Best Amp for Shoegaze

Hey everyone. I'm looking for a good amp to use for a new shoegaze project I am playing with. We have a shoegazy sound with lots of influence from bands like Pedro the Lion and Mineral.

Anyways, I was playing through a Sovtek Mig 50, but I could not the the shoegaze tone I was after. I also have an AC15 that I have tried to use, but it is not loud enough to use when the band is practicing (we don't have our own PA so I can't mic the amp).

What amps do you consider to have a good shoegaze tone? I'm thinking of purchasing a Blues Deville or Deluxe. Any input?

Thanks.

Justin M.

if your looking for that clean tone, it would most likely be a fender. a deluxe is a good choice, but lacks the head room of a twin reverb. i think alot of those type of bands used distortion and fuzz pedals, like an EH Big Muff for their tone. hope that helps!! you could also go soem googling and find out what amps your favorite artist use to get a jumping off point.

Wait, Shoegaze tone? Warm, bell like cleans and massive walls of distortion? Listen to any early Starflyer 59? Jason used various Fender combo's over the years including, ohhh, I can't remember the name, maybe a Fender Super Six? You certainly don't need a 6x12 tube combo and neither did Jason. Most indie bands from that era and genre of music that I saw used the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe or Deville. The Deluxe has a bit darker tone than the Deville (IMO). It has a good drive channel that works perfectly for that '90's era indie rock like Pedro/Starflyer style Shoegaze. I think "Shoegaze" was the term stuck on indie rock bands who were not "grunge." Shoegaze slowly become Melodic, then Emotive and finally Emo and all that fad spurned.
Anyway, any 1x12 or 2x12 tube combo with a dirt pedal would get you there but a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe is a great starting point. I know bands from that era/style who are still using HRD's to this day and have never changed a tube, fuse, or speaker.

Also, so I don't sound like just another guy offering his input, I'm a long time Pedro fan and loved everything Tooth & nail put out during that era. Pedro the Lion and Starflyer 59 have always been big influences in my quest for tone.

Blues Deluxe/Deville are good options. Peavey Classic 50 is another place I'd look.

Well here ya' go (fro another recent thread):

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/msg/2960426714.html

Wait, Shoegaze tone? Warm, bell like cleans and massive walls of distortion? Listen to any early Starflyer 59? Jason used various Fender combo's over the years including, ohhh, I can't remember the name, maybe a Fender Super Six? You certainly don't need a 6x12 tube combo and neither did Jason. Most indie bands from that era and genre of music that I saw used the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe or Deville. The Deluxe has a bit darker tone than the Deville (IMO). It has a good drive channel that works perfectly for that '90's era indie rock like Pedro/Starflyer style Shoegaze. I think "Shoegaze" was the term stuck on indie rock bands who were not "grunge." Shoegaze slowly become Melodic, then Emotive and finally Emo and all that fad spurned.
Anyway, any 1x12 or 2x12 tube combo with a dirt pedal would get you there but a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe is a great starting point. I know bands from that era/style who are still using HRD's to this day and have never changed a tube, fuse, or speaker.


I like your input. I'm gonna head to my local guitar shop and try out all of these various amps to see what I like the best. Cool to meet another Pedro the Lion fan. David Bazan is an incredible song writer and musician. I haven't listened much to Starflyer 59, but judging by this song I am listening to right now on youtube, I like them a lot.

Just found a good CL deal on a Blues Deville RI. Lightly used for $500. My favorite guitarist Cody Bonnette from As Cites Burn uses one and I love his tone.

I bought a clean used USA Hot Rod Deluxe for $300 a few months ago. Keep looking around for a good deal. I've seen them as low as $250. The Blues Deluxe is basically the same amp, with a different speaker.

And yes, Bazan is great songwriter. I still get his tunes stuck in my head on a weekly basis.

Oh, and pedals: The Vox Valvtone V810 was a staple during that time. There was one for sale in the classifieds section here. If it's gone, check the online auction sites. I sold one for $70 a few months ago.

i have been in several shoegazey, dreamy pop, etc bands and i have noticed among most of the guys who also played guitar there was no consistent amp choice but the tones were always on the heavier side of wet/reverbed. I think really you just wanna make sure you have a great clean tone and reverb. most fuzzes and overdrives can get you everywhere else. two of the more popular bands in my area that fall into the category are using twin reverbs and ac30s. so it just goes to show ya there is never a right or wrong way to approach a sound(except maybe modern metal haha)

I would suggest a Roland JC-120 or Fender Twin Reverb. One of the reasons I got interested in the JC-120 is because it was the amplifier of choice of my favorite shoegaze musicians, Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell of Slowdive. Actually, Rachel Goswell used a JC-77, but that's close enough. Even bigger influences of mine that used them are Malice Mizer's guitarists, Mana and Közi... totally different style of band, though.

After doing further research, the JC-120 sounded like something that I would really like. A JC-120 is just about the best platform I can think of for letting one's effects do most of the talking. It is clear, can be quite loud, and is a very neutral sounding amplifier with a very flat equalization. Fender amps tend to have a much stronger character, whereas the JC's are more faceless, but not necessarily in a bad way. Actually, the built in chorus effect (which is incredibly splendid) had a lot to do with defining the character of much of the popular music from the 1980s.

JC's are what I would personally turn to for that style of music. They're quite affordable on the used market.

To give you an idea of what one sounds like, very early Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins (coincidentally, another big influence of mine) used one while he was writing sad-ish music before he switched to a Marshall half stack and decided to get aggressive. His guitar of choice during that period was a Fender Mustang.

csp06tLUcBo

I would suggest a Roland JC-120 or Fender Twin Reverb

Yeah that's "the answer". Also Marshalls for stuff like Ride and MBV. Cleans are only really important if you like Slowdive style stuff but if your going be throwing in a lot of reverb, delay, fuzz and filters then anything with decent headroom with do just fine really, it's just going to get smooshed anyways.

AC30 :grin:

I had a PV classic 50, and it would not take pedals well at all. Even delays sounded bad through it. If you were just going guitar into amp, then it was great, but that's not really shoegaze, is it?

Cleans though, Fender twin. No good suggesting a Jansen amp because they're NZ made but such is life.
Hot rod deluxes are good amps, and an extension cab would be the icing on the cake. Just for a bit more depth.

Maybe even a JCM900.

Seriously though, the AC30 is a really good base for pedals. It seems to play nice with damn near anything, has a great reverb, enough power etc, what more could you want?

I'd recommend a Twin, perfect platform for the big fuzzy pedals you'll want to stick in front of it. Will go the the shoegaze volumes you need and will deliver a real heavy wall of sound.

D.

I'd recommend a Twin, perfect platform for the big fuzzy pedals you'll want to stick in front of it. Will go the the shoegaze volumes you need and will deliver a real heavy wall of sound.

D.
Totally agree here. The twin is the best platform for pedals cept for 1 amp the MusicMan HT115. I've used fender Twins/Pro Reverbs and absolutely love these amps (I own a 2000 Fender Pro Reverb) but the Music Man amp is absolutely pristine when it comes to cleans, and every pedal I own sounds better on this amp.

Oh wow. MBV and Smashing pumpkins and Marshall stacks are so far away from Pedro the Lion on the musical spectrum.

i'd just pick up a high wattage solid state like a peavey bandit.. and old randall... heck.. a crate powerblock (if you have a cab)... low dollar shoe gaze machines...


here ya go
http://greensboro.craigslist.org/msg/2959751661.html

Oh wow. MBV and Smashing pumpkins and Marshall stacks are so far away from Pedro the Lion on the musical spectrum.

I have no idea about that one way or the other. The video I posted was more about an example of what a clean JC-120 sounds like (or at least can sound like) than The Smashing Pumpkins, or saying, "The Smashing Pumpkins used these so you should, too."

^ No worries, I didn't read your post that way and wasn't responding specifically to your post only.

Here is one of Pedro's early singles for reference/comparison:

DiR6rYKNwGg

Hmm, I know that's only one song, but that's not the type of sound I usually associate with Shoegaze music, for whatever that's worth. Sounds like... uhh... regular indie rock. I can see a Fender Hot Rod amp working well for trying to get that type of sound.

http://www.uberproaudio.com/who-plays-what/117-smashing-pumpkins-billy-corgan-guitar-gear-rig-and-equipment

A safer question would be what doesn't he use...:mrgreen:

Hmm, I know that's only one song, but that's not the type of sound I usually associate with Shoegaze music, for whatever that's worth. Sounds like... uhh... regular indie rock. I can see a Fender Hot Rod amp working well for trying to get that type of sound.

I know, right? I addressed this in my first reply. Pedro is certainly '90s indie rock and not really Shoegaze in the way it is understood now but back then genres weren't so compartmentalized like today.

I guess I have a misconstrued view on shoegaze then lol. I'm pretty generic when classifying bands though so thats probably why I lop a lot of them together that aren't.

Here is a good view of what we are playing. We are actually planning to cover this exact song at some point.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aj879fSVbTQ

So I went to a local guitar store who sells fender products tonight and tried out several amps. First I tried a 2x12 Twin Reverb and a 1x15 Twin Reverb. The cleans were superb but almost not colorful enough for my liking. I tried out a 59' Bassman reissue and was impressed by the vintage tone, but it was just not the right style for me. Luckily, the store had a Blues Deville 4x10 that I plugged in to. Wow this amp is amazing. Beautiful glittery Fender cleans with an awesome tube distorted drive channel that sounds incredible. I like how it has a Fender tone, but a midrange punch of a Vox because of the 4 10 inch speakers. This amp has the tone that I have been seeking for. It should be good for the style of music the band plays too. Now...where to find a thousand dollars...

No need for $1k my man :) I've seen those things sell locally here in Athens for $400 on c-list. Keep an eye out and you'll find the right bargain. There's a good shop in your town with used stuff and I see a lot of good used gear down around Simpsonville too. Oh wait, I just realized you're in NC, not SC :( At any rate, good find with the 4x10 that certainly puts you in the ballpark for a wall of sound when needed and also Fender cleans w/ reverb. I like those amps. My neighbor used to have 2 of them and I'll never forget it ;)

Atlanta: http://atlanta.craigslist.org/sat/msg/2923933614.html

Atlanta: http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/msg/2951551497.html

Columbia: http://columbia.craigslist.org/msg/2960482472.html

Greensboro: http://greensboro.craigslist.org/msg/2932488941.html
^Winner winner chicken dinner :)