Looking for suggestions on amps

[NathanKG]

Hello everyone. I've recently sold a bunch of my old equipment to make way for newer equipment I'm looking to use for recording. I've been an avid pod farm and VST user for the past year, but I really like the hands on approach to recording. Thus, I'm really wanting to start micing my guitars for all of my future endeavors. I'm trying to find a nice balance between a really clean sound and distortion if I need it. I'm not looking for an extremely high gain and distorted sound, just something enough to get the effect across if that makes sense. I'm currently looking at a Fender Hotrod Deville 410, a 65 twin reverb reissue, or possibly an orange amp. Here are two videos of the different tones I'm trying to achieve with this future amp. I would really appreciate any help

Toe
LITE

[slambango]

The HRD does clean & dirty, but the dirty channel is crap. The clean channel is useable, but it won't do gain without pedals.
The 65 TRRI won't do dirty at all. It's a super clean amp (and super loud).
All the Orange amps I've heard are sort of trashy & noisy. I wouldn't want one as my only studio amp.

Something like a Marshall TSL will get you anything you need, from country clean to blues, to rock, to metal, and it does them all reasonably well. You could go for a combo or a head/cab. They're pretty cheap these days. $600 or so used.

If it's just recording at low volume you might be able to get away with something low wattage, like the Bugera 22 watt. pop a new speaker in there and you have a nice sounding amp. There are many amps in this category, and it's really about listening to them. None of them do the high gain thing like a TSL (or any EL34 amp) but you can come pretty close in the studio.

[kasperjensen]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gON7x...e_gdata_player

I used the drive channel on the Hot Rod Deluxe for this.

In my experience, this combo really is one of the best out there (taking price into consideration). It takes pedals really well too.

Maybe the drive channel isn't the best, but it's a lot better than people give it credit for. Just need to set it right.
And the clean channel is just sublime.

Another option is the Marshall JVM410C. It covers just about everything. Or go for the head if you want the option of using different cabinets.

It's a pretty crazy world out there (just like with recording equipment). Keep a cool head.
A lot can be done with post production.

I am no expert, but I have been through a lot of amps, and would try and answer any questions you may have.

Good luck.

[NathanKG]

Wow, thanks a lot for the suggestions guys. I really didn't want to invest in a Twin verb, since I really don't think that's what I wanted. I'm really trying to stray away from a head and cabinet since space is limited, but if I have to I will look into it. How do you guys feel about the Fender Super Sonic series? I've seen a few people give pretty good reviews about it. Did anyone check out the videos I linked as well? I'm not really looking for heavy distortion, only just slight, but I'm sure I'll need more for future projects.

I really liked the clean part of the HRD, since it has a really nice bright tone like I'm looking for. I'm using a Fender American strat, 3 coil at the moment. I also plan on using a Tele with double Hs as well for a more gainy and gritty sound. I'll go and try out the amps you guys mentioned tomorrow and see how they compare to the HRD. If you guys had to suggest a Marshall in the 500-1000 dollar range, which one would you suggest? Money is a little tight at the moment, so I'm looking for a nice studio amp that will last me and sound great. On the HRD that you mention, was it a 410 you used? Thanks a lot for all of the replies, it helps me a lot

[nedorama]

Stay away from the Hot Rod Series - besides a bad overdrive, the quality on that series isn't like the reissue. For the same reason, avoid anything Bugera like the plague. Made by Behringer, you don't want amps with bad QC.

Instead of a Twin Reverb (agree, way too loud & heavy for recording at home), why not a Deluxe Reverb RI? Great classic Fender sound & reverb, and with 6V6 power tubes, you can actually get some power tube distortion at usable levels. Takes pedals well, and the reissues are well built. You'll spend the same as on a Hot Rod Deville, but have an amp that will record well and you can gig with if needed.

Buy once, cry once.

[NathanKG]

Originally Posted by nedorama

Stay away from the Hot Rod Series - besides a bad overdrive, the quality on that series isn't like the reissue. For the same reason, avoid anything Bugera like the plague. Made by Behringer, you don't want amps with bad QC.

Instead of a Twin Reverb (agree, way too loud & heavy for recording at home), why not a Deluxe Reverb RI? Great classic Fender sound & reverb, and with 6V6 power tubes, you can actually get some power tube distortion at usable levels. Takes pedals well, and the reissues are well built. You'll spend the same as on a Hot Rod Deville, but have an amp that will record well and you can gig with if needed.

Buy once, cry once.

I never thought about a Deluxe Reverb RI. I just checked some demo videos and I really really like the tone. I believe that it's really close to what I'm wanting. I'm also interested in the Super Sonic 22, but as of now the Reverb seems to be the tone I'm looking for. How are the noise levels on the verbs? I'm just wondering if their noisy at all when siting idle or playing, because I've had some issues in the past.

Any other suggestions for amps would be greatly appreciated. I'm going tomorrow to try out as many as possible and see what I'm liking the best. So far I have the Fender amps and the Marshall TSL series on my list. Not sure if I should give any others a try, but these seem to be the ones I'm narrowing down to at the moment.

[John1982]

I've got the following amps:
a mid 90's Hot Rod:
I like the clean channel, but the drive channel is useless to me.

Reissue '65 Super Reverb:
awesome amp. this is my go to amp, when I'm looking for a super nice clean sound. But it can get loud.

Orange Rockerverb Head & Marshall cabinet.

Can't say anything bad about this combo. You can get a lot of different sounds out of this amp. You might check out the combo version of this.

I personally don't like the newer marshall amps. So all the TSL & DSL stuff is nothing for me. But I fell in love with the late 70's JMP heads. You might have a look for one of these. In Germany you can get them for around 800 €. This might be an option too.

[slambango]

Originally Posted by nedorama

Stay away from the Hot Rod Series - besides a bad overdrive, the quality on that series isn't like the reissue. For the same reason, avoid anything Bugera like the plague. Made by Behringer, you don't want amps with bad QC.

Instead of a Twin Reverb (agree, way too loud & heavy for recording at home), why not a Deluxe Reverb RI? Great classic Fender sound & reverb, and with 6V6 power tubes, you can actually get some power tube distortion at usable levels. Takes pedals well, and the reissues are well built. You'll spend the same as on a Hot Rod Deville, but have an amp that will record well and you can gig with if needed.

Buy once, cry once.

True, Bugera is low quality, but the sound is pretty good, and it's SO CHEAP you can buy 3 of them for the price of 1 better made amp. Not a bad buy at all.

[nedorama]

Originally Posted by slambango

True, Bugera is low quality, but the sound is pretty good, and it's SO CHEAP you can buy 3 of them for the price of 1 better made amp. Not a bad buy at all.

Anything that is crappy enough that you have to buy 3 to have 2 spares lying around isn't worth having; it's cheap for a reason.

If the OP was looking at a Twin Reverb Reissue, he has the money to buy a new or used Deluxe Reverb Reissue that will last. Again, buy once, cry once.

On the Super sonic - read the reviews. Some are happy with the sound, others not as much. I appreciate Fender trying to break new ground, but the Deluxe Reverb is a classic for a reason.

[drbob1]

Fender has always had trouble with high gain, they can't seem to settle on a sound that works really well. The Hot Rod amps CAN sound great with some mods, for example Omega Amps does some stuff that absolutely rocks, but that puts the price up a lot. For a clean, Fendery starting place, the DRRI is killer. For a few bucks more than the $600 the used DRRI will cost you could find a SF DR, Super or Vibrolux Reverb, or a BF Bandmaster, or SF Bandmaster Reverb head. They'll all give you that clean tone at lower levels and being PTP wired will be fixable forever by any shade tree amp guy if they need anything done! And they'll appreciate in value. If this is a studio, the Vibrolux Reverb combo is the direction I'd go! Then a few pedals for OD (the new Klon, coming soon, will be THE overdrive pedal for that amp, plus a Zendrive for smooth leads).

[NathanKG]

Thanks for all of the suggestions! I played for hours today on multiple amps. I couldn't get away from the Deluxe reverb though. It takes pedals so well and the clean signal is exactly what I want. I decided to purchase a Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive for my OD. It gave it a super warm tone and blends really well. I'm very happy with this combo, and I believe it's what I'm going to end up purchasing soon .

[AstroZon]

See if you can find a Tech 21 Trademark 60 to audition. Excellent reverb and great crunch tone.

I've got it on my short list.

[FFTT]

Reeves Custom 12 or Gries 12 or Magic Amps Brit MKIITB86

Highest quality in build execution and tone.

[Igotsoul4u]

Originally Posted by AstroZon

See if you can find a Tech 21 Trademark 60 to audition. Excellent reverb and great crunch tone.

I've got it on my short list.

good advice. I was looking into those but ended up with a Laney Lionheart. Couldn't be happier. I would check them out if you can't shell out for a boutique amp like Carr or Reeves. I got mine for $649. Sounds fantastic. Skip the hot rod deluxe. They are not my favorite for recording. So loud

http://www.guitarcenter.com/In-Store...AID=1040198025

[FFTT]

Unfortunately, most big box music chains and mom and pops
do not carry the best amps out there.

Most of what you see is consumer grade, mass production PCB.

The term boutique gets over used a lot, when the finest,
true hand wired builds are simply
builder direct, custom builds to order.

If you are thinking more clean headroom

The Reeves Custom 30 or Custom 50
Bad Cat Black Cat or Panther
Gries 35
Magic Amps Z-1
Germino, Friedman, Reinhardt, Custom Audio (Suhr)
also well worth a closer look.

[Ron Vogel]

If you are recording for home use you won't need anymore than a 5-watt amp...even 10 watts is LOUD.

I had a Blues DeVille when I played clubs that was overkill for most clubs...useless at home to record with.

If you want low-watt, hand-wired amps and are budget limited look to the past. A silverface era Champ or Princeton make excellent recording amps and can be set-up by a competent tech with any kind of voicing you could ever want.

In general I prefer 6V6 or 6L6 based amps over the new breed of EL84 based amps for versitility. EL84 amps tend to be flatter, more compressed, and don't clean-up well...great distorted tones though.

Before you look into the boutiquey stuff the VHT 6, Eganator Tweaker, Vox night train are worthy mainstream offerings.

In the boutique stuff just about any of the offerings are fantastic; they should be for the price! Deluxe and Princeton-based circuits would be a good fit for what you are asking.



Whatever you end up looking at, keep it simple. Bells and whistles are cool, but simple amps tend to be MORE versitle for different styles.

[litepipe]

Check out Victoria and Headstrong amps. They both do amazing fender tones.

[FFTT]

For recording straight up or with pedals, I also recommend
the smaller lower-mid powered amps.

The Gries 12 is a fine hand wired, BF Princeton Reverb Circuit
for just a bit more than a new PRRI.

The Magic Amps Brit MK II TB86
is the finest all hand wired AC15 ciruit
with additional Top Boost and EF86 channel.

Mike also builds an exceptional Princeton Reverb
in his Vibro-Prince.

If you want a bolder BF Fender sound with more clean headroom
then I'd go for a Gries 35.

The Reeves Custom 12 blends low volume Marshall and Vox
tones and comes with optional power scaling.

For a more British JTM 45 sound, the Reeves Custom 30

For a classic rock Hiwatt sound, the Reeves Custom 50

[drbob1]

I guess I appreciate your taste in amps FFTT, but when I was starting out buying amps, and money was a bit tight, I still think that a Princeton, Deluxe or Vibrolux reverb is a better investment (the original, not the reissue). They're as well built as most of the boutique brands and significantly cheaper if you go with the SF version (which is just as good sounding as BF in most of the smaller amps). I have all 3 and the most expensive was the SF Princeton at $900 at the height of the "vintage" craze. If the guy tried a Deluxe and likes it, that's a great direction to go.

And it won't depreciate like a modern amp tends to. I've bought a lot of "boutique" amps too and seen how the prices fluctuate as the gain and lose hype.

[FFTT]

As long as you have access to a good amp tech, buying vintage
should not be ignored, but if you don't know what you're getting
into, you can set yourself up for a lot of disappointment and unforeseen
expenses.

[drbob1]

That's true, although most amp techs will look inside an amp you're thinking of buying for you for nothing if you're going to buy tubes and get them biased there.

[_Ludovico]

Well, I would suggest you try the Fender Super Sonic amp.

Never seen something as versatile yet.

It is available in 22 (combo), 60 (head or combo), and 100 watt (head) configurations.
With the 60w you have the option to get either the 2x12 or the 4x12 cab.
While I have the 60w with the 2x12 myself, I found the amp sounded better through the Orange 2x12closed back cab when I played with it.

Read what I had to say about it here (also about the Orange's) :

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/5483003-post55.html

Here : http://www.gearslutz.com/board/7349630-post52.html

And what someone had to say about it here : http://www.gearslutz.com/board/7350007-post55.html

Best of luck,

[kevbrowne]

AC30 is one hell of an amp. Manages to fit any style of music without changing its character,and it loves pedals

Having said that,I have a Laney Lionheart and love it. You will have a hard time finding a better match for a Tele

[Draytone]

I would go something with an EL84 output stage, running at about 15W.

I may have overlooked, but what budget you looking at?

[brucie]

There have been some great suggestions here. Like Draytone says you might want to consider a 15W amp as well (depending on Budget!), I would recommend something like the Fender Blues Junior (I know I might get shouted at) but I think it is a fantastic little amp, obviously not an all out metal amp (the clue is the blues in the name), but reacts fantastically with pedals. I am using mine with a Suhr Riot and it sounds amazing!

You might also want to look at the Blackstar Ht-5 another amazing amp, although the clean channel breaks up if you are trying to compete with a loud drummer very early on. The dirty channel is fantastic (through the newer 12 version rather than the earlier 10" imho). Going up the scale the Blackstar HT-20 Head or Combo is fantastic too, as it does stay clean louder!

I also would suggest if you can trying the Egnater series, particularly the Tweaker, it is a truly awesome amp (imho), when I was trying it out it was one of those amp which just made you want to play and play and play!! Lots and lots of options though, so you might never settle on one sound, although the new version is channel switchable!

As also suggested the VHT-6 is a nice cheap amp, well worth a look at if you are just home recording!

Don't worry you are not alone, there is just so much good stuff available at the moment it is really difficult to make a choice, plus a lot of stores don't carry that many amp brands, particularly now we all have access to the internet and get to see a selection from across the world and have to rely on youtube demos. I always suggest as well is going to a shop, trying the amps in your price range...and the one that you just can't stop playing through...might just be the one

Cheers

Neil

[Draytone]

If budget is a consideration, don't look past the Jet City combos. Check this one out - JCA2112RC - Jet City Amplification

I used one of these for a recording session for a demo I was doing for someone. It was mic'd with an AKG C1000 (which is hated upon quite heavily around this place), yet I was very very happy with the tones I got, considering it was a "cheap" amp and a "cheap" mic. If you are interested in hearing that amp in action, I can probably cut a snippet of audio from that demo and send it to you

-Rob