So here's what I've gone through in terms of amps Fender Hot Rod Deville 4x10 (gone) Traynor YBA-1 (gone) Now, I'm playing a beautiful all maple hollowbody w/ WCR pickups (crossroad neck, fillmore bridge) into my Mesa Blue Angel which is VERY close to what I want but not quite there... the clean sounds "cold" and I'm not into the way it breaks up, yes I've played with the EQ on it quite extensively recently I've played thru some not so special fenders (Twin Reverb, Deluxe Reverb, some other Deville 4x10 (in a tweed cover, not sure what kind of deville)... all 3 of these I enjoyed more than my Mesa Anyway, is my ear getting worse? Or am I realizing Fender is my answer? I realize the search for Fender cleans w/ Marshall break up in the same amp is difficult to find (Bogner Goldfinger is GREAT but out of my price range). Any amp suggestions/advice would be great, can't afford over 1k right now
My advice would be to get the best Fender amp you can with the cleans that you like the most, then put very gain-friendly speakers in it, then get a really good Marshall-flavored pedal like a Barber Direct Drive, MI Crunchbox or Lovepedal Superlead. Certainly isn't 100% the same thing as a real Marshall, but can get a lot closer than most people probably think. Lots of stock Fender speakers are OK for cleans and OK for gain, but not really very good for either. If you don't need extra headroom and/or if you can run through the PA for extra volume, I'd stick with a DRRI, clip the bright cap so you can run dirt into the Vibrato/Reverb channel, put a ceramic Weber Michigan in it and get the Superlead. Should be able to do all that for right around $1,000 if you get the amp used.
thanks cratz, I hadn't thought of that formula, but I think it's something I may do. If this helps anyone elses suggestions... I AM a gigging musician and **** tends to get wild... even if I had the cash, an expensive amp ain't what I want for that. I'll get the Carr Rambler and the Retro King JTM45 when I can afford them haha What if I ran my new Fender amp into my Dr Z 2x12 Cab? (I like the way it broke up with the Traynor, that amp just wouldn't play clean)
The Bogner International series amps sound a lot like a Goldfinger, but with fewer features. Check out a Mojado (now called Palermo) or a Barcelona. I've seen Mojados for $600 used.
The Kustom tube amps have worked great for me. They walk the line between tweed and blackface. And yes, you can also dial-in Marshall sounds. They were designed by James Brown, who also designed the Peavey Classic's. They are very affordable, as the older ones are made in the US, and new ones are made in China.
Thanks for the great amp advice, I LOVE Twin Reverbs... but just too much power, which is why something like a Pro reverb has been my main focus
I owned various amps over the years, including Marshall and Fender... If you're looking for both voicings in one amp, along with Boogie and others, check out the Pritchard line (this is not digital modeling, but analog voicings). I retired my other amps for my Black Dagger, and there are others in the line more varied (two channel) than the amp I have.
If you can find a Blackstar (HT series) to try out, do so. They are darn nice and very reasonably priced. I have bought 3 and have loved every one.
