Re: Greatest amp you’ve ever played
Re: Greatest amp you’ve ever played
My first good amp was a 1965 BF Fender Bandmaster rig with the small 212. That started a long love affair with Fender amps. I've owned an original DR and a Tremolux 210 rig, but at one time or another I've played on virtually every BF Fender. Showmans, Twins, Pros, Vibroluxes, Supers...all great amps, but the Tremolux was absolutely one of the most perfect club-sized amps ever. At 35 watts, I could crank it, and I loved the spongey feel.
My Bandmaster was stolen in 1972 and I replaced it with a SS SUNN Solos II 212 combo. I wanted a used BF Twin, but couldn't find one available and I needed an amp NOW! The SUNN beat out all the SS competitors from Acoustic Control, Kustom, etc., as well as a couple of SF Fenders and the VT-22 and VT-40 Ampegs. It had a warmer, more tube-like tone than the other SS amps. (I've always preferred it over the JC-120, which I find grainy and etched.) I needed an amp with powerful cleans, and the Solos II did a wonderful job for me for over 20 years.
The amp that got me back into tubes was an original Fender Super Champ 110 combo with an EV speaker. Like every modern Fender I've played the distortion channel sucked. But the amp sounded marvelous when wide-open. Not quite enough clean headroom for the rhythm parts in my band, but our band practices got a lot louder. A tremendous amp.
I wanted to move back to tube amps and in the '90s, I acquired the DR and Tremolux, a Peavey Rock Master head, a Fender 75 head and 112 cab, and a Marshall JCM 800 4010 112 50-watt combo. All were very good amps, but they all had weaknesses. I went on a quest and played a LOT of amps. Nothing seemed to fit my needs. I was frustrated.
Of course I knew about Mesa Boogie...I pored over their catalogs religiously. They were made of unobtainium, and RARE, so rare I'd never played one. Too expensive. But I walked into a pawn shop one day and found a fabulous price on a Mark III Coliseum head that was mis-marked as a .50 Caliber. It seemed like I couldn't get the cash out of my wallet fast enough. I never even plugged it in. A couple of days later, I found a really beat matching 412 Half-Back cab, also cheap. It exceeded all my expectations (which were pretty damn high!) Great cleans, and that soaring, singing Mesa lead tone. It was so inspiring, and now I had the dynamic cleans I needed, but also a great lead voice. I started getting compliments from other players and the audience on my playing and my tone. I became a better player.
I then found a DC-3 112 V30 at the same pawn shop and again really under-priced. I grabbed it and had the perfect amp for jams and small venues. Took a while to adapt my ears to the chime of the EL84s versus the wide-range muscle of 6L6s, but again...more compliments.
I've been a Mesa fan ever since, some 23 years now. I've got eight of them, and no matter which one goes to the gig, I have complete confidence in my tones. That is a GREAT feeling. BTW, I'm more of a Mark Series player than the Dual Rectos.
So the Mesas are my "Greatest Amps". But honestly, a lot just depends on each player's band situation and the guitars and the genres played. There could have been a time when a Marshall might have been my choice, but for the foreseeable future, Mesa Boogie is the best amp for me.
Bill
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