Grateful Dead Music Forum

What does everyone use? ...................

I use a Fender 2x12 60w HotRod Deville that drives a Fender 2x12 ext cab. I never get sick of the warm Fender sound. I used to have an Ampeg Reverb Rocket that I was fond of but would never leave Fender. Never really played any high end "boutique" amps though.

The thing that I never can get, is when I see a local band and some guy pays $1400 for a Les Paul then plays it through a Crate solid state amp? Don't get that.

Been that guy ... too many times .... mostly I prefer Peavey amps , though

Lately I have been playing thru a Twin head -> into a 2 x 12 cab ....
but decided to get ( finally ) a SMS pre-amp ....

Mesa Boogie Lonestar Classic (with the 100/50/10w switch) into a JBL K110 + 120 cab.

I also have a Fender Champ 12 (red knob era) with a Celestion V30 in it.

Tweed Deluxes by Fender and Victoria. One or both depending on venue and crowd size. The Vic is cleaner and mikes up very effectively. When I am in the mood, I can run the amps into a Mac 30 watt mono block into either a 4x12 cabinet or two Dan Armstrong cabinets. The 4x12 has greenback Celestions and get a nice Marshall tonality. The Armstrongs have Cerwin Vega speakers: 12" in one and 15" in the other. They are very transparent sounding. When I want a sweet distortion ala Dickie Betts, I have an old cabinet with a Jensen MOD 12 inch.

Just picked up a new Mesa Boogie TA-30 1x12 combo. Best amp I've ever owned, hands down. I might switch out the speaker someday but for now it's all I need.

http://www.mesaboogie.com/Product_Info/ ... tml#gpm1_1

Big Mesa Fan - I currently use a TA-15 head with a 2 x 12 rectifier cab. The thing can be freakin loud. You dont need a lot of watts in a tube amp. Dont be surprised by its tiny size. it has a huge sound and great tone.

I had a lonestar head but was never able to dial it in just right on a consistent basis.

I use a Fender twin reverb that I leave at the studio for practicing. It is just to heavy to lug around and seems pretty fragile when used to move it around a lot.

12w Pro Jr (Fargen mod'd )
15w Blues Jr (Fargen mod'd )
22w Fargen Deluxe Reverb
40w Custom Fargen 1/2 Twin
40w 1964 Fender Vibroverb
SMS + TubeWorks or 20/20

Love my collection! Definitely allows me to bring the right sized amp for the room. In my not so humble opinion, that is a huge key to great tone that is often overlooked.

strumminsix wrote:12w Pro Jr (Fargen mod'd )
15w Blues Jr (Fargen mod'd )
22w Fargen Deluxe Reverb
40w Custom Fargen 1/2 Twin
40w 1964 Fender Vibroverb
SMS + TubeWorks or 20/20

Love my collection! Definitely allows me to bring the right sized amp for the room. In my not so humble opinion, that is a huge key to great tone that is often overlooked.

Wise words strummin' - situational awareness is an often ignored attribute by musicians

Nice collection of toys too!

My amps and stuff:
Fender '65 Twin Reissue
Mesa Boogie Mark III Head (1987)
SMS CTP
Mesa Boogie V-Twin rack preamp
McIntosh MC2100
MOSVALVE MV-962
Lexicon MPX-G2 rack guitar processor (for going direct)
Mesa Boogie 2x12 half open cabinet
Bag End 2x12 ported closed back w/Eminence Commonwealth speakers
Bag End 2x12 open back (opened by me) no speakers yet . . .

SMS CTP
McIntosh MC250
MosValve MV-962
SSP Cab 2x12 with K-120s
SSP Cab 1x12 with Beyma Liberty

Yea Amps!

1) Mesa TA-15 - 1x12 K120 - Thanks Tracy @ SSP for posting the plans. - Awesome.
2) '68 Deluxe Reverb - NOS tubes - D120 - Sarno "Special" tone stack. - Awesome.
3) SMS > Mc250 or Mc2100 (killer CL deals) > GCX > SSP 2x12 (1 E, 1 K) - Cosmic!
4) '67 Twin Head - Needs love. Sitting idle. Going to get the full mod, but haven't had the time. Farty. Tired. Warped boards.
5) iPad > Amplitube > iRig - For the Winter when I can't play loud in the ManCave.

I love amps. When I grow up (if I grow up - haven't succeeded so far @ 48) I wanna be Larry Cragg & have all the classic amps. Hunting CL for Tweeds currently.

Peace
M

Mesa V-twin rack pre amp
Mesa 20/20
Ear Candy 2x12 with 1 each AlNiCo and ceramic Tone Tubbies

Looking for a nice fender 1x10 or 1x12 tube to use in more portable situations, maybe an older champ or Princeton - gotta keep trolling CL for that deal to come round

tcsned wrote: Wise words strummin' - situational awareness is an often ignored attribute by musicians

Nice collection of toys too!

Thank you for both! And I similarly, dig your options! That Mesa on a 2x12 vertical would be very compact. And open and closed is cool to have. Those closed backs really can help control stage volume in tight quarters!

guido wrote:What does everyone use? ...................

I use a Fender 2x12 60w HotRod Deville that drives a Fender 2x12 ext cab. I never get sick of the warm Fender sound. I used to have an Ampeg Reverb Rocket that I was fond of but would never leave Fender. Never really played any high end "boutique" amps though.

The thing that I never can get, is when I see a local band and some guy pays $1400 for a Les Paul then plays it through a Crate solid state amp? Don't get that.

I use a 2x12 60w Hot Rod Deville also. Plenty loud and clean to do Bobby parts with. The guitar I use is a '79 Ibanez Artist with some flanger (BF-3) and analog delay (AD-9) when needed. Nice amp and it reproduces the tone I get from the guitar with minimal tweeking.

strumminsix wrote:

tcsned wrote: Wise words strummin' - situational awareness is an often ignored attribute by musicians

Nice collection of toys too!

Thank you for both! And I similarly, dig your options! That Mesa on a 2x12 vertical would be very compact. And open and closed is cool to have. Those closed backs really can help control stage volume in tight quarters!

Yeah, I've always liked closed back cabs - I had a really cool Marshall 4x10 that I loved but had to sell to keep domestic bliss in new gear acquisition. The Boogie cabinet is effing huge though - they don't make them anymore, it's big enough for a 4x12 and is a tank. The new ones they're making are a lot more compact. I found a pic on the intarwebs:



Sounds great though!

I have a few too, Every amp/rig is totally different sound too.

SMS->MC100-> JBL e120 2x12 (use 95% of time)

Mosvalve rt2500 head from a combo 2x12 (hybrid) never use. great blues crunch.

Hot Rod Deluxe3 with K120 (1x12 combo) (use 5% of time)

Twin RI 65 with Waldo Mods as a combo with commonwealths. Just plain butter this one is. I have tried my Commonwealths with all the above and they sound awesome in any of the above too! and rarely use it.

and I have an MC250 and MC50 depending on, well I haven't really used those two lately. I have a 1x12 cab with an E120, and a 2x10 with k-110's. Damn now that I've written it out, that's a lot of stuff Im not using very often.