What Are Your Favorite Amps To Play?

Not exactly an amp but....

I love playing through my Fractal Audio AxeFX III, and my current favorite model is a Marshall 1959 Super Lead Plexi, with the Mullard EL34's swapped out for Amperex 6CA7's, and a variac set to ~80%.

Other favorites:
- Vox AC30 Top Boost
- Fender 5F2 tweed Princeton
- Morgan AC-20 Deluxe, EF86, treble input
- Carol Ann Triptic, Classic mode
- Trainwreck Express, EL34 model
- Dumble ODS 100 watt
- Supro Coronado 1x15 combo
- Hook Amps Captain 34
- Fender Bandmaster
- Fender Vibro-King 3x10 combo
- Marshall 1970 100 watt
- Matchless DC-30, EF86 2x12 combo
- Fender blackface Twin Reverb
- Fender blackface Deluxe Reverb
- Splawn Quickrod
- Carol Ann OD-2
- Marshall 2204 JCM800 50 watt
- Friedman Dirty Shirley
- Mesa Triple Crown
- Fender Vibroverb
- Marshall 2204 JMP50
- Dweezel Zappa's modified Fender blackface Bassman
- 1958 Fender 5E3 tweed Deluxe
- Mesa Lonestar
...and others.

The last three amps that I owned were moden tube combos, versatile recording amps (no longer gigging):
Fuchs ODS 50watt 1x12 combo, tuned by Fuchs for me. (speaker was a mid 80's EV EVM-12L)
Mesa Boogie Mark V 90 watt 1x12 combo
Egnater Tweaker 15 with upgraded effects loop and retubed with NOS TungSol ECC83's and EL84's

Once I purchased an AxeFX I sold these amps. I simply lost interest in the amps. I kept the Egnater for a while as I was building/selling boutique overdrive pedals, repairing and modifying pedals. The amp was handy for testing pedals the way they were intended to be used, before they were sold, repaired, or modded and shipped. I quit building pedals and sold the Egnater amp.

I used to collect Vintage tube guitar amps for about 15 years or so (until I realized that I didn't make eneough money to collect them). Regardless, I've had the privelidge of owning, using, and renting out some 40+ vintage amps, almost all of which are modeled in the AxeFX III. It's like having all of them back. Then there's more than 400 amps modeled, including some that are unobtanium at this point, like Dumble's and Trainwreck's, and some I've never had the opportunity to play through. It's nice not having to mic amps to record. :cool:
 
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Jumping in a couple of years late, but here goes:

Tone King Meteor II - AMAZING reverb!

Tone King Comet - This amp was home for many years, and I'm thinking about buying it back from the artist who bought it. I LOVE this amp.

Tone King Majesty/Royalist - Mark Bartel made it for me as a sort of barter, PTP wiring, no attenuator, 32 watts. I used it as my main dirt source for a long time, but went to using it as more of my base-tone-with-pedals from about 2017 on. I started playing with PRS artist Shane Gamble at that point, and he was playing through a Twin Reverb and my Comet in stereo; the Majesty sounded different enough to separate the guitars on stage, and it keeps me out of the way of the keys.

Marshall 2210 - This was my main amp in the late 90's until it took a plunge off of the stage during a wild show in College Park, MD. I actually really liked the clean channel a lot. I decidedly do not play metal, but loved the dirt channel for stuff like Reel Big Fish, and Mighty Mighty Boss Tones.

PRS J-Mod proto - A friend bought one of these and let me play through it for a few weeks. Loved it! It sounded a lot more Marshall to me than Fender, and had a certain "stretch" to the front of the note that I adored.

Sound City 120 - The same friend has this amp that he found, and for some reason had it plugged into a variac. I played it, and it had the most elastic, stretch-iness to the clean notes that I've ever felt/played. I can't get this amp out of my head!!!!!!

Splawn Quickrod - I got one around 2013, and I WISH I had gotten the Drop B+ option. The "stretch" I just mentioned above was non-existent in this thing. However, the dirt channels worked GREAT in a band context! I used it many times during shows, and always dug it in the mix! By myself, not so much, but during a show that thing just had the goods. I may actually revisit this thing, this time with the Drop B+ option. My band from the 90's is having a big reunion show at The Avalon Theatre in Easton, MD and a Quickrod would be a great replacement for the old Marshall 2210 rig I used in the 90's!!!
 
Easy answer for me. Bought a Marshall DSL 20 brand new on sale from Guitar Ctr a few weeks ago for $550 and OMG....... LOVE this thing. Playing mostly at home so I play on the 10 watt setting and it's more than enough. Small club gig, the 20 watt will be plenty. When I plugged this gem in, clicked immediately over to their High/ultra gain channel 2 and it's an old classic rock tone on it's own, no pedals needed. I have 2 pedalboards but with this thing for practice no pedals needed. As Greg Koch would say "the sound is Glorious" right out of the box. It's a better tone on it's own than I've ever experienced. I'd gig with this, no pedals. Not happy with the speaker so will switch that out for either a Creamback or a Greenback if I can find one not made in China.

Channel one is clean but there is a gain option and for the life of me, with everything dimed I can't get even a little crunch/breakup out of it. When needed, I'll run my pedalboard thru Ch 1 and have the best of both worlds. If you like classic rock, some dirt with no pedals, I've not found a better amp than this. Love it. They also have a 5 watt version that apparently is killer as well, just too small for me. Can't wait to hear this thing come alive even more when I install my Celestion.

Thx, enjoy.
 
Bogner said:
Hire A Landscaper And Buy More Amps. ;)
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We were out of town for the weekend. Got back yesterday afternoon. I played the Archon last night for about an hour. At the end of that hour, I was looking at the Bogner and the HDRX and calculating how much I could get for them and what I might use it for. I had 3 completely different gain tones last night by moving dials around, and in all cases, the tone just KILLED! I've said this more than once here before: Wanting is one thing and we all want more stuff, but every time I play the Archon I walk out of the music room knowing I could be completely happy for the rest of my life with that being my only amp!

I had other amps that I loved for a while. Multiple Mesa amps were "great" for a while. I have had the Archon now for years and it still makes me feel this way every time I turn it on. THIS is the amp I've always wanted! Don't really "need" anything else.
 
DreamTheaterRules said:
We were out of town for the weekend. Got back yesterday afternoon. I played the Archon last night for about an hour. At the end of that hour, I was looking at the Bogner and the HDRX and calculating how much I could get for them and what I might use it for. I had 3 completely different gain tones last night by moving dials around, and in all cases, the tone just KILLED! I've said this more than once here before: Wanting is one thing and we all want more stuff, but every time I play the Archon I walk out of the music room knowing I could be completely happy for the rest of my life with that being my only amp!

I had other amps that I loved for a while. Multiple Mesa amps were "great" for a while. I have had the Archon now for years and it still makes me feel this way every time I turn it on. THIS is the amp I've always wanted! Don't really "need" anything else.
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Being The Encouraging Fellow That I Am And For The Sake Of Gear Whoredom (Which I Am A Big Fan Of) I Say Stick With What Works And Buy 2 More USA Archons In Case Something Ever Happens. ;)
 
Bogner said:
Being The Encouraging Fellow That I Am And For The Sake Of Gear Whoredom (Which I Am A Big Fan Of) I Say Stick With What Works And Buy 2 More USA Archons In Case Something Ever Happens. ;)
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I'd consider a 3 channel amp with a great "crunch" channel. I'm hoping Andy comes back with a great review of the crunch channel on the MT100, as I'd consider that one. I'd rather have a Bogner Ecstasy or Splawn Quickrod... maybe even a Mesa Triple Crown. But I'm in no hurry. My problem is, it's not like I can just go and try out the few amps I'm actually interested in. If I hear one that really moves me, I'll get it, but I really don't have access to most of them to even try.
 
DreamTheaterRules said:
We were out of town for the weekend. Got back yesterday afternoon. I played the Archon last night for about an hour. At the end of that hour, I was looking at the Bogner and the HDRX and calculating how much I could get for them and what I might use it for. I had 3 completely different gain tones last night by moving dials around, and in all cases, the tone just KILLED! I've said this more than once here before: Wanting is one thing and we all want more stuff, but every time I play the Archon I walk out of the music room knowing I could be completely happy for the rest of my life with that being my only amp!

I had other amps that I loved for a while. Multiple Mesa amps were "great" for a while. I have had the Archon now for years and it still makes me feel this way every time I turn it on. THIS is the amp I've always wanted! Don't really "need" anything else.
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You're welcome :cool:
 
Probably my old Boogie Studio 22. Sadly it's a bit tired now and needs work, but my latest purchase amp wise is a Fender Mustang GTX 100. That's a whole lotta excellence for the money - £550 UK.

If only the modelling tech had been around when I was a young 'un - I cudda been a contender. :cool:
 
DreamTheaterRules said:
I'd consider a 3 channel amp with a great "crunch" channel. I'm hoping Andy comes back with a great review of the crunch channel on the MT100, as I'd consider that one. I'd rather have a Bogner Ecstasy or Splawn Quickrod... maybe even a Mesa Triple Crown. But I'm in no hurry. My problem is, it's not like I can just go and try out the few amps I'm actually interested in. If I hear one that really moves me, I'll get it, but I really don't have access to most of them to even try.
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I Could See You Really Liking The Triple Crown And XTC. The Quick Rod (Old Version) Was In And Out Quick And I Never Sell Much Of Anything. I Hear The Newer Ones Are Better But Even Then, I Would Never Take Own Over The TC Or XTC. Both Of Those Amps Are Brilliant (IMO).
 
Bogner said:
I Could See You Really Liking The Triple Crown And XTC. The Quick Rod (Old Version) Was In And Out Quick And I Never Sell Much Of Anything. I Hear The Newer Ones Are Better But Even Then, I Would Never Take Own Over The TC Or XTC. Both Of Those Amps Are Brilliant (IMO).
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I had a band I used to go see and the guitar player played a Les Paul into a Quick Rod. It sounded FANTASTIC and I stood 15 -30 feet in front of the cab every time I saw them (9 times in 4-5 years). Never got to know him enough to ask questions about what version/options/seetings, etc, but it was BAD A$$!
 
Bogner said:
I Could See You Really Liking The Triple Crown And XTC. The Quick Rod (Old Version) Was In And Out Quick And I Never Sell Much Of Anything. I Hear The Newer Ones Are Better But Even Then, I Would Never Take Own Over The TC Or XTC. Both Of Those Amps Are Brilliant (IMO).
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p.s. I played a 101B years ago. For years, it was the best amp I'd ever played. Blue and red channels were both great! Wish I had one to compare to the Archon although the Archon can't do the Blue channel. I will say that the snarl I can dial in on the Archon does remind me of the red channel. We had a rented 2x12 with old greenbacks in it, and that Bogner sounded FANTASTIC
 
DreamTheaterRules said:
I had a band I used to go see and the guitar player played a Les Paul into a Quick Rod. It sounded FANTASTIC and I stood 15 -30 feet in front of the cab every time I saw them (9 times in 4-5 years). Never got to know him enough to ask questions about what version/options/seetings, etc, but it was BAD A$$!
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The One I Had Was When They First Came Out. I Didn't Like How It Sounded Overall Or Felt. It Wasn't Horrible But It Wasn't Anywhere Near As Good For Me As Everybody Was Ranting About IMO. The News Ones Are Far Less Stiff And Sterile Sounding And I Have Considered Giving One Another Go But Not Before Getting The Other Amps I Want.
 
Oh gosh, I wanted to play for the last couple of days, but hurt my back two days ago, and I feel a little ginger, so I won't be carrying a guitar down the stairs into my studio for another day or two.

However...

The last time I played I switched through all the amps, each one with all the cabs, and had myself a good ol' time.
DreamTheaterRules said:
We were out of town for the weekend. Got back yesterday afternoon. I played the Archon last night for about an hour. At the end of that hour, I was looking at the Bogner and the HDRX and calculating how much I could get for them and what I might use it for.
Click to expand...

This happens to me with every single one of my amps!

I play through one, think, "I could live with this one alone," and start thinking about easy Reverb sales, but... then feel the same way the next day about one of my other amps.

This is why I haven't bought or sold an amp in several years. I can't bear to part with any of them!

Hell, I can't even part with the dang NOS glass in them.

There are amps I'd be interested in, but it'd have to be 'one in, one out', and I can't do the 'out' part.
 
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