#16
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There are so many great amps being built today...and with a 2K plus budget you have an enormous amount of choice.....I would start out by checking out some of the videos of some of your favorite players....see and hear what they’re playing through....if you can’t demo any of the amps you are interested in than at some point you will need to take a leap of faith....I could recommend several dozen amps to you but you’re really better off doing your own due diligence....fwiw I know of no better resource for amp reviews than The Gear Page....
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#17
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Two builders I recommend are Jim at Lil Dawg amps, and Rick Hayes at Vintage Sound amps. Both are stellar IMO.
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#18
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To the OP, you have a really nice guitar and for your tastes, you definitely need something that breathes deeper than a BJ. However, both the Twin and Super Reverb amps are really LOUD (and heavy) and you won't get the chance to open them up very often. A lot of gigging musicians have kept their big iron but bought smaller amps to gig because most venues do not allow music that loud anymore. There also are some 1x12 combos that will push 40 watts without breaking your back either.
I can't speak to the boutique amp scene because it's never been within my budget, but I do know a black face Fender will give you what you need. A Deluxe Reverb kind of hits the sweet spot of both being good for practice (and luggable at 40lbs) and enough headroom for 90% of gigs. If you need a little more, the Vibroluxe is another well-loved amp (same size as DRRI but more watts). Personally, I'm using a new Princeton with a 12" speaker and loving it. It would be great for jazz, but for the blues you're probably going to want a little more snarl. |
#19
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Have you considered a Friedman Dirty Shirley? Not sure if you're just looking for a Fenderish tone.
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#20
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Quote:
First off, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that Blues Junior - practically speaking it's become the latter-day Princeton - and many players at all levels get some wonderful tones out of it; that said, as a (relative) newcomer to the amp game you might be surprised at just how much difference a couple simple DIY mods can make in your tone. I'd try a set of good-quality tubes - believe it or not tubes with the same nomenclature (12AX7, 6L6, EL34, etc.) from different manufacturers can have very different tonal/breakup characteristics (something savvy pros use to advantage, sometimes swapping different-make tubes into different positions to achieve a specific sound) - and since IME the OEM stuff is generally installed with an eye toward profit margin rather than optimum tone (with the exception of some - but not all - boutique marques) this would be one of two places to start. FYI I also have a preference for "big clean" tones and as a lifelong, straight-up guitar-cable-amp guy, I can't hide behind a wall of effects (nor would I want to); I've been using these in my Bugera V22 1x12" (one of those pieces of high-quality, low-profile gear that offers amazing bang-for-the-buck) for the last ten years - Soviet-era mil-spec stuff intended for use in MIG fighters, that'll still be delivering the goods at the turn of the next century (no exaggeration) - with great success, and your amp takes the same tube complement: https://www.thetubestore.com/blues-j...remium-package Another option for customizing your tone - one I've personally done with almost every amp I've owned (tube or solid-state) - is a speaker swap; once again, many OEM speakers don't show the associated amp's full potential, and this is often the starting point in upgrading an existing rig since it can yield the most dramatic results with the least effort. In addition to altering/improving tone, a highly-efficient replacement speaker can provide you with additional headroom/volume; when you consider that each 3dB increase represents the perceived sonic equivalent of doubling the power, going from a 97dB/W/M speaker (typical of many Jensen/Celestion offerings or their equivalents) to 102dB can make a significant difference - think of it as "free watts" if you will. Once again using my own Bugera V22 as an example, an Eminence Swamp Thang retrofit turned my 22W practice combo into a stageworthy rig that'll fill a 600-700 seat house with no problem, clean as you need (or dirty as you want if you so choose), and sound like a mid-60's American "big-tube" (6L6/7027) 2x12" combo in the process - FWIW this puppy will hang with my '65 Super Reverb RI and 100W Frontman 212R right up to the point of OSHA industrial-hazard SPL's; if you're serious about the electric game, sooner or later you're going to need something with a whole bunch of grunt (and/or headroom) and a small stage footprint, and a goosed Blues Junior (in the spirit of the original "Princeton-boost" Randall Smith-modded amps that inspired the Mesa Boogie) would be a valuable asset - I wouldn't be too quick to write it off in the name of something supposedly "better"... Since Everett and Frank covered pretty much everything I was going to say about power, features, topography (tube vs. solid-state/analog vs. modeling), and clarifying your needs, I'd also recommend getting out there with your main axe(s) and playing everything you can get your hands on regardless of price - you just might find yourself paying less for your ideal tone than you expect. In addition, think a little bit outside the box when it comes to brand preference: a Vox AC30S1 1x12" combo is capable of some excellent clean tones with substantial headroom/volume (that classic Vox "chime" might prove to be a blessing for a fingerpicker using full-size humbuckers) at a 20-pound weight saving over the Beatle box; if you're OK with solid-state and buying used, a pre-1985 Randall "orange-stripe" or "gray-stripe" RG-120 combo (available in several different configurations) will not only provide loads of Fender-style clean power, but make an excellent pedal platform as well - better and more toneful than a Roland JC on both counts IME - at a price associated with modern mid-powered Chinese/Indonesian practice combos. Finally, if you've never played a nice '60s-vintage blue-check Ampeg, seek out a well-maintained/well-tuned Gemini II or B-12XT (the latter a Porftaflex guitar amp intended to go head-to-head with the blackface Twin) and find out what the buzz is all about - classic American tone, very different than an equivalent period Fender but also substantially less expensive (and built to an arguably higher quality standard), and among those of us who came of age here in the NYC Tri-State area they still enjoy a fiercely loyal following...
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"Mistaking silence for weakness and contempt for fear is the final, fatal error of a fool" - Sicilian proverb (paraphrased) |
#21
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Quote:
OP really needs to try more than one option so he can determine which tones really work for him and better to try the Friedman route to understand why there's such a great following, especially for this one, than to regret not having done so later on.
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Journey OF660, Adamas 1581, 1587, 1881, SMT - PRS Cu22, Ibanez JEM-FP, S540, RG550, Fender Stratocaster Heil PR-35 : Audio Technica AE-6100, ATM5R : Beyer TG-V90r : Sennheiser 441, 609, 845, 906 : ElectroVoice ND767 HK 608i Friedman WW Smallbox, Marshall 4212 |
#22
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https://reverb.com/news/daves-corner...p-guide-part-i |
#23
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That Reverb link is super helpful.
Love the Morgan, big Josh Smith fan. Appreciate all the advice. I guess one of the reasons for wanting to upgrade now is having top notch equipment really motivates me to step up to its level. I want a partner to push me to its level that I enjoy playing with every day along the journey. Since I'm an acoustic player first, getting the advice here makes the most sense to me. I'm not trying to get too deep below the surface, but just deep enough to make it an adventure. This input is super rich. Any more, is really helpful.
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Northwood 00-80 (Adirondack/Brazilian) Northwood LP-Style Tobacco Burst Morgan JS12 Saez Marin G90 (Cedar/EIR) Last edited by jab.phila; 07-23-2020 at 10:27 AM. |
#24
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I would again recommend looking at the axe fx or similar. I came from playing a lot of acoustic and found that all of the different presets and other stuff allowed me to really develop sounds to start understanding what I like with it and it is much much easier to get a good starting tone with effects / presets etc as you can just download the presets to get a good place to start. The information in the presets also helps me learn how to adjust my real amps to get the sounds that I find with the AXE.
They also have a 30 day money back trial so you can send it back no questions asked if you don't like it. I use mine through 60 watt 6.5 inch studio monitors and / or good headphones and it is awesome. Last edited by Aspiring; 07-23-2020 at 10:26 AM. |
#25
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#26
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It's a tough question to answer.
Our optimal sound seems to have to do with the early bands, musicians that we listened to, when we started. For me, coming up in the 1960's, it was the Fender blackface deluxe reverb, or Twin. I've had a 1964 D/R since '69. And many, many others. I settled on two Carr Skylark's. Very similar sound to the old blackface's, but with an attenuator, that is perfect for studio, bedroom sound levels. Good luck, it's an interesting pursuit. |
#27
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The two Friedmans I've bought came in at about 60% of retail because I couldn't afford them new and waited until good deals on very clean amps came up. Now I'm locked in with my Wildwood Small Box, but for someone who wanted really sparkling cleans but with the ability to rock just at the turn of the guitar volume, Dirty Shirley is a might impressive amp and the guy I sold it to tells me so just about every time I see him.
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Journey OF660, Adamas 1581, 1587, 1881, SMT - PRS Cu22, Ibanez JEM-FP, S540, RG550, Fender Stratocaster Heil PR-35 : Audio Technica AE-6100, ATM5R : Beyer TG-V90r : Sennheiser 441, 609, 845, 906 : ElectroVoice ND767 HK 608i Friedman WW Smallbox, Marshall 4212 |
#28
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#29
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I’m a huge fan of Victoria Amplifier’s Regal II. It’s modeled after early Fender designs but allows you to swap tubes without having to rebias the amp. You can get almost any sound you want out of it and, depending on the tubes, can get anywhere from five to thirty five watts output.
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Bill Guitars: 1910's Larson/Stetson 1 size guitar 1920 Martin 1-28 1987 Martin Schoenberg Soloist 2006 Froggy Bottom H-12 Deluxe 2016 Froggy Bottom L Deluxe 2021 Blazer and Henkes 000-18 H 2015 Rainsong P12 2017 Probett Rocket III 2006 Sadowsky Semi Hollow 1993 Fender Stratocaster Bass: 1993 Sadowsky NYC 5 String Mandolin: Weber Bitterroot |
#30
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It's funny, I didn't want to initially say BUY A FRIEDMAN... I own one, it's self serving and easy to recommend the "flavor of the day" ...or flavor of the last 6 years or so but yeah, the absolute explosion of popularity in that brand is no accident or fad. ...and "explosion of popularity" is putting it mildly. There is an amp for virtually every style of music in the lineup. And if there isn't, Dave Friedman himself will mod the amp for you based on your needs. (Which is also true for Morgans) The synthetic amps I've played through all had a number of Friedman amp selections/models as well as .....probably for good reason. So yeah, add them to the (big) list.
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