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I'm interested in learning what everyone's favorite solid state amps are, for their cleans and as pedal platforms. I like 80's-90's SS Fenders, Yamaha G series, JC-120, Traynor TS, Sunn Beta..

Not really a fan of modeling amps or anything constructed with surface-mount technology. I like my amps rugged and serviceable.

I hear good things about Peavey Bandits, though I've never really used one. Also, I'm unsure which version of the Bandit is most acclaimed. Teal stripe?

Are there any other SS Jazz Chorus/Twin Reverb competitors that are worth mentioning?

On a related note, if anyone has a Yamaha G100-212 III (the one with the colored knobs) that they wouldn't mind parting with, please hit me up ASAP. I've been having the damndest time trying to track one down. Series II G100's are all over the place, but I'd really like a III.

Haven't tried many different SS amps, but I've got a G100 1x12 and I really like it. Needs a recap job though.

Peavey Stereo Chorus 2x12 is great value for money. HH IC100 is also a very good ss amp. Bot are perfect for pedals, really linear, loud as hell and good clean sounds.

Ampeg G-212. 120 watts (and a 120 pounds) of clean heaven. Dimed, the only thing that distorts is my brain. Takes pedals really well too. I swapped out the original Eminence speakers for Texas Heats, just to give it some character. If you find one cheap, snag it.

People seem to like their Quilter amps, have not tried one myself. On the high end for a solid state

My main amp is a Lab Series L7. It has four 10" speakers. The Lab Series L5 has two 12" speakers
and is like a Fender Twin. I found a great deal locally on my L7 though. A jazz dude was selling
it and he'd taken pretty good care of it. The Lab Series amps have a semi-parametric mid so that
you can sweep the Mid-frequency and then boost or dampen that sliver of frequency. Highly useful.
I've used it to prevent feedback when playing an acoustic guitar. And it is a great way to alter the
Mids of a fuzz pedal, which helps you sculpt that fuzz to better mesh with the amp or stick out
more in the mix when playing with a band.

Not mine, but this is how they look:


You can also set a Lab Series amp so that the Master Volume is low and the Volume is high
to get some nice overdrive. My L7 sounds good clean or with amp overdrive. No channel switching,
so I have a Barber Dual UnLTD overdrive pedal so I can switch between two amp-like gain stages.
And then I use whatever fuzz/delay/looper for sound mangles and all is good and squishy.

When I first started playing guitar my friend had a Peavey Bandit and a Roland JC-120. At the time
I had a Vox Essex bass amp. I played either guitar or bass through the Essex, which was solid state
and had two 12" speakers and had to be wheeled around in a metal cart. The Vox sounded pretty
good, but had minimal tone sculpting (one tone knob) and I always used a ProCo Rat with it to get
a bit of grind.

Not my Vox Essex, but this is how they look:


Peavey recently released a 212 Special Chorus amp using their "Trans-Tube" technology.
Check it out? Not Quilter quality but cheaper, and perhaps easier to find for sale?
https://peavey.com/products/index.cfm/item/658/117569

Hypnodrone wrote:HH IC100 is also a very good ss amp. [...] perfect for pedals, really linear, loud as hell and good clean sounds.

This.

You can never go wrong with a JC of sorts though.

The loudest one that costs the least money.

vintage Acoustic brand stuff. Heard mixed reports on the new/rebrand, but I beat the fuck out of an old 150 for a few years.
Trace/Elliott. Especially their SS/tube hybrids. Pristine to filth. Sexy.
the Behringer head, the top of the line one that was the Ashdown clone, that was my goto for testing stuff at GC. Always sound good.

In general, bass SS is the best SS.

fender sidekick series (rivera design amps)

Some people have been using the recent version Fender Rumble 100/200 bass amps
for guitar. I haven't tried it. But they are pretty light (22lbs or 35lbs).
The speakers turn out to be Eminence ceramic 12".

Listen to amp (and not blooze-noodles):
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsgxDsx79lA[/youtube]

Yamaha JX series are under the radar and don't seem to pop up as often as the G series, but definitely good, pedals or not. Fendery sounds. I'm guessing the Jazz Chorus-looking VX series would be similar, but thoss seem incredibly uncommon.

Vox Pathfinder 15 amps are good with pedals once you remove the clipping LEDs. (They muddle by okay unmodded if you keep the gain way down. But better all around without the diodes.)

Low input of the Marshall Lead 12 is good with pedals. Hot input is good with a lot of pedals.

Fender Eighty-Five is pretty good. The most famous user, Jonny Greenwood, only ever uses it with a Shredmaster for distortion, but I use it for nice Fender cleans without breaking the bank. Loud enough for practice and small gigs too. It isn't amazing, but I use a Vox AC4C1 set a little dirty for my main tones, so having a perfectly clean Fender amp (that doesn't weigh 100lbs) is really great.

I always hear that the Vox Pathfinder is the Vox equivalent – nice cleans for cheap – but I haven't tried one.

Peavey USA-era/elder statesmen are somewhat indestructible, loud (equal/moreso to their physical weight) & relatively cost beans in most iterations you can find (heads seem to be easier to buy online, since the combos weigh so damn much).

USA Randalls are similar in form & function, but have been going for more & more each day

But really,

D.o.S. wrote:The loudest one that costs the least money.

Not a criticism of solid state whatsoever but I'm curious as to why you want solid state exclusively if you're just looking for good, clean, pedal platforms.

Preference is fine. Or if it's a comfortability servicing your own amps and you don't what to deal with tube than that's cool. I just feel like you can snag a Carvin X100b for the same amount or less than some of these other solid state bad dads and wonder why you're excluding one or the other (why not both?).