Guest HRB853370 Posted September 2, 2011 Posted September 2, 2011 I think that is the best way to do it. Bring your own guitar into a store and play it though a future amp you are interested in. When I try out a guitar, I like to plug it into an amp that is as closest to mine as possible. When I'm trying out an amp, I like to use comparable guitars with it so I know what my style and tone will sound like... Right on DB. Reviews are just reviews. At the end of the day, what does it do for YOU which is all that matters.
JeffB Posted September 2, 2011 Posted September 2, 2011 Great thread. Im sitting in a room with an ever changing roster of amps. Most of them multi channel amps. Theyre all cool and bring different things to the table. But at the core of it is an 81-82 Fender Concert of which I only use the clean channel. Volume, treble and bass. I bought it in 1986-87. I gigged with it up until 2003ish. About the same time I got the internet and started working around guitar amps. Since then Ive plowed through amps and cabs. Up until internet time I just assumed any short comings in my sound was my own inability to play guitar the way I wanted to. For the most part, after having gone through a few amps now, I can see that assumption was basically correct. (for me) Working with the gear I had, strat> ProCo Rat>TS-9> amp, made me dig in and play hard to try and get the sounds I wanted to hear. Im in the process of selling off some of my amps and getting back to the core of it all. The joy of playing without the distraction of the mind numbing details of paid for tone. Im going through a gear is over rated phase even though I just bought two new guitars, an amp and 5 new stomps in the last 3 weeks..... sigh
rjsanders Posted September 2, 2011 Posted September 2, 2011 early JTM45 (in the 30-watt+ range, very late Fender tweed) is my alltimer. but i still love other sounds. so, after many years of owning diff. amps & plugging into friends' (even had a Trainwreck Rocket here for a week), i found what suits me best. this incl. misc. components like tubes & speakers & cabs & stuff. i get my JTM fix from my Colonial and use my Juke Coda most. ya gotta have two, don't need ten (& prob'ly wouldn't have time to play 'em enough to keep the caps juicy) lotsa people dig fender blackface sounds. not me. the idea is to follow your aural bliss. tip: look for your favorite cleans, the other stuff (gain, crunch, distortion, yadda) will follow
DetroitBlues Posted September 2, 2011 Posted September 2, 2011 I guess my amp is a blackface type amp, but I like it because it doesn't color the tones from the pedals. Very clean amp that can sound like any amp I want as long as I have the right pedal in front.
JeffB Posted September 2, 2011 Posted September 2, 2011 early JTM45 (in the 30-watt+ range, very late Fender tweed) is my alltimer. but i still love other sounds. so, after many years of owning diff. amps & plugging into friends' (even had a Trainwreck Rocket here for a week), i found what suits me best. this incl. misc. components like tubes & speakers & cabs & stuff. i get my JTM fix from my Colonial and use my Juke Coda most. ya gotta have two, don't need ten (& prob'ly wouldn't have time to play 'em enough to keep the caps juicy) lotsa people dig fender blackface sounds. not me. the idea is to follow your aural bliss. tip: look for your favorite cleans, the other stuff (gain, crunch, distortion, yadda) will follow Search your inner musical soul....it should become quite clear. I know that I love Marshall cleans, so I built a JTM45...the quintessential Marshall clean amp. Been STOKED about it ever since. I had a reissue JTM45 head(30w) for a while. Only amp I ever regret selling on. The clean was "it". Was in stupid mode when I let it go.
DetroitBlues Posted September 2, 2011 Posted September 2, 2011 I had a reissue JTM45 head(30w) for a while. Only amp I ever regret selling on. The clean was "it". Was in stupid mode when I let it go. I'm sure there isn't a person on here that hasn't done the same thing.
rjsanders Posted September 2, 2011 Posted September 2, 2011 btw, don't forget to try all the digitaly-solid statey-cybery stuff. if that ends up being your preference, count yerself lucky, bucks-wise. tubes ain't gettin' cheaper. labor & design smarts for the really talented small-shop tube amp folks is holding, but should go up...
barrymclark Posted September 2, 2011 Posted September 2, 2011 Thats excellent advice - I cringe everytime I hear someone say an amp sounds awesome because they heard it over you tube I heard your amp on YouTube. It sounded awesome!
rjsanders Posted September 2, 2011 Posted September 2, 2011 Thats excellent advice - I cringe everytime I hear someone say an amp sounds awesome because they heard it over you tube i get yer meaning, but there are some good examples on Youtube where the presenter is skilled & takes care to mike & eq & record carefully. played over a reasonable home setup (i use a Mac laptop w/unexceptional external powered speakers (Altec sub, two satellites)) i think you can get a good idea of what a guitar or pedal or amp will sound like. (feel's a different matter) a couple faves: most anything by Jack Zucker (sheetsofsound) or Lance Keltner (lancekeltner), e.g.
tbonesullivan Posted September 2, 2011 Posted September 2, 2011 Pedals are also useful. GOOD pedals with organic feel. There are a lot of good pedals out there, though after you buy a bunch, you've spend enough for a new amp. I got the Radial Tonebone Hot BRitish because I wanted to be able to have a nice marshall-like sound on ANY amp I have, and now I can. Heck I think it sounds better than my actual marshall, and I got it for $120 used.
Guest HRB853370 Posted September 2, 2011 Posted September 2, 2011 Pedals are also useful. GOOD pedals with organic feel. There are a lot of good pedals out there, though after you buy a bunch, you've spend enough for a new amp. I got the Radial Tonebone Hot BRitish because I wanted to be able to have a nice marshall-like sound on ANY amp I have, and now I can. Heck I think it sounds better than my actual marshall, and I got it for $120 used. My pedals have an organic feel. I rode 20 some miles today, climbing hills and descending and it felt like I wasn't even pedaling!
jjkrause84 Posted September 2, 2011 Posted September 2, 2011 early JTM45 (in the 30-watt+ range, very late Fender tweed) is my alltimer. but i still love other sounds. so, after many years of owning diff. amps & plugging into friends' (even had a Trainwreck Rocket here for a week), i found what suits me best. this incl. misc. components like tubes & speakers & cabs & stuff. i get my JTM fix from my Colonial and use my Juke Coda most. ya gotta have two, don't need ten (& prob'ly wouldn't have time to play 'em enough to keep the caps juicy) lotsa people dig fender blackface sounds. not me. the idea is to follow your aural bliss. tip: look for your favorite cleans, the other stuff (gain, crunch, distortion, yadda) will follow I think you and I might hear similarly. I too LOVE JTM45 cleans and am not much in love with the blackface sound!
TalismanRich Posted September 2, 2011 Posted September 2, 2011 btw, don't forget to try all the digitaly-solid statey-cybery stuff. if that ends up being your preference, count yerself lucky, bucks-wise. tubes ain't gettin' cheaper. labor & design smarts for the really talented small-shop tube amp folks is holding, but should go up... I was watching Todd Rundgren in concert this morning on HDnet. Right there on the stage behind him was a Line 6 amp. Two years ago, I attended a "Music of Queen" concert which had the Louisville Orchestra, and a group that tours. It was all Queen material. From my spot on the left side, I could just make out the familiar red kidney bean shape of the POD. The guitarist ran direct from the POD to the mixing board. It was pretty convincing as a Brian May sound. For a live situation, sometimes the cybery stuff works pretty well.
SouthpawGuy Posted September 2, 2011 Posted September 2, 2011 The amp I'm using the most lately is a Super Champ XD, a quasi tube / modelling amp. I can get a wide array of sounds from the second channel by just turning a single knob. Current favourites are voice 1 and 15. Voice 1 sounds very compressed even when plugged straight it with a clean low gain setting. If I put any sort of booster in front of it, a tube screamer with the gain very low or a BYOC triboost that little amp sounds very big indeed !
rjsanders Posted September 3, 2011 Posted September 3, 2011 I think you and I might hear similarly. I too LOVE JTM45 cleans and am not much in love with the blackface sound! grew up & was surrounded by the darn things. took way too long to discover the Joy of Tweed. fell in love w/EC's bluesbreaker tone - how the heck was i to know. just a reconfig'd tweedster. yeahman
rjsanders Posted September 3, 2011 Posted September 3, 2011 My pedals have an organic feel. I rode 20 some miles today, climbing hills and descending and it felt like I wasn't even pedaling! i only managed 10.37 (@ avg 11.8 mph)...gettin' older. which is actually kinda reassuring, considering alternatives...
rjsanders Posted September 3, 2011 Posted September 3, 2011 I was watching Todd Rundgren in concert this morning on HDnet. Right there on the stage behind him was a Line 6 amp. Two years ago, I attended a "Music of Queen" concert which had the Louisville Orchestra, and a group that tours. It was all Queen material. From my spot on the left side, I could just make out the familiar red kidney bean shape of the POD. The guitarist ran direct from the POD to the mixing board. It was pretty convincing as a Brian May sound. For a live situation, sometimes the cybery stuff works pretty well. someday that's all that'll be available. but by then Brian May & i'll be long gone
DetroitBlues Posted September 3, 2011 Posted September 3, 2011 I've used a pocket pod for about six months now. While I've never hooked it up to a full stereo, I'd imagine it would sound great. When plugged into it with headphones, the tone is unreal. Much better than the Boss or Digitech multieffects I've used. It doesn't surprise me that a professional guitarist would be using one. I've seen a few cover bands use the Line 6 Spider Valve. They love the tone, but the one guitarist who used one told me he had it fixed 3 times before Line 6 finally replaced it because it kept giving him the black square screen of death (Line 6 version of a Microsoft Blue Screen of Death).
kbp810 Posted September 3, 2011 Posted September 3, 2011 I heard your amp on YouTube. It sounded awesome! Err, uhm, I stand corrected! lol i get yer meaning, but there are some good examples on Youtube where the presenter is skilled & takes care to mike & eq & record carefully. played over a reasonable home setup (i use a Mac laptop w/unexceptional external powered speakers (Altec sub, two satellites)) i think you can get a good idea of what a guitar or pedal or amp will sound like. (feel's a different matter) a couple faves: most anything by Jack Zucker (sheetsofsound) or Lance Keltner (lancekeltner), e.g. Yeah, I can concede that when done right you can get a good general idea of what an amp might be capable of; and of course in many cases for many people they may not have access to even demo the real thing in person... so a few forum recommendations and a you tube clip combined with a small leap of faith may be the best your going to get in regards to making an informed purchased. Of course I think we are all aware of the many factors and variations that are coming into play here so I won't dwell any further on the topic
JeffB Posted September 3, 2011 Posted September 3, 2011 Err, uhm, I stand corrected! lol Yeah, I can concede that when done right you can get a good general idea of what an amp might be capable of; and of course in many cases for many people they may not have access to even demo the real thing in person... so a few forum recommendations and a you tube clip combined with a small leap of faith may be the best your going to get in regards to making an informed purchased. Of course I think we are all aware of the many factors and variations that are coming into play here so I won't dwell any further on the topic I made a bit of a crap pedal demo and posted it on youtube to see why I had made some bad pedal purchases based on good youtube clips. The recording wasnt the best but it made a pedal I dont really like in real life sound really good and two I thought quite awesome sound very average. On the original hard drive recording it is easier to hear what I like and dislike about the stomps. I shared the link with one of the pedal manufacturers, he made one I really dislike, I thought there was something wrong with the stomp I bought off him and wanted to know if that was how it was meant to sound. He bought out version 2 about a month later. Dont know if it was my comparison vid and query that had him change the design but it was the only pedal in the clip that sounded bad in real life and on youtube. The rest sounded at least ok if a little generic. I think youtube is as you say, just a rough idea of the sound. There is compression and general sound degradation that is never present in the original hard drive recording. I still like youtube and watch it more than television,
gary0313 Posted September 3, 2011 Posted September 3, 2011 Just posting to see if anybody else is plagued by changing taste in amps. First, I had to have the Tone King Metro, but when I demo'd that, I also demo'd Two Rock Gainmaster at that same time, and that became the new favorite. Last night, I heard the Marshall JTM 45 (on You Tube, mind you) and the Two Rock sounded like it had a wet blanket on it compared to the Marshall. How to cope with this? Sing: "If I were a rich (Wo)Man, yabba dabba dabba dabba dabba dabba dabba dee" it would be no problem, but as it is, it's going to take a couple of years to save for my dream amp, since I seem to have champagne taste on a beer budget! Is this why a lot of guys own 10 amps or more? Just sayin' . . I can totally relate to all the ideas presented in this thread, but now I'm heading to the bathroom for some GAS-X
DetroitBlues Posted September 3, 2011 Posted September 3, 2011 I made a bit of a crap pedal demo and posted it on youtube to see why I had made some bad pedal purchases based on good youtube clips. The recording wasnt the best but it made a pedal I dont really like in real life sound really good and two I thought quite awesome sound very average. On the original hard drive recording it is easier to hear what I like and dislike about the stomps. I shared the link with one of the pedal manufacturers, he made one I really dislike, I thought there was something wrong with the stomp I bought off him and wanted to know if that was how it was meant to sound. He bought out version 2 about a month later. Dont know if it was my comparison vid and query that had him change the design but it was the only pedal in the clip that sounded bad in real life and on youtube. The rest sounded at least ok if a little generic. I think youtube is as you say, just a rough idea of the sound. There is compression and general sound degradation that is never present in the original hard drive recording. I still like youtube and watch it more than television, I started on watching youtube, but I base my decision on my ears though my own playing in real life. It took me a long time to finally realize that. I cannot match the talent nor do I have the gear of those people on youtube.....
212Mavguy Posted September 4, 2011 Posted September 4, 2011 I guess that maybe there is at least a bit of validity on youtube clips but I'm thinking that it's what you choose to listen to. I bought my first D-style amp after listening to several youtube artists using them, and I'm very pleased at the tones I am getting, which in some cases are very close to what I heard. And I can't play nearly as well as the folks I lstened to, either!
Trouble Posted September 6, 2011 Posted September 6, 2011 I'll probably sound like a heretic for saying this..(but I've said it before) I LOVED my Line 6 Flextone II !! The Models on that thing were Kick@ss!! Were they Exactly like the amps they were modeling? Nah..But I loved em all the same..My Favorite was a Soldano Super Lead..Dry, no effects!! Man!! If I hadn't spilt beer into the controls of that thing, i'd still be playing it!! My 2 cents.. I've poured at least a case of beer into my Valve King and it's still going, maybe I should do an add for Peavey, or Alcoholics Anonymous!
Trouble Posted September 6, 2011 Posted September 6, 2011 Just posting to see if anybody else is plagued by changing taste in amps. First, I had to have the Tone King Metro, but when I demo'd that, I also demo'd Two Rock Gainmaster at that same time, and that became the new favorite. Last night, I heard the Marshall JTM 45 (on You Tube, mind you) and the Two Rock sounded like it had a wet blanket on it compared to the Marshall. How to cope with this? Sing: "If I were a rich (Wo)Man, yabba dabba dabba dabba dabba dabba dabba dee" it would be no problem, but as it is, it's going to take a couple of years to save for my dream amp, since I seem to have champagne taste on a beer budget! Is this why a lot of guys own 10 amps or more? Just sayin' . . What amp are you using? My advice is once you have a quality amp then figure out what you want to hear from it and work on acheiving that sound by putting eq/pedals in front of it. Realistically most of us just can't use multiple amps live to achieve different tones. I personally am limited by a lack of roadies, but I have a pretty nice pedal board. I do intend to buy another amp pretty soon, but what I want is basically what I have with better components and lighter weight, with maybe an extension cab. Since I always play covers and have to switch between very different sounds, I know I can't get away from useing some pedals, so I just need a quality, dependable amp, with enough volume to handle outdoor gigs. My next amp will be a well made 1X12 maybe with a slightly more british sound, line level out and capable of driving an extension cab. Or a head into a 2X12 cab.
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