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What are your favorite amps for your ES-330 and why?


teledan

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Those of you with an ES-330, what are your favorite amps and why? What styles of music do you play with them? What tones are you getting out of them that you love? Also, do you use the amp for mostly home use or do you also gig with it or record with it?

 

I am thinking about thinning my (electric) herd down to an ES-330 and a new amp. To clarify though, I am not necessarily asking what amp you think I should get, because as we all know that is pretty subjective. I really just want to hear about what you have and like and why you like it. I don't want to sway your responses too much by telling you what I am looking for :) I have a couple ideas in mind but would like to hear about what else is out there that people are using.

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IMO the ES330 and Epi Casino are very versatile instruments with a big fan base due to their association with much 60's music.....[thumbup]

 

Personal experience with both guitars.....

 

Laney VC30 2x12 combo......just imagine a Vox AC30 and you are in Beatles/Stones/Kinks territory.....[thumbup]

 

Various Marshall Valvestates.....very easy amps to get on with....clean and with excellent drive channels when required

 

Fender Deluxe VM.....45w combo with built in chorus and delay......typical Fender clean sounds with Dfx built in.....[thumbup]

 

Roland Cubes from battery powered busking amps up to 80w combo.....IMO one of the best transistor amps around.....with character, superb clean sounds and meaty chorus and delay on tap...

 

V

 

:-({|=

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I have excellent results, with ALL my amps, regarding 330 style (in my case, a vintage '66 "Casino") guitars.

I have Vox AC-30, a Fender Twin Reverb, and Vibrolux Reverb, Hot Rod Deluxe, Blues Jr, and Marshall TSL 100

1/2 stack, as well as some other "practice amps" (solid state). So, to me, it's more about finding the

"Sweet spot," in any amp, with that particular guitar, than "Which amp model or brand."

But, that's just Me! :D

 

CB

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  • 3 weeks later...

I use my Deluxe clone and it sounds great. But then again everything sounds good through that... [thumbup]

That and my Champ clone. It would be a shame if it didn't sound good through those, because it's all I have....Building a Blackface super reverb though....

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Thanks for the responses guys! I finally got my ES-330 and have been having a blast with it through my 94 Twin. I was thinking about selling the amp and getting something else (maybe something a bit smaller) but I think I will keep it around for now. Dave, can you tell me more about your deluxe clone? I have been tempted to try one of the Mojotone Tweed 5E3 kits.

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No worries Dan. Mine was scratch built, using the Weber layout as a guide. The kits are meant to be amazing and very good value though. I just fancied the challenge of doing it all myself....There are a lot of resources on the TDPRI forum and some guys who REALLY know their stuff. I had allsorts of help and advice from them.

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I do not play in a band anymore; but always jam once/twice a week!

 

Play mainly in small bar venues, I just enjoy my 15 watts Fender tweed Blues Juniors. All the other higher wattage amps just gather dust. With three Blues Jrs. I noticed that they also differ in sound. It could be the age of tubes or usage of speakers. Newer ones sound very sparkling on highs. But I'm not OCD and I can always EQ the amps to fit the venues. Generally, I set the amp knobs 12 O'clock and tweak a little up or down. It is easy to remember and quick to setup. The final control is on my guitar. It's easy to adjust during a song to fit the rest of the band.

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I play & Record in 3 Bands. I gig with another 60's British Invasion Band "The Fab-Tones". I play several different Guitars. But mostly my 3 Epiphone Casinos. You can check us out on YouTube if you want.

 

"The Larson Brothers Band" Country Rock, "The Phantom Teardrops" Rock, & "Glenn Michael Rogers Band" British Invasion Style.

 

I use Fender or Vox. Mostly my Vox AC15CC1X (Celestion Alnico Blue Spkr) or one of my Fenders. Twin, 65 DRRI & Princeton Reverb.

 

The Vox AC15, 65 DRRI & the Princeton are extremely versatile for practice, recording & gigging. They do everything well. They most accurately produce the Sounds of the Music of the 50's, 60's, 70's & 80's which is mostly what we play. They are moderate size, weight & relatively easy to travel with. They are easily replaceable, relatively inexpensive & sound great. They are also bullet proof.

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Thanks for the responses guys! I finally got my ES-330 and have been having a blast with it through my 94 Twin. I was thinking about selling the amp and getting something else (maybe something a bit smaller) but I think I will keep it around for now. Dave, can you tell me more about your deluxe clone? I have been tempted to try one of the Mojotone Tweed 5E3 kits.

First, I recommend the Mojotone kits, I built their VibroChamp clone and bought a pre-wired 5e3 board from them. My 330 sounds good in low power Fender amps; 5f1 Champ, 5e3 Deluxe, VibroChamp. But I’ve also played it through a 50 watt JCM800 at rehearsal volume. They all sound good.

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Any thoughts on the Tweed Princeton? Specifically the Mojotone 5F2-A clone?

 

If I didn't already have a 5f1, I would most defintitely want one.

Tube rectifier, 1 x 12AX7 and 1 x 6V6GT, what is there not to like? Simple design, easy to build and sounds great when you are done....

Also look at some of the mods you can make to voice the amp to your style. Gerald Weber's book is brilliant.

If you go ahead, I will send scans of some of the relevant pages to you, if you like. If not there are loads of resources on line.

The only thing lacking in the early and small tweeds is tube reverb IMHO.

 

Have fun!

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