I Still Like Big Amps and Stuff.

[sergiodeblanc]

The "born yesterday" club is over at TGP.

If they were "born yesterday" why do they all play LP's and Telecasters? It seems to me they're a lot older... in spirit, or sense of adventure at least.

We're not talking gear porn here, are we Mr. Hillcrest?

We're always talkin' about gear porn! although whatever Bill does with a video of me playing through his amps is his business. I don't judge.

Speaking of gear porn and big amps.. I have this recurring daydream about owning a 16 space rack filled with gold Marshall power amps being fed by gold Digitech GSP2101's. I want an all gold tower of power pumping through 8 PRS 4x12 Stealth cabs covered in white tolex with "wheat" grills.

 

[squirrel211]

In all honesty, I had a dream last night about playing a show with a Super Lead. I was excited, but at the same time nervous about how mad the band was going to be. Then when I cranked the volume up, it somehow fit just fine in the mix! It also was a little more rounded on the top, and a little fuller through the low mids than my last Super Lead; awesome dream!!!

Then my stupid dogs woke me up....

EDIT - I'd like to add a large, facetious "thank you" to Les for getting my amp GAS going again.:tongue:

 

[Chester]

EDIT - I'd like to add a large, facetious "thank you" to Les for getting my amp GAS going again.:tongue:

+1

As we are on a "porn" thread, only GAS I've suffered recently came out of numerous glass bottles ... seems I've lost my wood as a result

 

[László]

EDIT - I'd like to add a large, facetious "thank you" to Les for getting my amp GAS going again.:tongue:

Life without GAS is a life less lived.

And also not a life Les lived.

 

[alantig]

No. My porn name is Garfield Hillcrest.

I thought you said your porn name was going to be Moe Goodwoode.

 

[László]

I thought you said your porn name was going to be Moe Goodwoode.

I'm named after the famous German composer Richard Waggler.

My parents did consider the name Pachelbels Cannon, but when they learned that the reality was more in the range of Peter Gunn, I guess they changed their minds.




Can I get a cymbal crash here?

 

[prsrocker1988]

I love loud amps with headroom. Not a tube overdrive guy. I like a bass amp almost, or a pedal steel amp that is SUPER clean, and then all of my gain comes from pedals. I just love the sound of pedal dirt.

I'd love for PRS to come out with a Blackface Bassman head (what I use) of sorts, with their take on an all clean platform amp with at least 50w, for my tastes. I play louder cleaner, but still with gain from boxes and not from tubes.

 

[László]

I'd love for PRS to come out with a Blackface Bassman head (what I use) of sorts, with their take on an all clean platform amp with at least 50w, for my tastes. I play louder cleaner, but still with gain from boxes and not from tubes.

Oddly enough, I had a BF Bassman head from '68 (it had been at the dealer a year) and for a long time afterward. Mine was a 50W head with a matching 4x12 cab.

But I didn't and still don't regard a BF Bassman as a clean amp platform. Mine got "hoarse" pretty quickly, and honestly had a little less headroom than its predecessor, which was a 25-ish Watt Ampeg Reverberocket II. It's really a lot more like my DG30 head, in that it breaks up long before something like a Twin would. Of course, for me, that's a good thing. I can do similar stuff with my HXDA when I crank the master and lower the preamp gain.

Then again, an OD pedal is intended to be used as an amp is just on the verge of being overdriven, or is overdriven, to push things over the top. So that may be why the combination of stomp box and Bassman works so well for you.

 

[prsrocker1988]

Interesting. Mine is an AA864, which as I understand has lower gain than a AB165 circuit. Mine stays clean until about 5 or 6. And by then it's plenty loud for all of my needs. I understand the Bassman head got gainier as time past.

I love Twins, Pros, and Supers too, just something with 6L6 pristine cleans and with more headroom than a Deluxe or Princeton.

 

[László]

Interesting. Mine is an AA864, which as I understand has lower gain than a AB165 circuit. Mine stays clean until about 5 or 6. And by then it's plenty loud for all of my needs. I understand the Bassman head got gainier as time past.

I love Twins, Pros, and Supers too, just something with 6L6 pristine cleans and with more headroom than a Deluxe or Princeton.

No idea which circuit mine had. It was made in 1967. On the other hand, I always cranked it past 5 or 6...so there's that...

Also I have no idea how efficient the speaker cab was. It may have been very inefficient thus eating up more amp power. Unfortunately in the long time I had it, there was never any cause to open it up, so I have no idea what speakers it had.

I was a LOT less of a gear head then.

 

[jcha008]

I love amps of all sizes, but the headroom and overall fullness of tone is unmatched as far as bigger amp goes. I think all sizes have their place, but as a primarily hard rock and metal player the big amps tend to have that tightness, yet thick sound that I look for. Only problem is turning them up loud. In the amps I have (Engl and Marshall), both being 100W, I find the sweet spot is when the master volume is turned up a bit. This makes them a bit too loud for my current living situation unfortunately. The small amps can get comparably loud as well, but I find that I don't have to get them as loud to find a sound that I want.

Gah, gives me more gas for an Archon and DG30. Need more cashflow LOL.

 

[László]

Need more cashflow LOL.

Story of my life.

 

[Hollis Prince]

I just got my first 4x10 the other week (Rivera Quiana), and now I have two (PRS MDT being the other), and a 4x10 cab on order (also PRS).

There's just something magical about 4 10" drivers trying to perform the same thing as 1 12" -- the excursion is shorter, so they stay in their linear region moar longer.

So yeah, melikey headroom. That, and that "audiophile" sound.

Rivera Quiana? Now there's one you don't hear about every day. That's a great sounding amp!

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Yeah, Guitar Center had one up for under a thousand, couldn't purchase it fast enough. I mean, I knew there had to be something wrong with it, so I had no intention of keeping it, but...there wasn't. (shrugs) Other than it was so heavy I hope I never have to move it again, ever.

And yes, it is. It's completely different from the MDT, but I just don't have the vocabulary (or the experience with many amps, other than as a poprock music fan for some almost 50 years).

 

[László]

And yes, it is. It's completely different from the MDT, but I have trouble putting it into words.

I've always felt the Quiana was more Fender Blackface in a few ways, with that style of tone stack, and its higher gain channel more midrange focused than you'd find on the MDT.

The MDT is a Marshall style amp with a Tweed tone stack, cascaded gain, a very interesting blend of styles. It's a very throaty kind of gain.

Both are terrific.

 

[Rider1260]

Since I was young I have had a Boogie , rarely played very loud it sounded great at reasonable levels





Then a few months ago I got this and now its F&^%ing loud all the time and it is good in the world

 

[Boogie]

I love loud amps with headroom. ...I like a bass amp almost, or a pedal steel amp that is SUPER clean, and then all of my gain comes from pedals. I just love the sound of pedal dirt...I'd love for PRS to come out with a Blackface Bassman head (what I use) of sorts, with their take on an all clean platform amp with at least 50w, for my tastes.

It's called the Dallas series. The Super Dallas mixes things up with an EL34 power stage. I play it pretty close to ragged but push it with a Klon for some bodacious results. Super dynamic/touch sensitive. And at 50w, I have good headroom for most venues. Lots available on the used market...check one out!

BTW, I played a '71 silverfaced Bassman 100 thru it's matching 4x12 for years and set it aside for the SuperD. Not exactly the same amp, but not completely dissimilar.

Nice stuff, Rider.

And in case I was unclear, I sit squarely in the big amp camp...