Favorite Solid State Amp..

[Blazes]

If you've already got one, what would be your best solid state amp..

I had a 80 's Roland 40-watt that i enjoyed a lot..

also a Peavy Jazz Stereo Chorus 212 that has a warm overdrive and a awesome Chorus and clean sound..Heavy customer tho..

I heard that the Lab Series L-5 is some beast...

[aeolian]

Polytone.

2nd place to the old Yamaha things like Mike Stern uses and the smaller combos like Robben used to use.

Then Roland JC series.

Honorable mention practice amp to the Dean Markley ss combos.

[Stevo57]

Peavey Session 500!
Huge size and 300 watts of clean with a really cool phaser
built in. Every kinda input and output you could ever need.
Probably less than $200 used.

[Ryan Trevisol]

My first amp was a Peavey keyboard amp with a clean and dirty channel that I somehow never thought to jumper. It needed the pots cleaned and/or replaced so I got rid of it. Sometimes I wish I had it back.

But my favorite SS amp would probably have to be the Tech 21 Trademark 10 that I got rid of because it was too quiet. I should've probably hooked that badboy up to a 2x12 and just kept jammin' with it.

[salsage]

Lab Series
best ever. excellent cleans and decent overdrive. Bought a L7 in 1979 and still have it. overdrive channel cleans up w your volume knob. sweet.

[Tres Mellow]

my modded Pignose...
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=643002

[Captain Zero]

Vox VR30

Great amp!!!

[FenderBigot]

Owned a Roland JC120 once... with a Chandler Tube Driver in front of it. That's the only SS amp I would ever consider playing, but I'll never play one again.

[mwittoesch]

Roland Blues Cube 30. It about as "tube like" as you can get with a SS amp. Not made anymore, but they can still be had for $125 - $150.

[dandythomas]

I have a Roland Blues Cube 60 solid state analog amp (which is not a modeling amp like the current Roland Cube amps) that I like a lot. While I have a few very nice tube amps, I have no plans to sell the Blues Cube. It works great with my pedals too. There is also a nifty sag circuit that can be engaged which I like.

Andy

[musicman1]

PV Stereo Chorus 400, PV Special 130, JC120, 90,77, Yamaha G50112.

[fredgarvin]

My backup is a Vox valvetronix 50, I use it in the tweed or ac30 setting and ignore the effects, using my pedals for dirt and modulation. It sounds very good. It does have one tube in the circuit.

[hammersig]

Any of the Peavey Transtube series. I fell like I've owned almost all of them at some point, and I really wouldn't hesitate to gig with them. As a matter of fact, I did gig them in high school, before I discovered tube amps!

[5150user]

2 Solid State Bass Amps make great powered monitors for my guitar signal, after I mike my tube amp's cabinet and send the signal through my stereo mixer.:aok Talk about adding some low end thump.

[mj07]

LAB
JC 120
Polytone

[auratnik]

I had Session 75 Made in UK. I bought it in '84 or '85 and it was really nice amp, specially clean sound. I played it quite a lot and had several problems with large capecetitors to mosfet death...

[Terry McInturff]

1) Vox Viscount
2) Pearce G1

[Stormbringer]

If hybrid counts, I had a Valvestate VR65 and it was pretty good for a number of things.

If not, I have a Roland Micro Cube that really rocks. Seriously, the AC30 and JC models are pretty happening and you can't believe that sound is coming off that little 6,5 watt cube....

[The_Whale]

also a Peavy Jazz Stereo Chorus 212 that has a warm overdrive and a awesome Chorus and clean sound..Heavy customer tho..


There are a few of us here that know the cheap fun of Peavey's Stereo Chorus 212.

I've got a Peavey Stereo Chorus 212 with EVMs.

Loud, clean, cheap.

(and heavy: 97 pounds if I'm remembering correctly)

More SS talk on this thread:
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=92372&highlight=peavey

[Prairie Belt]

Peavey's Nashville 112 is light, clean and loud.

[lpdeluxe]

Fender Jazzmaster Ultralight. They're small and light (26 lb) and powerful (250w into a 12" speaker @ 2 ohm) and sound great. I'm surprised more players haven't discovered them. They are a little pricey, but, after many years of tube amps, this one has been my go-to amp for a year and a half.

[germs]

1. Roland JC120 - simply the standard

2. Crate PowerBlock - for sheer number of useful features and flexibility

3. anything Roland Cube

4. Randall RG100SC - great 2x12, came with Celestions, good clean, great overdrive, so so reverb and chorus, but everything is footswitchable.

[frankencat]

Tech 21 Trademark 60.

[aarondavis]

The Peavey XXL sounds great IMO. :aok

[bhorn67]

Tech 10 for practice/recording

[popthree]

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj73/mikennedy823/IMG_8762.jpg

[AXEL276]

Tech 21 Trademark 60!
I also have use a rack system sometimes; Carvin DCM200, Tech 21 PSA1.1, digitech 2120.

[Blazes]

If hybrid counts, I had a Valvestate VR65 and it was pretty good for a number of things.

If not, I have a Roland Micro Cube that really rocks. Seriously, the AC30 and JC models are pretty happening and you can't believe that sound is coming off that little 6,5 watt cube....


Speakin of Hybrid ,i purchased the Blackstar Ht 5 head , cool for practicing..

Any picture of a Polytone ???

[raven174us]

I really like the Peavey Transtube series. I've only ever had solid state amps and found that those have a great overall sound.

[Turnipfarmer]

Peavey Special 130 wedge

[THiwaTT]

I had a red-knob Fender London-185 that I was pretty fond of

[Ishmael8765678]

I really liked my old Crate G600XL when it worked...

[gtrgeek335]

The only one I've kept over the years ( i bought new in '87)is my Galien/Krueger 250ml. That thing is soooo convenient and portable,a lunchbox sized tone machine!

Gordon

[reganjeremy]

Randalls rock! :dude

[ReginaldBisquet]

I hate to admit it, but my Lunchbox does a bang up job at gigs and certain rehearsals. Used it for a Hindi rock and raga gig a few months ago at a large club. Have also used it with just the Gretsch in a small coffee shop.

http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/50/l_7293f313a636413794240e0d64c73628.jpg

When the Lunchbox works, it's wonderful... when it craps out, I hate it... but then ZT had been kind enough to send over a replacement with the quickness.

[Red Suede]

For the jazz/blues stuff, Yamaha G100-112.

[strat68]

Got a peavey pacer approx 40w, for $25 on craigslist. Original was a 1x12 but a previous owner sawed it off into a head. The saw job wasn't the best, but fortunately he took too little off, meaning the cab was taller than it needed to be since there are no tubes hanging down. I cut it down further so that it's an inch more than the transformer, and put a 3/4 pine bottom from shelving scraps sprayed flat black and some amp corners and it looks fine. It's about an inch shorter than a bassman, and about 2 inches shorter in width.

I keep it at the rehearsal space plugged into a 1x15 plywood cab from a cheap Japanese bass amp called "Premier." The speaker which I replaced in the 90s, is a pyle driver gtr speaker, which is a fender CTS style speaker.

Nice clean tones, and pretty good with overdrive too if I forget a pedal.

I got the amp because in high school, a girl that sang in our group had one along with a Peavey T-60 guitar while I was playing on borrowed gear. Sometimes borrowing her stuff too, because she was just starting to play. So I wanted it more for the memory, turned out to be a cooler amp than I remembered.

[GASattack]

Owned a Roland JC120 once... .

:agree this ...

[goodhonk]

Tech 21 Trademark 60.

Tech 21 Trademark 60!



TM60 for me too.

[Will Chen]

I think the Tech 21 Trademark Series and the Peavey Transtube series deserve top honor as each provide a wide variety of tube type grind for rock but can offer the big pristine solid state clean thing for jazz as well. Actually, I'd love to marry the clean channel of a Bandit with the distorted channel of a TM60. That would be an an outstanding amp.

Honorable mention goes to the Roland JC line, the First Act V-Stack amps, and pre DSP Fender Dyna-Touch amps.

[mikem]

I really hate to say it, but I'm having the time of my life with just an Epi Les Paul, a Boss ME-50 and a JC-120. I can cover quite a bit of ground from clean to all out balls to the wall. The medium gain tones are a little hard to dial in sometimes, but I have learned how to get okay sounds. It's not tubes, but it's not total crap either.

Mike

[Lance]

Vox Super Beatle.
It's like the Marshall stack of SS amps.

[Tone_Terrific]

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=604511

Search around, there are others.

[axuality.com]

The Polytone is about the cleanest amp I've ever heard. Frankly, I have some Marshall MG series that just blow me away every time I listen to them. (1-12"and also a half stack.)

[NeilYoung Fever]

Randall Rg100es, the boutique killer

[XmasTree]

SQUIRE CHAMP 15GR Dual Cascading Gain

I bought it used just because .... no reason. To rock out at low volume, i guess.
....and it does that like a CHAMP!!
This is THE best practice amp.
It takes my pedals outrageously well.
It put my VOX Valvetronix to shame!!! It did!!! ...and i love VOX
It sounds kick ass without pedals! I don't even need pedals!!!!
..s'got gain, s'got another gain, s'got reverb. Badda Bing!!

A very good find!!!
Awesome, no frills practiceamp!!! $20 totally worth it

[Teleman]

Peavey Transtube Bandit
They sound good and take pedals great.

When you don't want to gig with you multi $$$$ booteek this is a great way to go on the cheap!

[faberbz]

Roland JC-120.

(wish I hadn't have sold it!)

[Jack Dotson]

I can't tell you how many tube amps I've been through trying to get the sound I want. There's always something I don't like. However, my JC-120 is the amp that stays and even though I've convinced myself that tubes sound better, the reality is that I play my 120 about 2/3's of the time.

There is just something about the sound of this amp. I like that you can hear every nuance with pedals, guitiars, PU's. I've never tired the Lab or Polytones, but I'd like to. Every stable should have a JC.

[mikem]

I can't tell you how many tube amps I've been through trying to get the sound I want. There's always something I don't like. However, my JC-120 is the amp that stays and even though I've convinced myself that tubes sound better, the reality is that I play my 120 about 2/3's of the time.

There is just something about the sound of this amp. I like that you can hear every nuance with pedals, guitiars, PU's. I've never tired the Lab or Polytones, but I'd like to. Every stable should have a JC.

I feel the same way! I'm going to be investing in some good pedals, as now I'm using a multifx unit that's good for a lot of sounds, but like I wrote about, the light to mid gain sounds leave a bit to be desired in terms of the touch sensitivity that they have. I may be barking up the wrong tree entirely, but the amp seems to be quite touch sensitive, AFAIC.

Mike

[jbp]

Ampeg SS-140C

Lord knows I still miss mine sometimes.....