How do you try out a new amp in a store?

[WhoFan]

Re: How do you try out a new amp in a store?

What do you look for first?

Clean tones? Distorted tones?

Are clean tones important to you or do you ALWAYS play with distortion?

Can you play a little jazz and is a clean tone for jazz or blues or even Beatles type chord changes important to you?

How important is getting a super saturated distortion tone at low volumes to you?

For me, I like a natural tone that I can get to distort when I turn the amp up to performance levels (4 or more) and crank the volume of the guitar to 10. But I like it to clean up again when I go back to playing rythym and lower the volume of the guitar and back off on my picking attack.

However, it seems to me that the majority of players are primarily looking for an amp that distorts like a Marshall on 10 but at bedroom to small venue volumes.

I'm a bluesy player who plays a little rock though...not a rock player who plays a little blues!:laugh2:

Lew

To be honest i try the gain settings like most players do first.... I have liked amps for their dirt sounds and then tried the clean channel and they suck.... I almost bought a few amps because of the dirt channel.... Then a quick try of the clean and i walked away because they sucked....

Mostly i use different amps for different reasons.. Years ago i gave up trying to use 1 amp for everything.... also i'm a gear pig anyways....

i use Solid State amps at home and Tube amps to jam and for bands..... So if i'm trying out a Band amp i will ask the store if i can crank it for a few minutes.... I turn all the knobs and see how they react. There is a few amps at the store i found that the EQ controlls to do very little to effect the sound.... Vox was one.... Still sounds good but the VOX had a weird EQ that does not do much.. For HOME and Practice amps i worry about how they sound at low volume only..

 

[BluesGuyJ]

Re: How do you try out a new amp in a store?

I bring in the guitar I use at home the most, my Satriani, and strum away.

If I am looking for clean tones, I push the amp to find its breaking point. If I am looking for a high gain amp, I start out with gain low and adjust the volume. Then I turn the gain up all the way and adjust volume and then gain half way and adjust volume. If the amp has an EQ, then I spend even more time with it.

I dont buy anything on one sitting, I'll try it out two or three times.

 

[Metalman_666]

Re: How do you try out a new amp in a store?

Since I'm predominantly a hard rock and metal player, the first thing I do is check out the amp's distortion. I'll mess with the EQ for awhile, try playing palm-muted runs, solos, pinch and natural harmonics, all of that.

Then I try out the clean channel. I may be a metalhead but I have to have a beautiful clean channel or the amp just isn't worth it. In my opinion, the Mesa Recitifiers have a really great clean sound; it's got depth and dimension, and is just awesome.

 

[cvansickle]

Re: How do you try out a new amp in a store?

I try to play the amp the way I would mostly play it if I owned it already. If I'm shopping for a combo that I would use for country and rockabilly, then I'll play it cleanly. If I want something for distorted sounds, then I have to play the amp that way in the store.

The same thing is true for trying out guitars (or pedals) in the store. If I think I'm going to play the guitar dirty most of the time, I have to try it out that way. A few months ago, I was in a local shop owned by a couple of old geezers. I wanted to try out a Fender Showmaster, with the intention that I would play hard rock with it. The saleman insisted on setting the amp for me, and he wouldn't give me any gain even though I kept asking for it. Old fart lost the sale alright.

 

[drew_half_empty]

Re: How do you try out a new amp in a store?

i'll screw around with it for awhile at bedroom volumes, checking out the distortion if it's multi channeled & the cleans if it's one channel, and if i like the way it sounds, i crank the **** out of it & test it at useable volumes.

it's also the fastest way to get a salesperson to come & talk to you

 

[Stratman]

Re: How do you try out a new amp in a store?

(Actually changed to read) Now that Scott_F build just what Stratman want. It makes his life much easier.

:smokin:


I do like to hear young guitar slingers playing some good tunes, and I don't care what it is providing that it sounds good.

I generally tell salesman to pi$$ off and not try to demo the amp for me; if I dicide to buy it, I'll ask for the manager!