Amps with great OD that could rival Fender's cleans?

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Heretic

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I fell in love with the Twin Reverb's cleans yesterday, they're perfect for the Knopfler sound that I'm looking for. However, I also play progressive rock and the overdrive/distortion of the Marshall tube amp that I tested "destroyed" the Twin reverb with a Boss OD-3.

I was impressed with the Peavey 212 JSX's clean and overdrive but it was out of my price range.

Are there any versatile tube amps out there that have great overdrive but at the same time possess cleans that rival Fender's? Or perhaps Fender amps that have great OD/distortion that go along with Twin Reverb-like cleans?\

I could only buy one amp at this moment and my country only sells Peavey, Fender, Marshall and Laney.
 
Re: Amps with great OD that could rival Fender's cleans?

Try some other OD units with the Twin. I really like the Damage Control Womanizer. I haven't tried it with a twin, but it works well with my Tremolux and Princeton -- it's the only OD I've liked so far with the Princeton. It's not cheap, but it doubles as a direct out preamp for recording or direct to PA applications. Damage Control also offers a simplified version for less money now, as well as versions more suitable for metal if that's your bent. The new SD dual tube pedal would also be worth a listen. I'm sure there are a few solid state pedals out there that will provide a Dumblish tone with a Twin (e.g., Zen Drive among others).
 
Re: Amps with great OD that could rival Fender's cleans?

twins were meant to stay clean

how many watts are you wanting?

if you're in the below 50 watt market, a deluxe reverb might do it for you

if you're wanting something around 50 watts, the bassman RI might do it for you, as may the new supersonic

my thinking is the supersonic is right up your alley, but i'd put a low gain preamp tube in whichever channel you decide to use for clean, aaand i'd also shoot for the head/2x12 if you can
 
Re: Amps with great OD that could rival Fender's cleans?

drew_half_empty said:
twins were meant to stay clean

how many watts are you wanting?

if you're in the below 50 watt market, a deluxe reverb might do it for you

if you're wanting something around 50 watts, the bassman RI might do it for you, as may the new supersonic

my thinking is the supersonic is right up your alley, but i'd put a low gain preamp tube in whichever channel you decide to use for clean, aaand i'd also shoot for the head/2x12 if you can
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'd look at the Supersonic, too. That's a very flexible amp with the footswitch and it looks cool, too.
 
Re: Amps with great OD that could rival Fender's cleans?

There's always the Eric Johnson solution: Fender amps for clean and Marshall amps for OD, with switching between them.
 
Re: Amps with great OD that could rival Fender's cleans?

The Jackson XLS amps are good!

My buddy AJ has a two 12 combo amp and the clean and overdrive channels are alot of fun to play through.

The clean channel is modeled after a blackface Twin-Reverb, and the XLS is supposedly Lee's favorite creation, according to this Metaltronix history lesson:

http://www.metaltronix.net/metaltronix-history.htm

Doesn't sound as sparkling clean as a Twin Reverb...but it's very good.
 
Re: Amps with great OD that could rival Fender's cleans?

I know this sounds pretty obvious, but if you like the clean of the Twin and the Drive of a MArshall, maybe both with an A/B box is in order. I've done this for years. I use a 50W Marshall 900 A/b'd with a '68 Super Reverb. The Twin is a very loud very clean amp. Its hard to find anything as clean as a Twin, but they also do not Drive well. The Super Reverb will Drive much better, but at GIG volumes they can be hard to keep clean also.
 
Re: Amps with great OD that could rival Fender's cleans?

My vote is the Mesa Mark IIb + IIc+
They have gorgeous cleans and brownish gain all the way to saturation

Bogner Shiva ALL THE WAY

Maybe the Egnaters

and YES I too liked the JSX!
 
Re: Amps with great OD that could rival Fender's cleans?

You might want to listen to the clip of Redd Volkaert playing a Tele through a Twin with the Durham electronics Mucho Boosto to get an idea of what an overdriven Twin can sound like. It's available at tonefactor.com and at the Durham Electronics site. Maybe it would help you hone in on what you're after.

If you're opening things up beyond Twin cleans, then I would look at the Vox AC15 or AC30 and the stellar spin-offs from Matchless and Bad Cat. My Bad Cat Cub IIR has great clean and overdriven tones, and works beautifully with OD and boost pedals.
 
Re: Amps with great OD that could rival Fender's cleans?

Keep in mind that (1) this guy said he can only purchase a Fender, Marshall, Peavey or Laney domestically; and (2) he can only afford to purchase one amp.

I think the Bad Cat Cub is a good choice, but that breaks rule #1. I like the idea of A/B-ing two amps -- such as a Fender or Vox and a Marshall or Mesa -- but that breaks rule #2.

Seems to me the way to go, as others have suggested, is to start with a good Fender amp and find yourself some kind of killer overdrive. Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead gets his distortion from a Marshall Shredmaster pedal into a solid state Fender amp. Because of Jonny's popularity, the Shredmaster is a rare trinket that fetches a high price. (They're no longer manufactured.) However, if you can get your hands on one, that may be just the thing for you when paired with a nice Fender (tube or otherwise).

I use an Analog Man King of Tone pedal set internally to overdrive on one channel and distortion on the other, and I run this into a Fender Super Reverb (gorgeous cleans). I can get some pretty good distortion going, but it's not like a Marshall or Mesa. That's why I own a Mesa. :)

- Keith
 
Re: Amps with great OD that could rival Fender's cleans?

i'm still convinced that the supersonic would be right up his alley

fender cleans & a distortion better than any marshall i've heard IMO

plus, it's not a marshall, so it's reliable :laugh:
 
Re: Amps with great OD that could rival Fender's cleans?

Fender Pro Tube amps that came out around 2001....Twin, Concert, and Pro.
Now that they've been out for awhile and the new Supersonic has everyone's attention, you can find the others for around $700-$800. They were around $1300 new. Great cleans, excellent OD, reverb, tremolo, 1/4 power switch, and you can bias them with a voltmeter, since they put the bias points on the back of the chassis. I liked the Concert 4-10 I had, and wish I still had it.
 
Re: Amps with great OD that could rival Fender's cleans?

That's easy: FUCHS Overdrive Supreme :32: :bowdown: :eek2:

Sweet cleans with studio quality reverb & massive, monstrous FAT A$$ OD...no pedals required here :bigthumb:
 
Last edited:
Re: Amps with great OD that could rival Fender's cleans?

KGMESSIER said:
Keep in mind that (1) this guy said he can only purchase a Fender, Marshall, Peavey or Laney domestically; and (2) he can only afford to purchase one amp.
Click to expand...

Yeah.. people seem to be forgetting this point. Reminds me of the time I got a rental Marshall that was bright beyond comprehension and you would not believe how many people told me to mod the thing. :laugh2: It amazes me how much people don't read.


Within those options, I'd first opt for a Fender (a '64 Vibroverb RI would be my first choice) and then a REALLY nice overdrive or distortion box.
 
Re: Amps with great OD that could rival Fender's cleans?

OOooops......I guess that counts the Fuchs out:smack:

Are those brands the only ones the country allows for import or are other brands available on the USED market???
 
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