Guitar Nerds Anonymous

What's on the list so far?

Yes, list please...

Word. I need some amp inspiration.

Will share the list when I get a sec. in the meantime: https://m.facebook.com/rigsofdad/

I love Rigs of Dad 😅

I'm not really sure what I'm after now. I don't really want to spend crazy money and have been looking at stuff up to about £8-900 which is the top of my budget. I guess part of the issue is that I don't really know what i'll be doing with it yet. Probably some sort of mainly clean rock n roll, surf, soul type pickin', but I want headroom to be able to step on a fuzz and go into garage psych rock territory. If I want living room volume or exploding amp type sounds when cranked I already have a practice amp and an OG SF Champ already so I'm guessing the wattage I'm after would be between 15 minimum and 40 tops. I want to be able to keep up with a drummer without farting out so I think maybe an AC15 or Princeton might be a little underpowered.

S/h Deluxe Reverb reissue possibly perfect although I'd prefer something original or PTP wired clones over Chinese PCB based reissues.

I've always been a Fender amp guy at heart and have had few original and reissue things over the years. I've been trying to convince myself that I could become a Vox or Marshall guy... Been looking AC15C2s (2x12) and JMP Bluesbreaker reissues... but if I'm honest I keep coming back to original SF Fenders. The cost of 70s originals isn't much different from s/h reissues (which seem very expensive to my out of touch wallet).

There's currently a 1975 SF Bassman 4x10 combo on the bay. It's HUGE and wildly impractical but I reckon it's a thing of beauty.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-Bassman-Ten-4-x-10-valve-combo-1975/362774714619?hash=item54770ed8fb:g:3NwAAOSwsMZdIjT7

Should say that I'm not too fussed about reverb or trem. Would be nice but not a dealbreaker. Simplicity appeals to me in amps and I'm happy to add these with a pedal or two like I do with the Champ now.

Option to stick a bass though the bassman for recording is an appealing thought too.

I'm not really sure what I'm after now. I don't really want to spend crazy money and have been looking at stuff up to about £8-900 which is the top of my budget. I guess part of the issue is that I don't really know what i'll be doing with it yet. Probably some sort of mainly clean rock n roll, surf, soul type pickin', but I want headroom to be able to step on a fuzz and go into garage psych rock territory. If I want living room volume or exploding amp type sounds when cranked I already have a practice amp and an OG SF Champ already so I'm guessing the wattage I'm after would be between 15 minimum and 40 tops. I want to be able to keep up with a drummer without farting out so I think maybe an AC15 or Princeton might be a little underpowered.

I was never a huge fan of Fender amps, my background was always Marshalls and Oranges and Matamps and the like, amps which start out dirty and get dirtier, total riff / noise machines. But when I picked up a Fender Hot Rod III 40w I was really sold on it. I bought it as a dirty surf amp, and it isn't that - the spring reverb on board is really rich and smooth, no ugly 'doink' on it at all - but what it is is a brilliant sounding pedal platform. Every pedal I put through it, from dirty compressors to springy reverbs to pristine delays to horrific fuzzes just sounded brilliant. (The dirty channel is not worth bothering with, but the clean is lovely.)

It's arguable if you'd consider it to be part of the Fender 'history' - it's not a very characterful amp - but if I were going to have just one amp to do everything I do, that'd be the one. It's a proper swiss army knife. I'm actually on the lookout for one at the moment, just keeping my eye out for a bargain. You can pick them up for £300-£350 if you're quick.

This Ceriatone American Classics 5F6-A Bassman is available as a 2x12 combo for $1050usd.

By all accounts they make stunningly good, hand-wired, boutique amps.

I would argue they don't have much of a character, I know they do their job well but they're not very sexy... Knoworrimean?

70s Fenders are ridiculously cheap, really great value... Or just get a reissue Princeton...

Silverface Bassman 50 head and then pick up a guitar cab and a bass cab at your leisure*

*I may be talking to myself here

Yeah man, some 70s fenders seem to go for similar money to S/H reissues which is just crazy to me. The only ones which seem to be real bargains are the overlooked models tho. Bassman and Pro Reverbs in particular seem to be somewhat bargainous.

I had a Pro Reverb in the late days of my skronky rock trio but it was a bit of a dog. Great when it was working though. Another one of those and definitely on the list. It's the same size and maybe 2/3 the weight of a Twin. SAme front end too but at 40w eminently crankable.

https://reverb.com/item/27258314-fender-pro-reverb-1972

That's kind of what I'm thinking Rickster. I reckon they're criminally undervalued.

I played a wonderful Pro Reverb back in the 80s and have had a hankering for one ever since... You still got yours, @rickster?

So, so light...

I would argue they don't have much of a character, I know they do their job well but they're not very sexy... Knoworrimean?

Very much so. I'd actually agree with you, they're quite vanilla amps - but I think that's why they can manage to tick the noisy / clean / grungy / pristine / hifi / lofi boxes all in one. It's very much a jack of all trades - doesn't do one thing amazingly, just does everything really really well.

Ah, I sold the Pro Reverb a while ago, exactly like Fatberg's it had some slight issues that resisted ALL attempts to fix. Apparently the new owner's got it working nicely (or else he's just less picky), whatevs, props to him, it defeated me...

Fenderwise, I do think 2x6L6 is the best way forward if you have a single country bone in your body and you want to keep a nice solid doink when up against a drummer.

Mine had been tinkered with and was running these:

http://www.tubemongerlib.com/gallery2/v/6L6/Sylvania+6L6GAY+1955+Coke+Bottle+Black+Glass+-+USA.jpg.html

and wasn't putting out anywhere near the wattage it should. Had Phillipe at Angel retube and fix it up and it worked great for a few months but then started developing nasty buzzes... then the band ended and it just sat there in my tiny one bed flat taking up space. Was going to take it back for another going over but just sold it for rent money in the end. No Regerts.

Gonna set a few google alerts and scour some quiet corners of teh nets for some new Silverface action.

Something unusual for cheeps here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/293256741887 Late 70s Marshall attempt at a Twin by all accounts.

Blackface Bandmaster? Definitely in that bracket. Super lovely sounding amps - they’re basically deluxe reverbs but with solid state rectification. (Which is a very cheap and simple mod to swap for a valve if you want.)

Valve rectification is one of the daftest uses of a valve imo. Unless you really like sag - and it's such a subtle effect I've never been able to properly identify it, after many years of playing big valve amps - the SS rectifier is always more reliable, sensible, and predictable.

I like Sag! For some things. Played a proper JTM45 on a recording session once and it was the squishiest thing ever. Impossible to sound angry through.

I'm sure you're right and that it's psychosomatic in a lot of situations though. I could be wrong but I vaguely recall reading that SS/Valve rectification makes no diff whatsoever on single ended amps. Never been able to detect any rectifier sag through my champ which i've had cranked on loads of occasions.

It's a weird one - I'm not sure I could tell the difference between the tone of one AB763 blackface circuit and another. Playing dynamics maybe. They all sound sweet though, I love that blackface tone.

Don't know if it's the same back in the UK but original twins aren't fetching massive cash here...too heavy, too loud. I think they sound fab, even at low volume. I've seen silverface, early 70s go for $500 bucks or so. That's a lot of iron for the money!

They really are back-breakingly heavy though.

Yeah same here. Twins tend to go much cheaper than princetons and deluxe reverbs etc. Definitely practicality in terms of portability and crankability becoming more of a factor in desirability in the last 10 years or so.

Weird that reissuing some SF amps, rather than making the originals objects of desire, actually seems to gave made the real deals more affordable by comparison.

I got a thing

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we all expect full python skin boots, bleached mullet and shredded leopard print vest combo in 3... 2...