Amp Advice!

[BenHagerty]

Yes, Another one of these.

I currently hate my amp. It is a fender fm 212r. My parents bought it for my birthday. I mean it is ok I guess if you use a ton of pedals cuz it is loud. But the clean channel is nails on the chalk board of solid state.

I have no idea what to get for my first tube amp. I don't need a crazy stalk or anything. Just a combo that gets the job done with a good clean channel for a good price.

[blacktiger]

What kind of sound are you looking for?

[mjet]

And what's your budget?

[BenHagerty]

Probably around 1000 (For Christmas and I can get my rents to go half)

[RumorsOFsurF]

What kind of music?  If you are looking for a good gigging amp, I'd go with a Silverface Super Reverb or Twin Reverb.  You can pick those up under 1000 bucks usually.  They are heavy, though. And Loud!!

[glimmertwin]

What kind of music?  If you are looking for a good gigging amp, I'd go with a Silverface Super Reverb or Twin Reverb.  You can pick those up under 1000 bucks usually.  They are heavy, though. And Loud!!

...for a grand you could pick up a silverface vibrolux reverb or pro reverb and still have money in your pocket.  Still loud enough for most band situations - but not so loud that you can't overdrive it.  The Pro Reverb is only slightly lighter than a Twin Reverb and it provides very good clean sounds.  The Vibrolux Reverb isn't quite as loud as the Pro Reverb but it's much lighter and it's still loud enough to gig - but with more crunch. 

If you generally like cleaner sounds and prefer to use dirt boxes, stick to the Pro Reverb - if you like tube amp crunch(it's not super distorted but crunchy for sure) go with the VR and back of your guitar's volume just a tad to ease up on the preamp and you'll get enough clean for most situations.  There are a bunch of bargain amps that sounds great too and even some used boutique ones that you could grab for that much money, but I say if it's your first tube amp, stick to the "biggies" like Fender because if something goes wrong, parts are readily available and most real amp techs will know how to service them. 

I wouldn't bother with any of the new Fender amps no matter how much they look like old amps - the silverface fenders will give you a good sounding amp and you'll still have some money left over for a good tech to go through it. 

Of course you could always go with something like the Voc AC-30CC which is a cool amp when it works but I have just had problems with the one we have in our band....plus I don't like carrying that SOB!

[mezcalhead]

Heh, glimmertwin & I always seem to be recommending silverfaces to people .. especially the SFVR. Great amp; not too big, not too small, sounds great, reliable ..

Do it!

[fuzzking]

Silverfaces...

Grab 'em while you can! They'll become unaffordable in a few years.

[RumorsOFsurF]

Silverfaces...

Grab 'em while you can! They'll become unaffordable in a few years.

+1  And of course they sound great!

[glimmertwin]

Heh, glimmertwin & I always seem to be recommending silverfaces to people .. especially the SFVR. Great amp; not too big, not too small, sounds great, reliable ..

Do it!

Ya, it's a really solid amp...also the Bandmaster head if anyones wants the same thing but without reverb and not in a combo. 

...there are other amps I like sometimes more, but overall the VR is the best one stop gigging option I have come across for tone, weight, volume, and flexibilty(a little clean & a little crunch).  If I could only have one amp to take with me somewhere, the Vibrolux would be it. 

If I could only keep one amp in real life though, I would keep my Gretsch just because it's much more rare to find in the condition I have it in but it would still be a very tough decision.

[VintagePete]

Like i said before to another guy,Marshall's Valvestate Combo is a good and affordable choice.Clean,distortion,and the Marshall feel.
Fender Hot Rod is to.
You will find!
VintagePete

[fuzzking]

... just avoid the ones with the push-pull master volume/ultralinear transformer rigmarole.

why? my deluxe has a push-pull and i like it a lot. what's wrong with these? 

[Sauerkraut]

... just avoid the ones with the push-pull master volume/ultralinear transformer rigmarole.

why? my deluxe has a push-pull and i like it a lot. what's wrong with these? 

It's a myth really, you should just turn the mastervolume to 10 and forget about it.

[Pacafeliz]

+1 to everything that's been said.
silverfaces are still great finds (try local pawnshops before ebay), and they're impossible to kill.
oh and did i mention they SOUND GREAT and are great amps for the bucks? 
good luck!

Pat.

[BenHagerty]

If I get all A's this term my budget goes up to 1500 plus what I throw down