Solid State Top 10

[68reissue]

I'm a huge Roland JC fan, because I love smooth and deep clean tones, with good definition. And Roger McGuinn says Roland JC's are the best amps to use with Rics!

Tech 21 stuff is really good for grainy semi-clean, but can't match the JC for squeaky clean tones. The Vox SS sound great, but the reliability is spotty.

And I once tried a Marshall 8040 that I REALLY liked...try and explain that one!

[CharlieO]

I've got to nominate the Roland BC-60 Blues Cube 1-12" combo. Roland put a lot of work into making this an outstanding amp. It sounds great clean, and the distortion really is "tube-like". Great speaker (supposedly modeled after a Celestion greenback), Accutronics spring reverb, effects loop, and lots of other features. Unfortunately, Roland made a couple of blunders that kept this amp from being a huge hit. It should have included the footswitch for channel switching and reverb (most dealers wouldn't even have it in stock if you wanted to buy it), and they also should have included a jack for an extension speaker. I guess they were probably trying to keep costs down so they could hit a target list price, but I think that doomed the amp. Still, the amp sounds great, and it will certainly be a "classic" solid state amp.

Check out the Harmony Central reviews, and pay special attention to the ratings for "Sound Quality":
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/r...112+Combo/10/1

[Chicago Slim]

My three favorites:

Vox Pathfinder 15R
Peavey Studio Pro
Peavey Supreme XL

The Peaveys sound great in a band mix, next to tube amps. I routinely play a G&L ASAT Classic and one of the Peaveys, next to a Strat useing a Fender DRRI or HRD, with a Marshall Blues Breaker pedal. When I switch to acoustic or bass, another guitarist will often play my rig instead of their own.

[bowman]

Another vote for the Pathfinder 15R - sounds really good.
Also like the Roland Microcube, Vox VR15 and Vox AD60VTH head.

[JohnSS]

Hughes & Kettner Warp 7
Peavey Bandit 65
Peavey 130 Special
Line 6 Flextone II
Fender Stage 100
Yamaha 70's Blackline G30112, G50112
Acoustic Control 150
Epiphone EP800R
Tech 21
Roland JC120

[Caper]

I picked up a Peavey Bandit 112 (Solo Series) last week, had a blown speaker and found out you can replace the basket fairly cheaply. I am impressed with the clean and dirty channels. You can get a smooth breakup without waking the whole neighborhood. The clean channel has plenty of bottom end for a Telecaster. This amp will cover blues, rock, country, and jazz quite nicely and at 45lbs won't break your back. The best $90 bucks I've spent on music gear; $40 for the amp and $50 for the replacement Scorpion basket.

[JayFreddy]

My pick for best SS amp of all time is The Peavey Bandit.

The Bandit 65 was the first one that actually had some decent tone and could hang with a band, but starting in the mid-80s, all of the subsequent models, from the Bandit 75, Solo Series Bandit 112, Blackbox Transtube, Redstripe Transtube, to the new Chinese Bandits with the pseudo-Celestion/Blue Marvel speakers, they are ALL great amps for the money, IMHO.

My other favorites include:

Peavey Revolution 112 (like a Bandit but with silent channel switching)
Peavey Session series (Nashville 400, Session 500, LTD, etc.)

Yamaha DG series (the best sounding solid state I've ever heard, but Yamaha support is nonexistent so Peavey still takes top honors)
Yamaha G100 II and III series (early and late 80's respectively)
Yamaha VR6000 (aka "The Roland JC120 Killer". Clean so clean, you can eat off of it)

Roland JC120 (Still the industry standard, and virtually indestructible too)
Roland Cube 60 (the new one)
Fender CyberTwin

The following sound great too, just don't let them bump into anything:

Line6 Vetta II (the first version didn't sound right to me, they fixed that with v2.0)
Vox Valvetronix series, especially the ADT120 212.

And the number one reason for going with SS instead of tubes?

When they break, you can just throw 'em out and get a new one...

[studio1087]

I was the third owner of a Carvin SX-200. 100 watts 2 x 12. I liked it. Loud, clear, nice OD and bulletproof. The SX's are good amps.

[Tremo]

The reason I use tube amps and not silicon amps are:

10. tone
9. tone
8. tone
7. tone
....... you get the idea.

Whatever floats your boat.

[jh45gun]

Well I played a Peavey classic chorus 212 for years and had a session 500 too. Peavey makes nice amps, but I would have to say this Princeton chorus I just picked up has a better more fenderish sounding clean than I could ever get out of my Peavey SS amps. And I like Peavey Gear that is all I used to run for amps and PA. Now I find myself using other gear except for my Peavey Reactor Tele.

[Heather Anne Peel]

My main amp is my 2006 Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 50 head (tube) with a 1960A cabinet. My other Marshall is an AVT 50 head with a matching AVT angled cab. I nominate Marshall's AVT series, they are great sounding solid state amps. My AVT can come pretty close to approximating my DSL. That said, my other tube amps include an Ampeg VL-502 half stack, a Fender Pro Jr. and my hybrid tube/solid state vintage Music Man HD150 212 combo.

[JayFreddy]

Originally Posted by jh45gun

I would have to say this Princeton chorus I just picked up has a better more fenderish sounding clean than I could ever get out of my Peavey

I'm willing to bet that Peavey's will sound more Peavey-ish than the Fender too...

I had a Princeton Chorus, sounded great, but it wasn't powerful enough to hang with a band, IMO. Also, the plastic jacks and pots give me the jitters. Bump 'em hard once and they're done. Of course, Peavey (and everyone else under a $1000) does plastic now too, but on the 80's and early 90's stuff, Peavey was still using metal long after Fender had gone to plastic.

The Valvestate and AVT Marshalls, as well as the Dynatouch Fenders sound good too, but bump 'em into a plush sofa and you risk losing knobs...

[aunchaki]

My vote is for any of the high-end VOX Valvetronix heads or combos: the AD60VT or AD120VT. Sweet!!!

[red57strat]

I have a Roland Blues Cube 30 with an Eminence Tonker speaker in it.
It sounds great but it isn't light.

The speaker weighs 11 pounds itself!

[Jeffscreamedcorn]

Originally Posted by Pepi

I've used a Peavey Special 130 since 1986. I don't use the preamp anymore but the power amp has the best cleans. I run a Valve FX preamp into the power amp and get all the tube sound I need :D

I had a 130 - great amp. Even though I'm a died in the wool tube head, I recently entertained the idea of getting another one.

The Crate Power Block is better than decent.

[0le FUZZY]

...Here are my top tew favorites!!





0le FUZZY

[63dot]

Originally Posted by Scotland

What would you rate, in order, as the top 10 of the best S.S. amps / combo's ?

i have owned at least 10 ss amps over the years and most of them are not memorable...ok, but not special in any way

i have heard great ones though, which i didn't own

1) roland jc 120 - in the 80s, it was fender, marshall stacks, and the 120
2) pearce combo - i heard alan holdsworth in concert with one of these..wow
3) polytone brute - and joe pass, that says it all

over the years, i have seen people with the fender frontline 25 ss amp and for the money it's a popular amp

and once i tried out the marshall mini stack, a ss mini stack, and that thing sounded amazingly good for its size and price range

[Oster]

Originally Posted by TheGoodTexan

If you've never tried out a Randall RG-80....stop what you're doing right now and go find one!

We had one of those at a rehearsal studio we used to rent. It made our other guitarist want to forget about his tube Fenders and get a Randall - Snakeskin tolex and all!

As for the best Solid State amps I've heard:

Old Kustoms
Old acoustics
Old (pre '77) Traynor
Roland JC-120

Anything where the circuitry would've been virtually the same as a tube amp, along with the heavy and powerful transformers. Transistor Dinosaurs in other words.

A good reverb can usually make the most uninspiring amps sound good, so I'm going on clean, dry sounds here.

[jh45gun]

Oster I use a Traynor MonoBlock II made in 77 to 80 but it has your specs. Anything where the circuitry would've been virtually the same as a tube amp, along with the heavy and powerful transformers. Transistor Dinosaurs in other words.

MONO-II MONO Block II
Features
dual inputs, volume, bass, mid, treble and master volume controls, 5-band graphic EQ, preamp out & power amp in jacks.

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Approximate Serial Number
705#### to 010###

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Years Made
1977-1980
Amp Type
Solid-State Head

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Power
325 Watts Sine Wave @ 2 Ohms Comments
An updated version of the original with EQ. Both amps were quite usable for guitar as well as bass.

[mikespe]

I just got a Vox Pathfinder 10 for $70 shipped from eBay and it has an INCREDIBLE sound! The clean is just pristine! The overdrive isn't that great but put a distortion pedal of your choice in front of it and you're golden! Besides I love the sound of my tele through it clean so I could just rip the overdrive right out!!