Similar amps of varying sizes

[FuseG4]

Do you have an amp you liked so much that you bought a similar amp of different power or speaker config? Did you fear or feel an overlap in utility?
For instance having an ac30 and ac15 makes sense for some, some would say that's kinda doubling up.
I'm considering another small fender to be little sister to my supersonic. I like the fact that my ss22 can cover so much, but looking for something just different enough, and a little smaller.
I've got my finger in the trigger with something but I wanna see if anyone else likes having the same basic flavor in a few different packages. Do you own multiple fenders, peavey's, Marshalls, vox, etc, and like having different sizes or speaker configs,
Or when you build your amp collection , do you go for more variety?

Sent from my SM-J320V using Tapatalk

 

[Old Guy]

Re: Similar amps of varying sizes

Here's the thing.

I have a Blackstar HT Venue 40 Mk II and it has a little switch on it to tone it down from 40W to 4W. But it stays in the basement and lugging it up and down the stairs when the kids are yelling and screaming down there is not my idea of a good time.

Bought a Blackstar HT-1R which is the tiniest little thing, but makes a HUGE sound that stays upstairs in the family room so I can rock put when the kiddos are creating a disaster downstairs. It's also great for taking out on the porch and just jamming in the breeze.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Similar amps of varying sizes

I’d love a whole collection of Fenders to add to my Princeton Reverb. There’s a Blackface Super Reverb near me that I’m tempted to jump on.

 

[FuseG4]

Re: Similar amps of varying sizes

Nice. I have my supersonic on one side of the room with my pedalboard and stuff but have a little fender modeling amp by the bed.
Thinking of going all tube for the convenient little by the bed practice amp, this digital job has it's shortcomings.
My supersonic has an attenuator speaker but it still sounds like a 12" and gets darker when dialed down. It does not have the compression of smaller speakers and cab. And a little boxy mid-range and little bit of fart is good so long as it's not full blown cab buzzing like mad. I'm looking for that fun raw character but still fender.

Sent from my SM-J320V using Tapatalk

 

[FuseG4]

Re: Similar amps of varying sizes

I’d love a whole collection of Fenders to add to my Princeton Reverb. There’s a Blackface Super Reverb near me that I’m tempted to jump on.

I think fender did a good job nailing different vibes in their different sized amps, there's familiarity but the character can change a lot depending on how you use each amp
But yeah maybe someday we'll each have a wall of fenders...?

Sent from my SM-J320V using Tapatalk

 

[FuseG4]

Re: Similar amps of varying sizes

I’d love a whole collection of Fenders to add to my Princeton Reverb. There’s a Blackface Super Reverb near me that I’m tempted to jump on.

Also you have a Princeton eh?
They are on my list
Have you tried that custom 68? Was looking at those as well.

Sent from my SM-J320V using Tapatalk

 

[allbutromeo]

Re: Similar amps of varying sizes

Get an old black or silver face Champ, you won't be disappointed.

 

[FuseG4]

Re: Similar amps of varying sizes

Get an old black or silver face Champ, you won't be disappointed.

I have played those they are on my list as well
Rarely they come up locally

Sent from my SM-J320V using Tapatalk

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Similar amps of varying sizes

Also you have a Princeton eh?
They are on my list
Have you tried that custom 68? Was looking at those as well.

Sent from my SM-J320V using Tapatalk

Yeah, an old Silverface. I’ve not played the new reissues. They both look cool.

The interesting thing about the old fender amps is you choose how much volume and how much headroom you need and choose from there. From Champ to Quad Reverb you’ve got it all.

 

[dystrust]

Re: Similar amps of varying sizes

I'm into Marshalls rather than Fenders, but my main amp from 2001 until last year was a Jubilee 2555. It sounds amazing, but it's kind of heavy, and ungodly loud. It has a good master volume, but it just doesn't sound that great at home practice or even small room rehearsal levels. I knew it was too loud to be practical, but I couldn't find anything else to switch to because nothing else I've tried sounds quite like that. Fast forward to last year when I was finally able to play a Mini Jubilee in a shop near here. It was a combo (so I wasn't really interested in buying), but it had the tone. From that point on I knew that I had to have one, and about 3 months later I found an amazing deal on a Mini Jubilee head. Ever since the Mini Jube has become my #1 amp because it sounds almost as good as the original, but in a far more practical and less loud package. If I play them both back to back, I can tell that the 2555 has something that the 2525H doesn't though the difference is small. For that reason I'll probably never sell the 2555 and it would be my choice to play in any situation where I could actually use the volume. Otherwise I'll be taking my Mini Jube and 1x12.

 

[pirate19]

Re: Similar amps of varying sizes

Most of my amps are pretty similar, but they are different enough.

I have a Silverface Fender Champ (1973) and a Silverface Musicmaster Bass amp (1977)--the Musicmaster is sort of a 12", 10watt Champ.

I also have a 1961 Supro 1614 Spectator and a mid-60s Valco Montgomery Ward/Airline 62GVC 9032 (both essentially Valco-made Tweed Champs). Definitely have that Valco/Supro tone though, so different enough.

Also have a 5watt Marshall Class 5--not really Champ-ish, but still: 5 watt amp.

My JCM900 MkIII 2x12 is the outlier....

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

 

[FuseG4]

Re: Similar amps of varying sizes

My old boss had an old airline resoglas guitar and airline amp, didn't care for the guitar (horrible flat wide short scale neck) but the amp was cool, plugged it in once and it fired right up and sounded pretty good, a little weak, but I was amazed.
I bet the supro is a bit better

 

[Mincer]

Re: Similar amps of varying sizes

I have a Tech 21 Trademark 60 and a Trademark 10. Both are great, but different power levels, and not exactly the same design. But both sound amazing direct to the PA.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Similar amps of varying sizes

Oh yeah! I have my big Mesa Mark III Coliseum 200 watt half-stack, and then I acquired a DC-3 combo, two Simul-class Mark III combos, a Maverick 212 combo, and a Mark IV 112 EVM combo. Same-same, but audible differences.

I bought a Mark V 112 C90 combo, and paired it with a 112 V30 Wide-Body Closed-Back cab. And then a killer deal on a used Mark V:25 stack (head with straight and slant Mini-Recto V30 cabs), for less than the price of the head new! No brainer! But then a Custom Mark V:35 112 C90 combo came up, again at a ridiculous price, and I jumped all over that one!

But I used to own multiple Fender amps at the same time, too.

I like having a stable of amps to match with different-sized venues.

Bill

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: Similar amps of varying sizes

As soon as the power or speaker changes, the tubes and sound changes. I can’t get two of the same brand of different sizes/power to sound similar. Strangely, it takes two completely different manufacturers to get the same sound at different power ratings with different tubes and different speakers.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: Similar amps of varying sizes

I do this.

My favorite amp is my NMV Green Matamp 120, but it's not usually a practical choice and it's rare for various reasons. That's why I have two more Greens with master volume. Same basic feel and sound but more manageable. I also have a Matamp-made Orange Overdrive 80 which is basically the same amp at half the power for smaller gigs. Honestly this is my workhorse head because it doesn't call as much attention and I like cranking the master. Recently I grabbed an Orange Rocker 30 for those days I don't want to move a stack, and it's like a JCM800 on the Dirty channel with a 30w clone of my NMV Green on the Natural channel.

Add to that my 2x12, two 4x12s and 6x12 and I have an appropriately-sized rig for any gig.

 

[DonP]

Re: Similar amps of varying sizes

Yes.

All below are flavors of Marshall.

DSL100 1/2 stack
Laney AOR50 (uses above's cab)
3203 Artist (30 watts) with a 4x10
Monoprice 15 (2203 circuit) 1x12 combo with a 15 or 1 watt mode.

 

[pirate19]

Re: Similar amps of varying sizes

My old boss had an old airline resoglas guitar and airline amp, didn't care for the guitar (horrible flat wide short scale neck) but the amp was cool, plugged it in once and it fired right up and sounded pretty good, a little weak, but I was amazed.
I bet the supro is a bit better

Supro sounds "fuller" than the Airline/Montg Ward, though the Supro has a WGS G8C speaker while the Airline has an original Jensen. Prefer the Supro, but the Airline has it's charm and has more of a lo-fi vibe to it

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

 

[evan47]

Re: Similar amps of varying sizes

Going back a good few years I bought one of the early vox valvetronix 60 watt combos and foot controller and found that it stood up well against my hopelessly unreliable marshall tsl 122 combo (I also had a boss gt6 and boogie v twin at the time).
I was so pleased with it that less than 6 months later i bought the 120 watt 2x12 valvetronix (stereo) combo.
Both gave me the sounds I craved plus, the 2x12 version was a great powered cab for running the gt6 in stereo as it had stereo power amp inputs.
Surprisingly enough I no longer had a valid use for the boogie v twin as both the amp and gt6 sounded so good.
The retro sounding effects on the amp were piss simple to dial in and great sounding too.

 

[Sirion]

Re: Similar amps of varying sizes

This is one aspect where a rack amp remains superior to heads and combos: get a few different power amps, and you can basically scale any rig to your requirements. What is more, with solid state amps the ohmage used also helps scale the rig. If you purchase components intelligently, this basically means nearly unlimited power scaling flexibility with just a few pieces of gear.