that I have addressed the initial problems....Will report back in a few weeks once I have had a chance to gig it.

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Fridge

Fridge

Posted
Posted

QUOTE (Fridge @ Feb 10 2010, 03:56 PM)
QUOTE (1-0-0-1-0-0-1 @ Oct 29 2007, 03:30 PM)
QUOTE (_pete_ @ Oct 29 2007, 07:03 AM)
I made up my mind this weekend. The Switchblade is going on Ebay in the next few days.

The zenTera does everything I need and sounds better doing it. I started using the G-Major's noise gate and that took care of the noise issue so I'm done looking at other amps.

What really clinched the decision was how much the zen can sound like the amps Alex used. One example is the tone on Hemispheres (Hiwatt BTW!). I can absolutely nail that one with the zen  and the SB doesn't get close.

Damn, I should have borrowed your zenTera for my latest (actually, first) recording project. My Marshalls aren't quite nailing that Hemispheres tone.

 

Looks like the SB is one of the many new tube amps with too modern a tone. I think I can scratch that one off my list.

Bit of a necropost here, but I just took delivery of a new Switchblade head and matching 4x12 cab.

 

I've had a day to play with it.(have had to go offshore so will be a further two weeks before I can get to it again).

 

The cleans on this thing are absolutely beautiful with real warmth and decent break up when the gain is cranked a bit. You can get a pretty decent crunch tone at the higher gain settings of this channel.

 

Initialy I was not very impressed with the distortion at all, finding it rather fizzy. I was really rather disappointed and was considering returning it, until..... here's the clincher.

 

This thing LOVES pedals. I set up my GT8 in the effects loop, making sure it was serial and ran it in the 4 cable method, with the SB head in the "Loop" part of the chain. I then manipulated the effects chain to ensure everything was in the proper place pre and post amp and wow! what a difference.

 

The distortions are warm and tight, and with a little subtle eq-ing I was able to compensate for the minor tone shift. Theres plenty of headroom available and the tube sag is a joy to hear with wonderful sustain.

 

It sounds absolutely killer and blows away the other guitarist in my bands Fender Twin (which is no slouch itself in the tone dept).

 

The only drawback is that it is almost obscenely loud, and there is just no way I can properly crank it without investing in a HD Hotplate or similar.

 

All in all, very happy with it and it's a definite keeper now that I have addressed the initial problems....Will report back in a few weeks once I have had a chance to gig it.

Ok, I've had this for a while now and have used it in band practice and gigged with it, and I can honestly say I don't understand the dislike for it.

 

I am getting fantastic tones out of this beast and it sits very nicely in the band mix indeed. More power and headroom than I will ever need, and it has the most glorious tube "sag" when pushed hard. The secret here is using my GT8 to "powerscale" it and cranking the amp itself to about six or seven.

 

Throw in a BBE Sonic Maximiser and I am in tonal nirvana. The only downside is that it is quite hard to get the sweet spots, but once you do....fantastic. I have compared this directly with a friends Dual rectifier and it is every bit as good, with a slightly more "British" tone to the high gain distortion.

 

This is most definitely a keeper yes.gif

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1-0-0-1-0-0-1

1-0-0-1-0-0-1

Posted
Posted

QUOTE (Fridge @ Mar 14 2010, 03:09 PM)
QUOTE (Fridge @ Feb 10 2010, 03:56 PM)
QUOTE (1-0-0-1-0-0-1 @ Oct 29 2007, 03:30 PM)
QUOTE (_pete_ @ Oct 29 2007, 07:03 AM)
I made up my mind this weekend. The Switchblade is going on Ebay in the next few days.

The zenTera does everything I need and sounds better doing it. I started using the G-Major's noise gate and that took care of the noise issue so I'm done looking at other amps.

What really clinched the decision was how much the zen can sound like the amps Alex used. One example is the tone on Hemispheres (Hiwatt BTW!). I can absolutely nail that one with the zen  and the SB doesn't get close.

Damn, I should have borrowed your zenTera for my latest (actually, first) recording project. My Marshalls aren't quite nailing that Hemispheres tone.

 

Looks like the SB is one of the many new tube amps with too modern a tone. I think I can scratch that one off my list.

Bit of a necropost here, but I just took delivery of a new Switchblade head and matching 4x12 cab.

 

I've had a day to play with it.(have had to go offshore so will be a further two weeks before I can get to it again).

 

The cleans on this thing are absolutely beautiful with real warmth and decent break up when the gain is cranked a bit. You can get a pretty decent crunch tone at the higher gain settings of this channel.

 

Initialy I was not very impressed with the distortion at all, finding it rather fizzy. I was really rather disappointed and was considering returning it, until..... here's the clincher.

 

This thing LOVES pedals. I set up my GT8 in the effects loop, making sure it was serial and ran it in the 4 cable method, with the SB head in the "Loop" part of the chain. I then manipulated the effects chain to ensure everything was in the proper place pre and post amp and wow! what a difference.

 

The distortions are warm and tight, and with a little subtle eq-ing I was able to compensate for the minor tone shift. Theres plenty of headroom available and the tube sag is a joy to hear with wonderful sustain.

 

It sounds absolutely killer and blows away the other guitarist in my bands Fender Twin (which is no slouch itself in the tone dept).

 

The only drawback is that it is almost obscenely loud, and there is just no way I can properly crank it without investing in a HD Hotplate or similar.

 

All in all, very happy with it and it's a definite keeper now that I have addressed the initial problems....Will report back in a few weeks once I have had a chance to gig it.

Ok, I've had this for a while now and have used it in band practice and gigged with it, and I can honestly say I don't understand the dislike for it.

 

I am getting fantastic tones out of this beast and it sits very nicely in the band mix indeed. More power and headroom than I will ever need, and it has the most glorious tube "sag" when pushed hard. The secret here is using my GT8 to "powerscale" it and cranking the amp itself to about six or seven.

 

Throw in a BBE Sonic Maximiser and I am in tonal nirvana. The only downside is that it is quite hard to get the sweet spots, but once you do....fantastic. I have compared this directly with a friends Dual rectifier and it is every bit as good, with a slightly more "British" tone to the high gain distortion.

 

This is most definitely a keeper yes.gif

That's cool that it's working out for you. I've still yet to try one, and was just going by Pete's experience with it, and also because I've heard Pete's zenTera in his clips and liked it.

 

How does it clean up for you? And, what speakers are you using with it?

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Fridge

Fridge

Posted
Posted

QUOTE (1-0-0-1-0-0-1 @ Mar 14 2010, 08:35 PM)
QUOTE (Fridge @ Mar 14 2010, 03:09 PM)
QUOTE (Fridge @ Feb 10 2010, 03:56 PM)
QUOTE (1-0-0-1-0-0-1 @ Oct 29 2007, 03:30 PM)
QUOTE (_pete_ @ Oct 29 2007, 07:03 AM)
I made up my mind this weekend. The Switchblade is going on Ebay in the next few days.

The zenTera does everything I need and sounds better doing it. I started using the G-Major's noise gate and that took care of the noise issue so I'm done looking at other amps.

What really clinched the decision was how much the zen can sound like the amps Alex used. One example is the tone on Hemispheres (Hiwatt BTW!). I can absolutely nail that one with the zen  and the SB doesn't get close.

Damn, I should have borrowed your zenTera for my latest (actually, first) recording project. My Marshalls aren't quite nailing that Hemispheres tone.

 

Looks like the SB is one of the many new tube amps with too modern a tone. I think I can scratch that one off my list.

Bit of a necropost here, but I just took delivery of a new Switchblade head and matching 4x12 cab.

 

I've had a day to play with it.(have had to go offshore so will be a further two weeks before I can get to it again).

 

The cleans on this thing are absolutely beautiful with real warmth and decent break up when the gain is cranked a bit. You can get a pretty decent crunch tone at the higher gain settings of this channel.

 

Initialy I was not very impressed with the distortion at all, finding it rather fizzy. I was really rather disappointed and was considering returning it, until..... here's the clincher.

 

This thing LOVES pedals. I set up my GT8 in the effects loop, making sure it was serial and ran it in the 4 cable method, with the SB head in the "Loop" part of the chain. I then manipulated the effects chain to ensure everything was in the proper place pre and post amp and wow! what a difference.

 

The distortions are warm and tight, and with a little subtle eq-ing I was able to compensate for the minor tone shift. Theres plenty of headroom available and the tube sag is a joy to hear with wonderful sustain.

 

It sounds absolutely killer and blows away the other guitarist in my bands Fender Twin (which is no slouch itself in the tone dept).

 

The only drawback is that it is almost obscenely loud, and there is just no way I can properly crank it without investing in a HD Hotplate or similar.

 

All in all, very happy with it and it's a definite keeper now that I have addressed the initial problems....Will report back in a few weeks once I have had a chance to gig it.

Ok, I've had this for a while now and have used it in band practice and gigged with it, and I can honestly say I don't understand the dislike for it.

 

I am getting fantastic tones out of this beast and it sits very nicely in the band mix indeed. More power and headroom than I will ever need, and it has the most glorious tube "sag" when pushed hard. The secret here is using my GT8 to "powerscale" it and cranking the amp itself to about six or seven.

 

Throw in a BBE Sonic Maximiser and I am in tonal nirvana. The only downside is that it is quite hard to get the sweet spots, but once you do....fantastic. I have compared this directly with a friends Dual rectifier and it is every bit as good, with a slightly more "British" tone to the high gain distortion.

 

This is most definitely a keeper yes.gif

That's cool that it's working out for you. I've still yet to try one, and was just going by Pete's experience with it, and also because I've heard Pete's zenTera in his clips and liked it.

 

How does it clean up for you? And, what speakers are you using with it?

I find that it cleans up very well indeed either with a softer picking action or a volume roll off.

 

Conversely, it breaks up nicely with a harder pick attack as well...

 

Speakers-wise I'm using a Hughes and Kettner 4x12 loaded with vintage 30 celestions...sounds mint.

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jdouglas

jdouglas

Posted
Posted

Fridge, by powerscale do you mean you have the Gt8 in the loop and you are using the volume pedal as a sorta attenuator so you can crank the amp?

 

Im using the RP500 this way with good results though a Mesa F30 (which is a beast that must be tamed, ha).

 

p.s. When did you switch from the Zoom G9 to the GT8?

p.s.s. That Mark V is sick.

 

tongue.gif

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Fridge

Fridge

Posted
Posted

QUOTE (jdouglas @ Mar 15 2010, 01:45 AM)
Fridge, by powerscale do you mean you have the Gt8 in the loop and you are using the volume pedal as a sorta attenuator so you can crank the amp?

Im using the RP500 this way with good results though a Mesa F30 (which is a beast that must be tamed, ha).

p.s. When did you switch from the Zoom G9 to the GT8?
p.s.s. That Mark V is sick.

tongue.gif

Yes, thats exactly what I am doing...works a treat

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mortkort

mortkort

Posted
Posted

Nice to see you find the switchblade usefull fridge. i thought the same thing when i had mine, the cleans on it are awesome, some of the nicest ive heard. but the distortion sounds really fizzy and thin.

 

Just scored a sweet deal on a mesa mark iv combo, i was looking at the mark v but i just saved a lot of dough by going for the mark iv. hopefully ill have it by friday 1022.gif

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Fridge

Fridge

Posted
Posted

QUOTE (mortkort @ Mar 17 2010, 09:42 PM)
Nice to see you find the switchblade usefull fridge. i thought the same thing when i had mine, the cleans on it are awesome, some of the nicest ive heard. but the distortion sounds really fizzy and thin.

Just scored a sweet deal on a mesa mark iv combo, i was looking at the mark v but i just saved a lot of dough by going for the mark iv. hopefully ill have it by friday 1022.gif

The mark 4 is a great amp.....

 

The Switchblade responds extremely well to being eqd and tweaked. The BBE sonic maximiser adds a whole new dimension. it worked fine with my other set up, but the Switchblade loves it, and it makes a dramatic difference.

 

In short, if you want something that sounds great out the box, then mesa will serve you well...however, a bit of perseverence and the Switchblade is sounding as good as a Dual rectifier on THAT channel...I kid you not....samples will be forthcoming once I am back onshore.

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invisibleairwaves

invisibleairwaves

Posted
Posted (edited)

So a few months ago, my friend gave me this old all-tube bass amp from the late 60's. It's a Traynor YBA-2, made by a company in Toronto called Yorkville. Anyways, it was pretty much dead. I've been taking some electronics classes lately, and I finally found the time to get it up and running again.

 

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f141/invisibleairwaves/IMG_1828.jpg

 

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f141/invisibleairwaves/IMG_1829.jpg

 

It was actually originally a combo amp, but some previous owner long ago split it into a head and cab. My friend found it at a thrift shop, so we have basically no background history on this thing. Anyways, that's my excitement for the day. It doesn't sound half-bad smile.gif

Edited by invisibleairwaves
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WCFIELDS

WCFIELDS

Posted
Posted

QUOTE (invisibleairwaves @ Jul 3 2010, 06:59 PM)
So a few months ago, my friend gave me this old all-tube bass amp from the late 60's. It's a Traynor YBA-2, made by a company in Toronto called Yorkville. Anyways, it was pretty much dead. I've been taking some electronics classes lately, and I finally found the time to get it up and running again.

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f141/invisibleairwaves/IMG_1828.jpg

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f141/invisibleairwaves/IMG_1829.jpg

It was actually originally a combo amp, but some previous owner long ago split it into a head and cab. My friend found it at a thrift shop, so we have basically no background history on this thing. Anyways, that's my excitement for the day. It doesn't sound half-bad smile.gif

Cool........I love old Traynor gear (actually any Traynor gear).......

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PW_Guitarist

PW_Guitarist

Posted
Posted

I've recently had to buy a more portable combo for a side project, my first amplifier buying experience in almost 15 years. I've been happy with my rackmount stuff for years, though it's getting very dated (ADA MP1, Boss GX-700 and Crown CSL 460). I used to have a Marshall JCM800 50W dual-channel combo for this type of situation which I regrettably sold - great tone, but not very versatile.

 

I tried the Mesa Boogie Mark V and Hughes & Kettner Switchblade and loved them, but could not justify the $2K+ expense. I tried some of the cheaper "modeling" amps and liked their versatility, but the tone seemed a bit thin. Then I saw a deal on a used Line 6 Spider Valve MkII 212, which combines the flexibility of modeling amps with the great tone of a full-tube amp designed by Reinhold Bogner. I've only been messing with it for a few days, but I am very impressed the overall sound and flexibility of the amp at that price point (around $600 used). There's a lot of great tube sounds as well as built-in effects. I don't think the effects section is powerful enough for this to become my main amp for the Rush stuff, but it's still a great sounding all-purpose little amp loud enough for jams and practical enough for everyday practice.

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jdouglas

jdouglas

Posted
Posted

QUOTE (PW_Guitarist @ Jul 4 2010, 08:00 AM)
I've recently had to buy a more portable combo for a side project, my first amplifier buying experience in almost 15 years. I've been happy with my rackmount stuff for years, though it's getting very dated (ADA MP1, Boss GX-700 and Crown CSL 460). I used to have a Marshall JCM800 50W dual-channel combo for this type of situation which I regrettably sold - great tone, but not very versatile.

I tried the Mesa Boogie Mark V and Hughes & Kettner Switchblade and loved them, but could not justify the $2K+ expense. I tried some of the cheaper "modeling" amps and liked their versatility, but the tone seemed a bit thin. Then I saw a deal on a used Line 6 Spider Valve MkII 212, which combines the flexibility of modeling amps with the great tone of a full-tube amp designed by Reinhold Bogner. I've only been messing with it for a few days, but I am very impressed the overall sound and flexibility of the amp at that price point (around $600 used). There's a lot of great tube sounds as well as built-in effects. I don't think the effects section is powerful enough for this to become my main amp for the Rush stuff, but it's still a great sounding all-purpose little amp loud enough for jams and practical enough for everyday practice.

I just picked up a Marshall JCM600 2x12 combo with G12Hs, the price was too nice too pass up.

 

Gonna test it out fully 2day...the clean channel sounds great and its nice and loud, but I noticed a few db volume drop when switched to Ch2. I think one of the Ch2 pots is cracked. Wish I took some electronics classes. confused13.gif

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ridertoo98

ridertoo98

Posted
Posted

Got a"new" amp today!! Vox Ad50 vt. got a good deal, not used much and had the foot switch. Got a few buttons to figure out but it sounds cool. hope the pics are ok.

 

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh209/6cylrider98/IMG_0814.jpg

 

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh209/6cylrider98/IMG_0815.jpg

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vnslykrx

vnslykrx

Posted
Posted

QUOTE (1-0-0-1-0-0-1 @ Oct 29 2007, 10:30 AM)
QUOTE (_pete_ @ Oct 29 2007, 07:03 AM)
I made up my mind this weekend. The Switchblade is going on Ebay in the next few days.

The zenTera does everything I need and sounds better doing it. I started using the G-Major's noise gate and that took care of the noise issue so I'm done looking at other amps.

What really clinched the decision was how much the zen can sound like the amps Alex used. One example is the tone on Hemispheres (Hiwatt BTW!). I can absolutely nail that one with the zen  and the SB doesn't get close.

Damn, I should have borrowed your zenTera for my latest (actually, first) recording project. My Marshalls aren't quite nailing that Hemispheres tone.

 

Looks like the SB is one of the many new tube amps with too modern a tone. I think I can scratch that one off my list.

Alex even changed his SB over to a CoreBlade this year. I've never played very much on different amps, just on my little Fender Frontman 15G. Little starter amp, but I do have a Digitech RP200 for effects. Wish I could get a better setup, something like a Real Amp head/Cabinet setup, but I really need a new guitar, so priorities!!

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