Ok I know some of you are tube experts...
I just bought an old Fender Performer Hybrid amp that works pretty well, but now I've started dabbling in pedals and might be in the market for a real tube amp... Wes always extolls the beautiful sounds of the Marshall amps, so what would be a good Marshall Tube amp? Mid-sized (no stacks) and doesn't have to be new, I can search around for used...
I've also heard about the Peavey (Valveking?) - any good? Just looking for some ideas for doing some research and tooling around possible amp purchases...
-=- Steve
"If the moon were made of ribs, would you eat it?"
Well you didn't specify your budget or wattage needs, so here's the classic low-wattage plexi:
http://www.zzounds.com/item--MSH1974X
Peavey Valve King 112 seems to be a really nice value and the one I played at GC sounds great, and it can get very loud.
But, I'd get the Orange Tiny Terror head coupled with an Avatar 112 cab loaded with one of their Hellatone speakers. That would be a freakishly good combination, at around 1/3rd the price of that Marshall.
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
Where is the fun in setting a budget? I don't let the "man" limit me!
Ok, for ease of discussion, let's finctionally state that perhaps my imaginary budget would be under $400.
Again - it need not be a new model... Also, any idea about the Traynor amps? My wife's maiden name is Traynor, so that might make it easier to justify the purchase!
-=- Steve
"If the moon were made of ribs, would you eat it?"
That's amazing,
when i read this thread earlier i was going to suggest a Traynor combo that i tried at MF a few weeks ago.
Man that baby screamed and had great tone.
Unfortunatly it was really pricey imo and i thought it too costly to suggest. if you could find a used one for around $500-$550 i think it would be a really good deal.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Traynor-Custom-Valve-20WR-YCV20WR-15W-Class-A-1x12-Combo-Amp-with-Celestion-Speaker?sku=480980
#4491....
If you want a YCV20WR (the one that TL is suggesting) there is a seller on eBay with a new one for $499. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=220114900179&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=012
The YCV40WR don't seem to go for much more than the YCV20WR. Of the newer models you might want to look at the YCV50 for a more Marshall-y sound.
YCV20 - EL84 power tubes
YCV40 - 6L6
YCV50 - EL34
If you want cheaper (and perhaps better - depends on what you want) you could go for the old 60's/70's Traynor amp. I've got a YGM-3 that I'm just starting to refurb - those are around $250 to $350. I have one of the last ones produced in 1977 but it's still all point to point wiring with huge transformers. It just needs a cap job (it took well over two months for Weber to get those out to me and now I'm stuck doing a bathroom remodel on the weekends :? ).
If you want a more Marshall sound (but with a difference - it's similar but the Traynors have their own sound) you could look for one of the YBA series heads. They come loud, really loud, frickin' loud, and "what did you say"? loud - YBA-1 (50 watts), YBA-1A Mark II (100 watss), YBA-3 Custom Special (~150 watss), and YBA-3 Super Custom Special (~250 watts). There are also the YBA combos around too.
Pop music is about stealing pocket money from children. - Ian Anderson
The Dali Lima
Yes, I love the tone of Marshall amps. However I have never been pleased with the quality of their amps. I have owned several and had problems with all of them.
I can tell you one amp NOT to buy, the DSL401. I have owned this amp several years and it has been nothing but problems. It is not because it is a tube amp, I have owned many tube amps and had almost zero problems. But this particular amp is just a poor design. It has four EL84 power tubes which gives a beautiful clean tone, especially for a Marshall, but they are mounted to the PCB. These tubes naturally get very hot and damage the board. This amp started cutting out on me about two years ago and I paid $170 to have it serviced. It worked well until the Riverside Jam where it overheated again and started cutting out. This time I went in and resoldered all the bad solders (caused by the overheating). I even installed a cooling fan. The amp was working great and I thought I finally had it fixed. But last week it just quit on me and I can't figure out what the problem is. I love the tone of this amp, suits me perfect, but the reliability issues are terrible. I owned Marshalls in the past and they gave me problems, at one time I swore I would never go Marshall again. But I am addicted to the tone. And once again I have been burned by Marshall.
I have been looking at amps that might have a similar tone to this Marshall, and the Crate Palomino might be the amp. Costs less than 1/2 what this Marshall costs and gets great reviews. When I bought my SG a few months ago at GC, I played it through this amp and really loved the clean channel. The overdrives were not bad either. I really didn't have time to tweak the overdrive channels. Anyway, I think I will pick up this amp soon.
The new Peavey Windsor amps are designed with EL34s to sound like a classic Marshall. And Peavey is known for very good quality.
If you are looking for that classic "British" tone, this might do it well. I wish they had this in a combo amp.
I have also been looking at the Peavey Classic 30, this is an outstanding amp, also with the EL84s that have such a great clean tone. This amp has a great overdrive channel too.
And of course, the Fender HRD is a great tube amp with an outstanding clean channel. The Drive channels are nothing to write home about. I would go with the reissue Blues Deluxe. They didn't have this when I got the HRD or I would have gone with the BD. The BD has a great Blues channel overdrive. You can get distortions with either amp with pedals.
So once again, it is not tube amps that are the problem, it is Marshall's quality. These amps are very expensive compared to other amps, they should be great quality. But they're not. :x
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
I've repaired too many DSLs to diagree with Wes, bad design but good sound, Might I recommend a JCM 900 dual reverb combo? I have the 4100 half stack and I beat the snot out of the head and no problems!
Another really great unknown amp is a Traynor Mark III from the seventies, Loud, clean and very responsive to pedals, they have been described as Twin Reverbs on steroids.
I've heard that they were originally designed as rental units and are really robust amps, Pete Traynor once dropped one off a two story building, picked it up and played it. Downside, it's really REALLY heavy!
Back cracking, hernia heavy!
Pluses, can be had for about $300 to $400 USD, common components for ease of repair, huge trannys that take a lot of abuse. I think that they are one of the best kept secrets out there.
They are kinda hard to find, being a Canadian company, maybe one of our Canadian members can find one?
The PlexiPalace forums have a lot of resources on thes and other vintage Traynors, if you are curious also.
BTW, did I mention that they are HEAVY and LOUD!
When I die, I want to go peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather, not screaming......
like the passengers in his car.
Racetruck, are those things heavy? Are they loud?
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
I agree with the poor quality of Marshalls.
I have never owned one, though I have heard MANY horror stories of their quality issues and of Marshall's less then stellar
standing behind their product.
I did some research on Marshall when I was extremely interested in getting a 1974x tube amp.
Sounds great.... Breaks down a lot.
I think all of Wes's recomendations are pretty good choices.
(I'm not familliar with the Windsor though)
After playing tons of Fender reissue amps, I came to appreciate the HRD the most.
It was much warmer than any of their older style reissue types.
I never played a BD, though I do prefer the old tweed look over the plastic HRD.
I have heard though that the BD's OD channel was pretty useless.
And that the amp actually breaks up at moderate volumes on the CLEAN channel.
People have complained of a lack of headroom.
I think that would be a good thing myself :twisted:
Can't comment on Traynor amps
The tube amp I'd like to try would be the Epi Blues Custom 30.
Throw in a pair of Celestion Alnico Blue speakers and.... :wink:
Ken
"The man who has begun to live more seriously within
begins to live more simply without"
-Ernest Hemingway
"A genuine individual is an outright nuisance in a factory"
-Orson Welles
After lots of research on a tube amp in the $300-$500 range I came across-
-Fender Blues Jr.
-Crate Palomino V32 or V16
If you want a small practice tube amp a V16 or Blues Jr would be good...but if you're gonna gig, 15W might be a bit too small. So the V32 may be a strong option.
Another really great unknown amp is a Traynor Mark III from the seventies, Loud, clean and very responsive to pedals, they have been described as Twin Reverbs on steroids.
Pluses, can be had for about $300 to $400 USD, common components for ease of repair, huge trannys that take a lot of abuse. I think that they are one of the best kept secrets out there.
They are kinda hard to find, being a Canadian company, maybe one of our Canadian members can find one?
The PlexiPalace forums have a lot of resources on thes and other vintage Traynors, if you are curious also.
BTW, did I mention that they are HEAVY and LOUD!
I just looked one up on eBay and the head unit is going for $777 !!!! :shock:
I'll have to take a look at some options... I was looking at the smaller Traynor amps, like the Custom Valve 20 and 40. Here is an example: http://cgi.ebay.com/Tube-amp-Traynor-2x10-Combo_W0QQitemZ140156543225QQihZ004QQcategoryZ10171QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
The one nice thing about the Performer 1000 is that it is CRAZY loud. I mean, we are talking LOUD. I haven't been able to turn it up past 2 so far. 2 !!!! :shock: :twisted: :shock:
-=- Steve
"If the moon were made of ribs, would you eat it?"
That Traynor is a good amp, make a bid and good luck. I personally love 2 X 10 amps, much richer deep end than a 1 X 12 and not so heavy as a 2 X 12. Hard to find.
Don't be afraid to go with a 15 or 20 watt amp. These amps are quite powerful and can be used for 90% of gigs. At larger venues you just put a mic on it and run it into the PA. These amps are smaller and more portable, so you are more likely to throw it on the back seat of your car and run over to a friend's house for a jam. You are not gonna do that with a 4 X 12 stack. :roll:
By the way, I got my amp fixed (for now). I took the head out this weekend. I was debating whether to pull the tubes and speaker and throw the rest out, this amp has been a lot of trouble. But I looked at the PCB a few times and found a wire that was extremely loose, connected to another failed solder. What the heck, I pulled the board out and did a total resolder. I plugged the amp in and couldn't believe it, it fired up!
I also got a bit of a shock when I accidentally touched a capacitor. :shock:
Since then it has played fine. I tell ya, I'm gonna be a qualified amp tech before I'm finished with this amp. :D
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
re: traynor
You'll have to come up to Canada for a vacation.
I don't think I've been in a shop lately that didn't have a used Traynor amp or 2 around. :P
I wrapped a newspaper ’round my head
So I looked like I was deep
I won the Traynor amp auction. $340 for a "like new" YCV40 all-tube Traynor amp with two Celestion 10" speakers and 40-watts of power. I'm psyched!
I'll give you all a review once I received it.
-=- Steve
"If the moon were made of ribs, would you eat it?"
Good deal man! Congrats.
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
