If You Had To Make Do...

[gush]

Unfortunately I'm just not finding the amp I can bond with. This has been incredibly frustrating.....

 

[Bogner]

Unfortunately I'm just not finding the amp I can bond with. This has been incredibly frustrating.....

I Can Help With Suggestions If You Like. Let Me Know What You Are After, Like/Dislike In An Amp And Have Tried Already, Etc And I Can Possibly Turn You On To Something You May Not Have Tried Or Know About? Worth A Shot!

 

[gush]

I Can Help With Suggestions If You Like. Let Me Know What You Are After, Like/Dislike In An Amp And Have Tried Already, Etc And I Can Possibly Turn You On To Something You May Not Have Tried Or Know About? Worth A Shot!

My biggest problem is living in SE Iowa.....not many great amps to try out.

I want to play a DG30.......I love Grissom tones.

 

[Bogner]

My biggest problem is living in SE Iowa.....not many great amps to try out.

I want to play a DG30.......I love Grissom tones.

I Hear Ya On The Try Out Thing And No Availability. If You really Like Grissom Tones, Just Grab A Grissom Amp. Seems Like A Safe Purchase In This Instance. I Know I Am Not Telling You Anything You Don't Already Know Here. :/

 

[gush]

I Hear Ya On The Try Out Thing And No Availability. If You really Like Grissom Tones, Just Grab A Grissom Amp. Seems Like A Safe Purchase In This Instance. I Know I Am Not Telling You Anything You Don't Already Know Here. :/

They are pricey and with my luck I'd hate to buy then sell a few months down the road.

I don't have a problem buying one if I knew it would be a keeper.

I'm beginning to think my hearing is my worst enemy. I have tinnitus pretty bad.........I have to use my TV with sleep timer at night or I can't fall asleep.

Seriously sucks.

 

[gush]

I Hear Ya On The Try Out Thing And No Availability. If You really Like Grissom Tones, Just Grab A Grissom Amp. Seems Like A Safe Purchase In This Instance. I Know I Am Not Telling You Anything You Don't Already Know Here. :/

I bought a studio plexi, the 5/20 watt head. I really thought that would do it.......I sold it today for a little bit more than I paid for it and I'm contemplating selling the studio jcm800 head as well.

Probably going to sell my mesa stiletto head too.

Just not getting me excited..........ugh

 

[Bogner]

They are pricey and with my luck I'd hate to buy then sell a few months down the road.

I don't have a problem buying one if I knew it would be a keeper.

I'm beginning to think my hearing is my worst enemy. I have tinnitus pretty bad.........I have to use my TV with sleep timer at night or I can't fall asleep.

Seriously sucks.

I Am Sorry To Heat That ( No Pun Intended )

I Wonder If You Could Find One In Store With A Good Return Policy And Go That Route o See If You Can Work With It. I Can't Imagine You Getting One And Taking A Bath On It If You Did Have To Sell It...Although I Agree Doing That Song And Dance Is Not Anybody's First Choice For A Good Time.

 

[gush]

It has been suggested that I get a Kemper. That is probably a good piece of advice but I tend to keep an amp I like for a long while and I don't want to obsolete myself out of a functioning rig.

 

[gush]

I Am Sorry To Heat That ( No Pun Intended )

I Wonder If You Could Find One In Store With A Good Return Policy And Go That Route o See If You Can Work With It. I Can't Imagine You Getting One And Taking A Bath On It If You Did Have To Sell It...Although I Agree Doing That Song And Dance Is Not Anybody's First Choice For A Good Time.

I need to take a few days off and go see Dave's in LaCrosse Wisconsin.

 

[Bogner]

They are pricey and with my luck I'd hate to buy then sell a few months down the road.

I don't have a problem buying one if I knew it would be a keeper.

I'm beginning to think my hearing is my worst enemy. I have tinnitus pretty bad.........I have to use my TV with sleep timer at night or I can't fall asleep.

Seriously sucks.

I Found This For You...30 Day Return Policy.

PRS DG30 30-Watt David Grissom Signature Guitar Head | Reverb

Tone Shaping Articulation ""The DG Custom amps are the culmination of a three year collaboration between myself and Doug Sewell. We set out to create two distinct amps – a 30 watt and a 50 watt – that would rival the best of my vintage amps."" ""After extensive designing, redesigning, and repeate...

reverb.com

 

[Bogner]

It has been suggested that I get a Kemper. That is probably a good piece of advice but I tend to keep an amp I like for a long while and I don't want to obsolete myself out of a functioning rig.

You Know I Am An Amp Junkie But I Have Nothing But Love For My Kemper's. I Am Incredibly Happy With Them. They Recently Went Down In Price And Have The liquid Profiling Thing Going Now In Addition To Always Having Incredible Free Updates And Support. The Factory Profiles That Come With It Are Incredible And There Are Some Amazing Profiles Available Out There As Well. It Might Be A Great Solution For You.

 

[chicagoslim]

My cheapest amp a used Bad Cat Cougar 15, has turned out to be my favorite amp. It sounds like a Vox, but is a better design, lighter weight, with better cooling.

 

[GGJJGG]

The amps I have liked and still like are all single channel. Zero percent interest got me a Dumble clone, and I think it just may be too complicated for me.

To the original question, I see myself on a deserted island with a small combo with reverb, a cord and a guitar whose identity changes daily.

 

[Deli6505]

It has been suggested that I get a Kemper. That is probably a good piece of advice but I tend to keep an amp I like for a long while and I don't want to obsolete myself out of a functioning rig.

If I may throw my unwarranted two cents into the pot, I was briefly a Kemper PowerRack user a few years ago and I stupidly went off the deep end by selling most of my tube amps including my beloved Dual Rectifier Roadster, thinking that "THIS IS THE FUTURE! WHO NEEDS TO LUG AROUND A BUNCH OF BACK BREAKING AMPS! THIS IS AMAZING!" And it was an exciting thing to have all these sounds at my fingertips with pristine sounding effects, so many possibilities! Very good for recording and having the consistency of the same tones from stage to stage. But after the honeymoon period started to wear off, I found that I was missing the feel of my old tube amps. I wasn't feeling my a$$ vibrate onstage and it just felt cold and one dimensional. My playing didn't have the same character it once had and after awhile, every new profile I loaded into the machine started sounding identical with one another to the point where I couldn't even tell a Dual Rectifier profile from a Driftwood Purple Nightmare. So long story short, I ended up selling it and now all I have left is my old battle damaged Peavey 6505+ 112 (converted to a head from a combo), MT15 and recently acquired Revv G20. As musicians, we will always be searching for that new sound and purchasing new gear to help us achieve that never-ending quest but the reality of it all is that, unless have the financial means to sustain our sonic pursuits, we will never really find it so we should just take what we have and make it sound the absolute best that we can. Tom Morello resigned himself to this mode of thought early on at the start of his Rage Against The Machine days and to this day, he's still using the same custom made "Arm The Homeless" guitar, Marshall 50 watter, Peavey cab and pedalboard. In my case, my 6505 is one of the most user-unfriendly amps out there. It makes scratchy noises when I fiddle with the knobs, the clean channel is anything but and it is one of the ugliest things (besides me) that ever graced a stage but that dirty channel produces once of the heaviest tones I've ever heard and my butt feels those vibrations which inspires me to keep playing which my now former Kemper failed to do. I guess the whole point of this long winded babble is that sometimes all you really need is right in front of you and while it may seem like a turd, if you polish it enough, it just might turn into a diamond.

 

[László]

If I may throw my unwarranted two cents into the pot, I was briefly a Kemper PowerRack user a few years ago and I stupidly went off the deep end by selling most of my tube amps including my beloved Dual Rectifier Roadster, thinking that "THIS IS THE FUTURE! WHO NEEDS TO LUG AROUND A BUNCH OF BACK BREAKING AMPS! THIS IS AMAZING!" And it was an exciting thing to have all these sounds at my fingertips with pristine sounding effects, so many possibilities! Very good for recording and having the consistency of the same tones from stage to stage. But after the honeymoon period started to wear off, I found that I was missing the feel of my old tube amps. I wasn't feeling my a$$ vibrate onstage and it just felt cold and one dimensional. My playing didn't have the same character it once had and after awhile, every new profile I loaded into the machine started sounding identical with one another to the point where I couldn't even tell a Dual Rectifier profile from a Driftwood Purple Nightmare. So long story short, I ended up selling it and now all I have left is my old battle damaged Peavey 6505+ 112 (converted to a head from a combo), MT15 and recently acquired Revv G20. As musicians, we will always be searching for that new sound and purchasing new gear to help us achieve that never-ending quest but the reality of it all is that, unless have the financial means to sustain our sonic pursuits, we will never really find it so we should just take what we have and make it sound the absolute best that we can. Tom Morello resigned himself to this mode of thought early on at the start of his Rage Against The Machine days and to this day, he's still using the same custom made "Arm The Homeless" guitar, Marshall 50 watter, Peavey cab and pedalboard. In my case, my 6505 is one of the most user-unfriendly amps out there. It makes scratchy noises when I fiddle with the knobs, the clean channel is anything but and it is one of the ugliest things (besides me) that ever graced a stage but that dirty channel produces once of the heaviest tones I've ever heard and my butt feels those vibrations which inspires me to keep playing which my now former Kemper failed to do. I guess the whole point of this long winded babble is that sometimes all you really need is right in front of you and while it may seem like a turd, if you polish it enough, it just might turn into a diamond.

You've described exactly how I hear modelers.

But for some players, they're a good solution.

 

[László]

I'm beginning to think my hearing is my worst enemy. I have tinnitus pretty bad......

That may very well be.

A few months ago the docs put me on a med that made my ears ring.

While I had the ringing I simply couldn't enjoy composing. The ringing was a single pitch that was out of tune with everything, Totally interfered with what I was hearing.

Fortunately, I got them to switch to a different medication, and after a couple of weeks the ringing went away.

But I now understand how unpleasant tinnitus can be, and how much it can interfere with musical enjoyment. It sucks.

 

[El Rey]

With One Amp For Everything You Do, What Amp Would It Be?

Would never be limited to one amp. Just wouldn't do it.

 

[László]

Would never be limited to one amp. Just wouldn't do it.

I understand why - so many amps are specialized, plus it's enjoyable to have lots of choice.

But when I was playing Two-Rocks, I was a one-amp-at-a-time person for 12 years, despite making my living in the studio. Surprisingly, I got all the sounds I wanted, and the amps were versatile enough to suit every project that came in the door.

Go figure!

It was only starting in 2014 that I got back into more specialized sounding amps, so at this point I find 4 is a good number to have.

I'm actually not sure whether it's better to have one super-versatile amp, or a handful of more specialized amps, though I'm pretty much done amp shopping.

"You said that about guitar shopping earlier this year. How did that pronouncement work out?"

"Depends on whether you think getting a new guitar is bad or good."

 

[Bogner]

If I may throw my unwarranted two cents into the pot, I was briefly a Kemper PowerRack user a few years ago and I stupidly went off the deep end by selling most of my tube amps including my beloved Dual Rectifier Roadster, thinking that "THIS IS THE FUTURE! WHO NEEDS TO LUG AROUND A BUNCH OF BACK BREAKING AMPS! THIS IS AMAZING!" And it was an exciting thing to have all these sounds at my fingertips with pristine sounding effects, so many possibilities! Very good for recording and having the consistency of the same tones from stage to stage. But after the honeymoon period started to wear off, I found that I was missing the feel of my old tube amps. I wasn't feeling my a$$ vibrate onstage and it just felt cold and one dimensional. My playing didn't have the same character it once had and after awhile, every new profile I loaded into the machine started sounding identical with one another to the point where I couldn't even tell a Dual Rectifier profile from a Driftwood Purple Nightmare. So long story short, I ended up selling it and now all I have left is my old battle damaged Peavey 6505+ 112 (converted to a head from a combo), MT15 and recently acquired Revv G20. As musicians, we will always be searching for that new sound and purchasing new gear to help us achieve that never-ending quest but the reality of it all is that, unless have the financial means to sustain our sonic pursuits, we will never really find it so we should just take what we have and make it sound the absolute best that we can. Tom Morello resigned himself to this mode of thought early on at the start of his Rage Against The Machine days and to this day, he's still using the same custom made "Arm The Homeless" guitar, Marshall 50 watter, Peavey cab and pedalboard. In my case, my 6505 is one of the most user-unfriendly amps out there. It makes scratchy noises when I fiddle with the knobs, the clean channel is anything but and it is one of the ugliest things (besides me) that ever graced a stage but that dirty channel produces once of the heaviest tones I've ever heard and my butt feels those vibrations which inspires me to keep playing which my now former Kemper failed to do. I guess the whole point of this long winded babble is that sometimes all you really need is right in front of you and while it may seem like a turd, if you polish it enough, it just might turn into a diamond.

One Of My Initial Thoughts After Reading Your Post Was Did You Spend Enough Time Polishing The Kemper To Get That Diamond? It Is A Fair Question. The Other Thing That Comes To Mind Is The Kemper Product Of Today Is Much Better Than It Was In The Past. The Recent Improvements Are Incredible And That Is Coming From A Guy With A Metric Sh!t Ton Of Nice Tube Amps. I Don't Understand How People Say The Kemper Doesn't Move Air or Make Their A$$ Vibrate On Stage. Plug A Kemper Into A 4X12 And Turn It Up And Air Will Be Moved. Use The Kemper As A Pre-Amp Through Your Favorite Tube Amp Or Power Amp And Turn It Up And Air Will Move And You Will Feel The Sound. The "Feel" Can Be Tweaked And Adjusted. It Comes Down To Knowing The Product And How To Extract From It What You Want And Need...Just Like Anything Else Use. Many Don't Wish To Take The Time To Do So And A Product Is Sometimes Labeled A Certain Way Due To Operator Error And Or Lack Of Familiarity With A Product.

Regarding Not Hearing The Difference From One Amp To Another I Could Say The Same On A Blindfolded Test On The Actual Tube Amps As Well In Many Cases. A Lot Of My Favorite Records That I Enjoy I Do So Without Truly Knowing The Exact Amp, Cab, Speaker, Signal Chain, etc. I Can Guess At Best And Often Be Correct But Unless Honest Information Is Released On What Was Really Used Do We Really Truly Know? No Two Guitars Or Amps Are Identical Anyway So What Does A Person Do With That?

Regarding Finding What Works For You Or Making What You Have Work For You Is Something I Respect Very Much. Most Of The Time, No Matter What I Am Playing Through, I Sound Like Me And I Dial In A Lot Of Similar Types Of Sounds On Everything. How Many "Sounds" Do Us Guitar Players "Have" Anyway? Not As Many As We Would Like To Think.

I Really Enjoyed Your Post And You Mentioned A Lot Of Great And Important Things. Thank You for Sharing Your Thoughts.

And Yes I Agree With On The Punishing Beauty Of That Dirty Channel.

 

[Bogner]

Would never be limited to one amp. Just wouldn't do it.

This Is Theater...Who Would If They Didn't Have To? My Point In Creating The Thread Was What Would Be Your Pick If You Had To.