Most Versatile Studio Amp to Buy???

[Brett Siler]

I'm also fond of the Roland JC 120.

I really like mine as well. I have played on many different amp but i keep coming back to the JC120. It just takes pedals so well. It's a clean pallet that you can add whatever you want to it.

[Nick Sevilla]

http://www.fender.com/products/hotrod/m ... No=2230200

The hot rod. I have the second model version. It has already blown away half a dozen "real" guitarists which I overdubbed on different albums since I bought it a couple of years ago.

If you want a really small amp, get a Crate VC508 amp. I own two, they rock.

Cheers

[witchfeet]

I don't get people recommending Fenders as versatile amps?! They are great for clean, but don't give the compressed floating lower-upper mid sound of a British amp's overdrive, even with pedals. They have such a scooped tone in general. The BJ is I guess the least Fendery of the newer Fenders. Good amps, but no way would I get that as my only amp if I was looking for versatility.

That said, you can mod a blackface Bassman head to have a Fender channel and a Marshall channel w/ a post PI master. Now that's versatile to me. Add a Weber attenuator and that would be one killer amp with a lot of range.

Anyways, I find two channel Oranges the most versatile amps available right now. The new Matamp minimat range looks amazing to me as well if you are looking for low wattage. Specifically the 3G.

Stay away from Vox for versatility. They do Vox and only Vox. Kind of the same thing with any Marshall worth owning.

I'm babbling. haha. I'm an amp addict if you can't tell.

[Nick Sevilla]

@ Witchfeet :

Listen to Magnification, by Yes.

Do you know Steve Howe?

Fender guy. On tour he was kinda forced to use Line6 amps, but mainly because it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep his old Twins road worthy.

Fender not versatile? Yeah.... Right.

I am a Fender fanboy...

[roygbiv]

Like Nick, I too am a Fender Fanboi - I agree with him - they can be very versatile amps if used with the right pedals (over the years I've had Bassmans, Musicmasters, Twins, 75's, SuperChamps, etc.). At the moment I have a 74 Vibro Champ, a 1968 Princeton Reverb, and 1970 Pro Reverb. And yet.... every time I see an older Fender Amp on Craigslist, I want to buy it. Why do I have this disease?)

Anyway, I am posting to agree with this aspect of witchfeet's post:

... you can mod a blackface Bassman head to have a Fender channel and a Marshall channel w/ a post PI master. Now that's versatile to me. Add a Weber attenuator and that would be one killer amp with a lot of range...

I actually had this exact setup back in the early 80's, when I worked at a music store and our amp-tech-guru guy (who was really good) would do all sorts of twakes for me. He set the above-mentioned arrangement up almost exactly as describe above, except that since this was pre-Weber attenuator days, he just hooked up a big power-soak resistor thingy in the back for volume attenuation). Ran it into one of those closed-back, black, square 80's Fender cabinets with two EV force speakers

It was indeed a very versatile amp set-up. Great Fender cleans, and switching over to the "Marshall" channel you could definitely get that early Marshall type-crunch/chug (think Ted Nugent. Without his shirt on. Holding a bow and arrow. Sweaty. Now try to get that image out of your mind.).

Anyway, OP (and witchfeet, since you are a self-confessed amp addict), as far as versatile amps - you might want to consider the Mesa Boogie TA-30:



read about it here:
http://www.mesaboogie.com/Product_Info/ ... TA-30.html

or check out some of the different sounds in the following vids:
http://www.mesaboogie.com/Product_Info/ ... tml#gpm1_4

I saw Phil Shoemaker playing one in Nebraska this summer (Phil's a rock god of the prairie, Charlie Burton's former guitarist). He is an incredible player with great tone, and with this amp he was covering many different styles, at a near conversation-level volume.

So when I got back to Oregon I checked one out at a local Guitar Center. I remained impressed, i.e., it wasn't just Phil's talent! Although I normally am NOT a fan of Boogies (had a couple, didn't like the tone), this TA-30 thingy seems to be a different beast - a very cool, versatile little amp, should work great in a studio.

[Trick Fall]

I am seriously intrigued by that transatlantic amp.FWIW knave a blackstar ht5, fender drri and champ, and a Marshall jcm 800. Out of those the blackstar may be the most versatile but the others probably do one single thing better. Te blackstar can do it's bring at a pretty low volume if that's an issue. Also I dont have any current modeling software, but i do have a tech 21 Leeds character series pedal and I use it a lot and not just when volume is an issue. I find it really good for quickly getting a decent sound and also for layering parts.

[Nick Sevilla]

I don't get people recommending Fenders as versatile amps?! They are great for clean, but don't give the compressed floating lower-upper mid sound of a British amp's overdrive, even with pedals.

[Ryan Silva]

One other aspect of 'Versatility'

repairs:

How many folks can repair a Fender tube amp with competence in a hurry?

now

How many people can repair a boutique amp under the same circumstances?

Feel free to rip this one apart. Just saying.

[sears]

Also, I recently picked-up a Vox AC4TV mini.

I just bought one too. It feels good to play and mics up right nice.

Otherwise, you can't go wrong with an old Bassman. They sound fine at low volumes too. Or you can crank it and turn the volume of the guitar almost all the way down. Or just crank it. It takes pedals perfectly too. Big, fast and relatively cheap.

[metanoiastudios]

Also, I recently picked-up a Vox AC4TV mini.

I just bought one too. It feels good to play and mics up right nice.

Otherwise, you can't go wrong with an old Bassman. They sound fine at low volumes too. Or you can crank it and turn the volume of the guitar almost all the way down. Or just crank it. It takes pedals perfectly too. Big, fast and relatively cheap.

Been wondering about the Bassmans myself. I want something that'll sound great for clean tones, but can also double as a bass amp, and this seems to fit the bill. At the same time I'd rather not deal with an old amp that'll require a lot of maintenance, so one question I'm having is: IS there such a thing that'll capture the tonality of those old Bassman amps, being produced today?

[vvv]

That exact question I can't answer, but lemme say I'm very happy with my old Musicman HD-130 head, and it does. I hear good things about the combo's, also, and they tend to cost alittle more than half as much as the similar Fenders. (A HD-130 just went US$400 on the evilbay, I saw a comparable Bassman at around US$700.)

[vxboogie]

That exact question I can't answer, but lemme say I'm very happy with my old Musicman HD-130 head, and it does. I hear good things about the combo's, also,

I played a HD-130 212 for about 15 years and they are great, very well built amps. Definitely a very clean amp. I didn't like it for distortion though since they have a solid state preamp section. I always played it clean and used a stomp box for distortion. After that I moved to a smaller 1-12 amp(Mesa Boogie DC-3).

[vvv]

I used to play guitar through it with a open-back 2x12" with Celestions I made outta a blown Peavey Special - I always said it sounds better'n any Twin I ever played. A Chandler tube pedal in the front for distortion ...

Now I use it for bass with a 1x12" ported EV/Bag End (altho' I just scored a RH 65 1x15" bottom!) and it nails the bigger Bassman tones.

[unchartedthickets]

i've paired down and now really use only three amps.
1- 75' Fender Champ
2 - 62' Univox
3 - 90' somethin Crate VC 20

i keep them in shape and they sound pretty. not much live playing except the Crate. for recording they're all mint. They all take pedals. The Crate has a beautiful reverb clean sound. The Champ is good all around. Teh Univox has a creamy Mullard tube sound that's really full but very mid range; beautiful on the chords and cranked
distortion.

i'd recommend a few amps. they don't have to cost a lot. just play them and hear what you're trying to get. it's taken me 20+ years to get an assortment of go to players. i'd also recommend a Gorilla 10W for in your face squall.

[linus]

I'll vote fender. I've used a silverface vibrolux reverb more than anything else for recording for years. It sounds great for clean to chunky rhythm plugged straight in. It takes pedals amazingly well. A MXR Dynacomp for slightly compressed rhythm or cleaner lead. A TS808 for harder rhythm and biting lead. An EH Big Muff PI for heavy searing lead. Ad a Mutron Octave Divider and it sounds like the transformer is melting. Absolutely amazing.

I also have a modded (to make the background noise quieter) Epi Jr. It does a vox-like chimey clean well. I also got the Vox TV4 head and 1x12 cab. It sounds GREAT and handles pedals well. I've never recorded with it though.