What to look for?????

bladefrenzy

bladefrenzy

New member
Ok, so I've just moved and will be gigging ASAP and I'm going to need to do some amp trading. Locally I'm assuming as a combo wouldn't be cheap to ship. I currently have a Fender Hot rod Deville 2-12 combo. I'm needing something more Marshally voiced. Combo or head and cab. What would you guys look for in that trade range with a good bit of jcm800 style mid grunt? I have pedals that will do it, but would rather start of with the right amp. Thanks!
 
Re: What to look for?????

Egnater Tweaker or Rebel 20/30, H&K Tubemeister, Traynor Custom Blue 50 or YBA, Blackstar HT 20/40, etc.
 
Re: What to look for?????

I've played a few of those . Like the Tweakers , but haven't heard anyone them really have the mid push I'm looking for. Tray or maybe. I'm going to need a bit more than 20-30 watts also. At least 40-50 I would imagine.
 
Re: What to look for?????

Check out GC used section, a few shops in NC have both a Carvin Legacy and Carvin V3 head and combos for around $500.

Not into Carvins, How about a Marshall DSL/TSL which should run you about $500-600 in the used market.

How about a Rivera M 60? $350-$500 range.

There's Mesa going for around the same range too.

Hell can even score Randall RM/MTS series for that amount.
 
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Re: What to look for?????

Ya I'll need to probably sell it and buy at GC. They are awful trading. Im just looking for alternatives to search for on Craigslist and such. Thanks. Many good suggestions!
 
Re: What to look for?????

Ya, you'll have to sell the Hotrod on CL/Locally.

Since your looking for that Marshall Crunch, highly recommend aim high. Don't sell yourself short. It's a buyer's market. Why settle for Egnator, Blackstar, Traynor (no disrespect to any of those amps) when you can find some of the other amps I listed at the same price? I even saw a few JCM 800 combos locally and on GC used for around $700.

I prefer American or British made myself. Carvin and Rivera are both American made, high standards, great build, great quality amps that are a hot rodded tone which it sounds like that's what your looking for. Plus the resale value is fair, so you can always make your money back.

If you really want the Marshall name, get the DSL (UK made, not the new ones) or a used JCM 800 (hell even a 900 may work for ya) for the prices I listed above.

I prefer Carvin and RIvera over Marshall due to a better clean. They're fantastic.
 
Re: What to look for?????

Ya all those are good suggestions. But the specific sound Im looking for is the mid grunt of an 800. 900s dont seem to really have it. Havnt played a Carvin in yrs so I dont really remember their tone.
 
Re: What to look for?????

Honestly I haven't found any blackstar I liked. I did have a sweet Blackheart Handsome Devil combo I really enjoyed but at 15 watts it wouldn't cut it with a band playing heavy stuff.
 
Re: What to look for?????

I know it's not always the best but Youtube Carvin Legacy, carvin V3, Carvin X100B, and RIvera M-60
 
Re: What to look for?????

I've owned three Traynors, JCM800, and DSL50 (amongst many other amps) and there are definitely JCM tones in some of the Traynors, as well as the Egnators. I agree with setting your sights as high as you can afford, but those amps are great-sounding amps. My Rebel 20 is my backup/practice amp to my pair of Ceriatone plexi clones and it stacks-up great as a backup. It also stacked-up great as a backup to my JCM800 (2203X), DSL50, and Licklighter Rage prototype.
 
Re: What to look for?????

No doubt wasn't trashing those amps, just stating it's a buyers market so aim high. Not sure of his situation, tastes or music styles he plays, if theres any chance they could change and he needs a different amp, it always good to get a more sought after amp he could flip easier if needed. I wish I had these amps available to me at that price in my early 20s. Wouldn't of spent some much money and sold so many amps to get the one I wanted needed
 
Re: What to look for?????

Actually I sold my bigger amps to help move, I hadnt planned on giging anytime soon. But things clicked a lot faster than expected. So I traded for the only quality gigable amp I could find. It sounds great and I can deal with it if Im not able to trade. Just isnt exactly what I was looking for.I actually have a couple of pedals that really get me close. Id just like to get "that" tone again. Ive found a couple of Traynors locally and am working on a deal atm. Thanks for all the suggestions guys!
 
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Re: What to look for?????

If you have the cash, I would recommend just getting one of the Bogner Extasy pedals to run in front of your DeVille. They sound awesome in front of Hot Rod Deluxes and Hot Rod DeVilles. That way you don't have to give up those nice Fender cleans.
 
Re: What to look for?????

You can get plenty of pedals to make your Fender sound like a Marshall (you say you are already happy with your Marshall sounding pedals) but you'd be hard pressed to get a pedal to make a Marshall sound like a Fender.

Keep the Fender.
 
Re: What to look for?????

Ive got an AMT Legend B-1 and a pair of Mi Audio Crunchbox, one modded and one stock. But I just dont have the grunt and overall tone. Close but no cigar...
 
Re: What to look for?????

jcm900 MKIII dual master volume- they are basically an 800 with an extra bit of hot rodding. Very different beasts to the jcm900 dual reverb model. A little known and often overlooked amp by the people who say "i dont like 900s".
 
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Re: What to look for?????

If i wanted something in that 80's hotrod marshall kind of territory and was on a limited budget I'd scoop up one of the Jet City heads or combos that are floating around in the $250-$300 range. I love those things for the money and Nial at Hovercraft Amps will tell you they're great platforms for mods :smokin:

The only reason I don't own a Jet City yet is because I have lucked into a pile of vintage tubey goodness over the past few years and just don't need one... But I recommend them to everybody and I love their tone.
 
Re: What to look for?????

Thanks everyone. I may have lucked out. Found an older guy retiring from touring with a nice Jcm 800 2205 and a sweet but road worn vintage 8-10 Marshall guitar cab. Wasn't looking for a cab that big but hey, it works.lol. I'm probably gonna clean the cab up and sell it to buy a nice 4-12. If the deal pans out that is.
 
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