Forgiving amp

[neckradius]

What are some forgiving amps? By forgiving, I mean that your playing sounds good through it, a nice sound seems to jump out of it. It doesn't highlight inconsistencies, missed notes, weaknesses, etc. Its not stiff, if you dig what I mean by that. Spongy.

Anyway, I'm curious what you think is forgiving. In my experience Vox is forgiving. But some things can be forgiving for sometimes and not at other times. When I play a nice clean chord through a Deluxe Reverb it seems forgiving in that it makes an ordinary chord sound great, but overall, I wouldn't say that's a forgiving amp.

Thanks in advance for all your suggestions. Also, I don't mean to be obnoxious, but there is no need to tell me to avoid a forgiving amp and to focus more on cleaning up my playing, practicing, lessons, etc. Those are all wonderful ideas, but they are not what I am asking about.

 

[homesick345]

THe tube rectifiers old fenders - bf & sf.... THey are bouncy & kind of lick your mistakes behind you. Speakers were not that efficient, & so many times you could pretend a mistake never happened, or better, that you did it on purpose.

 

[Chud]

That's the weirdest question about an amp I've ever heard.

I wouldn't call it forgiving, I'd call it a lack of detail if the amp doesn't "pick up on" your mistakes. Maybe I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around the idea of a forgiving amp, or a forgiving guitar for that matter.

 

[waparker4]

Walk into GC, listen for the loudest shredding that sounds the "best". That's probably the most forgiving amp.

 

[Chud]

Walk into GC, listen for the loudest shredding that sounds the "best". That's probably the most forgiving amp.

Now THAT makes sense in terms of forgiving. Lotsa compression.

 

[neckradius]

That's the weirdest question about an amp I've ever heard.

I wouldn't call it forgiving, I'd call it a lack of detail if the amp doesn't "pick up on" your mistakes. Maybe I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around the idea of a forgiving amp, or a forgiving guitar for that matter.

Well, I ain't making it up, I've heard it before. And I've experienced it. Think of it this way- a super clear, transparent amp- it shows everything. Think of a distorted signal, drowned in reverb, delay, and all other kinds of stuff. You won't pick up on certain subtleties, e.g., pick attack. Now take reverb and distortion and effects out of the equation.

 

[joeford]

any of the old 80's-90's crate amps with a "saturation" knob.
those things forgave an entire highschool punk scene in my area... covered lots of our mistakes!

 

[Chud]

Well, I ain't making it up, I've heard it before. And I've experienced it. Think of it this way- a super clear, transparent amp- it shows everything. Think of a distorted signal, drowned in reverb, delay, and all other kinds of stuff. You won't pick up on certain subtleties, e.g., pick attack. Now take reverb and distortion and effects out of the equation.

I wasn't giving you a hard time, it just struck me as funny and I'd never thought of it that way. So if you take that distorted signal (I'm assuming from the super clear transparent amp you referenced above) drowned in reverb, delay and all that stuff and then take out the distortion and "stuff", then what you have left is...?

Of course some amps are more clear than others, some warmer, some more detailed, richer harmonics, more efficient speakers that make certain frequencies more pronounced etc... I had just never considered an amp that didn't have all that to be more forgiving, just a less detailed, less rich, etc...

 

[String Tree]

Beer is more forgiving than any amp.

Just ask my audiences.

 

[Justinvs]

THe tube rectifiers old fenders - bf & sf.... THey are bouncy & kind of lick your mistakes behind you. Speakers were not that efficient, & so many times you could pretend a mistake never happened, or better, that you did it on purpose.

It's funny, but I've heard BF and SF amps called unforgiving because they stay clean so long and have so much definition.

The most forgiving amp I've owned is my SS Marshall. Sounded good but was warm enough to mask 'pick clicks' and the really obvious side clams.

 

[Chud]

Beer is more forgiving than any amp.

Just ask my audiences.

If I wasn't still recovering from a nasty cough I would have LOL'd all over myself.

 

[homesick345]

It's funny, but I've heard BF and SF amps called unforgiving because they stay clean so long and have so much definition.

The most forgiving amp I've owned is my SS Marshall. Sounded good but was warm enough to mask 'pick clicks' and the really obvious side clams.

If by forgiving we mean distorted/saturated then it's a different thing. (but I can totally understand how distortion could mask a lot of things)

The bf/sf tube rectified fenders have this bouncy roundness quality that makes notes feel elastic. The amp has a "give" with your picking hand, & does not flash everything you play upright front.

Difficult to explain, but these amps are sensitive; rubbery - not "hard" feeling like a Mark I Boogie or Dumble on the clean.

Not to forget the cavernous reverb that "drowns" everything

 

[neckradius]

If by forgiving we mean distorted/saturated then it's a different thing. (but I can totally understand how distortion could mask a lot of things)

The bf/sf tube rectified fenders have this bouncy roundness quality that makes notes feel elastic. The amp has a "give" with your picking hand, & does not flash everything you play upright front.

Difficult to explain, but these amps are sensitive; rubbery - not "hard" feeling like a Mark I Boogie or Dumble on the clean.

Not to forget the cavernous reverb that "drowns" everything

I don't mean distorted/saturated.

 

[homesick345]

I don't mean distorted/saturated.

The effect I'm describing has got (MAYBE) to do with tube rectifiers AND alnico speakers combination, since a twin is less "forgiving" than a super or vibrolux or vibroverb.

 

[EETStudent]

Vox-style amps are definitely forgiving. They have a round/spongy/warm and slightly compressed vibe at all settings. This is in part due to lack of negative feedback, cathode biasing, and alnico speakers traditionally. These 3 main factors prevent the amp from being stiff/tight and it allows even the weakest notes to have a singing quality to them. It just comes easier

 

[Justinvs]

If by forgiving we mean distorted/saturated then it's a different thing. (but I can totally understand how distortion could mask a lot of things)

The bf/sf tube rectified fenders have this bouncy roundness quality that makes notes feel elastic. The amp has a "give" with your picking hand, & does not flash everything you play upright front.

Difficult to explain, but these amps are sensitive; rubbery - not "hard" feeling like a Mark I Boogie or Dumble on the clean.

Not to forget the cavernous reverb that "drowns" everything

I think I get what you mean. I was playing through my PV Windsor last night, just messing around, and I noticed even running hot I could hear more attack than I would through my Super Reverb. Although, since it is so clean, th SR definitely showcases all my clams!

 

[old goat]

Any decent amp will forgive you if you're nice to it. A wife not necessarily.

 

[BobbyB]

I would say most Bogner amps are forgiving...very spongy and thick....

 

[Middleman]

There's no forgiving in guitar playing.

 

[Stubee]

There's no forgiving in guitar playing.

Yeah, that's my take.

But if you want to sound good while flubbing a bit maybe a Roland Jazz Chorus or whatever they are called.