JayinLA Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 I spent the last hour lost in the Youtube Void watching videos of amateur, and a few professional guitar players playing through their favorite amps. (I am seeing a therapists about the Youtube addiction BTW). When the first part of your Saturday evening starts by watching chimpanzee fights, you know there are problems. (I digress) I must have watched at least 100 or more guys and amps and listen to their affinity for their favorite setup. Guys with 59 and 60's Plexis, Old Boutiques, Right up to the Shredders with their gains turned to 11. I am always trying new things and just ordered a dual set of Orange PPC 212 cabs, and I am just itching for them to get here so I can run all my amps with em and mess around. For me, the best sounding amp I have used is a 1968 Marshall Super Lead 100. Some folks like some of the 40 and 50 watt heads that predate the '68 Plexi, but I don't know if it's the unique aspects of that exact amp, or the whole run sounds just as good, but that creamy, yet growly lead tone, and the sustain, and feedback thresholds are just perfect for me. I wish I owned one. what about you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparquelito Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 I own (or have owned) many guitar amplifiers. An early 1970s Fender Twin Reverb. A Marshall 12W amp from the late 1970's. Smaller Fender practice amplifiers from the early 1980's, some of which are still in my possession. A Crate bass amp, a fantastic rig. A Crate Telluride Acoustic amplifier, very versatile and useful. A Peavey Vyper modeling amp. An old early 1990's TubeWorks tube amp. The list goes on and on. My favorite is, and without reservation: The Fender Frontman 212R 100-Watt 2x12 combo amp. Sure, it's non-tube. It's solid-state. Sure, it's made in China or Indonesia. Sure, it's not endorsed by Slash or John 5 or any of the other guitar Gods du jour. But man oh man. Does this amplifier kick out the jams. It is loud, it has tone for days, it has A B switching between clean and dirty, and then onto C for super dirty, and good GOD will it deliver the goods! I cannot say enough about the Fender Frontman 212R. I bought my brother one, and he plays it at every gig. We have both owned ours for three years now, and they rock out and rock-steady. Enough said. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevDavidLee Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Can't pick a favorite. I have over 40 amps so I really truly can't pick a favorite. I love them all. I'm a gear sl*t. :mellow: :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Scales Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 I have quite limited experience having only played for a few years in middle age, but the best (fun) amp i've used was a Mesa 100w Dual Rectifier and quad box. Played just a few songs through it at a rehearsal studio and grinned like an idiot throughout - that high gain could become very addictive I'm sure.My own amps (Fender Princeton and a Hiwatt 200w Head and quadbox) are solid state and I quite like them - they have done the job and sound good to me but they are nothing special. If I was serious, I'd probably like a JCM 800 half stack - cos thats what all the good guitarists in local bands used when I went to gigs as a teenager, and a really old small fender Champ/Princeton/whatever from 50's or 60's for around the house - I have always loved Fender clean tones. A Mesa Lonestar would be cool too actually... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 This is like asking me which guitar I own, that I love the most. Can't tell you. I love 'em all, for various reasons. I currently own several Fender's, 2 Marshalls, and a Vox AC-30. But, I'm always looking at other's, as well. The one I play gigs with, the most, is my Fender HR Deluxe, and/or with it's matching extension cabinet. Depends on the venue. Bars and small clubs, I often use my Blues Jr. Practicing at home, I use either my "old reliable" Fender Sidekick 35 Reverb, or my little monster in a box, Marshall AVT-20! I can, and have actually gigged with both. The Sidekick, often comes with me, to bar gigs, as a backup! Lately, I've been using it, as a preamp, to the Blues Jr. The BJ only has one input, so I plug into the Sidekick's 1st input, and plug it into the Blues Jr. I kinda like the combination! As to a Fender Frontman 100? I've always wondered, and been very tempted, to get one. I've never heard anything negative, about them! I guess now, they call it the Champion 100? Whatever...for the price, and all the rave reviews, what's not to like? The Mustang series, is pretty impressive, for what they do! And, I'm really interested in demoing the new Fender "Basebreaker" series. I've also read, and heard great things about the Orange Crush 120 head! So, amps are like guitars...there's just no end to interest in, or GAS for them. CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Farnsbarns Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 I have a confession to make. I thought I was an LP through a Marshall guy. Why? Don't know, I just thought I was. I was sold by the Marshall look over what I thought was the Marshall sound. Then I played my LP through a Fender Supers Sonic in the store and liked it enough to buy the guitar. All happy at home, plugged into my Marshall. Then I played mine and a couple of Pippy's LP'S through his fender-esque music man amp. I loved it. It begun to dawn on me that I liked the LP through a Fender sound. Discussed this with Pippy and listened to him tell me about this person and that recording, all LP'S through Fenders. Nothing for it, bought a Fender Super Sonic and I'm a changed man! The Super Sonic is ideal too being that it does good low volume crunch like no other Fender. In short, my Fender FSR Limited Edition Super Sonic 22 combo with Celestian G25. It's fugly in black and orange but that matters little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Fender Twin Reverb II 1983, Rivera design. But it's so heavy I now use an 80s red-knob Super 60 (Rivera again) with a Celestion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 The Roland VGA 7 would be it for me. Powerful enough to play a large room. Solid state so you don't have to worry about playing a small room. Works great with guitar or bass. Plenty of connectivity so it can be used as a power amp or recording rig. On-board effects and plenty of memory for presets. Everything you need and nothing you don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pin Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Best amp I've owned is the one I have now - Mesa Maverick with a Black Shadow speaker. If I didn't have that I'd go for one of the old Fenders or a reissue of same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cody78 Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Can't say I've played every amp out there, but when I was at music college they had a bunch of different ones from Marshall stacks to Fender, Orange, Carvin, Mesa Boogie and a few others types. When I was gigging a lot I used to borrow amps on many occasions and tried all kinds off stuff. The best amp for me is a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. They had these at the music conservatoire I studied at and they stood out from the rest, so I bought one of the limited editions a few years back. I'd like one of the originals someday. I do like Marshall JCM 800's & 900's too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 I've had three tubo combos for some time now Gibson Goldtone 30 watt 2x12 class A combo. The Class A setup offers a very pure and raw tube tone. But it's one trick pony, Volume (pull Gain) /Tone/Reverb, so you have to front end this with a good OD. stereo FX loop, foot switchable Gain/reverb. the Reverb is stereo (they call it "Surround sound" reverb.) if you stand in front of the amp, the deflection of the reverb does seem to come from behind you. his amp is loud, and you don't want to be moving this amp around muhc,, it's 90lbs. I've got a Hot Rod Deville 4x10 which is a lot of amp. this too has to b front ended with a good OD pedal, the gain channel on these amps is "so, so"... somewhat usable but don't get crazy with it. my third amp is the fav of my collection. A Marshall JTM60 2x12 combo with a JTM 2x12 extension cab. it's only got 2 channels, but the Clean on this is real good (EL84s) and the gain channel has a lot of different characteristics based on the settings. I tend to use a good OD pedal on this too as it just avails me more tones than just the channel 1 / channel 2. I also have two Fender Mustangs (a III and a IV) these are cool amps, and do a lot of different things. I know the modeling amps make some guys want to puke, but these are usable and once you get a handful of your own presets saved, you can get some great sounds out of these. The wont set you back a ton of $, and they are really easy on the back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayinLA Posted January 31, 2016 Author Share Posted January 31, 2016 Can't pick a favorite. I have over 40 amps so I really truly can't pick a favorite. I love them all. I'm a gear sl*t. :mellow: :) 40 Amps? Damn Broher...Most music stores don't have 40 Amps in stock. I would offer to help you liquidate some stuff I suppose. I am a long way from 40...I have 3 complete amps, heads and cabs in whatever configuration, but I am always looking for combo amp that does what I want for bars ect... Don't own a combo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayinLA Posted January 31, 2016 Author Share Posted January 31, 2016 Can't pick a favorite. I have over 40 amps so I really truly can't pick a favorite. I love them all. I'm a gear sl*t. :mellow: :) 40 Amps? Damn Brother...Most music stores don't have 40 Amps in stock. I would offer to help you liquidate some stuff I suppose. I am a long way from 40...I have 3 complete amps, heads and cabs in whatever configuration, but I am always looking for combo amp that does what I want for bars ect... Don't own a combo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saturn Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 If we are talking about amps that I have personally played through, I guess it would be a tie. I've never owned a Mesa/Boogie, but have played another persons on a few different occasions. One was a Triple Rectifier head/cabinet and the other I think was a Road King combo. Both were a pleasure to play. The other would be my current first generation Carvin Legacy. Very nice rich, deep tone that is very responsive to touch and dynamics. I constantly get compliments from other guitarists and musicians when they hear that amp. Only drawback is that it's so loud and kind of made to be cranked. Not too useful for quiet levels. For SS, I have to say it is also one I currently own. Roland Blues Cube. I've gone through quite a few amps over the years, but I see myself holding onto these two. At least until something better comes along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Like Sqarlito, I plump for a solid state Fender. The Fender Stage 112 SE. I've been using it for donkey's years now. The last tube amps I used were Selmer Treble & Bass models, A 30 watt combo & a 50 watt head with home made 4 x 12" cab. The were temperamental and noisy. To be fair, they were old before I got them and back then I was using a Strat so HHUUMMMmmm...! After using some more poor solid state stuff I spent months trying out various tube amps. Some borrowed and some from shops. I didnt care for any of them. Not the Fenders nor the Marshalls. I finally saw the Stage 112 in a shop window. It was labelled 'Hybrid'. I tried it out at high volume in the shops warehouse. My ears told me yes. Later, after bringing it home I realised there wee no tubes at all. At first I was peeved, but then realised that it sounds the same no matter whats inside it. During the last ten years though, I have used it with signal processors which slave the amp and only use its clean channel. I also have a Fishman LOudbox artist that I use for home and smaller Jazz gigs. Next month I am going to try out some Tone King models (imperial mk 2, Sky King etc) and maybe a Victory amp or too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 This; Music Man 2x12 Sixty-Five. It dates from '77. I bought it ex-demo in 1980 and it's never let me down in the ensuing 36 years. It gives everything from sparkly cleans to balls-out o/d. It also has a proper spring-reverb tank and a tremolo circuit which are footswitchable. I'm no electrician but apparently it has four o/d circuits which are brought into play or faded out depending on the mix of channel and master volume settings. It WAS all once explained to me by someone who had studied the schematics but I've long since forgotten the details. Back in the day M-M were the amps of choice by the likes of Clapton, Gilmour, Farnsbarns(*) and Knopfler so I suppose they're good enough for the likes of me. Pip. * Almost... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny V Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Really a subjective topic. I think the type of music you play has a lot to do when choosing your favorite amp. I have owned a lot of different amps, but keep coming back to my Fender Deluxe Reverb or the Twin Reverb. I recently bought a Supro Royal Verb 1650RT. The the type of music I play, which is American Standards and Jazz, the Supro has become my favorite amp. There are a lot of amps I would love to try out like Carr and Mesa Boggie, but no music store in my area carries these brands, and I really don't have the capital to purchase an expensive amp without test driving it first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cody78 Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 This; [/font] Pippy! Holy smokes! I've seen some of your Les Paul pictures before, but I've never seen that particular picture of your Lester and amp. That LP looks even more incredible than usual (and all of them always look fantastic) [love] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayinLA Posted January 31, 2016 Author Share Posted January 31, 2016 The Roland VGA 7 would be it for me. Powerful enough to play a large room. Solid state so you don't have to worry about playing a small room. Works great with guitar or bass. Plenty of connectivity so it can be used as a power amp or recording rig. On-board effects and plenty of memory for presets. Everything you need and nothing you don't. Very Interesting piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fromnabulax Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 For the acoustic, it has to be the Fishman Loudbox Performer. Most beautiful tones ever from an acoustic amp. I have different amps for different purposes, but nothing beats a clean sounding Tele being played through a wee 10 watt mid 1970s Vibro Champ. Doesn't work live, but hey, ya' can't have everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pin Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Like Sqarlito, I plump for a solid state Fender. The Fender Stage 112 SE. I've been using it for donkey's years now. The last tube amps I used were Selmer Treble & Bass models, A 30 watt combo & a 50 watt head with home made 4 x 12" cab. That's an interesting coincidence. I sold a Fender Stage 112SE not long ago. I bought it for my son around 1998 and he used it in his band for a while. It then languished in my house until I decided to get rid of it. Very loud amp! The Selmer connection interested me as well. I had one of the 30 watt combo's as my very first amp back around 1967. I bought it new but I never did like it very much and got rid of in the early 70s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pin Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Is the dog the "woofer" Karloff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Great thread! Don't think I can pick a favorite either, but I do have some favorites... Fender Princetons Fender Deluxe Reverbs 18 watt Marshalls 60s Gibson/Epiphone combos (like the Minuteman) And I have lately been digging a good friend's Marshall JTM45. I think one of those is in my future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Gibson Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 AC30 now. But the search is on.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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