I really think I need some help here..maybe therapy. Went to my brother's house to visit and show him my strat build--he loved it and played it solid for a couple hrs. Problem is, it sounded AMAZING thru his Fender Blues Jr. Why is this a problem? Because it immediately exposes my complete failure at finding the perfect amp for me. I've had older crappy solid state Peavey's, valve amps ...Mesa, Marshall, and now I have a 100 watt Valvestate (Marshall) combo and a Vox adv50 modelling amp. I thought I was doing ok until this weekend. Now, his amp isnt capable of the gain levels I sometimes like to play but it is SOOOO much warmer and friendly to the ears at any volume compared to both my amps...not a ton of gain but sustainy and powerful sounding anyway. I'm completely depressed over this as I just bought the marshall off a friend and pissed my wife off already. I never gave Fender much amp credit before this..is it just a full valve vs soldid state or semi-solid issue? I want that overdriven but smooth Hendrixy sustain and maybe add pedals for added sizzle if needed. Which amps should I try out?
Amp Envy
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AprioriMark
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A friend of mine swears by those Blues Jr amps. I have to admit, they're tasty.
Yeah, I'd call it a valve thing. Others would disagree.
-Mark
Yeah, I'd call it a valve thing. Others would disagree.
-Mark
Patrick from Davis
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NLD09 said:
I have to agree. I have a Deluxe Reverb Kit that is next to build. I have just got my Germanium Fuzz Face working the way I think it should, and those two together should just about nail anything I'd want the Fender to do. I have to admit, I too like loony bin gain amps for heavier stuff, but by and large, I play through a Fender tube amp. The AB763 circuit just happens to be my drug of choice.
Patrick
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Ive never really known what sounds closest to a Blues Junior (as in the older Fenders), I really loved that tone when I plugged my strat into it but it just wasnt loud enough, so which vintage fender amp is closest to the Blues jr?
My brother's Junior is not vintage--just a couple years old..It's the nicer tweed NOS version whatever that means. Yah..just a little small for my usage so suggestions would be great. Something 50 or 100 watt combo. I have those other amps to trade in or sell so if I find the right one I will make the move..its my new quest for the holy grail of tone that has swallowed so many other lives!
Tonar8352
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I’m with Patrick. AB763!!!!
You had a huge tone moment when you heard a tube amp compared to a solid state. You would have the same experience time two if you were able to compare a vintage Fender Blackface amp to the modern Fender amps. The amp you heard is a great little amp but they pale in comparison to a Blackface Fender.
If you want an amp with more hair on it like a Billy Gibbons or Buddy Guy type tone you should look for a Fender Tweed amp or a clone like the stuff that CB builds.
With the economy the way it is there are some great deals to be had. The only thing with a vintage amp is you need to have access to a really good amp repair guy because they need an occasional tune up. I would look real hard for a AB763 Super Reverb right now.
You had a huge tone moment when you heard a tube amp compared to a solid state. You would have the same experience time two if you were able to compare a vintage Fender Blackface amp to the modern Fender amps. The amp you heard is a great little amp but they pale in comparison to a Blackface Fender.
If you want an amp with more hair on it like a Billy Gibbons or Buddy Guy type tone you should look for a Fender Tweed amp or a clone like the stuff that CB builds.
With the economy the way it is there are some great deals to be had. The only thing with a vintage amp is you need to have access to a really good amp repair guy because they need an occasional tune up. I would look real hard for a AB763 Super Reverb right now.
Superlizard
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Tonar8353 said:
+1,000,000
Thus illustrating the tone rule of, "it'll always sound t!ts 'til you hear something better".
Kostas
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I agree about Fenders but it's not just the AB763 circuit for me. Most of the '70's (SilverFace) or early '80's Rivera models are "better" from the new production Fenders. There are so many heads & combos in the used market I wouldn't bother with any of the new Fenders. Many of them are below $1000.
ORCRiST
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So... if all I had was a solid-state amp (Crate GLX212), and wanted to branch out into the world of tubes, what could one pick-up for less
than a grand? (All my money went into the guitar, heh) I'm not in a band, so I dont gig - and play mostly blues/metal. In the past I've
caught myself looking for used Marshall JCM800's - but thats because Dave Murray/Adrian Smith used them back in the day...
than a grand? (All my money went into the guitar, heh) I'm not in a band, so I dont gig - and play mostly blues/metal. In the past I've
caught myself looking for used Marshall JCM800's - but thats because Dave Murray/Adrian Smith used them back in the day...
I'm sure the vintage stuff sounds as good as you say but I think I would sacrifice a little of that mojo for some good modern reliability. I looked at a couple new Fender combos ...one asid it was fender "modified"(?). Anybody up on their new fender amps? I'm not playing out at all right now but I never know when I will be so I like to have something loud enough just in case.
I hope I'm not speaking out of turn when I say that modern reliability aint nothing to shout about.
Friend of mine, (redmcmannus - sometime poster on here) bought a new Marshall TSL from a very well know shop here in the UK. He had all sorts of problems with it. He took back to the shop and tried a replacement IN the shop. Broken, straight out of the box. Another one, broken straight out of the box. Got his money back, and ended up with 2 80's JCM800 combos. I'm pretty sure he just got unlucky with a duff batch or something.
Now, whilst I'm not up to the electrickery standards of CB and mayfly, and some of the other guys here, I'd say that the older amps are nothing to worry about in terms of reliability as long as they are looked after in the same way you'd have to look after a modern amp. I've got an early 70's silverface Fender Bassman which I re-capped, and revalved (and modded the bias circuit, but thats another matter), and it'd stand up in terms of reliability against anything modern I know of. And it would kick they asses in terms of sound and loudability!
If you were able to get something in the 20-40W range. A nice Fender deluxe or something you're laughing, for ANY gig.....
The new Fender Vintage Modified range just have added digital effects on board. Personally, I'd go for a regular 'Vintage Reissue' series amp, and get some nice pedals. But thats me. Better still would be to get a real Vintage amp, if you can stretch the budget.
Friend of mine, (redmcmannus - sometime poster on here) bought a new Marshall TSL from a very well know shop here in the UK. He had all sorts of problems with it. He took back to the shop and tried a replacement IN the shop. Broken, straight out of the box. Another one, broken straight out of the box. Got his money back, and ended up with 2 80's JCM800 combos. I'm pretty sure he just got unlucky with a duff batch or something.
Now, whilst I'm not up to the electrickery standards of CB and mayfly, and some of the other guys here, I'd say that the older amps are nothing to worry about in terms of reliability as long as they are looked after in the same way you'd have to look after a modern amp. I've got an early 70's silverface Fender Bassman which I re-capped, and revalved (and modded the bias circuit, but thats another matter), and it'd stand up in terms of reliability against anything modern I know of. And it would kick they asses in terms of sound and loudability!
If you were able to get something in the 20-40W range. A nice Fender deluxe or something you're laughing, for ANY gig.....
The new Fender Vintage Modified range just have added digital effects on board. Personally, I'd go for a regular 'Vintage Reissue' series amp, and get some nice pedals. But thats me. Better still would be to get a real Vintage amp, if you can stretch the budget.
Yah..the amps I have are nice and they have on-board effects...I THOUGT it was a great idea and it is for a practive amp but I'm definitely going the way of an all tube amp with great clean and distorted tone and adding pedals. Any thoughts on the fender Hot Rod deluxe 2x12? Looks like my style.
Cagey
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The Bugera V22 (http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Bugera-V22-22W-1x12-Tube-Guitar-Combo-Amp?sku=502583) is getting rave reviews all over the place for stellar clean tone and great crunch when overdriven. It's a 2 channel 22W 112 combo running 12AX7s and EL84s, so it's suitable for anywhere from the bedroom to small clubs. At $350, it's not much of a risk, and they're moving so fast right now that if you decided you didn't like it, you could probably move it without losing more than a couple bucks, if that. They're made in China, which upsets some people, but just about all amps short of the $2.5K-$3.5K boutique units are made there these days, including Fenders, Marshalls, Egnators, Peaveys, etc. Besides, even the boutique amps are made from Asian parts, so the only real difference is they're assembled here with extraordinarily high-priced labor.
Cagey
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Good luck - as I said, they're popular, so stores are often out of stock. Another one you might want to look at is the Jet City JCA20 (http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Jet-City-Amplification-JCA20H-and-JCA12S-HalfStack?sku=584695). Designed by Mike Soldano, so they romp and stomp.
