What Are Your Favorite Amps To Play?

DreamTheaterRules said:
The ElectraDyne? One of my local music shop guys has one and said even in his big basement he can rarely turn it up to where it sounds great. He brought it in the store once and let me listen to it, but it was in a small practice room. It was way over saturating the room before it sounded good and then it sounded really good but was WAY too loud in there. But, I didn't mess with it much. Just listened a few minutes with a nice Les Paul straight in, then a strat.
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What on earth has that got to do with the DG30?
 
LSchefman said:
That's not even remotely close to my DG30. Sounds more like a JCM Marshall or something. Not saying it sounds bad, but no, not a DG30 tone.

Maybe it's the speaker cab, the mic, or the settings they used to profile the amp, but...that special vocal formant quality of the DG30 is missing completely.

Sorry guys, that's a miss, not a hit.
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It's a hit, it is just a miss on what amp. :)
 
Wyzard said:
I'm beginning to think this is true, having thought the opposite for as long as I've had the amp..... which is coming up for the three-year mark! It just seemed an accepted fact, though I might be prepared to challenge this "conventional wisdom" now too.

I reckon that the great sound I've been experiencing lately with mine has been as much about re-thinking how to eq and set the amp's various levels, as it is about the speaker pairing (and the KOT V4 I've also stuck in front of it). Using the very bright Fane speaker made me more conscious of setup than I had been in the past - I used to mainly just plug and play, and not get too tied up in fine-tuning it, relying instead on the amp's muscle to carry the day.

I'd also not given the ED as many playing hours as it clearly deserves, as I've usually just defaulted to my Two Rock or Boogie Mk-series amps. My setup skills on it haven't been very finely tuned as a result - my loss, it turns out, as the ED is an even more capable amp than I'd previously believed. It's a lot of fun, but it's also good for fine singing lead lines as well, as I've currently got it configured.

Plus: I've had an even better day with it today. That's after plugging its own Black Shadow back in, and running it in parallel with the Crescendo on the 4-ohm setting.

A FTT Ambi-Space (currently on its own in the loop) is working pretty well too. I may also try a Lehle Sunday Driver in front of the FTT, just to see if it makes any further difference.
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Gotta love Free The Tone Stuff! I sure do!!
 
DreamTheaterRules said:
The ElectraDyne? One of my local music shop guys has one and said even in his big basement he can rarely turn it up to where it sounds great. He brought it in the store once and let me listen to it, but it was in a small practice room. It was way over saturating the room before it sounded good and then it sounded really good but was WAY too loud in there. But, I didn't mess with it much. Just listened a few minutes with a nice Les Paul straight in, then a strat.
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Maybe mine's an outlier then, though I somehow doubt it.

I have a theory: bear with me...

I reckon it's benefitting from my last 2 1/2 years of learning to play with a much lighter touch than I did before lockdown, and the compromises involved that come from playing almost exclusively at home. Plus, I'm way more pedal-savvy than I was, back when I used them just to crank things up five or ten notches :rolleyes:


In an effort to co-exist peacefully with my wife while we were both doing our respective work at home, I've finally learned to play quietly, yet still get a half-decent tone. That's using various Two Rocks, Hiwatts, and a large number of earlier Mk series Boogies (often w/Cornish, Ethos and KOT pedals on what I was using). Something TAG said a long time ago on the Gear Page stuck with me: getting the Robben Ford thing on "Politician" from HAD's #183 involves a pretty light touch. So do lots of other styles, when playing (much) quieter than I'd got used to over the previous forty years.


Remember that HAD used to "audition" folk who wanted to buy one of his amps? Plus how he said his amps weren't for everyone; and as a result, he turned down doing an amp for some of them, saying something along the lines that it wouldn't be a good fit for their playing?


I'll bet it was to see how heavy-handed they were.....*


That used to be me: but not any more :)



[* unless it was specifically an SSS they were ordering, maybe...?;)]
 
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Wyzard said:
Maybe mine's an outlier then, though I somehow doubt it.

I have a theory: bear with me...

I reckon it's benefitting from my last 2 1/2 years of learning to play with a much lighter touch than I did before lockdown, and the compromises involved that come from playing almost exclusively at home. Plus, I'm way more pedal-savvy than I was, back when I used them just to crank things up five or ten notches :rolleyes:


In an effort to co-exist peacefully with my wife while we were both doing our respective work at home, I've finally learned to play quietly, yet still get a half-decent tone. That's using various Two Rocks, Hiwatts, and a large number of earlier Mk series Boogies (often w/Cornish, Ethos and KOT pedals on what I was using). Something TAG said a long time ago on the Gear Page stuck with me: getting the Robben Ford thing on "Politician" from HAD's #183 involves a pretty light touch. So do lots of other styles, when playing (much) quieter than I'd got used to over the previous forty years.


Remember that HAD used to "audition" folk who wanted to buy one of his amps? Plus how he said his amps weren't for everyone; and as a result, he turned down doing an amp for some of them, saying something along the lines that it wouldn't be a good fit for their playing?


I'll bet it was to see how heavy-handed they were.....*


That used to be me: but not any more :)



[* unless it was specifically an SSS they were ordering, maybe...?;)]
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Several years ago, I attended a Robben Ford clinic, back when he was playing a red Baker guitar on tour.

Afterward, I talked with Robben about technique, and he handed me his guitar, which was strung with heavy strings and a VERY high action, both of which he said were necessary for his tone and style of playing. He wanted me to feel what he felt was a proper setup for the best tone.

It took quite a bit of force to even get the strings down to the frets! I play with a light touch. I could not have performed with that guitar. Couldn't happen, My touch isn't heavy enough, I'd have had to change the way I play.

A thought occurs to me as I think about your post in light of the above facts:

Call it Les' Theory of Relativity: Lightness of touch is relative to the amount of resistance created by the string gauge and action.

Seems to me, the lighter the string gauge and the lower the action, the lighter touch you need, and with heavy strings and a high action, you can have a heavier touch and still not overdo it.

Make sense?

As an aside, at the time I was playing .009s, but Robben stressed rhythm playing, and when I played rhythm on the .009s, things felt a little rubbery and out of control. Switching to .010s cured that. With the same amount of right hand force, everything felt tighter, the guitar stayed more in tune, and my picking was more accurate because the strings weren't flopping around as much. Does this lend credence to my theory?
 
I could easily have it all *rse about face as far as RF and Dumbles are concerned (wouldn't be the first time!!); but I'll stand by my own trajectory over the last few years - it's been far easier to get D-adjacent amps (and a few non-Ds too...) to behave well at lower volumes since I reduced my own heavy-handedness. Everyone else's MMV, naturally :)

I use 9.5s and 10s on a lot of my own guitars; all with a low or low-ish action made possible by the excellent Plek/setup work at CCGX.

Robben Ford is a player I know relatively little about myself, although he's clearly an exceptional player. So I'm going on hearsay, rather than any real insight of my own.
 
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LSchefman said:
Several years ago, I attended a Robben Ford clinic, back when he was playing a red Baker guitar on tour.

Afterward, I talked with Robben about technique, and he handed me his guitar, which was strung with heavy strings and a VERY high action, both of which he said were necessary for his tone and style of playing. He wanted me to feel what he felt was a proper setup for the best tone.

It took quite a bit of force to even get the strings down to the frets! I play with a light touch. I could not have performed with that guitar. Couldn't happen, My touch isn't heavy enough, I'd have had to change the way I play.

A thought occurs to me as I think about your post in light of the above facts:

Call it Les' Theory of Relativity: Lightness of touch is relative to the amount of resistance created by the string gauge and action.

Seems to me, the lighter the string gauge and the lower the action, the lighter touch you need, and with heavy strings and a high action, you can have a heavier touch and still not overdo it.

Make sense?

As an aside, at the time I was playing .009s, but Robben stressed rhythm playing, and when I played rhythm on the .009s, things felt a little rubbery and out of control. Switching to .010s cured that. With the same amount of right hand force, everything felt tighter, the guitar stayed more in tune, and my picking was more accurate because the strings weren't flopping around as much. Does this lend credence to my theory?
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Robben always comes across as a grounded guy when he talks. A clinic with him would be great.
 
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Wyzard said:
I could easily have it all *rse about face as far as RF and Dumbles are concerned (wouldn't be the first time!!); but I'll stand by my own trajectory over the last few years - it's been far easier to get D-adjacent amps (and a few non-Ds too...) to behave well at lower volumes since I reduced my own heavy-handedness. Everyone else's MMV, naturally :)

I use 9.5s and 10s on a lot of my own guitars; all with a low or low-ish action made possible by the excellent Plek/setup work at CCGX.

Robben Ford is a player I know relatively little about myself, although he's clearly an exceptional player. So I'm going on hearsay, rather than any real insight of my own.
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I wasn't actually disagreeing with you, just discussing stuff I was thinking about.

I played only Two-Rocks for 12 years. They suited my playing style, and are truly outstanding amps. As I said, I have a light touch, anyway, plus I use the volume and tone controls while playing, so that also helps with dynamics and amp response.

However, I played them pretty loud, because I had a recording booth in my old studio. I could stick them in there, and connect the pedalboard near my recording console, so I wasn't worried about volume.

I eventually migrated to the HXDA and then the DG30 in early 2014. It wasn't because I didn't love the TRs, I just felt like changing things up. I'm pretty sure I should have hung onto the TR, because having all three amps would have been pretty sweet. But...I didn't. C'est la vie.
 
Wyzard said:
Which ones, if you don't mind expanding a little?
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I started with the Onyx models, then Bill came out with the Onyx v2, and sent me one to try. Of COURSE I bought it.

After that there was the Onyx Signature, and after that, the Onyx Signature v2. The Onyx models were true 2-channel amps. They were fantastic. Unbelievable amps. TR used to stuff them with NOS tubes on request.

Then they made a custom amp for one of their resellers in NYC. They sent me one to try and it was...well...incredible. But I forget the model name.

After that, there was the Artist and the Artist Sig v1, later the Artist Sig v2.

There's another amp company that was a competitor at the time making amps I also admired - Komet. I never bought one, BUT I should have!!! Fantastic single-channel amps with incredible build quality and fantastic sound. Their claim to fame was that Ken Fischer's Trainwreck design was used for their amps, and officially licensed. They were (maybe still are?) the real deal.

I should find out if they're still making amps. The Komet Constellation I played was among the finest single-channel amps I've ever played through.

TR & HXDA level tone.
 
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LSchefman said:
I started with the Onyx models, then Bill came out with the Onyx v2, and sent me one to try. Of COURSE I bought it.

After that there was the Onyx Signature, and after that, the Onyx Signature v2. The Onyx models were true 2-channel amps. They were fantastic. Unbelievable amps. TR used to stuff them with NOS tubes on request.

Then they made a custom amp for one of their resellers in NYC. They sent me one to try and it was...well...incredible. But I forget the model name.

After that, there was the Artist and the Artist Sig v1, later the Artist Sig v2.

There's another amp company that was a competitor at the time making amps I also admired - Komet. I never bought one, BUT I should have!!! Fantastic single-channel amps with incredible build quality and fantastic sound. Their claim to fame was that Ken Fischer's Trainwreck design was used for their amps, and officially licensed. They were (maybe still are?) the real deal.

I should find out if they're still making amps. The Komet Constellation I played was among the finest single-channel amps I've ever played through.

TR & HXDA level tone.
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Komet is still around. Great amps. I want a Concorde!
 
LSchefman said:
I started with the Onyx models, then Bill came out with the Onyx v2, and sent me one to try. Of COURSE I bought it.

After that there was the Onyx Signature, and after that, the Onyx Signature v2. The Onyx models were true 2-channel amps. They were fantastic. Unbelievable amps. TR used to stuff them with NOS tubes on request.

Then they made a custom amp for one of their resellers in NYC. They sent me one to try and it was...well...incredible. But I forget the model name.

After that, there was the Artist and the Artist Sig v1, later the Artist Sig v2.

There's another amp company that was a competitor at the time making amps I also admired - Komet. I never bought one, BUT I should have!!! Fantastic single-channel amps with incredible build quality and fantastic sound. Their claim to fame was that Ken Fischer's Trainwreck design was used for their amps, and officially licensed. They were (maybe still are?) the real deal.

I should find out if they're still making amps. The Komet Constellation I played was among the finest single-channel amps I've ever played through.

TR & HXDA level tone.
Click to expand...

I've tried a couple of those TRs you went through: all truly excellent amps - and any of them would have worked for me if I hadn't already picked up my LTD and CRS back around the end of 2004/start of 2005 respectively. Lightly-used TRs like the Opals, Emeralds, etc. - plus a whole bunch of custom-built one-offs - were turning up occasionally over the next five years. I was living in FL back then, with a Two Rock dealer quite close to me, and doing all the vintage shows I could get to.

I could also have picked up a Trainwreck quite easily but passed on the opportunity. I guess I simply wasn't a smart enough player at the time to realise exactly how wonderfully expressive the Trainwreck amps were - coming from long-term playing of just Boogies, and then having the luxury of a cascaded gain channel in the Two Rocks as well, I suppose I felt a single-channel amp just wouldn't be as useful. Plus .....the K&M LTD has a set of Fischer-specc'd Pacific transformers in it (long-ish and contentious story), so I probably felt I was as covered for that type of amp as I needed to be.

Ah well, the virtues of hindsight :(

The Komet, meanwhile, is definitely a great amp in that mold.


To this day, I haven't played a Two Rock (or anything else) that comprehensively outclasses the amps I bought nearly twenty years ago. The CRS I got is the next serial number after Mayer's, so (to me at least) that one is irreplaceable.

I added the Akoya relatively recently because it went in a slightly different direction: imagine the offspring of a Two Rock Emerald Pro if you mated it with a Zinky-era Fender Vibro-King! It comprehensively and single-handedly disproves the idea that PBG-era Two Rock didn't produce any great amps, or at least, great ones that weren't conceived before they took over.

With the re-vitalisation of the company, added to their recent "improvements" (mainly the transformer-related developments in power-reduction), I reckon there's at least one more amp coming my way from Two Rock. I need to try some other stuff out too, and from a variety of makers: PRS, Suhr, plus a few others (more boutique, I guess) are all on my list.
 
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Late to this thread, but a lot of interesting comments!

A beginning player in the mid-70s, the vaunted Boogie amps made a serious impression on me. And then the Marshall tone was everywhere, Gilmour’s Hiwatts were other-worldly, and I’d grown up listening to Fenders and Voxes. Pedals and the refrigerator-racks became a thing in this period, and making cool sounds was an art. It was a good mix, and I see the influence of these sounds in my choices to this day.

The above explains a lot of why I mostly play a Fractal Audio Axe Fx these days. All of those sounds in one place. But that’s another discussion for another thread.

The PRS HX/DA 50 is high on my “best amps ever” list, and cover my entire list of Plexi-amp needs. I already went on and on and on about it in another thread, so I’ll just point you there:
forums.prsguitars.com

HX/DA INFO (and my NAD 50 W Head(s)) Share your HXDA knowledge with the world!

Ok, after totally hijacking Rapdog’s HXDA market thread, I thought it was time to get back in my own lane! A 50 watt version HXDA head is “Out For Delivery” to my humble abode, and the obligatory pics will follow soon. I am looking forward to it as it’s as close to an old Plexi as I am ever...
forums.prsguitars.com forums.prsguitars.com

My first Boogie was a wood/wicker Mk III, and it changed my opinion about what quality tone was. Not the “hour in a music store” test impression that so often fools people that different is better, but the 10-years gigging it and still getting smile-inducing tones from it sort of convincing. I played Boogies exclusively for decades. I still have a Road King II 2x12 and a Nomad 55 4x10… super amps. I was depressed to see Randall sell to Gibson. It was the true end to an era.

Fender and Vox amps are as comfortable as old jeans, and just sound familiar to me. I’m a fan of certain blackface era amps. I own a 1964 Super Reverb and a Deluxe Reverb reissue that I sent to George Allessandro to have the circuit boards torn out and a handwired blackface circuit put in. Both sound like Fenders should sound.

My Vox urge is scratched by a 1991 30th Anniversary AC30TB. Great amp from the Rose Morris era. I had a tech go over it, and he commented on how much better the RM and Korg amps are built than anything since. I’m no expert, but once I put Celestion Blue speakers in, there was “that” sound. The amp came with 20 watt Greenbacks, which I love, as Blues weren’t being made in the early 90s, but nothing sounds like an AC30 through Blues. The GBs are safely stored :)

My urge to get Gilmour-loud was handled by a Carol-Ann Tucana 3. It is a KT88 powered wall of sound that any original DR103 fan ought to check out (If you can find one). The Hiwatts had power, and could get loud dirty or clean in a way most amps can’t. The CA could do that, and with three channels, was more versatile. It’s the kind of amp you have to play to understand. Unfortunately, Carol Ann is no more, since Alan Phillips quit building amps several years ago. I sold my Tucana 3 a while back, and rely on the Axe Fx when I need it.

I have others, but that covers everything that means anything to me tone-wise. I love the sound and tech of the Axe Fx, and it needs no excuses made. But I also love the simplicity and immediacy of playing a good tube amp. There’s no animosity between them for me. The UA Ox Box mixes tube amps and tech processing, and makes even my loudest amps usable anywhere. It is another super option for anyone looking to bridge the two worlds.
 
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Real amps that I've physically owned and very much loved using:

* Blackface Bassman w/ OG cab
* Rivera S120 w/ Rivera 1x12 cabs ( EVM12L loaded)
* Marshall Artist 30 w/ Marshall 1936 (G12T75 loaded)
* Vox AC15 (Chinese w/ Greenback)
* Soldano Astroverb
* Bad Cat Cub IVR (handwired)
* Bad Cat HC30R (version 2)

Now, being one to also use modelling, here are some of my favorite amp models with the company that released them:

* Fuchs Overdrive Supreme (Brainworx)
* Engl Savage 120 ( Brainworx)
* Suhr PT100 (Brainworx)
* Bassdude (Brainworx)
* DC30 (Nembrini Audio)
* Faceman (Nembrini Audio)
* Bulldog [VHT Pitbull] (Audio Assault)

Here are my favorite Helix models:

* Grammatico La Grange (this is the amp for my personal rig)

In all honesty, most of the clean and classic gain amps in the Helix are great. If I run modern metal amps, I find myself lowering the gain to like 1-2 on the dial. I'll also use a gain block first and reduce the output of the guitar coming in so I can get a smoother, drier tone.
 
I still have the feeling that my HXDA deserves to be my #1. It is touch-sensitive, does the things I need an amp to do, from clean to scream, and it's wonderfully reactive to the controls on my guitar as well as my picking.

Just my opinion, but the HXDA is THE classic PRS amp. I also feel it's a better sounding amp than anything I've ever played through, except the Two-Rock Onyx, an amp that sounds equally good even though my tastes lean toward the HXDA.

Today I was comparing it to every other amp I own, and thinking, 'why have anything else'?

Then I remembered that I have an amp switcher, and it'd be useless unless I had other amps. So that's my excuse for having more than one amp! :cool:
 
My favorite amps these days are all analog and made by BluGuitar. The Amp1.have a Silver and Mercury edition… Has a Nanotube as well…. sounds amazing with pedals run into the clean channel. it’s 100 watts and weighs 2 lbs. has 3 overdrive Marshall based channels as well. Can play it very low late at night or with headphones or live with our band sounds even better…
Sold off a bunch of my tube amps. Still have my Budda SD-18 and East Club 18… love those buggers. Perfect for live use
that being said, I’d love to have an HXDA and a DG30 head, but they’re probably to loud to get in the sweet spot for most live band venues I play these days… The 18’s are perfect for that…
 
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