AST vs. Cowtipper 22 vs. Stangray

[analogwarmth]

Thinking about these 3 right now.
Decided I can live without reverb if it sounds good,
but it has to be 20-30 watts and a 1x12 combo.


please only post if you have played at least 2 of the 3 afore mentioned amps!

[analogwarmth]

oh no you don't. bump-ola, this ones a floater. staying near the top.

[n.j.]

Well, I've owned a CT22 and two different Stingray combos. My CT22 was a 1x12" combo with a G12H30, and the Stingrays were both 2x12" combos with Celestion Blues.

- Cowtipper: incredible cleans, incredible reverb, took pedals well, nice and light, why did I sell it? Decent Fedner-y breakup, not enough headroom for all places. The 35 watt version might be perfect. Then again, so might the UG30.

- Stingray(s): incredible cleans, absurdly good overdrive, but very, very loud, super heavy (~85 pounds, Chieftain heavy) and was picky on what pedals it liked (although the AC booster worked well).

My several cents.

[analogwarmth]

how much did the CT weigh?

[dividedsky]

Played the AST and Cow Tipper, owned neither. Totally different amps in my opinion. The AST is like a combination of different Fender eras, some voxey sounds, very lively and bright, crazy deep reverb and the best amp trem I've ever heard. The Cow Tipper was like a very full sounding blackface DR, super smooth and kind of dark (but that could have just been the settings at the time), very refined, and with a very full reverb. Honestly I thought the 20 watt AST was much louder than the 22 watt Cow Tipper. You could put the volume half way up on the CT with a cranked guitar and still be in bedroom level volumes for sure. A couple nice amps for sure just depends on what you want out of an amp I guess.

[analogwarmth]

yea all the swart stuff seems really loud for its wattage.

[farlowhigh]

I own the AST and the new STR and I used to own a Cowtipper 22. The Swart AST is definitely louder than the Cowtipper but I am sure the Stangray is way louder than either of the other two. I find Z amps to be the loudest for their wattage ratings of any amp I have ever played. the Maz Jr NR (and head) combo I used to own were crazy loud compared to the Cowtipper or the Badger or the Swart AST for that matter...

the AST has a very beautiful and lively clean that is somewhere between blackface and tweedy Fender sounding...it really has its own thing going and isn't a clone of anything as far as I can tell.

The Cowtipper is for all intensive purposes an improvement on the basic Deluxe Reverb platform...better low end and beautiful highs and very sensitive tone controls with a mid control so you can escape the scooped mid blackface sound if you would like. the cleans are absolutely beautiful and clear and the note separation is amazing...if you are looking for a blackface fendery sound, then the Cowtipper is a great choice...that said, they are not inexpensive and I am guessing that one of the Allen or Headstrong amps could do a similarly great job getting you that Fendery sound...I ultimately sold my Cowtipper because I kept gravitating toward my other amps like the AST and I think I am just not as into blackface fendery cleans as I used to be...the Gries 5 does a very nice blackface fendery clean and I kept that in case I get nostalgic for the blackface cleans...

haven't played the Stingray but would expect that it would be great voxy cleans and loud as hell but undoubtedly more clean headroom than either of the other two. the AST can get loud but I think it sounds great at basically any volume, including very low volume (it sounds pretty full and already good at 2 on the dial).

The overdrive on the AST is glorious while the Cowtipper has good blackface style overdrive...that is subjective but I think of the Cowtipper as having its real strength in its rich and full and balanced cleans. The AST has great cleans AND great overdrive and seems a bit more versatile for that reason...

hope that helps,

Eric

[analogwarmth]

thanks eric.

[farlowhigh]

no problem. as to the weight, I am clearly pretty weak as I found the Cowtipper to be pretty heavy while the AST is much lighter and more compact (easily fits in the front seat of a car)...not sure of exact weights but I would guess the Cowtipper is in the range of 50 to 60 pounds while the AST is more like 35 pounds.

Eric

[n.j.]

They're definitely totally different amps, but both excellent. My Cowtipper weighed about 45 pounds, the Stingray was over 80.

The AST I played at TrueTone in Santa Monica sounded crummy, I was really disappointed. I wanted to love it because the feature set is so perfect, but it didn't impress me at all. Maybe bad tubes, maybe something else, I'd still love to try another one.

[analogwarmth]

Originally Posted by n.j.

They're definitely totally different amps, but both excellent. My Cowtipper weighed about 45 pounds, the Stingray was over 80.

The AST I played at TrueTone in Santa Monica sounded crummy, I was really disappointed. I wanted to love it because the feature set is so perfect, but it didn't impress me at all. Maybe bad tubes, maybe something else, I'd still love to try another one.

ya go back and play it again, or wait til they have a new one.