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Robert
August 8th, 2006, 03:40 PM
What is the best sounding amp you ever played in your life?

Me, I am not sure. I guess it would be the Vox AC30 Collector's Edition. Man, that was some oomph in that aamph!

Edit: I forgot to mention the Dr. Z Maz 18 Jr I played in Portland, OR. It was stunning. Fantastic clean tone, and it was also possible to get soaring overdrive tones at low volume.

Tone2TheBone
August 8th, 2006, 03:48 PM
I'm too biased to answer this question cause it will always be the same answer. Good post though. :)

Cranium
August 8th, 2006, 05:03 PM
The best I heard was the DR.Z amp (all the models sounded nice) but I haven't really played many expensive amps, I like the expensive Marshall amps :D, by the way Robert I sent you a private messege please check it.

Tone2TheBone
August 8th, 2006, 05:08 PM
Cranium - I just listened to the Carmen Ghia amp from a link off their website. Simple amp with volume and "tone" knob but the tone knob functions as a full range dial in and not like a standard tone knob. I think Robert should post that link and I think he should get one of those. :)

Cranium
August 8th, 2006, 05:24 PM
If I had $1000's to spend on an amp I would probably get a DR.Z, the mini z 5 watt amp with only 1 volume knob reminds of old "south rock" sound, whatever that means... ;)

el_goodo_maximo
August 8th, 2006, 05:30 PM
Fargen MiniPlex... all I can say is that amp is a work of art. And does some amazing marshall plexi sounds, but is much cleaner (at 8-12 watts it should be) than a plexi.

TS808
August 8th, 2006, 05:36 PM
A good little amp that produces some awesome tones with a strat is the Hughes and Kettner Edition Tube 20. I got one around the same time as my Valvetronix. The Valvetronix believe it or not, can almost mimic the H & K....probably if I A/B'd them it would be hard to tell the difference. The H & K though is more dynamic than the Vox, but the Vox comes pretty close to emulating a good tube tone.

Nelskie
August 8th, 2006, 05:51 PM
I'm too biased to answer this question cause it will always be the same answer
Umm . . . OK. And just so you know, I'm too curious to ask what it is. :D

As for the best sounding amp I've ever played - 2005 Marshall 1974X combo. I demo'ed an Epi P-90 Goldtop through one a few months ago, and I gotta' say that it was all there - as in the total package. Clean. Dirty. You name it - it all sounded fabulous. Big, thick, fat, juicy tube tone that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand straight on end. It was so good, you cold almost smell the tone from that amp. Whoa!

Spudman
August 8th, 2006, 06:34 PM
Fender Vintage 59 reissue amp. It just had that touch. What ever you did came out sounding like it was magic.

Robert
August 8th, 2006, 07:49 PM
Spudman, are you talking about a '59 Bassman Reissue?

SuperSwede
August 9th, 2006, 01:37 AM
Fender Blues Jr.. amazing sound!
I have played on a bluesbreaker combo once and let me tell you that it was #€%&//"/#&%€"! insanely great :D

Tone, we all know its that jubilee thing of yours :R

Tone2TheBone
August 9th, 2006, 08:47 AM
Fender Blues Jr.. amazing sound!
I have played on a bluesbreaker combo once and let me tell you that it was #€%&//"/#&%€"! insanely great :D

Tone, we all know its that jubilee thing of yours :R

SS - :D

Nel - http://youtube.com/watch?v=qvr-MEnARsE

Spudman
August 9th, 2006, 10:16 AM
Spudman, are you talking about a '59 Bassman Reissue?
Yessiree. I sure am.

SuperSwede
August 9th, 2006, 10:19 AM
Sweet! sounds alright, doesnt it? :)
So Toneman are you on a new marshall shopping quest?

Tone2TheBone
August 9th, 2006, 10:33 AM
Sweet! sounds alright, doesnt it? :)
So Toneman are you on a new marshall shopping quest?

I got all the Marshall I'll ever need my friend.

Nelskie
August 9th, 2006, 11:05 AM
Nel - http://youtube.com/watch?v=qvr-MEnARsE
Thanks for the cool clip links, Tone. Unfortunately, the audio fidelity leaves a lot to be desired as far as to how this amp actually sounds. I think the guy even mentions that he's using a PRS (22-?) guitar, which I think might disguise some of the more agressive OD timbres that are this amp's calling card. Must be those dreamy dove inlays . . . :D Anyways, the 1974X lined-up through a decent Les Paul is about as close to my personal "grail tone" as it gets.

Sadly, at $2,300 bones - it's waaaaaayyyy out of my league. :( Thankfully, my PODxt has a nice 18W Marshall sim - sounds good, too. :)

SuperSwede
August 9th, 2006, 11:09 AM
Thankfully, my PODxt has a nice 18W Marshall sim - sounds good, too. :)

Thats why amp sims are so great, you can get really close to those sought after amps... without selling all guitars in the 1959 wing of your house.

Nelskie
August 9th, 2006, 11:21 AM
Thats why amp sims are so great, you can get really close to those sought after amps... without selling all guitars in the 1959 wing of your house.
No doubt SS - what would life be w/o amp modeling? Pretty durn dull, if you ask me!

abraxas
August 29th, 2006, 03:03 PM
For me it would be my Univalve, the most "musical" amp I've ever played... :R

I also played on a Divided by 13 last week and it absolutely blew me away... astonishing sound! :eek:

Katastrophe
August 29th, 2006, 03:26 PM
The two coolest sounding amphs I've played on recently was a Crate 50W all tuber with some effects on board, and the Valve Jr. combo. Very tasty tones, warm, and affordable for both amphs.

If I could recreate my most favorite tone, however, it would be my old MIDI rig:

ADA MP1 preamp - distortion and cleans aplenty, and a thick chorus, too!
ART T2 effects preamp - capable of very versatile toneage and effects.
Rocktron HUSH IICX - The gold standard of noise gates for its time.
MosValve power amp - Not a tube in sight, but very clean.
Marshall 4X12 cabinet - big, heavy and bad!

The cool thing is, though, you don't have to spend a fortune on all that stuff. Look at modelers from Line 6, Digitech and Zoom, grab an appropriate clean sounding amph and get to the screaming solos!

t_ross33
August 29th, 2006, 03:31 PM
I haven't had many chances to play with other amps/cabs, but I'm still drooling over the Messa Triple Rectifier (this may be the only topic I haven't posted that under :D ).

Luckily I was able to dial in a pretty good approximation on my RP-80. I have an almost clean tone that breaks up nicely with a little harder attack and a dreamy harmonic-rich distortion with a little slap-back that just kicks when I dig in! :R

Had to crank the bass on my amp up to about 8 to really feel the punch (without being boomy), but it's about as good as it gets for me right now.

My other much used amp sim settings include a Fender deluxe reverb; 59 bassman; Vox AC30 top boost; Marshall 1/2 stack; and Marshall Stack. I can be as clean or dirty as I wanna be!

Some day I'll try out the "real" thing and see how close I actually come to those great tones. (I'm guessing not very - but that's likely more due to the player).

Jimi75
August 30th, 2006, 01:18 AM
Marshall's all new "Super 100 Jimi Hendrix Limited Edition" ( 600pcs worldwide ).

I played this baby last weekend and it was unbelievable!

The clean tone gives you chills and the lead sounds are so sweeeeeet!

This is definitely the best amp I have ever played in my life.

NPauly
September 3rd, 2006, 05:07 AM
I recently retubed my Traynor YCV20WR and I have totally fallen for this amp. Before the retube I would have said that it was completely forgettable and I might have even said that I regretted picking it up, but now it has a tone that can't be beat ...

Just my 2 cents :D
~Nick

Katastrophe
September 3rd, 2006, 06:53 AM
Welcome, NPauly! Don't forget to post in "The Fret Players" forum so we can give you a proper introduction...

I always wanted to be the first one to say that to a new member.:D

Nice amp, by the way. Can you give us a review on it's tone and what tubes you used to retube it with?

Plank_Spanker
September 29th, 2006, 09:06 AM
I absolutely love my Germino Club 40 - 40 watts of old school Marshall sweetness without the drawbacks. It has killer cleans and a sweet throaty growl when you get on it. Best amp purchase I've ever made. :)


http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a36/axepilot/BluesvilleSuperStrat.jpg

Riley
September 29th, 2006, 12:07 PM
Best amp I ever played through was one I used to own. A Marshall 1959SLP reissue modded by David Bray with the 'Bray I' mods. Using a Marshall 1960TV cab loaded with Greenbacks with the head was quite an aural experience. Between the PPI master volume and a Hot Plate I used to be able to get some insane overdriven tones at moderate volumes and no tone loss. I miss that amp. The next best thing would be my current 1x12 AmpTramp BF/Plexi combo.

-Peace
-nate

Robert
September 29th, 2006, 01:55 PM
Nate, why did you not keep it!!!!!!!!!!!!??????????????

Planker, that Germino looks oh so sweet. Does it come in a head version?

Plank_Spanker
September 30th, 2006, 05:07 AM
Planker, that Germino looks oh so sweet. Does it come in a head version?


Yes it does. I take it that you're somewhat familiar with Germino amps?

Riley
September 30th, 2006, 06:31 AM
Nate, why did you not keep it!!!!!!!!!!!!??????????????

Planker, that Germino looks oh so sweet. Does it come in a head version?

I incurred a lotta debt in my past over gear purchases, so about 8 months ago I sold off a lot of my gear, that being one of the items. Now I use cash, ;)

Robert
September 30th, 2006, 08:06 PM
Yes it does. I take it that you're somewhat familiar with Germino amps?

Somewhat - I've read an interview with Greg. Seems like really nice Marshally amps?

Plank_Spanker
September 30th, 2006, 09:19 PM
Somewhat - I've read an interview with Greg. Seems like really nice Marshally amps?


The Club 40 is loosely modeled around the old JTM45, with a much more refined sound. The cleans are more polished, it's more touch responsive, and the sweet spot saturation is rich and creamy. It's a two channel amp - non switchable. I use a Y cord to plug my guitar into both channels, using the channel volumes more like tone controls. Channel 1 is bright, Channel 2 is normal.

Coming off of years of playing Johnson modelers, the Germino was a scary amp at first. The modelers hide your bad habits, the Germino accents them. :eek: The touch response of the amp was scary at first. You can play soft and sweet with gentle picking. Dig in a bit and the amp starts throwing the sound. I had to "unlearn" some bad habits.

The amp is LOUD for 40 watts! I use a THD Hot Plate to tame it, even on gigs. The amp sounds fantastic. There are still moments when we play that I'll hear something from it and think "Wow, that sounds good!"

If you want an old school Marshall sound with a bit of polish and you have a wad of cash ready to burn, check out a Germino. They're worth every penny and Greg backs his amps up all the way.

BTW - He's a super nice guy and a killer guitar player, too! :)

Robert
October 1st, 2006, 07:30 AM
Great to hear! I will definitely keep it in mind for future amp purchases.

zeusse
October 2nd, 2006, 02:11 PM
Best amp I've ever played is the one I got now my all original 69 Fender Twin Reverb and its in mint condition...its my fling on the side as I tell the wife..lol