First vintage amp - what and why?

lustycourtier

I had the Bassman pedal briefly and it was awful. Ive had vintage and RI Bassmans, and it sounded nothing like either.

ICBM

lustycourtier said:

I had the Bassman pedal briefly and it was awful. Ive had vintage and RI Bassmans, and it sounded nothing like either.

I have admit it looks so awful that I've always avoided trying one just in case I did like it, so that does set my mind at ease somewhat .

NervousJohn

My first (and still current amp) is a 1964 Vox AC-30. I bought it back in 1989 for peanuts as no one wanted Voxes then, and that is really the secret with a vintage amp. Go unfashionable for good tone.

And it's the only way you'll get that old amp smell.



Edited to add the photo. The "V" has dropped off now. My drummer calls it "the Mighty Ox" as he can hit as hard as he wants

Pete24v

I gigged a '69 Bassman 50 head for two years solid, don't need 6-8 gigs a month, no issues with it at all. I then changed to a '72 Dual Showman Reverb, gigged it the same, again no issued with it whatsoever.

hywelg

ThePrettyDamned;612469" said:

My df-2 is excellent, and I'm getting into muffs

Fnarrr Fnarrr

Seriously though if vintage Fender appeals you've got to try a DrZ EZG. It is BF Super AB763 circuit with a better OT and minor tweaks to tighten the bottom end.

If you want to try one and are close enough join in my amp demo day in Nottingham

http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/39465/amp-demo-day-idea-midlands#latest

Bring your own pedals and.guitar and wind it right up.

Dinosauria

Bassman amps are great (I use one myself). I really love Silverface amps, they all weigh about the same as the moon but they sound great and as mentioned before they take pedals like a champ.

meltedbuzzbox

hywelg said:

ThePrettyDamned;612469" said:

My df-2 is excellent, and I'm getting into muffs

Fnarrr Fnarrr

Seriously though if vintage Fender appeals you've got to try a DrZ EZG. It is BF Super AB763 circuit with a better OT and minor tweaks to tighten the bottom end.

If you want to try one and are close enough join in my amp demo day in Nottingham

http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/39465/amp-demo-day-idea-midlands#latest

Bring your own pedals and.guitar and wind it right up.

if you want to "out Fender" a fender you go for a hiwatt. 

All the big beautiful cleans with out the ice pick trebles. 

Dave_Vader

Currently gigging an old 70s WEM dominator mk2 bass, it cost me £150 quid and sounds lovely with a strat.

Also have a Vox V-15 for smaller gigs, or when i want to make a lot of trebley overdrive less loudly, and without pedals.

And an old Fender red-knob super-60, which is loud, heavy and lovely.

All cheap, all reliable, and all brilliant and old.

Alnico

This looks nice !

http://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/musicman-music-man-rd100-electric-guitar-valve-tube-amp-head-fender-style-vintage/1113120715

So does this.......

http://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/musicman-music-man-hd130-electric-guitar-valve-tube-amp-fender-style-vintage-210-combo-2x10-/1113114939

EdGrip

I'll just say, don't listen to any vintage-amp-reliability doom-mongers above. Sometimes amps break down. When they do, any good amp tech can fix them as good as new. If you get a vintage amp, if you are feeling nervous you can get a tech to look it over and make sure all is as it should be. You can do the same thing when you get a non-vintage amp (remember, a vintage amp is any amp manufactured before the 1st of January 1974), but you don't need to because non-vintage amps don't break down. At all.

BigMonka

EdGrip said:

I'll just say, don't listen to any vintage-amp-reliability doom-mongers above. Sometimes amps break down. When they do, any good amp tech can fix them as good as new. If you get a vintage amp, if you are feeling nervous you can get a tech to look it over and make sure all is as it should be. You can do the same thing when you get a non-vintage amp (remember, a vintage amp is any amp manufactured before the 1st of January 1974), but you don't need to because non-vintage amps don't break down. At all.

Where's that definition from?