School me on transistor amps

EricTheWeary

daveyh said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

 

EDIT: This one sounds much better, even though it's still chappers. It's for a different shop in the USA so maybe they record better? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LV84a-ppAw

As he doesn't say anything, he's bearable although his playing is rather limited for demoing tbh.

the review in Guitarist is fairly glowing, from what I recall they thought the distortion side does a good Orange valve impersonation and the combo is a generally sensible design for pub type gigs. I guess that review will be up on MR soon, although I can't really bear to look.

dogload

Old Peaveys from the eighties come up quite cheaply on Ebay and are pretty versatile.

ICBM

EricTheWeary said:

Having done a support where I was given the headliner's Deluxe 90 ( bit of a vague memory this but pretty sure it was one of them and it was definitely a Fender SS combo) I had some significant problems.

With the Fender it just utterly crapped out with too much signal in the front (and this is a strat with vintage style pick ups going in to a fairly mild boost).

I had exactly this experience with a 'Deluxe 85'. (I had foolishly assumed that when the promoter said 'Fender Deluxe' he meant a Hotrod or at least a Deluxe Reverb.)

It wouldn't handle my Mesa V-Twin at all, even with it set to unity gain - the amp just mushed out and sounded like it was struggling to breathe. Too much bottom end probably.

Zodiac51

+1 on the Sessionette 2x10, small, way loud, reliable, great tone, wouldn't sell mine coz they are worth 2/10ths of fuck all, so it's ideal to have just sitting around augmenting the amp count.

They were really popular back in the day with quite a few pros.

ragingben

I've been jonesing for a AMT Stonehead for a year or so now, I actually like the looks TBH! There's just not that many about in the UK so hard to try one. May sell a few bits n bobs later in the year to fund one

daveyh

EricTheWeary said:

daveyh said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

 

EDIT: This one sounds much better, even though it's still chappers. It's for a different shop in the USA so maybe they record better? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LV84a-ppAw

As he doesn't say anything, he's bearable although his playing is rather limited for demoing tbh.

the review in Guitarist is fairly glowing, from what I recall they thought the distortion side does a good Orange valve impersonation and the combo is a generally sensible design for pub type gigs. I guess that review will be up on MR soon, although I can't really bear to look.

Cheers for the heads up, I had bought it but not had the chance to read it yet.

Not having had any interest in transistor amps since the Linebacker I owned in 1987, from demos I'm picking up a quality to the distortion that I don't much like. Which I find interesting because I have almost always used OD pedals and really like the Blackstar HT series, a hybrid. It's interesting, this valve vs. transistor thing.

57Deluxe

(Anything with Rod freak'n Clappers in makes me turn away instantly... like those awful geeky pony tailed nerdy guys with bumfluff and spots, head-banging in the corner of the common room at Tech college... AND NOT FUNNY!)

OK - The SESSION amps *ARE NOT* unreliable and still sound great today - if not better, as amp tone tastes have matured now.

CLAPTON used a pair of Rockette 30s in the studio to record his August album on.

To get best sound - You dial-in a smidgen of the OD channel and mix it with your clean to get authentic sounding, organic tone. You drive this mix with a good pedal for OD... THIS is how to get the best. 

The 80s idea of OD/Distortion was all piss and fizz anyway and immersed in gallons of CHORUS and delay. Most SS amps of the era delivered this version (some still do). The SESSION amps didn't try to sound like a Marshall stack and thus the OD channel was for blending....

I have had my SESSION Rockette 30 since Aug 86... blew a fuse once I seem to remember... AWARD SESSION now offer a RETROTONE upgrade that makes your SESSIONETTE sound like a Tweed Twin...

bobblehat

If you want used / cheap then a Marshall VS100R might fit the bill.The cleans are not great but the two OD channels are fantastic.

I gigged with one for around ten years and it was bullet proof.

Old Peavey bandits are pretty good to not quite as meaty as the Marshall as far as I can remember but can do a decent Hair Metal and are incredibly loud for their size.Had a Bandit 75 that was more than I needed for any gig.

ICBM

57Deluxe said:

OK - The SESSION amps *ARE NOT* unreliable and still sound great today - if not better, as amp tone tastes have matured now.

Seriously? To me they sound even worse than they did back in the day… midrangy, boxy, a little flat and harsh sounding. They didn't sound much worse than other solid-state amps back then, but technology has really moved on.

And although they're not 'unreliable', I have seen a few more broken ones recently than in the past. Some of the parts are just getting old.

57Deluxe said:

AWARD SESSION now offer a RETROTONE upgrade that makes your SESSIONETTE sound like a Tweed Twin...

lol

Really .

(For balance I should say that there are valve amps I dislike as much as Sessionettes too…)

ThePrettyDamned

bobblehat;90301" said:

If you want used / cheap then a Marshall VS100R might fit the bill.The cleans are not great but the two OD channels are fantastic.I gigged with one for around ten years and it was bullet proof.Old Peavey bandits are pretty good to not quite as meaty as the Marshall as far as I can remember but can do a decent Hair Metal and are incredibly loud for their size.Had a Bandit 75 that was more than I needed for any gig.

My mate has gigged a vs8080 combo since he started (first amp) and he's never gased. He's never tried another amp and thought, yeah, this is more 'me'. He'll admit many sound better for loads of other stuff, but he's found his sound first time, and it's a vs8080, rat, ds-1 (new ones that everyone hates, which I actually really like, but only on one setting!) and a Joyo classic phaser. Makes good money from them, too (well, good pocket money on top of his usual job).

My bandit on its regular gain goes up to hair metal, with the boost on it goes up to 90s nu metal. Gain at 6 on the classic channel and you've got a really cool, heavy, clear tone that copes with drop tuning great and no fizz. Perfect! Very, very close to 'the sound in my head'. It did take a good few hours of tweaking, though...

However, now I've found it and written these settings down, I can return to them after a tweak easily. Pushing the thrash button is good fun, but I doubt it'll work in a band. Excellent for emulating valvey drive at lower gain settings though (yet, I can't imagine a strat playing blues master ever even considering pressing the thrash button, even though all it does it remove some miss and therefore reduce the amount of distortion, which is most obvious in that range).

57Deluxe

ICBM;90394" said:...

57Deluxe said:
OK - The SESSION amps *ARE NOT* unreliable and still sound great today - if not better, as amp tone tastes have matured now.

Seriously? To me they sound even worse than they did back in the day… midrangy, boxy, a little flat and harsh sounding. They didn't sound much worse than other solid-state amps back then, but technology has really moved on.

And although they're not 'unreliable', I have seen a few more broken ones recently than in the past. Some of the parts are just getting old.

++


57Deluxe said:
AWARD SESSION now offer a RETROTONE upgrade that makes your SESSIONETTE sound like a Tweed Twin...
++

lol

Really .

(For balance I should say that there are valve amps I dislike as much as Sessionettes too…)

++

...well you are in a minority... see customer  feedback and demo...

http://www.award-session.com/customer_comments.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z501HaoPzCM

ICBM

I'm not sure it's a minority - those comments are from people who like Sessionettes already. Most guitar players I know seem not to like them much.

Horrible tone in that demo. Nasal, middy, small, no depth or presence... like it's recorded down the phone. OK, the recording sounds like it's from the video camera so it's maybe not a fair representation. (Although to me the amps do have that boxy flat lack of dynamics to them in reality as well, so maybe it is.)

To me Sessionettes are a good illustration of why people don't rate solid-state. Stewart Ward used to go on about how if you did solid-state right it sounded as good as valve, and then proceeded to make amps which proved exactly the opposite! I genuinely have no idea why you like them, even though it's clear that you do...

I like many solid-state amps too. Many by Peavey, Marshall, Fender, Yamaha, Roland, some Carlsbros even! But the only way I've ever been able to get a tolerable tone out of a Session is to use the clean channel with the bass up full and the mid off or thereabouts, and a pedal for overdrive.

I admit I'd take one over that £69 valve amp in the other thread though .

57Deluxe

...is the BluseBaby  available from SESSION too now...

http://www.award-session.com/bluesbaby.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK8sMJnQXUg#t=52

I have a multitude of tube amps and guitars and each have their own combinations and setup quirks, but still the best amp for my Gibson 335 is my Session Rockette - hell I bought a  59 Bassman, then a 57 Deluxe especially for the 335 and they don't hit the spot the same... I sold the Bassman...

ThePrettyDamned

57Deluxe said:

...is the BluseBaby  available from SESSION too now...

http://www.award-session.com/bluesbaby.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK8sMJnQXUg#t=52

I have a multitude of tube amps and guitars and each have their own combinations and setup quirks, but still the best amp for my Gibson 335 is my Session Rockette - hell I bought a  59 Bassman, then a 57 Deluxe especially for the 335 and they don't hit the spot the same... I sold the Bassman...

Prefer this sound to the first one, but I think (although only based on 2 demos versus my now many hours of experience) I'd take a Bandit over one.  This sounds like it can probably do a sound or two the bandit can't, so YMMV.  

I am closer to the 'sound in my head' with the bandit than I have been with any valve amp (that's not a 5150 or 6505+, which I've sadly never owned). 

ICBM

57Deluxe said:

I have a multitude of tube amps and guitars and each have their own combinations and setup quirks, but still the best amp for my Gibson 335 is my Session Rockette - hell I bought a  59 Bassman, then a 57 Deluxe especially for the 335 and they don't hit the spot the same... I sold the Bassman…

That doesn't surprise me! You obviously like the sound of the Sessionette better than a good valve amp . (The Bassman is one of my favourites, although I slightly prefer Marshall JTM45s.)

The sound in that demo is almost my definition of a horrible guitar sound - it's like it's going through a tin can telephone underwater or something… awful. It's all honky midrange, no top-end, depth or dynamics. If you like that I will admit that a Session is a good choice .