what would you do?

[Blueline]

fellow forumites
i stand poised to build a tube amp in the next couple of months
there are 2 options
but first
i need a small (low power) versatile amp that gets nice warm cleans usable for strumming and classic to modern crunch and smooth OD
no metal needed
i do however play stuff from incubus, to zep, to floyd, to nickleback to radiohead, and other stuff

both amps below would be channel swithcable with a/b box


option 1
18watt marshall kit
with a normal channel (Vol/Tone)
and a TMB channel (Master V, Vol, Treb, M, B)
supposedly like a plexi
this amp would be a guaranteed result
however prob more of a 1 trick pony
and there is no dedicated clean channel
both channels can do clean but are designed for rock

option2
2 channel class A amp based off of the P1extreme project at ax84.com
channel 1, Blakc face style (Vol, T, M, B) (modified p1 circuit)
channel 2, the p1extreme (Mv, Vol, T, M, B) its got a great clean, crunch and lead to it
i'd also (if i'm not too overwhelmed wtih the project) add a switch so i can select whether to use an el34, 6l6 or 6v6 output tube
(no live, only switchable at startup or with amp off)
the downside to this awesome sounding package is
i'm combining 2 circuits and creating a layout myself
and i've never done this before
though i've had some help from the guys at the 18watt forum and the ax84 forum
even if i had someone check my work and give me the go ahead, it'd still be a crap shoot
but it sounds cool

so...
wwyd

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: what would you do?

I'd build a smallish amp in the 18 watt range. Like the 18 watt Marshall or a '59 Fender Deluxe. I'd use a GREAT 12" speaker (like a Celestion Vintage 30, G12H30 or G12 Alnico Blue) to get maximum tone and volume and clarity from that little amp.

And I'd plug into a Boss DS-1 with the distortion set low and the level set higher so I got a clean rock tone when the guitar's volume was on 5 and a searing and more overdriven tone when the guitar's volume is set to full up.

I can get a killer Led Zep tone with my Telecaster when I'm plugged into my DS-1 and my DS-1 is plugged into my 18 watt Fender Deluxe amps.

Lew

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: what would you do?

I'd build option 2. I like the flexibility of having 2 seperate channels. I also think getting motivated to wire it to accept different power tubes would be uber cool. Then you can get Fender BF tones, kick it with a pedal on that channel, switch to the drive/plexi channel, set it clean, kick it with a pedal or set it up for rock rythym and then kick it with a pedal. You could have 3-4 different basic tones on tap right away....really cool IMO.