Which Brit Voiced amp to get?

[11 Gauge]

I can't seem to make up my mind on a more overdriven amp to get - I seem to find myself playing a bit more old Angus Young style licks, love the rhythm tones on 'Radar Love', some Allman Bros. stuff, Sonny Landreth's 'Native Stepson' comes to mind, and for the most saturated - Santana type leads.

I'm looking for that nice British midrange, with complex upper frequencies. I hate any gained up sound that starts to get fizzy (unless I'm stepping on a fuzz pedal).

Also, I need something smaller and low powered, probably 40 watts max (I want to get into the power tubes without blowing out windows or angering the neighbors). I'm not into heads and cabs either. Probably something with a 10 or 12 inch speaker will do. I would prefer to not put any sort of overdrive or boost pedal in front of the amp.

Price tag is only somewhat of an issue - I will certainly be willing to save the extra bucks to get the 'right' amp.

I'll be running a couple of Teles (fairly stock) as well as a dual humbucker guitar thru the amp.

Thing is, I'm kinda drawing a blank on what to get, based on what I'm familiar with:

Carvin MTS3212 - Too loud, too heavy, never heard one, afraid the higher gain settings might be too fizzy.

Smaller current model Marshall w/EL84s - worried it will be too fizzy at higher gain settings, don't know how good Marshall's PCB construction is these days, can't help but wonder if they snuck in some solid state junk?

Carvin Vintage 16 - probably not enough gain for the Santana stuff, and probably missing those Brit mids.

Reverend amps with the Schizo set for British mode - once again, not sure if it has the gain range.

That little tube combo that Orange just came out with - don't know if there's enough gain, or how hard it would be to find one here in Maryland. I also imagine that this one would probably be over a grand.

A used Subway Rocket - afraid it might be just too fizzy on the upper gain settings.

Build my own Tweed Deluxe - afraid that the upper gain might not be there.

Any input on the amps listed? Any that I missed that I should consider?

[David Barnett]

Bluesbreaker reissue?

[marshallmelloman]

The Winfield Thomas "Winfield" is one you should consider http://www.rfd.cc/winamp/

[Wayne Alexander]

What you described as your tonal goals will all fit the Marshall JTM45 Bluesbreaker reissue pretty well. It can be improved with different speakers and tubes, and if you're up for it, a better output transformer, but that's the amp you're describing tonally.

[Ben Harmless]

IF you're really looking to do Santana with a combo, then you're going to want a master volume, and your either looking at Boogie, or spending a bunch, or both.

...And, while I like Boogie, Boogie ain't really what I think of when I think British.

Having a reasonable familiarity with most of the amps on your list, the Subway Rocket is the only one that I know will get you into that zone. I'd reccomend the Reverend Hellhound (or the newer Kingsnake) if you're willing to use a booster of some sort, but if not, look at Boogies. They're not the most British things in the world, but they've got a lot of range.

And, while I'm a Marshall man, I'd probably steer clear of the newer combos, which are the only ones that can get you into that range without pedals. I've only heard one unit that sounded really good, and I've seen significantly more than one unit which had serious reliability issues. I don't really see the older, non-MV Marshalls getting the gain for what I think of as "Santana lead tone."

Without the no-pedals Santana thing, there's a lot of other great choices out there too.

[e-merlin]

I don't think you're going to "get into the tubes" with a 40 watter. You mentioned the neighbors so I assume yoy're going to be playing a quite a bit at home. I agree with Ben that you're going to want something with a master volume.

My recommendation would be a Peavey Classic 30. Maybe swap the speaker for an Eminence GB12 (I think that's their 60 watt Greenback-ish sounding speaker). If you don't mind the extra weight, I would go for the Classic 50 212 and put real Greenbacks in. You can pick up either of these amps for little money on the used market and they are real killers. I like the Classic 50 212 best of all of the Classic series. They sound pretty good in stock form, but I'd probably swap the stock speakers for Peavey Sheffield 1230s.

Also, if I remember right, (I'll have to check the Peavey Amp Board to verify this for sure) you can pull the two outside tubes on the Classic 50 to get it to half power. You have to hook the speakers up to the extension jack for 8 ohm operation, though. That's something you can't do with the Classic 30 or Delta Blues amps because the tubes in those amps are wired in series and pulling one shuts down all of the tubes.

[playin loud]

The Orange will have plenty of gain and then some. I dont know about the Santana sound though, sorry. It may work just fine to get the Santana sound, I just havent tried (an old friends shop had the Orange [made me drool]) The Orange amps are not cheap, but quality, quality, quality.

[stantheman]

Lotsa new Peaveys are EL-84 Based Amps.
But if You live close to PEOPLE may I suggest taking a
Tech 21 Amplifier for a spin. If I lived in a Metropolis and
had to go out in Cabs The Trademark 60 (1X12) would be a real coup with guarantee'd good Tone.
OR
A Fender Priceton Reverb
OR
A Peavey Classic 30.
If it's staying in the apartment BUY A CHAMP.
It'll still bring The Police if You "boldly go where no tenant
has ever gone recently."
And it will, oh yeah.

[DrewB]

Originally Posted by Ben Harmless

I don't really see the older, non-MV Marshalls getting the gain for what I think of as "Santana lead tone."

A non-master Marshall will get pretty dirty, so I wouldn't agree that you can't get a Santana-type lead tone out of it using a neck-position humbucker. The odds are that your tone with a Marshall would be a lot better than Santana's, anyway (ducking). If you're talking about the JTM 45 or Bluesbreaker, I agree that you'd probably need a pedal to get that saturation, though. The problem is, of course, that the best-sounding Marshalls are the loud ones, which means at least 50 watts. The sweet spot for those amps is over 100db.

A Tele through a Bluesbreaker is a beautiful thing, as is a Les Paul through a Bluesbreaker, as is a (fill in the blank) through a Bluesbreaker.

[11 Gauge]

I had a Peavey DB 1X15 that I sold to an old coworker for a couple hundred bucks - never really thought of it as British sounding, though not to say that a C30 w/a greenback or C50 w/greenbacks may not do the trick...

Biggest prob. with the C30 is a coupling cap in the OD channel that basically bottlenecks all the bottom end out... Plus the input has all these garbage components that need to be removed - not sure I want to repeat that labor. The C50 thing is of slight interest to me, IF I can steer clear of the board mods that the 30 watt models require, and if I can yank 2 of the EL84s. I may even be able to score a C50 4X10 for free... I'd probably rebaffle it for a pair of greenbacks.

I'd have to say - that Goblin is mighty tempting too. If I could goose it enough with a booster to make it sing, I might just have to get one.

Something is just turning me off to the Subway Rocket - maybe the fact that they're always on eBay, and Mesa doesn't make them anymore? Too bad - the wattage and portability would be perfect... But I guess I play 80% Brit-sounding stuff to 20% Santana-esque stuff, so maybe Boogies just aren't for me...

I've got a Tech 21 GT2 - cool pedal - may have to check out the amps (again). Really leaning towards tubes though.

And while I'm sure I'd love the Orange Rocker 30, it would probably take forever for me to save up the bux for it...

One other amp I was impressed with was the Peavey C20 - even impressed with the schematic on it. I'd love to get my hands on one...

[Pigsfootpeete]

The Reverend Kingsnake would probably be a good choice, or the VOX AC30 or the mid-'80s JCM800 112 combos. The Marshall might be the best way to go, but, they're all good choices.

[snap]

Marshall DSL 401 combo, 40 watter all valve, think it has a power bleed too, certainly the 50watt version does. Reasonable price too, c. £400.

[bluescube]

Maybe the 1 watt Zvex nano head?

I would look at a good clean tube combo and some pedals to get the overdriven tone. Maybe the Menatone Howie for the Santana tone since it's supposed to be like a dumble-ish clone.

[Ben Harmless]

Originally Posted by DrewB

A non-master Marshall will get pretty dirty, so I wouldn't agree that you can't get a Santana-type lead tone out of it using a neck-position humbucker. The odds are that your tone with a Marshall would be a lot better than Santana's, anyway (ducking). If you're talking about the JTM 45 or Bluesbreaker, I agree that you'd probably need a pedal to get that saturation, though. The problem is, of course, that the best-sounding Marshalls are the loud ones, which means at least 50 watts. The sweet spot for those amps is over 100db.

I don't know. The only time I've heard that much gain out of a non-MV Marshall was when it was boosted by two (2) EQs set for heavy mid boost. Otherwise, those are exactly the thougts I was having - including the part about the tone (also ducking).

[snap]

Zvex nano head has just been reviewed in the UK edition of Guitarist mag, and there's some samples on the mag CD. It sounds very good has to be said. However you obviously need to buy a cab, and the head itself is around £400 alone so this rig could end up quite expensive.

What about the Cornford Harlequin combo? Superb kit.

[ruger9]

Originally Posted by 11 Gauge

C50 w/greenbacks may not do the trick...

Biggest prob. with the C30 is a coupling cap in the OD channel that basically bottlenecks all the bottom end out... Plus the input has all these garbage components that need to be removed - not sure I want to repeat that labor. The C50 thing is of slight interest to me, IF I can steer clear of the board mods that the 30 watt models require, and if I can yank 2 of the EL84s. I may even be able to score a C50 4X10 for free... I'd probably rebaffle it for a pair of greenbacks.

..

Before you go to Greenbacks, listen to the Peavey cab...alot of people like those speakers, some have evn compared them to Celestions.

As far as the C50 board mods go, I'm about to mod mine- but the only mod I'm doing is replacing a cap and a resistor to tone down the harshness of the OD channel. I've got the 410, and it's a great amp.

And you CAN yank 2 EL-84's out of the C50 for half-power, I believe. But I think that might change the impedence, which could change the tone. Head over to the Peavey amp forum- they can tell you everything you need to know.

[David Barnett]

If a bluesbreaker RI is too loud, I'd suggest a Marshall 18W clone, maybe with a 2x12" cabinet.

[Doc]

All the above are great advice. I get a great Allman tone from a Gov2 and a 1x12 Tweed Champ Clone.

You could try any number of clean tube 1x12's with a Silver Dragon pedal. It will get you into the game I think. I use mine with my Protube Pro Reverb (it can do what you want in the lead area but not rhythm), a couple of Tweeds, a Carvin x100b (EL34 amp) and my Blues jr all with great results.

Dale

[snap]

try having a look at a company called Matamp - based in Huddersfield (Yorkshire), v good, v brit