Which amp for my axis?!

[Dakine]

I think it all comes down to sound required and budget.
A Tube amp is ALWAYS gonna require "servicing" at some point.
In the UK I would say a Marshall or Vox or Euro amp (Engl) to be a much better bet than say a Mesa due to cost.
Engl is either a love or hate it seems. They are however very well made (c'mon they are German) and just like say a BMW or Benz are not a "cheap" option.
Peavey can be fine too.
A Tube amp is a "needy" beast which requires care etc.
I would LOVE a "classic" Marshall but have found it is as difficult to find as a "good" Gibson.
Splawn would be an excellent choice but they are VERY pricey.
All depends on my first statement, tone and price.
I would love an older Marshall or Splawn or maybe even a Matamp but for now an Engl combo suits the bill.

I am in fact beginning to consider building my own amp. My thirst for "what makes things work" and my electrical degree are factors in my desire to try this. Ya never know, might just come up with summit I love

 

[CudBucket]

I bet either my Peavey JSX or my "too-expensive-for-what-it-is" Mesa Road King Series 2 would sound great with that axe.

 

[Polaris]

I bet either my Peavey JSX or my "too-expensive-for-what-it-is" Mesa Road King Series 2 would sound great with that axe.

I quite agree Mr CudBucket - tried a Nomad in the shop and it was awesome... however, I have this nagging factor that I am paid very little, and so make it my mission to seek out the cheapest solution I can without sacrificing the bare essentials (tone etc, little things!) - of course, the EBMM was an exception... nearly killed me for a month mind you!

It's like how I see these new HIWATT amps - when it comes down to it they're pretty much identical to Sound City amps but they're over a grand! Clean up a sound city and it'll be your best friend for life, and cost you a third of what the HIWATT retails at!

Obviously you have to be careful when gigging older amps, but unless you're a collector (or seriously anal) you can source most of the innerds and get them up to standard fairly easily.

My main reason for looking for a 'new' amp was the warranty and the fact that they tend to be less fragile than older amps.

 

[CudBucket]

Polaris, I've never heard a Sound City. Gotta check one out.

Dakine, how are you liking that Screamer? I've always considered getting one for a spin.

 

[Polaris]

Polaris, I've never heard a Sound City. Gotta check one out.

Sound City amps were pretty much cheap knock-offs of Hiwatt amps in their hayday... This is evident in both the cosmetics and indeed the wiring of the amps (almost identical).

They have an amazing clean tone, lots of headroom and work extremely well with pedals if you like a bit more than mild overdrive. The heads come in 50/120/200 watts - in my opinion, the 50 watt sounds best and is much easier to get it breaking up... without splitting your eardrums!

There are usually a few on eBay and they're definitely worth checking out - I've never paid over £170 for one and they're far more common than many other vintage amps.

If you're a combo fan, I would try and seek out a 2X12 Concord - these go up to twelve and have slides instead of knobs - twelve is painful, but once it's on 10 for a couple of minutes you just can't beat it!

Also interesting to note is that these amps, along with Selmers were used by Hendrix, Clapton and Page (to name a few) before everyone got the Marshall bug.

 

[scottie]

Hey Chris,

Since you're a Line 6 Pod user, have ya seen this:

http://www.atomicamps.com/

I don't own one so I don't know how good they are. Perhaps someone else on the forum does and can be of more help.

Take care,
--scottie

 

[Tim O'Sullivan]

Hey Chris,

Since you're a Line 6 Pod user, have ya seen this:

http://www.atomicamps.com/

I don't own one so I don't know how good they are. Perhaps someone else on the forum does and can be of more help.

Take care,
--scottie

If you are thinking of that route, Tech 21 make this :

http://www.tech21nyc.com/pe60.html

Same kind of idea, but without the hassles of valves.

 

[Polaris]

Hmmm, interesting...

Never heard of the Tech21 amp but have seen the Atomic amps before and heard good things about them.

Might have a look at those!

In the meantime, there's a Sound City 50+ on eBay at £90 at the moment - finished on Friday... It looks like it's in good nick so I might just get another of those!

Thanks for all the advice guys - this is a smashing forum!

Oh, and a few pics of me EBMM are making their way into the 'Pics of My Guitar' thread tomorrow... as soon as I can get some snaps that do it justice!

Cheerio

Chris