Question:
Next year, I will most likely be working full time for a year and I thought that perhaps I should start investing in some decent gear. I've figured that the first thing I'm going to need is an amp, since I don't have one that I can use in a live situation. I don't want to spend too much money, but on the other hand, I want something really decent (a tube amp most probably) that I'll be able to use for a few years. I'm not looking for anything bigger than a decent sized combo. I want something that sounds good for indie rock and the like, but something where I can get some pretty decent distortion out of it as well.
I know next to nothing about amps, so if someone can help me get started in thinking about what I want, I'd really appreciate it.
Answer:
fender blues jr is amazing, just no distortion. you should look at like the peavey classic 30. that's pretty sweet, and definitely has OD/DS.
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Peavey Classic 30.
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Pretty decent... as in Pedro the Lion, or as in Soundgarden? And give us a price range to work with.
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Decent as in Explosions in the Sky or possibly Mogwai. As for the price range, under $1000 AU would be excellent. I'm probably willing to go up to $1500 but $1000 is preferable.
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well, orange is right out, as well as most mesa's and marshalls... (maybe a used rectoverb, also a DS401 runs about 800 USD (not sure what that is in AUD)... umm... B52 makes a great 100w Combo in your range... Somebody said blues jr, and peavey classic 30, all good, maybe a peavey valveking... the only brand i'd say that is right out is orange.... i'd suggest going and visiting some music stores and shopping around, you said you have about 6 months...
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For what it's worth, according to Guitargeek (which is usually pretty accurate), this was Stewart Braithwaite's rig in 2000.
http://guitargeek.com/rigview/327/
I don't know about the Bassman, but the Twin Reverb can definitely be found used inside your price range. From what I've read, the Danelectro Fab Tone is where he gets that huge wall of sound from.
They didn't have anythig for EITS
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Explosions in the Sky The guys at Geekchat are usually pretty right on.
Also, I would suggest some sort of mid 70's silverface fender amp (Twin or Bassman). You can generally find something for around $700-$1000 USD, and it seems like that's more the direction you're looking with amp sounds anyways.
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Originally Posted by Griffon Explosions in the Sky The guys at Geekchat are usually pretty right on.
Also, I would suggest some sort of mid 70's silverface fender amp (Twin or Bassman). You can generally find something for around $700-$1000 USD, and it seems like that's more the direction you're looking with amp sounds anyways. indeed. Something to consider is that rom what I understand bands like Mogwai and Explosions in the Sky get their tonal "wall of sound" by having a literal wall of sound at their disposal.
Both of these amp suggestions would be great though. I was sort of alluding towards them, but for some reason it didnt' strike me to just outright say it.
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yeah, big speakers and big distortion boxes and reverb = big wall of sound.
a big muff into a twin reverb would get you something you might like. Don't underestimate the role of Fuzz pedals in these guy's sounds. And you'll want to crank the amps if you can, volume is important.
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Originally Posted by Griffon yeah, big speakers and big distortion boxes and reverb = big wall of sound.
a big muff into a twin reverb would get you something you might like. Don't underestimate the role of Fuzz pedals in these guy's sounds. And you'll want to crank the amps if you can, volume is important.
cranking the amp is less for volume than for tube saturation, any venue where he needs to be loud he'll be mic'd... and i love my ibanez fuzz...
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Originally Posted by AXguitar cranking the amp is less for volume than for tube saturation, any venue where he needs to be loud he'll be mic'd... and i love my ibanez fuzz... When you're using amps like the Fender Twin Reverb, or any of the high wattage Fender Silverface era amps, you're doing it for volume. There's a reason Fender was making amps like the Super Bassman (100 or 135W according to time period), Super Six Reverb (100 or 135W), Twin Reverb (100 or 135W according to time period) Dual Showman (100 or 135W) and the Super Twin/Twin Reverb (180W). All of these, except the Super Twin/TR are considered silverface era Fenders. The Super Twin/TR coudl be considered the same era, but doesn't actually have the silverface.
Another set of choices that we haven't mentioned Griffon is the Ampeg V-4 or VT-22 amps. Either of those are quite known for their wall of sound capabilities.
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It's for both actually, but mostly for volume, and the way the volume reacts with the guitar and the fuzz boxes. The silverface amps are known (and infamous) for their clean headroom, they really don't like to break up. Same with the Ampeg combos thesteve mentioned. Great for tons of volume and a good representation of the fuzz box you're running through it.
Perhaps it's also a good time to mention Sunn amps. The beta lead, while solid state, has a very good reputation. They've also got a few tube heads. I haven't looked at the going rate recently though....they're built with the "loud but clean" philosophy in mind.
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hmm... i never knew that... i'm more familiar with modern amps.... but hey if they're loud enough to rock a venue then cool for that, but it does make me wonder how that will affect the mix... btw what's the time period on that?
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The silver face amps were the late 60's up into (I think) the early 80's. It was when CBS bought fender and build quality purportedly dropped. They don't break up, so they're not sought after by most traditional players, but some indy and noise bands love them.