What's Your Favorite Amp?

Next What I gig with VOX AC-15 meets Dumble SSS one volume one tone rotary 7 position switch EF86 V-1 next 1960 Fender Concert only used for tube Vibrato.
I used a Marshall cabinet but it's not 25 watt green back speaker. It's my every day player set.

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jtcnj said:
Very interesting reads from you pros.
I'm a giggler, but not a gigger (as in gigging musician).

My favorites are -you guessed it- I dance with who brung me!
This is as far as my limited experience has brought me.
(TOP) Scratch build Fender Champ Circuit 5F1 with Princeton 5F2A tone and other goodies, and Fender Deluxe 5E3 circuit + goodies and more in the works.
Store bought Silkyn Super 50.

That U4LO (unidentified 4-legged object) is Ella, pulling guard duty on my LP Jr build, and trying to give me tips on my terrible photography skills.
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Now I gotta get a picture of my dogs with my amps.
 
Ever since I picked up this '71 Hiwatt 4x12 with the original red tagged Fanes, my '86 Hiwatt Lead 100R (Turntone, U.K. built) has been my favorite amp.

Granted, I still love my Marshalls.


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I also managed to install the Goodmans Audiom 60 speakers in my DST-30. They sound fabulous!



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syscokid said:
Whoa there fella.....
What's the deal with the Goodmans? Is it a folklore?
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Javamagic sent me an email a few years ago with an ebay listing in CT for one of those. He said I should grab it because the price was a bargain. I did.

In the meantime, he found a couple for short change that need re-cones. I also finally found one here. Since he's in England, and I'm not, and I have been having trouble getting time off to visit him, he still has those. My wife has been looking into transporting magnets on airplanes for me, and seems to think they won't let me take them as carry on due to Gauss factor. I'd like to have him eventually get them re-coned in England due to more authentic cones available than here, then ship them by boat or carrier swallow (African, not European). It still needs to be discussed.

Anyway, yeah.... Great Hank Marvin and Rory Gallagher tones. I wish that I had their talent. Definitely a good purchase.
 
SG John said:
Javamagic sent me an email a few years ago with an ebay listing in CT for one of those. He said I should grab it because the price was a bargain. I did.

In the meantime, he found a couple for short change that need re-cones. I also finally found one here. Since he's in England, and I'm not, and I have been having trouble getting time off to visit him, he still has those. My wife has been looking into transporting magnets on airplanes for me, and seems to think they won't let me take them as carry on due to Gauss factor. I'd like to have him eventually get them re-coned in England due to more authentic cones available than here, then ship them by boat or carrier swallow (African, not European). It still needs to be discussed.

Anyway, yeah.... Great Hank Marvin and Rory Gallagher tones. I wish that I had their talent. Definitely a good purchase.
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Ha ha... you definitely go the extra mile... :dood:
 
My first amp was a 1959 Silvertone I got in 1974 - I still have it.

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My first "real" guitar amp was a Traynor YBA-1 Tube Bass Head with an Ampeg 8x10 cabinet i got in 1978. All I had then was a Duncan Quarter Pounder in a 1959 Silvertone/Danelectro U1 and a FX-90 Delay.

I played that until a guitar player friend of my Mom's gave me a JTM30 Combo...around 1982.
 
I have to say I love this little fella more and more. After having had it modded at my local store (got some new capacitors, a 3-prong cable and pulled out the Sprague "tone sucking network" the later Gibson Skylarks are known for) and changing the original speaker for a WGS Veteran 10" (20 watts), it sounds very nice. At 10 watts it is plenty loud for my living room, and it breaks up early enough that I don't have to play very loudly to get the gain I want. I just wish it was loud enough to use with the band!

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Gahr said:
I have to say I love this little fella more and more. After having had it modded at my local store (got some new capacitors, a 3-prong cable and pulled out the Sprague "tone sucking network" the later Gibson Skylarks are known for) and changing the original speaker for a WGS Veteran 10" (20 watts), it sounds very nice. At 10 watts it is plenty loud for my living room, and it breaks up early enough that I don't have to play very loudly to get the gain I want. I just wish it was loud enough to use with the band!

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If you ever need any help figuring out ALL those controls, I am sure somebody here will be willing to help you.
 
Gahr said:
Oh, I wouldn’t want to lay that burden on anyone else. I’ll just have to soldier on on my own!:D
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Well played my friend, I do believe your amp is in better shape than my GA-15RVT Explorer. Looking Good indeed.
 
Robert Herndon said:
My first amp was a 1959 Silvertone I got in 1974 - I still have it.

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My first "real" guitar amp was a Traynor YBA-1 Tube Bass Head with an Ampeg 8x10 cabinet i got in 1978. All I had then was a Duncan Quarter Pounder in a 1959 Silvertone/Danelectro U1 and a FX-90 Delay.

I played that until a guitar player friend of my Mom's gave me a JTM30 Combo...around 1982.
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NICE!
 
ChasFred said:
Well played my friend, I do believe your amp is in better shape than my GA-15RVT Explorer. Looking Good indeed.
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It was in excellent condition cosmetically when I got it, but being from 1965, it needed some caps changed and a grounded power cable. And the dreaded tone sucking cap/resistor thing taken out. It was extremely bright when I got it. I still have to turn down the tone controls on the guitar to get the tone right. A couple of the guys at my local music store are really good amp techs, so they swapped some caps for different values to give it some more bass and less of an ear piercing top. That, combined with the speaker changer really made the amp a killer. The only downside to it al is that it has made me really want one of those old GA20s or GA40s from the late 1950s...
 
It's so hard to pick a favorite amp, I like them all.
I'd have to say my little Mesa Rectoverb 25 is my new favorite, as I haven't found tone I like better.
My Mesa F30 is an outstanding tone generator as well.
I like my Ampeg VH140C for the killer facemelting grind and harmonic laden and chimey overdrive. It's also one of the amps that I've had the longest at around 20 years.
I like my Marshalls (4 of them) for the Marshallness that they exude.
I like my Boss Katana, for being a light, cheap and easy to shlep about combo with ample power, decent tone and a 12" speaker.
My tiny little Roland Micro Cube is a great grab & go for weekends away, as it's small, toneful and can run on batteries or AC power.
The new to my stable Bogner Alchemist is starting to impress me with its power and full sound.
Plenty of tone locked up in there, it just needs the right settings to be coaxed out.

I suppose the one I like the least is a VHT Special 6. Not that it's a bad amp, just not my cup of tea.
But it's Champ like simplicity, ability to take many flavors of tube swappage, and mod friendly tag board make it a favorite of many folks, just not me. It will be sold or traded in the near future.

Had the same feeling about a Dr.Z Carmen Ghia that I had. Killer good wide open tone, but the lack of reverb and what I consider overdrive just made it a one trick pony for me. The good news was it sold in a day.

I'd still like to get my hands on a Dr.Z Maz 18 with reverb though.
 
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