advice on guitar amps?
one way needle
Posts: 196
Hey guys, i could do with some advice on guitar amps. I'm currently working with a roland cube30. It's been great for me and serves well as a practice amp. Now i'm looking to upgrade and get something a bit bigger - something that'd be suitable for small gigs (pubs etc.) I use quite an overdriven tone, kinda comparable to some early PJ stuff. I'm working on a student budget, but in the long run money wont be problem. My main issue is that i don't really know where to start looking, so any advice would be great thanks.
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wah wah waaaah!!! ..........viking banjo hits of the 70's!
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wah wah waaaah!!! ..........viking banjo hits of the 70's!(
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Keep in mind that it should look, sound and feel good to you.
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by amp,
you are looking for a COMBO amp ?
amp & cabinet, in one fine unit?
yes?
pac usually has some suggestions,
he's probably holding off at your lack of stated price range.
many good things can be had for around $500 though.
if that's out of your range
you may be headed in to solid state territory again!
If I opened it now would you not understand?
but a Traynor YCV40WR would be great for small clubs and practice amp
you can get a really good deal on them on ebay, they go for 650$ brand new i got mine off of ebay for 400$, only 5 months old
if you want more info for it just send me a PM and I'll help you as much as i can
but whatever amp you get, you must go Tube...
i read the item description of one of those ...
http://cgi.ebay.com/Traynor-YCV40WR-Tube-Amp_W0QQitemZ7357237225QQcategoryZ10171QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
... it looks like a solid deal for sure ... & they use sovtek tubes? awesome!
one question:
is it really as damn quiet as they say?
my amp puts out helluva hum... this makes me jealous
only thing is,
why do they have to make it champagne red ???
it fuckin' reminds me of a damn Line6 Spider or something.
dagnabbit!
If I opened it now would you not understand?
Think about used gear. Generally about half the cost of new, and generally if it sounds good when you play thru it, then it's worth considering.
If you are your own roadie then think about ergonomics: will it fit into your car? Can it be lifted by less than three mortals?
Depends, too, on your guitar. Acoustic? hollow body electric? SG? Strat? Les Paul? etc.
I user a Fender Blues Deluxe with my acoustic Garrison guitar. My buddy gets fine crunch out of a Crate Blue Voodoo 60 with his strat. Nice noises come from Laney amps, too.
If you're playing into an audio board, you could consider going direct with a SansAmp GT amplifier simulator. Maybe you can take the line out of your current amplifier and jack into the board and use it to boost into the room. Or put a mic on your current amp. There are a zillion ways around spending extra money to accomplish your goal. This might depend somewhat on if you have a recurring gig at a place with a house system/sound tech that you trust OR if you're planning the city-bar-tour / open mic drop ins.
take your guitar into your local music shops and plug into a bunch of different sets of gear. If you have your own instrument with you, you will likely be taken seriously and will be allowed to try out different gear.
Hope this helps. Let us know how it turns out.
Dance and Sing along with Shed Devils at http://www.sheddevils.com/
The 50 blue is the same amp with EL34's instead of 5881's and has a blue cover if that's more attractive to you.
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yeah that's hot!
& mullard compatible.
If I opened it now would you not understand?
As another Traynor user, I add my vote to this list. Yes, they really are as quiet as they say. I used mine at an unproportionally loud volume with a 1960A cabinet, and it was quiet (except for when the gain was cranked, and the boost function was on).
Also, look at some of the Peavey stuff. I used to play with a friends Delta Blues amp, and it sounds great too. The only complaint I've ever heard is that they sometimes have a realiabilty issue. Peavey solders all of it's components to one a circuit board, so if that goes, you're out an amp.
Another series of amps that often doesn't get recognition is the Marshall AVT series. They got a really bad rep when they first came out because the simply sounded like shit. After they tweaked them and put out the 2003 group of amps, they've been fine since.
One more option if you use eBay is to find a old Sovtek amp. They sound amazing with the right overdrive pedal.
Well, they always have the black and silver version, but the red leather looks so classy looking i love it!
yes it really is as quiet as they say, the only time you hear hum is when you have volume past 5 (which would be ear shattering)....or if you are running another OD/Dist pedal through that channel
Personally i find myself using an OD pedal over the clean channel (beautiful sound), I use the OD channel mostly for high gain songs i may be working on, its got a very smooth OD i must say
the clean channel is to die for
you can find the YCV40 on ebay for cheaper than that, i got mine for 425 and then with shipping it was 455$
you wont be disappointed, it is a lot bigger than it looks in the pictures
the only thing you have to make sure you do is that, the louder the volume, the more you have to turn down the Presence!!!
**remember 40 watts tube is pretty loud, you cant put it past volume 1 if you just want it as a bedroom amp....also their is a Traynor YCV20, that is 15 watts tube, doesnt sound as good as the YCV40 because of the speaker, if you change the speaker, maybe it would sound just as good, the actual structure of the ycv20 is smaller in size**