Next Trend in Amps?

[Gearjoneser]

What would you like to see amp companies start doing? Is there something that's been overlooked, and should be added as a feature? Should they begin to figure out ways of making amps lighter or smaller? I think more could be done to mate modeling preamps/fx with tube output stages, personally.

Maybe a head that's like having a new improved Line 6 POD XT +++++, added to something like a Mesa 2:90?

Your thoughts?

 

[RW James]

Re: Next Trend in Amps?

Should they begin to figure out ways of making amps lighter or smaller?

I think this is a good one. A lot of their market share is getting older and frankly tired of hauling around all that heavy gear.

I had a combo amp that I just cut down into a head unit to try to reduce the weight. Sure the total weight is higher with the speaker cab - but still easier to handle.

 

[aleclee]

Re: Next Trend in Amps?

I think the trend is towards lower-power amps. Back in Jimi's day, you needed a full stack to be heard since there wasn't so much of an option to mic the guitars. These days, bars aren't so tolerant of 110 dB bands, either. :27:

I see more sub-50W amps which will also help with weight and size since the x-formers can be smaller/lighter. The market already seems a lot more accepting of 18-30W amps than they were a decade ago.

 

[drew_half_empty]

Re: Next Trend in Amps?

i'd like to see an amp with the gain emphasis on phase inverter overdrive. I think it might turn out pretty cool

another thing that might be cool, dunno if it's possible or not, but have an amp create a lot of natural gain with no compression at all, then have a compression stage with a pot to controll how much compression goes into it.

 

[ES350]

Re: Next Trend in Amps?

...double plus good on the 25-35 watt amps with well designed, good-sounding, maintainable, and easily repaired circuitry (25 watts seems to be a lower limit on a little clean headroom with drums and bass). There's always gonna be a market for cheap buzzbomb 50-100 watters, but they rarely leave the basement...

...see the neodynium speakers go through a few business cycles/improvements so we can cut down on the weight and still get some tone variety in the speakers.

...It would also be nice to see more people using very good sounding tube types like 7027 or 7591 which have been pretty neglected by the boutique guys. These are being made again, and they are great sounding tubes in the right circuits.

 

[seafoamer]

Re: Next Trend in Amps?

Hot Pink Tolexxx!!!

 

[taphappy]

Re: Next Trend in Amps?

Lightweight, modeling with power tubes, three channel: blackface cleans, jcm 800 crunch, and SLO100 leads. High gain without the noise. Attenuators and noise gates built in.

 

[Scott_F]

Re: Next Trend in Amps?

when they invent lightweight transformers that can do the job of the good stuff, I'll try to make them lighter.

 

[Quencho092]

Re: Next Trend in Amps?

i'd like to see reissue amps with larger transformers so that they could run cool.

Especially the fender line up-they're good amps, but the PT's are undersized, so they get the amp piping hot. I put a PC fan in back of mine and it helps alot, but if they would have a decent sized PT, the amps wouldn't crap out as much thanks to the more component friendly temperatures.

 

[greendy123]

Re: Next Trend in Amps?

I would like to see something like the vox hybrid amps that use a preamp tubes as power tubes. But having preamp tubes in the preamp section also.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Next Trend in Amps?

Lightweight, modeling with power tubes, three channel: blackface cleans, jcm 800 crunch, and SLO100 leads. High gain without the noise. Attenuators and noise gates built in.

:bigok:

...and fully featured low wattage amps. It seems that most are single channel, tone wonders as opposed to feature laden club amps.

 

[DeadSkinSlayer3]

Re: Next Trend in Amps?

I'd like to see a head that integrated some sort of bradshaw type switching rig into things, that would be cool.


One thing I'm going to do though, and I'm dead set on doing this someday, is wiring up an OD pedal inside of my amp, with the controls on the outside and being powered from the amps power line. It's a pain in the ass running OD pedals infront of everything to get my tone, but it's the only way to do it.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Next Trend in Amps?

That's a great idea, DSS... Isn't there a boutique company that does something like this now?

 

[Mincer]

Re: Next Trend in Amps?

how about wheels on all of them?

 

[DesertRose]

Re: Next Trend in Amps?

how about wheels on all of them?

just like the Fender amps

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Next Trend in Amps?

I'd like to see some new designs...not 40 year old designs that were puked then given a master volume and an FX loop and called a new amp. It would be a big help if these new amps didn't suck!

 

[Scott_F]

Re: Next Trend in Amps?

I'd like to see some new designs...not 40 year old designs that were puked then given a master volume and an FX loop and called a new amp. It would be a big help if these new amps didn't suck!

are you saying the new amps suck as in the 40 year old designs that were given a MV and an FX loop?

MV's have a way of killing some amps.

But, if you get right down to it, most all amps came from the same primoridal circuit. At this point, people are just tweaking them and adding features.

Adding features often just clogs up the signal path. Ever heard a great amp, then they added reverb, etc. and the amp just lost some of it's magic?

The only direction amps seem to be heading is the modeling route. I applaud Vox for integrating a real tube in their modeling. That was smart, even if it is only a gimmic.


For me, I'll be happy to stick to basic simple tone machines that just freaking sound good. The biggest problem for me is that even though I still have my stuff priced on the low end of the boutique world, there are far too many guys out there that still can't afford them. That sucks. So, for them, it's either the new solid state stuff or finding an old beat up 40 year old wonder that probably needs a lot of work.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Next Trend in Amps?

I am saying that (IMO) all (or at least most) new amps are either rehashed old designs with an some updates (master volumes and fx loops are 2 examples) or they just plain suck...this is all my opinion ans some of you may disagree. It is also my opinion that a post phase inverter master volume doesn't do anything negative to the tone of an amp. Im not knocking MV's or loops for that matter...I just see very little foward thinking in real (tube) guitar amps...

 

[Scott_F]

Re: Next Trend in Amps?

I hear you, but, look at this thread... how many forward ideas have you seen in this thread? Not a lot truly.

Better question might be what about todays and yesterdays amps don't do it for you? What do you want them to do better?

 

[Gr8Scott]

Re: Next Trend in Amps?

I've often wondered why noone has made a ultra low wattage output stage for tube overdrive that can be directly routed into a reverb unit and an effects loop before being sent to a 50 watt 6L6 master volume power amp. It wouldn't take much more room and only slightly larger transformers and you'd get all the tube overdrive you want at whatever volume you want and the tubes being overdriven would be low power stuff that would probably be cheaper to manufacture while the 6L6 tubes could be run at comfy volumes to fit almost any venue.

+1 Neodymium speakers with more variety in the cones.

One thing I'd also like to see is multi-test probe outputs from the power tubes to the back of the amp for biasing without having to buy a bias probe. Add to this a small hole in the back of the amp plate leading to a trim pot to adjust the bias without disassembling the amp. There's no sense in making you take an amp apart just to adjust the bias. That's like making you remove the engine of your car to change the oil. Automobile manufacturers don't operate with the same disregard to maintenence, so why should amp manufacturers?