Who's the amp man?

Who's the amp man?


  • Total voters
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Re: Who's the amp man?

screamingdaisy said:
Unfortunately no. I copied it out of my Mesa brochure.

Had I know how long it would have taken before I started........... :dammit:


At least it was an interesting read.
I didn't a F-Series was a feature, or a Blue Angel. Half those "advances" are just amps they've designed :rolleyes:
 
Re: Who's the amp man?

proxy said:
I didn't a F-Series was a feature, or a Blue Angel. Half those "advances" are just amps they've designed :rolleyes:

True. (although I'd say the list is closer to 1/3 amps, 2/3 features :) )

But some of those amps are features in and of themselves.

Leo Fender paid someone to design his amps, didn't he?

And besides the fact that Jim Marshall stuck an EL34 in a Fender Bassman circuit, what great advancements had he contributed to amplifier technology?
 
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Re: Who's the amp man?

Hmmm, I'm gonna have to go with Leo Fender. I've yet to try vintage Marshalls though.
 
Re: Who's the amp man?

Well,the Blue Angel did have the whole 6v6/el84 together or separate thing going on, which I'm pretty sure was an innovation, at least in a mass production amp.

All the amp designers have something to offer. To me, Leo Fender is the daddy. Marshall's original amp was a bassman with the wrong tubes, and the mesa mk1 was a modded fender princeton.
 
Re: Who's the amp man?

There are only so many ways to hook up a 6L6. You guys should have pics of the engineers at Sylvania and GE on your bedroom walls.
 
Re: Who's the amp man?

I can't believe no one has said Mike Soldano.

Gearjonsers list IMO is the proper pecking order. Those first 4 guys started the trend in 4 directions, and everyone has just evolved and refined from there. There are a handful of true circuit genious's out there today.
 
Re: Who's the amp man?

it's not just about who has made the most advances in amplification, it's about how well they achieved the sound that people wanted. Marshall may have simply popped an el34 in a bassman circuit, but he hit the nail on the head for the rock tone that people wanted. For that, Marshall is the rock amp man for me. Fender's engineers in the past are the blues/jazz amp men. New amps like the long list of Mesas kick ass, but they haven't proved the test of time yet. Just opinion. The Fender/Marshall generation is not coming to an end, but someone will have to inherit the skills of amp making, and i think we're in good hands with rivera, soldano, mesa etc.
 
Re: Who's the amp man?

I could never really find one Amp that could do it all. The newer Marshalls seem to be problematic. The old ones are amazing. To a degree the same applies to new Fenders. I have never felt comfortable with a Boogie..... To many knobs for me. I currently play through a 900 Marshall 50W Combo, A/B'd with a '69 Super reverb. I love this combination, but am considering replacing the Marshal with a Plexi 50W, and a 57 tweed low out put twin to replace the Super. So as you can see I tend to lean towards Marshalls and Fenders. IMO everything else is a simulation of these two great Amps.
 
Re: Who's the amp man?

STRATDELUXER97 said:
Lew...And Leo's designs were just copies of original Western Electric designs...LOL

Yes and no. Leo made them sound great...something no one was able to do before Leo. Leo invented the modern guitar amp...no one else really got it right before he did...tho there were many amps on the market before Leo came up with his models.

You're right tho: I've seen those Western Electric circuits.

Tube Guitar Amps are actually so simple...it's all in the tiny, little details, as you know.

It's the diff between my Chinese cooking and the Iron Chef's Chinese cooking :laugh2: ...tho we both might use the same ingredients.

Lew
 
Re: Who's the amp man?

leo couldnt either, thats why his amps kept getting brighter. his hearing kept getting worse :)

whos the amp guy? tony bruno, mark sampson ect... those guys are doing what randy, leo, alexander and jim did in their eras. trying to make a better mouse trap
 
Re: Who's the amp man?

I'm a Marshall man myself so guess what...

? ! ?

screamingdaisy said:
Randall Smith.

Features First Introduced by Mesa/Boogie

1969: First high power 1x12 combo (Fender Princeton Boogie)
1969: Half power switch (60w/100w)
1970: Pull gain boost switch (extra mid gain)
1971: High gain cascading pre-amp (the birth of overdrive)
1971: 130 Bass & 130 Lead amps
1972: Mark I
1972: On-Board graphic EQ (footswitchable)
1972: Slave output & level control
1973: Pre-out, power-in jacks (predicessor to the modern effects loop)
1973: Multiple impedance speaker outs (for reliable matching of different speaker cabs)
1978: Lead/rhythm dual-mode amplifier. (First channel switching amp)
1980: Mark IIA
1981: Effects loop (offering signal level and impedance matching for outboard effects)
1982: Simul-Class (combines class A tone with class AB power)
1982: Mark IIB
1982: D-180 rack mount bass amp
1983: Mark IIC
1984: Footswitchable reverb mixes (switches between ambient and drenched)
1984: M-180 & M-190 high-output rack mount tube power (started rack revolution)
1985: Quad Preamp (dual channel rack preamp with four footswitchable modes)
1985: Dual reverb tanks (combined short and long decay for increased richness)
1986: Dyna-Watt power circuit
1986: Modified dual mode front gain preamp (technology used in Caliber & F-series amps)
1996: Studio Preamp
1986: Mark III (Tri-mode amp)
1987: Simul 295 and Stratagy 400 stereo tube rack amps
1989: Mark IV (external control ports, assignable loops, and switchable power voicing)
1989: "Tweed Power" (switchable mains reduction, like an onboard variac)
1990: Dual Caliber
1990: Simul 395 and Stratagy 500 (dual mode, footswitchable "Smart Power" rack power amps)
1990: Tri-Axis (midi controled, fully programable 8 mode tube preamp)
1990: Simul 2:90
1991: Dual Rectifer
1991: Parallel effects loop with mix control for reduced tone loss
1991: Channel cloning (allows duplication of gain structures in different channels)
1992: Triple Rectifier
1994: Maverick & Blue Angel
1995: Progressive linkage (selects different types of power tubes)
1996: Sumul-State power (Tube driven MOS FET power for bass guitar)
1998: Nomad (full array of controls on each of it's three independant channels)
1998: Solo Control (presetable, footswitchable volume boost)
2000: Road King (four complete 3 mode channels)
2000: Road King Progressive Linkage (five power tube options per channel)
2000: Road King Dual Effects Loops (series and parallel, assignable per channel)
2000: Road King External Switching Trigger (for triggering outboard effects)
2000: Road King Speaker Cab Switcher (switches cabs, assignable per channel)
2000: Recto Tracking (auto-matches rectifier to power amp)
2001: Recto Preamp (pure anolog tube recording amplifier)
2002: F-Series


So who's the amp man?



Aye, aye that Randall guy! I know Randall amps! Did he invent all of these thingies... wow... why did he go solid state? Ah I see there is no more challenge with tubes...!


:haha:
 
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Re: Who's the amp man?

screamingdaisy said:
As for Randall, I look forward to his next amp (the Stilletto). I wonder what it'll sound like?

.
That's the one amp I'm looking forward to seeing and hearing. I'm not looking to buy, but the Stiletto just might be a classic, since it's Mesa's main leap into EL-34's.
 
Re: Who's the amp man?

leo fender if it wasnt for him mesa boogie and marshall wouldnt matter because both of those brands were originally hot rodded fender's
 
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