BUC
Well-known member
The best decisions are made that way...
Off Topic Show me your Amplifiers!
- Thread starter DrKev
- Start date
MikIsOnline
Member
5W is enough for home practice!
GoKart Mozart
Well-known member
I'm going to break the rule of pics in a single post... 
First the living room. I keep this nice compact wet/dry/wet rig setup based around a Soldano Hot Rod 25 in a corner close to the kitchen..
Bogner Helios 50 with an older beat up Soldano cab loaded with WGS Veteran 30s next to the tv. And yes...I AM happily divorced.
Stuff in the music room; this Boogie Mark V 25 gets about 90% of the playtime since it can do just about anything.
I mostly play through a UA Ox out to some JBL studio monitors these days.
Fender Rumble bass amp along with an old Peavey Classic 50 that was converted to a head.
I get in the mood to rattle the walls every now and then; these do the trick.
Another good "do it all" amp; Suhr PT15IR with matching cab:
Vox AC15 and a tweed deluxe clone that I put together a few years ago.
First the living room. I keep this nice compact wet/dry/wet rig setup based around a Soldano Hot Rod 25 in a corner close to the kitchen..
Bogner Helios 50 with an older beat up Soldano cab loaded with WGS Veteran 30s next to the tv. And yes...I AM happily divorced.
Stuff in the music room; this Boogie Mark V 25 gets about 90% of the playtime since it can do just about anything.
I mostly play through a UA Ox out to some JBL studio monitors these days.
Fender Rumble bass amp along with an old Peavey Classic 50 that was converted to a head.
I get in the mood to rattle the walls every now and then; these do the trick.
Another good "do it all" amp; Suhr PT15IR with matching cab:
Vox AC15 and a tweed deluxe clone that I put together a few years ago.
Haha nice, I ordered one this morning too. Cheers!
beej
Moderator
I went in a similar but different direction ... I've got a Metroplex Mk II 50W on order
nervous
Well-known member
This is my main setup. Helix floor, and the HX Stomp XL enhances the keyboard but at the ready if the main Helix fails. A quick changeover to guitar if need be.
The main backup can be paired with a 4 button MIDI option to more closely replicate the Floor snapshot recall:
And my last chance backup for the backup
The main backup can be paired with a 4 button MIDI option to more closely replicate the Floor snapshot recall:
And my last chance backup for the backup
GoKart Mozart
Well-known member
I went in a similar but different direction ... I've got a Metroplex Mk II 50W on order
Duuuude, I’ve been watching the clips that George has been posting of those and they sound phenomenal!!!
Sweat
Well-known member
Some nice stuff in here, maybe next week when the SO is gone on a girls trip I can get some pics of mine and do some playing
DrKev
Moderator
Yeah I haven't gigged since 2017, and with my health as it is I may not ever again. But there is something about the sound of a guitar speaker in the room that I will not give up. And it doesn't have to be loud at all. My clean tones are proper clean, and I never did the 110 dB, cranked power tubes thing. When sitting at home playing for myself, I'm usually at a volume where a piano in the same room would drown me out. But even at those volumes, the sound and feel is different. Smaller FR speakers can't do that. The amp is truly part of the instrument and it's a different playing experience.
beej
Moderator
I gig about once a month. It would be easy to take a modeler, but instead I lug a zillion pound amp, 2x12, plus all of my other gear. (Not complaining ... our drummer has the worst go of it.) To me, playing in a rock band means lugging tubes around.
I'm sure I could make a modeler work. I've had an FM3 and I use an HX Stomp for effects - I've dialed in a few amps that sound great. But since I get to choose, I like to keep the tradition alive of playing with tubes. And I do think my setup sounds better, though no one but me will ever appreciate that.
That said ... at home I'm increasingly playing with headphones. I run my amps in to a loadbox and feed the output to an interface, then to stereo IRs in my DAW. It sounds glorious. This is the first setup I've actually been happy playing with headphones on, it really does feel like I'm listening to a great cabinet in a room.
I'm sure I could make a modeler work. I've had an FM3 and I use an HX Stomp for effects - I've dialed in a few amps that sound great. But since I get to choose, I like to keep the tradition alive of playing with tubes. And I do think my setup sounds better, though no one but me will ever appreciate that.
That said ... at home I'm increasingly playing with headphones. I run my amps in to a loadbox and feed the output to an interface, then to stereo IRs in my DAW. It sounds glorious. This is the first setup I've actually been happy playing with headphones on, it really does feel like I'm listening to a great cabinet in a room.
mikeller
Well-known member
I do an average of 4 shows a month. My absolute preference is a tube amp and pedal board however the amps have gotten smaller and much lighter in weight over the years. I was never a stack owner, and always preferred combo's. These days I generally use either a Mesa Fillmore 25 combo or Friedman Runt 20 Head/cab (pictures in posting above). Both are very easy to manage and sound great !!!
I have tried a few different modelers (BOSS and several various Helix). Last fall I bought a Fender Tonemaster Pro unit followed a month or two later with a Fender Tonemaster FR10 cabinet. Gotta admit they did a great job with that set. Have only done a few shows with late last year, but its nice to have that option of the gig benefits by it.
I will be 70 in a few days so I am all about saving my back too !!!
I have tried a few different modelers (BOSS and several various Helix). Last fall I bought a Fender Tonemaster Pro unit followed a month or two later with a Fender Tonemaster FR10 cabinet. Gotta admit they did a great job with that set. Have only done a few shows with late last year, but its nice to have that option of the gig benefits by it.
I will be 70 in a few days so I am all about saving my back too !!!
jlf599
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 1, 2020
- Messages
- 349
Virtuoso
Well-known member
My wife calls this Tonehenge!
(There's also a Suhr Hedgehog and a Fender Twin which didn't make the shot as I can't be bothered to lug them downstairs!)
(There's also a Suhr Hedgehog and a Fender Twin which didn't make the shot as I can't be bothered to lug them downstairs!)
jlf599
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 1, 2020
- Messages
- 349
Wow wow wow.My wife calls this Tonehenge!
View attachment 43887
(There's also a Suhr Hedgehog and a Fender Twin which didn't make the shot as I can't be bothered to lug them downstairs!)
Please -- walk us through all of those Two Rocks! Utterly amazing amp and guitar collection!
Virtuoso
Well-known member
(By the way, I know this collection seems insane, and it is. I used to follow a fairly disciplined one in, one out principle, but all that fell apart during the pandemic. It was impossible to sell anything for a while and now shipping prices have gone crazy, so gear has just been mounting up. I'll have to trim it down one day soon, but for now I just can't be bothered with all the hassle)
So, in order of acquisition...
The Sensor 35 replaced my first Two Rock, a Studio Pro 35, in about 2013 - it's actually serial #002! It's a great all-rounder with the same clean tones as the SP but an added gain channel and a really excellent loop. The gain channel is quite different to other Two Rocks with a lot more bite - they were aiming for more of a Marshall sound. This is my longest standing amp and by far the one with the most miles on it.
The Bloomfield Drive 100 came many years later and to be honest I haven't really bonded with it. The cleans are excellent of course, but the OD is too bright and spiky for my tastes. Although the reverb is very good, I don't like that the level changes between the clean and drive channels - if you dial it in just right for the cleans, it almost disappears on the OD channel.
I picked up the Crystal 50 used a couple of years ago and this is an all-time favorite. It's a lower cost production version of the John Mayer Signature amp and it really gets those Continuum era tones. Much darker (in a good way) than the Bloomfield and the feel/compression are perfect when you play harder. Although I use it clean and as a pedal platform, it actually breaks up really nicely when fully cranked through a UA OX.
I've had the TS1 100 for about 3 months and I absolutely love it. Probably the best amp I have ever owned (out of dozens!). Great clean tones, great loop and an overdrive to DIE for. The touch sensitivity, feel and breakup are incredible and it is very harmonically rich. It has tons more gain than other Two Rocks and will sing and sustain for an eternity - no need for any pedals. Totally usable at home volumes too. If you like the modern John Scofield sound, it totally nails it - it will do very good Larry Carlton tones too. If I could only keep one amp it would be this one, hands down.
The Vintage Deluxe 40 arrived 2 months ago but I've spent very little time with it so far, purely because I totally fell in love with the TS1. Initial impression based on just a few hours - great cleans of course, very nice reverb and awesome tremolo. I struggled to get a handle on the breakup, but I'll explore it more when I feel I need a break from the TS1. (That hasn't happened yet!)
mikeller
Well-known member
Thank you. Fillmore (even the 25 combo) packs a big punch and barely weights 30 lbs. I have had people comment they thought I had a marshall stack up on stage. Of course, many kudo's to our sound engineer too !!
Virtuoso
Well-known member
I'd love to hear what you think of it when you've had more time to try it out. I've been wanting a proper Plexi for so long, but can't decide between an SV20, Suhr SL67, or one of the many Friedmans!
