What Amp Surprised You the Most?

Marshall Mode Four.

it gets a lot of online snob hate.... Some people claim it sounds like solid state junk with completely unusable tones. Those people don't know shit!

I was amazed by the versatility of it. Channels and voicings and a useable loop, and a near perfect solo boost on the foot switch. It's everything I've ever wanted!
I think the overdriven tones absolutely slay!

The amp is a monster and sounds like the devil spewing forth profanity with every flick of his forked tongue. I stinking love the amp.
 
Secondly the Mesa Boogie 50 caliber.

supposed to be a great amp, lots of eq to play with, almost as good as the mark v.... Etc etc.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. All I could dial in was mush and sloppy amounts of boringness. Any old Peavey sounds better.
 
I'd have to say that I've been pleasantly surprised by all of these.
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Sent from my SM-A115A using Tapatalk
 
I wanted to hate Kemper, I really did, but I don't. You can use it very simply, like an amp (or dozens of amps) with stomps or go crazy with morphing and other stuff.
 
NegativeEase said:
That amp shootout posted had an ENGL that I was excited about, I don't know much about ENGL.
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ENGL makes some junk and some great stuff. Build quality is average but some of their good amps have some amazing tones. The SE is the flagship and has all kinds of options and features on it. Full of all kinds of sounds. A very nice amp for many things. The Savage is a beast of an amp for modern high gain. The Version 2 is more modern. The version 1 very nice and a bit rawer and less polished. Both models are wonderful. The Blackmore is cool and can do a lot of things. I would use it like I would an 800 though it has more gain. The Morse amp is very versatile and covers all the sounds up to 80's metal and maybe a bit more but not death metal heavies. A very god amp. The Artist is cost effective and simpler and was originally made with Doug Aldrich and Gary Moore had a hand in it in some way as well. It was supposed to be an Aldrich Signature but didn't come together. It is a fantastic amp that flies below the radar. The others are hit and miss, some love and some hate the very same model. When you open any of them up they are a rats nest compared to other cleaner builds but again, they sound nice for some things.
 
Bogner said:
ENGL makes some junk and some great stuff. Build quality is average but some of their good amps have some amazing tones. The SE is the flagship and has all kinds of options and features on it. Full of all kinds of sounds. A very nice amp for many things. The Savage is a beast of an amp for modern high gain. The Version 2 is more modern. The version 1 very nice and a bit rawer and less polished. Both models are wonderful. The Blackmore is cool and can do a lot of things. I would use it like I would an 800 though it has more gain. The Morse amp is very versatile and covers all the sounds up to 80's metal and maybe a bit more but not death metal heavies. A very god amp. The Artist is cost effective and simpler and was originally made with Doug Aldrich and Gary Moore had a hand in it in some way as well. It was supposed to be an Aldrich Signature but didn't come together. It is a fantastic amp that flies below the radar. The others are hit and miss, some love and some hate the very same model. When you open any of them up they are a rats nest compared to other cleaner builds but again, they sound nice for some things.
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Thanks for this.

I thought that demo had a smooth bold tone without losing the critical bite in the mid range I like. -Also, didn't suffer the fiz of the Orange, Randall, and Peavey.

Next time in the store, I may just turn one on -never tried before.
 
Little Pigbacon said:
I have found many solid-state amps that, if I give them a chance, listen to them, and dial them in, sound much better than the lore would suggest.
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Absolutely. But we have come a long way from (most) SS amps that were available in the 70s and 80s. Ever play a SS Twin or Deluxe? Ewww.
 

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Hughes & Kettner Grandmeister 40 Deluxe. Awesome tones and features in a small, yet powerful format. To my ears it was the very definition of versatility in one amp.
 
NegativeEase said:
Thanks for this.

I thought that demo had a smooth bold tone without losing the critical bite in the mid range I like. -Also, didn't suffer the fiz of the Orange, Randall, and Peavey.

Next time in the store, I may just turn one on -never tried before.
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Some have the fizz factor depending on how dialed. Some are cabinet sensitive. The ones I mentioned are the safest bets.
 
Bogner said:
Some have the fizz factor depending on how dialed. Some are cabinet sensitive. The ones I mentioned are the safest bets.
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Yeah, he was clear that he dialed them in how he liked, so no idea if the fizz can be avoided altogether. every amp is different.
 
Old Johnson amps. My Facebook friend Scott Grove uses them. I seen the years ago expensive too. So I finally got one. Really heavy. Solid stare. The others are tube Hybrid. I do not own one of those yet.

Nice great effects. Presets suck though. I really like it.
 
Bogner said:
ENGL makes some junk and some great stuff. Build quality is average but some of their good amps have some amazing tones. The SE is the flagship and has all kinds of options and features on it. Full of all kinds of sounds. A very nice amp for many things. The Savage is a beast of an amp for modern high gain. The Version 2 is more modern. The version 1 very nice and a bit rawer and less polished. Both models are wonderful. The Blackmore is cool and can do a lot of things. I would use it like I would an 800 though it has more gain. The Morse amp is very versatile and covers all the sounds up to 80's metal and maybe a bit more but not death metal heavies. A very god amp. The Artist is cost effective and simpler and was originally made with Doug Aldrich and Gary Moore had a hand in it in some way as well. It was supposed to be an Aldrich Signature but didn't come together. It is a fantastic amp that flies below the radar. The others are hit and miss, some love and some hate the very same model. When you open any of them up they are a rats nest compared to other cleaner builds but again, they sound nice for some things.
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True that. The Ironball surprised me, both with how great the clean channel is and how underwhelming the dirt channel is.

Orange Jim Root was also surprisingly good clean.

Fender Bassbreaker 15 combo surprised me with how utterly useless the dirt channel was. Not that I was expecting Boogie brutality, but that thing sounded like it was covered in a wet rug and I couldn't dial in any clarity to save my life.
 
Mincer said:
Absolutely. But we have come a long way from (most) SS amps that were available in the 70s and 80s. Ever play a SS Twin or Deluxe? Ewww.
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Blimey, that's definitely in the ugly cool category. I'd expect it to cool my beer while jamming, though it would probably actually do the opposite :D.
 
My AMT Stonehead...it's really versatile & sounds great, but I was pretty much expecting that. What I wasn't expecting was how unbelievably 'tubey' it sounded (and felt) being totally solid state.
 
some_dude said:
Mesa Triple Crown. I kind of knew what I was getting into this with this amp, but the lead tone caught me off guard.
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I love my TC-100. I was surprised by the rock type tones it gets. Cleans are great, heavies are great but the in between rock mid gain tones really surprised and impressed me. Awesome amp IMO!
 
Bogner said:
I love my TC-100. I was surprised by the rock type tones it gets. Cleans are great, heavies are great but the in between rock mid gain tones really surprised and impressed me. Awesome amp IMO!
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It’s taken me a long time to find “my” lead tone. What I found in the TC is a searing, mid forward and singing lead tone that really inspires me.
 
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