vangoghsear Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 A little background first. My dad passed away in January and I am told he left me a modest inheritance. He was a vocational school educator, a top notch woodworker (some of his work is in museums), he taught physics and electronics among other things in his career. Most of the money will go into home repairs at my house and that is actually a fitting tribute to my dad because he was very handy at home improvement, but I want to use a few thousand dollars to buy a high quality amp that will hold up and perform well and remind me of him and bring me joy to use it. I figure a point to point wired tube combo model with a dovetail jointed cabinet combines his talents of cabinet making and love for electronics (I watched him solder many a circuit) and will serve as a nice reminder and tribute. I want an amp with some mojo, classic vintagey look, single or two channel, tone controls, reverb, master volume, dovetail jointed cabinet, 18-30 watts or so. I've considered the following so far: Carr - Rambler Black Cat - Cub III Electric Wood - Woody Deluxe (I like the look and simple lines, but there's no reverb) Any comments on the ones I've looked at, any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm not in any hurry, I want to take my time and pick the right one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXE® Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 Phaez. Soul Tramp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Farnsbarns Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 If you've got the time a fitting tribute might be to build your own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeman Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 Did you mean to say BadCat amps? I've never had the pleasure of playing through one myself, but everyone i've heard playing one sounded great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vangoghsear Posted February 6, 2014 Author Share Posted February 6, 2014 Did you mean to say BadCat amps? I've never had the pleasure of playing through one myself, but everyone i've heard playing one sounded great! Yeah, oops. Bad Cat. In particular the Cub III. Definitely a contender. Farnsbarns, that is a good idea and I have done some woodworking and electronics, but I don't have the time or the space to do the work required. I have actually built a small solid state guitar amp that works okay. Axe, thanks. I'll check those out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 I got a traynor ycs50 awhile back and I love it. They have other models. Check em out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 Just thinking about approaching the situation from a slightly different angle... badbluesplayer has a very interesting build thread with a Ceriatone 'Lunchbox' amp. Check out the pre-wired option in post #6; http://forum.gibson....lunchbox-build/ From here you could either discuss the cab-build with a local carpenter / cabinet maker or perhaps give the guys at Atlas Stands a call to see if they would fancy trying something a bit different? Look at some of their craftsmanship in the later posts in this thread for a taster; http://forum.gibson....7-my-amp-stand/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 Hughes and Kettner amps are pretty cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 Rivera do some very good combos which would fit your spec. Expensive though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vangoghsear Posted February 6, 2014 Author Share Posted February 6, 2014 Some really good ideas here. I probably need to give a little more background. I already own a nice amp; I have a Traynor YCV40WR that's been modified with a 100 watt Celestion speaker. Karloff, you're right, they are great amps. I'm not sure anything I get would be any better, just different. Pippy, that is a definite possibility. Rabs, I hadn't considered H&K, but I will check them out. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 Rabs, I hadn't considered H&K, but I will check them out. Thanks! They have pretty blue lights.... This is probably something more like what your after.. check out the nice clean sounds at 2:25..I think Alex Lifeson uses that brand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vangoghsear Posted February 6, 2014 Author Share Posted February 6, 2014 Rivera do some very good combos which would fit your spec. Expensive though. Well, I can't say money is no object. Since I am not a professional player it is hard for me to justify expensive gear. This is however an opportunity for me to spend a bit extra figuring it like the last present my dad will buy me. I'm thinking I might go at most $2500-$3000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 Easy, Mesa/Boogie Tons of models to choose from, customizable cosmetics including fine wood cabinets. Check their website, including the custom section. http://www.mesaboogie.com/gallery/customops/CustomOptionsOverview.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vangoghsear Posted February 6, 2014 Author Share Posted February 6, 2014 Riffster, I had no idea Mesa Boogie had all those options! Excellent! I will definitely look into that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookieman15061 Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 Vox AC30 HW2 Hand Wired Guitar Combo Amplifier http://www.americanm...CFY9lOgodG0YABA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan H Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 PRS also make some incredible amps in the $2000-$3000 range, that fit your specs, and have lots of customization available. And those flamed maple fascia...mmm... -Ryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 Well, I can't say money is no object. Since I am not a professional player it is hard for me to justify expensive gear. This is however an opportunity for me to spend a bit extra figuring it like the last present my dad will buy me. I'm thinking I might go at most $2500-$3000. Well...Here's the link to their site - http://rivera.com/ I haven't kept up with them for awhile and they have an awful lot of combos and amps now! I guess they compete with Mesa Boogie. You could easily get 'option anxiety' choosing the right amp! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 PRS also make some incredible amps in the $2000-$3000 range, that fit your specs, and have lots of customization available. And those flamed maple fascia...mmm... -Ryan Yep, check out the Prs line Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 Theres a new Mesa amp here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff-7 Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 Vox AC30 HW2 Hand Wired Guitar Combo Amplifier http://www.americanm...CFY9lOgodG0YABA Love love love my HW2X (alnico blues instead of greenbacks) and would recommend it but he would like something with reverb which this series doesn't have. If I had the extra coin like he does I'd grab a Fender '63 RI 'verb unit to go with it if he wants spring, otherwise I'd pair it with a Strymon BigSky or Dr. Scientist Reverberator. Maybe a Dr. Z? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaysEpiphone Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EVvKeBKyu8 This is the real deal when it comes to mojo and the old amps as far as Marshalls go, you may want a nice front end unit for it for more versatility but this puppy will cook! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Depends whether you want a truly boutique amp or a main line amp or a custom copy of a main line amp. Carr and Swart and a few others make their own amps from soup to nuts, with their own circuits and unique cabinetry. I've heard that Two-Rock are top of the line There are established lines of boutique amps and their copies and clones, like Dumble and Matchless. The Bad Cat Cub III seems like it's a Matchless variant of some type. The cabinet is very similar in design to the Matchless cab and their intent is to have the same look so people recognize that it's similar to Matchless. These are "copycat" type cabinet designs. You have to decide if that's what you're looking for. Ceriatone makes clones and variants of most all the established boutique brands. What you get is an amp with all the bells and whistles but without the mojo. Some guys take these and put them in custom cabinets to step up the aesthetic appearance of the amp. The Woody amp appears to be a Fender Tweed Deluxe copy or clone. Nothing special. Good Luck. Whatever you get, send it over for a free play-in!! [thumbup] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vangoghsear Posted February 7, 2014 Author Share Posted February 7, 2014 Thanks for all the suggestions everyone! BBP I hadn't thought of Swart. Nice. RaysEpi, I love the Marshall sound, but I usually play more bluesy jazz tone stuff. Cookieman and Jeff-7, Man just look at the circuits in those things. Tempting, but I really like onboard reverb. Caroline, PRS is also tempting. They make quality gear. I checked those out when they first started making them. Nice amps. Possible. Rabs, Mesa is nice definitely looking at them. jdgm, Rivera is also in the running. I found a couple that fit my playing style. Thanks everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twiz Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 I'm late on this one. My bad. A dream amp for me is a Dr Z Maz 18 (non reverb) with a 1X12 closed back cab. Probably Avatar. I played one at a studio a couple months back, and it is such a killer amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimi Mac Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Been searching for one I saw on Youtube for almost a day now and can't find it. I thought it was one of the guys from Anderton's; either Chappers or The Captain @ NAMM and the guy showing them some amps had one that was made from a stock of recently recovered prehistoric wood that he had made the cabinet out of. It was beautifully dove-tailed and really gorgeous. It was supposedly many millions of years old and was recovered from a peat-bog where it had been preserved. The grain was really nice and it was very cool looking... **Kauri wood from New Zealand** I can't find that vid with the amp, but here's an example of the wood in guitar bodies: Langcaster Guitars For the life of me I now can't find it and am 2nd guessing my memory as to who was in the vid... I'd been searching boutique amps lately so possibly it was by Matchless or another similar brand... I just can't remember... Sorry for the Epic fail, but it would have been just the ticket for your quest... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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