I've had two Twins. A 90's one that was unnecessarily complicated and therefore unreliable, and a Silverface one that was great.
Both were really, really heavy. If you don't need distortion and want bright and clean and really want a Twin, I'd wait for a Silverface. I can't believe you need anything that loud though.
Talk to me about Fender amps
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I just couldn't be carrying a Twin anywhere. At all. I lug a silverface vibrolux reverb around, and that's heavy enough. A deluxe reverb is a good shout, but will definitely breakup at volume. That's generally what most people want I guess. Nothing (with valves) will stay clean as loud as the Twin does. So Hurb's SS suggestion aint a bad one.
Have you looked at bassman head clones? Quite a lot of kits are on the market, and a bit like partscasters, they're probably worth fuck all second hand.
Have you looked at bassman head clones? Quite a lot of kits are on the market, and a bit like partscasters, they're probably worth fuck all second hand.
Either you’re talking about a bandit 112, which is a great idea, or you’re talking about a classic 30/50. Also a fucking great idea.BillClay wrote:I feel like this could actually be the right answer to anyone living in the Midwest of the United States but I don't know if that's an option where you're atBacchus wrote:The correct answer is the Peav....
peaveys are nice if you don't care about how your amp looks or sounds, and you want something that can survive 50 plus years in a wet basement or nuclear war.
here's my synopsis on fender combo amps:
HRD series: too big/too loud. if you're steady on tour in a variety of venues it's the amp for you. was overkill for my needs, great pedal platform. the dirty channel gets mad hate.
Deluxe Reverb: nice cleans, breaks up nice. 22w is deceptively loud, keeps up with your drummer. classic fender tone.
twin: overkill. cleans for miles, heavy as fuck.
blues jr: my amp of choice atm, good size, good tone. 15w is also deceptively loud, I like it.
Princeton reverb: 15w like the blues jr, George Thorogood and Glenn Campbell made these things sound great, as well as that rapist Ryan Adams. GEM of an amp. also deceptively loud.
super reverb: srv tones, heavy. dream amp of mine but overkill for me.
if you play small venues, and mic your shit up, and like your cleans to not be totally ice clean then one of the 15w amps should suit your needs with the right speaker(s). if you play larger shows, never have your shit mic'd up, and don't want icey clean tones then you might wanna look into the bigger bois. I was always under the impression that there was a huge volume difference from a 15w to a 30w amp but you only gain 6db every time you double your wattage, when you want more watts you're really looking for more clean headroom. if you want more volume you just get louder speakers or more speakers. some of those little 1w amps get really loud through the right speakers, though they break up and compress instantly.
here's my synopsis on fender combo amps:
HRD series: too big/too loud. if you're steady on tour in a variety of venues it's the amp for you. was overkill for my needs, great pedal platform. the dirty channel gets mad hate.
Deluxe Reverb: nice cleans, breaks up nice. 22w is deceptively loud, keeps up with your drummer. classic fender tone.
twin: overkill. cleans for miles, heavy as fuck.
blues jr: my amp of choice atm, good size, good tone. 15w is also deceptively loud, I like it.
Princeton reverb: 15w like the blues jr, George Thorogood and Glenn Campbell made these things sound great, as well as that rapist Ryan Adams. GEM of an amp. also deceptively loud.
super reverb: srv tones, heavy. dream amp of mine but overkill for me.
if you play small venues, and mic your shit up, and like your cleans to not be totally ice clean then one of the 15w amps should suit your needs with the right speaker(s). if you play larger shows, never have your shit mic'd up, and don't want icey clean tones then you might wanna look into the bigger bois. I was always under the impression that there was a huge volume difference from a 15w to a 30w amp but you only gain 6db every time you double your wattage, when you want more watts you're really looking for more clean headroom. if you want more volume you just get louder speakers or more speakers. some of those little 1w amps get really loud through the right speakers, though they break up and compress instantly.
I’m going to reinforce my earlier suggestion of the Deluxe Reverb. It’s been the perfect amp and has just the right breakup point. Totally practical size and weight. The cheapest used DRRI is probably a couple hundred more than the cheapest Twin, but it will be a better ownership experience.
I agree with the above post, except I don’t think you can play with a 15w Fender with a drummer if cleans are your thing, unless you’re miking it, lately I’m finding fewer and fewer venues want to bother miking guitars.
I agree with the above post, except I don’t think you can play with a 15w Fender with a drummer if cleans are your thing, unless you’re miking it, lately I’m finding fewer and fewer venues want to bother miking guitars.
should note that the drum set that's been used for all my shit the last 4 or so years has been a smaller gretsch club kit, pairs perfectly with a small combo and sounds ace mic'd up at a club.
but I feel you on that, kind've stuff with venues makes the new tonemaster deluxes and twins appealing. even though they're modeling style amps the features allowing you to DI your shit, attenuate your wattage, and the lightness make them super hard to beat with some clubs wanting to mic you up so you can't crank your ac30 or hrd and other venues not wanting to mic you up leading to you having to dime your small tube amp. the videos on them make them sound convincing though I'd like to hear one in person.
but I feel you on that, kind've stuff with venues makes the new tonemaster deluxes and twins appealing. even though they're modeling style amps the features allowing you to DI your shit, attenuate your wattage, and the lightness make them super hard to beat with some clubs wanting to mic you up so you can't crank your ac30 or hrd and other venues not wanting to mic you up leading to you having to dime your small tube amp. the videos on them make them sound convincing though I'd like to hear one in person.
Freddy, Are Musicman amps readily available in the UK? Have you ever considered a Sixty Five?
It's a Fender designed amp from the 70's, made through the 80's....it's 65 watts tube, but only the power section is tube, much like my Peavey Classic. They sound very Fendery, and while prices have increased a bit since I last checked, they're still a decent bargain compared to a Fender.
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I would only recommend it as a head....MM amps are extremely heavy for some reason, I think it's the transformers. A 1x12 combo like the one in that vid can outweigh a Twin IIRC.
It's a Fender designed amp from the 70's, made through the 80's....it's 65 watts tube, but only the power section is tube, much like my Peavey Classic. They sound very Fendery, and while prices have increased a bit since I last checked, they're still a decent bargain compared to a Fender.
[youtube][/youtube]
I would only recommend it as a head....MM amps are extremely heavy for some reason, I think it's the transformers. A 1x12 combo like the one in that vid can outweigh a Twin IIRC.
Makes me wonder why most old solid state guitar amps sound like crap when clean - ice picky and dead through different speakers. I remember plugging into my friends hifi solid state amp and the cleans were warm and musical. These days with so many great overdrive, fuzz and modulation pedals a solid state amp with good cleans and attenuation can be a good alternative to tube amps. I know Tonemaster sort of does it, but it costs $1000 and is a modelling amp
matte30is wrote:Someone man up and get a balloon.
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Freddy V-C
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Music Man might be a good shout! It seems like the Sixty-Five heads are fairly easy to come by (I'd be more into that than a combo) and I'm not entirely opposed to a hybrid amp.
Also spotted a Fender Showman locally for a not unreasonable price. Anyone know much about these? The stuff I'm reading online seems to suggest they're basically just a head version of a Twin, so my interest is piqued by that...
Also spotted a Fender Showman locally for a not unreasonable price. Anyone know much about these? The stuff I'm reading online seems to suggest they're basically just a head version of a Twin, so my interest is piqued by that...
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Freddy V-C
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Super loud bassy cleans does sound good! I was meaning to reply to this earlier:
And whenever Thank gets the ball rolling again (hopefully November/December-ish) I'll be fighting against a similarly heavy handed drummer, five bass cabs and another guitarist playing through a Bassbreaker 30. Admittedly it's rare that we wouldn't have guitars mic'd up for a Thank gig, but even still.
A Twin is almost definitely not overkill lol.
Yeah, in Beige Palace I'm battling against a super heavy handed drummer, and a farty loud synth going through two bass cabs. Plus I'm probably only mic'd up for about half the gigs we play.Josh wrote:should note that the drum set that's been used for all my shit the last 4 or so years has been a smaller gretsch club kit, pairs perfectly with a small combo and sounds ace mic'd up at a club.
And whenever Thank gets the ball rolling again (hopefully November/December-ish) I'll be fighting against a similarly heavy handed drummer, five bass cabs and another guitarist playing through a Bassbreaker 30. Admittedly it's rare that we wouldn't have guitars mic'd up for a Thank gig, but even still.
A Twin is almost definitely not overkill lol.
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Freddy V-C
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I know it flies in the face of wanting “nice� gear, but I’m also going to maybe recommend the Peavey Classic series (vtx or heritage series). Same as the musicman (but admittedly doesn’t look as nice), it’s solid state preamp and 65 watts of tube power in a 2x12 combo. Spring reverb, a phaser because why not, and two channels. I got mine for peanuts but they can be had all day for $200. If the speakers aren’t shot, they sound like a much nicer amp than the price and appearance lets on.
Fender Blues Deluxe. 5 tubes, 40 watts, Fender cleans, more "classic" overdriven sound than Hot Rod series. Some people argue that it's a perfect match for a Tele.
Peavey Classic 30 has some reputation of being not reliable when old. Older models are famous for tubes rattling like crazy and there are soldering problems. As far as I remember there are two circuit boards that are soldered together at a 90 degree angle and the soldering gets loose with the time from vibration, some amps break constantly. Also the amp as it is doesn't have pristine fendery cleans, maybe if you change the speaker, but it's probably the circuit
Peavey Classic 30 has some reputation of being not reliable when old. Older models are famous for tubes rattling like crazy and there are soldering problems. As far as I remember there are two circuit boards that are soldered together at a 90 degree angle and the soldering gets loose with the time from vibration, some amps break constantly. Also the amp as it is doesn't have pristine fendery cleans, maybe if you change the speaker, but it's probably the circuit
matte30is wrote:Someone man up and get a balloon.