transients wrote:Alright, had a brief run with a Hoofreaper, rainbow machine and dispatch master through the EXCELSIOOOOR and it sounded AWESOME. The hoof side didn't sound that great to me in the higher tone ranges, but with the tone knob at 10 oclock and lower it was awesome. The tone reaper was absolute riffage with the excelsior, very awesome. Not bad for an amp at $299 retail. Not bad at all.
Nice! Was there any excessive noise or buzz when you turned the amp on?
When I first turned it on there was GIANT HUM I WAS SO ANGRY then I calmed down and plugged some stuff in differently on the surge protectors and it disappeared, must've been a ground loop. There's a slight hum at high volume, much more noticeable with the bright switch on (and depends on what direction you face with your guitar) but again, that might be the building's shitty wiring/power - not the amp. The hum was probably coming from the pedals/lights being on, since other people have reported there's pretty much no noise (ex: http://www.strat-talk.com/forum/amp-owners-clubs/167427-fender-excelsior-owners.html). Also I was testing a demo model that was not brand new, so someone could have left it on all day and night for the last few weeks for all I know. There seemed to be a little rattle in the amp, but it seems to be coming from the cage over the tubes, which can easily be taken off.
I played it again with some various overdrives today, not sure if I like how shrill some of the highs get (i've never been much of a treble guy), but the low end on this thing is awesome, very well-defined, it seems to be at least a half-decent 15" speaker. I tried the trem on it, but I've never really cared much for amp trem and it didn't sound like anything special. I keep the tone switch on dark most of the time because that's what I liked most. Didn't try any of the other inputs either, just guitar (there's an accordion and mic input). Lots of clean headroom for a 15watt amp too.
Did I mention my girl loves how the amp looks? This thing has a high pussy potential
Thanks for the info. I definitely have to try this one out. As long as the hum isn't too bad, I'll pick it up. The only reason I'm ditching the AC15C1 is because the hum is too much for me to bother with. If this doesn't cut it, I'm going to be on an even larger hunt...
Seiche wrote:this always seemed strange to me but you read it all the time.
"I love the cranked sound, and it's awesome that I don't have to turn up as much, but I need headroom and a bigger amp is too loud." These are total opposites, either you need an amp that sounds good cranked at reasonable volume or you need a big amp that'll stay clean, no?
I almost pulled the trigger on one of these yesterday when I found a place that had them "In Stock" and was offering an 8% off sale. When I went back to make the purchase the status had changed to "Usually ships in 3-5 Days" which translates to "go ahead and pay, we'll put you off for 3 months until we get more". No Thanks.
D.o.S. wrote:
Seiche wrote:this always seemed strange to me but you read it all the time. "I love the cranked sound, and it's awesome that I don't have to turn up as much, but I need headroom and a bigger amp is too loud." These are total opposites, either you need an amp that sounds good cranked at reasonable volume or you need a big amp that'll stay clean, no?
This absolutely wins the thread.
I think what a lot of people want is to be able to overdrive the power tubes and still have headroom in the preamp. Maybe Master Volume and Effects Loops somewhat solves this problem.
I just crank everything and let a Norse God sort it out.
Achtane wrote:FUZZ ALL DAY MAN FUZZ IS GOD ALL OTHER EFFECTS ARE SHIT
Caesar wrote:Dude, can you get the fuck out of my b/s/t thread with your bullshit.
PumpkinPieces wrote: This isn't America, this is I Love Fuzz.
Mudfuzz wrote:Remember when we were all just a bunch of weirdos that liked fucked up shit and not just a bunch of nerds buying bling to impress each other online?
I wanted one of these so bad until I heard the demo...I fall into the "need more clean headroom" category I guess. I don't want a "big" amp, but its got to be loud enough to play with drums while staying clean enough not to muddy up my fuzz at those volumes...
goroth wrote:Most builders are content on reproducing the same crap. Which is fine. Most guitarists want the same crap.
ifeellikeatourist wrote:I wanted one of these so bad until I heard the demo...I fall into the "need more clean headroom" category I guess. I don't want a "big" amp, but its got to be loud enough to play with drums while staying clean enough not to muddy up my fuzz at those volumes...
Hmmmm. I think I fall into the same category. I wonder what the best alternatives for this are?
ifeellikeatourist wrote:I wanted one of these so bad until I heard the demo...I fall into the "need more clean headroom" category I guess. I don't want a "big" amp, but its got to be loud enough to play with drums while staying clean enough not to muddy up my fuzz at those volumes...
Hmmmm. I think I fall into the same category. I wonder what the best alternatives for this are?
Ampeg Superjet? 50 watt 1x12 combo, really purdy cleans, very affordable if you can find one on craigslist or somethin (got mine on craigslist mint condition for $275)
ifeellikeatourist wrote:I wanted one of these so bad until I heard the demo...I fall into the "need more clean headroom" category I guess. I don't want a "big" amp, but its got to be loud enough to play with drums while staying clean enough not to muddy up my fuzz at those volumes...
Hmmmm. I think I fall into the same category. I wonder what the best alternatives for this are?
Ampeg Superjet? 50 watt 1x12 combo, really purdy cleans, very affordable if you can find one on craigslist or somethin (got mine on craigslist mint condition for $275)
I'll certainly look into that. Still dying to try out the Excelsior.
The classic 30 really is the ideal size/loudness for me. I don't know why I don't just get one. If I found an older one for cheap locally I would totally get it. I have heard good things about the ampeg reverberocket and such, I eyeball those on eBay from time to time. My current fixation is that 20 watt jet city combo that comes with reverb for like $250--MF had it for $199 a while back! Not sure if its the best option, but its definitely the cheapest. It's stupid of me not to have bought one yet--I have pedals that cost more than that amp--but I really need to get my AC4's sold before I continue in my amp quest. Still would like to try an excelsior...
goroth wrote:Most builders are content on reproducing the same crap. Which is fine. Most guitarists want the same crap.
Achtane wrote:FUZZ ALL DAY MAN FUZZ IS GOD ALL OTHER EFFECTS ARE SHIT
Caesar wrote:Dude, can you get the fuck out of my b/s/t thread with your bullshit.
PumpkinPieces wrote: This isn't America, this is I Love Fuzz.
Mudfuzz wrote:Remember when we were all just a bunch of weirdos that liked fucked up shit and not just a bunch of nerds buying bling to impress each other online?
then I calmed down and plugged some stuff in differently on the surge protectors and it disappeared, must've been a ground loop. There's a slight hum at high volume, much more noticeable with the bright switch on (and depends on what direction you face with your guitar) but again, that might be the building's shitty wiring/power - not the amp. The hum was probably coming from the pedals/lights being on, since other people have reported there's pretty much no noise (ex: http://www.strat-talk.com/forum/amp-owners-clubs/167427-fender-excelsior-owners.html). Also I was testing a demo model that was not brand new, so someone could have left it on all day and night for the last few weeks for all I know. There seemed to be a little rattle in the amp, but it seems to be coming from the cage over the tubes, which can easily be taken off.
). Yeah, here i come 