Amps I'd love to own for a bit

[timmyo]

For no particular reason, there are some amps that I'd love to be able to spend some time with, but suspect there'd be no reason to own them as forever amps.

I've been lucky to have a fairly classic Marshall, and a reissue of a small Blackface, but I've never had my mitts on a Bassman, or a modern high gain amp like a Soldano, or a Mesa Rectifier, or a Twin.

If I were a rich man I'd get each type in turn and just get to know them <sigh>

Any classics you'd love to have first hand experience of?

[Viz]

Bognor ecstasy

[Lustycourtier]

Ive owned pretty much evey amp Ive ever wanted to, from a very early jtm45, early 60s ac30,bassman, mid 70s orange, hiwatt, marshalls, Parks, through to some newer stuff. Ive found of the 4 voxes Ive owned, my current CC sounds as good as the 62 tb, and that trend seems to continue. Id also love to try a soldano, bad cat etc.

[jonnyburgo]

I'd like to have a little 57 tweed Champ, to see if they sound any better than any other little valve amp.

[ICBM]

I'd like to have a little 57 tweed Champ, to see if they sound any better than any other little valve amp.

I had a '59, and they do. More importantly, they smell better .


Difficult to think of any classic amps I haven't played (not bragging, just a fact... while working on them mostly), so I'll go for something really unusual... Rickenbacker Transonic. A late-60s solid-state amp, looked oddly futuristic and was supposedly used by Led Zep... don't know if that was Page, Jones or both.

[Cirrusband]

Ive found of the 4 voxes Ive owned, my current CC sounds as good as the 62 tb, and that trend seems to continue.

It's good to hear a voice of reason. So often you see people ascribing magical tone qualities to old amps (not just vox) and you can't help but wonder what year it was the amp makers ran out of magical fairy dust and everything turned to shite.


If I had the money I'd definitely have a little collection of amps that covered different ground than my AC30 - maybe a JMP50, a modern high-gainer like a Soldano, and a clean/ sparkly amp like a Fender Twin. And a selection of cabs to put them through - 2x12, 4x12, closed and open back, low and high wattage speakers etc because I love mixing and matching.

[timmyo]

I had a '59, and they do. More importantly, they smell better .


Difficult to think of any classic amps I haven't played (not bragging, just a fact... while working on them mostly), so I'll go for something really unusual... Rickenbacker Transonic. A late-60s solid-state amp, looked oddly futuristic and was supposedly used by Led Zep... don't know if that was Page, Jones or both.

that reminds me: Lab Series L5

[ESBlonde]

that reminds me: Lab Series L5

Oh yes, I tried one in ye olde shoppe back in the day, seemingly light as a feather and loud as fook with a nice clean tone iirc.

I've never owned an AC30 so that's on the wish list, every time I play through one it gets nudged nearer the top.

A tweed Princeton would be nice, if I could afford one as yet another spare/house amp.

Other than that nothing much springs to mind that I don't have (or had).

[Skipped]

There could be great amps out there - your holy grail amp - that you have never tried because they are simply not available in your local shop. So you have to make an effort to somehow check them out.
2 examples:
Lazy J
Dennis Cornell.

There are 2 forum members (sticky fiddle + me) who have said that the finest sound they have experienced is a vintage Gibson guitar through a Cornell tweed combo...
All my holidays in the states have included at least one afternoon checking out gear. And I am not talking about Guitar Center. I mean rare stuff, fifties Gibsons, etc....

[Bidley]

Blimey, I've not owned many amps at all, so I'd love a JCM800 2204, Bogner Shiva, Engl Invader, SLO, 5150 and a Laney VH100F. Probably loads more - it's almost a shame that my Carvin X100B is just right for everything I want.