What is the best amp you've ever played?

mburekenge · September 2023

ICBM said:

CloudNine said:

mburekenge said:

First time I plugged a tele into my Victoria 5112 with volume at about 3. Just so much fun.

I had a very similar experience. Tele plugged straight in, and it almost didn’t feel like a thing plugged in any more, like no electricity was involved, more like an acoustic guitar or something. Amazing amps. I was always planning to get another, but eventually found myself with a Lazy J 10, which gave me a very similar sort of enjoyment, with added bonus of some reverb/trem when needed, and a bit more volume.

I also had a Lazy J 5, with reverb etc., and it was NOTHING compared to the Victoria. The combo of that circuit, larger pine cab, with 12” speaker is total magic.

I would recommend everyone should own a Viccy 5112, it might be all you ever need.

I would agree, even though it’s pretty much the opposite of the Trem-o-verb. Incredibly transparent and responsive to the guitar and the player - really very different from a standard 8” speaker 5F1, where the speaker tone dominates everything. It’s also astoundingly loud for 5W - my friend’s one would just about keep up with a medium-loud drummer and my 450W bass amp… but only overdriven, the one flaw was that there was nowhere to go with the guitar volume, backing off slightly to clean up made it disappear.

Yes! I usually have it in a two amp rig.

paulmapp8306 · September 2023

Really hard....

the best RIG I played was a 1960s AC30 (that wasnt mine) with a Messa V-Twin pedal in front (which was mine). Just instantly great at everything.

As a single amp.... probably a Maz 18.

rockmonster · September 2023

Best rigs I’ve played? Mmmmm.
The best amps I’ve played and owned.
In no particular order.
Cornford MK50 mk1
Friedman Butterslax
Mezzabarba Trinity
Matchless Independence
Marshall (Gower modded) JVM 410H
(I still own the Gower and the Trinity)
Amps that came very close:

Custom Audio Amplifiers PT100 (I had two of them)
EVH 100 5150 III (I’ve had at least 4 of them)
Bogner Ecstacy 20th Anniversary - better than the 101b.(IMHO)
Early Marshall JCM 800 100MV (previously owned by Mike Oldfield-should have kept that!
Marshall jmp50 2x12 combo (didn’t realise a great thing when they were new back in the day!!)

Power_Freak · September 2023

"The ones that got away" for me was a vintage gibson eh185 and a DrZ Maserati (the original version which was basically a bigger Ghia, not the later gainier ones) - couldn't afford them at the time, but they were both absolutely killer.

Penn · September 2023

The first amp I had was one of these. By comparison to not having an amp it was the best amp I had ever played.

In hindsight it was sh*t

ICBM · September 2023

Penn said:

The first amp I had was one of these. By comparison to not having an amp it was the best amp I had ever played.

In hindsight it was sh*t

But I can see you've got it set right

.

Maybe could do with a little less mid...

Penn · September 2023

ICBM said:

Penn said:

The first amp I had was one of these. By comparison to not having an amp it was the best amp I had ever played.

In hindsight it was sh*t

But I can see you've got it set right .

Maybe could do with a little less mid...

Thankfully I stole the photo from the internet. Mine is long gone.

It came with an Encore guitar. Calling it a guitar might be a bit strong though. It was more like some wood, plastic and metal screwed together in a shape vaguely like a guitar.

My brother had an awful Soundcity SC30 combo he used for bass. We used to call it the SoundsSh*ty.

ICBM · September 2023

Penn said:

My brother had an awful Soundcity SC30 combo he used for bass. We used to call it the SoundsSh*ty.

Everyone used to call them that

.

They have a little historical curiosity value now because they were made in East Germany. The amp section is actually very well made and they very rarely fail - the speaker isn’t so good, and the cabinet is poor.

sw67 · September 2023

Picked up a 74 Twin Reverb last year for £50 that is the same year as one i sold in the 80s. Sounds great in the house and gets to the odd gig where i can park at the door. Pic from last night -

GoFish · September 2023

@sw67 ; - Tell me more about this witchcraft - £50 vintage Twins?

Lovely Guitar as well, while I'm here.

sw67 · September 2023

GoFish said:

@sw67 ; - Tell me more about this witchcraft - £50 vintage Twins?

Lovely Guitar as well, while I'm here.

Cheers - story here.https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/231210/fender-twin-reverb/p1

Th4fonz · September 2023

Personally there isn’t a best amp for me. But my toneking imperial is fantastic so are the bartel amps I’ve tried. Plus vintage fender deluxes twins and super reverbs I’ve played. The Cornell Romany were nice little amps also.

Stevepage · September 2023

It's a battle between these two set ups

I'm very very happy with the Powerball.

I would've said the Mesa Mark IV but I didn't like the clean or crunch tones. But the lead tone was just amazing, definitely the best. But the Powerball is the best all round for me. JSX comes very close

Boromedic · September 2023

The Genz Benz Black Pearl 2*12 is hard to beat for amazing AC tones on a budget. Better built than the majority of amps and my god it was glorious when it was on edge of breakup. Decent cleans and some other tones in there. I'm always sorely tempted when they come up for sale but it's a valve nightmare!!

Suhr PT15IR, all classic Marshall and Bella cleans in a fantastic usable package.

Jury is out on my latest acquisition, but a future trip to Rift will sort it out I'm sure

DrJazzTap · September 2023

Matchless DC30 it was mind blowing. Had to walk away quickly I cannot justify or afford a £3.5k head.

Tex Mexico · September 2023

For me - and this might just be a rose-tinted specs thing - it was a hand-wired 36w el84 head by EVA paired with a TV-front Ulbrick 2x12 cab with Celestion G12T75s in.

Got rid of it for a stupidly low price during a break from bands and when I was buying a house, and I regret it because I don't remember it ever sounding less than great. It was my ideal classic rock tone, it loved Teles and Les Pauls and ate whatever pedals you put in front of it for dinner.

I'd rebuy the exact halfstack right now if those items weren't basically impossible to find, but failing that I'm trying to build a rig that sounds even better than I remember it.

sm55onl · September 2023

Stephenson Stage Hog (version 3 ?) into a THD 2x12 cab (both Celestions).
Only played electrically while noodling at home but the variety of sounds and ‘boom’ were brillyint !

Lebarque · September 2023

Lazy J20. Still got it.

jeromegreenday · September 2023

Mesa tremo-verb
Fender custom shop Vibroking
Clean channel on a marshall 30th anniversary
My Danplifier AC15

Jimbro66 · September 2023

ICBM said:

Mesa Trem-o-verb.

The Trem-o-Verb was the nicest sounding amp I've ever used but it was a brief romance. Having not long previously parted with a Burman Pro 2000 the last thing I needed was another amp made of Osmium. My back deserved better. Nevertheless, it was sad to see the Tremo-o-Verb go.

For gigging and manageable weight my blackface 4x10 Super Reverb was just about perfect.

My current fave pairing is a Gretsch through a 1963 brownface Tremolux. Sweet.

Winny_Pooh · September 2023

Jimbro66 said:

ICBM said:

Mesa Trem-o-verb.

The Trem-o-Verb was the nicest sounding amp I've ever used but it was a brief romance. Having not long previously parted with a Burman Pro 2000 the last thing I needed was another amp made of Osmium. My back deserved better. Nevertheless, it was sad to see the Tremo-o-Verb go.

For gigging and manageable weight my blackface 4x10 Super Reverb was just about perfect.

My current fave pairing is a Gretsch through a 1963 brownface Tremolux. Sweet.

Tasty....pics!

fretfinder · September 2023

Lebarque said:

Lazy J20. Still got it.

I’m on my sixth Lazy J20. Each of them has at one time been the best amp I’ve ever played. Then along came Bartel, the best amps I’ve ever played for sure. Although having said that, I’ve sold both of the Bartels and I still have a J20, go figure!

Paul_C · September 2023

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liftman · October 2023

Emprize Helmsley, Fender Bandmaster '57 , drip-edge Pro Reverb.

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What is the best amp you've ever played?

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