1992....arguably the greatest year for guitar amps in history?

[Binnerscot]

1992 saw the introduction/release of the following noteable amps:

Peavey 5150
Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier
Diezel VH4
Bogner Ecstasy 100A/B

Those are some heavy weight contenders!

 

[Chistopher]

1992? By '92 all the good songs had already been recorded!

 

[GuitarStv]

I've never been remotely drawn to any of those amps. Certainly in my mind it wouldn't hold a candle to '63, when Fender introduced their blackface amps . . . the Twin Reverb, Deluxe Reverb, Super Reverb, and the Vibroverb.

 

[Binnerscot]

I've never been remotely drawn to any of those amps. Certainly in my mind it wouldn't hold a candle to '63, when Fender introduced their blackface amps . . . the Twin Reverb, Deluxe Reverb, Super Reverb, and the Vibroverb.

I think I just read "clean" amp four times in a row?

 

[Johnny Tenderloin]

None of those amps would have existed without early Fender amps, except the Diezel. I'm not a perfect amp historian, but was not the Peavey 5150 just a hot rodded SLO-100, which was just a hot rodded Mesa Boogie MKII which was just a hot rodded Fender Bass man?

All of those amps, except again maybe the Diezel, are all derivative of early designs.

I would argue the biggest year for modern amp design was in 1976 when master volumes were first introduced. Or pick a year when high gain pedals started allowing high gain without cooking tubes.

 

[Mincer]

The late 50s/early 60s are responsible for almost every amp developed today. Even the majority of the distorted ones that all tend to sound the same.

 

[Cynical]

None of those amps would have existed without early Fender amps, except the Diezel. I'm not a perfect amp historian, but was not the Peavey 5150 just a hot rodded SLO-100, which was just a hot rodded Mesa Boogie MKII which was just a hot rodded Fender Bass man?

All of those amps, except again maybe the Diezel, are all derivative of early designs.

I would argue the biggest year for modern amp design was in 1976 when master volumes were first introduced. Or pick a year when high gain pedals started allowing high gain without cooking tubes.

The SLO-100 was a hotrodded Marshall, not a hotrodded Mark. It's a 2203 with an extra gain stage, a colder cold-clipper, and a different slope resistor value.

(Of course, the 2203 is a hot rodded 1959, which is a modified JTM45, which is a modified Bassman, so...

Also, to answer the OP, I don't know if 1992 can be the best year ever for amps because neither the 2203 nor the Uberschall came out that year.

 

[AdrianSD]

1992 saw the introduction/release of the following noteable amps:

Peavey 5150
Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier
Diezel VH4
Bogner Ecstasy 100A/B

Those are some heavy weight contenders!

3 of them are sort of glorified, modded Marshall offshoots, aren't they? The Mesa is the only one that sounds different.

 

[AdrianSD]

1992? By '92 all the good songs had already been recorded!

Let's say by November 1992, when Rage Against The Machine first album was released. Not much original music after that.

 

[Cynical]

3 of them are sort of glorified, modded Marshall offshoots, aren't they? The Mesa is the only one that sounds different.

The Recto on Orange + Vintage is more Marshall-like than the 5150 or VH4. The 5150 really doesn't sound Marshall-like at all, despite being a distant branch of that family tree (it's basically a heavily modded SLO). The VH4 is a deeply *weird* amp in its voicing, not for me at all (it's got a ton of low-end, but in this weird way that's neither a fat "wall of sound" or a percussive punch, but is just really bassy for seemingly no reason in a way that can't be dialed out, and its gain texture is really overly smooth for my tastes), but definitely not Marshall-like.

 

[AdrianSD]

The Recto on Orange + Vintage is more Marshall-like than the 5150 or VH4. The 5150 really doesn't sound Marshall-like at all, despite being a distant branch of that family tree (it's basically a heavily modded SLO). The VH4 is a deeply *weird* amp in its voicing, not for me at all (it's got a ton of low-end, but in this weird way that's neither a fat "wall of sound" or a percussive punch, but is just really bassy for seemingly no reason in a way that can't be dialed out, and its gain texture is really overly smooth for my tastes), but definitely not Marshall-like.

Interesting how we all hear things differently I can get my 5150iii 6l6 to sound very, very close to the SC20H through the same cab, much more so than the DSL40 or the Mesa Express. The Mesa has tons of mids, but doesn't have the Marshall or the EVH punch. Played a single rectifier a few years back, but it sounded very un-Marshall-like. Maybe it was the cab, or my lack of knowledge of how to dial it in, but I wasn't impressed.

 

[Cynical]

The 5150 III is a *very* different amp than the original Peavey version. The III does a marvelous JCM800 impression on its blue channel; the Peavey won't get anywhere close.

The Single Rectifier doesn't have the orange channel, which is the Dual/Triple Recto channel that has the Marshall EQ values.

 

[Sirion]

was not the Peavey 5150 just a hot rodded SLO-100, which was just a hot rodded Mesa Boogie MKII which was just a hot rodded Fender Bass man?

I'm not sure if calling it a hot-rodded SLO is right. Cold-rodded, perhaps? It was, however, an amp using a Soldano-like schematic that was actually decently affordable!

 

[Cynical]

I'm not sure if calling it a hot-rodded SLO is right. Cold-rodded, perhaps? It was, however, an amp using a Soldano-like schematic that was actually decently affordable!

I mean, the 5150 does have two more gain stages... that's got to count as somewhat hot-rodded, even if the bias is ice cold.

 

[Binnerscot]

I'm aware of all the same amp history, which is absolutely fascinating. There are lots of legendary amps and tones over the years.

What I find as interesting trivia is that everyone of these is highly respected, staple amps for artists and studios, still around today, and all introduced at essentially the same time. They have all become a bit legendary.

 

[GuitarStv]

I think I just read "clean" amp four times in a row?

Hahaha . . . I read the OP as 'generic hi-gain amp' four times in a row.

I'm aware of all the same amp history, which is absolutely fascinating. There are lots of legendary amps and tones over the years.

What I find as interesting trivia is that everyone of these is highly respected, staple amps for artists and studios, still around today, and all introduced at essentially the same time. They have all become a bit legendary.

I'd be willing to bet that the Fender Deluxe Reverb alone has been recorded more than all four amps in the original post combined.

 

[jeremy]

im sure that is true, but it does have an almost 30 year advantage.

the amps mentioned initially definitely shaped the sound of things for many years and still have legs

 

[Binnerscot]

Hahaha . . . I read the OP as 'generic hi-gain amp' four times in a row.




I'd be willing to bet that the Fender Deluxe Reverb alone has been recorded more than all four amps in the original post combined.

That is a possibility, but even your comment about '63 - those are all Fender amps. Far more interesting to me:

Peavey = 5150 = ~1.5 channel (barely two channel?)
Mesa = Recto = 2 channel (cleans weren't anything to write home about)
Bogner = XTC = 3 channel
Diezel = VH4 = 4 channel

While each had their quirks, what is pretty interesting from a historical perspective is that this is four independent amp companies spitting out four iconic amps in the same year. '63 was a single company making four variations of the same thing. Not to diminish what Fender has done, but it's not as odd as what landed in 1992.

Though considered high gain amps, which they are, they all have unique character for their sounds - a "high gain" dude generally likes some but not the others, depending on the player.

 

[Chistopher]

I don't know, I wouldn't consider the
Diezel VH4 and Bogner Ecstasy 100A/B to be "iconic" to anyone outside of the (relatively) small subset of metal guitar players. Wheras anyone with even a passing interest in guitar amps knows about the 5150 and a Dual Rec.

It's kind of like how the Fender Princeston and 6G15 are absolutely legendary in the surf community, but not really a big deal outside that circle.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I love the Peavey and the Mesa.