Looking for a tube amp that sounds rich/round. 3 sounds I'm looking for are nice tubey clean, edge of breakup and Full lead tone. Obviously pedals can achieve some of the previous but without a great sounding amp I'm struggling. Just was looking at an Egnator tweaker 88 watt w/ 2/12. Never played one. I'll have about a grand. Been jonesing for a couple of Celestian Gold backs as well.
Any suggestions?
orange or-15
Quote from: blearyeyes on April 24, 2018, 01:38:34 PM
Looking for a tube amp that sounds rich/round. 3 sounds I'm looking for are nice tubey clean, edge of breakup and Full lead tone. Obviously pedals can achieve some of the previous but without a great sounding amp I'm struggling. Just was looking at an Egnator tweaker 88 watt w/ 2/12. Never played one. I'll have about a grand. Been jonesing for a couple of Celestian Gold backs as well.
Any suggestions?
I remain unimpressed with my tweaker. I am hugely impressed with my Ceriatone amps. Also the BYOB Deluxe Royale, and my Mesa Mark V:25.
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Weeeell... the 5E3 will do that, but it will ONLY do clean if you can control your guitar volume. With guitar volume at full trot, it is damn near impossible to get any clean out. And the 5E8A is near impossible to drive into fullblown ROAR.
I love my Peavey amps. I've owned a few. Right now I have a Peavey Prowler. This one is my favorite so far. I've also owned a classic 30 and a Valveking 212. The Valveking sounded great too but it was a BEAST!!! The Valveking also comes in a 112 flavor that is really nice too. They are very affordable and pretty abundant used.
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I'll second the Valveking. I've got the 1x12 and it's got a really good variety of flavors to it. Plus it's got a heavy mod forum as well if you want to get in there and play around. I put a couple switches in there; 1 to bypass a gain stage and 1 to lower the gain from one stage. I did a couple other mods too. It's a fun amp to play with.
Devin Townsend meets GrandMeister Deluxe 40 | Hughes & Kettner
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=915&v=ESQBEI4lgRw
Mesa Tripple Crown. I tried on liked it a lot but went with a Lonestar, which was more what I was going for. The Tripple Crown gets pretty metal. I have a Tubemeister 18. The clean too clean, sounds sterile to my ears. Maybe it's better in the higher end Tubemeisters.
Had a Tweaker 15 for a few years and loved it. Great clean and dirty tone and versatile.
Right now I am loving my Egnater Tweaker 15 combo as well. Sounds slightly better through my Orange cabinet, but internal speaker is great. Very versatile.
I also recently got a Jet City JCA22H for pretty cheap, which is nice as well. Cleans are not as good and it's pretty loud so doesn't do apartment volumes as well at the Egnater.
My old amp I used for years was a Marshall DSL401 which I like a lot, but not everybody's cup of tea. Does do good cleans for a Marshall in my opinion, but not quite as good high gain as some other Marshalls.
I suggest Hughes & Kettner Tubemeister Deluxe 40. Great sounds and low weight plus midi options switching.
EDIT: I forgot to mention that it is got 3 channels..
My personal favorite is my Valvetech VAC25, but you didn't mention how much power you need, head/ combo, coicing or any of that...
You might check out the Fender Bassbreaker as well. I like the 15w best.
Kinda need more information. Do you prefer Fender, Vox or Marshall style tones? How much power do you require (sounds like quite a bit)? Do you like bright or warm sound? Particular tube types you like or dislike, etc.
IMO it's not really possible to have an amp that does all three of those things really well because of the design compromises involved. Tubey clean and wicked lead tones just don't go together, unfortunately. You can have basically have the first two or the last two qualities on your list, but not all three.
I'd look for an amp that does clean and break-up and then go pedals from there.
Quote from: ahiddentableau on April 25, 2018, 05:00:32 PM
Kinda need more information. Do you prefer Fender, Vox or Marshall style tones? How much power do you require (sounds like quite a bit)? Do you like bright or warm sound? Particular tube types you like or dislike, etc.
IMO it's not really possible to have an amp that does all three of those things really well because of the design compromises involved. Tubey clean and wicked lead tones just don't go together, unfortunately. You can have basically have the first two or the last two qualities on your list, but not all three.
I'd look for an amp that does clean and break-up and then go pedals from there.
That's a great point. I was in the market for this exact setup and it is probably not out there at a reasonable price. The closest I found was that Mesa Tripple Crown, but the clean was almost too clean and the high gain channel was really metal. The drive channel was nice though. A while back I was playing a Carbon Legacy which was cool, but sucked with singles and the 2 gain channels were almost out of control. The clean took pedals like a champ though!
Suggestions are good and really help narrow the playing field and take those to a brick and mortar store (if you can find one) and give them a play through. See what you like.
Quote from: ahiddentableau on April 25, 2018, 05:00:32 PM
Kinda need more information. Do you prefer Fender, Vox or Marshall style tones? How much power do you require (sounds like quite a bit)? Do you like bright or warm sound? Particular tube types you like or dislike, etc.
IMO it's not really possible to have an amp that does all three of those things really well because of the design compromises involved. Tubey clean and wicked lead tones just don't go together, unfortunately. You can have basically have the first two or the last two qualities on your list, but not all three.
I'd look for an amp that does clean and break-up and then go pedals from there.
That is a good point ahiddentableau. I don't need much power but on the off chance I was to gig again I would like about 30-50 Watts or so. I bought a VOX AC15HW1X 15-watt 1x12" Handwired Tube Combo with Alnico Blue Speaker. It is a bit stiff, brittle and uncompromising to a degree. It was an attempt to get into something different. Might be the Alnico Blue, might be the tubes. Might not have broken it in yet as I haven't opened it up much. I'm not sure how to make friends with it if you know what I mean. I would like to try it with a different speaker. I also have a Bugera 22 and running them both sounds pretty good but I would rather get it all in one. Maybe I'm dreaming.
I'm staring down the Hughes & Kettner Tubemeister Deluxe 40. I'm not hearing the warmth on most demos online but in person with hands on it might be better. It has the control I'm used to having since I used a small rack system with a ton of preset slots for a while in the 90s. Really only need four or five to do all I want it to do. Looks like they did their homework on the user interface. The midi pedal adds another $200+ to the sticker. Hmm. I guess it's about time to go to (dread) Guitar Center to try out a few amps.
I am checking out everyones suggestions and am finding a lot of good stuff.
Thanks you guys and keep em coming!
Mesa Mark 5 25:
https://youtu.be/gjkfArHfV6Q
I recently picked up a Mesa Tremo-o-verb 2x12, and so far it's pretty much shaping up as the swiss army knife of amps. Thrilled with it. About the only sound I have yet to get is the really clean fender tone, but it does just about everything else. Plus it has trem and reverb.
Also it is good enough for Ed O'Brien and Mike Einziger, then its probably good enough for me too.
Quote from: blearyeyes on April 26, 2018, 01:02:25 AM
That is a good point ahiddentableau. I don't need much power but on the off chance I was to gig again I would like about 30-50 Watts or so. I bought a VOX AC15HW1X 15-watt 1x12" Handwired Tube Combo with Alnico Blue Speaker. It is a bit stiff, brittle and uncompromising to a degree. It was an attempt to get into something different. Might be the Alnico Blue, might be the tubes. Might not have broken it in yet as I haven't opened it up much. I'm not sure how to make friends with it if you know what I mean. I would like to try it with a different speaker. I also have a Bugera 22 and running them both sounds pretty good but I would rather get it all in one. Maybe I'm dreaming.
I'm staring down the Hughes & Kettner Tubemeister Deluxe 40. I'm not hearing the warmth on most demos online but in person with hands on it might be better. It has the control I'm used to having since I used a small rack system with a ton of preset slots for a while in the 90s. Really only need four or five to do all I want it to do. Looks like they did their homework on the user interface. The midi pedal adds another $200+ to the sticker. Hmm. I guess it's about time to go to (dread) Guitar Center to try out a few amps.
I am checking out everyones suggestions and am finding a lot of good stuff.
Thanks you guys and keep em coming!
Mesa Mark 5 25:
https://youtu.be/gjkfArHfV6Q
I know exactly what you mean, and I'm willing to bet that most everybody on the forum does, too. My main amp atm is a DIY build that takes the front end of a Matchless DC-30 and pairs it with the power section of the Lightning--something pretty similar to your AC15, I bet. I absolutely love it (although I wish I had your speaker!). But it's a really bright amp and, well, that's great for me, but not for everyone.
A big part of what I was saying is to do with amp design. The circuit and transformer design you use for an amp that sounds great clean and the sort of design you'd use for an amp that sounds great distorted are just flat out different. So you're never really going to be able to get all three kinds of tone you cited from a single amp. From an engineering and design standpoint, it just isn't possible.
That's not to say that some amps don't come close. For example, I had a H&K Triamp (MK1) for quite a while. It was a nice amp. Its third channel had high gain tones to die for. Good breakup tones. But it couldn't really do clean or even a clean-to-edge of breakup--at least not in the way that a good Fender or Vox does. And that amp has three discrete circuits, so the gain staging was excellent. But the transformers and shared power stage just didn't allow it to go all the way. The designers chose big iron and a really tight power supply and response. So the clean ended up being kind of sterile. A trem-o-verb is, IMO, the same sort of thing. Awesome amp. Very flexible. Probably as good as you can do in the swiss army knife school. But it hedges in the direction of high gain, and that design choice has consequences that are unavoidable.
I eventually figured out that I have a strong preference to get an amp that does clean and mild OD well over one that hedges in the direction of high gain tones. Because if you're reasonably handy with pedals you really can get good distorted tones with your pedalboard. Since that obviously doesn't work the other way around, it makes sense to me to take the amp that does clean and milder OD well and then use that as a platform for the rest of your sound.
I own a 15 watt Egnater Tweaker and Love it. It does what you're looking for, but it's only single channel.
If there was one amp I would upgrade to, it would be the Mesa 5:25. That amp is nearly perfect for me. I say nearly, because I can't afford it.
Jacob
Quote from: jkokura on April 29, 2018, 09:05:10 AM
I own a 15 watt Egnater Tweaker and Love it. It does what you're looking for, but it's only single channel.
If there was one amp I would upgrade to, it would be the Mesa 5:25. That amp is nearly perfect for me. I say nearly, because I can't afford it.
Jacob
The Mesa looks like a killer amp. Sweetwater just put the tweaked 88 head on sale for $449.00. It's making my left eyebrow twitch....
Quote from: blearyeyes on April 29, 2018, 12:30:49 PM
Quote from: jkokura on April 29, 2018, 09:05:10 AM
I own a 15 watt Egnater Tweaker and Love it. It does what you're looking for, but it's only single channel.
If there was one amp I would upgrade to, it would be the Mesa 5:25. That amp is nearly perfect for me. I say nearly, because I can't afford it.
Jacob
The Mesa looks like a killer amp. Sweetwater just put the tweaked 88 head on sale for $449.00. It's making my left eyebrow twitch....
I'll sell you my 22 cheap.
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Have you considered building your own? Lots of great resources out there for DIY amps. Worked out great for me.
Quote from: ahiddentableau on May 01, 2018, 03:44:14 PM
Have you considered building your own? Lots of great resources out there for DIY amps. Worked out great for me.
I have found that if price is a consideration, the DIY is not cost effective. It is hella fun and you get what you want, but not cheap.
My 2c
W.
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Plus you'd have to build it then see if you like it...That would suck if it wasn't the sound you're trying to get.
Quote from: woolie on May 01, 2018, 05:18:09 PM
I have found that if price is a consideration, the DIY is not cost effective. It is hella fun and you get what you want, but not cheap.
My 2c
Yeah, that's true. At least it's almost certainly true for anything in mass production. But if you're looking at booteek stuff, the economics changes in a hurry. My Matchless copy was substantially cheaper than even a used model.
It's hard to beat an AC30...
I have an AC30CCH with matching 2x12 cab that has Celestion Blues. I bought it new in 2008 and the speakers at first sounded like you described, harsh and brittle. After a couple of months, I put a blanket over the cab and opened it up all the way a few times here and there. I wasn't paying close enough attention to notice exactly how long it took, but it was less than a year of playing once or twice a day, for 30 mins to an hour, and they broke out and sound "the best" ever since.
The amp I have is essentially a AC30CC2X and has lots of little switches and options that others don't. I have found that blending the Normal and Top Boost channel is really what does it for me which I think you can do on some others by jumpering the inputs.
I also use JJ EL844 low power tubes that provide 25% less power which effectively takes it down from 33 to 24 watts and gives it a little extra sparkle.
Pedals in front are perfect, for me.
Also, I have a buddy that plays classic rock and 90's alt type stuff and he swears by his H&K GrandMeister Deluxe 40. He nearly sold me on it but I haven't actually heard one.
Anybody checked out the Wampler Bravado? Too pricey for what it is but it sure sounds great on demos. At least for what I like.