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Last edited by jazzpazz; 10-22-2023 at 10:13 PM. Reason: delete
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09-24-2023 09:43 PM
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Just buying a tube amp will not make you sound like Wes. I would suggest a Boss Katana 50 which is solid state, reasonably priced, and has tons of built in tones emulating Fender and other amps along with lots of effects to play with. Put some heavy flatwound strings on your Joe Pass, dial in a Fender tone on the Katana, then start playing octaves with your thumb; after that, you MIGHT get close to the tone you're after. Your hands and playing style have a lot to do with tone and you can't buy that - it only comes with time on the instrument. Good luck!
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I purchased a SuperSonic 22 in early 2016. This amp, still in production, has a lot of flexibility. The vintage channel is essentially a Deluxe Reverb with a solid state rectifier. The “burn” channel can dialed in for dirt at reasonably low volume. It won’t make you sound like Wes, bit it is a start in the right direction.
i have done a lot of mods on mine, but I enjoy this sort of thing: upgrade tubes and speaker, kickback legs, reverb patch cable, pulled the tube cage.
You may find a Princeton a less expensive but satisfying alternative. I would go with a blackface rather than the ‘68 Custom Silver Face Princeton. The blackface will be cleaner.
Good luck in your search.
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Didn’t Wes use a solid state Standel later in his career?
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I've had great luck with the Fender Acoustasonic Junior. Super warm tones and good effects.
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or get one of these
fender champion 40
or there’s a 20 as well
they’re pretty good amps
and inexpensive
https://www.fender.com/en-GB/guitar-...330304900.html
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The deluxe and Princeton reverb reissues are good and relatively affordable. It may be possible to find an early to mid 70s non master volume pro reverb for around the same price as the deluxe reissue if that's within your budget. The pro is a 2x12 like the twins that Wes played. I personally would avoid the hot rod deluxe; they're ok, but I think the two reissues sound better.
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A Quilter head along with a Raezer's Edge cabinet (both of which can be had used for a reasonable price) will get you a reliable amp that will deliver the tone you want. And then some.
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I play at home 100% of the time and while sounding like Wes WILL NEVER HAPPEN for me, I have been loving, absolutely LOVING my Fender Twin Reverb Tonemaster.
In a small room, you would think such a large, powerful amp is overkill, but its not. The 2 x 12's tipped upward using the legs that are standard on the amp fill the room evenly and create the perfect sound for me. I went from using headphones all the time, to using the Twin Tonemaster.
And if I ever need more volume, or I just want to completely blow out my windows and eardrums, the Twin Tonemaster has me covered.
By the way, if you want to sound like Wes, use your thumb on the picking hand. That will get you closer than any amp can.
JD
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I have to agree that nothing sounds like 2 twelve. I have a couple of amps, but the 35watt Mesa Boogie Mark V into 2 twelves on the clean settings sound huge.
Originally Posted by Max405
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Do you like your tone to be completely clean without even a hint of distortion, or do you like some amount of compression/distortion/warmth? Originally Posted by jazzpazz
Does you need the amp to have reverb, or is non-reverb OK?
How much money do want to spend?
How loud do you think you're going to have to be (e.g., will you be playing with loud bands with drummers and horns, of just playing quietly by yourself, or somewhere in between those two)?
How large an object do you want (or will your spouse let you have) in the living room?
Do you plan on carrying it around to jams/gigs/sessions?
Knowing the answers to those questions helps you figure it out. That said, most people who don't gig in loud situations and insist on tubes are happy with a Princeton Reverb, or a Blues Jr. They sound great, are enough amp for probably 75% of players and are far less likely to provoke either a hernia or divorce than the bigger stuff.
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as mentioned a Princeton Reverb sounds like it'll fit the bill for your needs.
most people use at least a little reverb but you can always leave the knob on zero.
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Wes's sound came from how he played, not from the gear he used. If you literally want to sound like Wes, approaching that from a gear perspective is a complete waste of time. Learn to play with your thumb and learn to copy his music, through pretty much amp. If you play with a pick and will continue to do that, discard the idea of buying gear that will make you sound like him because nothing will. The only people who sound at all like Wes are people who have studied his technique and musical vocabulary. Originally Posted by jazzpazz
Get reverb. Almost everyone who doesn't wishes they did and winds up buying a reverb pedal.
Norway, right? Looking the Thomann Norway site as a guide and assuming $1=11KR ...
Honestly, 5 Watts sounds like it would be plenty for you. The Custom Vibro Champ is really cool and well suited to relatively quiet playing with a nice warm tone. if you insist on spending more than that, I'd say get the 65 Princeton Reverb Reissue (which will be quite a bit louder at the point were distortion starts to kick in). There are bigger/louder Fenders for around the same cost or less, but that's too much amp for the needs you describe.
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The 65 has a Jensen C10R speaker and the traditional blackface circuit, the 68 Custom has a Celestion Ten 30 speaker and a "modified tone circuitry for greater tonal flexibility with pedals, reduced negative feedback for greater touch sensitivity, and quicker overdrive onset." Originally Posted by jazzpazz
edit: also the first seems to be assembled in USA while the latter could be MIM.
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In the old days (roughly 1964-1981), all Princeton Reverbs (and most other amps, too) were hand built with components and wires soldered directly to each other and/or to a board with metal eyelets, sometimes called "point to point" wiring. Nowadays, most factory-built amps are built on machine-made printed circuit boards. Some of the details of the PR circuit changed slightly over that time, but all of these amps basically sound the same (unlike some other Fender models that changed much more substantially). 1964-7, Fender amps came with a black control panel with white letters ("blackface"). Roughly 1968 through 79, they had plain metal control panels with blue letters ("silverface"). In 1980 they went back to BF; the PR was discontinued in '81. Originally Posted by jazzpazz
The 65 Reissue is intended to be an exact replica of the circuit and cosmetics used in a 1965 Princeton Reverb, but built with modern printed circuit boards instead of hand wired. The 68 Custom is a little different., It's got SF cosmetics and a PCB, but it's not an exact replica of the original SF circuit-- it has modifications to the pre-amp circuit that make it a little more mid-range-y and distort a little more than a real 1968 PR. There's also a 64 Custom version, which is a hand-wired replica of a BF amp.Last edited by John A.; 09-25-2023 at 11:25 PM.
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the stock 65 would be my choice. the 64 custom sounds good but is pricey
actually my real choice would be an original but they're way out of the price range you posted
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It's not technical at all. The 65 is cleaner and brighter sounding than the 68. The 64 and the 65 sound the same same for all intents and purposes, but the 64 is more expensive for reasons that won't matter to someone who uses it as lightly as you say you will. So choose between the 65 and the 68 based on which type of sound you think you prefer. If you don't know, don't spend $2k on an amp until you do (i.e., spend a decent amount of time playing as many amps as you can). Originally Posted by jazzpazz
A 65 PR on 5 is way louder than is practical for quiet living room playing. Don't worry about it not being loud enough for you. Originally Posted by jazzpazz
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Only my 1972 Fender Twin Reverb gets that true Wes sound to my ears.
treble: 5
mids: 4
bass: 2.5
reverb: 2.5
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The best advice I can offer is to try them all out and get the one that sounds best to you. Originally Posted by jazzpazz
If that's not possible, then I will just expose my prejudices, which have nothing to do with your situation:
- I prefer a 12" speaker to a 10" speaker - Ithink 12-inch speakers sound a little fuller, other things being equal
- I prefer black or brown covering to tweed covering, because with minimal care it looks better longer.
- I like having reverb and tremolo (sometimes called "vibrato" on Fender amps) built in - but that's not a dealbreaker, as pedals are easy to come by
- I would get a cover to help protect the amp when it's not in use.
If I were restricted to buying a Fender tube amp I'd likely get a Deluxe Reverb for the mentioned application. Among other things, the slightly larger cabinet provides what, to me, is better low-end response. 22 watts (Deluxe) is only slightly louder than 12 watts (Princeton)
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It sounds like that, at your level of expertise, any amp would suit you just fine because you don't have the experience to know the difference and all the recommendations in the world will not matter. What I prefer and what others on this forum prefer are two entirely different things and what you may like is totally different. Play as many amps as you can find and then make a decision. As was said before, you can't buy equipment to get a particular sound - you have to experiment and try different guitars, amps, strings, picks and find what YOU like. With heavy strings on your Joe Pass, just about any amp and using the side of your thumb to pick, you might approximate Wes's sound. Read all you can about him, watch videos, and search out interviews. Someone recently said that Wes told him "it's not what you use, it's what you do with what you've got". You'll also need to be able to play some of Wes's stuff to be able to try equipment to get that sound. I've heard guys play pretty authentic 'Wes' sounding stuff on a Telecaster. Buying all the suggestions made on this thread will not make you sound anything like Wes. Time on the instrument is key.
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I would add if you can possibly get to a decent sized store that sells Fender amps (and others) you should absolutely do that. It's fine to buy something over the Internet if you know what you're getting, but playing a few in a store will let you experience the amp itself, rather than just its specs.
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Absolutely the best advice for the OP! Originally Posted by jim777
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Wise choice. There’s no downside here. Try it out and you can swap it out if it’s not right for you. It’s a great amp and perfect for home use.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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I agree with some of this, and disagree with the rest. For the record, I own a 1966 Deluxe Reverb, a 1966 Princeton (no reverb) and a Victoria Ivy League (a clone of the Fender Harvard (tweed, mid 50s to early 60s). I play at home and at some jams. The DR is the loudest, but all three are more than adequate for a big home office area where I play.
12" speaker to 10". Agree, but not so important for playing at home, as the OP wants to do.
Tweed covering. Who cares? And he is playing at home so minimal wear anyway.
Reverb, tremolo/vibrato. Agree.
A cover. Forget it, he's playing at home.
Originally Posted by dconeill
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Many Fenders will get you there, twin reverb, vibrolux, deluxe reverb, princeton reverb, super reverb. There is really no absolute best, as it is a matter of taste, and you can't know what you prefer unless you play the amps.
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