Can anyone recommend me an amp?

[Catbone]

Hi,
I play a lot of Dead music and I do so with a Blues Junior. I'm kind of a tone fanatic and have done many modifications to my guitars, effects and amps. To get the Blues Junior to provide decent tone, I had to replace the first tube in the pre-amp with a New Old Stock Telefunken tube. I think pretty much any New Old Stock tube would be an improvement. Although I have experimented with vintage tubes in all positions in the amp, I found I liked it best with stock tubes in all positions except the first pre-amp tube (V1).
I also replaced the stock speaker with an Alnico Tone Tubby (famous for their use of hemp cones). In order to get it to fit, it is necessary to remove the "bell" on the back of the speaker. There is a screw under the label, in the center, that holds it on. This is the same speaker used by Clapton and Santana. It helps to remove the shrillness from the Blues Junior.
Another trick with the Blues Junior is to dial the treble knob way back. I keep mine at around 2. I have the Mids and Bass at around 7, but I am playing a strat through it(think Europe 72), so these settings may be too boomy for a humbucker equipped guitar.
My other amps are a 1954 Fender Champ, an all-tube Marshall DSL401, and a 1971 Silvertone Amp that I refurbished myself. Of all of these Amps, it's the Blues Junior that works the best for Dead tunes.
The modifications I described will run you about 275$. Its 250$ for the Tone Tubby and about 25$ for the NOS tube. From your perspective, I would guess it seen a risk to spend that much cash to spruce up the Blues Junior... but it certainly worked out well for me.
Regardless of what you decide, I wish you luck in your quest for the perfect tone!

[Pigpen]

becuase of my lack of funds i think the best option to try first would be changing the tubes. Well i an VERY inexperienced with amps and gear, so for the tubes do i get the guitar store people to do it? again thanks so much for all the answers (WAAAY more helpfull then Ultimate Guitar.com)

[Pigpen]

hmm after fully reading Cat's reply messing wiht the amp is probly out of the question for me.. i think ill justtry some of the cheaper amp selections

[strumminsix]

Changing a tube is like inserting a plug into an outlet. It seems a bit odd that it can be so simple but it really is!

You would need to get the tube from places like:
http://www.dougstubes.com/
http://www.eurotubes.com/

As far as speakers go I've heard great reviews on the tone tubby but a more economical alternative would be Eminence's Cannabis Rex which is hemp coned as well. I picked a pair for $69 each.

http://www.usspeaker.com/Cannabis%20Rex-1.htm

Read up on this guy, he is really a cool person and very knowledgable:
http://home.comcast.net/~machrone/bluesjunior.htm
http://home.comcast.net/~machrone/bjr/bjrextspeaker.htm

[tigerstrat]

Pig, one more thing often overlooked is: Turn the Jr's Bass control down - way down! It mostly just muddies your sound, especially in a small combo, and especially if you play with a bassist and/or keyboardist... add Reverb and reduce Presence! (if it has one)

To many "all-tube" means pre- and power-. Tube-rectified amps are somewhat rarer, going back a few decades, and tube-but-ss-rectified amps precede all-solidstate amps by several years. It would be hard for me to consider a blackface Twin or Showman or say a Mesa Mark I-IV to be other than "all-tube", but perhaps its just my general preference for no sag. Potato Potahto, iyam.

[grateful4booze]

Oh, man. I thought I read $3000! Sorry.

[Shooster]

I can do you one better , compadre... I can sell you an amp.

Fender Twin Reverb Reissue. Excellent condition, sounds amazing.

PM me if you're interested.

[large75]

i am selling a fender hot rod deluxe tweed colored amp 40 watt combo someone else had mentioned that this may be what you might want it is like new hardely used i bought it along with a fender strat and have since became much more intersted in acoustic music styles am selling to buy a banjo
i looking to get 400.00 for it i paid around 625.00
great glassy clean tone and two channels of od i think it would be a great amp for what you are looking for despite the argument over tube amplification i woild say that this is a tube amplifier by most peooples calculation unless you are talking vintage and much more money

[eyeprod]

SS,
What no other replies on how important a rectifier is? I thought there was a bunch of guys on here who knew and cared for these precise details? And all I get in reply is go to mesa?? I believe I pointed out that Mesa was the only ones making hype about their rectifiers, so your reply is still lacking. This is all about a term, which I still see all the time and that's ALL-TUBE. I mentioned it in reply to someones question and you start pulling out your dictionary AS IF there are a bunch of others on here who care. And you use this condescending tone in your first reply which you have done to me before...something to the effect of, most of US here. Ahem, sorry, but you've got no backup on your "rectifier must be tube for the term all-tube to be used" theory. It just shows that you are a total geek to even bring it up. Though I have nothing against that in itself I do have a sense for people and you're attitude of who is in and not in said group makes me feel you are a dick. This is why I have no problem being a dick right back to you. I don't sugarcoat my opinions. You go ahead.

So again,(after over a year of posting here once in a blue moon) I still don't know who this WE or US is, but I regard myself as NOT one of them just so I can avoid being grouped with a-holes like you. As far as music goes, yeah if you want respect show me what you got. Insulting someone by coming off as superior AND THEN implying some wanna-be elitism isn't going to win you any friends. You sure don't like it when I do it to you. Now shut up and play yer guitar. That's what I do with most of my free time, not troll some gay forum and wait to educate people on details only a geek would care to understand.
[/quote]

[strumminsix]

SS,
What no other replies on how important a rectifier is? I thought there was a bunch of guys on here who knew and cared for these precise details? And all I get in reply is go to mesa?? I believe I pointed out that Mesa was the only ones making hype about their rectifiers, so your reply is still lacking. This is all about a term, which I still see all the time and that's ALL-TUBE. I mentioned it in reply to someones question and you start pulling out your dictionary AS IF there are a bunch of others on here who care. And you use this condescending tone in your first reply which you have done to me before...something to the effect of, most of US here. Ahem, sorry, but you've got no backup on your "rectifier must be tube for the term all-tube to be used" theory. It just shows that you are a total geek to even bring it up. Though I have nothing against that in itself I do have a sense for people and you're attitude of who is in and not in said group makes me feel you are a dick. This is why I have no problem being a dick right back to you. I don't sugarcoat my opinions. You go ahead.

So again,(after over a year of posting here once in a blue moon) I still don't know who this WE or US is, but I regard myself as NOT one of them just so I can avoid being grouped with a-holes like you. As far as music goes, yeah if you want respect show me what you got. Insulting someone by coming off as superior AND THEN implying some wanna-be elitism isn't going to win you any friends. You sure don't like it when I do it to you. Now shut up and play yer guitar. That's what I do with most of my free time, not troll some gay forum and wait to educate people on details only a geek would care to understand.

You are really funny! How do you go through life being so insecure about yourself that you make up people's voices to get their "tone" on a message board and using that to cause drama?

Still don't know what you found condescending or being talked down to or whatever but you are dead wrong. I still hold to the position that people who are coming to get educated should know all the information we as a community can offer.

Maybe you shoulda just given the benefit of the doubt?

Funny that you use the word troll. I'm here daily, share my opinions, made real-life friends from here, contribute constantly, part of the mod crew, and rarely have any "fights". Ask Tigerstrat we disagree constantly yet I think he's a great dude and treat each other with respect. But you come here infrequently and cause a fight. That is a troll.

You can say I'm a dick, an a-hole and that this forum is gay but I'm laughing at you while you are pissed at me since it proves that you cannot have an intellectual discussion without name calling and are obviously so insensitive to others that you still equate the word "gay" to being negative. I sure hope nobody on this forum is offended by this.

[tigerstrat]

yyyyyyyyyyyyyyaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwn

strumminsix you are ultra-technically correct, however despite your crusade of clarification, the vast majority of guitar-playing humanity will continue to refer to any amp loaded with 12AX7's and 6L6/El34/6V6/EL84s as "all-tube".

It's kinda like how the apparent common perception of people (and in media)is STILL that chimpanzees (and gorillas and orangutans) are "monkeys." They are quite different but there's not really a damn thing you can do stop people referring to them as such.

you've both had the last word several times, so please take any residual personality conflicts to email.

[Pigpen]

How is the Vox Ad30vt? it goes for about 240 on musicians friend(i hate them too, but its cheaper) thanks again

[strumminsix]

How is the Vox Ad30vt? it goes for about 240 on musicians friend(i hate them too, but its cheaper) thanks again

If you walk into a Guitar Center they will beat the price from Musician's Friend. I prefer my local shop as well but sometimes we all need things at a better price than the local shop can give...

[Pigpen]

well your all gunna love this haha. I brought my amp to my guitar teacher and i loved how it sounded.... god i have no idea, its a great amp i dont know what i didnt like. Thanks for the reply's tho!

[waldo041]

Personally, I love tube rect! It's the reason my Hotrod doesn't see that many shows since my Mesa has it!

hey strummin,

that can be modded on your Hrdx. personally, i have not tried it. but it may get that amp out to a gig for you.

http://studentweb.eku.edu/justin_holton/sag.html

also, there is a good explanation on why some may want sag and why some may not want sag.

that said, there is a difference and each player has his OWN ear to judge for themselves if it is what they may want in an amp.

peace,
waldo