amp for telecaster

[bobbyg67]

need an amp for my new telecaster. had it for about a month and the learning curve is going pretty fast. i played acoustic for over 40 yrs and this new toy is captivating.

i play in an acoustic duo and might eventually work the telecaster in for some tunes. do beatles, csn, neil young, classic rock and originals. venues are usually small to medium(100 to a few hundred at most.)

may eventually work into full band situation and would like to get something i don't have to upgrade with. suggestions?

[dkwvt]

What is your price range, do you use a PA, and how much weight do you want to lug around... ;-)

[perttime]

In an acoustic duo, you don't need lots of power, at least if you can either mike or DI the amp into a PA.

There are many 5 to 20 W amps that could work. The smaller end of the spectrum is some tiny tube, or "modeling", amps (or effect pedals) that don't even have their own speakers and you just route them into the PA or acoustic amp.

[clintj]

Another question: how much clean headroom do you want/need? There's two approaches that can be taken - low to medium power tube amp and push the amp hard if you want overdrive, or run a high power amp (40+ watts) and cherry pick a few pedals for your distorted tones. Neil Young used the first approach, often with a early Fender Deluxe, while David Gilmour used the second one.

Weight is important too. You may find you love the sound of a Twin Reverb for example, but moving one without a hand truck is a real chore. They weigh something like 90 pounds.

[pitner]

Any tube Fender will work a,, depends on how loud you want to get. I have a 15 watt Blues Jr that does the job.

[joeguam]

I'm interested to, just made the dive into the Tele world last week.

What about those amp simulator pedals,any good? Is an amp even needed if you have the pedals to make your tone?

[RockerDuck]

Leo Fender famously voiced his amps to make his guitars sound good. That continues today. I mean would you make an amp that doesn't sound good with a guitar you made? So a Fender amp is the best choice. I have a couple of Strats and tele's and have several Fender amps and they compliment each other well. Its when you get into rock and metal playing things change to Mesa and Marshall. But then, a Mustang amp will get you there too.

[zabdart]

Hmmm... well, as noted above, there are a lot of variables to consider here: loudness, portability, budget, etc. Vox amps sound significantly different from Fender amps, due to the circuit design and the speakers used. The only way to tell is to take your Tele down to a good music store, try it through a bunch of amps and see what fits your needs. Currently, I'm in love with my Fender Blues Junior, which is light-weight (35 lbs.) and awfully LOUD for a 15 watt amp... but it's not perfect. It sounds a little "boxy" to some (especially if you plan to gig with it) and it's over-biased and runs hot (which means you get less life out of your tubes), but as a practice amp, it's superb.
People will make all kinds of recommendations, but it's a personal choice, so go to a good music store and try a lot of amps. It's really the only way.
Sorry I can't be more helpful than that.

[spazz]

FYI, the Telecaster Guitar Forum is a specialist forum where you will find lots of info and advice http://www.tdpri.com/forum/index.php

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by bobbyg67

Need an amp for my new Telecaster...do Beatles, CSN, Neil Young, classic rock and originals. Venues are usually small to medium (100 to a few hundred at most.)...may eventually work into full band situation and would like to get something I don't have to upgrade...

Originally Posted by clintj

...how much clean headroom do you want/need? There's two approaches that can be taken - low to medium power tube amp and push the amp hard if you want overdrive, or run a high power amp (40+ watts) and cherry pick a few pedals for your distorted tones...

As per our previous PM's the Bugera V22 seemed to appeal to you, and since I'm using one for similar-sized audiences it would necessarily be my first choice; if you like the price/features but need more clean headroom the 55-watt/2X6L6 V55 can be had for about $80 more. Although I'm generally a tube guy, a good solid-state amp gives you lots of clean, lightweight power for little bucks and makes an excellent platform for a pedalboard, as well as (in select cases) being able to do double-duty as an acoustic-electric amp; I keep a Fender Frontman 212R and an old Peavey Studio Pro 50 in my stable for just that reason - the former for acoustic guitar and backup to my '65 Super RI for oldies/surf, the latter as preamp/EQ/stage monitor for banjo (got a built-in DI I send to the board). While the subject could be discussed ad infinitum, Zabdart hit the nail on the head - get out there and play everything in your price range, and see what works best for you...

[moon]

You really use pedals on their own to craft a sound without an amp. Technically it's possible to DI a guitar signal (and some recordings have been done like this) but mostly a good electric guitar sound depends on a real amp. Pickups, amp, speaker and cab are all designed to work together and each contribute something to the tone.

Personally I think amp sims are a con trick. They all promise the authentic sound of your favourite tube amp (hundreds of them, all in the same box) but fail to live up to the marketing hype.

The worst thing is you won't ever learn anything with sims. The amp is a major part of the instrument (as well as all the other electromagnetic bits: pickups, pedals, cab) and so crafting a sound means learning a little bit about how amps work. Things like preamp gain and power amp gain. How a given amp responds to its controls and to pedals.

I actually use cab sims to record at home along with a reactive load. That allows me to replace the speaker/cab and record silently direct into the DAW. Although I think that works pretty well I'd never replace a real amp with an amp sim. Even if the sounds were just as good (they aren't) interacting with a real, organic amp where you can tweak the controls to explore different sounds is a completely different experience compared to simply pressing a button to call up a canned tone. A lot of songs have been written after a guitarist hit upon a great, new sound, couldn't put the guitar down, and suddenly found they were playing a cool new piece of music.

[franchelB]

Originally Posted by pitner

Any tube Fender will work a,, depends on how loud you want to get. I have a 15 watt Blues Jr that does the job.

Yep, or the Deluxe Reverb.

[imwjl]

Models that have been around for a long time are a safe bet.

Blues Juniors can be a great value and they have a real tank (reverb). Princeton Reverb will be more money but I found my PR was more friendly at home volumes than my BJR, and it's very "pedal friendly"

I just counted 9 amps bought and mostly sold in recent years. The Princeton Reverb has had more use than any because I can play it with the family not bothered by the noise yet grab it and play it where there's a drummer and others. My friend with a a generally wanted Swart just sold the Swart and his Blues Junior because he felt nothing did cleans like the Princeton Reverb and he's totally pleased using a pedal with it. I'd love the Swart he had but get what he did because my others gather dust most of the time.

[pitner]

Originally Posted by franchelB

Yep, or the Deluxe Reverb.

Yes without a doubt. My 69 Deluxe is now my Son's amp he also has a Princeton which is very cool. All the traditional Fenders will work as far as I am concerned. My other amp I like is a 40 watt Guytron with a single 12 open back cabinet. Pricey but great sound and has a built in power brake so you can do 2 watts 20 watts or 40 or DI and no speaker. Cool for my gig at church where we use IEM's so I really don't need the speaker.

[RedJoker]

Originally Posted by moon

....
Personally I think amp sims are a con trick. They all promise the authentic sound of your favourite tube amp (hundreds of them, all in the same box) but fail to live up to the marketing hype.

....

I actually use cab sims to record at home along with a reactive load. That allows me to replace the speaker/cab and record silently direct into the DAW. Although I think that works pretty well I'd never replace a real amp with an amp sim....

Can you go into some more detail here? I have a modeling amp so I really only know one side and am trying to learn. I get that the modeling amp isn't perfect but most folks would only be able to pick up the differences in perfect conditions. Since most performances are in less than perfect acoustics, a modeler would likely be OK. Plus you now have access to a far larger range of sounds than a single amp is able to give. Far more potential for creativity, no? Plus, at least with my Mustang amp, I can tweak all kinds of things or set up presets. Very flexible and I assumed the other modelers were the same way.