In your opinion the best tube amp tonally that you can get nowadays

[Gearjoneser]

Re: In your opinion the best tube amp tonally that you can get nowadays

For EL-34 channel switching amps, the Bogner Ecstasy is at the top of the list.
For single channel EL-34 amps, Friedman amps are pretty devastating.
For modern production Fender 6L6 amps, the Fender Vibroking is sweet. Victoria and many more.
For EL-84 amps, Bad Cat, Dr. Z, 65 Amps London, and Matchless get my vote.
For 6V6 amps, Tone King, Carr, and Fargen are pretty killer.

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: In your opinion the best tube amp tonally that you can get nowadays

42.

[Kosh Naranek]

Re: In your opinion the best tube amp tonally that you can get nowadays

You know, sometimes you just want to get random answers from people to open up your mind a little bit. I also put in the word tone in my question so no very high gain amp I suppose because the distortion pretty much cover the tone? Right now I still dont have any answer because of the vast number of choices and I've just transitioned from acoustic to electric for less than a year now. But I think I like the fender Hot Rod series because of the nice cleans and crisp not thick sounding saturation that works for me and I play blues to distorted rock and roll mostly.

Thankyou for clarifying that you are not looking for high gain amps, and that it's blues and rock n roll that you play. A lot of high gain amps do cover these bases, and do them well. You may just not find yourself using the high gain channel. Or you may experiment and dial in a tone you like on that channel as well.
The best tube amps I have experience with, for the sounds you're looking for:
The Fender Super Sonic. Lovely clean tones, and you have a choice of two. Turning up the gain, there is wonderful classic blues overdrive.
The distorted channel is not as high gain as amps designed to play metal, and produces great smooth classic rock overdrive, and lets you also dial in a distortion with a little more buzz if you want to get heavy.
Peavey Penta. Premium tube tones. Has a 5 way switch for 5 voicings. A clean setting, with a thicker warmer sound, not a sparkly Fender or Soldano clean. A 70's classic rock crunch tone. An 80's tone that reminds me of the Marshall tones of bands like Iron Maiden or Dio. A 90's distortion that reminds me of Jerry Cantrell's Bogner amp tones with Alice in Chains.
Genz Benz El Diablo. All your blues, classic rock overdrive, and clean tones can be dialed in and you can switch between them instantly with the footswitch. The overdrive channel is very flexible, letting you go from a dynamic classic rock crunch, and with the footswitch switch to a more sustaining, 80's lead sound, and if desired, click on the high gain switch and add more buzz, sizzle and sustain. Note that the compressed switch doesn't just add gain, it changes the voicing of the overdrive channel, adding more sustain. It also has a boost switch which doesn't just boost volume, which tends to do bad things to the mix if you're playing with a band, but instead it boosts certain midrange frequencies making your guitar cut through without just turning up.

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: In your opinion the best tube amp tonally that you can get nowadays

It really depends on what your playing, where your playing, with whom your playing, and so forth. For me it would be a 50 watt plexi. If we confine it to off the shelf amps and not include all the boutique alternatives, it would be the re-issue 1987 from Marshall. I know its loud and will need a hotplate and everything, but for pure tube tone you can't beat a plexi.

[ItsaBass]

Re: In your opinion the best tube amp tonally that you can get nowadays

IMO, speaking only of brand new amps, I'd say the Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue, the Ampeg GVT-52, and the Mesa Express Plus 5:25. Context is everything, of course. I am primarily an r&b-based rhythm/parts player, and not a lead player, though I do play your basic blues and surf leads and melodies if called for. Think something along the lines of Steve Cropper's approach to the guitar. I pretty much play folk, blues, r&b, country, early rock-n-roll, surf/instrumental, '60's pop, garage, hard rock, and classic metal.

The Fender is a basic classic sounding amp without a lot of "modern" features. Great amp clean or crunchy, and it can get nice and "smooth bassy" in that lovely way that low-watt Fender amps do. Although simple, it is extremely versatile if you play to get the most out of it.

The Ampeg gives a variety of tones, and some modern features, but basically it sounds pretty classic V series. It has a very bluesy thump and chewiness, and it's warm, yet aggressive. It's a very dynamic sound. It has a very distinct voice and character, which I love, but which might not be everyone's cup of tea, especially lead players. Again, very bluesy and hard rocky.

The Mesa has a very good basic "old school" tone, plus a variety of useful "modern" features, such as outstanding tone controls, two channels (with two gain settings on each channel), footswitchable graphic E.Q., flat-E.Q. boost, three power/mode settings, and several other fancy Mesa features. It's a stone's throw from being over-engineered, but they keep it from going over that line, like some of the Mesa amps do (e.g. the various Marks and Rectos). It's also built like a brick outhouse, like any Mesa. It's the perfect amp for someone who likes classic tones, but wants some modern style versatility and the utmost in reliability for gigging.

Of these three, the only one I would actually buy new would be the Mesa...and I did get one. With the other two, I am already covered by my Princeton, V-4, Jet, Reverberocket, and Super Rocket. But speaking only of brand new amps, and approaching the situation as if I didn't have any amps already, these would be the three I'd be looking at. If I was primarily a gigger, and played a variety of music with different people, I'd go for the Mesa. While it doesn't really have a "signature sound," it's a great grab-n-go, do-everything-and-do-it-well amp that will likely never leave me high and dry. If I didn't need as much versatility or reliability, and I wanted a more distinct sound, I would go for one of the other two. The Ampeg if I wanted a more syrupy and chunky sound, and the Fender if I wanted a more focused and biting sound.

[everdrone]

Re: In your opinion the best tube amp tonally that you can get nowadays

I'm not into fanboism of tube amp or anything I practice with my 90 bucks vox mini 3 but with that you cant get the tube saturation sound

Orange Amplification for jamming with a drummer and other musicians tube tone is harmonically very rich and cuts through the mix pleasantly; last night I saw a band that used only a line 6 for guitar amp and you could not even hear the guitar except for guitar solos, even though there were two pro audio guys constantly monitoring the mix! all you could hear was bass, singing, drums, and guitar solos. could not hear the rhythym guitar at all, even for covers where I know what the guitar riffs are.

for very quiet apartments like mine, tube amps are way too loud, they are designed to be loud! even if only 1/4 watt. I recommend modelers only and IR impulses; ideally a Kemper or AxeFXII

[NewWave]

Re: In your opinion the best tube amp tonally that you can get nowadays

Orange Amplification for jamming with a drummer and other musicians tube tone is harmonically very rich and cuts through the mix pleasantly; last night I saw a band that used only a line 6 for guitar amp and you could not even hear the guitar except for guitar solos, even though there were two pro audio guys constantly monitoring the mix! all you could hear was bass, singing, drums, and guitar solos. could not hear the rhythym guitar at all, even for covers where I know what the guitar riffs are.

for very quiet apartments like mine, tube amps are way too loud, they are designed to be loud! even if only 1/4 watt. I recommend modelers only and IR impulses; ideally a Kemper or AxeFXII

Well.. you're not goint to gigg in your apartment room right? I know tube amps are made to be loud thats why they use tube amp in the 50s-70s because there is no micing small amp+pa = stadium level equation back then.

The thing about tube amps in my opinion and why I like them is when they start to clip it starts to have some "attitude". Longer sustain, more warmth, more grit and they react to pickup in a way that no solid state can.

Why not get a small solid state for practice and a 10-20 watt tube for gigging with 112? You can get the sound you need at usable volume?

[everdrone]

Re: In your opinion the best tube amp tonally that you can get nowadays

ya, I use modelers for all my recordings, cause you need to push lots of air to get good heavy rock guitar tones!

live, I use tube amp for guitar, and modeler and solid state for bass amps. guitar is so in your face at shows, I really believe in tube tone, the harmonics are much better. bass = no one really can tell unless you are recording methinkz...

[DesertRose]

Re: In your opinion the best tube amp tonally that you can get nowadays

Best sounding is kindda subjective.

Nowadays there are so many varieties of amps I can choose from to give me the sound I want.
I mainly use dirt pedals to boost my sound whichever, so a single channel amp is for me.

I would opt for a Boogie or Marshall

[GuitarDoc]

Re: In your opinion the best tube amp tonally that you can get nowadays

I really like the versatility of the Marshall Vintage Modern. With a little time learning how to tweak it, you can get some extremely lush clean tones and the best crunch in the business.

[Hellion]

Re: In your opinion the best tube amp tonally that you can get nowadays

Is money an object? If it's not, I'd recommend a Soldano SLO. If it is, then look for something used. Something Mesa or Marshall (even though I'm not a big fan of EL-34 tubes).

[some_dude]

Re: In your opinion the best tube amp tonally that you can get nowadays

I play blues to distorted rock and roll mostly.

Dual Rectifier for me.

Normally I wouldn't mention it in a thread like this but you seem to be after atypical responses so I'll give mine.

Just because an amp is capable of super high gain doesn't mean you need to use all of it. Nor does it mean that the non sup high gain channels aren't capable of some great low-to-mid gain drive levels. In my case I use a Recto on the tweed channel with the tube rectifier on and the voltage sagged. It's a nice soft clip with a nice sag to it's response that isn't at all like the face melting experience you'd probably expect from a high gain amp.

And for what it's worth, Warren Haynes uses a high gain Soldano SLO with the gain on 4 while Billy Gibbons uses a Marshall JMP-1 with the gain full up.

[briggleman]

Re: In your opinion the best tube amp tonally that you can get nowadays

If it has the word MESA on it!

[That90'sGuy]

Re: In your opinion the best tube amp tonally that you can get nowadays

Taste is so subjective, but for me, I think I find I like the silverface/blackface Fender stuff the most. I have a 5e3 tweed-ish Fender clone, but there's something about the headroom, the clarity and the sheer shimmer and depth of my SF Vibrolux Reverb that I love. The tweed is great when I want that early Marshall kinda midrange honk and I like that you can control various shades of dirt with your pick attack, but the tone is never as pure as when you're playing into a clean Fender.

I've done the Bogner thing (great "jack of all trades" amp... best I've heard actually), Vox, Bad Cat, Hughes and Kettner, Fargen.... but at the end of the day I'm the most inspired by a good 'ole clean classic Fender tone. I do like the Mesa Express I played not too long ago and I remember liking their Lone Star Special and the Stiletto outdid Marshall. I've played a lot of boutique stuff, but the 3 best amps that standout in my mind would be the Matchless Chieftain, Carr Slant 6V and the Savage Blitz 50.

[MetalManiac]

Re: In your opinion the best tube amp tonally that you can get nowadays

Bogners gotta be right up there. My Shiva has, dare I say, almost more silky,deep and luxurious cleans than the Blackfaces I am so accustomed to regarding as the Holy Grail of classic tone.
That said, nothing beats the rich, palpable crisp bright organic breakup of an old Blackface that *I know of.Thats one dimension that can't be replicated with ANY new amp;the overdrive/natural distortion of an old Blackface.