Another "what amp am I thread"

[B Bent]

I am bummed out about the Prosonic I was watching and how it got way past bidding range for me. I thought I would have it in the bag, but oh well. The main reason I was going after the Prosonic was for the collectable value since it was one of the limited run custom shop ones. Any ways I am looking for an amp that can get me close to this:

Good Blackface sounding clean chimy lush reverb(Blackface). Also heres the trick that makes this interesting. I want to be able to switch channels and get a good Mesa(ish) rectifier gain channel. I know this is possible to some extent with several Mesa, but the issue I have had with Mesa in the past is that the clean wasn't chimy enough. I know I can go with a pedal, but would really like to get my gain from the amp. I want a smaller ( 50 or less watts all tube) 1 x'12 combo. What do you guys suggest. I got about a grand to spend so this shouldn't be too hard.

[benjaturner]

Re: Another "what amp am I thread"

Greg,

You're basically describing the Prosonic. Though I've no idea what they go for in the states. I got mine for £680 (Pro Tube, not Custom Shop) which I think is about $1200. But everything is always so much cheaper your side of the pond.

I love the clean channel on my Prosonic. I'm not exactly sure how 'Fenderish' it is as I've never owned a Fender amp before and have little experience with amps generally. But if this is what Fender BF cleans are like then I can understand why everyone raves about them so much. It can be very sweet, pretty with good balance. Interacts really well with the guitar volume to really sweeten things up. Thanks to the rectifier selection thingy you choose when you want the amp to break up so I'm sure there are still laods of edge sounds I haven't found yet. I've stuck with the Class A/B valve rectifier for most of the time though, so far my firm favourite.

But it's not the clean that everyone talks about with this amp, it's the drive. This blew me away, as in I actually had to stop playing and lie down. That good, really! Very Mesa, I guess because of the cascading gain. I heard it's a big thing on Mesa amps. To my ears it gets very close to Santana type lead sounds at lower gain settings. So far I haven't dared to try higher gain on this thing.

The only critisism I could offer about the drive channel is that I can't find a distorted rhythm sound I really like. I've been using my old Marshall for so long though that this could just be that I'm not used to the 6L6 rhythm sounds. Also, it's not a problem for me as I've decided to set all my overdrive pedals up for rhythm stuff and use the drive channel for lead. Who wants to play rhythm when your solos sound this good anyway? Solo-tastic!

There are other well documented concerns with the amp that I'm sure you're aware of. Such as the channel switch pop and the noisy reverb. Fender have kindly posted the solutions to these on their site though. Any half decent tech could get through these in no time or you could have a crack if you're up to it. Though it's more likely that the previous owner will have seen to these problems already. Shouldn't be too expensive but you should budget for it just in case. I got a local tech to see to mine and it's up and running well now.

Other thing I should mention, I'm not looking forward to a valve change. Nine of the bloody things. Going to be expensive!

Have you considered a Mesa/Boogie Lone Star? I've no idea how much they cost in the U.S. but saw the guitar player form my favourite band (Idlewild, anyone?) using one and from what you've described I think you'd like that a lot. I bet they're much easier to find than Prosonics as well.

Hope this helps,
Benja

[B Bent]

Re: Another "what amp am I thread"

Thanks Benja,
I have to wander if the Prosonic is capable of Blackface era chime and reverb. I am sure the gain is killer from what I remember and have read. Can you post a link to the fixes you described from the Fender site? I have looked and can't find the link.

EDIT: forgot to ask but does the 30 watt Class A setting sound anything Reminiscent of of a Vox, Matchless etc???

-Greg

[haiz69]

Re: Another "what amp am I thread"

I would suggest the amp I just picked up. If you can get past owning a Randall, I would suggest the RM50-1x12 combo. Its one of them with the replacable modules. I got the Blackface, XTC, and Mesa modules with it. The mesa is very close to the Dual Rec sound, and with a simple cap mod can come very close to reproducing the sound. I prefer the XTC however. The blackface is pure shimmering cleans. The amp also has some great features like: cooling fan, tube failure system that tells you when a power tube fails, self[-bias system that makes biasing the amp a snap. It is simply a great amp.

I am in the process of getting some clips and posting them. Should be a week or so.

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Another "what amp am I thread"

You're describing the successor to the Prosonic, the 3 amps from the Fender Pro Tube Series, the Pro 1-12, Concert 4-10, and Twin 2-12.

They have deeper cabs than reissue Fenders, so the bass is bigger. They're 100% tube, including the tube driven reverb and tremolo. The clean channel is classic Blackface type tone, while the OD channel can be used as a jump up from the clean, or full on tight distortion, not unlike a Soldano. Also, it has a 1/4 power switch, and you can bias the amp with a voltmeter without even removing the chassis......the bias points and trim pots are on the back panel, under a removeable plate.

I recommend the Concert Reverb, which is $1269 new, but depreciates quite a bit for some reason. They can be had for around $800 if you look. They're easily the most versatile Fender tube amp the company has ever made, and I like them more than the Prosonic.
Here's one I owned for 3 years, but sold for $800. I think it's my favorite Fender I've had.....I liked it more than the Bassman LTD I sold it for.

[B Bent]

Re: Another "what amp am I thread"

Thanks GJ when I get a minute I will PM you with a few questions about these.