Most Versatile Studio Amp to Buy???

[alexdingley]

Hey there,

I'm more of an engineer / synth guy / audio editor type, and less of an instrumentalist. Recently, I was given my grandfather's vintage telecaster, and it's in great shape! I'm super-excited about having it for my own playing / recording, but also for artists that I record in my home studio.

The big question for me is: rather than always relying on amp modeling in Logic / Pro Tools, what would be a really great small amp to buy for recording? My first thought is that it's easy to go buy a Line6 or Vox modeling amp... but is there anything small that I can get which just provides some really wonderful tone and a little versatility for different genres?

[Burnt Ernie]

Fender Deluxe Reverb. Around 18-22 watts with a tube rectifier,so it can be clean and glassy,or you can wind it up a little,and get some great power tube distortion/compression without the blistering volume. If you want even smaller,Fender Champ,Princeton/Princeton reverb are awesome.
If you like champs,there's a ton of other manufacters that make identicals to champs-supro,epiphone,magnatone,valco,gibson,etc. Jimmy Page did a ton of yardbirds/early zep with a tele and a supro (fender champ clone)

[Ryan Silva]

I have a few guitar amps at my place, but the one that gets the most 'All around' use, would be my Fender Blues Jr. NOS (deluxe nowadays)

Great reverb, basic EQ control, good from complete tube saturation to open clean tones.

[kslight]

I love my 59 Reissue Fender Bassman. I'm also fond of the Roland JC 120.

[digitaldrummer]

+1 for the blues junior. I also have an Egnater Tweaker combo - it's really versatile too.

Mike

[nick_a]

+1. Blues junior is really the way to go. super easy to mess with, get different vibes from, and not blasting loud.

[jgimbel]

Alex, hey from another person in the Greater Philadelphia area! Hope you're safe from the hurricane/tornados last night.

I'll second the Deluxe Reverb or Blues Jr. Either of those amps can do a nice clean so you can use pedals if you need a heavier sound. IMO it's easy to find a wide variety of great dirty tube sounds, but finding a really nice clean sound that's clean without being sterile is harder to find. The Deluxe Reverb is great for it.

I had a Blues Jr. a few years ago and ended up not being a big fan, the one I had definitely had that "ice pick high" syndrome. But lately I've been trying the newest version (Blues Jr. III) and they're making me question getting a Deluxe Reverb..seriously. The reverb sounds amazing, and it's got a really great clean sound, and the drive on it is a million times better than what all those Hot Rod series amps had.

I've got a few amps here - A 60's Ampeg Reverberocket II, an earlyish 70's Fender Bassman 50, a Vox Pathfinder, a couple kind of grungy amps (two Danelectro Dirty 30s and an Electar Tube 10), and as of last week an Epiphone Valve Senior that I got in a trade. The people who want a vintage sound and use the Ampeg or Fender are always happy with the sound, but the Pathfinder gets used more often. Generally into a 1x12 cab I built, sometimes into a 4x10. I suspect the Epiphone will get used a lot now because it has a nice clean sound and can overdrive to around a Vox higher gain setting. Reverb is kind of like a darker version of a Deluxe Reverb. But if I had a Deluxe Reverb, there's a good chance I wouldn't hold onto the Epiphone, except maybe as a backup.

If I could have one amp and didn't need a bass amp, I'd have the Deluxe Reverb. I have the Bassman because I loved the Deluxe Reverb but needed something that would work with bass too.

[Producer/Engineer]

I used the Fender Blues Jr. for a while, but found that I had to "crank it" up to get the tube saturation that I was looking for out of it.

After doing a lot of research and trying out many low wattage tube amps I found the Blackstar HT5 head (combined with the cabinet of your choice) to be fantastic at any volume and provide a beautiful clean as well as creamy distortion, British, American, or with the "ISF" knob... anywhere in between!

Very happy user here!

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/HT5H/

[witchfeet]

Reeves Custom 12 looks pretty sweet to me. I want one bad.

I've had a Blues Jr, it's an ok amp. Nothing special really. If I was going Fender I'd get a Deluxe Reverb. Although, I have an Orange Rocker 30 and it's a really versatile amp and you can get them pretty cheap. It's leagues above a Blues Jr in the tone department. Great clean, great mid-gain, great hi-gain. No mods needed. Add some nice NOS preamp tubes and you're set. If you want reverb get a pedal.

I don't see Fender amps as versatile at all. They are really good at one thing, ok at the rest.

[Tragabigzanda]

I love a Fender champ, but the best all-around guitar amp I've found is by Sonicord. Pete Weiss has one at Verdant, and I just found myself going back to it again and again. You can get some grit if you really crank it, but really what it does so well is let the guitars and pedals sing the way they're meant to. Super rich tone, no unwanted overdrive---like I said, you've got push it to get it---and just really versatile for all sorts of music. I can't remember the model number, but it's a single speaker, maybe 12"?

I don't know anything about the company, maybe Pete could fill you in, if google is no help? But definitely worth checking out. I'm still often disappointed by other amps, and I haven't had the chance to use Pete's Sonicord for over a year now.

[blungo2]

My all time favorite guitar amp is an old Newcomb H-10 PA head, goes from pretty clean to nice and gritty without blowing your head off. Not for metal though...

I've had bassmans (bassmen?), champs, etc. but i strongly prefer the newcomb, something about the way it's natural compression interacts with your playing. It's kinda magical IMHO.

[Gregg Juke]

The Fender Blues Jr. is coolio. Also, I recently picked-up a Vox AC4TV mini.
Tube amp, extremely compact. I can only imagine that a Tele would some amazing... (Actually, I don't have to imagine, because my buddy played his through it and it was great):

www.voxamps.com/modernclassic/ac4tvmini/

Also, don't overlook the minis' (real mini-amps; $20-$50 range like Honeytone, Fender [various "mini-models"], and Marshall). they're very small, and great for recording...

GJ

[weatherbox]

Blues JR in the inexpensive camp for sure. It looks like it's part of the Hot Rod series of amps, but sounds better.

In the more spendy realm, Dr Z amps are great. The Maz 18 is my generic answer anytime someone asks what amp to get. Think of it as 65% Deluxe Reverb and 35% AC15. Well made, not insultingly expensive, sounds great with any guitar or pedal you plug into it, doesn't have to be stupid loud (but certainly can be.) Comes in 2x10 and 1x12; friend has the 12" and I had the 10" - the 2x10 is my preference.

[vvv]

I vote the Fender Pro, Jr.

And I can't believe no one did before me!

[jgimbel]

Blues JR in the inexpensive camp for sure. It looks like it's part of the Hot Rod series of amps, but sounds better.

True, the Blues Jr.s have always sounded better than the rest of the Hot Rod amps that are higher in the line. I mentioned this earlier but figured I should expand on it, for those who don't know (I only found out from seeing them in a store) they now have the "Hot Rod III" line which has replaced the regular Hot Rod. I guess that saw that EVERYONE hated the "drive" channel on the Hot Rod Deluxes and set out to improve them. I still don't love the drive channel of them, but they're way better than they were before. But one of the Hot Rod III amps I tried is the newer Blues Jr III, and jesus christ those things sound great. I've had my eye on a DRRI for a long time now as I always know what to expect with them, love the sound, and I've loved the sound every time I've recorded a client's. The only thing about them is that they have a vintagey sound. Obviously that's the point, and I LOVE it about them, but vintage isn't right for everything. To my, the DRRI is what a guitar should sound like for a vintage sound. And the Blues Jr III I tried is what a guitar should sound like for a normal sound. Not necessarily "modern" or anything, definitely very versatile, just not specifically vintage sounding. I've now screwed myself because I'm not sure which I want!

I vote the Fender Pro, Jr.

And I can't believe no one did before me!

When I was playing in a band with Tape Op's ipressrecord at practices I would play through his Pro Jr. through an isocab with the door open, with a cheap (but very nice!) Squier Strat, and that was another amazing combo. I kind of feel like the Pro Jr is the Champ of today. Simple amp, just sounds great, the end.