oddball main amps (who uses one?)

nasonm · December 15th, 2004, 04:41 PM

I'm awaiting the arrival of my "new" (new to me at least) 1982 Fender London Reverb (bizarre 100 watt 1x12 solid state with push pulls all over the place, 5 band slider eq and 2 reverb tanks!)

I bought it for 2 reasons,
1) I've read that their great for clean playing (what I mostly do)
2) the price was unbeatable

Anybody else use a fairly uncommon amp?

Bob Mc · December 15th, 2004, 05:31 PM

True stereo blues monster with speakers that tilted away from each other; with the right tremelo setting I could make my bass player seasick!
Held onto til the 'vintage amp' market got out of control and I could not refuse the offers.
And of course I miss the heck out of that amp

ari · December 15th, 2004, 05:41 PM

I'm using Laney LC-50II. Not that odd, but still, I haven't seen another Laney in action...

ari

nasonm · December 15th, 2004, 05:41 PM

I also have a 65 Gibson Tube amp. I rarely use it, but can't part with it (it's just too cool...every time I bring it to the studio people want to check it out).

Andy B · December 15th, 2004, 07:59 PM

For years this was my main amp. Very clean Hi Fi sound. They were made for a few years in the mid - late 60's in New York. 7868 output tubes, switchable reverb, tremolo, Jensen C12N speakers.
Still have it & occasionally play through it. Too clean for me these days.

Matt Plescher · December 15th, 2004, 08:13 PM

4 five inch speakers. 30 watts.

really nice clean channel (below 6), really terrible drive channel.

works well as an acoustic amp.

Cheers
Matt

Jef · December 16th, 2004, 04:47 AM

Another "Sound" over here. Mine is made in Italy, late sixties I presume. The model is "Big 25", 4 preamp tubes (2 channels and tremolo) and 2 EL84's, cathode biased. I replaced the original 10's with a Celestion G12H30 and a Jensen C10Q. Great chiming tone.

I also have a big Earth Sound Research 100w hybrid in a 2x12 combo. Solid state preamp and Twin Reverb power amp with 4 x 6L6. (It's supposed to be a copy of a 70's Peavey Vintage amp).

I bought them both as parts donors, to be cannibalized for other projects but they're just sounding good so I think I keep them as is for a while.

I recently sold a little Teisco 75R, a weird little amp with pink tolex, point-to-point circuitry, all 7-pin tubes (6X4, 6AR5, 6AV6), two 6" speakers and foldback reverb.

Durtdog · December 16th, 2004, 09:03 AM

My main amp is a 1970's Ampeg G-12, probably around 20-30 watts. Plopped an Eminence Legend in it last year, and it sounds great.

May not be that odd, but I haven't seen another one. I did see Delbert McClinton's guitar player using a similar Ampeg, but with a 15" speaker.

TwinReverb · December 16th, 2004, 09:29 AM

I sure would like to have a Gibson 79RVT 8) Very cool indeed.

telel6s · December 16th, 2004, 10:43 AM

I heard a 79RVT being played in a store not long ago. Oh...My....Gosh! Just a simple strum on an open G was a huge beautiful sound. And this was at low conversation-volume levels.

But back to the thread...I've got a '65 Epiphone Ensign (same as a Gibson GA55RVT -- 2x6l6, 2x10 speakers) that I hope to gig once I recap it. Could be cool or could be a really big doorstop. We'll see!

JohnnyAtomic · December 16th, 2004, 10:53 AM

i sure wish i still had my Gibson 79RVT that i bought in the early 80's for $40 in a pawn shop.

johnny atomic

dave_esmond · December 16th, 2004, 01:52 PM

i always use two amps...one being my dr z 2x10 carmen ghia....

the other one used to be a '61 gibson invader...1x12 and 1x8 jensens and reverb....

then it was a thd univalve...not that oddball, but i'd often run it thru the big ol silver sparkle kustom 2x15 cab...

now it's a 1957 ampeg mercury.....in all it's "watermelon" covered glory...

d

bo · December 16th, 2004, 02:21 PM

Mine's a '55. I use it at all small club gigs, recording sessions and at home. It's about 25 watts or so into a 15 inch field coil Jensen. No "funny" tubes to try and find, just a couple of 6L6s, 3 12AX7s, and either a 5U4 or 5AR4 rectifier. It loses some high end when cranked but is otherwise fairly clean sounding (compared to a comparably sized Fender tweed amp of the same era) and has a killer tremelo circuit. It never fails to get gawked at by the other guitar players where I'm at.

sixty4fairlane · December 16th, 2004, 03:32 PM

I know the stones used em in the 70s, but who has since then ? The ol ampeg was too loud for me, it claims 100 watts, it will drown out a 100 watt marshall head. Very unique sound, not a fender and not a marshall, it was an Ampeg.

BB · December 16th, 2004, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sixty4fairlane

I know the stones used em in the 70s, but who has since then ? The ol ampeg was too loud for me, it claims 100 watts, it will drown out a 100 watt marshall head. Very unique sound, not a fender and not a marshall, it was an Ampeg.

I hear ya! I had one around 1977. The darn thing was so heavy, I about had a hernia schleping in my house. Fired it up and never got it over 3 on the volume knob before the neighbors called the police! Very cool, different animal though.

Poppatwang · December 16th, 2004, 06:13 PM

Single ended Class A w/EL34.
Dig the sound and it's a looker too.

If I need more power I use the Laney VC30.

jjmantele · December 16th, 2004, 08:53 PM

I use my Harmony most often:

http://www.geocities.com/jjsant/harmony.html

Joe-Bob · December 16th, 2004, 10:01 PM

For jazz gigs, i've been using a Fender Princeton Chorus DSP. I've even used it for some cover gigs. For blues gigs, I have a crate Vintage Club 50 wat 2 x 12. For jams and rehearsals and stuff, I'll use a SF Champ, a Vox Pathfinder stack, or an SS Fender Bronco.

Jakedog · December 17th, 2004, 02:05 PM

My main rig these days is a Peavey VTM60 Head, and a Laney 4X12 box. The Peavey is all tube, single channel, master volume, based on the JCM800 circuit from what I've heard. It kicks the snot out of every 800 I've ever owned though. I used it at the House Of Blues last night, got tons of compliments from other guitar players saying "I can't believe that thing sounds like that." I'm going to have to stop using it soon, if people find out how cool they are, I won't be able to buy them for $150-$200 anymore.

Jake

phisherman1997 · December 17th, 2004, 10:51 PM

I always go through a 1967 Ampeg Gemini I. Great amp in my opinion.... I love it to dealth

BLACKCAT69 · December 17th, 2004, 11:48 PM

Not popular either. I have an Ampeg 2-12 Reverberocket. I also own an Ampeg v4-B for bass. That's a '71 or a '72. Loud is not the right word.

jhundt · December 18th, 2004, 03:30 PM

I played a V4 for several years. Great sound for hard (punk) rock, but WAY too loud. Also had a SB-12 (?) head - 2 x 6L6, did some minor mods to make it a guitar amp. Used a home-built mini-stack 2 small closed-back cabinets, each with a 10" speaker. It was a beautiful hard-rock amp, but also real loud, and didn't suit the more melodic style of the group I was playing with at the time.

idylldon · December 18th, 2004, 04:17 PM

Well, I have a lot of amps that I've built (a dozen or so) and a few nice BF Fenders, but I always seem to enjoy playing through the home-brewed ones the most. I have heads like the one pictured here in just about every wattage level--one for every occasion.

The 4X10 cabinet, which is built to '59 Bassman specs., is loaded with prototype Weber C10R speakers. It's made out of red cedar with redwood trim.

http://home.mindspring.com/~idyll/webster.JPG

Cheers,
--
Don

Oldschoolwax · December 19th, 2004, 02:07 AM

Not really unusual stuff I guess, but I love my Ampeg VT-40 4x10combo and Gemini22 GV 2x12 combo. They sound great and have great spring reverb. the Tremolo and after-beat stuff on the Gemini can come in real handy when it's needed. These things do weigh a ton though, and I'm rather tired of lugging them around. I keep a 61 Ampeg B15n Portaflex in my bedroom just to mess around on guitar or bass with. At this point in time if I'm going to go out with an amp to play ( I know this is an unpopular choice around these parts...

) I'll take my Gallien-Krueger 2100SEL head with two ADA ( 2x12) split cabs. It gives me lots of good reliable sounds clean and dirty and weighs nothing.

Pigsfootpeete · December 20th, 2004, 10:29 AM

I use a Bedrock 1200 through a MESA Boogie 212 vertical cab with Celestion Vintage 30's.. With a Bedrock BC-75 piggyback for back up.
The best rig I've had in 30 years of playing guitar.

Guitbo · December 20th, 2004, 05:21 PM

I've owned a number of vintage fenders, but my main giggin' amp is called an "Elk Prosonic". All I know about it is it was made in Japan in the '80's and uses 2 el34's. It has a cheezy reverb but a way cool tremolo. Both are perfect for my style. It's clean but warm through 2 p-12's. I bought the chassis by the pound as a joke from a dealer. It was bursting into flames every time it was fired up because since it looked like a Fender Pro and nobody knew anything about it, it was tubed with 6l6's. I took it home, replaced some of the WWII surplus components, and saw one for sale on a German website that mentioned EL34's as the output tubes. That did the trick! I built a cabinet for it and was in business. I still can't find any info on it though. If anyone has heard of these, let me know.
I also play a 1958 "Omega" w' 2 6v6's. Likewise, no info

December 15th, 2004, 04:41 PM	#1 (permalink)
nasonm Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Bangor, Maine Age: 31 Posts: 1,765 16 Photos	oddball main amps (who uses one?) I'm awaiting the arrival of my "new" (new to me at least) 1982 Fender London Reverb (bizarre 100 watt 1x12 solid state with push pulls all over the place, 5 band slider eq and 2 reverb tanks!) I bought it for 2 reasons, 1) I've read that their great for clean playing (what I mostly do) 2) the price was unbeatable Anybody else use a fairly uncommon amp? __________________ "i have learned to just grit my teeth, change the subject, consider their deep total ignorance, fondle the thumb picks in my pocket and go on my way" - bender-freak It's been lonely in the saddle since my horse died

December 15th, 2004, 05:31 PM	#2 (permalink)
Bob Mc Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Mo'town NJ Posts: 1,641	For years it was a Gibson 79RVT for me True stereo blues monster with speakers that tilted away from each other; with the right tremelo setting I could make my bass player seasick! Held onto til the 'vintage amp' market got out of control and I could not refuse the offers. And of course I miss the heck out of that amp __________________ All of us contain Music & Truth, but most of us can't get it out. Mark Twain

December 15th, 2004, 05:41 PM	#3 (permalink)
ari TDPRI Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Bastrop/Austin, TX Posts: 10	I'm using Laney LC-50II. Not that odd, but still, I haven't seen another Laney in action... ari __________________ live, film and studio work http://www.hashimusic.com Bastrop/Austin, TX

December 15th, 2004, 05:41 PM	#4 (permalink)
nasonm Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Bangor, Maine Age: 31 Posts: 1,765 16 Photos	I also have a 65 Gibson Tube amp. I rarely use it, but can't part with it (it's just too cool...every time I bring it to the studio people want to check it out). __________________ "i have learned to just grit my teeth, change the subject, consider their deep total ignorance, fondle the thumb picks in my pocket and go on my way" - bender-freak It's been lonely in the saddle since my horse died

December 15th, 2004, 07:59 PM	#5 (permalink)
Andy B Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Englewood, Colorado Posts: 290	Sound X505R For years this was my main amp. Very clean Hi Fi sound. They were made for a few years in the mid - late 60's in New York. 7868 output tubes, switchable reverb, tremolo, Jensen C12N speakers. Still have it & occasionally play through it. Too clean for me these days. __________________ Andy

December 15th, 2004, 08:13 PM	#6 (permalink)
Matt Plescher Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: West Michigan Posts: 837	Roland GC-405 4 five inch speakers. 30 watts. really nice clean channel (below 6), really terrible drive channel. works well as an acoustic amp. Cheers Matt __________________ She's not your satellite She doesn't miss you So turn off your smoke machine And Marshall stack

December 16th, 2004, 04:47 AM	#7 (permalink)
Jef Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Antwerp, Belgium Posts: 692 2 Photos	Another "Sound" over here. Mine is made in Italy, late sixties I presume. The model is "Big 25", 4 preamp tubes (2 channels and tremolo) and 2 EL84's, cathode biased. I replaced the original 10's with a Celestion G12H30 and a Jensen C10Q. Great chiming tone. I also have a big Earth Sound Research 100w hybrid in a 2x12 combo. Solid state preamp and Twin Reverb power amp with 4 x 6L6. (It's supposed to be a copy of a 70's Peavey Vintage amp). I bought them both as parts donors, to be cannibalized for other projects but they're just sounding good so I think I keep them as is for a while. I recently sold a little Teisco 75R, a weird little amp with pink tolex, point-to-point circuitry, all 7-pin tubes (6X4, 6AR5, 6AV6), two 6" speakers and foldback reverb.

December 16th, 2004, 09:03 AM	#8 (permalink)
Durtdog Friend of Leo's Join Date: May 2004 Location: Tennessee Posts: 3,666	Ampeg My main amp is a 1970's Ampeg G-12, probably around 20-30 watts. Plopped an Eminence Legend in it last year, and it sounds great. May not be that odd, but I haven't seen another one. I did see Delbert McClinton's guitar player using a similar Ampeg, but with a 15" speaker.

December 16th, 2004, 09:29 AM	#9 (permalink)
TwinReverb Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 477	yummm, I sure would like to have a Gibson 79RVT 8) Very cool indeed.

December 16th, 2004, 10:43 AM	#10 (permalink)
telel6s Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 1,180 80 Photos	79RVT...mmmmmmm I heard a 79RVT being played in a store not long ago. Oh...My....Gosh! Just a simple strum on an open G was a huge beautiful sound. And this was at low conversation-volume levels. But back to the thread...I've got a '65 Epiphone Ensign (same as a Gibson GA55RVT -- 2x6l6, 2x10 speakers) that I hope to gig once I recap it. Could be cool or could be a really big doorstop. We'll see! __________________ Mama always said, "A little tone is good for the soul."

December 16th, 2004, 10:53 AM	#11 (permalink)
JohnnyAtomic Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Little Rock, AR Posts: 1,352	i sure wish i still had my Gibson 79RVT that i bought in the early 80's for $40 in a pawn shop. johnny atomic __________________ flaming hamper of rock! www.myspace.com/johnnyatomicmusic

December 16th, 2004, 01:52 PM	#12 (permalink)
dave_esmond Tele-Meister Join Date: May 2003 Location: stoughton, wisconsin Posts: 224	i always use two amps...one being my dr z 2x10 carmen ghia.... the other one used to be a '61 gibson invader...1x12 and 1x8 jensens and reverb.... then it was a thd univalve...not that oddball, but i'd often run it thru the big ol silver sparkle kustom 2x15 cab... now it's a 1957 ampeg mercury.....in all it's "watermelon" covered glory... d

December 16th, 2004, 02:21 PM	#13 (permalink)
bo Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 1,794	Flot-A-Tone Model 600 Mine's a '55. I use it at all small club gigs, recording sessions and at home. It's about 25 watts or so into a 15 inch field coil Jensen. No "funny" tubes to try and find, just a couple of 6L6s, 3 12AX7s, and either a 5U4 or 5AR4 rectifier. It loses some high end when cranked but is otherwise fairly clean sounding (compared to a comparably sized Fender tweed amp of the same era) and has a killer tremelo circuit. It never fails to get gawked at by the other guitar players where I'm at.

December 16th, 2004, 03:32 PM	#14 (permalink)
sixty4fairlane Tele-Meister Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Shreveport, Louisiana Posts: 293	Ampeg v-4, music man 4-12 cab I know the stones used em in the 70s, but who has since then ? The ol ampeg was too loud for me, it claims 100 watts, it will drown out a 100 watt marshall head. Very unique sound, not a fender and not a marshall, it was an Ampeg.

December 16th, 2004, 06:13 PM	#16 (permalink)
Poppatwang Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: St. Paul, MN Posts: 1,909 13 Photos	ADA Rocket 20R Single ended Class A w/EL34. Dig the sound and it's a looker too. If I need more power I use the Laney VC30. __________________ The Dieselfitters http://www.dieselfitters.com Roy Hubbs http://www.royhubbs.com

December 16th, 2004, 08:53 PM	#17 (permalink)
jjmantele Tele-Holic Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: New Jersey Posts: 851	Harmony I use my Harmony most often: http://www.geocities.com/jjsant/harmony.html __________________ JJman If it says "Vintage" on it -it isn't.

December 16th, 2004, 10:01 PM	#18 (permalink)
Joe-Bob Friend of Leo's Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Dallas, Texas Age: 46 Posts: 4,017	For jazz gigs, i've been using a Fender Princeton Chorus DSP. I've even used it for some cover gigs. For blues gigs, I have a crate Vintage Club 50 wat 2 x 12. For jams and rehearsals and stuff, I'll use a SF Champ, a Vox Pathfinder stack, or an SS Fender Bronco. __________________ "German is the language God uses when He really means business." --FZ

December 17th, 2004, 02:05 PM	#19 (permalink)
Jakedog Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Cleveland,OH But my heart's still in TE Posts: 3,227	My main rig these days is a Peavey VTM60 Head, and a Laney 4X12 box. The Peavey is all tube, single channel, master volume, based on the JCM800 circuit from what I've heard. It kicks the snot out of every 800 I've ever owned though. I used it at the House Of Blues last night, got tons of compliments from other guitar players saying "I can't believe that thing sounds like that." I'm going to have to stop using it soon, if people find out how cool they are, I won't be able to buy them for $150-$200 anymore. Jake __________________ Oh, the fear I've known That I might reap the praise of strangers And end up on my own All I've sown was a song And maybe I was wrong -Emily Saliers

December 17th, 2004, 10:51 PM	#20 (permalink)
phisherman1997 Tele-Meister Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Austin TX Posts: 116	Another Ampeg I always go through a 1967 Ampeg Gemini I. Great amp in my opinion.... I love it to dealth

December 17th, 2004, 11:48 PM	#21 (permalink)
BLACKCAT69 Friend of Leo's Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Canada-Windsor-Ont. Age: 37 Posts: 2,633 5 Photos	Not that weird but... Not popular either. I have an Ampeg 2-12 Reverberocket. I also own an Ampeg v4-B for bass. That's a '71 or a '72. Loud is not the right word. __________________ http://www.lukefisher.com/blame.wav

December 18th, 2004, 03:30 PM	#22 (permalink)
jhundt Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Netherlands Age: 54 Posts: 3,127 9 Photos	Ampegs - yes! I played a V4 for several years. Great sound for hard (punk) rock, but WAY too loud. Also had a SB-12 (?) head - 2 x 6L6, did some minor mods to make it a guitar amp. Used a home-built mini-stack 2 small closed-back cabinets, each with a 10" speaker. It was a beautiful hard-rock amp, but also real loud, and didn't suit the more melodic style of the group I was playing with at the time.

December 18th, 2004, 04:17 PM	#23 (permalink)
idylldon Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Idyllwild, CA Posts: 102	Well, I have a lot of amps that I've built (a dozen or so) and a few nice BF Fenders, but I always seem to enjoy playing through the home-brewed ones the most. I have heads like the one pictured here in just about every wattage level--one for every occasion. The 4X10 cabinet, which is built to '59 Bassman specs., is loaded with prototype Weber C10R speakers. It's made out of red cedar with redwood trim. http://home.mindspring.com/~idyll/webster.JPG Cheers, -- Don

December 19th, 2004, 02:07 AM	#24 (permalink)
Oldschoolwax Tele-Meister Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: LI New York Posts: 346	Ampeg boy too.... Not really unusual stuff I guess, but I love my Ampeg VT-40 4x10combo and Gemini22 GV 2x12 combo. They sound great and have great spring reverb. the Tremolo and after-beat stuff on the Gemini can come in real handy when it's needed. These things do weigh a ton though, and I'm rather tired of lugging them around. I keep a 61 Ampeg B15n Portaflex in my bedroom just to mess around on guitar or bass with. At this point in time if I'm going to go out with an amp to play ( I know this is an unpopular choice around these parts... ) I'll take my Gallien-Krueger 2100SEL head with two ADA ( 2x12) split cabs. It gives me lots of good reliable sounds clean and dirty and weighs nothing. __________________ Matter cannot be created or destroyed, nor can it be returned without a receipt.

December 20th, 2004, 10:29 AM	#25 (permalink)
Pigsfootpeete Tele-Meister Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Memphis Posts: 324	Re: oddball main amps (who uses one?) I use a Bedrock 1200 through a MESA Boogie 212 vertical cab with Celestion Vintage 30's.. With a Bedrock BC-75 piggyback for back up. The best rig I've had in 30 years of playing guitar. __________________ *....I've forgotten more than I could ever hope to remember.....*