SURVEY: which amp ended up being your biggest disappointment?

[kruts]

Carvin Legacy head - just too much midrange, couldn't coax anything decent out of it. Went on ebay...

[jason wallis]

Suhr Od 100 and Divided by 13 JJN 50/100


I would give the Suhr another shot but have John Mod it. The model I had did not agree with me, but I know John does great work and am sure he coukld have tweaked it to my liking. I bought it new and just could not take the chance at the time because I ahd a return policy within which to decide.

The JJN 50/100 was very sterile sounding. Had big boomy bass. It sounded like a nuetered Super Lead with an overdose of woofiness. blah!!

[lspaulsp]

70's Champ. Gerald Weber fixed it!!!!

[m.z.]

Mesa Boogie F-30.

Still trying to figure out ANY good tones after a year. Help Pleasssee


not sure about that particular boogie...but I've had my mark IV for about 10 years and I gave up on trying to find something usable.... best I can coax from it is a kind of o.k. clean on the verge of breakup on channel 1. ...still sounds sterile and boring.... bad reverb.... terrible overdrive...heavy as !%$&.... they are not for everyone that's for sure... anything that can make my tele sound like crap is....well.....crap.:moon

[PrestonBrick]

not sure about that particular boogie...but I've had my mark IV for about 10 years and I gave up on trying to find something usable.... best I can coax from it is a kind of o.k. clean on the verge of breakup on channel 1. ...still sounds sterile and boring.... bad reverb.... terrible overdrive...heavy as !%$&.... they are not for everyone that's for sure... anything that can make my tele sound like crap is....well.....crap.:moon

You got that right

[6stringjazz]

K&M (two rock) custom. The first time I played it, the clean sound was so bad that I thought something was wrong with the amp. After much tweaking, I got a somewhat decent clean sound. The overdrive tone was very good, but balancing the clean with the overdrive sharing the same eq and bright switch was not the best set up for my style. I still don't know what all the fuss is about, my Matchless SC30 eats it's lunch.

[HoboMan]

Mesa Boogie F-30.

Still trying to figure out ANY good tones after a year. Help Pleasssee

I have an F-30 and it Kicks Butt.
Here's what I set it at: (all settings are clock settings)
All tone knobs at 12:00 (halfway).
Channel 1 - Gain at 12:00
Channel 2 - Gain at 9:00 (1/4 up). Anything past that ruins the tone.
Master must be turned up to at least 9:00.

Gibson SG with Single Coils. (this amp likes single coils) This setup KILLS.

If none of this works for you then sell the amp to me cheap!

[mcuguitar]

Allen Old Flame...definitely NOT the warm Fender tone I was expecting, and it blew up on the first gig.

[Agramal]

For a delayed college graduation present (finally got my degree after putzing around for 14 years!), my parents offered to buy me ANY amp I wanted. I read an ad for the Line 6 Vetta II combo. It raved about how it was "the greatest advancement in amplifier tehcnology ever...the most powerful recording tool ever..." yadda yadda.

HOLY CRAP did that piece suck (for me. :) ).

There was an ever-present hissing coloring the high gain tones, and the worst part was that I bought the amp SPECIFICALLY for recording direct to computer. Immediately after I experienced total crap recording results, I visitied the Line 6 forum... and guess what? Everyone else had the same problem! They were all saying, "Yeah dude the Vetta Rocks!! I mean, I can't seem to record it direct very well, but it sure has a lot of effects!"

So, congratulations to Line 6 for developing new fx technologies, but it wasn't my cup of tea.

Oh, forgot to add my parents also bought me the foot controller. The total cost of these items? About $2200!!

I could have bought a vintage Vibrolux, a Bruno, a Tone King...

:(

Wow... :roll

If it's any consolation, a think a lot of people hopped on board the Hype Train when the Vetta II heads came out. At the time, my friend and I were hunting for new amps, and while testing a DSL 100 at Guitar Center, we had to endure this hilarious pitch by one of the sales guys who insisted that the Vetta II was "a tone robot monster" which he and the other guitarist in his band ditched their Mesa Rectos for.

Many months later, my band played a gig with them, and they there were, goofy metal dudes with Vetta II full stacks. Their 45 minute set sounded like a huge wash of angry bumble bee shit. They thought they were punishing the audience with the most brewtal heaviness ever...so funny.

[Timinator]

You'll think I'm crazy but a '67 Fender Pro Reverb was my biggest dissapointment. Not that it sounded bad, but it couldn't hang with either of my '65 Bassmans tone wise.

I probably went through 15 old JMP Marshalls before I found a couple that sounded like I wanted too. Too many of them we're too fuzzy, too quick. My best sounding PTP marshalls were those that had the most clean headroom.

[wrxplayer]

Genz-Benz Black Pearl 30 212. Bought new. Broke down on third day. Got it back from the shop (30 minutes from my house) and it breaks down after two days. Sent it back. Sound was OK but not particularly versitile IMO.

[pgissi]

1994 Marshall 2100 SLX

Not a decent tone in there, but great master volume switching for a raw volume boost

I have never heard an amp so powerfull yet so toneless and this amps only SS device in the signal path was the op-amp summing it used for the dual Master Volume switching.

No diodes or led's to blame

If you want all of your tunes to sound like Social Distortion on a bad night, this is the amp and BTW, no solos, you wont hear them anyway no matter how loud the amp is!

[jiml]

Soldano Reverb O Sonic. Great amp, for me, on paper. But it had NO low end. Added the "S" mod, KT66's, tons of preamp tubes, speakers. Cut people in half during solo's, no balls though.

[pgissi]

Looking thru these posts it seems no manufacturer has been spared, either of perceived high or lower esteem.

[yZe]

Demeter TGA 2.1 50W

Harsh Overdrive and stiff, brittle cleans

[Bloozman]

A Mesa Boogie Lonestar Special...God, that thing was awful. 1 problem after the next!!

[franksguitar]

A lot of guyshere seemed to have gotten some bad Mesa Boogies. I have 2 very good ones a Studio .22 and a MK III combo, both are excellent sounding amps and were worked on and retubed

[franksguitar]

Worst was a Marshall Country Club, needed a parametric eq to get any good tone out of it.

[rogue.guineapig]

Mesa Boogie Subway Rocket 44, or something of that ilk.
I remember the EQ being very tough to get down...
and it just sounded harsh and gutless compared to my
old DeVille 212. Perhaps not a fair comparison, but I was severely
bummed about that amp. To this day, I still feel that the smaller
Fender amps I have played gave more guts-and-bang-for-the-buck
then that little Mesa Boogie did. I was very disillusioned. :(
BUT...I learned something about amps.
Now I have a much better idea of what I like and why. :D
knowing that? Priceless.

r.gp

[Gear Addict]

Man, I just spent 3 hours reading this thread and only got half way through!

Peavey Bandit has to top the list as the most sterile POS I ever played.

Fender M-80

Fender Super 210 (the red knob one)

Marshall 30th 6101 combo

But the grand daddy of all dissapointments was......Budda Superdrive 30 II with matching 2x12 cab.

It had the most boxy, 1 dimensional sound I've ever heard out of a 2x12 open back cab.

[5E3]

I couldn't find any love for a Fender Blues Jr. :(

[franksguitar]

Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Both either too soft of too loud, lousy OD
Fender Tweed Deville

[corkyj]

i haven not read all the previous entries... but of all the amps that i bought & owned, by far the most disappointing amps would have to be the mesa/boogie's; mark I, mark IIc, mark IV, rectifier; all horrible! for me that is. that's not to say that for someone else they may the the holy grail...

[Maruuk]

Marshall Silver Jubilee 25/50 combo. Super loud, endlessly clean, coldly robotic as ice, had to triple check there were any tubes in it. The sound it most reminded me of was a '67 Gretsch Nashville tranny amp (which I was forced to play backing 3 cute girls in NH as I had to take my Suzuki 150 so no amp.) The SJ did one jam night (which got a standing O anyways cuz of my Korg A2) and it was back to Daddy's. Probably still there.

[pir8matt]

'Disappointment' is a pretty relative term.

However, I read through most of these and didn't see Matchless mentioned very often. Their amps are pretty satisfying to most.

Looking thru these posts it seems no manufacturer has been spared, either of perceived high or lower esteem.

[vicilux]

Mesa Blue Angel 1x12. No bass, mid humps throughout. Not much difference in tube selection either. Looks good on paper. Was quickly rebayed and the buyer loved it so go figure!

[TRIODEROB]

anything new for the list ???

[TVC]

Anybody remember the Fender London Reverb? My first amp. Sterile,lifeless.. ugh! Its amazing I continued to play guitar after having a sound so bad. Live and learn...

[andyc]

a vox vt30 or whatever it's called..it moved me to get out of solid state into tube for a main amp at home. drove me nuts how the volume would jump when changing settings (common issues with these amps) and the power damping effect was not to my ears, all it was hyped up to be. from an appearance standpoint, i very quickly got tired of the chrome grill and the speaker in it was shite.

;) may I share your humble opinion ...

The Mesa Lonestar Classic has a huge clean tone ...
Much like a Twin with a bit more pleasing chime ... wonderful discovery..
Now I play funk & jazz fusion mostly... maybe this has something to do with why I dig it...

Really think people should explain what kind of music they play...
because that certainly has a lot to do with finding suitable tones to fit the genre ...
Different amps, make all the difference ...

May I third that opinion! I just got a Lonestar Classic, 1x12", maple cab, with an Altec 417-8H speaker. This is the most impressive amp I've ever owned! Amazing clean tones. The higher gain channel is so flexible I've found about 10 varieties of blues/rock and metal tones I can't wait to record with. Mesa has gotten killed in this thread, but I have to say the Lonestar Classic to me is a keeper. I'm not new to this either - I'm 48 and have gone through more than my share of amps. I'm really pleased with this amp. For the record I play classic rock, rock, hard rock, blues and some jazz/fusion.

[mvd18969]

Lots of hate for the Mesa Mark III. I have a Mark III combo (red stripe). sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it. I can see the frustration with trying to get a good tone out of all 3 channels at once. Usually you can get one of the three to sound good, but the others will then sound like poo.

[sleepingtiger]

I'm a little slow on the uptake...I just discovered this thread, hehe!http://www.thegearpage.net/board/images/icons/icon11.gif

I just want to make 2 points:

1) Why get so pi$$ed & personal? I consider Big Mike a good friend, who's opinion I value, but our TASTES differ greatly! So what? I think it's the combination of the player AND the gear that create the tone. I detest EL34s/Marshalls, but my buddy Johnny D. through a Jubilee...sublime!
2) For the modern amps listed here...do they come with & do you read the manuals? I can't speak to most of them, but when it comes to Mesa, it's essential to have the humility to admit that you MIGHT not know everything & that all amps are NOT the same. My current settings on my Road King II are NOTHING like my "typical" settings! The settings don't LOOK like my tone, but sound like it. WHY? The tone stack is VERY interactive & not in a way that I'm accustomed to...yet! It's a learning curve & at 51, if I can remain teachable, anyone can, if they want to.
Sure there are some junk amps out there, but most of the amps mentioned aren't in that category IMHO. They just aren't right for the particular player. I don't dig Marshalls, but dig a lot of guys that use them.
Some artists use watercolors, some sculpt....I'm just a hack player...with good tone...at least I think so!http://www.thegearpage.net/board/images/icons/icon12.gifhttp://www.thegearpage.net/board/images/icons/icon6.gifhttp://www.thegearpage.net/board/images/icons/icon10.gif

Tony

[mbetter]

Victoria narrow panel twin. Just the exact opposite of what I wanted/needed out of an amp at the time. In retrospect, the Dr.Z Mazerati that I traded for it was pretty much exactly what I needed. That's also when I discovered how much of a difference speakers can make with an amp.

[iaresee]

All of them.






Because despite any amp I've plugged in to I still sound like me. Not like Petrucci or Satch or Zappa or Marr or Childress or any other guitarist I love. It's still me blaring back at me.

[mcuguitar]

Most disappointing amp I've ever owned...that's an easy one...Allen Old Flame 2X10 Combo assembled by DA himself. Broke down on me on the first gig! Nothing but constant problems with it.

[J.T. Guitar]

My biggest disappointment amp... Divided by 13 FTR-37, the amp sounds great, however the hum at idle was unbearable. Ok for live gigs, unless you wanted to mic it up, then the sound guy hated me. I've heard quieter ones, I tried two and that was enough.

3...2...1... :mob

[PremiumPlus]

Boogie DC 3. OD channel sucked big. Great cleans though. Go figure. I swapped speakers, tubes, even went in and revoiced the tone stack. I just couldn't get rid of that Mesa mid. Sold it. Glad now.

[teleman1]

I wanted a home volume style amp. So I got a Mercury Car. I found it got too loud for my tastes when it finally got into to its tone zone. THe 1/10th watt?? I could use pedals on any decent amp to emulate what the Car did. Perhaps if it had a 1/4 watt, that might have been the home volume level of happiness. ALl this weighed with it cost me some $1600, I couldn't get comfy with $ vs value for me. Besides that I liked my SFPR's clean tone better. For break up, I actaully liked what the Tiny Terror could do at low volume better @7 watts and gain control.

[bgroup]

Marshall DSL50 head. Garbage. NO tone. Side-by-side with JCM 800 and JCM900 it sounded like a modeler. Very disappointing because when I first heard it in isolation I thought it was alright... but put it in the context of other amps, forget about it. Admittedly, I'm baffled by their popularity.

Brent
bgroupmusic.com

[crzyfngers]

jcm 900 dual reverb 100 watt 2x12 combo. can you say quality control. top to bottom a complete piece of crap. i feel violated after buying the thing. no tone, built by slave labor on dope, it's useless. and i'm out 700 bucks plus what i've spent fixing things that should have been fixed before it ever left manufacturing. i want to kick somebody in the nuts.

[carbz]

The question here is from my understanding would be an amp that I had high expectations for and did not deliver correct? Remember certain amps are known to sound like shit so you shouldn't be disappointed that they do. That being said It would clearly be the Splawn Quickrod. All I heard was how it nails the VH tone and to me it wasn't even close. There is this harsh upper mid that can't be dialed out and it almost sounds solid state to me. No natural tube sag/compression or warmth to my ear. Anything but brown. I've heard a few clips that sounded pretty good but others not so good. My buddy just picked one up and I warned him. He played it for a few hours and agreed then resold it 3 days later.

[Chrome Dinette]

Call me crazy, but I never quite got used to the Deliverance 120 I owned for a while. I liked it in "more" mode, but generally needed the amount of gain available in "less" mode, to be tweaked with pedals.

The problem was, that in "less" mode, there was a high midrange spike that I couln't dial out. I went through different speakers, pickups, etc., but couldn't get used to it.

I was so relieved when I sold it. I thought there might be something wrong with it, but I couldn't find a single component out of spec and the thing was very impressively built.

[DFBurst]

My all original '74 Boogie, 60/100, Altec.

As soon as I plugged into it, I said, huh, I don't sound like Larry Carlton. I sold it and bought a last year, last month of production, and maybe the last April, 1967 Blackface Deluxe Reverbs....still have that one!

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd37/nguisto22/BoogieFront.jpg

[lcjc800]

Bad Cat mini cat, simply awful...:bkw

[crzyfngers]

My all original '74 Boogie, 60/100, Altec.

As soon as I plugged into it, I said, huh, I don't sound like Larry Carlton. I sold it and bought a last year, last month of production, and maybe the last April, 1967 Blackface Deluxe Reverbs....still have that one!

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd37/nguisto22/BoogieFront.jpg

do you still have that boogie?? that's my kinda monkey.

[Lance Romance]

Vox AC-15CC. I have had cheap solid state amps that sounded better and more tube-like.

Acutally come to think of it, I owned a VOX pathfinder that soudned better.

[DFBurst]

No, i sold it to buy the BFDR.

I think that was in 1999.

I bought the Boogie from Dave at Overland Express. He used to be an original dealer for Boogie in the 70's, so people would always sell them back to him if they decided to move on. This was one of the Boogies that he sold in 1973 or 1974.

[Big White Tele]

DR Z mazerati, just dull with not enough flexability for me. Dissapointing because it didnt live up to the hype, as much as the maz jr,sr. much better amps for me.

[Dillow4092]

"Custom" Vbrolux Reverb 2x10 40 watts, it hisses like a pissed off goose on 3, total crap in my opinion. This is from the "custom" shop?

[Woozy]

Wow... I'm killing time in a hotel room and just read this entire freakin' thread.
I started with a cappuccino and I'm now on my second beer.

In the mid-90's, after hearing the dreamiest, creamiest overdrive ever out of a 60's Ampeg 7591 Jet,
I scooted down to the San Francisco music shops and walked away with a Reverborocket 2x12" Reissue.
200lbs of soul-crushing, ear-fatigue.

As for Mesa, I've owned no less than four Quad pre-amps over the past 10-12 years.
I buy 'em, play 'em, sell 'em.. a few years go by and inexplicably, I buy another one.

I think they have some real quality tone(s) in them, but it's a pre-amp afterall.
The rest of the equation (power-amp) is essential, but missing.
I've tried all manner of power amps, even the 295, and I'm done with pre-amps.

Carvin Nomad and Line6 Pod Pro deserve mentions here too.
Both purchased new, briefly endured, then sent to the great ebay boneyard.

[BobbyRay]

Allen Old Flame...definitely NOT the warm Fender tone I was expecting, and it blew up on the first gig.

Most disappointing amp I've ever owned...that's an easy one...Allen Old Flame 2X10 Combo assembled by DA himself. Broke down on me on the first gig! Nothing but constant problems with it.

Man...You've really got an axe to grind, No? You said it once, but came back later to say the same thing. Hmmm.:NUTS

[J.T. Guitar]

Man...You've really got an axe to grind, No? You said it once, but came back later to say the same thing. Hmmm.:NUTS

:roll

Every Allen I've played impresses me. Maybe he bought the kit and put it together himself? I think he ripped Allen on HC too.

[bobbypols]

Mesa Stiletto. It was like :horse when trying to get tone. It sounded like solid state marshall had a kid with a rectifier. No matter how i swung it, it was bright and thin.

For sure mesa has had it far share of shite amps.

[Eye Banez]

I picked up a Canadian made Garnet Revolution 2, hand wired by Gar Gilles (RIP) in Winnipeg in the 70's. Thought I'd get classic vintage tones from the 1 x 12 40 watt combo. Original Marsland was done so I put Celestion G12-H75, still thin and bitey. Under a tarp in the garage.

[Cowboy]

Fender Deluxe Reverb Re-issue.

After a year of trying, I still haven't coaxed a sound that I like out of it. :bkw I prefer the Hot Rod Deluxe, no foolin'.

Cowboy

[jumpnblues]

Mesa Boogie Mark IIB with EVM 12L. Very disappointing and unexciting cleans. And the overdrive just sounded kind of like a generic distortion without any distinguishing characteristics, at least to my ears. It worked OK for awhile in the early 80's until more boutique choices became available in the 90's. I did have a poster here suggest that the EVM 12L may have not been the "right" speaker for the amp. Very valid point.


Tom

[Deacon]

Hmmmm ... my biggest disappointment among amps I've bought.

I've tried quite a few that didn't do anything for me after reading much hooplah about them.

Probably the one I bought that turned out the farthest from my expectations (i.e. hopes) was the Dr. Z Maz 38 Senior 2x12 combo I bought a number of years ago.

Nice enough sounding amp, but never got anything remotely close to the sound clips I had heard.

[mjl927]

Mesa Nomad 100 head. Overall a nice amp but I just could not dial in a sound that felt good. Used it to record a CD though and it mixed well. It also (like a lot of Mesa amps) had way too many switches a dials that were dependent on each other. I just wanted to be able to turn on the amp, mess with the front panel a little bit and go.

[DWB1960]

Mesa Boogie Nomad 40 Head. Bought and flipped very very quickly.

[PFunk]

Carvin Vintage Tube Series Bel Aire.

[StevieK]

#1 THD Univalve. Tried and tried but it always sounded harsh like an ice pick. It's interesting to see some of the amps listed in this thread that I've really liked. I guess it's really about how the amp fits in with the rest of your setup and what tones you are hoping to get out of it. #2 would be a Carr Mercury. Absolutely beautiful clean tones, but I just didn't like the way the overdrive sounded.

[mbetter]

No, i sold it to buy the BFDR.

I think that was in 1999.

I bought the Boogie from Dave at Overland Express. He used to be an original dealer for Boogie in the 70's, so people would always sell them back to him if they decided to move on. This was one of the Boogies that he sold in 1973 or 1974.

I'm pretty sure that one passed through my hands at one point. I traded the previously mentioned Victoria for that and a Jubilee 1x12. The Mesa did one thing and did it very well and very loud. The Jube just sucked. I ended up trading the Jube for the Martone Clubman that I still have.

[lgehrig4]

Mine was a Louis Electric KR-12 that I grabbed used off the emporium. I wanted one so bad and this particular one sounded absolutely aweful to me. It was like a bad Marshall Valvestate.


Wow, I can't imagine this amp even making the list. I have one as well and I wonder if mine sounds much different than yours or our tastes are that different?

Do you know if the person you bought it from was the original owner? I bought mine on Ebay and although it sounded good, it didn't sound like the descriptions here. I sent it to Lou and the preamps were microphonic, the power tubes were biased cold and someone actually soldered in a couple extra resistors somewhere in the circuit. Sounds incredible now.

[jcat]

Fender pro tube pro reverb ( reissue )
Sure looked good on paper ...

[Ascension]

Anything from BOOGIE!!!
I love hearing them while others are playing them. I have liked them in the shop and bought several only later to hate the feel of those blasted things live on stage.

[Scottone]

Victoria Double Deluxe. Sounded fine at home, but I couldn't make it work for me in a band situation. Also, didn't take well to the pedals that I was using at the time.

[OminousPoultry]

Matamp First Lady. Got some rave reviews and since they are fairly local bought one - what a ridiculous way to choose an amp.

Like fish on a supermarket display - cold lifeless - may as well have stayed with a Washburn 15w tranny practice amp. Swapped it for a Matamp 1224 which was equally sterile, limp and lifeless. Trying to get these 2 sorted out put me in contact with the builder/owner - it's a period of my life I'm trying to forget.

[jcoggins7]

Fender Ultimate Chorus DSP...I HATED that amp long before I was able to toss it. I still to this day wonder how I was so foolish to purchase it. Utter trash...

[dksouthpaw]

Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. Sounded great just not at all what i needed. Swapped it for a Blues Jr and now i'm oh so happy

[shally]

4 way tie between a reissue JTM45 Head, a Kendrick Rig, a Boogie Maverick Combo and a Maz18 by Dr Z.. i was never happy with the sounds i got
out of any of them and then ended up trading them eventually...

yeah, i could have practiced more.. but i liked the sounds i got out of other amps a whole lot better than those..

[Zeon45]

Swart Space Tone 6v6se. Sounded like an old shoe box with an 8" speaker. Replaced the stock tubes with vintage NOS RCAs and it sounds better but still boxy.

[shakerAU]

Mesa Boogie Mark III
Fender Hot Rod Deluxe

[foghorn99]

Tech21 15 watt amp...can't remember the model name....but the soundclips on their site were absolutely KILLER. It took me a while to locate a store that carried one...then I went for a test drive.....


....hmmmmmmmmmmmmm........very mid-range/flat sounding to me, much like a Roland cube.



....I ended up taking home the VOX Valetronix, instead. (LOL)

[ewoh24]

I agree with the Mesa naysayers: My first Mesa was a Studio .22. Man I tried to love it, I really did but it sounded just slightly better than the sound that comes from the dryer exhaust outside your house. Phiffy and steamy. Yuck. For some reason I then bought a Mark III combo which was just as bad and then a Mark III head through a Hiwatt 4x12 which was marginally better. Now all I hear when I hear a Mesa is overblown preamp tubes.

[eric-d]

Sadly it was my 2003 Top Hat Super Deluxe. It was a SS Rectifier model and I couldn't get it to sound "smooth" - it always had this high end fizzle that wouldn't go away. I tried other tubes and a couple other speakers I had laying around - but to no avail. IMHO - it was not a "pedal friendly" amp. I tried to like it for the 6 months I owned it and I would get it to sound somewhat decent one day and the next day - nothing. If I were a low gain (and/or) rock rhythm player using a humbucker styled guitar - I probably would have liked it more.

[ewoh24]

Spent the last two hours reading through as much of this thread as I could handle and I now perceive every amp that was mentioned differently. I think I'll stop now before every amp ever made sounds like dog crap to me.

[TRIODEROB]

I posted this thread 4 years ago!

and it is still going strong.



:dude

[CocoTone]

3 different Blues Jrs,,after listening to so many people rave about them, swapping speakers, tubes, tweed, tolex,,, They all sucked.Bad. Little box. Little tone.
Second was a Marshall JMP 100 watter, about a `78 vintage. Whats all the fuss?? A Bassman RI sounds be way better.

CT.

[art_z]

78 Hiwatt DR505. I didnt know what to expect, but for much as people swooned over Hiwatts, I had high expectations.

[Adwex]

Marshall JCM 900 dual channel 50watter.

Absolutely NO bottom end.

[Jahn]

I reckon it was the Ampeg Gemini VI only because it was as dark as the night was long if you tried to play it clean, what with the big 15" in there and me not knowing about the treble boost hiding in there. But it took pedals like a champ so it was only a minor disappointment. The wife acceptance factor was low on the totem pole too, big and blue and checkered, on casters, whee!

[D.G.]

I'd have to say:

1. Fender Concert II -- I tried all sorts of mods, but ya can't polish a turd
2. Fender Princeton II -- cut from the same cloth as above
3. Fender Blues Jr. -- I've heard these sound great with other people, but it never worked for me. I have a Pro Jr. which I like.
4. Zinky Blue Velvet -- not too bad, but the single tone control just wasn't voiced anywhere I could be really comfortable with.

I like my Fenders to be bright and spanky. I think that's mainly why I didn't go for the Rivera/Zinky designs so much.

[Jon Silberman]

THD UniValve.

It sure sounds good when Ed plays his but I couldn't make it work for me.

By the way - big Hellhound fan. But I agree, it ain't no Plexi and never will be, don't ever buy one for that reason. (To the guy who called his "thin," wow, that's the last word I'd apply to mine, if anything, it's got too much fullness for those of us who live primarily in the scooped BF zone.)
Has it really been over 4 years since I posted this?! :crazy

[studiodunn]

this thread should have been a poll.

What amp do you hate more, Fender or Mesa?

[MaxBoogie]

Mesa Express 5:50 1x12. :(

And I'm normally a big Boogie fan too! Waited too long to return it and the best that Matt's would do is consignment! At a big loss to me... And he still has it (and my $$$) for over a year now!!! :FM

[hathisisfunnyha]

Marshall Bluesbreaker
Fender Tweed Princeton

[neojack15]

mesa mk iv when they first came out and mesa lone star special

[E Baxter Put]

Crate Vintage Club 20.

A friend of mine has one that sounds really great. I got one that sounded like rocks on cardboard... in a bad way.

[jakeowen]

I bought a Reeves Cosutom 50 and hated it. I waited a long time for it.

It had no low end at all. My little fender sidekick with an 8 inch speaker kicked its but in the low end department.
I brought it to rehearsal, and was drowned out by a 30 watt crate.
It could not cut through the mix very well either.
I felt it was flat , sterile, and lifeless.
I actually recorded myself through it, and listening back to the recording, I am still dissapointed.

I was looking for a nice Gilmour amp, and that one did not do it for me at all.

Maybe the speaker needed to break in, but, I was really let down by that one.

Maybe I expected too much.

[guitarwrench]

For me it was the Reverend Kingsnake head. It was pretty close to how another person described the Hellhound as thin. The UK setting was good but it just lacked oomph. I have several Reverend guitars. I like their stuff but the amp was not doing it for me at all.

[FAC]

I bought a Reeves Cosutom 50 and hated it. I waited a long time for it.

It had no low end at all. My little fender sidekick with an 8 inch speaker kicked its but in the low end department.
I brought it to rehearsal, and was drowned out by a 30 watt crate.
It could not cut through the mix very well either.
I felt it was flat , sterile, and lifeless.
I actually recorded myself through it, and listening back to the recording, I am still dissapointed.

I was looking for a nice Gilmour amp, and that one did not do it for me at all.

Maybe the speaker needed to break in, but, I was really let down by that one.

Maybe I expected too much.

I know this thread is about perception and opinion, so who's to judge, but it sounds more like there was something wrong with that particular amp...an 8 inch combo with more low end...something must have been wrong.

[pgissi]

I know this thread is about perception and opinion

Perception and opinion derived using what is essentially a fixed filter, the speaker.


Maybe this will serve as inspiration to give something another chance-

I posted here some time back and declared my 94 Marshall SLX 2100 as an oversized doorstop. Bought in 94, struggled with it for tone until 98 or 99 when I retired it.

Fast forward to 2004 or so, I make a second attempt to find its tone and see some improvement but not quite where it needed to be so once again back to doorstop status but this time with the intent of future surgery.

Fast forward to 2006, 15 year old now has gas fever, playing for 2 years and for a kid is as old school as they come. Insists this amp must be resurrected, to him it just looks as if it should sound as he has come to know marshall. I play along and with our meager speaker collection and limited cab choice, I prove to him something is not right, once again it goes back to holding the door open.

Fast Forward to xmas 2007, since the SLX was deemed unworthy and I dont have thousands for the kid to buy what I think he should have I ebay him an Epi So Cal Half Stack for a meager 620 with shipping, new in a box, he is thrilled and this is a great budget all tube 50watt affair that I told him I would re-tube, bias and tweak.

He plays for a few months and his ears say, its not quite what he is looking for, its missing something and can we plug in the SLX to the Epi 4x12 with Emi Lady Lucks. I roll my eyes and oblige:rolleyes:. Set the amp to 16ohms for the 4x12 and its the first time since 98 I had a 4x12 at 16ohms on it.

I power it up and its on standby while I do a rough dial in, I flip it on and walk away and go into an adjacent room. He strikes a few chords, something along the lines of Eruption in the intro, I stop and listen and think wtf? I let him go a few more mins before I run and and scream stop and there is this grin on his face, we found its tone just by chance or a tone for starters and his grin is beaming.

This was about 6 months ago and now its been retubed, biased, different cab, speaker wiring circuit, fx loop level tweak, the only thing not changed is the speaker for now since the conclusion is if the amp is not what you like, the speaker and wiring circuit and its cab is the place to start before deeming the amp DOA. For now that speaker is it.

I rarely read here that anyone does this to any meaningful extent (speaker audition when judging an amp) and I hate to say it, if you dont go through some speaker and wiring auditions, you are judging the amp by the speaker its been paired with as one organism and they are 2 unique individuals.

We got lucky and the lowly Emi Lady Luck (for some) is for now what it (SLX) wants so the search begins for a more expensive cork sniffer worthy replacement, maybe Celestion Heritage, cha ching. The total number of speakers and cabs I went through to only find its tone by accident was about 5 speaker types and 3 cabs over the years and the problem was this could have been solved if I woudl have been able to audition speakers and cabs at loud levels, not store level nonsense.

This ultimately was made possible by testing a combination of friends cabs and my acquisitions whch mind you are not cork sniffer worthy. But yet paydirt because we found a speaker, a fixed filter the amp and our ears like.

For this marshall slx el34 no diode clip head, the 1960a with the stereo selector disabled and the wiring in Series-Parallel (not the stock para-ser for stereo split) using Emi Lady Lucks is "a" great tone and I imagine the or one of the tones the designer intended and not what I previously experienced.

P.S. I dont work for any speaker reseller, manufac or reconer not in the biz, have just realized that amps are judged by most ignoring the speaker present, this makes no sense and in fact is so wrong, from a scientific and personal taste perspective.

A speaker is a fixed filter, judging an amp without reasoning this is leaving much undiscovered and looking through this thread, I see all kinds of amps mentioned, from the low end to the cork sniffer worthy.

What that tells me can only be 1 of 2 things-

1) either the vast majority of amp manufacs make some real crap

or

2) each of you is an individual and hear it differently and for you the voice
you heard in the amp you were drawn to initially didn't live up to it for some reason once you had it and why?

I will bet in most cases, its the speaker and until you audition several if not as many as you can, you will never know and will be making similar moves in the future which means more time and money spent buying selling and trading rather than playing which is frustrating.

I know I waited since 1994 to find a tone for this amp that surpassed what I ever had with it.

If you could walk into a mythical store called Speaker and Cab Emporium and inside they had Speakers and Cabs of all kinds in all possible configs and there were audition rooms inside, you would probably walk out happy after doing some perfomance level testing.

The moral of the story, any amp can be improved and starting with the correct speaker, for the amp and your tastes is the most dramatic move short of trying another amp.

What do you get with another amp, another speaker, arghh, it begins again :jo

[mcuguitar]

:roll

Every Allen I've played impresses me. Maybe he bought the kit and put it together himself? I think he ripped Allen on HC too.


Actually I forgot I mentioned the Allen amplifier in my previous post. And DA put it together himself. Yes, I slammed that amp on HC, and rightly so. The worst reliability and customer support I have ever experienced in 32 years of playing guitar and buying gear.

[DOMINIC]

Original Fender 65 Deluxe Reverb

i heard some sound GREAT but some don't...

[MantraSky]

My Experience would have to be:

1. VHT Pittbull Classic (100w EL-34) Poor component reliability.
2. Bogner XTC-101b blown transformer(2x),Bogner could not figure out?
3. Bogner XTC-Classic "Poping" sound defective caps changed out (3x)?
4. Marshall Super Lead poor PCB would "Warp" with heat in head cab.
5. Fender Twin intermittent fault, would just stop, could never fix?

[SoCalGuy]

Soon as I sell the SOB, I'll tell ya'.

jb

[pgissi]

My Experience would have to be:

1. VHT Pittbull Classic (100w EL-34) Poor component reliability.
2. Bogner XTC-101b blown transformer(2x),Bogner could not figure out?
3. Bogner XTC-Classic "Poping" sound defective caps changed out (3x)?
4. Marshall Super Lead poor PCB would "Warp" with heat in head cab.
5. Fender Twin intermittent fault, would just stop, could never fix?



WOW!

The thread was titled "which amp..." but apparently you have had some bad luck here and all of a technical nature. It happens, components fail, designs fall short, how were these amps tonally for you?

I am surprised no one has acknowledged my points in regard to amps that were a tonal dissapointment and how a speaker/cab/wiring can correct that for your tastes. Thats the most important point about speakers/cab/wiring, its an individual choice and is most subjective and relative to you gear and style.

This is why I dont buy combos, the speaker is preferable to someone else's tonal tastes. Its not that the included speaker is always wrong, but if you dont know the designer/manufacs criteria for speaker selection in a particular amp you dont know if your tastes and needs are in agreement with it and then making a decision with that in mind seems to fall short.

My SLX story is one of luck, happenstance and could have been solved all those years ago if I had a few thousand dollars, plenty of time and willingness to buy,try and then shelve speakers when they did not work out. Not realistic, expensive and just wrong.

Are there examples of great amp/speaker pairings, sure but the number of posts related to players in search of a certain tone or the most dissapointing amp experiences ignoring the technical issues for now, speaks to the fact that the speaker is frequently the last consideration if at all.

I will venture to say the speaker/cab/wiring circuit/load is almost 50% of the tone but is considered less than 10% of the time and the fact that this thread is 4 years old if I am interpreting the post below correctly, speaks to that, pardon the pun.

The speaker choice goes beyond tone too, its alters dynamics and interacts with the output stage of a tube amp and has dramatic tonal influence that is just too complex to relate as to why its as critical as the amp itself, you just have to try as many as you can.



Originally Posted by Jon Silberman http://img.thegearpage.net/board/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?p=378795#post378795)
THD UniValve.

It sure sounds good when Ed plays his but I couldn't make it work for me.

By the way - big Hellhound fan. But I agree, it ain't no Plexi and never will be, don't ever buy one for that reason. (To the guy who called his "thin," wow, that's the last word I'd apply to mine, if anything, it's got too much fullness for those of us who live primarily in the scooped BF zone.)
Has it really been over 4 years since I posted this?! :crazy




Mesa Express 5:50 1x12. :(

And I'm normally a big Boogie fan too! Waited too long to return it and the best that Matt's would do is consignment! At a big loss to me... And he still has it (and my $$$) for over a year now!!! :FM




Go get the amp back and find its tone.

A year, thats beyond making any sense :NUTS, go find the right speaker, then tweak it from there.

[noctilux1]

I probably answered before but, just in case
1.Ampeg V4 head
2.Mesa Boogie Studio 22
3.Mesa Boogie 50 cal
4.Mesa Boogie MK11

[SrDedosRapidos]

Vox AC30 :messedup

I play blues, and got all excited about these... I got it home and the OD was just dead... it was very disappointing... How does Brian May DO IT?! The red special has to have a super secet ultra mega holy face melting tone somewhere... or real AC30's just dont suck...

[keninsyr]

Marshall DSL 401. Sounded great in the store and on the first couple of gigs. Then it just started sounding weak and thin. Tried new tubes and a better celestion. Still no improvement. Then the nail in the coffin was when it completely crapped out on a gig. Had it fixed(or so I thought) and it happened again. What a piece of crap! Traded it for a cheap acoustic.

[Brian Scherzer]

Our tech team has informed me that the slowness we have been experiencing on TGP appears to be caused by some of the huge threads we have on the site. We are closing the mega-threads and I am requesting that the thread starters begin a new thread....sort of a "xxxxx thread, Part II". Sorry to do this, but if the huge threads are the thing that is causing TGP to become so sluggish at times, we need to break the threads into Part I, Part II, etc. We'll see if this works. Again, our apologies. If it turns out that the mega-threads are not the cause, we'll unlock them and merge the other parts back together.

Thanks.........Brian