Help me choose an amp!!

Nerine · September 2013

Hi.

I'm scratching my head massively about what amp to get next.

I quite like a power scaled plexi type thing. 50w minimum. But I can't seem to find anything suitable unless it's off the peg.
I also need two master volumes. But I can get a Bad Cat unleash for that type of thing.
I already have a 1987x and a JCM800 which I both really like, but I'm not sure.
I'm thinking the reamping capabilities of the Unleash, i.e. Being able to make a 30w amp, a 100w one, is maybe a key to what I'm trying to achieve.

I've currently been looking at
Dr Z antidote, Suhr Badger, etc.

But I'm worried that the 100w class D power amp in the Unleash will be nothing like a 100w rms power section in an amp.

If it did an amazing job, I could maybe go for something like the 2061x or similar.

I've had a YJM, and whilst the sound of it was incredible, it was massive, and heavy!!

Maybe a Hiwatt? Orange?

Prefer that raucous Marshall upper midrange though!!

Any thoughts??!?

ecc83 · September 2013

Series One 50 or S1 100.

I mention no name!

Oh! And the 6l6 variants thereof.

Dave.

Nerine · September 2013

I'll be honest. I can't stand Blackstars.

Cirrus · September 2013

Well, I thought you loved your JTM45 except for the volume/ headroom limitation. Wouldn't the Unleash solve that problem?

I won't ask what happened to the last amp that you professed your undying love to on guitar amp board

I'd bet the 100w solid state amp will be nothing like a valve one. But since presumably the valve power section will be compressing etc, you'll be able to get more apparent volume and bring up the RMS levels a bit without clipping the solid state power amp, unlike a simple solid state amp which gets the raw, more dynamic sound from the preamp.

ecc83 · September 2013

Nerine said:

I'll be honest. I can't stand Blackstars.

Fair enough.

Dave.

Cirrus · September 2013

Headline: Nerine is nasty to a Blackstar All star.

Jalapeno · September 2013

Try some Dr Z amps - a 50W one would be insanely loud

Not ever had my Maz 18 above half way.

photek · September 2013

I was going to say Series one 100 as well! I wont though

guitarfishbay · September 2013

I wouldn't recommend an S1 100 as they're roughly the same weight as a YJM (about 23kg) and he thought it was too heavy.

ThePrettyDamned · September 2013

I was going to recommend a series one! They're great for that kind of sound I think...
Orange rockerverb is good, as is the Jim root terror. Very Marshall midrange snarl.

photek · September 2013

guitarfishbay said:

I wouldn't recommend an S1 100 as they're roughly the same weight as a YJM (about 23kg) and he thought it was too heavy.

I find mine much lighter and easier to transport that my YJM.

Nerine · September 2013

Ok, it wasn't that the YJM was too heavy as such, but the headshell was huge and I just think it looked a bit daft.
I'd maybe consider another, but again, it has the sounds I want, which is that driven plexi tone, but loads of unnecessary faff with it too. Not to mention when I ordered it, it came to me basically destroyed when it supposed to be new, it left a bit of a sour taste.
I like the power scaling on it, and I think it produced far more gain than my cranked 1987 does, but I still need volume boosts and whatnot, that that amp couldn't provide. So I'd still have to get a footswitchable attenuator. So I might as well just get a stock 1959HW or something.

If Marshall made a 1987 or 1959 head, that had power scaling, but two selectable volume pots, with an fx loop that wasn't affected by the power section being driven hard, so Delays and Reverbs sound sweet and defined, I'd buy it in a heartbeat...

As it stands, the Unleash is the closest device I've ever come across that allows me to take pretty much any amp and turn it into something that I'm happy to and is flexible enough to gig with.

I've then got the issue of running the absolute balls off a NMV amp which is going to make the amps components and valves last maybe half as long as they otherwise would do. Could an Unleash and 1987 be run basically flat out with no maladies regularly? Maybe yes, but let's be honest, the likelihood of popping something is severely increased.
Which is why I'm looking at lower volume/ wattage alternatives, which would mean less juice going into the Unleash, putting less strain on it, and maybe using its ability to amplify a signal up to my solo volume levels.

guitarfishbay · September 2013

photek said:

guitarfishbay said:

I wouldn't recommend an S1 100 as they're roughly the same weight as a YJM (about 23kg) and he thought it was too heavy.

I find mine much lighter and easier to transport that my YJM.

Fair play, I've never had the chance to compare the two that closely. Personally I don't think either are heavy enough to put me off ownership, I'm just going off what the OP said in his first post.

PS nice GAS for owning both of those heads. I used to have an S1 104EL34 head and by far my favourite channels were crunch/super crunch. If I got another I'd probably just get the normal 100 and save the cash over the 104EL34. The only real issue I had was the weight is all at one side, which is a bit annoying but not a deal breaker to me.

photek · September 2013

guitarfishbay said:

PS nice GAS for owning both of those heads. I used to have an S1 104EL34 head and by far my favourite channels were crunch/super crunch. If I got another I'd probably just get the normal 100 and save the cash over the 104EL34. The only real issue I had was the weight is all at one side, which is a bit annoying but not a deal breaker to me.

It is irritatingly heavy at one end actually lol. I sent the YJM back as it kept breaking down

stunning amp but the lack of reliability put me off.

@Nerine I was after pretty much the same thing as you particularly the switchable master volumes. I really don't know why amp manufacturers don't provide this (@ICBM might offer an explanation) more often as I pretty much always need to put a clean boost in the FX to get lead boosts which in turn compromises the effects in that loop!

ENGL do some amps with switchable volumes but they tend to be 6L6 powered.

Edit: I got over my volume boost issue using a TC Nova System which is detailed here:
http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/comment/31977/#Comment_31977

martinw · September 2013

Nerine said:

If Marshall made a 1987 or 1959 head, that had power scaling, but two selectable volume pots, with an fx loop that wasn't affected by the power section being driven hard, so Delays and Reverbs sound sweet and defined, I'd buy it in a heartbeat...

No-one makes an effects loop like that, unless you place your effects after the power stage...

fretmeister · September 2013

Suhr Badger 30. More than loud enough, power scaling and a good fx loop. Stick a transparent boost on the loop for your second volume. Like a DOD bifet preamp or similar. Not too big and doesn't look stupid sitting on a smaller cab. I have severe gas for one myself!

ICBM · September 2013

You will probably think this is crazy, but...

Mesa Dual Rectifier - original 2-channel version.

It has the control set you want, it's not heavy for a 100W amp, and if you set it up right you would be amazed how like a Marshall it can sound.

Forget everything you think you know about it being a scooped, buzzy nu-metal amp - it *can* do that, but only if you want to. That scooped 'chug' is a lot to do with the speaker cabs too - try it through a cab with Greenbacks and it's a very different beast.

(How to set it up right - EL34s, solid-state rectifier or fit GZ34s, bold mode, modern channel cloned to vintage. Then just trust your ears

.)

ThePrettyDamned · September 2013

ICBM;42796" said:
You will probably think this is crazy, but...

Mesa Dual Rectifier - original 2-channel version.

It has the control set you want, it's not heavy for a 100W amp, and if you set it up right you would be amazed how like a Marshall it can sound.

Forget everything you think you know about it being a scooped, buzzy nu-metal amp - it *can* do that, but only if you want to. That scooped 'chug' is a lot to do with the speaker cabs too - try it through a cab with Greenbacks and it's a very different beast.

(How to set it up right - EL34s, solid-state rectifier or fit GZ34s, bold mode, modern channel cloned to vintage. Then just trust your ears .)

This is why I know a trem o verb or older dual rec is my ideal amp. I'll have the cash and the need one day

darrenp · September 2013

Have you considered a Cornford MK50 MkII?

Two channels with switchable variable gain boost on channel 2 and dual master volumes.

I got rid of a Ceriatone JTM45/100 and a JVM410H after buying mine.

Will take EL34s or 6L6s.

monkey42 · September 2013

Nerine said:

Hi.

I'm scratching my head massively about what amp to get next.

I quite like a power scaled plexi type thing. 50w minimum. But I can't seem to find anything suitable unless it's off the peg.
I also need two master volumes. But I can get a Bad Cat unleash for that type of thing.
I already have a 1987x and a JCM800 which I both really like, but I'm not sure.
I'm thinking the reamping capabilities of the Unleash, i.e. Being able to make a 30w amp, a 100w one, is maybe a key to what I'm trying to achieve.

I've currently been looking at
Dr Z antidote, Suhr Badger, etc.

But I'm worried that the 100w class D power amp in the Unleash will be nothing like a 100w rms power section in an amp.

If it did an amazing job, I could maybe go for something like the 2061x or similar.

I've had a YJM, and whilst the sound of it was incredible, it was massive, and heavy!!

Maybe a Hiwatt? Orange?

Prefer that raucous Marshall upper midrange though!!

Any thoughts??!?

If you like Marshall upper midrange then the Soldano SLO is king..although a 100w it's a manageable size

ICBM · September 2013

The SLO is a truly great amp, but it doesn't do the switchable master volume requirement.

There is the Marshall JCM900 SL-X, though...

ThePrettyDamned · September 2013

ICBM;43031" said:
The SLO is a truly great amp, but it doesn't do the switchable master volume requirement.

There is the Marshall JCM900 SL-X, though...

I remember thinking I hated all jcm900 amps, until I tried the sl-x. Absolutely fab sounding.

ecc83 · September 2013

martinw said:

Nerine said:

If Marshall made a 1987 or 1959 head, that had power scaling, but two selectable volume pots, with an fx loop that wasn't affected by the power section being driven hard, so Delays and Reverbs sound sweet and defined, I'd buy it in a heartbeat...

No-one makes an effects loop like that, unless you place your effects after the power stage...

Err? Would you care to elaborate?

All B's FX loops are IC driven* from regulated + and - supplies and so do not give a monkey's chuff what the output stage is doing.

*As indeed are MOST FX loops. We don't want to open THAT can of worms again!

Dave.

Cirrus · September 2013

I think what he means is that even if the FX loop circuits themselves are pretty transparent and free from distortion, if the power section is significantly compressing/ overdriving then the effects are still going to be pre- some of the distortion. That's just the nature of the beast in an amp which does drive the power section hard, but isn't as much of an issue in modern, high headroom/ cold biased designs.

martinw · September 2013

Thank you @Cirrus, that's exactly what I meant.

Deijavoo · September 2013

Mesa Mark V. ;-)

Nerine · September 2013

Budda Superdrive is currently piquing my interest.

digitalscream · September 2013

Cirrus said:

I think what he means is that even if the FX loop circuits themselves are pretty transparent and free from distortion, if the power section is significantly compressing/ overdriving then the effects are still going to be pre- some of the distortion. That's just the nature of the beast in an amp which does drive the power section hard, but isn't as much of an issue in modern, high headroom/ cold biased designs.

Indeed. The only way to do what he's asking would be to have two amps - the first one in the chain with all the drive on it, then a dummy load/attenuator with a line out, then the effects and then another amp (which is just for "make louder" duties and thus must be transparent).

Of course, the proper way to do it would be to have an isolation cab, then a mic, then the effects to take into account any oddities the speaker might introduce to the signal.

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