What do you want in a amp?

realtree71

I crash bikes
You want to keep it simple or do you like potentiometer overload?

Just curious I've been thinking about adding something to the lineup....

I've currently been selling a few 18 watters and a couple Vibro-Champs. I was thinking about adding a 45 watt Marshall style.....

It's still just a hobby for me not quitting the day job just yet.....

I'm just curious what peeps are wanting these days....
 
I want loud enough for the stage with a clean that takes pedals well. That's it. My main amp is an Allen Encore 2x10. I would like a Dr. Z. Maz Jr, but that's not in the cards right now. On bass, I play a Markbass Little Mark II head into a GK NEO 115 III cabinet.
 
Simple. Single channel is fine. I have a Mesa DC-3 with a nice lead channel and EQ but I almost always use pedals into the clean channel. I rarely use the drive channel on my Peavey Classic even though it's damn good at the slight-breakup thing.

I want a presence control. I get frustrated with amps that don't have this and they get sold.

These days, I prefer a small head that can sit on a 1x12 cabinet. If it has to be a combo, I want 2 or more 10" speakers.

EL84 power tubes always seem to have something special that I like.

I need it to be loud enough to get over a drummer while staying clean. That can be hard to do with EL84s. Beyond that, I'll mic it into the PA.
 
2 channels. Clean and overdrive. Massive low end in both. 3 band eq for each channel. 1x12" combo. Maybe 2x12. EL34 tubes. Or really anything but EL84s. 30-50 watts.
I'm seriously considering an Orange Rockerverb 50 lately.

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Dynamics x 1000

I want to be able to go from whisper to roar without having to play with knobs or pedals. And I love that point where you can dance with that line between clean and break-up distortion with your picking, not (once again) with having to bother with knobs or pedals.

That, and I want to hear acoustic properties, too. And some reverb.

Basically, I'm just describing a Princeton or Deluxe Reverb, or a great descendant thereof.
 
I like simple. Volume and tone. Maybe a switch to make the bottom fuller for strat use. I like amps to be middy. EL84 and EL34 seems to float my boat way more than 6L6's and 6V6. London power scaling would be great as well. Everything should have the power scaling these days. I love 45 watters, but dang they are just too loud to use. I can't get my 18watt into the sweet spot without blowing the doors off. I think something along the lines of a Germino Masonette would be ideal instead of the 45.
 
Very simple. Volume and tone is all I need. I like it to stay pretty clean just the verge of crunch that a pedal can push over the cliff. I favor 6l6 and 6v6 tubes.


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  • 15-22 watt AB, 1 channel with plenty of luscious, sparkly clean headroom, very touch dynamic
  • bass and treble EQ will do
  • 12" speaker
  • sweet reverb
  • master volume (I know)

So what I've described would be a Fender '68 Custom Deluxe Reverb 1x12 or Dr. Z MAZ 18 Jr 1x12.
 
I just sold my main amp that I have had for 3+ years and used the money to buy 2 amps.

fuchs viper - wanted a 2 channel amp with a really good clean channel that could do bluesy and classic rock when pushed. And also an aggressive gain channel for hard rock and singing leads.

hovercraft dwarvenaut 20 - wanted a sludgy, loose, thick, fuzzy type of stoner rock / doom sound


I figure between these 2 amps I can cover just about all the ground I would ever need.
 
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For me it's a single channel amp that takes pedals well and can be heard on stage but also has power scaling like my Badger 30.
 
30-odd watts, half power switch. I'd really like to see an amp with a bright and a deep switch, but an adjustable mid knob. Onboard trem makes me very happy. Combo, 1x12. Cross between a Vox and a Brownface.
 
One channel - killer cleans that chime. Love the EL84 sound. Lower wattage (I play a 15 watt amp). Gotta take pedals well. I have a Gretsch Playboy and it is a keeper. It's all that I just described.

The other guitar player in the band plays a SF Fender Musicmaster Bass Amp. Sounds killer and is another simple low watt amp.
 
I want something simple with a nice Blackface-ish clean but can do balls-to-the-wall gain at the same time.

One of these days I'm going to build said amp, but I'm also going to keep it nice and simple as far as the actual signal path goes. I'd actually have two separate preamp paths that don't share any parts until the phase inverter. The clean side would probably look like the preamp section out of an AB763 Twin/Dual Showman and the dirty side would look like the preamp out of a 12xxx series Marshall 1959. I'd load it with a quad of 6CA7s and just run the thing balls out loud.

Of course this is a pipe dream, but... Hey. :)
 
How bout bastardizing a trainwreck a little..(nothing is sacred). Maybe a Express a little, it's got presence already, maybe lets add reverb, how bout a 1/2 power function....... Would a master volume or an atinuater be cool?...

Head or combo.....
 
Some other stuff worth talking about: spring reverbs, tremolos, and effect loops.

I can live without on-board reverb, especially if the amp has an effects loop. Honestly, compared to a good reverb pedal, spring reverb tanks seem too fragile. I know some guys just have to have that sound, though.

I feel kind of the same way about tremolo/vibrato. It's fun if it's on there but it's more parts that can fail and I can get it in more tweakable form with a pedal. Seems most amp companies include it for "vintage correctness" more than anything.
 
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