Rank the 10 greatest Vintage Amps of All Time (in your humble opinion)

[JOLLY]

Re: Rank the 10 greatest Vintage Amps of All Time (in your humble opinion)

hmm.

No Ampeg anywhere = thread fail. More classic jazz records were made with an Ampeg Gemini ll than you'd think. Ampeg Jets are kick ass low wattage amps.

The whole goddam amp world doens't rest at Fender/VOX/Marshall's feet.

You might want to read the thread title again. It says "in your humble opinion". I don't see how the thread could be a fail if people are giving their opinion of what the top 10 are. that's just my humble opinion.

 

[PVFan]

Re: Rank the 10 greatest Vintage Amps of All Time (in your humble opinion)

in what year of the calendar does a 5150 become vintage so I can include it in the list?

 

[Hellion]

Re: Rank the 10 greatest Vintage Amps of All Time (in your humble opinion)

These are the 2 amps I was wondering about... I guess I understand about the Mace but I thought they found out Jimmy didn't use a Thunderbolt on LZI?

I don't think ANYONE knows what Jimmy used on Zep I, including Jimmy. And if he does, he's never gonna tell. But they were a THUNDEROUS amp and even if he didn't use that particular model on that particular album, it deserves mention.

 

[JumpMarine]

Re: Rank the 10 greatest Vintage Amps of All Time (in your humble opinion)

Ampeg Jet
Vox AC30
Marshall JTM45
Marshall JCM800
Marshall 1959 SLP
Fender Tweed Bassman
Fender Super Reverb
Fender Deluxe Reverb
Fender Tweed Deluxe
Fender Twin Reverb

 

[Hellion]

Re: Rank the 10 greatest Vintage Amps of All Time (in your humble opinion)

Ampeg Jet
Vox AC30
Marshall JTM45
Marshall JCM800
Marshall 1959 SLP
Fender Tweed Bassman
Fender Super Reverb
Fender Deluxe Reverb
Fender Tweed Deluxe
Fender Twin Reverb

That's a nice list. I don't think I've ever considered Ampeg in the running for guitar amps, but I know they were used a lot. When referring to "vintage", there aren't a great deal of manufacturers outside of Fender & Marshall to consider. Of course, there really isn't a parameter to define "vintage"...

 

[JumpMarine]

Re: Rank the 10 greatest Vintage Amps of All Time (in your humble opinion)

Well the Jet was released in 1958....I'd call that vintage.

 

[drew_half_empty]

Re: Rank the 10 greatest Vintage Amps of All Time (in your humble opinion)

BF super reverb
BF deluxe reverb
tweed bassman
tweed twin
brownface vibrolux
brownface vibroverb
jtm45
hiwatt dr103
Ampeg Gemini
vox AC30

 

[glassman]

Re: Rank the 10 greatest Vintage Amps of All Time (in your humble opinion)

Man I'd love to be able to nail down a solid top ten...but I can't...my list is constantly changing due to the cool old amps that come into my shop. Like...

Silvertones...some familiar models, some I'd never seen before and couldn't find a schematic for.

A particular 1962 Estey ToneMaster: two discreet power amps and a ping-pong vibrato (between the two power amps) that was otherworldly.

The old Ampeg Reverberocket that was in last week...20 lbs of sweet and gnarly!

The Sound City 120 that had the most pristeen clean tone but wildly violated the "quiet enjoyment" clause of my lease.

Sure, I love the old Fenders and Marshalls as well but I really can't limit a list to just those. I've seen too much!

 

[B Bent]

Re: Rank the 10 greatest Vintage Amps of All Time (in your humble opinion)

I'm not calling you out or anything and I know what these amps are but I don't know why they'd make the list... why in your opinion do they get on here? just curious...

DUDE!!! Never underestimate the coolness and tone of old Supros. They are KILLER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[drpietrzak]

Re: Rank the 10 greatest Vintage Amps of All Time (in your humble opinion)

As ordinal data there is perhaps little meaningful difference between a top and bottom. Ten people can finish the 100m dash with .00001 sec. They are still listed as 1st to 10th place. Do not get too excited about rankings as a system. There are perhaps 1000's of different great amp makers we can talk about. This is just for fun.

 

[Bludave]

Re: Rank the 10 greatest Vintage Amps of All Time (in your humble opinion)

I can only rank the amps that I have played or owned.

1. Super Reverb. Either a black face or early silver. Smokin' amp!

2. Marshall Plexi. I prefer a 50W over the 100's. They sound a little sweeter.

3. Deluxe Reverb. With the right speaker these are just nasty!

4. Vox AC30... Arguably one of the most under rated amps ever! Great tone

5. Marshall Bluesbreaker... Great amps. A Bassman in a Marshall box, but with great balls

6. Fender Bassman. Tweed. These are to die for. You have to crank them but they sound oooh sooo good!

 

[nepalnt21]

Re: Rank the 10 greatest Vintage Amps of All Time (in your humble opinion)

hmm marshall jtm45 (kt66)

fender deluxe reverb

fender pricneton reverb

fender twin reverb (all blackface)

fender champ

trainwreck (dunno which model, only heard them in clips)

dumble overdrive (again, only heard clips)

i think the last two take the cake. i dunno what it is, but i can definitely hear the difference. its absolutely ridiculous.

 

[Dr.K]

Re: Rank the 10 greatest Vintage Amps of All Time (in your humble opinion)

hmm marshall jtm45 (kt66)

fender deluxe reverb

fender pricneton reverb

fender twin reverb (all blackface)

fender champ

trainwreck (dunno which model, only heard them in clips)

dumble overdrive (again, only heard clips)

i think the last two take the cake. i dunno what it is, but i can definitely hear the difference. its absolutely ridiculous.

I'm really surprized that it took 32 posts for a Trainwreck to get mentioned.

 

[Binnerscot]

Re: Rank the 10 greatest Vintage Amps of All Time (in your humble opinion)

If I was to call vintage 20 or more years old, then:

Mesa Dual Recto (I think it has been that long?)
Bogner Fish
Mesa Mark IIc+
Mesa Mark IV
Marshall Plexi
Fender Blackface
Marshall JCM800 (or at least all the boosting and modding that created the JCM800 on crack sound)
Roland JC120

I have played them and they all do their own thing very well.

 

[Gr8Scott]

Re: Rank the 10 greatest Vintage Amps of All Time (in your humble opinion)

Hmmm.... Tough to make up a top ten list, but I'll give it a shot.

1) Plexi - It is THE sound that built rock IMHO.
2) JTM-45 - Angus used it, nuff said.
3) AC-30 - Edge, Queen, Tom Petty & HB
4) JCM-800 - The foundation that metal was built on.
5) Super Reverb (Blackface) - SRV used one.
6) BlackFace Bassman (AA864 circuit) - Best cleans in the business, gnarly/ratty distortion.
7) Hiwatt Custom 50 - David Gilmour used one
8) Fender Twin - Huge cleans and cool vibrato.
8) Deluxe Reverb - I just like these amps. They sound good.
9) Fender Champ - Neat little buggers.
10) Silvertone 1482 - Man what a cool little amp this is! Great tone for the buck.

 

[IanBallard]

Re: Rank the 10 greatest Vintage Amps of All Time (in your humble opinion)

#1

#2-10--- buncha other ones.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Rank the 10 greatest Vintage Amps of All Time (in your humble opinion)

Gibson EH150
Tweed Champ (for recording and practice)
Tweed Bassman
Blackface deluxe reverb
Marshall Bluesbreaker
Marshall JCM800 50watt master volume 1x12 combo
Vox AC30 top boost
Vox AC15
if vintage means more than 25 years old then can i have a boogie mark III?
and i have a soft spot for the musicman amps of the seventies because they record so well so ill put in a 210 sixty-five.
All of the amps i have on the list are combos. I like the huge stacks too of course - but for some reason all the amps i really like using are combos so this is my top 10 vingage combo list - cos id like to think all of these are still useable and giggable at pretty well any venue (except the champ which is really a practice or studio secret weapon). Oh yeah - and a nice od pedal to go with most of them.