Guitar geeks, help me find an amp

chovie d · Post by **chovie d** » Fri Sep 15, 2006 10:54 am

lotta good suggestions already
I will third or fourth the avatar cabs, great product, great price, amazing customer service. PS he sells em brand new on ebay and has scratch and detns for even crazier deals.

For a real sleeper head check out the Guild Thunderbass head. 40 watts, plenty loud. awesome tone.

jaguarsg · Post by **jaguarsg** » Fri Sep 15, 2006 1:05 pm

workshed wrote:I haven't been too crazy about the bandmasters I've heard in the past, but I thought the Ampegs sound interesting.

i have an ampeg vt-22, the same circuit used in the V4 head. the ampegs are STUPID loud but totally clean. you'll need a pedal to get any gain with it.

workshed · Post by **workshed** » Fri Sep 15, 2006 1:10 pm

jaguarsg wrote:
workshed wrote:I haven't been too crazy about the bandmasters I've heard in the past, but I thought the Ampegs sound interesting.

i have an ampeg vt-22, the same circuit used in the V4 head. the ampegs are STUPID loud but totally clean. you'll need a pedal to get any gain with it.

I suspect they would sound like my old portaflex, which also required a pedal for any overdrive. That thing had some serious midrange presence though. Thanks for the heads up.

bocmaxima · Post by **bocmaxima** » Fri Sep 15, 2006 10:47 pm

workshed wrote:
bocmaxima wrote:I have an Avatar 4x12 cab that I run my '71 Orange head through, and I think it might have been one of the best purchases I have made in my life, maybe even moreso than the Orange.
Nice! Did you get it with greenbacks or celestions? Their prices are really good for the options they provide.

-Bret

I went with V30s on top and G12H30s on the bottom. Sounds great.

One tip, spend 9 bucks for the casters.

/dies

Everybody's X · Post by **Everybody's X** » Sat Sep 16, 2006 1:31 am

I recently got a sovtek mig 60 and am right in the middle of tracking a song with it. I am running it through a marshall 1960 slant cab with greenbacks, I think its sounds really good and very "marshall-ish" in fact I have a marshall 25/50 that sounds less marshally than it does.

http://www.everybodysx.com/music/today.mp3

please ignore the out of tune clean guitars and the scratch vox

the sovtek comes in at around :48 (the crunch gtrs)

I paid $350 for it

Johnny B · Post by **Johnny B** » Sat Sep 16, 2006 5:43 am

I've never heard a Univox I liked. I had a couple of their PA heads that were decent for rehearsal for the price. Any of the guitar amps I've heard have not been good. I had a friend who played one for years who always had terrible tone. It broke and the shop gave him a Fender as a loaner. Luckily, they never fixed his Univox and didn't ask for the loaner back because his sound improved 100%.

workshed · Post by **workshed** » Sat Sep 16, 2006 8:22 am

Everybody's X wrote:I recently got a sovtek mig 60 and am right in the middle of tracking a song with it. I am running it through a marshall 1960 slant cab with greenbacks, I think its sounds really good and very "marshall-ish" in fact I have a marshall 25/50 that sounds less marshally than it does.

http://www.everybodysx.com/music/today.mp3

please ignore the out of tune clean guitars and the scratch vox

the sovtek comes in at around :48 (the crunch gtrs)

I paid $350 for it

Wow, that sovtek does have a really nice sound to it. I'm sold. Are there different versions of Mig60s? I saw one on eBay that claimed to be an older version and, thus, better (according to the seller). I'm wondering if there is any credibility to that. Thanks for posting that sample, Everybody's X, it helped a lot.

-Bret

workshed · Post by **workshed** » Sat Sep 16, 2006 8:24 am

Johnny B wrote:I've never heard a Univox I liked. I had a couple of their PA heads that were decent for rehearsal for the price. Any of the guitar amps I've heard have not been good. I had a friend who played one for years who always had terrible tone. It broke and the shop gave him a Fender as a loaner. Luckily, they never fixed his Univox and didn't ask for the loaner back because his sound improved 100%.

Ha! Your friend scored! That is great to know, I will avoid Univox amps. I had a feeling that was the case.

-Bret

linus · Post by **linus** » Sat Sep 16, 2006 8:50 am

eh91311 wrote:
The sleeper hard-rock tube amp (on the west coast at least) are the late 80's early 90's Carvin X60 and X100B heads. They are virtually dirt cheap because most people hate them. They were made first with 6L6 tubes, later with EL34's. If you get a good one you're in luck.

Hate is an awfully strong word but I'm one of those people that really disliked the Carvin X100B that I had. Initially they seem like a great deal: multichannel, lots of EQ, various power levels. It had a great clean sound but it could not produce a convincing rock sound to save it's life. Definitely NOTHING like a Marshall. That was with a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe into a Celestan loaded 4X12 cab. It just sounded anemic. I have never missed it since selling it in the late 80s. I can't say the same for the JCM 800 series non-master I had, or the Mesa Boogie Mark IIB.

Someone already said it but it bears repeating, Sovteks might be what you are looking for on the cheap.

E-Rock · Post by **E-Rock** » Sat Sep 16, 2006 1:35 pm

Avatar cab with an old silverface Bassman head.
Add a killer pedal, iike the new Zvex Box of Rock and you've got a MEAN and nasty rig that will kick ass all over the place

Everybody's X · Post by **Everybody's X** » Sat Sep 16, 2006 10:09 pm

I have the "cuduno" model (the model the dude is talking shit on in that auction)

I doesnt actually say cuduno it says something in russian that looks like it says that

Anyway mine has a white face on it, 2 el34s 60 watts, built like a tank.

I have heard that the mig 100 is bunk and should be avoided.

Joe Barressi told me he loves the Mig 50, I think he knows what he's talking about.

Steve Albini has several over at electrical too, there's a lot of threads about sovteks on his forum.

eh91311 · Post by **eh91311** » Sat Sep 16, 2006 10:16 pm

linus wrote:
eh91311 wrote:
The sleeper hard-rock tube amp (on the west coast at least) are the late 80's early 90's Carvin X60 and X100B heads. They are virtually dirt cheap because most people hate them. They were made first with 6L6 tubes, later with EL34's. If you get a good one you're in luck.
Hate is an awfully strong word but I'm one of those people that really disliked the Carvin X100B that I had. Initially they seem like a great deal: multichannel, lots of EQ, various power levels. It had a great clean sound but it could not produce a convincing rock sound to save it's life. Definitely NOTHING like a Marshall. That was with a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe into a Celestan loaded 4X12 cab. It just sounded anemic. I have never missed it since selling it in the late 80s. I can't say the same for the JCM 800 series non-master I had, or the Mesa Boogie Mark IIB.

Someone already said it but it bears repeating, Sovteks might be what you are looking for on the cheap.

linus, I understand exactly what you mean about the Carvin X series amps. I didn't like my X60 or X100B until I had my amp guy change out the 6L6's with the EL34's. With the changeover, the cranked up amp sound is better, but it's not a Marshall or Boogie or boutique amp. It is what it is, a cheap amp made from cheap parts.

Everybody's X · Post by **Everybody's X** » Sat Sep 16, 2006 10:18 pm

this is it
http://www.electrical.com/image2fit.php ... /208-0.jpg

workshed · Post by **workshed** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 9:45 am

Thanks Dave for the pointers on the Electrical site. Someone just posted a Midget 50h for sale locally which I'm looking into right now. From what I've read online, they are a tiny version of the Mig50H, but according to one of the former Sovtek engineers, "has all the bugs worked out." Anyhow I'll let people know what I find.

Thanks,

-Bret

kayagum · Post by **kayagum** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 7:45 am

workshed wrote:Are there different versions of Mig60s? I saw one on eBay that claimed to be an older version and, thus, better (according to the seller). I'm wondering if there is any credibility to that. Thanks for posting that sample, Everybody's X, it helped a lot.

-Bret

I don't know which "version" is better, but the versions I've seen have to do with the dials & labels:

One version spells "Presence" as "Presense". Rubber/PVC knobs. I have this particular version, and it's great, clean or dirty! And I love the "Presense"- very X-Files!

Another version I've seen has Russian labels and chickenhead knobs. I'm pretty sure I've also seen English labels (with Presence properly spelled) with chickenhead knobs.

The MIG60 is versatile- multiple impedance outs are available, and it's voiced well so that the character of the speaker cabs come out. I've used mine with a Marshall 4x10, a Bassman 2x12, a Showman 2x15, and even a Weber 1x12 in a Fender cab. Dark and beefy, but not oppressive. And certainly more gutsy than the "precious" clean amp sound.

I think you can find these for cheap, but I've noticed a price boost lately. Got mine for $250, and I've seen them for as high as $600 recently.

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