Solid State amp you've known and loved,,, or hated,

Yeah! Those weren’t bad! I ended up with a friend’s CR-160 after he gave up playing, and it didn’t do high-gain crunch but it had a nice warm, round kind of “gentle crunch” that was nice. At the time I was into harder crunch sounds but found that it paired well with other amps in thickening up distorted sounds. I ended up passing it on to a younger cousin, but I wish now I still had it.

I am really happy with an early 90s Peavey TKO 115S bass combo, with a Scorpion 15 in it. Once you figure out the all-active graphic-plus-shelving EQ, it can sound really good with bass, guitar and lap steel. The Scorp reaches high enough in frequency response to do all three justice. It really wakes up and starts to holler when the gains are set around 7, and oddly (to me) the same basic settings work pretty well with all three instruments, so it’s surprisingly set-and-forget. At 75 watts, it’s loud at those settings but not painfully so, and it really gives the electric guitar and the lap steel a solid “whomp” that I like when you dig in and pop the strings.

And some combination of DDT speaker limiting at those volume levels gives a subtle sense of bouncy compression, which I love...it starts happening before the amp really begins to break up so you get snarl and sustain while still being clean enough for chords to sound clear and good.

The drawbacks are size, weight and it’s not really loud enough with bass to hang with a loud drummer.

 

I have a Henricksen JazzAmp which is a really great sounding clean solid state amp, small, loud, versatile eq. I put a pedal in front of it for very low gain dirt which is all I ever use.

 

I have 4 SS Peaveys in my basement. Bandit, Renown, Nashville, Session.

Good reverb.

All are excellent for playing steel guitar.

Its really not the same as my other amps for regular 6strimg though. Like, the bandit isn't bad, but I dont use a pick, and they feel isn't the same.
Seriously contemplating popping a kevlar enforced Black Widow into that Nashville 400 though. Loud and consistent cleans is what I need with the console steels. Lap steels I run into my regular guitar amps. Different goals.

 

My first amp was a Kustom K200 2-15 I bought new in 1968.
I only used it for my Vox Jaguar combo organ, no guitar at all.
It gave me good service until ~1972 at which time I started buying and selling Fender amps, 1-10 or 1-12, no big amps. Older Fenders were dirt cheap back then.
I've since bought and sold plenty of SS and tube amps.
The best SS I remember was a Tech 21 Trademark 10 I wish I had kept.
The la`

 

As far as solid states, I dig the Orange CR120H. I really love that thing. Feel like I can pretty much do anything with it. Also the Orange Micro Dark, though technically it's a hybrid and not pure SS.

I've always wanted to try a Pathfinder 15R and a Bandit, as well.

 

My first amp was a Kustom K200 2-15 I bought new in 1968.
I only used it for my Vox Jaguar combo organ, no guitar at all.
It gave me good service until ~1972 at which time I started buying and selling Fender amps, 1-10 or 1-12, no big amps. Older Fenders were dirt cheap back then.
I've since bought and sold plenty of SS and tube amps.
The best SS I remember was a Tech 21 Trademark 10 I wish I had kept.
The last 15-20 years its been tube amps plus a THR10-C.
Currently I am very happy with my Mojotone 5f11 tweed vibrolux.

M

Mojotone 5f11 tweed vibrolux with
Weber a125a speakere

 

My first 2 amps were the Yamaha G 50-112's
( #1, bought new in 1976 stolen in '80, so I bought another one in '82!)
Decent amps- but look cooler than they sounded ( kinda flat)

After playing tube amps the next 30 years ( and still do)- these two SS get many of my gigs anymore.
A VOX Pathfinder 15R and a Fender Frontman 25R.
Small/light, powerful enough for me, cheap, sound great- and most importantly, look cool!

 

Just purchased a Quilter Mach 2 8 inch combo SS w 12 inch Mach 2 HD extension cab. First impression is front focused, super responsive / touch sensitive and “tubey,” but not nearly as tube- like as my All tube 6v6 Vintage Sound 15. But that wasn’t the question. Do I like the Quilter? A lot I think- for its quality build, clean full bottom end and clarity (8 plus 12 speakers produces quite the 3-d sound). Loud too. How much do I like it? Time will tell- a ton of tone adjustment possibilities-so I’ll see if I can find my “sound” in there. My main electric is a Ron Kirn T style w Wilde Keystone pickups -so lots of clarity there. No hiding behind this amp; everything is definitely “up front.”

 

Using a DV Mark 50 with 2 10 cab. Takes pedals real well and can really get me out in the mix. I’m typically a Fender guy so this is uncharted territory for me. So far so good.

 

Peavey Citation 140W head (guitar version-- they also made a model for bass). Very loud and pretty heavy but built like a tank. Two channels, each with a lot of eq options and boost buttons.

 

I love my JC40. I used to have one of those Kingston amps - the tremolo was nice.

Plus one on the pignose.

I like my old Smokey for walking around the yard with some lo-fi goodness.

 

Disliked: Fender Scorpio, any Peavey I've played through (although some have sounded great with others playing through them), any cheap 10-15 watt practice amp- most makers.

Liked: Yamaha G100 112 II, heavy as hell, had to fight it to get the fender sheen and chime, distortion sounds meh. Roland JC series, various sizes, mostly 120 and 77 or 90. Great cleans, and the chorus was and is the best out there. Onboard distortion sounded like an elephant fart.

 

Done a lot of gigs over the last couple of years with my Katana 50, and I only bought it as a cheap and cheerful rehearsal amp. I had a Peavey Bandit in the late 80s, and gigged with that happily. I had a SS Laney that was horrible, and some old '70s Yamaha SS with built-in Wah...horrible.
Now I have a Fender Tonemaster Twin Reverb and it is amazingly good, and weighs half of what my old Twin weighed! I don't think I will need any more amps, and wont be buying any more tube amps.

 

The Lab Series, some of the older Peaveys, Quilters, a cheap Holmes SS that sounded amazing with a Tele, and some of the hybrid amps (Peavey VT, MusicMan 1x15" monster).

 

I have a current Peavey Envoy 110. Great, loud clean channel that is a very good base for od/distortion pedals.

The gain channel has 3 settings, and ea h of those are very useable as well. I am always looking at other amps, but it would be really difficult for me to justify letting this one go.

It's funny though, because I've always heard people asking if a certain tube amp is a good pedal platform, aka clean headroom. That's EXACTLY what SS gives you. Clean headroom for days, plus the clearest, cleanest canvas to hear what your od/distortion pedals actually sound like.

Thats not to say SS is better, just that it's hard to beat the clean headroom of a good SS amp.


I'm really interested to test drive one of those EHX Dirt Road Specials though...

 

The Gorilla bass amp I had in high school sucked.

 

I tried a first-gen Yamaha G-50 1
X 12 in a store once, with a Fender Duo-Sonic. I really liked it, and thought it looked cool too.

 

I have owned a lot of guitar amplifiers over the years.

Solid State, Tube amps, hybrid, you name it.

Here's what I can offer you;

You and I, the guitar purists in this crowd, we can tell the difference.
We know the nuances of the qualities of these different types and brands of guitar amplifiers.

Guess what?
The paying audience generally cannot.

They just want you and the band to play great music, and they love it when you play in tune, play on time, and smile when you deliver their favorite songs.

Buy guitar amps.
Buy whatever you want.
Make yourself happy.
Whatever it takes.
Get the amps that you like the best.

But when you play in front of a paying crowd?
Be in tune.
Play well.
Kill it.
And smile when you play and sing for those people who pay your gas money back home.

 

I can get my Teal Stripe Bandit to sound 'pert near nuff to my DSL and Blues Junior

 

My first electric setup (Aug. '76)
A 1976 Gibson Les Paul Signature, w/HSC
Yamaha G50-112
Cable, strap, strings.
$500 FOR ALL!
( guitar & amp stolen in College, Nov.1980)