Your tone 5 years ago and now (amps you've had).

Re: Your tone 5 years ago and now (amps you've had).

Carvin MTS head and combo
Carvin Bell Air
Carvin X100B
Marshall TSL 60 head
Fender Prosonic Combos, heads the 120 watt Arerosmith head
Zinky Blue velvet
Marshall JCM 900 MK III Dual Master 2501 combo
Still own the first Prosonic Combo I bought the Zinky Velvet and the JCM 900 Dual Master.
Tone 6 years back Carvin MTS
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=439224&songID=3123015
Tone now
Zinky Velvet
http://www.box.net/shared/tesdvbzq39
http://www.box.net/shared/x9bzd9cdm8
Marshall
http://www.box.net/shared/ugehddem5i
Prosonic
http://www.box.net/shared/3chz5vojtx
 
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Re: Your tone 5 years ago and now (amps you've had).

basically, within the last 5 years I downsized from:
line 6 flextone I (would own again)
carvin x100b (probably wouldn't own again, but it was kinda neat)
carvin legacy 4-12" cab w/greenbacks (nice cab)

to:
randall rg75 (for modern distortion tones by itself and with pedals through clean channel to mix it up)
marshall lead 12 (with a super OD)
epiphone 1-12" extension cab (just switched out the lady luck for a celestion 7080)

but I already had these then, and still use 'em (typically with pedals):
10-watt precision electronics modded PA with 7868s
10-watt bell carillon modded PA with a 6L6
20-watt precision electronics modded PA with EL84s
5-watt realistic carnival modded PA with 6AQ5s

I sold a bogen tube PA (might have been over 5 years ago now) I wish I'd kept.

also got into some digital amp plugins in the last 5 years for recording purposes, probably not applicable here.

No evolution really, just the right amp(s) for the right circumstances.
 
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Re: Your tone 5 years ago and now (amps you've had).

history...
1. Peavey Deltablues115 (sold)
2. Laney Pro Tube MV30 (sold)
3. Engl Thunder (sold)
4. Engl Jive (actually modded til death)
5. diy Tweed Deluxe (recycled it)

alive...
6. diy Twin Reverb (my mainamp)
7. diy Tweed Pro running 6v6 (nice for small gigs and rehersal)
8. diy jcm800 (use it rarely additional to the twin)

still have the same main-ax since years. an american strat, but use custom wound pickups from michael pantleon now.
 
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Re: Your tone 5 years ago and now (amps you've had).

I've used the same amp, a Tech 21 Trademark 60 since 1997. I do mess with the controls all the time so that has changed and I did used to use a Tech 21 Warp but now I just use the amp.
 
Re: Your tone 5 years ago and now (amps you've had).

Fender Ultimate Chorus (2x12", 130W, SS) - I gigged the bejeezus out of this amp - it has been all over the place with me playing venues as small as garages and as large as stadiums. Anyone who thinks all solid state amps are crap must not have spent much time playing clean through an Ultimate Chorus. Thick and rich.

VOX AD15VT (1x8", 15W, Hybrid) - I gigged this one every week for at least a year. I had a mic I carried everywhere with it, and gigged lots of places with this amp on the "UK 70s" setting and a dynamic mic out front. It is a true grab and go amp, and made gigging so much less of a pain in my ass, because all I needed was the guitar case and the amp. I loved the way it sounded, I made a hundred YouTube videos playing through it, and I still record with it because it just plain sounds good. Probably my favorite amp I have right now.

Blackheart BH5H Little Giant + Weber Blue Dog 12" (head/1x12", 5W, Tube) - I gigged this one probably only 5 times, I could just never get it to sound full and rich. It was too thin, and harsh, just kind of a thin sound all around. With a Tube Screamer, it would cop a good Strat neck+middle John Mayer style tone, but that's pretty much where the fun ended. Sounded bad with humbuckers, sounded bad with P90s, and this was in the height of my "EVERYTHING MUST HAVE P90s" phase. I ran a Weber MiniMASS attenuator with it, in hopes that opening up the throttle a little bit would make it sound better, but, to my not-so-surprise, it sounded fizzy, farty, and ****ty turned up - even without the attenuator. I traded it, cab, attenuator and all to a guy from TGP. For a...

Fender Hot Rod DeVille 212 (2x12", 60W, Tube) - Hilariously, I have never gigged this amp. 2x12" DeVilles are something like unicorns, in that most folks have never seen one in the wild --- most DeVilles are of the 4x10 variety. I like the way 12" speakers sound in these amps better than I like the sound of 4 10" speakers in these amps, so I hunted high and low to find a 2x12" variant. I am glad I did - it brings a lot of punch and low end. The bad news, is that the amp sounds kind of flat, for a big sexy tube amp. Not a lot of character. It sounds good, but not great, if you know what I mean. It does not inspire me to play more / better. It is loud, and clear though, it will absolutely rock your ass of with my good Monte Allums distortion box out front - very snarly and gut-punching. If I had to gig tomorrow, I would probably bring this amp, to justify my purchase (trade really, for a cheap ****ty amp I hated, so I guess it's a win), but I honestly like the crunch / drive tone of the VOX AD15VT better.

I will probably sell the Hot Rod DeVille and get some sort of a 6V6 amplifier next. I don't know - I am kind of disenchanted with amplifiers as a whole right now --- I haven't played anything that I liked in a real long time. I read a lot of bullcrap on the internet about what people love and why it's the best amp ever, but I honestly haven't played anything in a while that made me feel like playing more / better. Maybe I'll go in the opposite direction and try a Marshall.
 
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Re: Your tone 5 years ago and now (amps you've had).

5 years ago -
MESA Nomad 100 through marshall 4x12

now-
Silvertone 1484 or 62 Bandmaster through a Univox 2x15

I'd say I'm going somewhere good
 
Re: Your tone 5 years ago and now (amps you've had).

I've had my Laney AOR for five years. In that space of time I've sold a Marshall MG30 and bought a Laney LV300. The AOR is still the king, even if it is getting quite rarely used recently.
 
Re: Your tone 5 years ago and now (amps you've had).

Five years ago, I had a US Strat and a 78 LP Custom into an

* Ampeg Jet re issue.

Then I either bought or traded for:

* Music Man HD-150 and 4x12

* '68 Bassman (Traded the Strat for it)

* Peavey Classic 50 (Traded the Jet for this)

* Home brew tweed Princeton-ish amp. (Traded a MIM Tele that I paid $150 for)

* 2x12 Peavey cab with Cannabis Rex speakers

* Acoustic B-200 bass combo. (Sold the Peavey to get this)


Hands down, the best sounding amp I have for my gigs right now is the little homebrew jobbie. Right next to it in Godliness is the Music Man HD-150...it does all the sounds the Bassman ever could, and all the sounds the Bassman couldn't do.;)

Right now I gig with the homebrew or the Music Man, if the room's big enough. I sold the LP and got two Tele types...a US Tele and G&L ASAT Special.
 
Re: Your tone 5 years ago and now (amps you've had).

Vox AD50VT - miss that amp for quiet playing
Crate V32 - Don't miss that amp at all
Mesa F30 Combo and Avatar 2x12 - Best purchase I have ever made
 
Re: Your tone 5 years ago and now (amps you've had).

I've had my Laney AOR for five years. In that space of time I've sold a Marshall MG30 and bought a Laney LV300. The AOR is still the king, even if it is getting quite rarely used recently.
Best answer, ever!
 
Re: Your tone 5 years ago and now (amps you've had).

Still the same amp. Roland Cube 60.

Only difference being, I loved it 5 years ago. Nowadays, not as much.
 
Re: Your tone 5 years ago and now (amps you've had).

5 years ago:

tom delonge strat into a peavey transtube 212

now:

78 mustang into a hot rod deluxe

1242914733115.jpg
 
Re: Your tone 5 years ago and now (amps you've had).

Discuss.


Let's face it tastes and style changes. At one point of time, we all generally had an idea of our tone, so we set off on our musical journey to acquire it. Now some of us took the high road and got their amp, the one they truly wanted. While others, like myself, went through amp after amp, swapping/selling/trading to get to where we (I) am now.

Here's all the amps I went through in the last 5 years. I would like to see what path you chose and how you got there. Also, this will be helpful to newer members talking about getting a VYper, MG, VK or any other lower end amp.

1. Peavey Valveking
2. Marshall JTM60
3. Randall RM50
4. Peavey XXX
5. Randall RM100
6. Mesa Trem-o-verb
7. Marshall JCM 2000 TSL 100
8. Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 100
9. VHT Deliverance Sixty

*I may of had a few more that I can't remember

What made you get rid of the TREM-O-VERB? Just curious as alot of people seem to feel that they are the best Rectifier to date.
 
Re: Your tone 5 years ago and now (amps you've had).

Marshall MG15
Engl E530
Engl Thunder 50 Drive E322
Mesa Boogie DC-5
 
Re: Your tone 5 years ago and now (amps you've had).

Fender Blues Deluxe
sold for
Mesa Express with 2x12 Rect cab
sold for
Mesa Stiletto Ace into said cab.
 
Re: Your tone 5 years ago and now (amps you've had).

same hardware, but i've done a lot of knob tweaking, and some "kit" building.

i used to use the strat with a jbjr pickup into a 5150. the "old" sound was kind of bassy and lots of distortion. the "new" sound is much cleaner, less bassy.

the gigging setup is the champ II, again i changed from trying to get a good distorted sound to a cleaner sound, it sounds all nasty and directional turned up, turn it down, and its all 50's rock, which is cool.

the champ II pairs up with the mxr delay. with a single coil, i'll add a fuzz. with the humbuckers i leave the fuzz at home, its too much.

so to sum up, in the last 5 years, i learned how to turn knobs....

mike
 
Re: Your tone 5 years ago and now (amps you've had).

I've been a Cornford user since before I joined here and I'm still using them now.... they just work for me.
 
Re: Your tone 5 years ago and now (amps you've had).

5 years ago I was in a regularly gigging and recording band playing original material.

My main live rig was a LP/HSS Strat/Tele into a large pedalboard with multiple ODs, Wah, Chorus, Phase, Delay, various boosts, Tuner compressor etc into a 1974 Carlsbro 50-Top single channel head and a 1x12 cab with a Celestion Classic Lead 80 speaker.

Nowadays I've done a total 180 and I have my Splawn Quick Rod with a 2x12 Zilla cab with 2x V30s in it, only FX are a Wah, Tuner and a volume boost for when using single coil guitars and I have a Voodoo Labs MIDI Control Switcher running the Splawn so that I can switch between Clean/OD, OD1/OD2 (essentially a built in Boost), Low Gear/High Gear (so between gears 1 and 2 or gears 2 and 3) and then solo function on/off with any combination of gears and OD settings.

Any FX I may need (depends if I'm doing covers) comes from a TC Electronics G-Major which is in the FX loop and run from the same MIDI Controller as the Splawn.
 
Re: Your tone 5 years ago and now (amps you've had).

I think 5 years ago I had picked up a Hughes & Kettner Duotone (it was a backup to my reverb equipped EL-34 Shiva). It was an ok amp, but I sold it to get a non-reverb EL-34 Shiva which has been my main amp since. I since have sold the reverb EL-34 Shiva I had and bought a Vox AC15H1TV which I really like. My amp search is done. I'm a British rock fan at heart and the Vox gives me all that chime and light grind I could ever want and the Bogner takes care of the rest, it just has some massive midrange crunch and lead tones and the clean sounds something like a Fender Twin with a compressor tacked on.
 
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