Why can't you be happy with your guitar amp?

[AlsoRan]

I have a couple of highly sought after amps that are popular with Jazz guitarists. Both are too loud for me to use in the bedroom as a practice amp so when I do plug in, I normally just use my Fender VibroChamp XD or my Vox DA-5. They both sound fine to me and I don't find myself hand-wringing over their tone.

I have been to Guitar Center and heard guys playing on "cheap" amps and they still sounded great enough for me to enjoy their playing.

Is there really that much of a difference in sound that people are driven to go from amp to amp?

(Disclaimer: I know that there are truly some musicians who have ears so sensitive that some amp tones really bother them. A music teacher I know went through 3 baby Grand Pianos before she found one she really liked. Pianos were delivered and then taken away and another one delivered.)

Its kind of like food, wine, and other sensations - just how good does something have to be for one to be satisfied? And how much trouble and expense is one willing to go through to get it?

[barrymclark]

While there are often very tangible differences between, in this case, this amp and that amp, how that translates to the individual is always down to personal taste.

While a Fender Twin is a fine amp and often regarded well for jazz use (not always but by a solid number of people), what drives people to that like can be anything from a heroes seeming successes with one to the buzz it can create on an online forum. haha. For some, the Twin is a turn off for all kinds of reasons including, usually, size and weight.

You just gotta go with what moves you. I have found that leading the discussion about tone with a discussion about the gear quickly gets away from the tone and whether or not is enjoyable. Then you start getting into mechanical efficiency and so on.

[jads57]

After a certain point of a good product, comes splitting hairs. It really doesn't matter what the product is car, shirt,guitar,etc. Probably most people here do this for a hobby or a supplemental income as opposed to their main source of income. I say this because as any hobby it's fun to experiment and one ususally has enough $$ to do this.
Also we live in a very material world where people are judged on their looks, possesions, status,etc.
Truly great players usually find proffesional tools that work, and concentrate on the task at hand. Making Music!

[EpiJazz]

I have been to Guitar Center and heard guys playing on "cheap" amps and they still sounded great enough for me to enjoy their playing.

People play cheap things at Guitar Center?

Aside from that, I honestly think all amps sound better preforming. A tiny practice amp with a 6.5" speaker sounds terrible in the bedroom but great with the right acoustics -- i.e., outside a coffeeshop.

[oldane]

While a Fender Twin is a fine amp and often regarded well for jazz use (not always but by a solid number of people), what drives people to that like can be anything from a heroes seeming successes with one to the buzz it can create on an online forum. haha. For some, the Twin is a turn off for all kinds of reasons including, usually, size and weight.

I love the Fender Twin for its sound. It's the best amp I have never owned. Size and weight is the reason I never had one. If I ever get rich enough to hire a roadie, I might buy one, but carrying a Twin up two flights of stairs is a no go for me now that I'm 63 years old - like it was when I was 53, 43 and 33 years old. Maybe it would have been different when I was 23, but I didn't have the money for it back then.

Now, my Mambo 8 wedge is at the opposite end of the size/weight scale. I can dial in a great jazz tone on it which I can recognize as "my" tone. It's loud enough for my uses. It sounds good at low practice volumes too. It's wonderfully small and light. It has a built in reverb is OK for adding that tad of ambience which is not exactly heard as a reverb. The wedge shape makes an amp stand redundant. I may be able to get a wider range of sounds from the Twin. It's not a Twin (can never be with its single 8" speaker as opposed to the two 12" speakers in the Twin) - but the Mambo is so much more practical. Guitar case in one hand, the amp in the other and music sheets/books and cables in a backpack. In the car, it can be placed on the floor betweeen the front and back seats. It offers a perfect balance between excellent performance and good handling.

I agree with those who have spoken about diminishing returns. I'm also interested in photography and I can be quite amused by some of the posts on fora on the web. People are splitting hairs about a difference between lens A and lens B which can just about be seen in the corners of the picture at the so called "100% magnification" on the screen - which is like looking at a 10 feet wide print of the picture with a loupe from two inches distance. Such a marginal difference often results in people calling one lens "great" and the other "crap".

[rpguitar]

I think amps are much more of a pain to experiment with, and all the really good ones seem so expensive. It partly explains why I own only 2 tube amps - a big Fender and a small Fender - plus a modern solid state/acoustic rig. This, while churning through gobs of guitars.

It helps that I got lucky... I picked up a '79 SFPR sometime around 10-15 years ago. I put the chassis into a custom cabinet with a 12" speaker and that ended my amp quest.

But the amp tone really matters to me. The overtones, sensitivity, and EQ personality are either readily apparent or they aren't. To me, the vintage and reissue Fenders are a no-brainer, so the whole world of boutique this and that at multi-kilobuck prices doesn't appeal to me.

[citizenk74]

I think context is key. For at home playing or a recording situation, something relatively small, not terribly loud, with an appropriate eq range to achieve the right tone or range of tones is desirable. Ditto for stages where sound reinforcement and a good monitor system managed by competent technicians with an ear for the music at hand are handling the FOH (I can dream, can't I? I even experienced it. Once or twice. ).
Then there is the gig where your amp is the sole source for the voice of your instrument, from the front row to the back of the room. You've got to allow for dispersion, beam effects, room ring and a zillion other factors objectively beyond your control. There it is nice to have a little reserve in the power department, some range in the eq, and a whole lotta luck in handling the ever-changing acoustic characteristics of the room, not to mention the challenge of musically meshing with your on-stage cohorts, be it a jam or a paying gig. A good dolly helps, as does an arsenal of 2-3 amps suited to the job at hand.

[Jehu]

The Cube does the trick for me. But then, I also drive a Toyota Corolla.

[jads57]

I should also add even though I've been a rather broke pro guitarist for 40 years now,wow! I have always suffered the dreaded Gear Aquisition Syndrome. But approaching 60 years old it seems to be diminishing thankfully,LOL! I have pretty much settled on a couple of Quilter amp products (Aviator 1x12" Combo, TB200, and now 101 head) that not only are great sounding but affordable and most importantly light in weight!

[mrcee]

I've had some good amps. Polytone and a silver face Twin and some others. But right now I've got a ss, made in the USA Fender Princeton 112 Plus. 65w with a 12. It's actually not too bad and you can pick them up super cheap. Under $100.

[Keira Witherkay]

we forget that the role of amps has changed dramatically in the last decades ...back in 60's and 70's your amp was your total sound..........so a twin or you may as well stay home cos you won't be heard .......

then 80's and 90's saw solid state amps start to come into their own the original Roland cube ...still gigged by many today ...portable and loud enough....and it had a line out ....no pesky mic ing

then we hit 21st century and we got ZT's and other micro amps pushing huge sound which was impossible 20 years before or even 10 ............ and the high quality amps are quite affordable and finally with Kemper and the other modellers ...amp modelling is in it's golden age..... with ever nuance catered for .........

and also in last 20 years front of house systems even in small clubs are pretty good ... so no need for the 100W twin speaker amps and artists just use small amps and line out or mic up ...but only an option since PA systems got to the point of reproducing good tone not just volume

so there just technology has shifted focus on what we the guitarist want or more importantly need........ as not everyone performs on huge stadium /club stages but still gigs but in hotels or restaurants at low volume ......

so do you need a twin ...hell no but if you want that vibe...it's perfect ...
we are living in a good era when it comes to affordable electronics that are also of high end quality

and often many romanticise about that 40's tube amp ...not remembering the high noise nor than the old recordings we listen to and love the sound of were recorded on gear that coloured and compressed the sound....so know many players who when they get those vintage amps find em too heavy/noisy and in fact not what they expected at all....

so phew ..... it's a new day.... and us as players must decide what we want ...power/nostalgia/copying ones fave player /portability/versatility/........


as Amos Garrett says on one of his video's ..."the older i get ...the smaller my amps get "

[docbop]

If you constantly unhappy with your amp then your priorities are backwards, because you should be concerned about the notes you play. It's a lesson that takes a long time to learn and music instrument manufactures hope you never learn. As long as the audience isn't shoving napkins in their ears your tone is fine, to them what you play is all they care about.

The obsession with gear is a marketing tool of the gear companies. Think about the legends Parker and others hocking their horns and having to borrow horns to play gigs and record with. Wes Montogomy in early days was borrowing guitars all the time, but people noticed what he played. Most of them used off the shelf guitars and amps and any guitar cord that worked. Remember the great solo you took at a jam or somewhere and you were using someone else's gear. It's all about the notes in the end.

[mad dog]

Perceived sound differences come down to personal taste, but also to the other equipment used, and what music you're playing.

Some amps are very versatile, others less so. Some amps are filled with features I neither want nor use, others much simpler. Attributing amp preferences to self indulgence or gear obsessions might be accurate some of the time, but it really misses the point.

Some guitars I care about are picky about amps. A recent example: The Quilter 101 mini head sounds so fine with my Heritage H525. Instant jazz rig right there. I also practice jazz on an old Silvertone 1427 archtop, with P13 pickups. The Quilter is not nearly so fine with that guitar. Same story with another guitar here, an elitist Epiphone Riviera. Those minihums just don't go with the Quilter. So for those guitars, I plug into the much more accepting Allen Encore.

Caring about the notes (to me) is also a matter of caring how the notes sound. That inevitably leads to guitar and amp preferences. The only way that's a bad thing IMO is if it distracts too much from the music, or leaves me unable to pay the rent.
MD

[roegtr]

I have used a Roland Cube 60 for a very long time now.. It always gets the job done. Sometimes it sounds great. Other times it´s just okay. But it rarely sounds bad. It´s also quite light and it requires no maintenance. I can leave it in my car and noone wants to steal it. However, if it gets stolen, you can pick up a used one for about $200.
Now I would really like to have a tube amp again. There is something magic about tubes. The Deluxe reverb and the Vibrolux is on my short list...

[entresz]

I think part of the problem is that some amps sound better in some scenarios than others. For example, my Quilter Aviator Twin Ten sounds fantastic when it's on the floor, tilted back. If I put it on a chair or something so that it's elevated, it can sound a bit honky. Adding bass on the EQ doesn't really fix it. My old Peavey Session 400 with its massive 15" speaker sounds great when elevated, but can get boomy when it's not.

I believe that closed back amps are more consistent sounding.

Between the old Peavey and my Quilter, my amp needs are pretty much covered. It still hasn't stopped me wanting to get a Fender Twin. It's not as if I need one, it's just that its a different sound to the other amps I have.

[mr quick]

I use a Roland Cube 30 for everything. Clean channel, flat EQ, no fx. Try to get "my sound" on that. Now that it sounds good on the Cube's JC clean channel, I KNOW it'll sound great on any other amp.

[GNAPPI]

Amps, amps, amps... so many amps, not enough time.

If there's a Heaven, it has two Twins and a Stereo 345 hooked up, a dog, and a fridge filled with 64 kinds of beer at home waiting for me, and since I'm already dead all the cigaretts , booze, french fries, and meat I can manage. Oh, some arm candy would be cool too and some old time smoky clubs that pulse with the beat and smell like humanity. Yeah, miss those days!

Anyway, Cube amps will not be allowed because I'll have the Devine twins that weigh less, hey it's Heaven not Earth :-)

[RonD]

I love my Quilter Micropro. Loud, soft, doesn't make a difference to me.
After messing with dozens of amps, I'm done!

[HighSpeedSpoon]

If you constantly unhappy with your amp then your priorities are backwards, because you should be concerned about the notes you play. It's a lesson that takes a long time to learn and music instrument manufactures hope you never learn. ...

To me this is everything. Learning this in my heart was very difficult to accept at first, but I soon realized what a liberating and beautiful idea it is. All you can hope for is that you have something to say and the chops to say it. Personally, I am so far from that, and so far from the practical requirements of working pros, that the holy grail of gear is the tail wagging the dog for me.

And BTW, I do realize that many, if not most here are way farther down the highway than me.

[P4guitar]

Most of the time I use a Pod HD with headphones so everyone is happy.

[MaxTwang]

Quilter MicroPro is satisfying me too. Loud or low volume - the sound is consistent, 18 lbs is wonderful. When I feel like a change - pick a new Voice. The 101 head also has a variety of Voices which is great for different guitars.

[Cunamara]

Funny thing. One day I will plug my guitar into my amp in the living room and it sounds fantastic. The next day (with the same guitar, no changes in any of the knobs, in the same spot in the living room) it sounds terrible. And I curse and switch to a different amp and it sounds great. The next day...

[Jabberwocky]

A good Princeton Reverb warms the cockles of my heart. That's all the amp any jazz guitarist really needs tone-wise. Volume is for filling up the hall and drowning out the drummer. Loud amps like the Twin Reverb or some such harden up the tone. But when you're in a happy situation to play to a large audience, it is the best valve amp for the job. Solid-state combos are lightweight compromises for those gigging types who get the pleasure of lugging their own gear.

I won't choose a larger amp than the Princeton Reverb for pure tone, as part of your tonal palette. A 5e3 Tweed is also great sans a valve reverb.

(If you live in a place with good stable AC, try plugging into your Princeton Reverb or any valve amp in the dead of the night, in your own private space, when the city sleeps, not during summer when the ACs are on or winter when the heaters are going. You'll hear some 3D tonal valve magic when the AC mains is not spiky and all. That's what an audiophool believes in. And it's free.

I am an Analogue Luddite. Digital is convenient and perhaps digital has enabled us to see where no man has seen before in capturing photographic information viz. space and deep sea exploration. It has its place as information capture. But in terms of emotion, digital anything leaves me cold, be it sound recordings or images. Digital has killed advancements and research in the analogue realm. The greatest tragedy to the range of visual expression is the loss of film and Polaroid materials. We have lost analogue recording tape. Valves/Vacuum Tubes seem to be on the chopping block. The valves of today are substandard because research to improve valves has died. We become the poorer for it. Digital is the Blonde killing the Brunette.)

[jkstigma]

Why can't you be happy with your amp?

i really love my fender pr junior
but,,,,that hum makes me crazy. If there is no hum at all , i think it could be perfect

[GNAPPI]

" Loud amps like the Twin Reverb or some such harden up the tone"

??? You're saying that the Twins 1-10 volume control on the lower settings "harden" the tone?

My schematics of the Twin Reverb and Deluxe reverb (both AB763 chassis) and Princeton (AA1164 chassis) have the same tone stack. Now if you're talking at higher volumes? Well, I don't go there.