novice needs help - which amp for 69 Gibson Dlx?

[racingllamas]

I dug my 69 delux out of the closet for my 14 yr old and i to play together... and found out that the world has changed in past 20 years!! what combination of pickup (that fits) and amp is the current "best"? we want to play the "good stuff" - zep, acdc etc. i always dreamed about a marshall stack but found that there are bewildering array of choices!

which pickups are best to get that "full" sound (vs the "thin" that the original mini's put out)?

what amp combo?

help!

 

[casadyrocks]

Re: novice needs help - which amp for 69 Gibson Dlx?

I have a 72 Dlx and I think that the pickups are actually very good- but it depends upon your amp. I think that for all the amps out there- get your son a Mesa F-30. You can find a cheap used one, and he be able to rock out. I had a similar experience of not playing for about 10 year until 2002. here ARE a lot of changes, but alot of the new tube amps that are aroung now almost involve getting a secong mortgage. The only other thing I can think of is to get a Peavey Classic or a tube model Crate, and then buy a good pre- amp (tube screamer) . I think that would end up costing more, though.
Good luck!

 

[racingllamas]

Re: novice needs help - which amp for 69 Gibson Dlx?

funny that you suggest a peavey classic... i had two (4x10 in 1976 and 2x12 n 1980) during my time. how about replacing the pickups w/ the Seymour mini-humbuckers? does that give "fuller" sound in general vs the originals i wonder?

how about the marshall jcm2000 (TSL series??) series? i have some savings for christmas and could stretch to get it for both of us a half stack. of course, we will be fighting over who gets to play it on xmas day...

 

[dd12939]

Re: novice needs help - which amp for 69 Gibson Dlx?

about the JCM2000 series - in my experience, the DSL series sounds better than the TSL. The TSL's third channel has always just sounded fuzzy to me. The DSL has two channels plus a boost on the gain channel, so it's like two and a half channels anyway.
The new Crate V-series amps sound pretty good too.

 

[WhoFan]

Re: novice needs help - which amp for 69 Gibson Dlx?

I have a 76 Deluxe and really enjoy the Mini humbuckers..... What you need is an amp with lots of bottom end.... I use many different amps including the Peavey Classic 50 and 30 amps, a 5150 stack, a 65 Fender Deluxe Amp and so on.... I wish to buy a hiwatt head oneday to complete my 70's WHO RIG. The LP Deluxe Minis sound amazing thru the 5150 amp!!! I find the Classic amps and the Fender does not have enough bottom end for the Deluxe.

Do not mod your 69 LP in anyway that would cause it to lose value!!!! Those things are going for big money and too many people have routed them out for humbuckers and wreck them! If the Lp Deluxe is not cutting it i'd say sell it and buy a new LP Standard if you have too but the lp Deluxe you have is a great guitar.

WHOFAN

 

[flank]

Re: novice needs help - which amp for 69 Gibson Dlx?

i think the DSL amps are pretty good......they can be bright so if you try one out, make sure to adjust the settings if you think its too bright......but they have good clean and good overdrive/crunch sounds too, so i think that it might be good for you guys...... but its not quite as open sounding as some vintage amps......if you want more vintage tones, you might want to look for something else

 

[Skarekrough]

Re: novice needs help - which amp for 69 Gibson Dlx?

Please....don't mess with a perfectly good vintage guitar because you're insistent on playing metal with it....leave the pickups in and buy something more readily suited than gut the instrument. You'll retain the financial and historical value of it better that way.

Mini-hums are great pickups....just not suited for alot of different styles. They can do alot, but require alot more consideration that the typical humbuckers.

The Marshall DSL amps are great sounding high-gain units. It'd be a good pick to at least give you a good idea as to what you're really needing in an amp based on your opinion of it. We can at least steer you in a more appropriate direction based on your opinion.

 

[JeffB]

Re: novice needs help - which amp for 69 Gibson Dlx?

I'm not fam with the Duncan minis, but from the soundclips here, I'm not sure they are that much hotter. Gibson's current new minis are much hotter than what you have..near HB output with good low end and bite. Had a set in my deluxe and they were fantastic!

Also DiMarzio makes some P90 sized replacement Super Distortion pups...(like shown here:
Linky

I believe (but am not positive) if you remove the mini and the mounting ring these will drop right in. They actually have several different humbucking types (go to www.dimarzio.com, click on P90s)

Lotsa great amps....you've been given some good suggestions...also the DSL40 watter, Traynor "blue", and Rivera Pubster/Clubster would be good choices for around a grand or less and would get the sounds you seek.