Fender or Marshall amp preferred for Strat?

Diminished Triad

Diminished Triad

New member
What model of Fender and/or Marshall amp to you prefer for either a single coil or humbucker Fender Strat?
From vintage single coil (SSL1) through Zephyr's........would like to know your recommendations. Any of the new Fender or Marshall amps (combos) hit the mark?
Thanks!
 
Re: Fender or Marshall amp preferred for Strat?

Strats aren't all created equal and neither are Marshalls. Sometimes you will find a particular guitar + amp pair that sounds epic. But that does not mean you should apply a generalization and assume that every other strat into every other jmp is going to be the same, because it isn't. I'd rather be broke and/or suffer GAS than separate such a happy marriage.
 
Re: Fender or Marshall amp preferred for Strat?

Its like Vanilla and Chocolate - two great tastes.

I see some pros using the hot rod Deluxe. Vintage is generally considered better but there are good and bad ones. Marshalls aren't generally used in combos - but isnt the Bluesbreaker combo still available as well as the 18 watt?
 
Re: Fender or Marshall amp preferred for Strat?

Modern Fender's aren't the same as vintage Fender's and modern Marshall's aren't the same as vintage Marshall's. To a certain extent modern master volume amps from either manufacturer have a homogenizing effect because they all have enough gain to cover a wide variety of styles and there has been significant cross pollination in tone and features. You are less likely to find the uniquely idiosyncratic tones that type cast an amplifier to a specific style with a modern master volume design.
 
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Re: Fender or Marshall amp preferred for Strat?

^ Good observation. Do you feel there is still a marked difference in the character of the gain, or in the way they react to differences between pickups, for example?
 
Re: Fender or Marshall amp preferred for Strat?

They all sound different but you can be sure that features will be comparable and they will be applicable to a wider variety of styles than their predecessors. A vintage non-master volume amp only has so much gain and that type casts them to certain styles.
 
Re: Fender or Marshall amp preferred for Strat?

Yes, and I tend to think in terms of Hendrix compared to Stevie Ray Vaughan. I've spent most of my guitar playing life with strats into Fender and Marshall. Add a tele, LP, 335, and SG. Perfect tone lives in all of that. At least that's my preference. Throw Bogner, Matchless, and Vox in there too.

So mostly, it's strats with vintage spec A5 pickups like Surfers, and most popular models of Gibson into a Bogner XTC set for better than Marshall tones, next to a Fender Pro Reverb and Matchless Chieftain. I've worked on tone and playing long enough to end with what I like. In the end it's saved money since I don't switch it up much.
 
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Re: Fender or Marshall amp preferred for Strat?

Like GJ. When I think of a Strat I hear Jimi in my head and we all now that Jimi is 90% Marshall. That said is he did play Voodoo Child(the iconic wah) through a Duel showman connected to a 6 10 cab. He also played the version of Voodoo chile(with Steve Winwood) through a Fender Twin. I don't think it has as much to do with the amp as it does with your individual touch. As a player you have have to get a feel for the amp and see how it responds to your touch. I play through a Bogner Shiva AND a Komet 60. The Komet responds to touch better then anything I have played through. It's a beautifully clean amp but can drive really well also. It's not Fender clean but more Marshall clean. The funny thing is most people think of Fenders as clean and Marshall's as a drive amp. Yet SRV used them opposite of that theory!
 
Re: Fender or Marshall amp preferred for Strat?

Fender or Marshall for a Strat?

Well, when I think Fender, I think nice loose glassy cleans and light overdrive. When I think Marshall, I think ok cleans and tighter, thicker distortion. Now Marshall has done some great things with the clean channels on their amps. The DSL has very nice Fender-ish cleans. Fender hasn't really done the same thing with the overdrive on their amps, as far as I know. You'd probably have to get a pedal to cop a Marshall tone. It's also worth noting that part of the Fender sounds comes from open back cabs, and part of the Marshall sounds comes from closed back 4x12s. You can't really do the closed back thing with a combo amp by itself, but that doesn't mean it can't get Marshally.

Really, it comes down to what you want to do with your Strat. If you want to sound like SRV, I'd get a Fender combo and a Tube Screamer. Hendrix? Marshall. I wouldn't even worry too much about the fact that your playing a Strat. I'd just think about what each amp does versus what you want it to do.
 
Re: Fender or Marshall amp preferred for Strat?

LReese said:
Its like Vanilla and Chocolate - two great tastes.
Click to expand...

A Tweed Bassman or 57 Tweed Twin kinda amp with a strat... KILLS!

A Brown 6G3 or 6G11 with a strat is the real deal!

A Blackface Deluxe or 15 inch vibro (with a bassman tranny)... well SRV used it... who are we to debate!

A JTM45/100 with a strat... Hendrix!!!

A Plexi with a strat... absolutely phenomenal!

...

B
 
Re: Fender or Marshall amp preferred for Strat?

For me it's whatever I can milk great tone out of just about anything if you give me 15mins to mess with the amp. But as for personal preference I love the sound of a fender twin but don't really look at amps as pedal platforms so I would go for a two channel Marshall.
 
Re: Fender or Marshall amp preferred for Strat?

Rockstar216 said:
For me it's whatever I can milk great tone out of just about anything if you give me 15mins to mess with the amp. But as for personal preference I love the sound of a fender twin but don't really look at amps as pedal platforms so I would go for a two channel Marshall.
Click to expand...

Get a tweed champ - mess with that one 15 minutes... More like 15 seconds 'cause theres only 1 knob... Volume. :D
 
Re: Fender or Marshall amp preferred for Strat?

I think marshalls, because they're more versatile (IMO), especially in the heavier genres. This goes for either single coils or humbuckers.
 
Re: Fender or Marshall amp preferred for Strat?

You must have both!!! No choosing between.

If you need versatility - get a Mesa Boogie. They're great, but not quite a plexi or blackface. Size factor is a huge plus. Weight not such a plus
 
Re: Fender or Marshall amp preferred for Strat?

I prefer a more fender style amplifier with a overdrive or distortion pedal of choice. If you get the Marshall you'll have awesome gain tones but your cleans will be a little lacking. Of course that is generalizing the hell out of both companies and both make amps that are fantastic in distortion and clean. With the fender style I can have my ideal clean and my ideal distortion in the stomp box. Is there such a thing as a "clean" pedal that can help the Marshall out? And yeah the Mesa was a good suggestion too if you're shooting for a lot of range.
 
Re: Fender or Marshall amp preferred for Strat?

My ideal for clean tones would be strat into twin reverb.

Love the overdriven and distorted tones on a Marshall though...
 
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