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new amp suggestions...

itsevolution..babyitsevolution..baby Posts: 59
edited August 2010 in Musicians and Gearheads
Ok, so I am in the market for a new amp over the next few months. I've currently got a VOX AC30ccx2 with the celestion blues, and an Orange AD30TC. I got the bug a few weeks ago while playing a Bad Cat Hot cat 30, and then a Divided by 13 37. Both were used, and really good deals, but I passed since I haven't really been prepping for such a big purchase. So, I was looking at all the upper crust stuff, Bad Cat, Matchless, Divided by 13, Savage Audio, etc. Man alive 4k for an amp seems like a lot! I will probably move the ac30 since I am not totally in love with it, but will keep the orange. I'd like something to ABY with the AD30. The savage blitz 50 seems like a nice tweener, and is a bargain compared to some of the other options. So, do any of you find that these are all overpriced over engineered amps, or really are superior to their circuit board based competition? As always the feedback is appreciated.

Heath
What ain't a country I ever heard of. Do they speak English in what?
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • gimmesometruth27gimmesometruth27 Posts: 23,303
    i have a 1994 matchless clubman, which is a pretty badass amp. i love the cleans i am able to get out of it. the problem i have with is is if i set the gain fairly high, when i rock back the guitar volume to clean up i lose overall volume completely. so much so that i can not hear myself and my monitor tech has to raise and lower my monitor volume manually when i go from dirty to clean, which is a mega pain in the ass for him. the other guitar player in my band has a hotcat and he had the same issue. i think his amp sounds great, but i like my clubman better. about 2 years ago we switched from our boutique stuff back to vintage marshalls. the guy with the badcat is now playing a 1983 jcm 800 and i am playing a 1974 marshall jmp, which in my opinion absolutely KILLS any of the boutique stuff i have ever played. i would save a little money and go for a vintage marshall if i were you...just my opinion though....
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • itsevolution..babyitsevolution..baby Posts: 59
    I was hoping not to get into the 4x12 arena, just for ease of transport, but I guess it wouldn't be the end of the world. I have the same issue you described with my orange. I am just using an OCD, Swollen Pickle, and Keely 808 for my overdriven tones. However, I do prefer the sound of the gain channel on the Orange, but when I back off the volume it's too low in the mix. I'll certainly take a look at the marshalls. Any experience with the 1987 handwired reissues that came out a few years ago?
    What ain't a country I ever heard of. Do they speak English in what?
  • gimmesometruth27gimmesometruth27 Posts: 23,303
    itsevolution..baby wrote:
    I was hoping not to get into the 4x12 arena, just for ease of transport, but I guess it wouldn't be the end of the world. I have the same issue you described with my orange. I am just using an OCD, Swollen Pickle, and Keely 808 for my overdriven tones. However, I do prefer the sound of the gain channel on the Orange, but when I back off the volume it's too low in the mix. I'll certainly take a look at the marshalls. Any experience with the 1987 handwired reissues that came out a few years ago?
    i play my matchless through a marshall straight vintage 4x12 cab with vintage 30s. to my ear that cab really brings out the tone in the matchless. but the volume issue became a real problem for me. the matchless was very pedal friendsly so i could set the gain about halfway and just use pedals for distortion/overdrive, but to me it never sounded as good as the amp distortion so i had a real problem. i even thought about getting an a/b switch and using the matchless for cleans and the marshall for overdrive but hauling 2 half stacks was a major pain in the ass so i said screw it and went with the marshall only.

    i have played the 1987 series at the guitar store a few times but i could not crank them up because they are just so damn loud. they do not have master volume controls. i think those reissues are 100 watt superleads, correct? my '74 jmp is 50 watts and it is so loud that i have to use a hotplate so i can drive the tubes. they stopped doing point to point handwiring in late 1972 or early '73 so mine has a printed circuit board but to my ear it sounds just as good as their 100 watt big brothers with the hand wiring. if i were in your situation i would look for a vintage one, unmodded, get a hotplate, and go from there. you will save about $800 by buying one from the mid 70s than a brand new one. i don't think the new ones sound as good as the old ones, and the new ones are way more expensive than the vintage ones.
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    I would suggest the Marshall 1974x, but I get the impression that EL-84's are probably the wrong way to go. Maybe something in the Dr. Z vein?
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • gimmesometruth27gimmesometruth27 Posts: 23,303
    my jmp has el-34s in it now. i played a dr z amp a few years ago and that was a nice sounding amp as well...
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • itsevolution..babyitsevolution..baby Posts: 59
    well the Orange is an el34 amp, but I am not against another one if it's tonally different. I really want a good clean channel, since the orange doesn't really do cleans. I was also thinking of ordering a savage blitz 50 but getting it fitted with 6l6's for a tonally different amp. I'll get out and play some stuff in the stores, but the problem is two fold: 1 I can't really crank them up to see what it sounds at playing volume. 2. Some of the amps I am considering are not available at the local shops. The search continues. Thanks for all the input guys..
    What ain't a country I ever heard of. Do they speak English in what?
  • All Those YesterdaysAll Those Yesterdays Posts: 2,723
    The 1974x is a nice piece. But I have been told that the Marshal reissue hand wire's have transformer issues. So maybe a clone... Savage Blitz 50 would be first on my list. Wait a minute, is first on my list.
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  • gimmesometruth27gimmesometruth27 Posts: 23,303
    All Those Yesterdays wrote:
    The 1974x is a nice piece. But I have been told that the Marshal reissue hand wire's have transformer issues. So maybe a clone... Savage Blitz 50 would be first on my list. Wait a minute, is first on my list.
    i have never played a savage. i hear they sound great though.
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • gimmesometruth27gimmesometruth27 Posts: 23,303
    this is for the OP. another thing you might consider, if you really like matchless and bad cat, you might want to look into Star amplifiers. they are the new company that sells amps made by mark sampson, the man who designed all of the great matchless and bad cat models. i played a festival gig with one about 2 years ago when there were multiple bands playing and we all shared the same backline and this star combo i played was absolutely amazing. i really researched them back then and the one i really wanted was like $3500 (eek), but when you play one you know what you are buying for that price...

    http://staramps.com/
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
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