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Anything Redplate is pretty awesome...
How many tube amps do I currently own? Well, I have a nostalgically kept early 90's Blues Deluxe that collects dust.
On the other hand, I have a Henriksen, several Quilters and several Rolands.
I played a big blues gig last week at "way too loud" volume (where I think a tube amp should really shine most) and used my Quilter 1x12". I didn't miss anything -- seriously. It sat right there next to the Swart, next to the Mesa, next to the Fender.
I'm not missing them anymore -- but anyway, to answer the OP and not rant, I think anything Redplate is awesome. I think anything Blankenship makes is pretty awesome. I've heard some great amps from Victoria also. Quite a few very nice "off the shelves".
By the way, as much as people knock the Fender reissues, I think they're fine. I think at a reasonable volume level (meaning a small 20-40 person gig level with drums), you'd really be hard pressed to pick out a reissue versus a vintage. So many other variables come into play.
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11-16-2015 03:31 PM
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1966 Fender Showman with single JBL 15. Loved the sound of my 68 Les Paul through that amp, going through a Vox distortion booster- plugged into an Arbitter FuzzFace.
My hearing isn't great.
Now that I'm the featured player four nights a week in the 3rd floor guest room (standing room only!) I have developed an appreciation for low wattage (5-6 watts) tube amps and my favorite is my VHT Special 6, it does the late 50s early 60s Princeton tone very well, I really, really like this amp.
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Did a gig Friday and used my 5E3. The other guitarist, however, used an old, 1957-era 5F11 Fender Vibrolux. Man, oh man. That little Vibrolux just kills anything that sits next to it on the stage. This guy is apt to show up with old Deluxe Reverbs, an old tweed Harvard, Princeton Reverbs, Vibrolux Reverbs, Carr amps, you name it. NOTHING, however, tops the tweed Vibrolux for tone.
I guess that's why Bucky Pizzarelli used one for about 50 years. If my buddy had said "your Deluxe and cash for my Vibrolux," I'd have started peeling off the bills.
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I have several favorite tube amps. Here are my top 3:
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Oh man, I forgot about the Vibrolux. Greentone, you are so right. I grew up on one of them. Oh my what tone. I think it was the little wedged block of wood that Fender made into a foot switch that made all the difference. Either that or it was all the elmers glue I used to glue the speaker back together every time I got done playing KISS and Led Zep. I remember a local club player offered my father a lot of money for that amp back in the 80's and I never saw it again. Sign of things to come..
Originally Posted by Greentone
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Nice! Weight doesn't seem to be an issue in this thread, so I'll go with 2 totally beautiful sounding amps when dialed in for a warm, medium volume sound....Marshall plexi halfstack and a Fender bassman. I've played these both at clean levels, and the sound is luxurious.
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For me an old blackface Deluxe is king. Also owned a Fuchs modified MusicMan 75 112. Whoo wee that thing was nice. The kid I got it from worked for/with Andy from time to time. This MusicMan had Andy's ODS (Overdrive Supreme) mod on it, think Dumbleish tone. Very nice... I just did some trolling on eBay and there's a FUCHs modified Deluxe Reverb in blond rolex going for about $1100.00. NOT MINE (I wish)... the work Andy Fuchs does is very nice.
Big
r
This FUCHs started out as a Princeton Reverb. The guy I got it from was (another) IBMer with deep pockets. Andy gutted the amp chassis and hand rewired it all with new CTS pots and high end caps, everything point to point. The old tranny was replaced with a Mercury Magnetics 25 watt, a Cannabis Rex speaker, the cabinet custom hand made of flamed maple and mahogany. And Andy put in all the latest (at the time) mods he made. The guy probably put about $2800.00 into it and I got it for $1800.00. Back when Harmony Central had all the reviews this IBMer posted a full in depth explanation of what he did and why. It's a great amp, I've hardly scratched the surface of what it can do. Easy on the eyes too.
Last edited by BigMikeinNJ; 11-16-2015 at 04:36 PM.
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I have a twin and a really nice 35 watt tweed anp from a local builder. I get back and forth between them. Love tube sound.
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Plus 1 for the Plexi halfstack. I've got a 50 watt head and a basketweave 4ohm cab. I gigged it with the channels jumpered through a Sholz Power Soak to regulate the formidable volume potential. The clean tones were indeed luxurious and the uncleans went from poignant through puissant and well beyond, initiated mostly by my PRS Custom 24, the warhorse that succeeded the ES-345. Good times! Originally Posted by cosmic gumbo
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Waitaminnit! "Started out" as a PR? That's like my axe which has had two new handles and a new head being my grandfather's old axe! Originally Posted by BigMikeinNJ
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My favorite is my PRRI with a very well broken in stock speaker. Reliable and toneful!
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My first tube amp was a '63 Silvertone 1484 which the original owner sold to me for $40 (he threw in a Japanese solid body so I felt I was getting a good deal). Around 10:00 on the volume control, it has a lovely growl. The reverb was boing-y and useless, the tremolo was OK, and the point-to-point wiring meant that TV repairmen of the era could easily and cheaply repair it.
That was followed by a late '82 (or early '83) Carvin X100 amp in the oak case (all you older guys wanted one, right?) which was sort of OK until I installed a Torres Tone Kit which brought it to life.
I then adopted a friend's 11/67 Super Reverb which SANG when I played his late '70s Martin EM-18 through it; that may have been the best single combination I have encountered.
Along the way I had an early MusicMan 130HD Reverb with a 2x12 cab, which sounded awesome with my Les Paul Deluxe or my MSA Sidekick pedal steel plugged in; it was less attractive with a Strat for one reason. It was the model with a 12AX7 phase inverter tube in the pre which allowed for some gain-induced distortion, and also allowed for NO distortion.
Coming along in later years I found a DRRI head/Weber California Ceramic 15 stack, a '59 Bassmn'59 combo with a Boss '63 Fender Reverb pedal. I also have a '65 Bassman head that gets plugged into various cabs on loan from randyc.
My conclusion? Lots of great tube amps out there. Find one you like. Make music with it, dammit.
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1965 DR (not RI) and 1966 Showman stashed away
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Fender Princeton Reverb 1973
Rivera TBR-1 with a pair of Electrovoice speakers
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Guyatone GA-1100D Twin Reverb clone (upgraded with better parts, Blackfaced and modded with trem and rvrb on both channels and a Bassman/ Marshall normal channel).
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Originally Posted by Cunamara
Waitaminnit! "Started out" as a PR? That's like my axe which has had two new handles and a new head being my grandfather's old axe!
When you've played a couple Fuchs amps then talk to me.
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i have a fender pro junior 15w (18 years now...)
and a Koch studiotone 20w
I really love my prjunior and i am using that amp at home.
For live situations with pedals etc i am using Koch,,,,BIG headroom
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I have a silverface Princeton AMp (no reverb) that fulfills all my tube amp needs. Great amps for jazz, and very affordable because everybody wants a PR.
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I just bought one of these and it really is a great amp but it wasn't cheap. Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
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What's your definition of cheap?
I paid $450 for mine, and it had fresh tubes/caps and was converted to a 3 prong cord...I think I got a good deal.
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I'm embarrassed to say what I paid for mine it was quite a bit more than $450.00 .
It's in great shape all original, with an ungrounded plug. I'm glad I have it.
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Maybe this is impetus for a new thread... What's the coolest cheapest amp deal you've had :-)
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I'm currently using an Egnater Tweaker 15, which I like VERY much. I've expounded on it at length in my review of it, so you can dig up the details there.
Another one I really like and currently use (although less so now, since I've switched my concentration to strictly learning Jazz again), is my Blackstar HT1H. It's a TINY little 1-watt tube head with super simple controls. It weighs almost nothing, and when I plug it into my Egnater 112 cab it's very loud for its size. Cleans are very clean and bouncy/sparkly, very Fender-esque on the American ISF setting, and a bit darker and fatter on the British ISF setting. I keep my ISF knob just a notch or two towards the American side, so it's in a nice spot to get a combo of both sounds. The gain sounds HUGE for recording. Which, by the way, is pretty much its sole intended purpose. It has a dedicated cab-voiced line out that I plug straight into the interface.
I had an old Peavey Ultra 112 that was pretty killer too. VERY underrated amp, could handle pretty much any style I chose. My only gripe is it blew fuses. All. The. Time.
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Aside from the weight I love my old Boogie Mark II C+. I know these amps are famous for Metallica and Dream Theater metal tones, but the clean channel is incredible and unbelievably flexible. It sounds great low gain too. It's a really versatile amp.
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Mesa Boogie Lonestar w/2-12's
A good blackface Fender Twin and Deluxe is nice too
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