Which amp is best for me?

guitarmansteve77

I'm looking to buy a new amp, probably looking for a single channel amp to use pedals either running a clean amp or an amp slightly breaking up. I like the sound of a nice warm creamy sounding amp nothing too shrill or cold or bright.

I play Rock/blues/funk and some jazz fusion.

I've been looking at plexi style amps, dumble style etc etc and to be honest its now driving me mad!

I currently use a Fender Hot Rod Deville ML and its a great sounding amp but maybe too bright for me. Shame really cos I like the headroom it has when boosting it for solos etc.

I'd probably be looking at something around 50 watts with some nice headroom and loud enough to get over a loud drummer.

Any help or suggestions would be great!

Cheers

Steve

merlin

How much are you looking to spend?

http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/120892/for-sale-louis-electric-columbia-reverb#latest

guitarmansteve77

I should've stated I'm probably looking for a head and cab.

djspecialist

I love my H&K Puretone as a pedal platform.  Deep, room-filling sound, and most certainly loud enough.

John_A

Keep the Deville and turn the treble down?

guitarmansteve77

I’ve tried that but it loses a lot of its natural qualities if the treble goes too low. 

guitarmansteve77

@djspecialist I don’t think 25w will cut it, I’ve tried other amps a little higher than that and been drowned out by the drums and bass. The drummer is very loud which means the bass player is very loud. I’d say I need at least 50w. 

fandango

guitarmansteve77 said:

@djspecialist I don’t think 25w will cut it, I’ve tried other amps a little higher than that and been drowned out by the drums and bass. The drummer is very loud which means the bass player is very loud. I’d say I need at least 50w. 

Or a quieter drummer and bass player. 

mr-mac

What about an eq pedal before amp or in loop if it has one to fine tune amp you have??? Just a wild card thought

kennedydream1980

guitarmansteve77 said:

@djspecialist I don’t think 25w will cut it, I’ve tried other amps a little higher than that and been drowned out by the drums and bass. The drummer is very loud which means the bass player is very loud. I’d say I need at least 50w. 

The Puretone is the loudest 25watts I’ve ever heard, alot louder than any 50 watt amp I’ve owned. In fact I struggled to keep it quiet enough in my band, as the taper on the volume control meant it went from off to loud with the slightest movement.

guitarmansteve77

Yeah I've thought of an EQ pedal, might try that out. I've also thought of a transparent type low gain drive and putting it in front of the amp as an always on pedal and just dialing out some treble.

I'll check out the Puretone but not sure how easy that are to find.

andy1839

Friedman Buxom Betty. Superb head, non mv but takes pedals better than anything I’ve ever used. 
also attenuates well, and a lifetime warranty if you get a new one. 
50w and easily loud enough for most things. 

Its got a lovely built in proper reverb too. 

ICBM

guitarmansteve77 said:

I’ve tried that but it loses a lot of its natural qualities if the treble goes too low. 

Have you tried turning the Presence right down? I find that much more effective at removing the shrillness from these amps without affecting the core tone as much. I wouldn't normally set it any higher than about 3.

Apologies if you have, but it's very often overlooked.

Failing that, some darker-sounding speakers might be worth thinking about...

webrthomson

I like some of the older Marshalls designs for simple clean pedal platforms, most of the good ones you can now get as reissues since you want to buy new:

https://marshall.com/marshall-amps/products/amps/vintage-reissues 

Depending on what flavour you want any of the 1987x, JTM45 2245 (30 watt, loud though) or the JCM800 2203 (100 watts) could work for you. There is also the 1959HW, it is 100 watts too.

If you were willing to buy second hand I'd also throw the Marshall Super Bass (1992 circuit) out there they are superb pedal platforms, it's also 100 watts though.

andy1839 said:

Friedman Buxom Betty. Superb head, non mv but takes pedals better than anything I’ve ever used. 
also attenuates well, and a lifetime warranty if you get a new one. 
50w and easily loud enough for most things. 

Its got a lovely built in proper reverb too. 

Thats a great if pricey suggestion too

I've got a 1976 (year) JMP (1959 circuit) that I had modded with a post phase inverter master volume (PPIMV) that I use as a pedal platform and it's amazing!

guitarmansteve77

Yeah I’ve been looking at old Marshall’s and reissues. Quite like the idea of the 1987x, also been checking out Friedman’s but they are very pricey and rare. 

djspecialist

kennedydream1980 said:

The Puretone is the loudest 25watts I’ve ever heard, alot louder than any 50 watt amp I’ve owned. In fact I struggled to keep it quiet enough in my band, as the taper on the volume control meant it went from off to loud with the slightest movement.

Yes, it is damn loud.  I deal with that (and the hair trigger volume control) by putting an attenuator (Sequis Motherload Elemental) between the amp and the cab.  I only shave off a bit of volume at the attenuator, but it's enough to make the amp a lot easier to control.

webrthomson

guitarmansteve77 said:

Yeah I’ve been looking at old Marshall’s and reissues. Quite like the idea of the 1987x, also been checking out Friedman’s but they are very pricey and rare. 

Yup - the 1987x was what I immediately thought of if you’re looking for new Marshall pedal platform amp – here is a demo of it clean:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4rqDa9Em9Y 

I would also not write off the 2203 on the low input there are some great cleans in there too

Basically you need to remember to not dial it in like a typical Marshall (everything on 10) to get good clean sounds out of them!

57Deluxe

Super Reverb and a roadie