Amp suggestions?

H

hillerheilman

New member
I'm looking to buy my first guitar amp to go with a guitar I'm putting together, as all I've got now is a squier bass amp. I want to get tones ranging from red hot chili peppers, blink 182 and green day, to the ramones, the sex pistols and bad religion. I would like to play somewhat loud but I've got no intention in gigging except maybe occasionally at parties, but mostly I'll just be playing with my buddies in my basement. As for the guitar, I've got two ssl-1's and a JB in it. I've got a budget of around $550 as of right now. TIA
 
Re: Amp suggestions?

beaubrummels said:
Something like this
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Marshall-JTM60-Tube-Amp-1x12-Celestion/231849055954

Or save another $250 and get this
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Marshall-Vintage-Modern-2266C-50-watt-Guitar-Amp-/182120645535

There's actually dozens and dozens of amps that fall in that range of sound, but AFAIK every band you named their classic tracks/tones were done with a Marshall SuperLead / 1959 type head or JCM800 type and Celestion 4x12 cab.
Click to expand...

I thought about a jcm 800 but I can only ever find them for upwards of a thousand, and I already spent more than that putting together the guitar.
 
Re: Amp suggestions?

beaubrummels said:
Something like this
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Marshall-JTM60-Tube-Amp-1x12-Celestion/231849055954

Or save another $250 and get this
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Marshall-Vintage-Modern-2266C-50-watt-Guitar-Amp-/182120645535

There's actually dozens and dozens of amps that fall in that range of sound, but AFAIK every band you named their classic tracks/tones were done with a Marshall SuperLead / 1959 type head or JCM800 type and Celestion 4x12 cab.
Click to expand...

I was considering an egnater tweaker and a 1x12, but now I'm not so sure as I've been reading a lot lately that egnaters have a lot of issues quite frequently
 
Re: Amp suggestions?

Tweaker 40's have known power transformer issues. The Tweaker 15 is fine and is considered an excellent model. Regarding tubes - they eventually die, this is a fact of life. Fortunately, the Tweaker 15 is cathode biased, meaning you can swap tubes with no biasing necessary. If you're not familiar with biasing an amp, you might consider this feature unless you plan to learn how to do it or pay a tech to do it for you.
 
Re: Amp suggestions?

Marshall would be the direction I would go although for that price range you could possibly snag a Mesa DC that would be awesome and very versatile.
 
Re: Amp suggestions?

BenPerkins said:
Tweaker 40's have known power transformer issues. The Tweaker 15 is fine and is considered an excellent model. Regarding tubes - they eventually die, this is a fact of life. Fortunately, the Tweaker 15 is cathode biased, meaning you can swap tubes with no biasing necessary. If you're not familiar with biasing an amp, you might consider this feature unless you plan to learn how to do it or pay a tech to do it for you.
Click to expand...

Well that certainly is a relief. As for tubes, that sounds really appealing as I've got no clue what biasing even is. Is it best then to immediately replace the stock tubes? If so, with what?
 
Re: Amp suggestions?

hillerheilman said:
I hadn't even considered mesa. I'll look into it
Click to expand...

The think I love about the Mesa DC is the 5-way EQ...can really mold the amp to different usages. My DC-5 was able to go from Country to Blues to Rock to Metal just fine (only pedals I used with it were a Tube Screamer and a H2O Chorus/Echo pedal.)

Just something to check out, I haven't heard a Mesa I didn't like. :)
 
Re: Amp suggestions?

18W TMB. You are obviously chasing that Marshall sound.

For what it's worth, I just converted A Peavey Windsor into a 2203, for a total cost of $120. Got the amp for $50, and spent $70 on parts. That includes a 5H Hammond choke.
 
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Re: Amp suggestions?

You want a JCM? Get a Peavey Windsor used. There’s a half stack on Ebay for $400. It’s not quite the same sounding as a JCM, but it’s similar sounding and you can get them cheap and usually in good condition. Plus it’s a tube half stack for $400 and they hold together well.
 
Re: Amp suggestions?

Johnny the Kid said:
You want a JCM? Get a Peavey Windsor used. There’s a half stack on Ebay for $400. It’s not quite the same sounding as a JCM, but it’s similar sounding and you can get them cheap and usually in good condition. Plus it’s a tube half stack for $400 and they hold together well.
Click to expand...

Well I found an auction on eBay currently at 60 for a Windsor. It ends on Sunday, which is when I get paid. It's really between the tweaker and the Windsor for me, unless I find that I really like the mesa that is. But if the Windsor stays below 150 I may just get both and try them.
 
Re: Amp suggestions?

hillerheilman said:
Well I found an auction on eBay currently at 60 for a Windsor. It ends on Sunday, which is when I get paid. It's really between the tweaker and the Windsor for me, unless I find that I really like the mesa that is. But if the Windsor stays below 150 I may just get both and try them.
Click to expand...

Although, the tweaker is much smaller, and that is appealing since I only have a small basement
 
Re: Amp suggestions?

regan said:
Despite you saying you like to pay loud if you're not gigging a 50 watt+ amp is way too loud for what you need, tube amps will sound thin and weak at 'home' volumes.
I'd look at marshall valvestates or an orange crush:
https://orangeamps.com/products/guitar-amp-combos/crush-series/crush35rt/

If you have to go tube take a look at some 15-20 watt amps
Fender Blues junior
Voc AC15
Marshall DSL15
Orange OR 15
Click to expand...

what I did is went to GC Used
searched on "Windsor"
there was half a dozen 4x12 cabinets
two 100 watt heads
and two 20 watt studio combos
heads and Combos were both about $250

hillerheilman said:
I would look at gc but the closest one to me is about 3 hours and they only do store pickup as far as I know
Click to expand...

I always get home delivery
but like you, if something is wrong, its a long drive to return it
you have 30 days
 
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