Thundersteel Posted July 2, 2010 Posted July 2, 2010 Going to Elite Music Sales in Montgomery, Alabama. They've got Dr. Z, Two Rock, Swart, Carr, /13, etc. I'll be like a kid in a candy store--an expensive candy store!
Kuz Posted July 2, 2010 Posted July 2, 2010 Going to Elite Music Sales in Montgomery, Alabama. They've got Dr. Z, Two Rock, Swart, Carr, /13, etc. I'll be like a kid in a candy store--an expensive candy store! I've got a BOO-TEEK Chicago Blues Box amp for sale listed in the trading post that will cost you a half to a third the cost of those amps....... just saying..... if your interested..... Have fun tomorrow!
Steiner Posted July 2, 2010 Posted July 2, 2010 Why you lucky Dog! If you're thinking about buying, take your favorite guitar. Some amps sound better with certain guitars. The last thing you want to do is buy a stellar amp that sounds wonderful with someone else's ax.
Jazzpunk Posted July 2, 2010 Posted July 2, 2010 Going to Elite Music Sales in Montgomery, Alabama. They've got Dr. Z, Two Rock, Swart, Carr, /13, etc. I'll be like a kid in a candy store--an expensive candy store! Swart....mmmmmmm good!
Spectrum13 Posted July 2, 2010 Posted July 2, 2010 T-Steel, about to do some damage? Once you start it's hard to stop so just come home with one of each and save a trip back. If they let you take home a few to try out and you keep the one you like best, that would be cool too.
koula901 Posted July 2, 2010 Posted July 2, 2010 What fun! Would be nice to hear your opinions on the diff. amps you try.
212Mavguy Posted July 3, 2010 Posted July 3, 2010 What fun! Would be nice to hear your opinions on the diff. amps you try. +1
Thundersteel Posted July 3, 2010 Author Posted July 3, 2010 TONE REPORT OK--the wife & I made the 3-hour trip to Montgomery yesterday. I dropped her off at one of the stores she likes, then I went to the music store. I was really surprised at the store size--it was a lot smaller than what I expected. Upon entering the store, they had about 30 Taylor acoustics on the wall. Turn left, and you see the sales desk. On the left side of the room, they had about 8 electric guitars (mostly Meloncon). They had an office in the back. Next to the office, they had a separate room for the amps--that's the entire store! They had two employees there--really nice and helpful. Luckily, I was the only customer in the amp room, so I could try out any amp I wanted for as long as I wanted to. For the amps, they had 2 Swarts--a Space Tone Reverb (5 watts) and the Atomic Space Tone (18 watts). They also had some Mesa/Boogies, a few Carrs, several vintage Fenders, a LOT of Dr. Zs, one Nolatone, one Two-Rock, several Bogners, and a few others which I can't remember. I brought my H555 & H150 P90 with me so I could try them out. I also brought along my "Bad Bob" Boost pedal for some overdrive. I had only a few criterion for my choice: low power (<20 watts), not too expensive, and reverb. So, after trying out most of the amps, I narrowed it down to four: both Swarts, a Carr Mercury, and, to my surprise, a Mesa/Boogie 5:25 Express head. Of the four amps I narrowed it down to, I was in tone heaven! These low-power amps, when cranked, sound freakin' awesome! So THAT is what my H555 is supposed to sound like! I was getting controlled feedback, a few squeals, and some raunchy tones--just what I was looking for! I could feel the air pumping out of the F-holes--that was so cool! My H150 sounded bad-ass as well--P90s in all their glory! I had heard a lot about the Swarts, so I A/B'd them first. I initially preferred the 18W version, but then I tried the tremolo effect. It sounded good, but it was something I probably wouldn't use. To me, it was just a novelty. Plus, all the controls were on the back of the amp, which seemed a bit inconvenient. I decided to eliminate that from my choices, which narrowed down my list three. The 5-watt Swart was just what I was looking for--great sound, simple controls (Volume, Tone, & Space), and ease of use. Unlike the 18-watt version, the 5-watt Swart has its controls on the top. So that's the one I'm gonna get! Then, I tried the Carr Mercury--oh my gosh! It has 3 gain settings, 4 power settings (1/10th watt, 1/2 watt, 2 watts, & 8 watts), Volume, Treble, Bass, & Reverb controls, and a high-frequency cut switch. Forget the Swart, I'm getting the Carr Mercury! But then, I looked at the price tag--ouch! It's $800 more than the Swart! After recovering from sticker shock, I decided to try the Mesa/Boogie 5:25 Express head. I used to own a Dual Rectifier, so I wanted to try that one. Was I surprised! It sounded totally different than the Rectifier! It has 2 channels (Gain, Treble, Mid, Bass, Reverb, Master, & Contour controls for each channel), switchable from 5 watts Class A to 25 watts Class A/B, Clean/Crunch in Channel 1, and Blues/Burn on Channel 2. It sounded really, really good! It was hooked to a Mesa 2x12 cab, but I have an Avatar 2x12 cab at home which I'm not really using. I looked at the price, and it was $250 less than the Swart! So, that's the one I want! Since I was totally confused at that point, I decided to re-try them all. Now, I don't know if it's because I was there for a couple hours, or if my hearing was starting to suffer because of the loud volume, but at the end of my "trial period," they all started to sound the same. It seemed that the Swart speaker was starting to sound "tubby." I couldn't hear the reverb on the Carr anymore unless it was turned all the way up. And the Mesa sounded like, well, like a Mesa. So, which one did I bring home? None of them! I told the dealer I need the weekend to decide, and he didn't have a problem with that. He said when I picked one, he would ship it to me at no cost--isn't that great? So, now, I need your help--which amp should I get? I'm going to start a poll in another thread to see what your opinions are. See you there!
rjsanders Posted July 3, 2010 Posted July 3, 2010 TONE REPORT ...poll... (while waiting for the poll) i'm a big fan of a lot of those amps, have had a couple. based on some youVids, i'd give the Nolatone(s) another listen...very tempting - aren't they all? which Nolatone model did you try? SwartNote: usually with that i just crank the vol, set tone around 1-2 o'clock, and don't even mess with it after that...great little amp...
Jazzpunk Posted July 4, 2010 Posted July 4, 2010 I vote for the Swart simply because it is the coolest looking amp ever!
VJonathan Posted July 9, 2010 Posted July 9, 2010 The Carr Mercury 1x12 is probably the best choice. Yeah, I the know, the price tag on these babies are high, but you are investing in a piece of equipment that will last you years to come. They, like all Carr amps, are very well made You can use it for gigging and play it when the wife is sound asleep! You gotta love the 1/10 watt power setting, and full 8 watts sounds like 20 watts when cranked! I was surprised to read in your post the reverb was not strong. Of all the ones I have used, the reverb has been quite lush.
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.