fender ramparte amp

Re: fender ramparte amp

Jeremy, can I use your thread to ask about all the Pawn Shop series amps? I've been curious if they are worth buying and trying to do some speaker/tube upgrades, etc. or if it would be better to just put the money into a decent tweed kit.
 
Re: fender ramparte amp

Out of all of them, I like the Vaporizer the most. If you want one, now's the time because they're almost sold out. GC was blowing them out for $229 a couple months ago, and I grabbed a blue one. It's actually a much better amp than I thought it would be. It's a great blues amp because it breaks up just perfectly and it has reverb. Luckily, the speakers handle the volume and bass just fine.
I just use it in regular mode, and rarely hit the "Vaporizer" switch, which sends 100% of the volume and tone to the speakers.....like a blower switch.
The Vaporizer amp loves pedals too. All my OD's and Fuzz's sound great with it.

I also have the Excelsior Pro, which came with the upgraded Eminence Legend 15" and then I put the BillM tone mod in it, which fixes the bad design of a worthless tone switch. It's a nice fat sounding amp with great tremolo. I even plug my bass into it sometimes.

The Ramparte looks kinda cool, and sounds decent, although reverb would be nice. I'm not sure if I'll buy one unless I find one ultra cheap.

The Greta was a disappointment. It just sounds like a toy, even though it looks interesting.

Overall, the Vaporizer is the one to get IMO.
 
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Re: fender ramparte amp

The Excelsior is a cool amp.
At this point, there is A Lot of documentation on line regarding Mods/Upgrades.
good luck
 
Re: fender ramparte amp

I strongly recommend the Vaporizer. I think it's the sleeper amp of the bunch, like an EL-84 Deluxe Reverb.
Considering how cool the art deco look is, the fact that it's a fun amp to play is a huge plus. I honestly don't think about mods because it sounds good right out of the box. It's a true blues amp that doesn't disappoint.

Right now is the best time to be trying to track down a blue, red, or seafoam green Vaporizer. Pretty soon they'll be gone, and you won't find bargains on them.

2014GuitarAmpPedal203_zpsce7db7f5.jpg
 
Re: fender ramparte amp

I strongly recommend the Vaporizer. I think it's the sleeper amp of the bunch, like an EL-84 Deluxe Reverb.
Considering how cool the art deco look is, the fact that it's a fun amp to play is a huge plus. I honestly don't think about mods because it sounds good right out of the box. It's a true blues amp that doesn't disappoint.

Right now is the best time to be trying to track down a blue, red, or seafoam green Vaporizer. Pretty soon they'll be gone, and you won't find bargains on them.

2014GuitarAmpPedal203_zpsce7db7f5.jpg
Fabulous picture...!!
Man...a Red AND a Sea Foam Green.......what more could a guy want.?:)
 
Re: fender ramparte amp

Having tried the Vaporizer side-by-side with the Ramparte at Robb's in Boulder, I'd take the Ramparte any day. Fat, greasy, great OD tones, alive under the fingers...all the things that make class a operation amps fun to play, to me. It's a bit dark, but that's easy to fix with an EQ pedal. Super easy to get musical feedback, and it's louder than the Vaporizer, to boot.
 
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Re: fender ramparte amp

I have a Ramparte. I changed the preamp tubes to Tung Sol 12ax7's & put a Weber 12F150 speaker & whoa, this baby really came alive.
The Ruby 6L6 that came with it actually sounds great.
It's nice & clean sounding but breaks up nicely when pushed. I also have a Siemens Jan Phillips 6l6 which I use when I want it to break up sooner.
I use the Ramparte for recording.
So exchanging these 2 6L6's gives me many different flavors depending on the situation.
This amp has little bass response but that's what makes it so great for recording.
Everything sits in the mix so perfectly.
I also have a Y cable with which I can use both channels together & blend the cool & hot channels together, dialing in as much of each as needed.
With the changes I made to this amp it went from pawn shop to botique.
I really love it.
It works great for rhythm or lead.
I also use an EHX Holy Grail for reverb at times which takes things to a whole other level.
It also sounds great with my Visual Sound H2o & my EHX Pulsar, but it also sounds just fine with no effects at all.
Bottom line: with a few upgrades this amp is an excellent tone machine. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
 
Re: fender ramparte amp

I have a Ramparte. I changed the preamp tubes to Tung Sol 12ax7's & put a Weber 12F150 speaker & whoa, this baby really came alive.
The Ruby 6L6 that came with it actually sounds great.
It's nice & clean sounding but breaks up nicely when pushed. I also have a Siemens Jan Phillips 6l6 which I use when I want it to break up sooner.
I use the Ramparte for recording.
So exchanging these 2 6L6's gives me many different flavors depending on the situation.
This amp has little bass response but that's what makes it so great for recording.
Everything sits in the mix so perfectly.
I also have a Y cable with which I can use both channels together & blend the cool & hot channels together, dialing in as much of each as needed.
With the changes I made to this amp it went from pawn shop to botique.
I really love it.
It works great for rhythm or lead.
I also use an EHX Holy Grail for reverb at times which takes things to a whole other level.
It also sounds great with my Visual Sound H2o & my EHX Pulsar, but it also sounds just fine with no effects at all.
Bottom line: with a few upgrades this amp is an excellent tone machine. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

I recently found a great new use for the Ramparte whist recording. I mic up both the Ramparte & an Orange style amp that I built & send both of them to one track, or sometimes two tracks & it gives me a HUGE tone with not a lot of distortion but plenty of punch & power.
The 2 amps together sound incredible.
The Ramparte is a very great sounding amp.
A lotta bang for your buck.
Once again, highly recommend.
 
Re: fender ramparte amp

I saw a Ramparte the other day at GC that I almost plugged into out of curiosity. I think I have to go back and check it out now.
 
Re: fender ramparte amp

I saw a Ramparte the other day at GC that I almost plugged into out of curiosity. I think I have to go back and check it out now.
Yes Nacho, try it. No harm in that. It really is a great little amp & although it doesn't NEED any upgrades, a better speaker &preamp tubes really turn this amp from very good to omg amazing. No lie. GREAT little amp.
 
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