Amps you have returned pretty quickly and why ?

Telejester

In my case:

Cornford Harlequin, just couldn't live with an amp that had no fx loop

Victory Sheriff 22, when you put a drive pedal in front of it the sound was an over compressed mess.

Peavey Classic 30 combo, sounded more like a behringer solid state amp than a tube one

Marshall DSL100 head, output tranny blew up in first band practice. 

Fender blues junior, no fx loop, sounded totally boxy, rattling power tubes and crap drive tones

Thats some of the duds I've returned over the years, tell us about yours.

digitalscream

I didn't return the Marshall Haze I had, because I bought it second hand.

I did, however, sell it less than a day later. Horrible, horrible thing.

William Williamson

Orange Micro Dark Head, bought with a Laney 2x12, but unfortunately the tone was just brittle and screechy rather than hairy and doomy. Not a terrible purchase, but far surpassed by the CR120H I had a little part-ex deal with it over a week or two later.

Telejester

If anybody booted any line 6 amp back to the shop then they don't have to validate any reasons why.

guitarfishbay

Tiny Terror was sold on pretty quickly. I blame PGS Andy for me buying it in the first place when it clearly isn't my style

dindude

Marshall DSL5 - not terrible but realised once again I just don't get on with the Marshal sound.

Telejester

guitarfishbay said:

Tiny Terror was sold on pretty quickly. I blame PGS Andy for me buying it in the first place when it clearly isn't my style

I saw clips of the handwired tiny terror that sounded awesome, why the hell didn't they fit an fx loop !

dindude

Telejester said:

guitarfishbay said:

Tiny Terror was sold on pretty quickly. I blame PGS Andy for me buying it in the first place when it clearly isn't my style

I saw clips of the handwired tiny terror that sounded awesome, why the hell didn't they fit an fx loop !

I'm surprised you didn't buy it first to see if it had one

Seriously though, who needs fx loops, front end everything all day long for me.

simonk

Line6 DT25, a hissing, humming box of bleurgh.

ICBM

Mesa/Boogie Mark III - "The three great guitar sounds - Fender clean, Marshall crunch and Boogie lead - with flawless footswitchable accuracy"… or so the ad hype had said.

Actually it could only do one of those perfectly, a second one not bad but not exact, and the third one not at all - let alone more than one of them at the same time, due to the completely shared controls. It was just about possible to set up a good clean and a good lead at the same time, using the graphic EQ on the lead - but impossible to get anything even approaching a Marshall sound on the second channel, even disregarding the other two.

It put me off Mesa/Boogie for years. Some of you will find that funny .

John_A

H&K Grandmeister - It sounded shit! (In my opinion)

firepaulmusic

Blackstar HD20 - valve went very early on and they wanted me to send it back to the manufacturer. They wouldn't have it that a valve is a user replaceable item. Also the channel change function failed almost immediately. took it back to the shop and they offered me a HD40 instead which I accepted, totally different amp, very sterile. Sold that on to Koneguitarist who hated it as well!

Strat54

Yamaha THR5.....clean tones okay, but crunch not.

Rowby1

Victory V40. Harsh, flat, lifeless and noisey. 

In hindsight, I think it may have been faulty. Sounded nothing like the demos I'd heard or the one I tried in the shop. Sent it back and bought an MJW. Happy ending.

Was in in my house less than 24hrs.

Telejester

I had considered a v40 but every review implied it was too bass heavy. Top end is very important for me so I gave the v40 a miss.

robinbowes

I've never sold on an amp in such circumstances. In fact, I've not sold on many amps.

I tried a Marshall 2205 twice, but didn't get on with either of them.

I sold on a Traynor YCV20WR because it didn't do really clean (lovely "not-quite-clean" sound, and great crunch/drive sound). 

Other than that, I've still got 'em all

R. 

professorben

dindude said:

Telejester said:

guitarfishbay said:

Tiny Terror was sold on pretty quickly. I blame PGS Andy for me buying it in the first place when it clearly isn't my style

I saw clips of the handwired tiny terror that sounded awesome, why the hell didn't they fit an fx loop !

I'm surprised you didn't buy it first to see if it had one

Seriously though, who needs fx loops, front end everything all day long for me.

Cos gain innit bruv. 

ICBM

robinbowes said:

I sold on a Traynor YCV20WR because it didn't do really clean (lovely "not-quite-clean" sound, and great crunch/drive sound).

That was the right decision sadly… I loved my YCV20 especially for that not-quite-clean sound, but many of its other flaws drove me mad, and I was worried about the poor internal layout which meant that the heat from the power valves went directly into cooking the PCB - when I had it, the board was already starting to turn brown and it was only a couple of years old.

About a year after I sold it the new owner brought it back, dead - guess what had burned out. I did fix it for him for cheaply, but it would have been a right pain if it had happened at a gig.

Even now I sometimes wonder about buying another one because I miss that sound so much - but then I think about the burning PCB, the noisy reverb, the loud pop when changing channels, the poor valve access and the general awkward access to work on anything and go off the idea again.

robinbowes

Maybe checkout the circuit and build one the same, but betterer?

ICBM

robinbowes said:

Maybe checkout the circuit and build one the same, but betterer?

Not my thing really. It wouldn't be an easy amp to copy anyway, it's quite a complex modern channel-switching one with a solid-state FX loop/reverb etc.

kjdowd

Cornford combo (can't remember which one). DOA.