Carr sportsman or rift PR18?

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  • Will do! I'll let you know.
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  • Tried the sportsman today guys. Great amp. Loved the reverb and the clarity of sounds was excellent..but there was just something that didn't grab me...The 1800 quid price tag meant I needed to love it and I basically just really liked it. Off to Birmingham next Saturday where I'm looking forward to trying the rift..

    A friend of mine has a SF DR (late 60s) and when I played it I felt the character immediately..its that kind of thing I'm after but in a modern boutique build and with the lower watts...and of course for a reasonable price...as much as the Louis elec looks the business parting with 2400 is gonna hurt haha.

    The search goes on...

    Thanks again for all the input so far

    Joe, if you are now leaning towards a DR instead of a Princeton, you really should try the Carr Rambler as well.

    I own one and it remains one of the great modern takes on a vintage Fender, imho....
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  • joehindley103joehindley103 Frets: 16
    edited February 2017
    Cheers @Wazmeister. I tried a rambler a while back. Again a cracking amp. Just a touch too clean for me..I play small pub gigs and I do like some small breakup when pushed. The SF DR had that spot on..However rambler defo worth another look for me.

    At the moment I have a supersonic, on the bassman setting I can get great tone, but the amp is just a bit too much of a beast for me and I want to venture into the boutique area with this next purchase. Saying that I tried a vibrolux 68 reissue and was really impressed, 

    I also really like the look of the tone king imperial..
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  • Joe, tough choices mate !

    We've never had so many great amps to chose from... get to Coda music and try em all !!
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  • Tell me about it. Coda is a 3.5 hour drive from me and it's looking like a small price to pay! I'll be going.

    Let's be honest though...The chase is half the fun  =)
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  • peteripeteri Frets: 1283

    Sorry to come to this a little late, but I think it's worth sharing.

    Something which surprised me when I looked at my Carr the other day is how I have the tone controls set, I think on many 'lessor' (whatever that means) amps - you tend to gravitate to non-extreme settings.

    Certainly that's a habit I've picked up over the years.

    I find with the Carr and the like, you can use the full range much more - and I've got what I feel is my best sound at some pretty full on settings.

    YMMV but I would encourage thinking of this if/when you demo.

    And careful with Coda - that's where I got mine from, they're gooooood! :)

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  • LebarqueLebarque Frets: 3755
    peteri said:

    Sorry to come to this a little late, but I think it's worth sharing.

    Something which surprised me when I looked at my Carr the other day is how I have the tone controls set, I think on many 'lessor' (whatever that means) amps - you tend to gravitate to non-extreme settings.

    Certainly that's a habit I've picked up over the years.

    I find with the Carr and the like, you can use the full range much more - and I've got what I feel is my best sound at some pretty full on settings.

    YMMV but I would encourage thinking of this if/when you demo.

    And careful with Coda - that's where I got mine from, they're gooooood! :)

    ^ Yes, I agree. Many amps have sweet spots on the tone controls where you can use the method of increasing them until the tone really kicks in to dial them in. With the Carrs, it's harder to get a bad sound, since there are many good sounds to be had over the whole range of the controls. For example, I could never stomach the reverb on max on a Blackface-style amp, but you can do that with a Carr if you wish. 
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  • Very true! I had the reverb maxed out and could really push the bass when I demo'd the carr..agree it all sounded great. I wish I could test drive one at a gig! Would really make it easier to decide!  :)
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  • Hey guys. Just to update, just got back from Birmingham. As usual you go with something in mind and every thing changes!  :3

    Tried the rift PR18. Wow. What a cracking amp. Had that blackface fender vibe in bucket loads, and chris is a really accommodating guy too! Was really impressed. I'll be honest I'd of taken this over the sportsman for my tastes and value for money.

    However I also had a good try of a few gartone amps. I was particularly taken with the 15w 1x12 jewel. It's based on a princeton, and wow what a break up it had with stunning on board trem. However it did break up fairly quickly, and i like to clean it up when needed at fairly decent gig volumes...

    Then I tried gartones new 2017 20w 1x12 model "the boutique". Martin described it as somewhere between blackface and brownface. 6v6s, all that jazz, reverb, no trem..oh my oh my. It was superb. The tone was unbelievable even at low volumes. Similar controls and size to a carr rambler but not as hifi or as clean. I couldn't resist and I'm now bankrupt! The celestion gold alnico sung to me. 

    12 week build time and it's gonna be a long 12 weeks  :)
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  • simonksimonk Frets: 1467
    Nice one. That sounds like a great choice :)
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  • hotpickupshotpickups Frets: 1813
    edited February 2017
    Hey guys. Just to update, just got back from Birmingham. As usual you go with something in mind and every thing changes!  3

    Tried the rift PR18. Wow. What a cracking amp. Had that blackface fender vibe in bucket loads, and chris is a really accommodating guy too! Was really impressed. I'll be honest I'd of taken this over the sportsman for my tastes and value for money.

    However I also had a good try of a few gartone amps. I was particularly taken with the 15w 1x12 jewel. It's based on a princeton, and wow what a break up it had with stunning on board trem. However it did break up fairly quickly, and i like to clean it up when needed at fairly decent gig volumes...

    Then I tried gartones new 2017 20w 1x12 model "the boutique". Martin described it as somewhere between blackface and brownface. 6v6s, all that jazz, reverb, no trem..oh my oh my. It was superb. The tone was unbelievable even at low volumes. Similar controls and size to a carr rambler but not as hifi or as clean. I couldn't resist and I'm now bankrupt! The celestion gold alnico sung to me. 

    12 week build time and it's gonna be a long 12 weeks 
    @joehindley103 ;;Yes I agree on the new Gartone amps. Hard to really judge anything at a show though for obvious reasons but Gartone's reputation is enough to go on though. Unfortunately I have a new amp incoming so that'll wipe me out for a while. Nice to meet Martin at last though

    One thing's for sure though. I really am kicking myself I never pulled the trigger on Thorpy's veteran. Bloody love that pedal after hearing it in the flesh That'll learn me 
    Link to my trading feedback:  http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/59452/
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  • Jimbro66 said:
    If you are looking at the Rift PR18 on Saturday could you ask Chris what he thinks about the switchable/controllable circuit mods G&B Magazine have been doing to one in recent editions? (Part 1 - http://www.guitar-bass.net/workshop/rift-amp-modifications/ Part 2 in March mag). Also, if you have a chance to try one, see how you think the PR35 compares with the PR18 sound-wise.

    Had a quick chat regarding the above with chris. On the mods done by G&B, little comment other than chris said he would of done the mods differently, so no raging endorsement. And unfortunately no PR35 to try but given the headroom in the PR18 I can't see a need for more power tbh!
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  • The new Gartone sounds good. Martin makes great amps; I have a Bluesman and a Stageman - both superb.
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  • MistyMisty Frets: 135
    Thanks for reporting back on the PR18, that amp interests me a lot.

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  • I already own a couple of Rift Amps. The Vibro 63 is superb, and I also have a one off Warp Drive Amp. This one was originally made for someone else, and I have subsequently had it further modded by Chris.

     I really liked the look and sound of the little Tweed TV Fronted Rift at the Show today.
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  • RiftAmpsRiftAmps Frets: 3113
    tFB Trader
    Jimbro66 said:
    If you are looking at the Rift PR18 on Saturday could you ask Chris what he thinks about the switchable/controllable circuit mods G&B Magazine have been doing to one in recent editions? (Part 1 - http://www.guitar-bass.net/workshop/rift-amp-modifications/ Part 2 in March mag). Also, if you have a chance to try one, see how you think the PR35 compares with the PR18 sound-wise.

    Had a quick chat regarding the above with chris. On the mods done by G&B, little comment other than chris said he would of done the mods differently, so no raging endorsement. And unfortunately no PR35 to try but given the headroom in the PR18 I can't see a need for more power tbh!
    @Jimbro66 Just thought I'd follow up on this.

    Today I went over to Huw's and got to spend some time with the G&B PR18. I hadn't heard it in person since they built it so was keen to play it.

    The mods work really well and certainly allow the home player to get a wide variety of tones from that amp. I was able to get some really interesting part-brownface part-blackface tones that I'd not heard before. However, I was most impressed with his tremolo mod, which gave an almost leslie-swirl to the throb which is very addictive.

    With regards to my comment about doing the mods differently, it's simply a case of how I would incorporate them into the amplifier design, rather than changing them. If I was going to offer them (which I don't currently plan to) I would want to optimize the board layout to make the most of it, rather than squeeze them into the standard design.

    Hope that helps :)

    *I no longer offer replacement speaker baffles*
    Rift Amplification
    Handwired Guitar Amplifiers
    Brackley, Northamptonshire
    www.riftamps.co.uk

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  • fretfinderfretfinder Frets: 4979
    Hey guys. Just to update, just got back from Birmingham. As usual you go with something in mind and every thing changes!  :3

    Tried the rift PR18. Wow. What a cracking amp. Had that blackface fender vibe in bucket loads, and chris is a really accommodating guy too! Was really impressed. I'll be honest I'd of taken this over the sportsman for my tastes and value for money.

    However I also had a good try of a few gartone amps. I was particularly taken with the 15w 1x12 jewel. It's based on a princeton, and wow what a break up it had with stunning on board trem. However it did break up fairly quickly, and i like to clean it up when needed at fairly decent gig volumes...

    Then I tried gartones new 2017 20w 1x12 model "the boutique". Martin described it as somewhere between blackface and brownface. 6v6s, all that jazz, reverb, no trem..oh my oh my. It was superb. The tone was unbelievable even at low volumes. Similar controls and size to a carr rambler but not as hifi or as clean. I couldn't resist and I'm now bankrupt! The celestion gold alnico sung to me. 

    12 week build time and it's gonna be a long 12 weeks  :)
    Two years later... how are you getting on with the Gartone? 
    250+ positive trading feedbacks: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/57830/
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