These Go to 11 - The Guitar Amp Thread

[dcbc 14254]

2 hours ago, Rimbo said:

are those... coffee stains?

I'm offering good money that it's beer.  And let's be honest, smoke, beer, and other things emanating from touring musicians which get absorbed into speaker cones are one of the reasons old speakers sound monumentally better than a broken-in new speaker, particularly the smoke.  Because smoke is the common denominator additive in about 95% of the speakers that survived the 20th Century.

[Chad Fuck 17307]

17 hours ago, dcbc said:

I'm offering good money that it's beer.  And let's be honest, smoke, beer, and other things emanating from touring musicians which get absorbed into speaker cones are one of the reasons old speakers sound monumentally better than a broken-in new speaker, particularly the smoke.  Because smoke is the common denominator additive in about 95% of the speakers that survived the 20th Century.

...otherwise known as the "I don't need to clean my grill" theory of speaker cones. 

[dcbc 14254]

1 hour ago, Chad Fuck said:

...otherwise known as the "I don't need to clean my grill" theory of speaker cones. 

Ain't nobody got time for that.  Turn it on.  Warm it up.  Rock.

Edited March 28 by dcbc

[Chad Fuck 17307]

Ain't nobody got time for that.  Turn it on.  Warm it up.  Rock.

So we’re in agreement then. Very well.

[jimmyjazz 45192]

I love Chris Stapleton's tone, and there are similarities across multiple guitars.  Can someone identify these amps from SNL last night?  I think he's driving both rigs, his rhythm guitarist (off on screen left) was standing in front of a couple of combo amps himself.  I assume those were his.  I see a Matchless head driving two small cabinets and a couple of small Fender combos -- any model info out there?

[noharleyyet 2826]

4 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

I love Chris Stapleton's tone, and there are similarities across multiple guitars.  Can someone identify these amps from SNL last night?  I think he's driving both rigs, his rhythm guitarist (off on screen left) was standing in front of a couple of combo amps himself.  I assume those were his.  I see a Matchless head driving two small cabinets and a couple of small Fender combos -- any model info out there?

 

Chris Stapleton '62 Princeton Amp

After years of looking for the right amp, Chris Stapleton came across a ’62 Princeton in a guitar shop. Listen to his story about how his continued search for these amps led to the Chris Stapleton Signature ’62 Princeton.

Posted by Fender on Monday, February 11, 2019

 

[Paul Wesley 3273]

5 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

I love Chris Stapleton's tone, and there are similarities across multiple guitars.  Can someone identify these amps from SNL last night?  I think he's driving both rigs, his rhythm guitarist (off on screen left) was standing in front of a couple of combo amps himself.  I assume those were his.  I see a Matchless head driving two small cabinets and a couple of small Fender combos -- any model info out there?

I think the head on the right is the bass player's Thunderman.  

[jimmyjazz 45192]

9 minutes ago, Paul Wesley said:

I think the head on the right is the bass player's Thunderman.  

Oh, OK.  So Stapleton is probably only playing thru the two Fenders.  That makes some sense.  I don't pay attention to bass amps (who would?), LOL.

[dcbc 14254]

17 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Oh, OK.  So Stapleton is probably only playing thru the two Fenders.  That makes some sense.  I don't pay attention to bass amps (who would?), LOL.

And see, I see 45 watt Matchless bass amp and wonder what a guitar sounds like through it.

[jimmyjazz 45192]

8 minutes ago, dcbc said:

And see, I see 45 watt Matchless bass amp and wonder what a guitar sounds like through it.

If it's anything like a Bassman, the answer is probably "pretty damn good".

[G650 13285]

Shoot I'm always looking to see if some bass player is badass enough to still be rocking an Acoustic 360. Or going legit old schhool Tommy Shannon with a Peavey CS -800

[jimmyjazz 45192]

My buddy bought one of these at a pawn shop last year, except it was sort of a purple color.  It sounded . . . not good.  Looked cool, like it had been stored in the back of a Chevy shaggin' wagon van circa 1974:

[dcbc 14254]

42 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

My buddy bought one of these at a pawn shop last year, except it was sort of a purple color.  It sounded . . . not good.  Looked cool, like it had been stored in the back of a Chevy shaggin' wagon van circa 1974:

 

I feel like those old Kustom upholstered amps are standard issue at every low-turnover music store in Texas.

[Paul Wesley 3273]

I'm a Vox guy.  I have a couple different Vox-style heads including a Matchless Laurel Canyon and a 65Amps London.  

I also have a China-made AC30 - the 1-speaker version - that has just been gathering dust for the past decade.  So I just sold it online, and before the guy came to pick it up, I plugged it in the other night and ran through it just to make sure it was fully functional.  

It sounded better than I remembered.  

[jimmyjazz 45192]

7 minutes ago, Paul Wesley said:

I also have a China-made AC30 - the 1-speaker version - that has just been gathering dust for the past decade.  So I just sold it online, and before the guy came to pick it up, I plugged it in the other night and ran through it just to make sure it was fully functional.  

It sounded better than I remembered.  

. . . and then, depression set in.

[G650 13285]

11 hours ago, Paul Wesley said:

Matchless Laurel Canyon

I've been eyeballing these for a hot minute

[Celery Man 20607]

1 hour ago, G650 said:

I've been eyeballing these for a hot minute

https://www.matchlessamplifiers.com/amp-visualizer

man they dropped the orange, we could've been twinsies

[jimmyjazz 45192]

Seems like different colored knobs should be an option, too.  White/black/chrome etc.

[Celery Man 20607]

If you ordered directly from Matchless I'm certain they would do whatever you want. I think the whole operation is just Phil Jamison back there wiring up military grade amplifiers and then a couple of support and office folks.

 

I can't find the picture right now but there's some monstrosity floating around that's like... two Matchless amps that were custom built into one cabinet. Super awesome, completely useless form factor that weighs 150 pounds.

[G650 13285]

1 minute ago, Celery Man said:

Super awesome, completely useless form factor that weighs 150 pounds.

As it should be

[Celery Man 20607]

lololol

[Celery Man 20607]

[jimmyjazz 45192]

I can't quite wrap my head around two amps driving a common speaker, with variable outputs on each.  Can one amp drive against the other?

[Celery Man 20607]

oh shit it's for sale in Asheville.

looks like it's dual speakers with each amp driving one speaker

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Matchless/2010s-DUAL-15-30-2010S-AMPLIFIER-Tube-Guitar-Combo-Amp.gc?cntry=us&source=4WWRWXGP&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjww_iwBhApEiwAuG6ccNcwWlmOI9M5DedZxc7RJn5IAoORLR05--si05rQ-bdJiuMQ7xYVaBoCFSIQAvD_BwE

[tbone_ 13991]

I love it. Volume and Tone knobs only. Other than the trem/delay stuff.

[Paul Wesley 3273]

9 hours ago, G650 said:

I've been eyeballing these for a hot minute

I really like it.  To my ears, it sounds like a *slightly* more modern-sounding Vox... i.e. a little more saturation as it breaks up more and more.  It breaks up in a way that doesn't feel genre-specific to me.  Depending on the settings, I think it could be perfectly at home in an alt-country band (Stapleton/Isbell/etc) or as a heavy Brian May thing.  

 If I had one complaint with it, it's that the EQ often feels a bit light on low mids, although that could also be an accurate reflection of the guitars that I'm using.  I haven't recorded with it much, but it occurs to me that the same low mids that I want to bump up with an EQ pedal might be exactly what's carved out by the mix engineer.  

I could get down to three amps for the rest of my days on earth and be perfectly content:  A Laurel Canyon, a Two Rock Studio Pro 35 (which is the ultimate Swiss army amp, IMO), and a Marshall flavor (either a 65Amps Empire or one of those Marshall 20-watt Plexi-voiced heads).  

 

[tbone_ 13991]

I don’t have a picture but I watched an old pro the other night play a few hour set of the whole catalogue of country, blues, classic rock, bar band, etc etc. All he had was some sort of a dimed 5e3 and a volume knob on a beat up Strat. His very wide range of tone was perfect for every song. Dude was a master player and a master of the volume knob. Just fantastic.

/csb

[tbone_ 13991]

Forgot add, I talked to him for a bit.

Sounds great, what kinda pickups in that strat. I don’t know man, whatever came with it.

What are those pedals on the board? Buncha dumb stuff I never even turn on.

Loved this guy.

[jimmyjazz 45192]

I'm an advocate of owning as many amps as possible, but I only own two.  I'm struck by the range of tones one of the guitarists in my daughter's band gets with a Fender combo and a Boss DS-1.  With the latter in, it's saturated distortion heaven.  With it out (and a delay in) it's a liquid slightly fuzzy ethereal goo.  Most things in between seem possible, too.  I'm sticking with my pair and I'm gonna try to get better on my end.

[dcbc 14254]

8 hours ago, tbone_ said:

I love it. Volume and Tone knobs only.

My Lil Dawg Harvard approves.

[tbone_ 13991]

Ok so if someone wanted to shop for a 5e3, what would the surly guitar mafia recommend?

[G650 13285]

A 5e3

[dcbc 14254]

On 4/16/2024 at 9:31 PM, tbone_ said:

Ok so if someone wanted to shop for a 5e3, what would the surly guitar mafia recommend?

If you can find one, get a Magic.  He stopped building a while back, but they live up to their name.

 

Apart from that, I'm a huge fan of Jim at Lil Dawg.  He's comparably reasonable on price and an absolute joy to deal with.  He'll spec it out however you like, all original, with mods, whatever. 

 

Then there's Clark and Speed Shop.  Both very well thought of and priced accordingly.

 

The Magic 5e3 (Mike Moody, the builder, on guitar)

 

 

Jim at Lil Dawg Built my Harvard 1x12.  One of his 5e3s is on Reverb used for $1,300ish.

 

https://www.littledawgamps.com/

 

Speed Shop: http://www.tweeddeluxe.com/

 

I think Clark may just be building spec amps and putting them on Reverb.  My 5f4 Super is a Clark and built like an absolute tank.

Edited April 18 by dcbc

[Litig8r 413]

#1.  I suxes at playing guitar but I have some nice gear, some of which was gifted to me.  I have Fender Twin Reverb deluxe that I just started figuring out after diving into some youtubes.  It sounds the best on my cheapest raggedy ass guitar.  I need to learn how to dial in the guitars now I guess. 

[Chad Fuck 17307]

#1.  I suxes at playing guitar but I have some nice gear, some of which was gifted to me.  I have Fender Twin Reverb deluxe that I just started figuring out after diving into some youtubes.  It sounds the best on my cheapest raggedy ass guitar.  I need to learn how to dial in the guitars now I guess. 

Post your favorite vids about it. I’m always looking for tones people come up with on there.

[jimmyjazz 45192]

Seth Tiven (Dumptruck) is selling a few amps.  Looks like a couple of Vox AC30, a Marshall JMP Mk2 head, a Fender Super Reverb, a Fender Twin Reverb (blackface?)?  Austin only.  Let me know if you're interested and I can put you in touch.

[dcbc 14254]

10 hours ago, Litig8r said:

Fender Twin Reverb deluxe

Is that a Twin Reverb and a Deluxe or is there a deluxe version of the Twin Reverb?  Not being snarky.  I just haven't heard of a Twin Reverb "Deluxe"?

Edited May 2 by dcbc

[NoRagrets 1121]

I just bought a Boss Katana 50 MK2 for a practice and quick travel amp. I have an old half stack cabinet (Marshall 4x12) and Tube head for real gigs, but I’m sick of lugging that thing around with my pedal board to jam and I can’t really practice on it.

i can take the boss back if you guys have a better suggestions. It’s $229 and sounded pretty good for a solid state amp with built in pedals.  

[G650 13285]

13 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Austin only. 

Boooooo.

[dcbc 14254]

On 4/16/2024 at 5:00 PM, tbone_ said:

I don’t have a picture but I watched an old pro the other night play a few hour set of the whole catalogue of country, blues, classic rock, bar band, etc etc. All he had was some sort of a dimed 5e3 and a volume knob on a beat up Strat. His very wide range of tone was perfect for every song. Dude was a master player and a master of the volume knob. Just fantastic.

/csb

This video is long and not terribly exciting, but it really goes through how interactive the interactive volume controls and tone control is on a 5e3.  There's a lot you can do with them, and it can be almost frustrating at times.

 

 

[Litig8r 413]

13 hours ago, dcbc said:

Is that a Twin Reverb and a Deluxe or is there a deluxe version of the Twin Reverb?  Not being snarky.  I just haven't heard of a Twin Reverb "Deluxe"?

You are right.  I double checked it last night Twin Reverb looks like this one.  https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/65TwinRev--fender-65-twin-reverb-85-watt-2x12-inch-tube-combo-amp

[dcbc 14254]

17 minutes ago, Litig8r said:

You are right.  I double checked it last night Twin Reverb looks like this one.  https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/65TwinRev--fender-65-twin-reverb-85-watt-2x12-inch-tube-combo-amp

Cool!  Turn that bad boy up past 4 and it will:

 

[ajax 2568]

This is more of an electronics question. There is busted up Yamaha THR10x for sale on eBay $99. It's one of those desktop practice amps with some pretty cool metal tones. It's missing the DC power input and battery. I could probably talk them down to 80 bucks.

You can get them used all day for about $225.

Is it even worth $145 to get it and install a new battery in DC input? I guess I don't know how hard of a job this is. 

If someone here buys it, I wouldn't mind at all. As long as someone gets some good use out of it. I see it as more of a project. I don't really need another amp.

[topochico 1048]

I’m not sure it’s worth the effort to even try. It looks like someone scavenged it for parts. Who knows if it even works. It could be fun if you got it got free, but you could also have a $99 paperweight. I will say that I have the Yamaha THR II and I love it. It’s sounds fantastic, compatible with my old Line 6 G10 relay with no significant lag. 

[Rimbo 25229]

I have all these guitar VSTs I've built up over the years that came with other equipment or DAWs I'd night, but never had a guitar to actually use with them.

So I just grabbed a Yamaha Pacifica. Just to play with the software amps.

[ajax 2568]

3 hours ago, topochico said:

I’m not sure it’s worth the effort to even try. It looks like someone scavenged it for parts. Who knows if it even works. It could be fun if you got it got free, but you could also have a $99 paperweight. I will say that I have the Yamaha THR II and I love it. It’s sounds fantastic, compatible with my old Line 6 G10 relay with no significant lag. 

That's probably wise. You know, I might throw them a $20 offer and see what they say. 

The THR amps really do sound awesome for their size, although I have no real need for it. But then again it doesn't really take up much space. I saw a guy compare the sound between the THR10ii and the X, and the THR10x actually sounded better. Could be a lot of different factors though, like settings and mic placement.

I just bought a Mustang gtx100 (apologies to the tube snobs). I've yet to play around with it, but it looks cool.

Edited May 23 by ajax

[topochico 1048]

3 hours ago, Rimbo said:

I have all these guitar VSTs I've built up over the years that came with other equipment or DAWs I'd night, but never had a guitar to actually use with them.

So I just grabbed a Yamaha Pacifica. Just to play with the software amps.

This will probably get me thrown out of the Pron thread, but I’ve pretty much gone all in on Yamaha. The build quality for the price is amazing in the Indonesian lineup. The Japan made models are better than most US made options. Did you get the version with the P90 at the neck?

[Rimbo 25229]

11 minutes ago, topochico said:

This will probably get me thrown out of the Pron thread, but I’ve pretty much gone all in on Yamaha. The build quality for the price is amazing in the Indonesian lineup. The Japan made models are better than most US made options. Did you get the version with the P90 at the neck?

Nope. Bare ass cheap $220 (new) version. If I need more than that, I'll will the lottery first.

And yeah, I get being a Yamaha stan. Whatever they're doing, they're doing it right. Son's first trumpet was a cheap Yamaha; sounded great.

Edited May 23 by Rimbo

[Rimbo 25229]

it's this piece of shit:

Yamaha Pacifica Series PAC012DLX Electric Guitar; Old Violin Sunburst https://a.co/d/59mLRwq

Just cheap enough the wife won't get mad; just good enough to lay down some nice cheap distorted riffs when I need em in my mix.

[Deej 76197]

I've got a $300 Yamaha acoustic that does exactly what I need it to do.