Favorite vintage amp for an ES-335?

[clintj]

I know we have some gear junkies here, so let's hear some thoughts. What vintage amp do you like best with a Gibson ES-335? I've got my eye on building another kit amp, and I'm on the fence between a Blackface Fender like the Deluxe or Twin, or an 18 watt Marshall.

[Bob Womack]

I love the 5E3 Tweed Deluxe. It has a natural compression caused by the design's cathode bias. I also have a BFRI Deluxe. What you will get with the blackface Deluxe is a more glassy high end, a more balanced low end, reverb and trem, and two channels with different voicings. Since you are building it, you can easily play with the voicings once it is together if you want to change them. For example you could make the dry channel have the bright voicing of the wet channel and vice versa by moving one cap and you could add effects to the dry channel with a simple mod.

The twin is wonderful, powerful, muscular amp with the same feature set as the BF Deluxe. It is MUCH heavier. Before you built, carry one a hundred feet. If you want more headroom with less bulk, a Super (45 watts) might be better.

With the 18 watt Marshall you basically have Marshall's take on the Tweed Deluxe - a different voice and different breakup characteristics but the same feature set. I know you already have a Tweed Deluxe so I add that comment.

Bob

[Tone Gopher]

THE amp for a classic ES-335 tone is a black face Super Reverb. If you want to build a kit, check out Allen Amplification's "Old Flame". The 2x10 option is more portable, but the 4x10 is the ultimate way to go.

http://allenamps.com/oldflame.php

A low power (tweed) Twin would be second choice.

[SupremeDalek]

A real BF Super Reverb. They just sing with humbuckers. A clone is a reasonable option, but the real deal also has an amazing amount of "cool" factor. But...I'm biased...

As it pertains to the Allen build...why spend $2000+ for a clone when you could have the real one for less?

[redir]

You can't go wrong with the Twin for sure but for a 335, especially if you are going to play jazz, I'd consider a Roland JC-120 as well.

[moon]

Gibson Goldtone GA15 (aka Trace Elliot Velocette) is another nice old amp.







Don't think there are any kits though. If you can find some photos of an old one that should be all you need to create a sane (ie quiet) layout.

[DanR]

Many years ago (early '80s) a friend of mine loaned me a '59 Gibson Ranger for almost 2 years. Playing my '67 ES335 through that Ranger, the tone was magic. It did not sound that great with a Telecaster, but the 335/Ranger was just fantastic. I still think about picking up a Ranger every now and then but I currently use a TopHat Club Royale when I play my 335 and it is possibly equally as magical, yet different, to the Ranger. Then again, I haven't played through a Ranger in decades, so it's hard to compare. But I do remember how impressed I was.

[stevieboy]

Originally Posted by SupremeDalek

As it pertains to the Allen build...why spend $2000+ for a clone when you could have the real one for less?

Allen's aren't clones, they are unique designs that are roughly based on classic amps. They have features that the originals don't have, mostly which give you more versatility (though he does drop the tremolo circuit in many of his amps.) Most of his amps offer the possibility of choosing between different power tubes, you can go back and forth between 6V6s and 6L6s, with an external bias pot and measuring jacks that make it pretty easy to DIY. You still might prefer the original Super Reverb which are great, but the Allen isn't the same thing. You can also get your choice of speaker configurations, or even get it in a head. Two grand by the way is the about the most you can spend on any of his amps, for the Old Flame with the four by ten speaker setup.

I have an Allen Accomplice, and it's a fantastic amp. It's capable of everything a Deluxe Reverb is, and a lot more.

Personally, I think Supers and even more so Twins are bigger than I need. If I had to pick the one vintage amp that I thought the 335 was best through, I'd go for one of the Fender tweeds, probably a Pro, Bandmaster or Super (not the same as the Super Reverb!) but I'm a fan of tweed amps and they sound good through many amps, it really comes down to your particular tastes and needs. Someone said the Twin Reverb if you play jazz, for example, which would give you the headroom you might want.

[SupremeDalek]

Thanks for the info, I had no idea. They are good looking amps with lots of options. Pretty cool.

[Paultergeist]

Originally Posted by SupremeDalek

A real BF Super Reverb. They just sing with humbuckers. A clone is a reasonable option, but the real deal also has an amazing amount of "cool" factor. But...I'm biased...

As it pertains to the Allen build...why spend $2000+ for a clone when you could have the real one for less?

I am biased as well.......I do have my own personal take on your question -- which I do feel is a very valid question.....

I got into the hobby of building my own tube-based guitar amps several years ago for a variety of reasons. Along the way, I learned some things and made some observations about how the inside guts of amps (a) were built back "in the day," (b) are often built today, and (c) may be built by discriminating tweakers (or boutique amp companies). As in most things, there are pros and cons to the buy vs. build options, but for myself, my lust for some of the big name-brand amp models cooled considerably when I started seeing pretty flimsy printed circuit boards (PCBs) holding some very cheap components inside of the pretty cabinets. The more I learned to care about "what was inside," the more I found my judgments changing. Tube amplifiers which are built with high-quality turret/eyelet boards and wire runs lend themselves to being modified, up-graded, and/or repaired much more so than the PCB-based (cheap) construction commonly observed today from mass-production companies.

I have not played the Allen amps, but their reputation is stellar among us hobbiest amp-builders, and one often gets what one pays for.......

[clintj]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

I love the 5E3 Tweed Deluxe. It has a natural compression caused by the design's cathode bias. I also have a BFRI Deluxe. What you will get with the blackface Deluxe is a more glassy high end, a more balanced low end, reverb and trem, and two channels with different voicings. Since you are building it, you can easily play with the voicings once it is together if you want to change them. For example you could make the dry channel have the bright voicing of the wet channel and vice versa by moving one cap and you could add effects to the dry channel with a simple mod.

The twin is wonderful, powerful, muscular amp with the same feature set as the BF Deluxe. It is MUCH heavier. Before you built, carry one a hundred feet. If you want more headroom with less bulk, a Super (45 watts) might be better.

With the 18 watt Marshall you basically have Marshall's take on the Tweed Deluxe - a different voice and different breakup characteristics but the same feature set. I know you already have a Tweed Deluxe so I add that comment.

Bob

Good point on the Marshall. Although the classic Gibson/Marshall pairing like Clapton played is pretty darn tempting.... That's the one pro the 18 watt has going for it. My other guitars play very well with them, too. My Tweed already does a killer distorted tone, though.

Several people mentioned the Super Reverb. I hadn't even thought of that amp, TBH. I love the Twin, but it such a huge beast of an amp with almost unlimited headroom. The Super, though. Little more reasonable power level, I've heard them sound superb with a Tele, enough headroom to be a great stompbox platform, tons of classic Blackface 6L6 tone, and there are kits available. Time to confirm with a few sound clips, but that sounds like just what I might be looking for. Thanks!

[jseth]

I LOVE my '72 Deluxe Reverb with my '74 ES-345!!!

I must say, though, if my back was stronger, I'd probably have a Super Reverb, too! Something about the sound from those four 10s that just develops some SERIOUS tone!

[rockabilly69]

this....

[The Growler]

I use a Gibson GA RVT-20 with my ES-359. Pics of amp and guitar: http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=321337

Sounds great.

[BTF]

My vote (as usual) is for the Brit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW5M5xljdCI

Sure, it's a fifty on the video, but an 18 is a glorious little brother!

Whatever the choice, have fun!