Nostalgic Distortion
New member
LOL, I have had some pretty awful luck with getting myself a a new amplifier! I actually started this whole endeavor about six months ago and I've gone through about 8 amps in that time! Part of the problem was that I was primarily buying used so I got a few that were operationally problematic or just straight up on their death beds & the others just weren't right for me & what I was looking to get out of them.
Basically the amp that I wanted doesn't exist, at least not in my price range anyway! I wanted something with two CH's, in the 30W-50W range, & with great reverb! It had to have a fantastic clean CH so it would take pedals really well since a great pedal platform is a must have for me, but I also wanted the dirty CH to be able to get fairly mean when I needed it to & extremely aggressive when being pushed by a Tube Screamer type O.D.! Basically I really wanted was a Mesa Triple Rec. but finding a decent one for under $700 probably wasn't going to happen???
I started out with a DSL40C & a speaker upgrade which was a great amp and in hindsight I probably should have just stuck with that? The problem was that nasally, metallic, backbone from the red CH., it wasn't bad if the gain wasn't turned up too high but anything after about noon on the knob had a shrillness I just couldn't shake. Another issue I had with that particular amp was the Digital Reverb. It was pretty puny sounding & I basically had to keep it turned all the way up to hear it at all! This wasn't a major problem because I've got some great Reverb pedals and it did have a fantastic effects loop. That said I'm not a fan of EL34's generally speaking, I typically prefer 6L6 or 6V6 power tubes...
I tried a Bogner Alchemist which was pretty close to what I was looking for (6L6's) but that amp is just poorly built! It's poorly built by Line 6, not Mr. Bogner, & issues like these are exactly why they are not making them anymore. He's not used to hearing criticism about his amplifiers & rightly so, I think when people started to complain he was worried that this would reflect poorly on his real models? Anyway, it seemed like as soon as I addressed one issue with that thing another would pop up! Finally I had enough & after much *****ing, I convinced the seller to take it back. Only after re-tubing the whole thing & spending several hours working on it of course!!! This is about the time that I decided whatever I bought from here on out was going to be NEW & have a good warrantee!!!!
I also tried one of the new E-H MIG-50's which is essentially just a Sovtek Mig 60 built with quality components. They nail that cranked Bassman sound really well but just like a Bassman they almost need to be cranked to sound good & I wasn't all that impressed with how well it reacted with stomp boxes so that got returned. I will say this though, if I played out a lot or even if I still jammed as much as I used to I may have kept that one? When you push them they are pretty great!!!!
There were some others but we don't need to get into all of them. After getting my last refund I started looking around for another one & it hit me! I'm looking for a new amp with Mesa Triple Rec.-ish overtones for around $700, I should just get a Hot Rod Deluxe!!!! Not only was it pretty much exactly what I was looking for, I figured there must be a reason why they & the DSL are the best selling tube amplifiers in the world???
View attachment 77406
So it's not exactly a Mesa & the dirty CH isn't very aggressive on its own but it is one of the best tube driven pedal platforms I've ever had! Also, it's got a good effects loop, gets plenty loud but not overbearing, & I was able to get it new from Sweetwater for 15% off due to a holiday sale!!!
The 15% that I saved from the sale left me enough for a nearly new Wampler Triple Wreck which through the Hot Rod Deluxe actually sounds extremely convincing!!! Plus, included with the amplifier was a free amp stand & dust-cover! I don't know why it took me so long to get here but now that I've got it I'm very happy with my purchase & I don't think it will be going anyplace any time soon!!!
Basically the amp that I wanted doesn't exist, at least not in my price range anyway! I wanted something with two CH's, in the 30W-50W range, & with great reverb! It had to have a fantastic clean CH so it would take pedals really well since a great pedal platform is a must have for me, but I also wanted the dirty CH to be able to get fairly mean when I needed it to & extremely aggressive when being pushed by a Tube Screamer type O.D.! Basically I really wanted was a Mesa Triple Rec. but finding a decent one for under $700 probably wasn't going to happen???
I started out with a DSL40C & a speaker upgrade which was a great amp and in hindsight I probably should have just stuck with that? The problem was that nasally, metallic, backbone from the red CH., it wasn't bad if the gain wasn't turned up too high but anything after about noon on the knob had a shrillness I just couldn't shake. Another issue I had with that particular amp was the Digital Reverb. It was pretty puny sounding & I basically had to keep it turned all the way up to hear it at all! This wasn't a major problem because I've got some great Reverb pedals and it did have a fantastic effects loop. That said I'm not a fan of EL34's generally speaking, I typically prefer 6L6 or 6V6 power tubes...
I tried a Bogner Alchemist which was pretty close to what I was looking for (6L6's) but that amp is just poorly built! It's poorly built by Line 6, not Mr. Bogner, & issues like these are exactly why they are not making them anymore. He's not used to hearing criticism about his amplifiers & rightly so, I think when people started to complain he was worried that this would reflect poorly on his real models? Anyway, it seemed like as soon as I addressed one issue with that thing another would pop up! Finally I had enough & after much *****ing, I convinced the seller to take it back. Only after re-tubing the whole thing & spending several hours working on it of course!!! This is about the time that I decided whatever I bought from here on out was going to be NEW & have a good warrantee!!!!
I also tried one of the new E-H MIG-50's which is essentially just a Sovtek Mig 60 built with quality components. They nail that cranked Bassman sound really well but just like a Bassman they almost need to be cranked to sound good & I wasn't all that impressed with how well it reacted with stomp boxes so that got returned. I will say this though, if I played out a lot or even if I still jammed as much as I used to I may have kept that one? When you push them they are pretty great!!!!
There were some others but we don't need to get into all of them. After getting my last refund I started looking around for another one & it hit me! I'm looking for a new amp with Mesa Triple Rec.-ish overtones for around $700, I should just get a Hot Rod Deluxe!!!! Not only was it pretty much exactly what I was looking for, I figured there must be a reason why they & the DSL are the best selling tube amplifiers in the world???
View attachment 77406
So it's not exactly a Mesa & the dirty CH isn't very aggressive on its own but it is one of the best tube driven pedal platforms I've ever had! Also, it's got a good effects loop, gets plenty loud but not overbearing, & I was able to get it new from Sweetwater for 15% off due to a holiday sale!!!
The 15% that I saved from the sale left me enough for a nearly new Wampler Triple Wreck which through the Hot Rod Deluxe actually sounds extremely convincing!!! Plus, included with the amplifier was a free amp stand & dust-cover! I don't know why it took me so long to get here but now that I've got it I'm very happy with my purchase & I don't think it will be going anyplace any time soon!!!
