What Is Your Favorite Solid State Combo Amp?

I want to get some opinions.

I got a Fender Pro 185 about a month ago and fallen head-over-heels in love with that thing. That has to take my vote for my favorite.

What's your vote? And why?
 
Re: What Is Your Favorite Solid State Combo Amp?

Polytone. Sounds fantastic with a jazz box.

Otherwise, they're all pretty much the same to me. :)
 
Re: What Is Your Favorite Solid State Combo Amp?

I'd like to try the one of which you speak.

marshall lead 12 cause it's super small, takes an OD well, look cool, and sounds marshally!

randall hybrid G3, cause it's my main "metal" amp and reminds me of a marshall valvestate sound-wise but is more reliable/has better parts.

soon I'll be building a ruby amp from runofffgroove just for giggles - a simple, 1/2 watt SS amp that can power a cab and take pedals.
 
Re: What Is Your Favorite Solid State Combo Amp?

My Peavey Rage 258. That thing is loud, sounds good and doesn't have the annoying treble that most SS amps do.
 
Re: What Is Your Favorite Solid State Combo Amp?

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This was the perfect amp for me all through university. Sounds decent quiet, light weight, good chorus and reverb, and can hang in with a drummer and bassist in a pinch. It also cost me almost nothing from the pawn shop that I found it at.

I've also been partial to JC-120s . . . and there was a little vox modeling amp that I remember playing and liking quite a bit.
 
Re: What Is Your Favorite Solid State Combo Amp?

trm40_med.jpg


This was the perfect amp for me all through university. Sounds decent quiet, light weight, good chorus and reverb, and can hang in with a drummer and bassist in a pinch. It also cost me almost nothing from the pawn shop that I found it at.

I've also been partial to JC-120s . . . and there was a little vox modeling amp that I remember playing and liking quite a bit.

I remember some of the guys at the School of Music when I was there (Western Michigan University)... one had a Boogie (I always liked the Boogie... even before I really knew what it was), the others - well I don't really remember (one may have had a JC120 - or maybe that belonged to teh school. Cannot remember). I do know that for bluesy sessions, the fender amps came out to play.

I do remember that they were monster players though!


In college, guitar was my hobby, not my main instrument (I was a brass player). All my favorite local bands used Marshall, so that's what I gravitated toward. Then I started researching Marshall and found out why everyone loved them for rock/metal sounds.

The first big amp I bought was a Marshall Valvestate VS100R. I still have it and it was been as reliable and consistent as my favorite screwdriver. If you play around with it and throw an EQ in the loop, you can get some really cool sounds out of it.
 
Re: What Is Your Favorite Solid State Combo Amp?

I never tried one, but the ads and reviews always intrigued me for the Blue Tone 30m


 
Re: What Is Your Favorite Solid State Combo Amp?

i had one of those red knob Pro 185 things in the late 80's for a while...

i still use a few Fender SS amps around the house... one is a stage 100... and i have an Ultimate Chorus and a Princton Chorus...
 
Re: What Is Your Favorite Solid State Combo Amp?

Back in the late 70's/ ealry 80's I had a Roland GA60... I loved that amp until a mate plugged a 4 x 12 into it and blew it up!
 
Re: What Is Your Favorite Solid State Combo Amp?

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Why? Plenty of good tones right at your fingers, versatile, it takes pedals very well,
lightweight, extremely loud if you need it to, sounds many times bigger than it's size (tons of bass if you want that) and when paired with a good cab it sounds incredible. It's also quite ugly. :D
 
Re: What Is Your Favorite Solid State Combo Amp?

I had a Bluetone for a while but my financial position at the time meant I had to let it go thinking I would get another one at some point. Sadly, the company disappeared and I've never been able to find out exactly what happened. I had a lot of e-mail correspondence with the designer whose name, I think, was Alex and he also made custom live mixing desks for people like the Stones, Bon Jovi etc. They were expensive for a solid state amp but they sounded FANTASTIC. One of the best amps I've ever played through. Easily as good as many top flight boutique tube amps. If you ever get the chance just buy one. You will definitely not regret it. My number one musical regret was letting this one get away - just look at the HC reviews.
 
Re: What Is Your Favorite Solid State Combo Amp?

favourite SS combo amp? not this thing:
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and definitely not this thing:
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The crate was better than the rogue. That rogue thing sounded like a dog barking underwater.
 
Re: What Is Your Favorite Solid State Combo Amp?

I always liked Peavey, good high gain tones, fat cleans...it did the job
 
Re: What Is Your Favorite Solid State Combo Amp?

(current) Cubes are digital, so in my mind, not your typical SS amp (and mine really wore on my ears after a few weeks-super plastic sounding- but I digress)

For cleans a Jazz Chorus is amazing.

The *NEW* Marshall MG series-series 4- are nice and a far cry from previous MG series amps. I wouldn't mind picking up the 15 watt mini stack. Also dig the old Lead 12 and 5xxx series from Marshall.

Old Randall RGs from the 80s.
 
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