Recommend me a vintage amp for ....

[Mondrian]

Hey all

I'm desperately in need of a new amp - and I think a DIY job/kit could give me a fun little project, as well as keeping the amp do-able within my fairly low student budget.

What vintage/clonable amp design (eg old Marshalls, Fenders, Orange, Vox, Matchl-ss, T-Wreck, D-mble) do I want which will give me


good clean/edge of breakup
fairly articulate mid to mid-high gain
thick lows and mids with smooth highs
allow me to control my gain with volume pedal or guitar controls only without sacrificing my cleaner tones


tones along the lines of those in this song -
the mid-gain section in the middle (various layers around the 3 to 5 minute mark), cleans/light grit about 8-9mins through and the crushing end are all decent examples of the variety of tones I'm looking for
6XdEztcfg5A
Link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XdEztcfg5A)
Similar acts such as Russian Circles, newer Isis and The Fire in Our Throats will beckon the Thaw-era Pelican all have good examples of tones in them that I would happily use

thanks all!

[RocksOff]

Well, what's your budget?

[Mondrian]

If it's for a kit or DIY, it shouldn't be too bad. Everything Ceriatone offer is well within striking range - being in Australia means shipping from Malaysia is much more bearable than shipping from the US or Europe

I figure I should put my physics degree to use and do some electronics - Mouser and Small Bear have access to most of what I need, then I just need to get transformers (as long as it's not Mercury it's affordable) and a chassis and I'm in business.

[Lonely Raven]

Try the Ceriatone Expression. It's a tough build, but very rewarding if you dial it in right.

Very touch sensitive and goes from chimey and punchy to near meltdown with the volume knob.

I'm thinking I need to build another one now that I think about it! :)

[Mondrian]

Try the Ceriatone Expression. It's a tough build, but very rewarding if you dial it in right.

Very touch sensitive and goes from chimey and punchy to near meltdown with the volume knob.

I'm thinking I need to build another one now that I think about it! :)
Funny you should mention this. I've been loving the samples of the Rock It, Liver-Pull and Expression I've found on the intertubes. Just what is the difference between the various TW clones - I have little to no knowledge of the various Wrecks.

The only doubt I have is that it may just be a bit brighter than I'm after - preferring the warmer tones.

Via other forums I've had recommendations of Orange OR120 or JCM800 as well.

[Hulakatt]

Look up the 2 Stroke. It's a dead simple amp to build and parts are pretty easy to source. Victoria Amps sells a kit but it's pretty pricy. It should be fairly easy to source the parts for less than half of what they charge [to their credit, they use top notch stuff]. Dave Hunter gives a good description as well as walking you through the build in his tube amp handbook. The book is worth it for that alone but is a good read too.

Other than that, yeah, Ceriatone and Weber make damn fine kits at a great price point.