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Help - What should I look for in an amplifier?

surferdudesurferdude Posts: 2,057
edited March 2005 in Musicians and Gearheads
I am pretty new to the electric guitar side of things. I am looking to buy a new amp in the $300 - $500 range. I just want a nice, reliable amp. I have no idea what I should be looking for or questions to ask. My music tastes run mostly classic rock and hard rock.

I have a squire strat and an epiphone les paul.

Can anyone point me in directions of amps to look at or what I should be looking for?

Thanks.
“One good thing about music,
when it hits you, you feel to pain.
So brutalize me with music.”
~ Bob Marley
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • JofZJofZ Posts: 1,276
    surferdude wrote:
    I am pretty new to the electric guitar side of things. I am looking to buy a new amp in the $300 - $500 range. I just want a nice, reliable amp. I have no idea what I should be looking for or questions to ask. My music tastes run mostly classic rock and hard rock.

    I have a squire strat and an epiphone les paul.

    Can anyone point me in directions of amps to look at or what I should be looking for?

    Thanks.

    Is this for your home, bedroom, gigs?
    WHAT IS THAT NOISE?
    Hanging at www.TheGuitarHub.com
    The only Forum for players by players.......

    Playing Les Pauls, Teles, Hubers, Gustavssons, Kolls through a Mad Professor amp with a Bob Burt Cab.
    BJF powers my Pedal Board
  • nailz100nailz100 Posts: 1,176
    MIG and Paco are the two guys to ask. They sure helped narrow it down for me.
    Only with our eyes closed can we truly see
  • surferdudesurferdude Posts: 2,057
    JofZ wrote:
    Is this for your home, bedroom, gigs?
    For home use only, maybe playing with friends from time to time.
    “One good thing about music,
    when it hits you, you feel to pain.
    So brutalize me with music.”
    ~ Bob Marley
  • nailz100nailz100 Posts: 1,176
    Maybe an old fender off e-bay?
    Only with our eyes closed can we truly see
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    surferdude wrote:
    For home use only, maybe playing with friends from time to time.


    i say a fender blues jr. would be good.
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    Blues Jr. Pro Jr. Hot Rod Deluxe. Peavey Delta Blues, Peavy Classic 30 or Jack Daniels.....Older Fender Vibro champs. Used Fender 59 Bassman. Used Fender 65 deluxe reverb RI. Carvin CTS (classic tube series) Tons of good options, you'll need to do some shopping.

    I'd check out some cool solid state modellers too, like the Line 6 Duoverb and Flextone series.

    definately look into Atomic Amps new one, where you can take a Line 6 pod or whatever modeller of your choice is and couple it to an all tube power amp.

    It's pretty cool.

    this is pretty cool for the dinero.

    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=43374&item=7304267454&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • JofZJofZ Posts: 1,276
    Pacomc79 wrote:
    Blues Jr. Pro Jr. Hot Rod Deluxe. Peavey Delta Blues, Peavy Classic 30 or Jack Daniels.....Older Fender Vibro champs. Used Fender 59 Bassman. Used Fender 65 deluxe reverb RI. Carvin CTS (classic tube series) Tons of good options, you'll need to do some shopping.

    I'd check out some cool solid state modellers too, like the Line 6 Duoverb and Flextone series.

    definately look into Atomic Amps new one, where you can take a Line 6 pod or whatever modeller of your choice is and couple it to an all tube power amp.

    It's pretty cool.

    this is pretty cool for the dinero.

    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=43374&item=7304267454&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
    Roland Micro Cube anyone? A bunch of guys have them and rave about them.
    WHAT IS THAT NOISE?
    Hanging at www.TheGuitarHub.com
    The only Forum for players by players.......

    Playing Les Pauls, Teles, Hubers, Gustavssons, Kolls through a Mad Professor amp with a Bob Burt Cab.
    BJF powers my Pedal Board
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    JofZ wrote:
    Roland Micro Cube anyone? A bunch of guys have them and rave about them.


    They're a clever practice amp, but not loud enough to jam with.

    I'd go with the Blues Junior or Hot Rod Deluxe. The Peavey selections Paco mentioned are good... Classic 20, Classic 30, Delta Blues 210, or the new Jack Daniels. You could also look for a used vintage Champ or Vibro Champ, but I'd suggest a Princeton as well. I also own a Fender MusicMaster Bass amp that works great for a guitar practice amp.

    Let's play devil's advocate and suggest either a Peavey Bandit II or a Line 6 Spider.
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    mccreadyisgod wrote:
    They're a clever practice amp, but not loud enough to jam with.

    I'd go with the Blues Junior or Hot Rod Deluxe. The Peavey selections Paco mentioned are good... Classic 20, Classic 30, Delta Blues 210, or the new Jack Daniels. You could also look for a used vintage Champ or Vibro Champ, but I'd suggest a Princeton as well. I also own a Fender MusicMaster Bass amp that works great for a guitar practice amp.

    Let's play devil's advocate and suggest either a Peavey Bandit II or a Line 6 Spider.


    I love the punch and the tremolo of the DB 2x10, but they are damn hard to find.

    The first peavy Transtube series was brilliant for the dough. Before everyone started using DSP.

    The Envoy's and Bandits were great cheap amps.

    now on my cheap list might be the new little voxes with the chrome grills.

    House 53's got one and he loves it.


    I bet you could get one of the old Line 6 AX212s for under 500 bucks. That was a cool amp too, but not all that user friendly.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • JofZJofZ Posts: 1,276
    Pacomc79 wrote:
    I love the punch and the tremolo of the DB 2x10, but they are damn hard to find.

    The first peavy Transtube series was brilliant for the dough. Before everyone started using DSP.

    The Envoy's and Bandits were great cheap amps.

    now on my cheap list might be the new little voxes with the chrome grills.

    House 53's got one and he loves it.


    I bet you could get one of the old Line 6 AX212s for under 500 bucks. That was a cool amp too, but not all that user friendly.
    Well, this is 100 bucks more, and I am buying it if one of you don't:
    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=10171&item=7305270619&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
    WHAT IS THAT NOISE?
    Hanging at www.TheGuitarHub.com
    The only Forum for players by players.......

    Playing Les Pauls, Teles, Hubers, Gustavssons, Kolls through a Mad Professor amp with a Bob Burt Cab.
    BJF powers my Pedal Board
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    JofZ wrote:
    Well, this is 100 bucks more, and I am buying it if one of you don't:
    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=10171&item=7305270619&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW


    beautiful. Damn I bet that is nice. I can only imagine how cool a harp would sound through that thing.

    the tweed sound especially overdriven is just awesome and you know as well as I that Clarks amps are as accurate as you can get to the best ones ever.

    the weber 8 is a nice touch.

    I'm eventually going to get something in a dual 6v6 or 6L6 setup for my cleans.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • JofZJofZ Posts: 1,276
    Pacomc79 wrote:
    beautiful. Damn I bet that is nice. I can only imagine how cool a harp would sound through that thing.

    the tweed sound especially overdriven is just awesome and you know as well as I that Clarks amps are as accurate as you can get to the best ones ever.

    the weber 8 is a nice touch.

    I'm eventually going to get something in a dual 6v6 or 6L6 setup for my cleans.
    Clark has a Ltd Lil bit that is just beautiful, its also 1200, the regular one is 900, this is a pretty good deal and Clark Amps usually appreciate.

    Man, talkin about adding color to your tone, this thing is as close as you can get to the real deal.
    WHAT IS THAT NOISE?
    Hanging at www.TheGuitarHub.com
    The only Forum for players by players.......

    Playing Les Pauls, Teles, Hubers, Gustavssons, Kolls through a Mad Professor amp with a Bob Burt Cab.
    BJF powers my Pedal Board
  • nailz100nailz100 Posts: 1,176
    Real deal?
    Only with our eyes closed can we truly see
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    nailz100 wrote:
    Real deal?


    The real deal as in the original Fender etc. amplifiers and circuits built in the 1950's and covered with tweed.

    This is not to say that there weren't other excellent tweed covered amps built in the 1950's Gibson had some good ones for instance.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • JofZJofZ Posts: 1,276
    Pacomc79 wrote:
    The real deal as in the original Fender etc. amplifiers and circuits built in the 1950's and covered with tweed.

    This is not to say that there weren't other excellent tweed covered amps built in the 1950's Gibson had some good ones for instance.
    Yes, to clarify what I meant was Clark is probably the only one out there making exact clones of tweeds and Black face fenders, down to the last detail. His customers return again and again and he usually limits his amp models to a limited # run.
    If you have the money and want the real vintage tone without the vintage nightmares then look no further. There are others that do a great job, but Clark uses the best available components, he even went ahead and bought the last of the Allen Bradley resistors stock, he has enought to take him through 2007.
    His website is very imformative.
    clarkamplification.com
    WHAT IS THAT NOISE?
    Hanging at www.TheGuitarHub.com
    The only Forum for players by players.......

    Playing Les Pauls, Teles, Hubers, Gustavssons, Kolls through a Mad Professor amp with a Bob Burt Cab.
    BJF powers my Pedal Board
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    Pacomc79 wrote:
    I love the punch and the tremolo of the DB 2x10, but they are damn hard to find.

    The first peavy Transtube series was brilliant for the dough. Before everyone started using DSP.

    The Envoy's and Bandits were great cheap amps.


    I used to be a dis-believer, but I really liked the sound of every TransTube Bandit I've ever played thru. The pre-TransTube Bandits were horrible.

    Have you had a chance to check out the Jack Daniel's? I'm likin' the looks of that one.
    Pacomc79 wrote:
    I'm eventually going to get something in a dual 6v6 or 6L6 setup for my cleans.

    *ahem*

    http://www.victoriaamp.com/model20112.htm

    Would pair VERY nicely with an AD15.
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • T-CaseT-Case Posts: 186
    I have a Fender FM212R with double 12" speakers, this amp kicks ass and is around the 300 dollar range, i suggest you pick this amp up.
    PJ at MSG in 2008! Mission Accomplished

    The band all knows. We're too afraid to mention.
    Don't want to be part of Frank's luncheon.
    Lose weight. Be safe. Where's Mike McCready?
    My god he's been ate!
  • El_KabongEl_Kabong Posts: 4,141
    nailz100 wrote:
    MIG and Paco are the two guys to ask. They sure helped narrow it down for me.

    MIG does seem to have every amp committed to memory
    standin above the crowd
    he had a voice that was strong and loud and
    i swallowed his facade cos i'm so
    eager to identify with
    someone above the crowd
    someone who seemed to feel the same
    someone prepared to lead the way
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    mccreadyisgod wrote:
    Have you had a chance to check out the Jack Daniel's? I'm likin' the looks of that one.

    *ahem*

    http://www.victoriaamp.com/model20112.htm

    Would pair VERY nicely with an AD15.


    ha, yeah tell me about it but my budgets closer to the DB 2x10 than that lovely deluxe and the clean amp is only #135 on my list of things to buy.

    I did bid on a cusack screamer fuzz for the tsunami benefit so we'll see what that sounds like soon if I win. I figured I was going to donate 100 bucks to the red cross anyhow and I boneheadedly blew bidding for the DD that was up so maybe I'll get this one.

    I haven't played the Jack Daniels yet, maybe someday soon I'll make it out to my local Peavy retailer and order a round. It really should come with a case of coke.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    Pacomc79 wrote:
    I haven't played the Jack Daniels yet, maybe someday soon I'll make it out to my local Peavy retailer and order a round. It really should come with a case of coke.


    That, or a couple bottles of their BBQ sause. Yummy.

    Be sure to post a review if you get the chance.
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
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