Difficulty deciding on new amp

Markk · Jan 29, 2020

I'm currently rocking a TSL601. Have been for almost a decade (if not possibly more). It's seen bar gigs, church gigs, huge hall worship gigs. I've always been playing through humbuckers. Really like the sound. But I've been wondering, maybe there's more? (who am I kidding, of course there's more) And I've come to the conclusion that maybe it's time to change amp and try something different (I'm also planning on selling/trading a humbucking Epiphone LP for a strat/tele/superstrat sometime in the future as well but I figured an amp change would produce more tonal change [?].).

My LGS doesn't exactly stock tube amps. They do have a Fender HRIII and a bunch of valvetronix-like stuff. nearest place where I can access a larger variety is almost 200km away.

I've been looking into a whole variety of options with the forerunners being
AC30
AC15
Blues Junior
Egnator Tweaker head + cab (or Rebel 20/30?)

Fender Twin is over my price limit. Even used they are quite expensive here.

Volume is not a problem. Weight of amp (at the moment) is not a concern. The above amps can be found used or new, just not locally. I have a few pedals (mad professor SHOD, cmat compressor, zvex ff clone, SD overdrive) so the majority of my dirty sounds come from them.

I would greatly appreciate your general thought and input and suggestions.

(or maybe I'm going about this the wrong way and change of guitar is the way to go??)

bigcupholder · Jan 29, 2020

Re: Difficulty deciding on new amp

What are you looking to improve on from your current amp?

Sent from my SM-G970W using Tapatalk

mechanic1908 · Jan 31, 2020

Re: Difficulty deciding on new amp

Amps are a very subjective thing so what works for me may not for you.
If limited to 1 amplifier that sounds fabulous for what I play and can cover pretty much everything I like I'd have to go with Traynor. Either their 15 or 30 watt combo depending on the volume I'm needing.
Hth

Sent from my SM-J320W8 using Tapatalk

Jacew · Jan 31, 2020

Re: Difficulty deciding on new amp

AC's are clean sound amps really, I don't think they're that versatile otherwise either. Simple and what they do is great sound, but louder the better they sound.

Rebel 20/30 are pretty much polar opposite of that. They do sound really good even with low volumes, and are really versatile. But also complex and take time and thought to dial in. They also shine for overdrive/distortion on their own, and work with pedals too. Like AC's, they do have their own specific sound.

FuseG4 · Jan 31, 2020

Re: Difficulty deciding on new amp

Can you get a Princeton or deluxe reverb? They are great pedal platforms and have better sound to me than the blues Jr, hot rods, egnaters....

I had a tweaker and it had like a basket of ok sounds to choose from

But the Princeton reverb I have now was much much more the sound I thought of when I wanted to have a fender clean with a little dirt, that I can add pedals too or just rock out on plugged straight in. Worth two egnater tweakers to me, to have that distinctly fender sound out of the box right away.... The hot rods only kinda do it for me and I would take one of those if you can't get a deluxe reverb or Princeton. 6v6s just sound right to me for medium volume, which hopefully you can mic if for some reason you are playing huge places or need a heavy bass response from your amp... In which case defs get the hot rod deluxe it has that snap preserved in the low strings to much higher volumes than the others

Mincer · Jan 31, 2020

Re: Difficulty deciding on new amp

I think the clearer you can be with your goals (not just looking for 'better'), the more satisfied you will be with what you buy. So it is worth it to make a list of what you want to change about your rig. If you just want to explore what is out there, certainly, you can do that, but that way is full of dead ends and a lot of $$ spent.

devastone · Jan 31, 2020