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View Full Version : Desperately seeking advice... help me find the perfect combo!

smogfalls
10-01-2010, 12:40 PM
Right so, here's where I'm at;

I've been going through various combos this year, trying to find the perfect all-rounder for my needs... and I'm making slow progress.

I have 2 great Marshall amps... a JCM800 4010 Combo, and a JCM2555SL... both are basically single channel amps. I also have a Deluxe Reverb, and until now I've been using a Lehle 1@3 to switch between the JCM800 for

dirt and the Deluxe Reverb for cleans... it's a decent answer but not all that practical as far as a grab n' go setup goes.

I gig very often in a Progressive Rock/Metal/Jazz group and I also record alot at home.

I had the Bogner Alchemist, but this was a disappointment... sterile, overly compressed clean sound... really nasty. And as of yesterday, I have a Blackstar Artisan 30... which has the most gorgeous cleans I've heard, (barring

the Swart I tried earlier in the year), and this clean sound is the exact flavour I'm after... the EF86 sound I guess. But the drive on channel 2 is very disappointing... it's nothing compared to my JCM800 4010. There's a serious

lack of gain and general balls! But it is a gorgeous looking amp, and the build quality is top notch. But the lead channel really left me dry.

So, here are my needs;


* 2 Channels, (or more!)
* Marshall JCM800 Drive/Distortion
* Vox Cleans with the ability to add an edge of crunch preferably
* Independant EQ's for each channel
* Takes pedals well
* Something I can pick up for around £800 used ...maximum
* Preferably 2x12



And my Optional Extras;

* The ability to attenuate or run in different modes, ie: 50 watt, switchable to 20 watt or 5 watt etc.
* Fender-esque Reverb and Tremolo (very optional!)
* Sexy looks



I've seen people recommending Mesa's, and the Lonestar is an amp I'd love to try, but it's just out of my budget. What other Mesa options are there that meet my requirements?
Also, the Orange Rockerverb 50 looks good... but again, it seems hard to find for a reasonable price, even on ebay.

Rivera??


All suggestions, advice and help are welcome!

Cheers,
Xan :)
GCDEF
10-01-2010, 01:25 PM
Marshall JVM 215C
Tonefreak1527
10-01-2010, 02:34 PM
Slo
OrangeAD30TC
10-01-2010, 04:03 PM
Egnator Renegade might be something to look into. If you liked your Deluxe reverb why are you looking for vox cleans?
smogfalls
10-01-2010, 04:29 PM
Egnator Renegade might be something to look into. If you liked your Deluxe reverb why are you looking for vox cleans?

Well the deluxe reverb is what I've been using for cleans for eats now and I'd like a change! Plus, like I said, I love the artisans clean channel... Which is voxy. That's the clean sound I know I want now.

I'll look into the JVM series... Are the cleans that good? And are they even remotely voxy?

Cheers,
Xan :)
vmjoe
10-01-2010, 04:30 PM
If you can get your hands on a Mesa Boogie Electra Dyne and/or a Fender Supersonic, I highly recommend each. Obviously with the SS, you will get Fender cleans, but you get a very chimey Vibrolux clean and a more saturated clean with the Bassman option. The burn channel gives me better and more overdrive than any Fender I've ever played. The price is great too.

The ED is just a great classic style amp imo. It's cleans are a little closer to a Vox than the Fender. With the two overdrive ranges, you get beautiful crunch and lead tones. You won't get metal gain but great classic rock crunch.
Jangles
10-01-2010, 04:32 PM
A b it!
smogfalls
10-02-2010, 02:25 AM
A b it!

Well like I said, A/B'ing is what I've been doing with my fender and Marshall, but the whole point is that I need one combo, preferably 2x12 that can cover my clean and dirt needs adequately.

Thanks vmjoe, I will look into the Electra dyne.

Xan :)
FFTT
10-02-2010, 06:36 AM
Unfortunately, our friends in the U.K. and EU are stuck with very few
really good choices.

I would stop wasting your hard earned money on mass production junk
and save up for either a Vintage Hiwatt or import a Reeves or a Reinhardt.
solitaire
10-02-2010, 08:21 AM
Randall or Egnater modular stuff, lets you combine what ever tones you want, basically - but then you'll have to add the powerscaling and tremolo yourself, I'm affraid. Great stuff these though.
Tuberoast
10-02-2010, 08:27 AM
I have the same EXACT set-up as you do;
A Marshall 4010 and a DR. I will use both amps on occasion, but when I'm in a one amp situation I use the Marshall with a Lexicon Alex (for slight reverb) and dial back the guitar volume for a cleaner sound. I don't crank the MV, I leave it on 6 and use a Lovepedal Eternity for OD/dirt. I click the E off and the Marshall is somewhat clean (not totally).The Alex has a footswitch, it sweetens up the Marshall clean sound, and has individual line in and out vol controls. It's not the same clean sound as the DR, but works fine enough. The Alex is inexpensive (I got mine for $50), and the reverbs and delays sound great.
I tried to cover both clean and dirt with amps in the past (Fender Prosonic, a Blues Deluxe among them
LPMojoGL
10-02-2010, 08:35 AM
+1 on the Electra Dyne. The cleans are more in the Fender camp than Vox. But, with the three channels, you can have pristine Fender cleans, Marshally slight breakup and full crunch. Plus, it includes some really great options like assignable/removeable reverb and half-power. If I needed an all-in-one grab-n-go combo, the Electra Dyne would be at the top of my list.
HoboMan
10-02-2010, 09:32 AM
If you love the tone of your JCM800 combo you should look into the JCM800 channel switching combo. They made a 1x12 & a 2x12.
Independent eq for each channel. Classic Marshall crunch with a very underated clean channel.

Here's a pic of my 1x12 and a video of someone on youtube playing thru one. THIS IS NOT ME in the video. I only wish I could play like that.

http://www.communityofficesupply.com/images/git/Marshall/marshall1.jpg

9dk-skkeIKI
smogfalls
10-03-2010, 12:28 PM
thanks for the suggestions... all are very good. I'd never heard of the Electra dyne, but it looks/sounds excellent! Shame it's a shared EQ though. Or maybe I should just learn to get past that?

Also shame about the price, over here the Electra Dyne 1x12 costs almost 2k! I'm looking to spend half of that... max!

Anything come close to that?

Thanks again,
Xan :)
riker4208
10-03-2010, 01:22 PM
Well you can pick up those Marshall combo's like Hoboman posted for around $700 here in the states used.
vmjoe
10-03-2010, 05:03 PM
thanks for the suggestions... all are very good. I'd never heard of the Electra dyne, but it looks/sounds excellent! Shame it's a shared EQ though. Or maybe I should just learn to get past that?

Also shame about the price, over here the Electra Dyne 1x12 costs almost 2k! I'm looking to spend half of that... max!

Anything come close to that?

Thanks again,
Xan :)

Yeah, when I suggested the Electra Dyne, I didn't even notice you were in the UK. They are very expensive there. Look for a used one on **** if you really like them.

The shared EQ is not as big of a problem with the ED as with some other amps. It is designed very nicely to switch between the 3 modes without a need to adjust the EQ. The EQ needs to be adjusted more often when there is a significant volumn change. All the EQ pots work best somewhere between 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock for the most part. Also, with the gain trim pot, you can obtain very good tones on each mode and maintain a consistent volumn when switching between them.

I'm not sure what the exact exchange rate is at the moment, but here the ED sells here for roughly $1700.00 to 1800.00 which would be somewhere around 1000 pounds or a little less.
diagrammatiks
10-03-2010, 05:20 PM
what swart has an ef86?
Deathmonkey
10-03-2010, 06:47 PM
Fryette Memphis! :aok
smogfalls
10-04-2010, 04:11 AM
what swart has an ef86?

Never said one did ;) The one I played was 6v6, 12ax7 + 12dw7

Beautiful cleans though with a Nash tele... way out of my price range though.
FFTT
10-04-2010, 04:44 AM
Take a look at the hand wired reproduction amps built by Ceriatone.
Very good quality at a very reasonable price.