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I've been amp shopping for about a week now trying out everything I come across. I've become something of a fanatic for el-84 amps, I just love the tone of EL84's so I checked out every amp I could find that was el84 powered... Fender Blues Jr., Peavey Classic 30, Vox AC30 and AC15, Marshall DSL 401, Dr. Z Maz 18 Maz 38 and Carman Gia, Bad Cat Cub II, Orange AD30, and some various others. I was in Guitar Center on my lunch break today and came across a Crate Palomino 32. I blew it off at first simply because it was a Crate which is kinda like the Daewoo of guitar amps IMO. But I decided to check it out and I was blown away! This is a very nice sounding amp! its got a great clarity to it and a nice complex tube swirl to the tone. I'm still a little surprised at the tone of this thing, who would've thought that Crate would make something that actually sounded good! Now, Granted it doesn't have the sweetness that my Bad Cat had, or the Dr. Z's, but at $599 it costs less than half as much as either of those and I've yet to play anything in its price range that comes close! I'm seriously thinking about picking one of these up for my next gigging amp Highly recommended
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A lot of people have been really surprised at how good those amps sound. I haven't yet tried one though.
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Yeah, it's a nice amp. Crate has a few other nice ones, you just have to stay away from their solid state practice amps.
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Crate has really good crack in their distorted channels...not something I would use alone, but I think if it were mixed with another signal from a good tube it would sound pretty sweet.
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I was also impressed with this amp. I didn't like the color though. Crate makes on non-Guitar Center model that is virtually the same except for the black tolex & grill cloth. One bad thing that I've hear was that it is hard to change tubes on them because you have to drop the chassis to get at the tubes.
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Crate has a few other nice ones, you just have to stay away from their solid state practice amps. Not to be a snob or anything, but IMO anything that is solid state is something to stay away from
I was also impressed with this amp. I didn't like the color though. Crate makes on non-Guitar Center model that is virtually the same except for the black tolex & grill cloth. One bad thing that I've hear was that it is hard to change tubes on them because you have to drop the chassis to get at the tubes.
I've also heard that everything is mounted directly to the board which is a big concern
I was wondering if the black tolex v30 model was the same as the palomino. Personally I think the palomino is about the ugliest amp I've ever seen
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Originally Posted by metropolis4 Not to be a snob or anything, but IMO anything that is solid state is something to stay away from
Not necessarily. A good tube amp is something to appreciate, but some SS amps are nice.
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I, too, have tried out and been impressed with the newer Crate tube amps...which is saying a lot as I am normally not a fan of the brand.
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Originally Posted by metropolis4 Not to be a snob or anything, but IMO anything that is solid state is something to stay away from Heh...not a fan of that BB King or Pat Metheny tone eh?
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Originally Posted by thesteve Heh...not a fan of that BB King or Pat Metheny tone eh? Not for my playing style and situations, no Great tone for those guys and great tone period, but not the right sound for every style/playing situation.
What matters is what works for you. There are lots of jazz players that have great tone from solid state amps... But its not a tone that I would like to have for my style or playing needs. It really depends on the style and setting. Jazz is a style that works well with solid state (though I would say that personally I think that a black face Fender is a better tone for that style IMO Bill Frizzell uses Deluxe Reverb's and I like his tone much better than Metheny's.
Personally I can hear and feel too much of a difference when I'm the one playing through the amp with my style to be able to ever use a solid state amp. It feels lifeless to play through and doesn't have the tonal complexity that tubes have... there's just something about tube tone that solid state and digital aren't able to capture yet... Just my personal opinion, if it works for you thats great
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Originally Posted by metropolis4 Personally I can hear and feel too much of a difference when I'm the one playing through the amp with my style to be able to ever use a solid state amp. It feels lifeless to play through and doesn't have the tonal complexity that tubes have... there's just something about tube tone that solid state and digital aren't able to capture yet... Just my personal opinion, if it works for you thats great have you played through any bi-fet or mosfet based SS amps?
I definitely agree it's a personal style issue, but I also know that it seems that the complaints you have I've only experienced with budget-priced SS amps. With the Acoustic 150, I really don't feel I'm missing any of the "tonal complexity" or responsiveness that my old tube amp had. It's not going to have the the slightly saturated tone of a small tube amp, as that's something only small amps have, but at 110W, it nails the loud Fender cleans, and the reverb is a whole other story. I don't feel uncomfortable about comparing it to a Twin Reverb at all.
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Tech 21
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Originally Posted by CortLegacy Tech 21
You can do much better, even SS wise than Tech 21...
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i've eased my stance on the great SS/tube debate. with my SS amp, i can get some really great sounds. i think a big part of the reason most SS amps don't compare to a good tube amp is because they tend to be cheaply made and engineered.
as for digital, while it may be the "best" of both worlds, i'm not a fan. as an electrical engineer-in-training, i'm fast growing tired of having to deal with digital computer circuits. give me some solid state goodness...something that i don't have to scrap if it breaks...
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Originally Posted by What5647 i think a big part of the reason most SS amps don't compare to a good tube amp is because they tend to be cheaply made and engineered. This is also the stance of Award-Session, one of a small number of SS amp manufacturers that takes pride in their products and uses top quality components to match.