What Are Your Favorite Amps To Play?

I'm gonna be the weirdo and say Gibson Goldtone Super. I've been in love with the cleans from Trace Elliot Velocettes since I first played through one at GC. I was searching for one I could afford for quite a while. I drove all the way to Green Bay to buy the Goldtone. It is way more amp than I'll ever need. I constructed the five way foot switch from the schematics, cause I am a physicist and I can do that kind of ****. The five way unlocks the ability to run the clean and dirty channels together, which is cool.

The Goldtone is 85 lbs of tone like butter.
 
NBW said:
I'm gonna be the weirdo and say Gibson Goldtone Super. I've been in love with the cleans from Trace Elliot Velocettes since I first played through one at GC. I was searching for one I could afford for quite a while. I drove all the way to Green Bay to buy the Goldtone. It is way more amp than I'll ever need. I constructed the five way foot switch from the schematics, cause I am a physicist and I can do that kind of ****. The five way unlocks the ability to run the clean and dirty channels together, which is cool.

The Goldtone is 85 lbs of tone like butter.
Click to expand...
That sounds great!
 
NBW said:
I'm gonna be the weirdo and say Gibson Goldtone Super. I've been in love with the cleans from Trace Elliot Velocettes since I first played through one at GC. I was searching for one I could afford for quite a while. I drove all the way to Green Bay to buy the Goldtone. It is way more amp than I'll ever need. I constructed the five way foot switch from the schematics, cause I am a physicist and I can do that kind of ****. The five way unlocks the ability to run the clean and dirty channels together, which is cool.

The Goldtone is 85 lbs of tone like butter.
Click to expand...
Not weird at all! The amp anyway. I heard one of those, at guitar center, of all places, and it had GREAT tones!!!
 
I'm sure I wrote this when a similar thread started, but Hats Off to Les...I used to be a Roland JC55/77 guy all day.
Now, its All tubes, all the time. And I used to be all in on Dr Z, but they all sounded somewhat similar(Clean, To me, anyway) .
Now I'm down to Dr Z Monza, Maz 18, and a Mesa Nomad 45, and a Bad Cat Black Cat 15. (Bad Cat is definitely my current Favorite.)

If a DG 30 head shows up locally, that's very high on my wish list...I'd just have to decide what goes for it.

Just a suggestion to those with multiple heads and cabinets...Check out the DeLisle amp switcher...awesome studio tools.
My heads all go into a Dr Z 2X12" cab...Killer tones...but that cab is HEAVY!!!!
 
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Bill SAS 513 said:
I'm sure I wrote this when a similar thread started, but Hats Off to Les...I used to be a Roland JC55/77 guy all day.
Now, its All tubes, all the time. And I used to be all in on Dr Z, but they all sounded somewhat similar(Clean, To me, anyway) .
Now I'm down to Dr Z Monza, Maz 18, and a Mesa Nomad 45, and a Bad Cat Black Cat 15. (Bad Cat is definitely my current Favorite.)

If a DG 30 head shows up locally, that's very high on my wish list...I'd just have to decide what goes for it.

Just a suggestion to those with multiple heads and cabinets...Check out the DeLisle amp switcher...awesome studio tools.
My heads all go into a Dr Z 2X12" cab...Killer tones...but that cab is HEAVY!!!!
Click to expand...
Good tip on the amp switcher. Very helpful in many situations. KHE is very nice as well as a few others. While we are at good ideas and tips, I may as well throw in voltage regulator of some kind so you have good, clean, accurate and appropriate power. Amp RX Power Station is great! :)
 
NBW said:
I'm gonna be the weirdo and say Gibson Goldtone Super. I've been in love with the cleans from Trace Elliot Velocettes since I first played through one at GC. I was searching for one I could afford for quite a while. I drove all the way to Green Bay to buy the Goldtone. It is way more amp than I'll ever need. I constructed the five way foot switch from the schematics, cause I am a physicist and I can do that kind of ****. The five way unlocks the ability to run the clean and dirty channels together, which is cool.

The Goldtone is 85 lbs of tone like butter.
Click to expand...

85 lbs?!?! More like lead lol
 
Wyzard said:
For those of us who've spent decades wrestling Mesas across the landscape, 85 lbs is just par for the course. These amps don't only exert their own gravitational force - they come with event horizons.
Click to expand...

I used to lug a Peavey Classic 50-410, so I know what you're talking about. (and "back in the day", it was a Marshal 4x12 slant with a rack system LOL)
 
Wyzard said:
You want to try being over 60; then let's see the bravado ;)
Click to expand...
It has nothing to do with bravado but rather capability. Maybe its too early for some light humor and ribbing. My apologies. :)

I do carry my 4x12's and heads, etc around quite often to various places to play etc and it would be great if they weighed less but I refuse to compromise what I like playing for convenience or simplicity. I guess I am stubborn like that. I will admit, wheels are a good thing. :)
 
No offense taken here! Me, I'm made of steel :D

Or, more likely, tin foil.


My personal take, as someone who's still lifting stuff for all his burnt-out buddies: being over 60 is all about capability, both now and into the *ss-end of your able-bodied life. All the stuff you did when you were that bit younger, while you were still thinking yourself invincible, can (and eventually will) come back to haunt you.


Anyhow......

anyone who's over 60, and routinely engages in carting stuff around that weighs 80lbs+, is:

a) destroying their back
b) destroying their knees
c) impressing other people who are usually way past being impressed; but they're standing around anyway, enjoying the spectacle, quietly smirking, and all the while thinking: "Hmmmmm...... what's a good gift to take an old guy who's stuck in hospital?"


The wheels help on Mesas, and lord knows, I use them whenever moving them becomes necessary; but over even short runs, on fairly rough ground (festivals, anyone?), and without the benefit of a road crew, you're still risking killing your health.
 
Related to this topic of weight, Tom Bukovac recently stated that "good tone is heavy and hard to carry." I agree with him on most things, and even agree with him mostly on this... however, when you start talking about gigs/load-ins/load-outs/stairs, I am willing to compromise my tone a bit (but not much- maybe 10%) to have a much more pleasant gigging experience. (Roland Blues Cube Artist with the Ultimate Blues tone capsule). :cool:
 
Bogner said:
I do carry my 4x12's and heads, etc around quite often to various places to play etc and it would be great if they weighed less but I refuse to compromise what I like playing for convenience or simplicity. I guess I am stubborn like that. I will admit, wheels are a good thing. :)
Click to expand...
I love your no-compromise attitude!

I completely share your belief, in spite of the fact that merely lifting some of my cabs in inch off the ground is a life-threatening experience for me now.

But what's the point of not being dead if you can't really feel alive??

EDIT: Wait, I just heard from my cardiologist, who said, "Dead men can't play guitar."

Yes I did reply, "How do you know that? Ever been dead??"

I'll grant you, I don't believe in the supernatural, or in afterlife, or in reincarnation.

But it seems I ought to reserve the right to wait and see!

"Les, you'll be going straight to hell, and they'll hand you an accordion."

"I love the accordion."

"Then they'll give you a guitar."

"I love playing guitar."

"How about ukulele?"

"I'm good with it."

"Oud?"

"I can learn."

"Drums."

"A man has his limits." :eek:
 
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Bill SAS 513 said:
I'm sure I wrote this when a similar thread started, but Hats Off to Les...I used to be a Roland JC55/77 guy all day.
Now, its All tubes, all the time. And I used to be all in on Dr Z, but they all sounded somewhat similar(Clean, To me, anyway) .
Now I'm down to Dr Z Monza, Maz 18, and a Mesa Nomad 45, and a Bad Cat Black Cat 15. (Bad Cat is definitely my current Favorite.)

If a DG 30 head shows up locally, that's very high on my wish list...I'd just have to decide what goes for it.

Just a suggestion to those with multiple heads and cabinets...Check out the DeLisle amp switcher...awesome studio tools.
My heads all go into a Dr Z 2X12" cab...Killer tones...but that cab is HEAVY!!!!
Click to expand...
Interested to hear more about your amps. Especially the Monza, and Maz and why you like the Bad Cat better. I have the Zbest cab, (nicknamed ZBeast! Because it is. And yes, it’s heavy. It’s basically a 2x12 Thiele cab. So yeah, it’s a monster for a 2x
 
DreamTheaterRules said:
Interested to hear more about your amps. Especially the Monza, and Maz and why you like the Bad Cat better. I have the Zbest cab, (nicknamed ZBeast! Because it is. And yes, it’s heavy. It’s basically a 2x12 Thiele cab. So yeah, it’s a monster for a 2x
Click to expand...
The Z-Best is a great cab. I love the way those sound, especially the 2x12. That's a great choice.

But as to the amps, the topologies are so different that having a favorite is merely a matter of taste. I really like Mike Zaite's amps. But I liked my Hot Cat 30 more than the Maz models, and that's merely a matter of personal taste, and has absolutely nothing to do with 'better'. I felt it was an apples-to-oranges competition. For me, it comes down to personal taste.

OK, I specialize in blah-blah, yak-yak,. I admit it. The internet is about three things: Spouting off, Shopping, and Porn. If we want to talk to people we know and like, there's the telephone.

"It's all text messages now, doofus."

"What happened to Alexander Graham Bell?"

"Deader'n a nail."
 
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