Scouting for a new amp - opinions on some models?

Re: Scouting for a new amp - opinions on some models?

Egnater Mod 50. Amazing amp. Tone and versatility. check clips at Indoor Storm and more info at egnater.com.
 
Re: Scouting for a new amp - opinions on some models?

Duly noted guys... thanks for the help. Keep it coming if you have more.
 
Re: Scouting for a new amp - opinions on some models?

Splawn's competition is 50w, but one channel with 'gears'. Perhaps call Scott and as if he can do a 50w Quick rod for you.

While I haven't played a Shiva in the flesh yet, I haven't heard a clip that fills my pants yet. I'll happily stand to be corrected on that, though. The ecstasy is a whole other story, though.

I was pretty impressed with the Stiletto I heard recently, but it didn't make me want to grab it.

With Riveras, my experience is they are versatile, but in a 'close but no cigar' kind of way. Having said that, I heard a knucklehead and 2x12 set up for mid gain at a gig recently and it was killer in the mix.

The Mesa roadster has a cool 'brit' channel that isn't totally authentic but has a cool sound all of it's own. And the amp is very versatile.

The Orange Rockerverb 50 sounds like a slightly brit deluxe reverb on clean, and has a cool marshall-esque overdrive, plus plenty of gain. I preferred the 2x12 combo to the head/2x12 I tried.

Hiwatt's cheaper range high gain 50 has a beautiful clean channel that is 95% close to a real handwired hiwatt clean (uber pedal amp), and has great overdrive/high gain with a slightly vintage flavour. But: You have to go with fanes or close copies to get the tone happening. I tried it with V30s and it was a horrible midrange pileup.

Soldano's hot rod 50+ is a great sounding amp, with plenty of gain and sizzle, and very nice cleans.

that's about all I can think of without recommending an ecstasy, CAE or any of my real preference: single channel amps...
 
Re: Scouting for a new amp - opinions on some models?

Soldano's hot rod 50+ is a great sounding amp, with plenty of gain and sizzle, and very nice cleans

My handful of experiences with the HR50+ haven't been positive... Very bright... painful. Like getting ice picks jammed through my skull. One of the few amps where I've run the treble & presence at 1 or 2...

Some things like the Riveras, Shiva & CAE... There's always two contexts for any amp...

How's it sound on it's own?

How's it sound with the band?

I've mucked with the CAE Overdrive 100 & cabs twice now... sound amazing on their own but have been eaten alive & swallowed whole in the mix. Talking about a studio situation... It just didn't work... me AND the player agreed on that. Ended up using other things...
 
Re: Scouting for a new amp - opinions on some models?

I own a Koch Twintone II Combo. It's big on features, that's for sure. Tone is subjective. The built-in power soak is a handy feature. I mostly play it at 25 watts. The direct recording works too, although naturally not as well as recording the real deal.

I really like the clean, nothing wrong with that. The reverb is nice too. I don't really fancy the OD channels that much. It seems that it just has too much presence that I can never dial out enough. I also find something weird happening with harmonics, but maybe it's just me.

And I really think that it isn't a 3-channel amp. The volume difference between od an od+ is too great.

All in all, it may well be a good amp to you. But I'm seriously considering selling my one. Probably will.
 
Re: Scouting for a new amp - opinions on some models?

Egnater Mod 50. Amazing amp. Tone and versatility. check clips at Indoor Storm and more info at egnater.com.

Just checked out some well-recorded YouTube clips of the amp... The clean tones are awesome but I think the guy dialed in too dissimilar tones for the gainy modules. Looks awesome though... i wonder if there's any dealers around here?
 
You haven't mentioned your badget, here's my suggetsions:
Suhr Badger: Single channel amp but it's more than this. Useful on the stage, studio, home.

Bogner Duende

You can find clips of both of them on the net, best way would be to audition them with your guitar(s). I think the less watts are an advantage in most situations.
 
Re: Scouting for a new amp - opinions on some models?

Just checked out some well-recorded YouTube clips of the amp... The clean tones are awesome but I think the guy dialed in too dissimilar tones for the gainy modules. Looks awesome though... i wonder if there's any dealers around here?

Yeah, I don't think he does the crunch any justice. This thing can rock good though. From plexi type stuff to 80's hair metal. As far as dealers, there are none that have any in stock. You have to order from Egnater and it's taking up to 3 months to get them. They are working to get the wait times down, but it is a wait as of now. If you are truely interested, I'd be glad to demo it over the phone.
 
Re: Scouting for a new amp - opinions on some models?

You haven't mentioned your budget, here's my suggetsions:
Suhr Badger: Single channel amp but it's more than this. Useful on the stage, studio, home.

Bogner Duende

You can find clips of both of them on the net, best way would be to audition them with your guitar(s). I think the less watts are an advantage in most situations.

I'd like to keep it around $2000 US.

I've actually tried both the Suhr Bader and the Bogner Duende recently. I liked the Suhr more, both both amps were pretty enjoyable. If I was playing strictly blues these would be awesome amps for me, but I'm in need of a little more versatility and a different sound overall.
 
Re: Scouting for a new amp - opinions on some models?

I'd like to keep it around $2000 US.

I've actually tried both the Suhr Bader and the Bogner Duende recently. I liked the Suhr more, both both amps were pretty enjoyable. If I was playing strictly blues these would be awesome amps for me, but I'm in need of a little more versatility and a different sound overall.

So the duende didn't do heavier tones for you? -my friend and I are very interested in importing ons of these, and one of the Blues Saraceno clips on the bogner site was pretty heavy. How was it in real life for you?
 
Re: Scouting for a new amp - opinions on some models?

How about a Traynor Blue 50. Great amp for a small price.
 
Re: Scouting for a new amp - opinions on some models?

Oh, $2000 budget. Nevermind!
 
Re: Scouting for a new amp - opinions on some models?

My handful of experiences with the HR50+ haven't been positive... Very bright... painful. Like getting ice picks jammed through my skull. One of the few amps where I've run the treble & presence at 1 or 2...

Some things like the Riveras, Shiva & CAE... There's always two contexts for any amp...

How's it sound on it's own?

How's it sound with the band?

I've mucked with the CAE Overdrive 100 & cabs twice now... sound amazing on their own but have been eaten alive & swallowed whole in the mix. Talking about a studio situation... It just didn't work... me AND the player agreed on that. Ended up using other things...

Know what you mean about presence on 1 for the Hot rods, though speaker selection helps. But hey, presence on 1 works, so what does it matter. There's no rule that says an amp must sound good with the presence on 5. Definitely an amp for the more sharp-toothed taste, though.
 
Re: Scouting for a new amp - opinions on some models?

See, thats the thing... I'd prefer to use an overdrive pedal for a gain/voume boost and then get the majority of the distortion from the amp. I prefer the tonal results that come from THAT kind of setup. I've played some good sounding-setups with good amps like you're describing, but at the end of the day single channel amps are not what I'm looking for. I appreciate the suggestion, though.

Upon some thinking I am going to PARTIALLY retract this statement. In the spirit of open-mindedness, I'm going to try out a few single-channel amps and see how they sound in the rig I'd be using, just for the hell of it. Who knows? I may find a combo that I really really dig. I'd like to try something along the lines of a 50W JMP or JCM800 or a JTM45.

i've always heard awesome things about Splawns too!
I was looking at the Splawn Competition, but i was really gearing something like a 50W Quickrod. Someone on here suggested asking Scott if he'd make me one... wonder if he can add a 1/2 power switch too?

My handful of experiences with the HR50+ haven't been positive... Very bright... painful. Like getting ice picks jammed through my skull. One of the few amps where I've run the treble & presence at 1 or 2...

Some things like the Riveras, Shiva & CAE... There's always two contexts for any amp...

How's it sound on it's own?

How's it sound with the band?

I've mucked with the CAE Overdrive 100 & cabs twice now... sound amazing on their own but have been eaten alive & swallowed whole in the mix. Talking about a studio situation... It just didn't work... me AND the player agreed on that. Ended up using other things...

I've only ever encountered one Soldano... ever. It was a 100W SLO and I didn't like it at all.

How didn't the CAE work in a studio/band setting? I've heard them used to great effect by the few players I know use them. I like the features on the OD100 SE+ but I don't need that much wattage. The local dealer told me if I was really leaning towards that amp he could talk to John Suhr about making me a "50W SE+" as he's a friendly guy and has been known to accomodate requests like that before for serious buyers.

I own a Koch Twintone II Combo. It's big on features, that's for sure. Tone is subjective. The built-in power soak is a handy feature. I mostly play it at 25 watts. The direct recording works too, although naturally not as well as recording the real deal.

I really like the clean, nothing wrong with that. The reverb is nice too. I don't really fancy the OD channels that much. It seems that it just has too much presence that I can never dial out enough. I also find something weird happening with harmonics, but maybe it's just me.

And I really think that it isn't a 3-channel amp. The volume difference between od an od+ is too great.

All in all, it may well be a good amp to you. But I'm seriously considering selling my one. Probably will.

I was mainly looking at the Multitone, actually but I figured I'd ask about the Twintone as well.Why are you selling yours?

Yeah, I don't think he does the crunch any justice. This thing can rock good though. From plexi type stuff to 80's hair metal. As far as dealers, there are none that have any in stock. You have to order from Egnater and it's taking up to 3 months to get them. They are working to get the wait times down, but it is a wait as of now. If you are truely interested, I'd be glad to demo it over the phone.

I'm looking for a sound somewhere between plexi stuff and hair metal with a dash of heavy blues... i think :laugh2: What modules do you have? I might take you up on the phone-demo offer.

So the duende didn't do heavier tones for you? -my friend and I are very interested in importing ons of these, and one of the Blues Saraceno clips on the bogner site was pretty heavy. How was it in real life for you?

There was plenty of gain on tap, it just wasn't the kind of gain I was looking for. Honestly... way cool amp but just not what I'd need for a main rig. In real life with a smooth-sounding strat it was real easy for me to cop some very ZZ-Toppish tones.

How about a Traynor Blue 50. Great amp for a small price.

Oh, $2000 budget. Nevermind!

Hey, I'm all for a less expensive amp that sounds good! Do I wanna spend $2 grand to get an amp that sounds great and is bulletproof? Not really. Will I if it comes down to it? Yes.
 
Re: Scouting for a new amp - opinions on some models?

I'm thinking of selling the Koch mainly because of the distortion characteristics I mentioned. It seems to have a strange presence/treble/highs problem that I just can't dial out with the eq. Also I have a bit of a problem with the harmonics of the amp... a bit too difficult to describe in words, especially in english. The distortion sounds big, clear and bright... but too bright for my tastes. Maybe my ears just haven't been shot enough yet!

The clean is really everything I could ever hope for. They clean tones are among the best ones I've ever heard anywhere. They also have a nice eq range to my liking, and work pretty well with all my guitars.

I've been thinking about getting some od/ds pedals and see if they help with the highs. It could be a speaker question as well... I haven't really tested it with that many different ones.

If I only needed the clean I'd have no need to look elsewhere. Or if I could afford it I'd just get another amp for playing with distortion. But now I probably have to get rid of this one to afford something else.

There is also a certain "vibe" thing with the amp. I've had some technical problems with it, I had to have the main output transformer replaced. Luckily it happened under warranty. And it happened in the middle of our band's recordings! So my dislike of the amp is partly a feel thing due to not so happy-happy past. You, of course, have no such problems so go out and check it out for yourself.
 
Re: Scouting for a new amp - opinions on some models?

I'm thinking of selling the Koch mainly because of the distortion characteristics I mentioned. It seems to have a strange presence/treble/highs problem that I just can't dial out with the eq. Also I have a bit of a problem with the harmonics of the amp... a bit too difficult to describe in words, especially in english. The distortion sounds big, clear and bright... but too bright for my tastes. Maybe my ears just haven't been shot enough yet!

The clean is really everything I could ever hope for. They clean tones are among the best ones I've ever heard anywhere. They also have a nice eq range to my liking, and work pretty well with all my guitars.

I've been thinking about getting some od/ds pedals and see if they help with the highs. It could be a speaker question as well... I haven't really tested it with that many different ones.

If I only needed the clean I'd have no need to look elsewhere. Or if I could afford it I'd just get another amp for playing with distortion. But now I probably have to get rid of this one to afford something else.

There is also a certain "vibe" thing with the amp. I've had some technical problems with it, I had to have the main output transformer replaced. Luckily it happened under warranty. And it happened in the middle of our band's recordings! So my dislike of the amp is partly a feel thing due to not so happy-happy past. You, of course, have no such problems so go out and check it out for yourself.
Do you play in a band? I think this is quite important to cut through the mix, my Engl is also a bit bright and it's very different when I play in the band of course.

But I heared this Koch-bright-problem somewhere else but I played through a Koch some months ago and it wasn't bad for me. :)

B2D could check a Koch out, I heared they have a great crunch sound (which could be the basis) and let a boost cook the amp.
 
Re: Scouting for a new amp - opinions on some models?

Do you play in a band? I think this is quite important to cut through the mix, my Engl is also a bit bright and it's very different when I play in the band of course.

But I heared this Koch-bright-problem somewhere else but I played through a Koch some months ago and it wasn't bad for me. :)

B2D could check a Koch out, I heared they have a great crunch sound (which could be the basis) and let a boost cook the amp.

I do play in a band... and it's no bass-heavy-all-muddy metal either. I'm after those 70s and 80s sounds.

Naturally it's all in the ears of the person playing.
 
Back
Top