Need help buying an EL84 amp

John H. · July 12th, 2003, 01:18 AM

I have a Carmen Gia, the lack of head room bothers me. I'm considering a Badcat Cub, Maz 18 Jr., Aiken, or top hat. I'm more interested in a nice full chimey clean tone that gets a little nasty when guitar is rolled up. I'm a blues-jazz player with all Fenders. The Maz and Top Hat are more affordable. Are the Badcat or Aiken worth the extra money and wait? Please help, John

Mike Better · July 12th, 2003, 01:33 AM

Did you consider a Mazerati? It's the bigger brother of the Ghia, and one of the best EL84 amps I have heard... you definatley can do what you want with it, and if you're worried about volume, I'd pair it with a 1x12 cab w/ a lower efficiency speaker..

Mike

John H. · July 12th, 2003, 02:00 AM

Yes Mike, I've considered buying yours when it was for sale as I did the Z28. I also live near Chicago and wanted to here your stuff but I read your post when you said that your keeping the ratti after hearing it through Celestion Blues. Seems I waited too long. I can hear the badcat and top hat over at Make n music but can't seem to find any Dr. Z's in town. If you still have the ratti and are still considering selling it, let me know. Thanks for the reply. John

MJ Harnish · July 12th, 2003, 02:27 AM

Most (all?) of the amps you mention are all low wattage and thus not going to have significantly more headroom. You really need something with more wattage which means 4 EL84's; so you'd probably be better off looking at a Maz 38, Vox AC30, Matchless DC30, etc.

Big Cookie · July 12th, 2003, 03:11 PM

If you don't go to a 4 EL-84 amp you aren't ever going to be happy. 2 of em is never going to get more headroom than a Ghia does.

jumpnblues · July 12th, 2003, 03:18 PM

...my MAZ 18 jr. 2x10" combo has a surprising amount of headroom for 18 (actually closer to 24) watts, however, if you want clean at higher than moderate volume go with 4-EL84's. 8)

rickyralph · July 12th, 2003, 04:14 PM

hey i just want to cast my vote for my 84 powerd 2-12 mesa maverick.i think there great for just about any thing except metal. i had a mazerati sold it after a month did not look back.the only other 84 model i really liked and wish i had not sold was a red ac 30 that was just too cool and sounded so nice. oh well they come and they go!

marshallmelloman · July 13th, 2003, 11:26 PM

The Winfield Thomas November is a great amp you can get for 700 bucks with 4 el84s . I've got one and it rocks. It is no jazz amp though. Marshally. It is as good as any amp I have heard and much less expensive. ptp-hand wired.

Teleman · July 14th, 2003, 08:20 AM

You might want to consider a Mesa Blue Angel. The amp has two 6V6's and four EL84's and the ability to use either set of tubes or all of them. By doing so you can vary the output of the amp from 15 to 33 watts. Makes a very versatile setup that can handle most any gigging situation.

Wayne Alexander · July 14th, 2003, 11:30 AM

The stock Korg Vox AC30 is a great amp, though you need a THD Hotplate or Weber Mass to allow gainier tones at less than basketball-court volumes. If you can afford it, the AC30HW, which is about twice the price, is every bit the equal of the JMI-era Voxes in tone, with the added attractions of having superb reverb, tremolo and a master volume. If you're considering a 4 EL84 amp you should try these.

KC · July 14th, 2003, 12:56 PM

hey, if you have the chance to check one out, take a listen & see what you think. two independent preamp sections, one modelled on the ac30 and one that isn't, and a half-power switch for smaller rooms. I've got one and I love it. one caution: this amp sounds completely different when you use the master volume control, different as in worse. if you want to know what this thing is capable of, bypass the master (which you can do by simply pushing the knob in).

bult like a brick sh!thouse, too -- though you pay for it every time you try & pick it up. feels like it's bolted to the floor. do check it out. good luck.

Poppatwang · July 14th, 2003, 02:24 PM

Poor man's Vox AC30. 4 EL84s, Channel switching,
long tank reverb, 2x10 or 1x12. Had mine for 7+
years w/nary a problem. Great sound, great value.

UncleJarmo · July 14th, 2003, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickyralph

hey i just want to cast my vote for my 84 powerd 2-12 mesa maverick.i think there great for just about any thing except metal. i had a mazerati sold it after a month did not look back.the only other 84 model i really liked and wish i had not sold was a red ac 30 that was just too cool and sounded so nice. oh well they come and they go!

I have a Top Hat Club Deluxe and a Mesa Maverick. Neither are what I would use if I wanted a lot of painfully clean headroom but both are great sounding amps. I've had about a half dozen other amps in the time I've had the Maverick and I always end up going back to the Mav.
The clean channel does have good "warm" headroom, IMO. By that I mean that it can get up to a nice fairly loud volume without any real discernable break-up but the "ice-pick" highs have been rounded off.

To me the Club Deluxe is like a cross between a black face Deluxe and a Tweed Deluxe depending on how you use the mid control. Nice and warm sounding but not a lot of clean headroom. But my purpose of using small tube amps is to get away from those painful highs.

tweedman · July 14th, 2003, 08:05 PM

Buy a Peavey Delta Blues and use the rest of the money for a nice cruise.Or have a good amp tech build you a Tweed 5E3 Deluxe with what ever speaker configuration you choose.I have played thru Bad Cats and Dr.Z's and really like them,but for the money I'll take the 5E3 Deluxe.[6V6's]

Tacobrown · August 14th, 2003, 10:17 PM

"Poor man's Vox AC30. 4 EL84s, Channel switching,
long tank reverb, 2x10 or 1x12. Had mine for 7+
years w/nary a problem. Great sound, great value."

Great amp! If you like the el84 tone, its great. I'm selling mine on ebay right now only because I need a Tweed Deluxe. Opening bid $350.

stratohiker · September 1st, 2003, 12:33 PM

I also have a Maverick 2 12 combo and a Rocket 44 (with a JBL E120-8 in it). Both work well for me. Of course the Rocket has more gain on the B channel side. Both have more than ample headroom on the clean channel. Plus, with the Mav, you can kick in the solid state rectifier if you need even more headroom. I'm interested to see the new "Lone Star" amp they've got coming out too.

Kurt · September 1st, 2003, 01:55 PM

Just an alternative view, Carvin Vintage goes for a lot less $$ and has a pretty good sound. I use it with both my Tele and Strat and it sounds great. Very loud, fair amount of headroom, lots of useful tone.

July 12th, 2003, 01:18 AM	#1 (permalink)
John H. TDPRI Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Chicago/NW Indy Posts: 37	Need help buying an EL84 amp I have a Carmen Gia, the lack of head room bothers me. I'm considering a Badcat Cub, Maz 18 Jr., Aiken, or top hat. I'm more interested in a nice full chimey clean tone that gets a little nasty when guitar is rolled up. I'm a blues-jazz player with all Fenders. The Maz and Top Hat are more affordable. Are the Badcat or Aiken worth the extra money and wait? Please help, John

July 12th, 2003, 02:00 AM	#3 (permalink)
John H. TDPRI Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Chicago/NW Indy Posts: 37	Mikes Mazeratti Yes Mike, I've considered buying yours when it was for sale as I did the Z28. I also live near Chicago and wanted to here your stuff but I read your post when you said that your keeping the ratti after hearing it through Celestion Blues. Seems I waited too long. I can hear the badcat and top hat over at Make n music but can't seem to find any Dr. Z's in town. If you still have the ratti and are still considering selling it, let me know. Thanks for the reply. John

July 12th, 2003, 02:27 AM	#4 (permalink)
MJ Harnish Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Hattingen, Germany Posts: 457	Most (all?) of the amps you mention are all low wattage and thus not going to have significantly more headroom. You really need something with more wattage which means 4 EL84's; so you'd probably be better off looking at a Maz 38, Vox AC30, Matchless DC30, etc. __________________ MJ Harnish Suburbs: Where they cut down all the trees and then name the streets after them.

July 12th, 2003, 03:11 PM	#5 (permalink)
Big Cookie Banned Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Ennis, Texas Posts: 693	MJ has it nailed If you don't go to a 4 EL-84 amp you aren't ever going to be happy. 2 of em is never going to get more headroom than a Ghia does.

July 12th, 2003, 03:18 PM	#6 (permalink)
jumpnblues Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Midwest Age: 58 Posts: 1,662	Agree with Mike and Big Cookie... ...my MAZ 18 jr. 2x10" combo has a surprising amount of headroom for 18 (actually closer to 24) watts, however, if you want clean at higher than moderate volume go with 4-EL84's. 8) __________________ jumpnblues "Heaven St." (Original Blues Instrumental): http://www.box.net/shared/static/z96atf0zn2.mp3 http://www.myspace.com/drbluezz

July 12th, 2003, 01:33 AM	#2 (permalink)
Mike Better Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Age: 27 Posts: 507	Did you consider a Mazerati? It's the bigger brother of the Ghia, and one of the best EL84 amps I have heard... you definatley can do what you want with it, and if you're worried about volume, I'd pair it with a 1x12 cab w/ a lower efficiency speaker.. Mike

July 12th, 2003, 04:14 PM	#7 (permalink)
rickyralph Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: south tx Posts: 129	maybe ? a mesa maverick hey i just want to cast my vote for my 84 powerd 2-12 mesa maverick.i think there great for just about any thing except metal. i had a mazerati sold it after a month did not look back.the only other 84 model i really liked and wish i had not sold was a red ac 30 that was just too cool and sounded so nice. oh well they come and they go! __________________ no more small frets please!

July 13th, 2003, 11:26 PM	#8 (permalink)
marshallmelloman Tele-Holic Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 547	The Winfield Thomas November is a great amp you can get for 700 bucks with 4 el84s . I've got one and it rocks. It is no jazz amp though. Marshally. It is as good as any amp I have heard and much less expensive. ptp-hand wired.

July 14th, 2003, 08:20 AM	#9 (permalink)
Teleman Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Plainville, CT Posts: 393	Mesa Blue Angel You might want to consider a Mesa Blue Angel. The amp has two 6V6's and four EL84's and the ability to use either set of tubes or all of them. By doing so you can vary the output of the amp from 15 to 33 watts. Makes a very versatile setup that can handle most any gigging situation.

July 14th, 2003, 11:30 AM	#10 (permalink)
Wayne Alexander Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA Posts: 1,052	The stock Korg Vox AC30 is a great amp, though you need a THD Hotplate or Weber Mass to allow gainier tones at less than basketball-court volumes. If you can afford it, the AC30HW, which is about twice the price, is every bit the equal of the JMI-era Voxes in tone, with the added attractions of having superb reverb, tremolo and a master volume. If you're considering a 4 EL84 amp you should try these.

July 14th, 2003, 12:56 PM	#11 (permalink)
KC Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Missoula, Montana Posts: 1,232 15 Photos	Bad Cat Black Cat 30 hey, if you have the chance to check one out, take a listen & see what you think. two independent preamp sections, one modelled on the ac30 and one that isn't, and a half-power switch for smaller rooms. I've got one and I love it. one caution: this amp sounds completely different when you use the master volume control, different as in worse. if you want to know what this thing is capable of, bypass the master (which you can do by simply pushing the knob in). bult like a brick sh!thouse, too -- though you pay for it every time you try & pick it up. feels like it's bolted to the floor. do check it out. good luck.

July 14th, 2003, 02:24 PM	#12 (permalink)
Poppatwang Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: St. Paul, MN Posts: 1,885 13 Photos	Laney VC-30 Poor man's Vox AC30. 4 EL84s, Channel switching, long tank reverb, 2x10 or 1x12. Had mine for 7+ years w/nary a problem. Great sound, great value.

July 14th, 2003, 08:05 PM	#14 (permalink)
tweedman Tele-Meister Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 414	Buy a Peavey Delta Blues and use the rest of the money for a nice cruise.Or have a good amp tech build you a Tweed 5E3 Deluxe with what ever speaker configuration you choose.I have played thru Bad Cats and Dr.Z's and really like them,but for the money I'll take the 5E3 Deluxe.[6V6's]

August 14th, 2003, 10:17 PM	#15 (permalink)
Tacobrown TDPRI Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 27	"Poor man's Vox AC30. 4 EL84s, Channel switching, long tank reverb, 2x10 or 1x12. Had mine for 7+ years w/nary a problem. Great sound, great value." Great amp! If you like the el84 tone, its great. I'm selling mine on ebay right now only because I need a Tweed Deluxe. Opening bid $350.

September 1st, 2003, 12:33 PM	#16 (permalink)
stratohiker Tele-Meister Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Savannah, GA Posts: 155	Boogie for me.. I also have a Maverick 2 12 combo and a Rocket 44 (with a JBL E120-8 in it). Both work well for me. Of course the Rocket has more gain on the B channel side. Both have more than ample headroom on the clean channel. Plus, with the Mav, you can kick in the solid state rectifier if you need even more headroom. I'm interested to see the new "Lone Star" amp they've got coming out too.

September 1st, 2003, 01:55 PM	#17 (permalink)
Kurt Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: MA Posts: 363	could also look at Carvin vintage for less $$ Just an alternative view, Carvin Vintage goes for a lot less $$ and has a pretty good sound. I use it with both my Tele and Strat and it sounds great. Very loud, fair amount of headroom, lots of useful tone.