Need New Guitar Amp: brutha's recommend!

[Antero]

Oh, also, Reverend makes good stuff.

[lonesome_tone]

Crate dude? You can't be serious. Or was that a joke for all the boutique recommendin' folks here.

If you want something from the 70s thats affordable and reliable you can't get something with any collector cachet.

Get a silverface fender (I have a twin, got it for $600, it's worth every penny) if you want something more on the clean side of things.

Get a Naylor if you want something that does a very respectable Marshall esque sound for very little scratch.

Just please don't buy a Crate.

[Zeppelin4Life]

Get a silverface fender (I have a twin, got it for $600, it's worth every penny)

Just please don't buy a Crate.

+1

[JasonW]

Save more cash and buy into the new Randall RM4 modular system. I'm still creaming my proverbial jeans over this rig!

[lonesome_tone]

The 'modular' thing has been tried. I believe it was Trace Elliot that did it first about 15 maybe more years ago. I think its a cool idea, but it didn't seem to catch on. If I really wanted that kind of variation, I think I'd buy a Univalve.

[Catoogie]

Crate dude? You can't be serious.

I am dead serious! What amps have you owned? I've owned tons of amps, so many that I operated an amp rental company for studios at one point. That is until the headaches became too much. Anyway.

For an inexpensive amp with GREAT tone I HIGHLY reccomend Crate amps. Have you even listened to one? I mean used your ears and not your preconcieved notions and REALLY heard one?

As I said, I heard Billy Gibbons through one of the new ones and it ROCKED!!! A very good friend of mine, Paul Hammond (who some people on here may have heard of for being not only an amazing electronics repair/design guy but also an amazing guitarists with great ears and who owns stacks of old Plexi & Metal Face Marshalls, Tweed Twins, real AC-30's etc AND owns Fat City studios, regularly plays through a little 1x10" 15 watt Crate Vintage Club and it kills.

Although I'm convinced that tone is in the player and not the amp. I boldly say that I'm known in my musical circle for having really good tone and I get it from everything I play through, be it a Fender Pro JR., Hiwatts, Tweed Supers, JTM-45's, Supros/Gretschs/Nationals/Silvertones, VHT Pitbull #19, etc... I know great tone and I stand by my assertion that Crate amps can be great amps.

How about this? Check out the Tech 21 Trademark amps. They're awesome!! And before you go off and try and get all tonally superior, ever heard David Hidalgo of Los Lobos play through his? FUCKING AWESOME!!! That guy knows tone AND gear, he could use anything and he chose to use Tech 21 amps regularly live and on their last album.

By they way, I am not inot silverface Twins for the most part, BUT Naylors are WAAAAAAAAAAY cool. One of my favorite players, Kenny Vaughan, uses a Super 60.

[ottokbre]

I'de easily take a crate Vintage Club over a silverface anything when it comes to sound. I've played 'em all, and Crates dont sound nearly as stiff as the silverface amps do. There is a reason they got an endorsment from Mark Knophler.

[lonesome_tone]

well, if you're not willing to listen to advice, why are you asking what amp to buy? buy the crate, dude.

[Catoogie]

well, if you're not willing to listen to advice, why are you asking what amp to buy? buy the crate, dude.

The Crate was just one of a number of suggestions. You were the one so critical and quick to dismiss them for some reason. I actually don't mind some of the silverface Fenders, the Deluxe, Vibrolux, Super and Bandmasters were still pretty cool as silverfaces. I do think the Silverface Twin is stiff and sterile but that's just my opinion. And you know what they say about opinions.

[ottokbre]

well, if you're not willing to listen to advice, why are you asking what amp to buy? buy the crate, dude.

no, just your opinions from now on

[bluespkr75]

Crate certainly has had a reputation of making the amp that mom and dad bought for their kid who thought he might want to play but threw it in the back of his closet instead. The v series amps are a whole different story though...especially the v30. You are making a huge mistake if you don't atleast try one out. Take a look at it closely if you do. You won't find Crate written on it anywhere. I PROMISE you that there is no amp in the same class and price range that will even come close to the sound of the Crate V30.

[monkeyboy]

Although, not my favorite amp manufacturer. The Laney VC30 series, which is basically an ac30 class A copy is very economical and has come recommended from several people.

It's basically the ac30 on the cheap.


http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=lan ... a=N&tab=wf

good luck

[moogrock]

the crate vintage clubs are the under-rated dirty step children of the amp game.
yes crate has a TERRRRIBLE reputation because they make TERRRIBLE amps typically but that series is gooooood...
i see 'em all the time at music go round for 200-400 bucks in all sorts of variations and am consistantly impressed by them...

i will agree that its no dr z or matchless but it is SELLING FOR 200 bucks!
for pure price to quality they are amazing... .
and i keep almost buying one as a backup for touring or just to have something else sitting around...

the crate vintage clubs SLAY the peavey classics (the only other amp in the same price range)...

at this point id say just look for a solid deal or buy as youve gotten a TON of solid advice on here...

[E.Bennett]

70's ampeg vt-22 (2x12) or vt-40 (4x10)

[Marc Alan Goodman]

I don't know much about crates, but in that price range I'd suggest (or second suggestions for)

Fender Silverface Vibrolux or Delux reverb - both great amps, both pretty much the same as their blackface counterparts, and both can be found for about $500 if you're lucky and don't mind that they've had some beers spilled on them over the years.

Vox AC-15 reissue - Korg made these in the late ninetys. I have one and LOVE it, and if you're lucky you might find one in the $500-600 range. The only problem is that it compounds the fact that VOXs are shoddily built with the fact that KORG now owns them. In other words, it breaks twice a week, and if you even want to change a fuse you have to tear the whole thing appart and get to the circut board. I got mine originally for only $700, but by now I've prob knocked that price up to $1100 or so.

Peavy Classic Series - Great amps for your buck. Somebody posted earlier about looking for a used older one, and since i haven't heard the new ones I can only make that same suggestion.

If you're in DC and you're struggling to find something you should make a road trip up to NYC at some point and visit some friends. While there you can stop in about 4 or 5 different awesome vintage shops and try some things out, figure out what you like. Then go home and find one cheaper.

-marc