Help! Amp recommendation?

I think I realized after all this looking that I really just want an Allen Sweet Spot combo with the 12" speaker. I could use that amp for everything i would ever want to play for the rest of my life, and so what if it costs $1,600? I need to bite the bullet and just buy a lifetime amp straight from the dude who handmakes them. Right? RIGHT???
 
Cheese Grits said:
I think I realized after all this looking that I really just want an Allen Sweet Spot combo with the 12" speaker. I could use that amp for everything i would ever want to play for the rest of my life, and so what if it costs $1,600? I need to bite the bullet and just buy a lifetime amp straight from the dude who handmakes them. Right? RIGHT???
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Yes. Buy what you really want, and then spend your time making music and enjoying it instead of shopping for equipment.
 
Cheese Grits said:
I think I realized after all this looking that I really just want an Allen Sweet Spot combo with the 12" speaker. I could use that amp for everything i would ever want to play for the rest of my life, and so what if it costs $1,600? I need to bite the bullet and just buy a lifetime amp straight from the dude who handmakes them. Right? RIGHT???
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I should have bit the bullet years ago and just bought an Allen Accomplice.
 
Cheese Grits said:
If you get an irate phone call from a woman named Kelly, thanks in advance for running interference!
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Sure thing. Happy to help. I'm accustomed to being portrayed as the "bad guy" as part of my job.

BTW, if you amortize the cost of the amp over the lifetime of use, she'll see that it makes good fiscal sense. Over 10 years, it's only about $0.44 per day. You can't buy one yogurt per day for that.
 
Now that I'm not on the phone, here's a longer answer.

In 2007 I called David Allen, based solely on recommendations from HC, to build an amp. It was a huge leap of faith, but I did it anyway. I initially wanted the Sweet Spot because of its size. But after talking with David about my goals for the amp, he basically built half a Super Reverb. My amp will stay as clean as you want for about as long as you want. It's a little stiff when it crunches up, but he warned me that happens with this amp and the 40 watt transformer. The lower wattage options sound looser, which is really what David likes. I really wanted the tremolo, the tone knob on the reverb, and the secondary Raw knob, which left me at the Encore.

Now if you're ok with the combo mid/raw knob on the Sweet Spot, then go for it. As @Wyatt will tell you, there's really no reason to have both a mids and a raw control. Combining them achieves the same effect. But I didn't think of it that way when I bought the amp. If you don't want tremolo, the Accomplice is probably the right amp for you. But I think you'd be making a mistake as David's tremolo is deeper than just about any Fender trem you've ever heard. As for the tone knob on the reverb, I think it's essential. Even more than a dwell control. It has a huge range and can go from ultra surfy to an almost room-like reverb.

Overall, I can't say enough good things about my amp. Yes, I do want a Dr. Z Maz 18. But that's just GAS. I don't need one. If you like the Fender thing, I can't recommend David's work highly enough.
 
Help!I'maRock! said:
Now that I'm not on the phone, here's a longer answer.

In 2007 I called David Allen, based solely on recommendations from HC, to build an amp. It was a huge leap of faith, but I did it anyway. I initially wanted the Sweet Spot because of its size. But after talking with David about my goals for the amp, he basically built half a Super Reverb. My amp will stay as clean as you want for about as long as you want. It's a little stiff when it crunches up, but he warned me that happens with this amp and the 40 watt transformer. The lower wattage options sound looser, which is really what David likes. I really wanted the tremolo, the tone knob on the reverb, and the secondary Raw knob, which left me at the Encore.

Now if you're ok with the combo mid/raw knob on the Sweet Spot, then go for it. As @Wyatt will tell you, there's really no reason to have both a mids and a raw control. Combining them achieves the same effect. But I didn't think of it that way when I bought the amp. If you don't want tremolo, the Accomplice is probably the right amp for you. But I think you'd be making a mistake as David's tremolo is deeper than just about any Fender trem you've ever heard. As for the tone knob on the reverb, I think it's essential. Even more than a dwell control. It has a huge range and can go from ultra surfy to an almost room-like reverb.

Overall, I can't say enough good things about my amp. Yes, I do want a Dr. Z Maz 18. But that's just GAS. I don't need one. If you like the Fender thing, I can't recommend David's work highly enough.
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Well... that makes my path forward clearer. I'm going to sell off some gear that is collecting dust, call Dave, and have him build me an amp. This will be AWESOME fun!
 
I almost bought a Sweet Spot kit. I spoke with David when I bought some components. He's a nice fella.

This weekend there are a lot of good labor day deals on Reverb ... I've been looking at some PRRI that I could have waited to snag in the $700 range.
 
Sneak peak
2bfc4bb9c4a71ff5450718ac6a05b6f1.jpg
 
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