Ain't nuthin' as purdy as a Strat.

Is that a custom shop? Looks like clay dot inlays, which usually mean it's old or a customer shop.

beautiful.

Yeah, custom shop with a mishmash of 60s specs

Slicer97 said:

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Ain't nuthin' as purdy as a Strat.

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Except maybe a Les Paul

Nah, I think Strats have nicer lines. Nothing against Les Pauls, I just prefer Strats in both look and feel.

Nice! I love my CS tele.Still haven't found a CS strat that speaks to me enough to drop the cash. That is definitely not something I feel comfortable with gambling on, on Reverb.

Anybody want to talk Amps? I'm starting rebuild my setup now that the kids are getting older, and I've never had a tube amp. I bought a Boss Katana MkII to get a good practical amp.

Now I want to start thinking about a tube amp because I've never had one. What does everybody crank at home?

agchino said:

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Anybody want to talk Amps? I'm starting rebuild my setup now that the kids are getting older, and I've never had a tube amp. I bought a Boss Katana MkII to get a good practical amp.

Now I want to start thinking about a tube amp because I've never had one. What does everybody crank at home?

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Tube amps are *highly* subjective, and it really depends on what you're wanting to play, amount of tonal variety you need, use purpose (home only, small gigs, etc.), desire to purchase pedals, types of guitars you have, *budget*, etc.

If you give us some insight into these points we can point you in some good directions I am certain!

I have a '68 Princeton Custom Reverb Reissue I'm pretty pleased with. At 12W it can get a little loud for home use if you crank it, but you can get Fender cleans with the volume around 2 (that's plenty of volume for a bedroom) and start getting some grit around 4. Only drawback is no effects loop, so if you use delay or phase shifters/choruses, it might not sound quite the way you want.

Also have a Fender Mustang Micro for after the kid goes to bed. I'm very impressed with the sound quality it puts out. I haven't used this feature yet, but it's bluetooth capable, so you can stream backing tracks from a phone or tablet straight into the headphones.

Not super versitile, but the sound quality coming from such a tiny little box is impressive.

If you want cleans, get a Fender. If you want distortion, get a Marshall. If you've got money to burn, get a Mesa.

Yeah I know amp talk is going to be heavily subjective.

I'm really interested in some of the low power heads where you can flip into 1W mode and stuff like that. Lot of choices and a lot of research to do.

I was even daydreaming about getting a nice Cabinet and then rotating out heads or mini heads over time as I find used stuff.

agchino said:

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Anybody want to talk Amps? I'm starting rebuild my setup now that the kids are getting older, and I've never had a tube amp. I bought a Boss Katana MkII to get a good practical amp.

Now I want to start thinking about a tube amp because I've never had one. What does everybody crank at home?

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Fender 65 Twin Reverb Reissue
(I hope your neighbors don't live close, or are big fans of what you like to play)

agchino said:

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Yeah I know amp talk is going to be heavily subjective.

I'm really interested in some of the low power heads where you can flip into 1W mode and stuff like that. Lot of choices and a lot of research to do.

I was even daydreaming about getting a nice Cabinet and then rotating out heads or mini heads over time as I find used stuff.

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Cool, my friends and I have owned several of those smaller micro type heads, e.g. Orange Tiny Terror/Dark Terror, Mesa Boogie Transatlantic, Peavey 6505+, etc.

What types of tones are you wanting get out of your tube amp? Marshall has some pretty cool small heads, like the Marshall DSL20HR or Marshall SC20H. Gonna be loud still though.

Laney has a very cool Lionheart L5 head that does 1w - 10w, harder to find however.

Fender Bassbreakers are also excellent choices, as brought up by DallasTeleAg. They make a 15w mini head version. Hard to beat for versatility for the $$$!

Really hard to beat the Mesa small format heads but they are very expensive. Their current offerings are the Fillmore 25 (18/23 watt) and Mark V 25 head, which are damn pricey but *awesome*.

Another option (again, if money isn't an issue) is go the boutique route, if you want something unique.

This one's out of Austin and prices are pretty reasonable for handbuilts.


http://austintubeamps.com/

Echoes97 said:

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What types of tones are you wanting get out of your tube amp? Marshall has some pretty cool small heads, like the Marshall DSL20HR or Marshall SC20H. Gonna be loud still though.

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Also there is the SV20 which is similar to the SC20 but the plexi reissue instead of the JCM800. It doesn't have a master volume though, so you have to drive it to get break up. I think both have 5 watt modes, but 5 watts is still loud when driven.

Quote:

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Fender Bassbreakers are also excellent choices, as brought up by DallasTeleAg. They make a 15w mini head version. Hard to beat for versatility for the $$$!

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yep! i went with the bassbreaker 15 and have no complaints so far other than how my playing sounds when amplified*.




*not the amp's fault...it somehow sounds absolutely amazing when my brother plays through it.

Dropped the purple guitar off today to get some switching changes done and put in Dragon II pickups which is what it came with originally. Looked at doing it myself but the wiring was a little more than I was up for.

I'm a metal guy. I'm not going for the bluesky on my first tube amp. The mini heads are also a little cheaper so that is kind of a good balance.

I'm never going to gig or anything like that, so the mini heads seem like good compromises, then at that point you are just trying to find your tone, which is generally a never ending search anyway.

I've had a Fender Cyber twin for about 15 years and I still love it. It's a hybrid (tube preamp with DSP effects). Motorized knobs are always cool.

I also have a little marshall class 5 which is kinda fun to put some pedals in front of.

agchino said:

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I'm a metal guy. I'm not going for the bluesky on my first tube amp. The mini heads are also a little cheaper so that is kind of a good balance.

I'm never going to gig or anything like that, so the mini heads seem like good compromises, then at that point you are just trying to find your tone, which is generally a never ending search anyway.

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OK gotcha, well that helps for sure. I'm all over the map, but do my share of metal. If you're wanting metal tone, I'd look more at the Orange Dark Terror or Rocker 15, EVH 5150III LBX-S 15-watt, or maybe a Laney IRT15H-2 Ironheart.

For metal though, I have to ask are you looking for more "tight" metal (fast riffs, Megadeth or Swedish power type stuff) or more big chords, chunky, heavy type? Maybe throw out a few bands or guitar players you are wanting to get close to.

I like watching Ola Englunds reviews on Youtube, but he tends to think everything is great.

I was kind intrigued by the Hughes and Kettner Grandmeister 40, seeemd packed full of features. I'll have to see if I can actually find one to demo in Dallas somewhere.

Does anybody run like 2x12 Cabinets? Any opinions on speakers (Celestion V30s, etc.).

agchino said:

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I like watching Ola Englunds reviews on Youtube, but he tends to think everything is great.

I was kind intrigued by the Hughes and Kettner Grandmeister 40, seeemd packed full of features. I'll have to see if I can actually find one to demo in Dallas somewhere.

Does anybody run like 2x12 Cabinets? Any opinions on speakers (Celestion V30s, etc.).

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Those H&K's are great amps for sure, and definitely feature rich. Honestly it's kind of up to you in terms of what you want and all that. I can tell you (my bandmate had an H&K until recently) that they do have almost too many options. Again totally up to you, the switchable wattage is awesome for sure, as well as the power soak. Built in FX to me tend to be on the "gimicky" side usually, but I honestly have not heard that amp specifically so I'd have to listen to determine. Again just my opinion.

If you're looking to spend that kind of $$$ I'd at least look at something like the Mesa Mark V: 25 head, that thing is bad to the bone.

For the 2x12, I've had several, and still have an Orange PPC212 2x12 w/ Vintage 30's. Great cab, compressed kind of sound that is *great* for metal. There's a lot of options though, Mesa and H&K both make excellent cabs.

I am definitely going to take a look at Mesa. Was browsing the JP-2C last night. I learned guitar playing Metalllica and it's a Mark IIC+ which is that sound. I will still have to sift through the rest of the Mesa line up.

At least looking at the JP-2C, it is double the cost what the Grandmeister 40 is, of course it's a full 100W amp as well.

I was also looking at the Peavey Invective, again just for being feature rich. I am an engineer, so I tend to geek out way beyond my physical talent.

Then you could go back the other way and just get like a stripped down Marshall DSL-20 or like the Orange terrors or whatever.

Lot of choices!

Some thoughts:

The idea of a nice cabinet and then switching out heads sounds good, but there is more to it than that. The combination of speakers relative to the amp you choose is very important. For example, I played my Fender Bassbreaker through my Marshall 2x12 cabinet with the dual V-type speakers, and it sounded great. I eventually bought my Dr. Z Maz 18, and it sounded dark and "flubby" through the cabinet. I ended up purchasing a pair of used Greeback speakers, and now this combo is magic. Greenbacks push the upper mids and tighten the bass significantly. This combination makes my amp punch so hard, which is great for the type of music I like to play.

Important thing to know is what sound you are going for. I am personally a fan of classic guitar tones from bluesy to classic rock. I do not like high gain tones, so I am not the best judge of good high gain amps. However, playing through the correct speakers can be just as important as the type of am.

Do not buy a cheap cabinet. You can find some great used cabs, out there. In fact, a used cabinet is always better than a new one, imo.

Attenuator. If you are moving into tube amps, a good attenuator is the best investment you can make. This sits between your amp and the speakers. There are both active and passive attenuators. They basically start from a zero setting, where they are a straight pass through. Then, you can turn it to different notches to start rolling off some of the voltage from the amp into the attenuator, thereby reducing the amount to the speakers. What this allows you to do is attain the same delicious tube overdrive, and play at reasonable levels. I HIGHLY recommend the Tone King Iron Man II: https://reverb.com/item/37777334-iron-man-ii-mini-attenuator

Pricey? Yep. Worth it? Absolutely.

To provide my full recommendation, or at least some guidance, I would need to know the following:

• Budget?
• Give an example of the sound you are looking for.
• What guitars are you playing?
• Home use, recording, or gig?
• Do you need an effects loop, or will you push your effects into the front of the amp?
• Do you need built-in reverb?

My primary setup is my DrZ Maz 18 through my Marshall 2x12 vertical slanted cab with Celestion Greenbacks. But that is the sound I was going for.

I will tell you this, whatever the answer to your questions above, there will be a mid-tier solution for what you need, and there will be a boutique solution. The many boutique options out there are generally made in the US or UK, they will be hand-built and use high quality wood and components, and they will not be on printed circuit boards. They will generally be point to point soldered. Does this matter? That is completely subjective. I have played many mass produced tube amps that are great, but there seems to be something about the boutique stuff that gives it that extra 10-15%. Whether that's worth it is up to you. However, it all comes down to your budget.

agchino said:

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At least looking at the JP-2C, it is double the cost what the Grandmeister 40 is, of course it's a full 100W amp as well.

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So... which stadium are you playing in?

Exactly, full size heads are all overkill. Kind of looking for the best of both worlds. Honestly it will never leave the house. A tube combo amp is probably practical too, but a head plus cabinet seems sexy...

Haven't decided on budget, mostly day dreaming. Looking at the options out there I'm thinking I could swing $2k or so budget after Christmas and Birthdays for a head and a cabinet.

I like to play drop tune Metal. I'm not very technical so I tend to play more Chevelle, Deftones, Sevendust etc., then switch back to Metallica classics and try to learn stuff like Mastodon

I have a Humbucker MIM Strat, a Jackson 7 string, and I just bought a PRS SE with Seymour Duncan pickups. Eventually I'll probably try a guitar with EMGs or active pickups just for fun.

Totally home use, eventually I may play around with some DI recording.

I've never messed with an effects loop much, but eventually I'll start building up a pedal collection as well.

I don't use reverb, even on clean tones.

My understanding is that point to point soldering doesn't sound better (beyond the fact that anyone going to that kind of effort is going to pay attention to the quality of the speakers, tubes, cabinet, etc) than a PCB amp. The advantages are that they're more robust and if something breaks, it can be fixed relatively inexpensively. Burn up a PCB, and it's going back to the factory or authorized service center.

If that's your budget, I would carve out enough for a good attenuator.

You also should put away some cash for a good treble booster pedal. I use a Black Country Customs TI Boost, which is made by Laney's boutique pedal branch. It was made to model the modded Dallas Rangemaster he had before a roadie accidentally threw it out. Treble boosters are the secret sauce to so many guitar tones.

See this great video by Pete Thorn. Also, any gear video by Pete is fantastic and worth the watch.



As for a cabinet, I definitely recommend a 2x12 cabinet. Again, the speakers you need depend on the amp you get. If you get a cab that a manufacturer matches with their head, you generally are going to get the sound they were wanting you to get. If you mix and match, you may need to replace speakers. I got a bit snobby on my 2x12 and bought one of these: (Edit: Marshall SV212 Slanted Cabinet. Texags didn't like my... small website address? Yes! Didn't censor "small website address"!). There are less expensive options, but I would probably assume at least $300 for a decently built used cabinet. Egnater has some cool ones, like the tourmaster. You should be fine with any decent cabinet manufacturer, just don't get one made from particle board.

After you price those pieces out, you can look for an amp. I recommend looking for one with a decent effects loop. You may not be using it now, but if you like Metallica and ever want to play with phasers, choruses, or other modulation effects, then an effects loop sounds so much better than feeding it into the front of the amp. The effects loop will take the signal after the pre-amp, send it to your effects signal chain, and then back to your power amp.

If you are looking for high gain lunchboxes, perhaps this video can be of some help. Anderton's channel is always great for giving you an idea. However, Pete makes everything sound fantastic:

in addition to the guitar pics, i think we need some rig pics from those that don't mind for those of us that are just beginning our adventure down the rabbit hole.

love this thread.

beauty.

Nice! A gorgeous PRS to boot.

I'm pretty much just running through my iPad using several of the AmpliTube combo packs and a blue board. Once we get some kids out of the house in a few years and the opportunity to play through an amp more often presents itself I'm gonna need to comb back through this thread.

Ranger #007 said:

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Nice! A gorgeous PRS to boot.

I'm pretty much just running through my iPad using several of the AmpliTube combo packs and a blue board. Once we get some kids out of the house in a few years and the opportunity to play through an amp more often presents itself I'm gonna need to comb back through this thread.

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man my buddy (an ag) had a two volume set of metallica tab books back in early 90s. It had albums 1/2/3 in one volume and 4/5 in the other. I think it was pretty rare. I've randomly looked over the years and rarely come across it.
https://www.discoverbooks.com/Metallica-Complete-Vol1-With-Tablature-Paperbac-p/0895247739.htm?cond=0003&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_biD4-q18AIVM2tvBB3CmwDnEAQYBSABEgI2WfD_BwE

Curious if they even make those anymore with internet/youtube. I still have metallica and AJFA, and maybe Load/Reload/MOP.. I can't even remember anymore.

dude...i absolutely love the color on that prs.