A poll for guitarists/guitar knowledgable folks . . .

[hydrargyrum]

All right, so it seems we know where to look for guitars and basses of the highest quality.  My next question is about amplifiers.  In each person's opinion, what is the all around best guitar amplifier ever made (if there is one), and who is making the best amps now.  This question may be too broad, but I am really curious to hear the group's opinion.  Hiwatt, Top Hat, Bogner, Mesa, Marshall, Orange, Fender, Bad Cat, Groove Tubes, etc. (so many famous names).

[bracheen]

Would it be safe to say that it comes down to desired features and functions?  I've heard many an excellent musician playing any number of amps and sound great. My ear is not ultra sensitive. Listening to a recording I couldn't tell you what a person is playing or what amp is being used if any. I can tell if it has frets or not and usually can pick out a Ric. This is probably the case for the vast majority of audience members. I've seen/heard Lynyrd Skynyrd playing through Peavys and sound awesome. I've seen/heard others play through Marshalls, Mesa, Orange, etc. and sound awesome. I don't know that there is an answer to that question. It's like the question is it better to use a 4x10 or a 15.
Personally I'm using Hartke. It sounds good and has lots of knobs to play with. I was told by a guitar player that bass players like lots of knobs. Some people hiss and boo at solid state and tubes are the only way to go for them.
 
Of course you did ask for opinions and here I go running off at the fingers. My opinion is what gives me the best performance for the best price. Right now it's Hartke. It's trouble free, minimal maintenance, inexpensive, and sounds good. As for the cool factor the aluminum cones are great.
 
I'll be interested in watching and learning from the responses.
 
Sam

[alembic76407]

My whole Band uses Mesa/Boogie, they are the Alembic of amps
 
David T (TLO)

[pace]

Alembic are the Alembic of amps!!!! lol....  
 
I love the versatility of my Mesa stuff. Since putting together a Mesa rig I've never had to worry about the I need two amps, JCM & Twin rhetoric....  
 
Other stuff I've failed to part with:
 
Fender  Champs, Pro-Juniors
Sovtek Mig-50
Fender Bassman / Bandmasters
Oliver M-100

[hollis]

Well, there are so many schools of thought about this one.  Although one thing seems to be a common denominator among every guitar player that I've ever played with: that being tubes tubes tubes!  It's very difficult(IMO impossible) to beat the warmth of tubes.    
 
There are so many different considerations when deciding on a guitar rig.  What type of sound are you after?  What applications is the rig going to be used for?  Is cost a main factor?  How about your back?  
   
In my case, my main guitar rig is a Mesa Boogie DC-5, an all tube 50 watt amp 12? combo with a Mesa 2X12 cabinet for some added umph.  I changed out the 6L6?s with some Sovtek KT-66?s for a little added depth.  It seems to be plenty for me.  I like the sound, and that?s the name of the game.  I have several Mesa Amps, all of which I love.  I also have an old Fender Twin that sits in my bedroom I use mostly when writing.  It?s an old friend, very familiar.    
   
Now as for the wish list:  
   
I?d love to run an F2B, SF2, through a McIntosh MC2102?.Awwww,  that?s still a little ways off?..  
   
Then of course there's all the other great amps and speaker combinations......  
 
 
 
(Message edited by hollis on September 28, 2004)

[the_mule]

At the moment I'm using a Hartke top and cab to my full satisfaction. A few weeks from now a Glockenklang 'The Passenger' combo will almost certainly become my second amp. I'm perfectly happy walking the solid state path because of the lower weight and low maintenance when compared to tube amps. I also really don't like the sound-colouration of most tube amps, although I can see why most guitar players have a different perspective. I personally like to see my amp as a blank canvas, and my bass as the brush I'm painting little sonic landscapes with. Eventually I'm likely to add a Fodera outboard preamp and an Alembic Superfilter to my rig, at least that's my goal at this moment. But I carefully take one step at the time. Total sonic freedom lurks at the horizon...
 
Wilfred

[kmh364]

The best is very subjective. First, you need to determine what type of sound you're after and/or what style of music you expect to play through the thing. Then you can zero-in on a manufacturer. Tone nirvana for you could be found in a cheap, used practice amp, a mega-stack, a high-end boutique job or anywhere in between. There are always exceptions, but the general rule is: (you guessed it) Tubes, Tubes, and more Tubes, LOL!  
 
Go to every guitar store you can find and demo everything under the sun if you're undecided about the general sound you want.
 
My faves (even though you didn't really ask): any all-tube hard-wired Marshall plexi-style amp...great for that Cream or Awesome Brothers or (fill-in the blank) blues/rock tone. Some offer modern features like effects loops, channel switching and high-gain stages. If this type of sound thrills you, ck out Straub, Germino, Splawn and TopHat to name a few.
 
Just my $0.02
 
Happy Hunting.
 
Cheers,
 
Kevin

[kmh364]

Kevin: Ck out this thread for more info on my particular new amp choice. Once I get the thing, I'll post pix and my comments. It should be a stunner both musically and visually!  
 
 
Click Here
 
(Message edited by kmh364 on September 28, 2004)

[lbpesq]

I started out on a Heathkit I built myself when I was 13, then a Vox, then an early 70's Fender Pro Reverb with JBLs for many years, and , for the last 18 years, a Boogie Mark III hardwood.  I loved the Fender, but the Boogie has everything the Fender has and a LOT MORE.  It takes a while to really get the Boogie's controls, but once you do, nothing else comes close.  I especially love the small size - it fits in my Nissan 300ZX no problem.  Also it's fun to play with guys with big Marshall stacks who have never heard a Boogie before.  Fisrt they look at and chuckle.  Then we start playing and they stop laughing.  Then we lug our equipment home and I chuckle.  Of course small size doesn't equate with weight.  This thing is HEAVY, especially with the beautiful hardwood cab.  I always bring a handtruck with me to the gigs.  I recently added a matching Boogie Thiele design closed cabinet.  It really brings out the bottom and fills out the sound.  The availability of the channel swithing (clean rhythm, crunch rhythm, and searing lead) offers lots of sonic pallets.  Also I have the simulclass which enables me to run the amp at either 15 or 75 watts.  A great feature for practice and the studio.  One suggestion: many people find the achilles heel of the Mark III to be that the two rhythm channels share the same gain.  I never used the direct out in the back of mine, so I brought it to Mesa (in Petaluma, just 15 minutes down the road from Alembic) and had the direct out pot changed to a separate gain for the crunch rhythm channel.  Now I can set the volume of these two channels independantly.  A great improvement IMHO.
 
Bill, the guitar one

[bigredbass]

This is ssoooooo subjective.
 
I'd have to agree with my peers:  It all depends what YOU are after PLUS who's sound is in the back of your mind that you want to replicate.
 
Oh if it was only as simple as just duplicating your favorite player's rig . . . but that won't do it.
 
My only recommendation is to stick with stuff that's well-designed and built.  Here in Nashville with so many touring acts, my first question is does this hold up on the road?, as there's lots of people to answer that question!
I rarely gig anymore, so anything on the YES list of that question will hold up forever for me.
 
Of the amps built on an 'industrial' scale, Mesa's are at the top of most lists.  Ask any dealer how many service calls they get on them, and you get this blank stare while they try to remember the last time they had to fix one !
 
Lower down the ladder, the Fenders (especially some of the Custom Shop Tone Kings or the Cybers) and Peaveys (5150s and the new Joe Satriani head to name a few) are well built.  They don't have Mesa's tone, but they don't cost as much either.
 
My sentimental favorite (that's utterly useless for distortion) for CLEAN is the Roland JC120.  Two power amp-spec amps, unearthly chorus, built like a tank (but they were better when you could get them with JBLs).
 
The 'boutique' amps are very tasty, but can be problem children with no service very close to you.  Can eat up a lot of freight (on YOUR nickel) sending 'em back.  
 
For me, Swiss Army Knife of guitar amps will always be Fender's Twin Reverb:  Loud as hell if it has to be, portable, smooth enough for archtop jazz, plenty twangy with a Tele, smoking with a Paul or PRS.  Get a matching 212 bin to put under it, you can go anywhere and play anything. Of course, running TWO of 'em in stereo with a SKYLARK and a Lexicon would be out of this world (and loud as hell . . .)
 
Having demonstrated my limited experience, be sure and understand there's LOTS of good amps out there.  Good Luck!
 
J o e y

[dadabass2001]

I seem to remeber on the early 70's Grateful Dead setup (the Wall of Sound or earlier) that both Jerry and Bobby were using Fender Twins as preamps, driving McIntosh power amps into Alembic cabs (see pics from Europe 72 period)
 
Mike

[bassman10096]

That's what they used.  Garcia had the top portions of two twins (sans speaker cab) in a custom rack arrangement.  One was a black face, the other (his reserve preamp) a silverface twin.

[kmh364]

It makes sense...most of the vintage amps we all love are based off of the same basic tube circuits...Fender's stuff has begat a lot of others, including the revered F-1X/F-2B.
 

[kmh364]

Speaking of Fender Twins: anybody out there successfully modify their Twin? That is to say, anything from upgrading speakers/tubes/cabinet to full-on circuit mods like higher-gain stages, effects loops, etc.  
 
I'm fairly satisfied with my Silverface (disco, LOL)Twin...for clean stuff that is. It could definitely use some improvement in bottom-end extension/response as well as a taming of some of the shrillness, especially when pushed. In all fairness the thing was dirt cheap ($250), and in 23yrs. plus of ownership, I've replaced the power switch once ($

[David Houck]

The guitar player I was playing with for the last few years.  I always thought he sounded better when he brought his DeVille instead of his Twin.
 
I don't think anybody has mentioned Victoria.  Debbie Davies plays through Fender and Victoria Bassman heads and a Fender reverb tank.