gpuma Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Why don't you come to the Chicago Muster to try some amps here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barrymclark Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 What I have isn't so much GAS in the greater sense... but I have always wanted a great, modern-vintage (?) type of amp. The Swart really, really got my attention. While trying to figure out how I am gonna come up with the bills for that sort of acquisition... something came up that would easily work in the same vein. Late 50's/Early 60's GIbson GA-20T Ranger. It needs a complete rebuild. I am wrapping it up in a new Tweed (I am thinking black) and giving it a Salt & Pepper type grill cloth although it might not exactly be that old Marshall type. Just that sort of weaving of two colors. The face of the chassis is jacked so, outside of cleaning it up... I am thinking of giving it a Plexi overlay. I just gotta find a way to replicate the artwork. The actual working guts... that has yet to be determined. The speaker... I am leaning very hard to a Celestion Gold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blunote Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Bluenote: Those sound just marvelous, but, again, too much box. I'm looking for a smaller package, and I don't need anywhere near 100W. Pull 2 EL-34s and you've got a 50 watt amp. I promise you'll build up some really manly biceps lugging it to gigs too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockabilly69 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Rob, I think you need to re-audition a TopHat Club Royale it should have enough clean volume, and if it doesn't, try the Super Deluxe with EL34's. I know these amps are rated at low wattage points, but they are suprisingly loud and if you pick the right efficient speaker I think they will get you there! I personally do not think there is a better low volume Marshall style amp. And if you have the coin try a Supreme 16 on for size! The EF86 channel on that amp will blow your mind! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
212Mavguy Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 Well...this is fun. Thanks for the replies and info, fellas. I'll chase all of it, online, to start. I threw this out more to pull a little focus than for any other reason. John knows me too well: "Do you really know what you want?" Clearly not, which is why I started this. I am contemplating a new piece, but don't know what I want. That's a bad place to be when one's tempted to open up the wallet. Daniel, as always, is on it. I love Top Hat amps! Often regret getting rid of the one I had, but what I want is a 30W +/- head. Getting lazy in my old age (and with a fickle back) and much prefer two or three easy strolls to the car over wrestling even a 45lb. combo...let alone a 4x12, or even a 2x12 cab. Been there; done that. The Mesa is a nice package, and I like the cleans, but I never liked their driven tone. Too..."inorganic" ("inorganic" is awfully subjective, I know. It's a quality I find in spades in Top Hat amps). Watched the whole Carvin demo. Just too much box. And Lyle, yes, "...ting a ling." John, what I was referencing with the Plexi-Dumble, I should have clarified. I love the big, punchy, tight cleans of the Marshall, but I also want to have access to the heavy, round, smooth sustain of the Dumble. Listen to any Doyle Bramhall II, and you'll hear him go back and forth with exactly what I'm talking about. But...I don't want to peel paint. Brian...hilarious...or maybe just prescient. I've done exactly what you suggest, and to good effect, but the amps, pedals, and a-b-y, all the power cords, cables, and plugging are kind of a pain. And it's amazing how little room I usually have for my "footprint." So thanks again, boys! Donning my jodhpurs and pith helmet, to return to the quest.... I'll keep you posted. I have a 50watt Marsh Overlord, has normal and FET inputs, lift negative feedback mod, half power switch. It will do exactly what you are looking for, widest tone palette of any amp head I've owned or heard. Not cheap, but nice iron, parts and build quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSquared Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Has anyone used or demo-ed an amp called Budotone? I think I heard Greg Koch play one and it sounded out of this world good. Not sure of the companies selection of amps and wattage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoslate Posted February 23, 2015 Author Share Posted February 23, 2015 Has anyone used or demo-ed an amp called Budotone? I think I heard Greg Koch play one and it sounded out of this world good. Not sure of the companies selection of amps and wattage? My friend, Ken Jones, builds the cabinets for Bludotone...then ships them to Colorado for the guts.... So I've never had the opportunity to drive one. But they are, by all accounts, fabulous. Jon Herrington is a user, and I understand Larry Carlton now uses one, in lieu of his Dumble. "It," if that's where your taste lies. And not cheap! Think they start at around $4K.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikenov Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I am a firm believer that less is more when it comes to tube amp wattage. My Orange Rocker 30 can do some great crunch and clean up with the volume but think even 30 watts may be too much. If you are going to be that loud, you can always let the Pa do the heavy lifting for you and your friends on stage will thank you for laying off the stage volume. Just my take on it. I am a huge fan of the older Hughes and Kettner stuff. The older Tube 20 has a red box out that makes hauling to gigs a breeze and getting the volume from the board rather than a month rig. Just something to think about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuz Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 I am a firm believer that less is more when it comes to tube amp wattage. My Orange Rocker 30 can do some great crunch and clean up with the volume but think even 30 watts may be too much. If you are going to be that loud, you can always let the Pa do the heavy lifting for you and your friends on stage will thank you for laying off the stage volume. Just my take on it. I am a huge fan of the older Hughes and Kettner stuff. The older Tube 20 has a red box out that makes hauling to gigs a breeze and getting the volume from the board rather than a month rig. Just something to think about. Great points Mike. Since the evolution of the modern PA and a microphone, as long as you can monitor yourself on stage from the amps volume 20-40watts is PLENTY. Now the problem becomes trusting the sound guy for where you lay in the mix.... Don't get me started on that.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoslate Posted February 24, 2015 Author Share Posted February 24, 2015 Wow.... Can't belive this thread is still breathing. And I've read every word of it. A bunch of great and worthy, well thought out recommendations. But my choice will be necessarily narrowed by the parameters I've set for myself as I've considered this, as well as limitations that are circumstantial. Right now, it looks like it may very well be the Suhr Badger 30 head. "Only" thirty watts, not large, just a head, and it has power scaling. I'll do as Rich suggests, and drive to Durham for a test drive...as soon as we quit having snow, sleet, and temps in the teens, all of which we've been doing in various combinations for well over a week. Yeah, I know, compared to the upper Midwest and the Northeast, we have nothing. But what you guys don't have are the total freakout morons who lose all semblance of common sense at the mere mention of the word snow. I have driven through everything, everywhere, but nothing scares me like the prospect of getting out of my own driveway, here in North Carolina, with a half-inch of snow on the ground. Oh, and Mike and John, you wouldn't believe how many venues use the PA for only vocals. We rarely play a venue wherein everything is mic'd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockabilly69 Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 I've heard a Suhr Badger and liked what I heard. It would be great if you can bring your fave cabinets along for the ride. I really think the efficiency of the speakers that sound well with the amp will come into play on whether the amp will work at the right volume level for you. Also,) Reeves makes some Marshally sounding amps (although SS rectifier, beautiful Turret Board construction), that may fit your bill and would be in the same price range as the Suhr. http://www.reevesamps.com/custom30.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TalismanRich Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 ..as soon as we quit having snow, sleet, and temps in the teens, all of which we've been doing in various combinations for well over a week. I feel your pain. I left the balmy climate of Kentucky (10inches last week and -15 a couple of mornings) to the sunny warm climate of South Carolina ( predicting anywhere from 1 to 6 inches of snow Wed night). I'll try to send a few clouds your way! I'm hoping to stop by Deluxe Guitar Exchange Friday. Larry has some /13, Greer, ToneKing and Badcatand then will hit the Spartanburg Guitar show on Saturday. Cross your fingers that Saturday is a clear day for the 6 hour drive home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoslate Posted February 25, 2015 Author Share Posted February 25, 2015 Daniel, I think we hear a lot of the same things, and I'm way with you on the Top Hat recommendation. I don't live all that far from where they're made, but have you tried to find a dealer with anything in stock, lately?! Suppsed to be a new boutique shop opening twenty miles up the road in April or May, and the guy said he'd be a dealer, and has several pieces in a warehouse, as we speak, but that was as close as I could get. Plus, their heads are pretty high power and have no power scaling. The Reeves sounded great, but also pricey. I'm still thinking. Thanks again everybody. Rich, fingers are crossed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockabilly69 Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Daniel, I think we hear a lot of the same things, and I'm way with you on the Top Hat recommendation. I don't live all that far from where they're made, but have you tried to find a dealer with anything in stock, lately?! Suppsed to be a new boutique shop opening twenty miles up the road in April or May, and the guy said he'd be a dealer, and has several pieces in a warehouse, as we speak, but that was as close as I could get. Plus, their heads are pretty high power and have no power scaling. The Reeves sounded great, but also pricey. I'm still thinking. Thanks again everybody. Rich, fingers are crossed. Rob you could also look at the surprisingly good sounding VOX AC15HW1 which is another amp that has good good clean tones and GREAT British crunch. They will easilly keep up at club volume but also sound good at moderate levels. I just found an unbelievable tone in mine from an unorthodox turn of the tone knobs. I'll be posting clips of mine in a few days, make sure to check them out, I guarantee you'll be suprised at what you hear. And I'm going to post some with my H150 for the Heritage guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikenov Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Yo slate, I believe it but hats off for playing a venue with their own sound! I haul my own basically every time with the rare exception. Can't go wrong with the suhr and I think 30 watts is probably right then. It's just a shame bc I love my orange but the sweet spot I pretty far north of the volume small venues can tolerate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoslate Posted March 9, 2015 Author Share Posted March 9, 2015 So...it's done, with thanks again to all of you for the input! This entire escapade was really fun. The give and take and all of the info have added a lot to my amp "world view." The bulk of my post here is the text of a post I sent to Daniel (rockabilly69), with whom I've gone back and forth on a number of issues, including this one, with me always coming out wiser than I was. So happens I crossed paths with an old friend a week ago. He's been working at a music store, one of the last mom-and-pop's (albeit a longstanding one) around. Some of the guys in there are branching off into a new boutique shop, which is to open in a couple of months. The boutique shop's brick and mortar is being re-furbed, so all of their inventory is in the basement of the mother ship. Met Buddha, went for coffee, then back and into the basement. Just mountains of unopened boxes, to the ceiling, Bogner, EVH, Fender, Dr. Z, Aguilar...and Top Hat. We had to un-box everything we looked at. It was gearhead Christmas. I apologized profusely for the inconvenience, but Buddha said, "No, this is great..." they needed to get into the boxes so everybody could begin to get a handle on all the gear. I had the Nash Strat and Paul, and my pedals. We just opened boxes and plugged stuff in. Was down there for nearly four hours. The two owners and their IT guy wound up coming down and hanging out. Just terrific guys, very savvy and with absolutely the right approach to all of this. They seemed very interested in picking my brain, but I suspect they already knew what I would say about gear, space, customer service, ambience, all of it. Very dialed in cats! Long story short, I test drove a lot of great stuff, most of which I had no use for. Then...at the bottom, against the back wall, we unearthed a Top Hat Super Deluxe MkII (EL 34's). Buddha didn't even know it was there. Saw a Greg V. demo of that amp about four years ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKjA276LcDk Been on my radar ever since. Plugged up the Paul, got into the neighborhood with the knobs, then had a spank. One of those times wherein you fall into the piece immediately. I just wanked for about two minutes, stopped, then Buddha and I looked at each other and just laughed. That was it...just shook our heads and laughed. I handed the Paul to Buddha...same thing. He played some power chords, hit a couple of licks, stopped...and we just laughed. I looked at him and said, "Sold." That was last Thursday. I've rehearsed with it twice. Still a lot to tweak, but what a box! Just what I've been looking for: Tight bottom, grunt and punch, percussive mids, singing high end, no Gillette frequencies, responsive and touch sensitive, I can squeeze musical feedback out of it, cleans up like porcelain with just the guitar, and the build is military spec all the way. It's a honey dripper with the Nash Paul and the Throbaks! What a piece! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schundog Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Hey, congratulations, Rob! I'd love to hear you play through it. Hopefully, our paths will cross again, one day. Enjoy that new top end amp; you deserve it, my friend!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanschoyck Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Congratulations on the new amp. You'll sound great with it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockabilly69 Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 As I replied to Rob in our email "OUTSTANDING"! With Rob's ear for tone, I'm sure he's going to wangle some serious tone out of this amp! It's amazing how TopHat amps react to touch, and with Rob wanting to get some clean "Marshall Style" style tone, all he will have to do is lighten his touch and it's right there, until he digs in, and then all hell breaks loose. I am so waiting to here some Rob clips with this one. And then just a few months from now Rob will be coming to my town where we we will, hang, drink, and hopefully play some guitars! Congrats!!! I remember how early in this thread Kuz was stating the the Dumble sound was quite different then a Marshall sound, which actually he's right, but in this amp, you can get a Dumble like slide guitar tone, and then quickly dial up Marshall crunch, (Greg V does exactly that in this video) and if I recall correctly, that was what Rob was looking for, so much, that I kept on pestering him:) I'll buy Rob a beer when he gets here for putting up with my constant badgering. But if there are any two guys in this forum that have more similar taste in gear than Rob and I, I would be very surprised. Check out the clip here where Greg V starts getting the amp in the zone around the 6 minute mark, and then the Dumble like slide tone around the 6:40 mark, and then 7:34 when he gets the Marshall/Hiwatt crunch going. I guarantee you these amps have to me felt to be appreciated! In the video the amp was close mic'ed so I don't they were catching all the tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Nice amp snatch, Rob. Top Hat's are top shelf rigs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffB Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Congrats, have fun with that. The vid sounded great. Cool amp! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoslate Posted March 9, 2015 Author Share Posted March 9, 2015 Hilarious! Just had an e-mail from the "boss" at the place where I bought the amp. We'd been going back and forth a bit. He said he's going to keep one of the Super Deluxes he has on order. I apparently sold an amp to the guy who sold me the amp.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOGBOY Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Sounds great Rob, congrats and enjoy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuz Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 I think you made a mistake... You should have bought that solid state Peavy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuz Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Did you get a head version or a combo? If a combo does it have a G12H30? I love that speaker and have them in my brownface Vibrolux and brownface deluxe amps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.