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This may have been covered before if so mea culpa.
My fave tube amp is my Music Man 210HD. It has the most usable and unique (AFAIK) tube amp features of any tube amp I've owned:
Half power (65w) Full power (130 watt), master volume, Deep/Normal switch, Bright/ Normal switch, real spring reverb, two 10's, and a tube pre-amp section. The EQ section is typical familiar Fender style, and it's a bit smaller, than and more powerful (but ~15 lbs heavier due in large part to the twin 10" speakers and heavier Xformers) than a Deluxe reverb too!
I have other larger and smaller tube amps but this one is special. I got it eight years or so ago, and several months back I had to put in away as it was down for a while needing some cap replacements, speakers and other work (I'm VERY lazy when it comes to fixing my own stuff) but I'm Sooo glad I finally got around to getting it running! My archtops REALLY sing through this jewel!
Anyone else here have an out of the mainstream tube amp they are fond of and why?
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11-15-2015 05:15 PM
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Vintage super reverb for cleans.
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Mainstream, here.
Fender Twin
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This one...
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Plus 1 for the Music Man series. I had a 112RD (HD? Don't remember) which I am still kicking myself about. I put a JBL D-120 recone in it, and it was sublime. Rich cleans, terrific reverb and an OD channel that gave the vari-tone in my mid-sixties ES-345 room to bloom, so to speak. Heavy, granted, but at least compact. Gigging workhorse.
More recently, a Deluxe Reverb Re-issue gets a lotta love, though comparisons with my Tweed Deluxe would be invidious. The Tweed has the advantage over anything I've ever had in terms of sheer juiceiness, upper-mid range complexity, and so forth, so its mainly a private pleasure, at this point, pending a get-my-recording-act-together breakthrough (breath-holding not recommended).
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I have a Music Man HD 210 sitting in the closet covered for years. It was just too loud! I guess its time to break it out-test it and see if it will bring any money on Ebay.
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At 1/2 power it was too loud? Wow! I have a pair of Celestion 70 watt speakers in mine and I doubt I ever have to push it past 20 watts.
Originally Posted by grh2015
If it hasn't already had a cap job sitting a long tome is BAD for them. Once they power up it's a long down slope on the power supply tubes going bad. Depending on where you are I may be interested in it. PM me.
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The Music Man 112 RD was my first "real" amp; I thought it was a solid state pre, and tube power amp?
My current tube amps are by Jack Anderson (6V6 head) and Sara Richter (6L6 head), and I love both!
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I've had a few over the years all Fenders Tweed Deluxe, BF Vibro Champ, SF Bronco (Vibro Champ that was part of a package they sold for awhile), SF Super Reverb, BF Princeton Reverb, BF Deluxe Reverb RI. and currently George Benson Deluxe III.
The one that was my favorite of all was the Princeton, next the Super. Ones that were meh, the Tweed Deluxe and the George Benson.
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Back in the late 60s-70s my main rig was a 64 ES330 and a pair of blackface Bassmans, small cab. stacked. Used a "fuzz face" and a Vox wah. I could not conceive of needing anything else. I`m surprised I can remember that time!. I sold the gear a long time ago, but found a dead mint 67 Casino that I will be buried with.I put the pick guard and tremolo arm back on.
Last edited by grh2015; 11-15-2015 at 08:24 PM.
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In 1976 I bought a brand new Music Man 212 65W with Alnico speakers. It has a SS preamp with a tube power section. Fast forward to 2015. Amp stills works perfectly. Very high quality roller bearing wheels and still sounds like a amp Wes Montgomery had only dreams of. The only cheesiness is the reverb. My Fender Twin reverb has the absolute best reverb. The Fender Princeton is a great home amp. The Henriksen is the best no fuss no muss jazz amp for any situation. The Fender GB a great gigging amp.
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Headstrong Verbrovibe w/ NOS tubes
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The early ones were all tube, they quickly went to SS/tube. Mine is all tube... a lovely amp. Originally Posted by marcwhy
I'm surprised there are a few supers here. I still have one too ( real early BF tube recto circuit) , but it's not in the class of the Music Man.Last edited by GNAPPI; 11-15-2015 at 09:23 PM.
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I had a Traynor Bass Mate that was great. Sold it to pay for a 1960 Fender Pro, so I can't really say I regret selling it, but I wouldn't mind having it back. I also had a small Univox combo amp that sounded fantastic cranked. I have a Galanti Minuteman (made by Valco) that is basically the same as a Vibro-champ, but with a 10" speaker, surprisingly decent clean headroom, great cranked blues tone. Originally Posted by GNAPPI
Otherwise I'm mainly into mainstream Fenders. The aforementioned Pro was my main amp for many years, but way bigger than is practical for me, so I traded it for a silverface Princeton Reverb. Nothing sound better to my ears than that.
John
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Mesa Express Plus Series. Lots of options in a small combo. The 5:25 is 2-El84, the 5:50 is 2-6L6.
Mine has a Weber AlNiCo.
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Hmm. My ca. 1972 Pro Reverb is pretty great; my tweed Deluxe is also pretty great but different. For low volume situations the Deluxe is warmer and fatter.
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glad you came to your senses. Originally Posted by grh2015
mine is my ac15hw1. it has a tayden ace 25 and a mishmash of random old and new tubes. it took a long time for me to learn and appreciate every last feature on the amp, but i mostly get it now. i love it for all the reasons you guys probably wouldn't. its huge and loud and deep and full and rich and complex and chimey and guitars just feel alive through that thing. i've had my good and bad days with it, but its sort of what i sound like now. it gets along great with a carefully curated set of pedals (it hates as many as it likes) and every guitar sounds like itself through that amp, for better or worse. i could probably streamline the feature set if i had to, but i'm ok with it as is.
i'd like to have something similar but a little more archtop friendly. fenderesque, i suppose. i have a giant peavey rig for that, and it sounds great, but something smaller, sweeter and more specialized would be nice. my old top hat didn't cut it. but boutiques are really expensive for what they are (to me) and i have my reservations about the standard fender line.Last edited by feet; 11-15-2015 at 11:06 PM.
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Fender Tweed Deluxe and the Polytone MiniBrute II.
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The 5E3 is my favourite, too.
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Fender PRRI is my only tube amp at the moment, so I guess that makes it my favorite!
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tonally, blackface Vibrolux Reverb
tone + power, blackface Twin Reverb
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Twin Reverb is the King of all tube amps IMO.
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My favorite tube amp is my 1964 Blackface Princeton with a Fender branded JBL D-110.
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Old Princeton's have a fabulous sound. The new reissues aren't as good but sound pretty good also with the right speaker. I have always considered a good Princeton as a mini Twin sound wise. I have always preferred the sound of a Princeton over a DR but that's just me. Lot of guys swear by DR's. The old DR's sound good but not the DRRI's IMO. The new DR's have a C10 cap that acts like a permanent bright switch. If you remove that cap then they sound OK. If you want that old DR sound get a Tone King Imperial.
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I know, kinda weak but.. I have a softspot for my good ole Peavey Classic VXT 212. SS preamp and Tube Power amp. Its the quietest amp I've ever heard. Its not as warm as my GB but it takes volume perfectly and when I was playing out with it, It never, I mean never failed me. Not once.
JD
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