Worst Amps Hall of Fame?

[Ian]

Originally Posted by JohnnyAtomic

Peavey Special 130. Sounds horrible, but at least it's painfully loud. I'm almost deaf in my left ear because of a band i used to be in where the other guitar player had that obnoxious piece of crap.

johnny atomic

Were we in a band together in the mid-late 80's???
I had one for awile...just God awfull.
CHEERS!!!

[pjsky]

Back when I was a kid I traded away my early 70's Fifty watt Marshall Super Lead half stack for a 100 watt Ampeg V4 full stack. Thought I was getting a sweet deal with the extra wattage, built-in Reverb and a 2nd 4x12" cabinet. The V4 stack was tall, loud and clean but it's natural overdrive got ugly when cranked. I traded the head for a Hiwatt 100 watt head which was still very clean but had much more tone character. I ran it thru an original Tom Scholz Power Soak for a very cool sounding overdrive...until I eventually fried the output section :(
The loudest amp I ever owned was a Fender Super Twin. Sounded nothing like a regular Twin :evil: . I was sold by the word "Super" (marketing victim lol) I was able to dial in some cool tones using it's unique graphic EQ knobs along with a Dan Armstrong Blue Clipper box.

[ye olde fretmonkey]

I had a 70s V2 head that I used with various cabinets. Kept it for quite awhile...loud as heck, clean, but with a weird harsh, brassy, midrangey overdrive that sounded more like a trombone than an electric guitar. You could twiddle the knobs all you wanted and tweak thhe filter switches and never get rid of that honk. Not to mention the tubes from the planet Mars. Some Ampegs are weird beasts indeed.

Also had a Scholz Power Soak...doubled as a space heater for those wintertime practices. I figured something like that couldn't be good for an amp.

[JamesPatrickPageZoso]

Originally Posted by voided3

All I have to say is Marshall AVT 150 head. My friend owned one along with two of the matching 4x12 cabs and he has lived to regret it. He let me borrow his amp and almost paid me to find a good tone on it with his GNX pedal. By itself, the amp sounded like butt, though the cleans were nice, unless you added a pedal; worst pedal amp ever. I tried a Tubescreamer and a Fuzz Face with it and it made good pedals sound bad. Even the GNX couldn't process it enough to get something respectable. My little Squier Champ sounded better; seriously. Also, a Line 6 Spider when cranked up loud sounds bad, though the tone at low volume isn't too shabby, just don't expect any feedback sustain or anything....friggin noise suppresor. Not to mention it was very noisy; get your guitar within 5 feet of it and it will hum crazily.

You seriously think i would have been better off with an MG series? i've played one at GC and the AVT blows it away (and i hated that friggin AVT).

[vic108]

Electro-Harmonix had a small amp in the '70's I owned
that sounded like a wood chipper without a muffler.

And the sad, sad excuse for an amp - red knob Fenders
circa 1980's - I had one for 2 months and that was too long.

[AtomicMassUnit]

The Line6 stuff is way up there. Those and the Hot Rod Fender series are my choices for worst.

I am surprised to hear mention of one of those Holmes Mississippi Blues (Man? Master? something..) amps. I just fixed one of those! AND a Woodson! For some reason people been bringing in solid state amps all the time lately. I fixed a Line6 SPIDER and I think that was the worst overall amp I've ever heard. It didn't have any good sounds at all. It's like come on, how do you screw up clean tones?!

I'll add the Randall RG 100 es amp to the list...

And... the Boogie Rectifier and Caliber series amps as well, even though they're already on here.

So those Earth amps aren't good? A buddy of mine just bought one chock full of Mullards. Good find there.

[sidneystreet]

Originally Posted by AtomicMassUnit

I just fixed one of those! AND a Woodson! For some reason people been bringing in solid state amps all the time lately.

Which Woodson model was it? I have a w-150 2-12 combo. I've had it for 25 years now, and bought it used. The thing has been bullet proof, even when I abused it in junior high/high school. It isn't a great amp, but for a B.B. King-ish kind of thing, it is pretty darn good really. Throw a Big Muff in front of it and you can make an awful racket! My parents can vouch for that.

[ducatiman]

ss, single 10" , 30 watt absolute gutless POS. i acquired it for free. it was so bad, in fact, i *GAVE* it away to the next unsuspecting victim. hey, it was someone i knew (my mistake) i couldn't actually take money (or any other form of compensation) for it. after all, he knew where i lived!!!!!

i didn't want to put myself in a position where he'd RETURN it to me while i wasn't home or somethin'.

i'm sure he got rid of it quick, too. come to think of it I never did hear from that friend again......LOL!

hot potata ....... ducatiman

[eggman]

Howdy,

My vote is for those dreadful G-K's. Didn't do a thing for me some 20 years ago when a college buddy was shredding with one; sheesh!
As for the unpopular red-knob Fenders, my Super 112 is loud clean and reliable, needing just one recent $40 fix since being acquired new in 1992. The gain channel doesn't do anything for me, I'll admit. The Super 60/112/210 red knobs amps are reliable, clean sounding amps and useful for those seeking that annoying "preamp buzz" so popular with the Heavy Metal types. I think they are a comparative bargain on the used market; my local amp tech says that my red-knob Super 112 is no harder to fix than any other modern PCB amp, and easier to fix than Peaveys. So there, Tremo!

Eggman

[sixty4fairlane]

If it works, and it is really cheap, under 50 bucks, or free, I will take any amp. Like it has been said there is an occasion for everything. The toneless S/S amp can be used for effects. Chorus, flangers, most modulation things sound good through any clean amp. We all know how to make any tube amp shine, let your ears bleed. HAHA.

My first amp was called an WINSTON. S/S with a 8 or 10 inch speaker. Never seen one since. I don't miss it any. I wasn't any worse then my first guitar a hondo l/p jr copy, that had humbucker size pickups with one coil in them. HAHA.

V-4s/VT-22s are the next collectible amps. Mark my words. As the price for old marshalls and fenders get ridiculous ampegs will come in vogue. Just look at silvertones already getting overpriced. Ampeg v-4, I had one, nothing wrong with it, just one of those amps that are designed to be too loud to play comfortably. It was the era it was designed in. I imagine if you run one through a power brake of some sort it would really sing.

[Tremo]

Yeah, the old Ampegs sound great. The VT40, or an old Reverberocket or Gemini.

[AtomicMassUnit]

sidneystreet, I don't remember the model, but it had 1x15 and was loud and clean. Real simple fix too.

I personally LOVE the sound of those V4, VT22, etc ampegs. They will break windows in small rooms and make birds fall from the sky though. I agree about the rising collectibility of these as well. Even with their oddball tubes, they're creeping up there. I love the sound of that quad of 7027a's in the V4.

[Wally]

Interesting thread. Likes and dislikes are widely varying..tubes, SS..whatever..someone likes and someone hates it.
My boogie MKIIC+ is most certainly not the worst amp I have ever heard. However, it can be misused. I heard this to great effect one evening. At a benefit for an ailing local musician, a MKIIC+ sat onstage for guitarists to use....and everyone who used it sounded terrible regardless of what guitar they were playing. My friend John Sprott had recently bought a MKIIC+ from me and had come to understand the amp. HE sounded magnificent through the Boogie that was on that stage...same amp, different player with different ears and different brain activity. He understood the nuances of the signal path, and made a few quick adjustments. One amp that hasn't been mentioned is the Fender BF Twin Reverb. A customer called the other day complaing about his TR. He wanted to change out his speakers, which I knew were excellent speakers for what he was doing. I told him to bring the amp in and we would do whatever he needed. He brought the amp in. We plugged it in, warmed it up and connected it to his Tele to see if he was getting 'twang' sound. Nah...it sounded like the worst Peavey SS amp you could imagine. I looked at his controls....bright switch on, treble on 2, mids on 9, bass on 2. He had a flat, cutting 'tone' that would erase high frequency hearing in short time. I switched the bright switch off, set the tones on 5 and asked him how that sounded. He said that sounds great. I asked him what cord he was using. He brought that out, plugged it in, unplugged it and we threw that away. A good CBI with Belden cable was the final key to giving him warmth and dimension. $15 bucks and some knob turning changed that lousy BFTR into a big-sounding, warm and articulate twang machine.
You can make any good amp sound bad. The problem with a bad amp is that you can't make them sound good. A good player can get by on a bad amp, but a good player would much rather have a good amp.

So, in answer to the question of the thread....for me, the worst-sounding 'gigable' sized amp that I have heard would have to be Line 6, JC120, any Peavey SS or hybrid amp, any Fender SS. I walk away from any of them. 8)

[Scatterbrain]

My first amp was a little Memphis SS practice amp (with a Memphis Strat). I wanted to love playing electric guitar so much but this was SO bad it kind of ruined my experience for a while. My next gem was a Roland Spirit 50. This amp had a knob you could pull out for supposed Overdrive. Unfortunately, there was very little gain and it sounded incredibly flat and lifeless. Kids buying their first amps today don't realize how lucky they are. There was such a dearth of good products back in the 80s. After that came the infamous Duncan Convertible 100w. I actually liked this amp (at the time), but traded it in for '73 Marshall 50w head. I don't regret that trade at all!

[the velvet catfish]

Originally Posted by Tremo

Anything from Mesa.

I would disagree with that.. so would
Vintage Guitar Mag:
http://www.mesaboogie.com/Reviews/LS...alVintage.html

No Affiliation With Mesa.
Jeff

[Savagery]

Originally Posted by 11 Gauge

before this thread descends into merely jesting, i'll cast the first stone:

-80's Peavey Stereo Chorus 212

this thing weighed more than a Twin Reverb, had 3 channels (all of which sucked), and horrendous digital reverb. Not a good tone to be found anywhere in the thing. it was so bad that i traded it in for a Pignose G40V...

Holy hell, I know what you mean. My friend has a peavey SC with the 2x12 config and man does that thing sound like garbage. He thinks it's the best though, but his opinion is incorrect. I just hate going to his apartment and hearing him crank the gain on that thing and do metal riffs. Makes me bleed.

People seem to really hate crates... I have a Vintage Club 30 from the early 90s and that thing sounds great! (more so after I took out the Sovteks) The overdrive channel isn't so hot but the clean channel is wonderful, especially when I play the tele through a Tube Screamer.

[the velvet catfish]

After playing that Mesa Lonestar Special 1-12
it makes me want to "hurl" my Fender Blues
Deluxe down a flight of very LONG and
winding stairs.


Jeff

[trag-o-caster]

4. The first solid state Crate Amps that actually were built to look like wooden fruit crates. Remember that marketing nightmare from about 1978? Crate thought that Country Musicians would love the genuine "crate" look because of the rugged look. Brown wooden boards with big plastic knobs sticking out. Yikes.

Someone has been showing up to the Sunday night jam lately with one of these. He puts it on a chair, runs his guitar (some Fender Jag body w/'buckers thing) into a Boss distortion pedal (don't remember which one), and gets the most Gawd-Awful tone ya ever did hear . He INSISTS on using it too. We'll have a couple of idle DR's sitting around and offer them for him to use - no way. "Gotta have MY amp man"!

Go ahead. I'm steppin' outside!

Plush may have copied Kustom's cosmetics, but the amps themselves were not cheesy at all. The circuitry was pretty much a straight copy of the Fender Twin Reverb-Amp, and the transformers were top quality. Plush hired Saul Marantz as a consultant to help them with chassis layout, parts sourcing, and production issues. The Plush amp was a high-end effort for its time, shame they squandered it all by hiding it inside a copycat cabinet.

My dad brought one of these home one day. I plugged it in, turned it on, and got a big shower of beautiful purple sparks flying out of the back of the amp! Never did get to find out what it sounds like! It was a roll and tuck head.

Didn't Jeff Beck use a Plush for about a minute back in the Beck, Bogert, Appice days?

[BradKM]

I used to work in a store that stocked everything from $59 acoustics to $10k+ Custom Shop Martins and Gibsons.

My boss insisted that we always have some of the absolute cheapest gear available on the floor with the good stuff, because he knew that people would come in knowing nothing about musical equipment at the holidays and insist on buying on price. We didn't push this stuff...the staff was trained to show the true differences in various pieces of gear. The boss was right, though...every Christmas we'd get dozens of customers who wanted the absolute cheapest guitar and amp they could get.

So to the point...

The absolute cheapest amps that we had at the time were by a company called RMS. I believe they were distributed by Musicorp, one of the big gear wholesalers.

The small ones, which sold for around $40, came in packs of four. We'd order a dozen at a time, and test them when they came in. It wasn't uncommon to get a 50% failure rate right out of the box, and I remember several occassions when 3 out of every 4 that I unboxed were D.O.A.. And of course, they sounded pretty bad too.

[David Barnett]

Originally Posted by trag-o-caster

Didn't Jeff Beck use a Plush for about a minute back in the Beck, Bogert, Appice days?

He endorsed them for a short time, but that was in the Jeff Beck Group days with Ron Wood and Rod Stewart.

Or maybe it was Ron Wood who endorsed them. The picture I seem to recall in my mind's eye in the old Plush catalogue I used to have, was captioned "Ron Wood of the Jeff Beck Group" or something like that.

[eggman]

Howdy,

Trag-o-caster's post about Crate's SS amps from the late 70's brought a sheepish grin to my face. THAT was my first amp! I even gigged with that loser in College, too! LOL
It was portable..and cheap..and was better than my stereo I'd been plugging my Kent LP custom copy into at age 15! Jeesz, I'm goin' back to 1979, 1980 here. Those Crates disguised AS crates were dogs, only i didn't know it at the time. This forum is a blast.

Eggman

[mk]

Well, those Crates weren't much better by the mid-80s, which is when I bought a G60 or something like that -- a 1x12 mostrosity that sounded like a pissed off hungover bumblebee. It was loud, though....

Runner up: a Kuston tuck~n~roll 2x12 that I blew up by driving with the speaker output of an old Peavey (which survived the abuse, remarkably). It howled pretty good, gave up some Bauhaus-ish moans and squeals, and sang no more.

Honorable mention: mid-60s Gibson with the coarse black tolex. This one was a 1x10 with two EL84s. A reasonable idea, but the power supply was so tight, it was a more narrow-minded amp than most solid state fizzboxes.

[PaulR]

According to some reviews there, the Gorillas are just about the best thing going!

I think I had one a long time ago, I had one of those Crates that looked like a crate, I had some sort of Sunn solid state thing, a couple of bad Peaveys, a Legend--with the cane grill.

[Tremo]

Originally Posted by BradKM

The small ones, which sold for around $40, came in packs of four. We'd order a dozen at a time, and test them when they came in. It wasn't uncommon to get a 50% failure rate right out of the box, and I remember several occassions when 3 out of every 4 that I unboxed were D.O.A.. And of course, they sounded pretty bad too.

I've seen that at a local Fender dealer. The real ultra cheapo small solid state amps have terrible reliability and fail frequently. They're so cheap that when they fail, even if it's DOA from Fender, they won't repair it, just replace. Throw them in the trash. The local dealer has a whole wall full of these failed little amps. Fender tells him to just cut off the line cord and record the serial number, and they send him a replacement amp. They're really not worth anything, everything inside is ultra cheap garbage. And yeah, even when they do work, they sound bad.