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Amp to buy with a es-335


GuitarDennis

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Hey guys,

 

Im still saving for an es-335, but i'm thinking of already getting a tube amp, because i really have a shitty amp right now.

I have a fender strat (srry:p) and a gibson es-135 and i'm into classic rock (beatles, kinks, stones etc.) but also like blues very much.

 

I'm looking for a bluesy tone, like clapton in his cream period and on that dvd that was never released on songs that he plays his es-335 on.

I really like this tone of clapton:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hGMgyhNgzI

 

I've looked around and saw that much people recommend fender amps and also vox was recommended.

 

Can someone tell me which amp is the best to get?

 

(price below €1000= 1200 dollar (not the real economic value but that's about right with guitar equipment and not to loud, so no 100 watt amp:p)

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Hey GuitarDennis--

 

First off, it depends on what you want to do. Tube amps only break-up naturally and get that full-throated sound when the volume is set higher, so if you only want to practice at home, you really need no more that five watts or six watts in a tube amp. I've read in more than one place that Clapton got his studio tone during the Derek and the Dominoes sessions with a Fender Champ tube amp: depending on which one he used, that is only four or six watts!

 

If you are planning to gig or practice with a drummer, I think you really need no more than twenty to forty watts in a tube amp. I think it is one of the great disservices of the industry that guitarists often buy far too much amp for their needs and then need to buy distortion pedals to get the sound that they could get naturally if they bought a smaller amp.

 

Amps, though, are very much like guitars. You really need to do hands-on comparisons with your guitar plugged in. In fact, for electric guitar, I think the amp is even more important than the guitar in terms of sound. I seem to recall that Pete Townshend switched to Schecter guitars in the early or mid-1980s because they worked better with his preferred amp. The guitar has to feel good to you, yes, and play well, but in the end, spending more on a small amp that does tone really well will probably get you further, rather than a big monster or one that does a hundred different things.

 

That being said, if you are looking at the little ones, I've heard good things about the Fender Champ reissue (not the XDs or SuperChamp, but the little vintage-looking one--the Champion 600). Everyone is raving about the Gibson GA-5, but it appears to be discontinued. For 15 watts, the Fender Blues Jr. also gets great reviews from a lot of people, as does the Blues Jr. NOS, which appears to be a closer reproduction of the original.

 

There's my two cents, and that's probably overpaying for my opinion anyway.

 

Ignatius

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thanks for your reply ignatius. I'm planning to gig later on with the amp.

I use a smaller amp for practice then.

 

So 30-40 watts souns good to me.

 

Some options:

Fender blues deluxe 40 watts

Fender hotrod deluxe ltd texas red 40 watts (celestion vintage 30 speaker)

Vox AC30 CC1 30 watts (celestion neodog speaker)

Vox AC30 CC2 30 watts (special Vox GSH12-300 Speakers)

 

Which oen is the best for me? Do you have other options?

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Looks like you're leaning the right direction.

I have a 60 watt Hot Rod DeVille 2x12 and my 335 sounds great thru it.

 

I also have the 15 watt Blues Jr. and it sounds every bit as good except for really low power chord stuff.

Just not enough power, and a single speaker keeps it from doing really low, chunky stuff.

Beyond that, it's a killer amp.

Yes, much of the world's best rock was recorded thru dinky little amps.

On the last U2 tour, Edge was using a Blues Jr. for much of his live sound.

It was under the stage with a mic stuck in front of it.

 

40 Watt Blues Deluxe with a single 12 might be a good way to go.

I like more speakers, if I had it to do over I would buy the Hot Rod DeVille in a 4x10.

 

Sounds richer at low volumes with more speakers, kinda like a chorus effect.

Crank it and it will take your hair off.

 

Forget the Marshall stack. The feedback is DEADLY!

Ask me how I know.

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VOX are all MADE IN CHINA which is a deal breaker for me. Unless you get Vintage $$$$$

Hey Archer993--

 

This is an excellent consideration that I forgot in suggesting my list above. Which amps actually ARE made in the United States and/or Canada these days--or somewhere not involving underpaid workers and outsourced jobs?

 

Aren't even all Fender amps now made in Mexico or Japan?

 

I would be fine even buying from Mexico if I were assured that the working conditions were equal to those of Canadian and U.S. workers, but I just don't know. I have a vintage U.S. Fender, but if I move into something bigger than a practice amp, what can I get that is not made by sweat-shop labor?

 

Ignatius

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I have an ES335, a 1990. I use several amps with it. I have a Blue Junior special edition with Jensen speaker, Blues Deluxe reissue, 65 Deluxe Reverb reissue, and a custom Vibrolux reissue. All of them sound really good. I range from 15 to 22 to 40 watts. I would say that the best sounding of the three would be the 65. If you are gigging the 65 can be miked through a PA system. The Blues Deluxe is a master volume amp and has an effects loop that makes it fairly versatile.

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VOX are all MADE IN CHINA which is a deal breaker for me. Unless you get Vintage $$$$$

 

Is the vox ac30 cc2x (celestion blue alnico speakers) also MADE IN CHINA? (it's a pretty expensive amp, so i would think that it's made in the UK)

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I was looking for the exam same things as you are in an amp. I got the fender blues deluxe reissue in tweed ( 40 watts, through a 12inch ). It does everything you describe, exept that the drive channel is a little bit small. The good news is, that it takes pedals VERY well.

 

If you can find one, and get a good overdrive/distortion pedal, you will be happy.

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