I want a lovely, warm British style amp

[Kam]

Re: I want a lovely, warm British style amp

At only 620 quid, this might be a very good amp for our OP :

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/hiwatt-high-gain-50-head/27074


And unlike that Blackstar, the HiWat Hi Gain is, in their own words "100% valve signal path."
Gotta respect that !

**** off. Seriously? That price really took me by surprise. I'm gonna have to research these...

Know where these are built by any chance?

 

[misterwhizzy]

Re: I want a lovely, warm British style amp

Heads Up - just remember, it gets extra help from diodes for that clipping sound.

Some do not mind that, some do.

That is true. But Hunter has been preaching for years to search with your ears. I just got done playing my HT-5, and the drive sounds great. But that's not the only amp I just got done playing...

Anyways, there's a lot of speculation about the preamp in the HT line, and I don't know how it works except in the 5-watter. In that amp, if the schematic I looked at was correct, the clipping starts in an op-amp passing through symmetrical diodes. From there, it goes through two gain stages of V1, then on along its merry way. The clean channel leaves out that drive IC.

The HT-20 and higher wattage models have an extra preamp tube. This gives you two more gain stages to work with. If I were designing the amp, I would use those to get a little more of that organic tube drive. I think I would leave the PI the way it is, and I would swap out the op-amp driving the diode clipping with a tube. Then, depending on how it sounded, I might get rid of the diodes and let the tube clip on its own.

But I've read internet speculation that the second tube is for the clean channel only. I don't buy it, because the original design shares the tube between the two channels. I don't think it's driving the effects loop, either. Before you say for certain that the Venue series has diode clipping, you may want to check your facts. I don't know if it does or not, but I'd be surprised if you really did know for a fact. And not because I don't respect your opinion. I just think if you knew it for certain, you would have given a lot more information.

And the bottom line is that it doesn't matter. The Blackstars are great amps, and they sound great. I think that's all you need to know.

By the way, Hunter, if you get to a dealer, sit down with an Artisan 30 for a minute or two. It's really impressive, even if it is much lower gain.

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: I want a lovely, warm British style amp

The Blackstars are great amps, and they sound great. I think that's all you need to know.

Great Amps? Try 'Very good '. I think this is a case of pride of ownership getting a little out of hand. Thats liike saying an Agile is as good as A Gibson.
They are budget amps. They sound very good. They don;t sound "great".

 

[misterwhizzy]

Re: I want a lovely, warm British style amp

Great Amps? Try 'Very good '. I think this is a case of pride of ownership getting a little out of hand. Thats liike saying an Agile is as good as A Gibson.
They are budget amps. They sound very good. They don;t sound "great".

Fair enough, when you're talking about the HT line. I think the Artisans compare with anything out there, though. The Artisan 30 I played sounded great. No word short of that would describe it.

I don't have any experience with the Series One, but I'd be surprised if they fell short on quality. On sound, maybe if they're not your thing, but not quality.

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: I want a lovely, warm British style amp

**** off. Seriously? That price really took me by surprise. I'm gonna have to research these...

Know where these are built by any chance?

Most likely in the far east - BUT, they sound bloody great !

If you fall in love w the sound, does it matter where it is made ?
Not to me it does'nt !!!

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: I want a lovely, warm British style amp

If you fall in love w the sound, does it matter where it is made ?

Well it could IMO, and maybe does..not so much the sound?..but the craftsmanship would be extremely suspect.
Historically, you but a Hiwatt not only for tone, but for bullet proof construction. Everything Ive ever heard of from China is about cost cutting with inferior quality control and other cheap production measures.
Not that it matters, but i don't own any Chinese production equipment out of my considerable gear stock. I have my reasons.

 

[Kam]

Re: I want a lovely, warm British style amp

Most likely in the far east - BUT, they sound bloody great !

If you fall in love w the sound, does it matter where it is made ?
Not to me it does'nt !!!

No, not at all. If it sounds good, I'll rock it. Hell, if it just sort of sounds kinda decent, I'll probably still rock it.

Cheaper 'import' amps never really worry me about sound quality. I know how it sounds before I buy it, 100% of the time. I do, however, have some reservations about their ruggedness and reliability, however. I know many of them are damn fine pieces of kit, it's just something I generally worry about in regards to amps.

Anyway, thanks for bringing it to my attention. I've been thinking more and more about getting a new amp (for several reasons, really) and I think this just became a contender. I'll definitely be doing a bit of research on it. :friday:

EDIT: Made in China, by the way.

 

[misterwhizzy]

Re: I want a lovely, warm British style amp

Kam, mine was made in Korea. Don't know if it matters or not, but it was. By the way, the guts of my Jet City and the guts of my Blackstar are about as far apart as they can be. The Blackstar has a massive, complicated PCB with several boards routed to it with ribbon cables, and the Jet City has a very simple layout with huge traces on the board and discrete components. If I remember right, the Blackstar has SMT components.

But both are good amps, especially considering the price. It's not an Orange, and it's not a Mesa, but they're both good amps, especially in the lower wattage range.

 

[Kam]

Re: I want a lovely, warm British style amp

Kam, mine was made in Korea. Don't know if it matters or not, but it was. By the way, the guts of my Jet City and the guts of my Blackstar are about as far apart as they can be. The Blackstar has a massive, complicated PCB with several boards routed to it with ribbon cables, and the Jet City has a very simple layout with huge traces on the board and discrete components. If I remember right, the Blackstar has SMT components.

But both are good amps, especially considering the price. It's not an Orange, and it's not a Mesa, but they're both good amps, especially in the lower wattage range.

That's interesting to know, actually. For some reason, I would've guessed the opposite but when I actually think about it, it makes more sense that the JC is simpler than the Blackstar. Those are two companies on my list, too...though I'm leaning heavily towards an amp with a great clean channel as a priority and getting whatever gain I need from pedals. From what I understand, those two brands (well, the JCA and HT series being pretty much all I've heard) kinda specialise in the gainy overdriven thing.

Anyway, I'm starting to ramble and I don't want to derail Hunter's awesome thread. :friday:

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: I want a lovely, warm British style amp

No, not at all. If it sounds good, I'll rock it. Hell, if it just sort of sounds kinda decent, I'll probably still rock it.

Cheaper 'import' amps never really worry me about sound quality. I know how it sounds before I buy it, 100% of the time. I do, however, have some reservations about their ruggedness and reliability, however. I know many of them are damn fine pieces of kit, it's just something I generally worry about in regards to amps.

Anyway, thanks for bringing it to my attention. I've been thinking more and more about getting a new amp (for several reasons, really) and I think this just became a contender. I'll definitely be doing a bit of research on it. :friday:

EDIT: Made in China, by the way.

I saw the amp in July.
Well, not the one in GAK, but down south, when i was in the UK.
I did not test it (ran out of time) but i did look at it, as it was the only Hi Watt in the store.
So the only thing i looked at was indeed the construction, and it looked as good as any UK made Marshall head.
The head's weight did surprize me. It was heavier than i thought it would be.
So atleast the build quality looked pretty bloody good/solid.

My 2cents

 

[Kam]

Re: I want a lovely, warm British style amp

I saw the amp in July.
Well, not the one in GAK, but down south, when i was in the UK.
I did not test it (ran out of time) but i did look at it, as it was the only Hi Watt in the store.
So the only thing i looked at was indeed the construction, and it looked as good as any UK made Marshall head.
The head's weight did surprize me. It was heavier than i thought it would be.
So atleast the build quality looked pretty bloody good/solid.

My 2cents

That's great to know. Thanks, dude. :friday:

 

[dano8180]

Re: I want a lovely, warm British style amp

haven't played either yet, but the clips i've heard online for the new 18 watt avatar amp and dr. z remedy are on my list to try. the avatar is based on marshall's 1974x circuit and the dr. z remedy is the doc's take on an old plexi. neither over 50 watts either.

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: I want a lovely, warm British style amp

That's great to know. Thanks, dude. :friday:

Any time

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: I want a lovely, warm British style amp

Wow, lots of awesome stuff since I last posted.

1) I am not against the idea of saving longer for a "forever" amp, except I do not believe in the "forever amp." :laughing: Much like with cars, I rather like the idea that I'll be moving on to something different in a couple of years. I would never buy an amp with the intention of it not meeting my needs, of course, but I accept that the "this guitar + this amp = tru luv 4ever" equation is simply not for me.

2) My budget of around $1000 is less based in how much money I have around, and more focused on "how important is a guitar amp to me, on an absolute scale," and the answer is, simply "not much more than a-thousand-bucks-important. That's a personal thing. My reasoning is that I have a family and I don't have a band and gig and such anymore, and I see spending more than a thousand dollars on an amp as, well, something I am not interested in doing. The amount of joy I will experience from a guitar amp, whether it's perfect or simply sufficient, all exists on a continuum from 0-1000 dollars, if I'm putting a dollar value on it. Surely you understand.

3) I am not 100% sold on the Blackstar amplifier. As many (perhaps all of you) know, I extract a great deal of pleasure from "the thrill of the hunt;" I like being on the search for my next amp. Or my next guitar. Or my next car, and so on. I enjoy looking around, and I feel little to no sense of urgency in acquiring my new thing. One day it will all snap together, as if I've been struck by lightning, and I will make my move rapidly.

4) I'm excited to try all the different types of amps you guys are recommending. I think it's fun to hunt them down to try! For example, I was stunned that I found an Ampeg SuperJet the very same day a forum bro recommended one. What fun!

5) I really want to try some Dr. Z stuff too. I have liked everything I've ever heard from every Dr. Z :laughing:. They are a little tricky to find though. I know of a dealer 80 miles away, but I'll have to wait until the wind blows me that way for some other reason before I'll visit.

 

[tone4days]

Re: I want a lovely, warm British style amp

5) I really want to try some Dr. Z stuff too. I have liked everything I've ever heard from every Dr. Z :laughing:. They are a little tricky to find though. I know of a dealer 80 miles away, but I'll have to wait until the wind blows me that way for some other reason before I'll visit.

take that lovely wife and son of yours down to Va Beach for a little getaway weekend after labor day weekend when the crowds and prices die down ... take a coupla hours to yourself (after having given mama bear time to herself if she'd like) and go visist alpha music ... they have dr z stuff ...

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: I want a lovely, warm British style amp

I too have enjoyed every Dr Z amp I've tried, although he doesn't make anything I would consider as a good main amp.

I think you'd really enjoy the Maz 38 or maybe the Route 66.

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: I want a lovely, warm British style amp

check out demeter amplifiers or older bogner shivas like mine. british amps can get honky if you push the mids, but they can also be very full sounding if you're conservative with the settings.

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: I want a lovely, warm British style amp

Amp search on pause: bought a new guitar...