What Amp Surprised You the Most?

[Karloff]

my Traynor YCS50 1x12 combo. great tone, sounds much bigger than a 1x12. 15 watt setting, you can push it hard and it's still way loud.

[PS412]

Some people love to bag on this amp and I can't for the life of me understand why. Each time I play it I like it even more. I love all of my amps but this is one that continues to grow on me every time I plug into it. The sounds, the features, I absolutely love it!

Yep, it can go in a lot of directions sound wise and do them all well.

[Bogner]

Yep. I have a T.C 100, phenomenal amp in my opinion. Played it at the store as more of a time killing thing and it went out the door with me. It has only gotten better since then.

Some people love to bag on this amp and I can't for the life of me understand why. Each time I play it I like it even more. I love all of my amps but this is one that continues to grow on me every time I plug into it. The sounds, the features, I absolutely love it!

[PS412]

Mesa Triple Crown. I kind of knew what I was getting into this with this amp, but the lead tone caught me off guard.

Yep. I have a T.C 100, phenomenal amp in my opinion. Played it at the store as more of a time killing thing and it went out the door with me. It has only gotten better since then.

[weepingminotaur]

Boss Katana 50, my current amp. I'd heard about its versatility for the price point, but nothing prepared me for everything I could do with it via Tone Studio. I had also heard a lot about its dirty channels sounding too digital, but I didn't find that the case at all. Plenty of good tones to be had on the Brown channel.

[Semetery]

Peavey JSX and Ultra/Plus still blow my mind every time I play them. So versatile and great quality. Orange Crush Pro 120 got me too. I have had two RV100's and for $450, it's just a no-brainer in my opinion. Those are the more surprising ones I guess.

[some_dude]

I love my TC-100. I was surprised by the rock type tones it gets. Cleans are great, heavies are great but the in between rock mid gain tones really surprised and impressed me. Awesome amp IMO!

It’s taken me a long time to find “my” lead tone. What I found in the TC is a searing, mid forward and singing lead tone that really inspires me.

[Bogner]

Mesa Triple Crown. I kind of knew what I was getting into this with this amp, but the lead tone caught me off guard.

I love my TC-100. I was surprised by the rock type tones it gets. Cleans are great, heavies are great but the in between rock mid gain tones really surprised and impressed me. Awesome amp IMO!

[some_dude]

Mesa Triple Crown. I kind of knew what I was getting into this with this amp, but the lead tone caught me off guard.

[Phantasmagoria]

My AMT Stonehead...it's really versatile & sounds great, but I was pretty much expecting that. What I wasn't expecting was how unbelievably 'tubey' it sounded (and felt) being totally solid state.

[Ashurbanipal]

Absolutely. But we have come a long way from (most) SS amps that were available in the 70s and 80s. Ever play a SS Twin or Deluxe? Ewww.

Blimey, that's definitely in the ugly cool category. I'd expect it to cool my beer while jamming, though it would probably actually do the opposite .

[Coma]

ENGL makes some junk and some great stuff. Build quality is average but some of their good amps have some amazing tones. The SE is the flagship and has all kinds of options and features on it. Full of all kinds of sounds. A very nice amp for many things. The Savage is a beast of an amp for modern high gain. The Version 2 is more modern. The version 1 very nice and a bit rawer and less polished. Both models are wonderful. The Blackmore is cool and can do a lot of things. I would use it like I would an 800 though it has more gain. The Morse amp is very versatile and covers all the sounds up to 80's metal and maybe a bit more but not death metal heavies. A very god amp. The Artist is cost effective and simpler and was originally made with Doug Aldrich and Gary Moore had a hand in it in some way as well. It was supposed to be an Aldrich Signature but didn't come together. It is a fantastic amp that flies below the radar. The others are hit and miss, some love and some hate the very same model. When you open any of them up they are a rats nest compared to other cleaner builds but again, they sound nice for some things.

True that. The Ironball surprised me, both with how great the clean channel is and how underwhelming the dirt channel is.

Orange Jim Root was also surprisingly good clean.

Fender Bassbreaker 15 combo surprised me with how utterly useless the dirt channel was. Not that I was expecting Boogie brutality, but that thing sounded like it was covered in a wet rug and I couldn't dial in any clarity to save my life.

[Samick Lover]

Old Johnson amps. My Facebook friend Scott Grove uses them. I seen the years ago expensive too. So I finally got one. Really heavy. Solid stare. The others are tube Hybrid. I do not own one of those yet.

Nice great effects. Presets suck though. I really like it.

[NegativeEase]

Some have the fizz factor depending on how dialed. Some are cabinet sensitive. The ones I mentioned are the safest bets.

Yeah, he was clear that he dialed them in how he liked, so no idea if the fizz can be avoided altogether. every amp is different.

[Bogner]

Thanks for this.

I thought that demo had a smooth bold tone without losing the critical bite in the mid range I like. -Also, didn't suffer the fiz of the Orange, Randall, and Peavey.

Next time in the store, I may just turn one on -never tried before.

Some have the fizz factor depending on how dialed. Some are cabinet sensitive. The ones I mentioned are the safest bets.