Your Favorite Combo Amps

[CyaNitrate]

Wait aren't a lot of the tube sockets in the 5150 PCB mount too or is that before PCB mount tubes were something that concerned you?

hahaha...good catch. I know the preamp tubes are, but the output tubes are chassis mounted. That was also before I knew much about amps and the internet told me that HRD's were to be avoided and 5150s were the amps of the gods. Now that I've actually worked on amps, I'd give an HRD or Deville another go...I think I could tackle any trouble it gave me. And I still like 5150s. One trick pony for sure, but a good trick if it's the one you need.

[waltdogg]

Fair enough. If I still had a need for it I wouldn't have sold the 5150 I had a while back, that's for sure. As for the DeVille, I'd rather have a Deluxe now. But agh, too many amps. I need more guitars.

[rfurtkamp]

I don't need the amps I have really, three for home use is more than enough in regular rotation.

Now the dozen guitars...maybe I need them all? Maybe?

[waltdogg]

I use my gigging amps at home because I'm *that* neighbor. I'd like something that's "lower" wattage but, guitars.

[CyaNitrate]

I don't need the amps I have really, three for home use is more than enough in regular rotation.

Now the dozen guitars...maybe I need them all? Maybe?

Oh you need them. Neeed.

I need more gear. I have the one Fender amp and a strat and a tele. I would like something Marshall-y/higher gain, as well as a guitar with humbuckers and another with p-90s.

I've had all of these before of course, just not all at the same time to freely switch between.

[CyaNitrate]

I use my gigging amps at home because I'm *that* neighbor. I'd like something that's "lower" wattage but, guitars.

Oh man, I want another Silverface Champ like no one's business. I had one and foolishly sold it. Or a Princeton Reverb, but gottdayum they are expensive.

[frigid midget]

My personal favs:

Fender Pro Reverb. Mainly due to the fact that it's kinda like a Twin, with a slightly more manageable power rating
Bassman. Dunno what it is about these old school tube heads for bass, but they can be dialed in for such juicy growling guitar toanz.
Vibroking. Probably the highest quality 'modern' fender combo I know of. Too bad it's out of my league though, financially speaking.
HRD. Pretty much my favorite affordable none-reissue/classic fender combo. The drive channel isn't all that great imo, but the clean channel is a great pedal platform imo. Not sure if I like it THAT much more than a '65 twin or a PV C30 though, but it's still...

Deluxe Reverb: Really nice, I can see why it's so popular. But the 22Watt 1x12" open back concept isn't prefect for me, I'd rather have the oomph of an AC30, or the clean headroom of a twin/HRD. And it's too loud for most appartements too, so...

I had a Pro Jr for a while too, tweed, made in the US,...Nice sparkly cleans, no bells and whistles, great great great little combo. Not powerful enough for me though, I wanted something to also jam/rehearse with. I gave up on playing quietly, these days I don't want anything below 15Watt in my living room.

[CyaNitrate]

The Peavey Classics are definitely worth a mention. Solid workhorse amps. I've had two classic 50 2x12s, and they were pretty great. Never gonna get as sparkly clean as a Fender, but it's a usable clean, which you can dial in a touch of hair if you want.

[frigid midget]

The Peavey Classics are definitely worth a mention. Solid workhorse amps. I've had two classic 50 2x12s, and they were pretty great. Never gonna get as sparkly clean as a Fender, but it's a usable clean, which you can dial in a touch of hair if you want.

Yeah, I think that's why I personally like the peavey's a bit more sometimes, depends on my mood I guess. What most people describe as "sparkle" when they talk about fender cleans, often sounds too ice picky and jangly for my taste, I usually prefer slughtly 'rounder' cleans, with somewhat softer high end.

[rfurtkamp]

I can dial that Fender high end down (and it's designed to compensate for the increased natural bass as you crank the amp up) and get other things.

I've never been able to dial in a Peavey anything that didn't sound like butt.

[popvulture]

I've always been a combo player, and the three main ones I use regularly cover a pretty wide range of territory, or to my ears at least:

'68 Twin - wonderful cleans, can be a bit glassy but is manageable. Best reverb I've found, in terms of my own personal prefs.
Matchless Chieftain 212 - also amazing cleans but sounds best with a bit of hair, works best w pedals. Reverb sucks but I fix that with a Super Spring Theory. Weighs WAY more than any amp should.
Carr Mercury - ungodly beautiful low to mid gain sounds, but can go pretty damn high gain if desired (I don't really use it for that). Super gooey/pretty reverb that's nicely different from Fender style. Surprisingly loud for its size, but struggles in a louder band setting if I want to stay on the cleaner side.

I'd still love a Blackface Deluxe... might be a purchase down the road but no major plans at the moment.

Combos have always served me well. Been flirting with a late 70s JMP 50w MV, which will be the first time I've really broken out of my pattern...

[popvulture]

Don't overlook the modern Fender stuff either.

The Hot Rod Deluxe/Deville/etc are dirt cheap used, sound like big, glassy 6L6 Fenders (you can ignore the gain channel if you want, after all), and are < 500 used and are all the hell over.

Couldn't agree with this more--the Deville 410 is my go-to recommendation whenever anyone I know is looking for an amp for under $1K (and yep, all over Craigslist used for 500 or less). I think they've got a great clean channel, really awesome low to medium gain settings and more if you want it, plus obviously really damn good sounding Fender verb.

I always use em to demo guitars in shops, and the employee who's helping me usually looks at me like I'm a weirdo for not playing something fancier. Then another employee comes by a few minutes later and asks what I'm playing through

I think they're just really f'n solid sound-wise.

[CyaNitrate]

Vibroverb, for reference http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/msg/5179410900.html

[ProCarsteNation]

I really liked the H&K 20th Anniversary Tube 20....
The sound is in the room, rather than coming from the box....

Recently bought one used and loved it, then it quickly broke
Guy in the shop wants 320€ to fix it

what's the opposite of buying gear like a boss

[RolandJC120]

Roland JC120