Mesa Boogie, or Marshall

[booker]

Help me decide. I want a better guitar sound, and I'm tired of trying to do it through pedal boards. Yes, I should buy a better guitar (I have a 85 Kramer focus), but beyond that, which amp do you prefer and why. I don't play at super loud levels, so I don't need to fill Wembly Stadium.

[ernstinen]

Quote:Help me decide. I want a better guitar sound, and I'm tired of trying to do it through pedal boards. Yes, I should buy a better guitar (I have a 85 Kramer focus), but beyond that, which amp do you prefer and why. I don't play at super loud levels, so I don't need to fill Wembly Stadium.Hey Rock,I played through a 50 watt Marshall JCM 800 for awhile, and it sounded good, but only when CRANKED to obscene levels.The only amp for me now is my Soldano SP-77 tube preamp running into a Peavey 60/60 tube power amp into an old Ampeg 2x12 cabinet. I've got a 4x12 Marshall cabinet, too, but it's just too loud.I like the Soldano because it can do the shimmery clean Fender sound and the warm, overdriven sound as well. I think that Clapton is a confirmed Soldano man now.BUT, they are VERY expensive. If you don't want to spend over $500, I've heard guys play through Fender Blues Jr. tube amps and little Peavey tube amps that sounded great.You may also want to consider changing your bridge pickup. I know this is blasphemous, but I put a Semour Duncan Hot Rail in my 1963 Strat. (I've got the original single-coil if I ever sell it --- which I won't!).My 2 cents,Ern

[bc]

During the 80's and 90's: Mesa Boogie Mk IV through a Marshall slant 4 = heaven on earth These days it's a Rivera 55-12 -- it's a bluesy screamer with decent crunch and all the candy apple clean colors you can think of. Very interested in the Palmer stuff -- thanks for the post. bc

[edteja]

I'm a Fender guy all the way. I love a Strat (or a Gibson 335) cooking through a twin or a bassman. To me that is rock n roll. I play my acoustic through a Fender Acoustasonic. I have to say that I liked the sound Santana got when he writched to Mesa Boogie's though, but that was before he got into those silly PRS guitars.

[ernstinen]

Quote: for my artist songs I use a Vox AC 30 and a Fender '65 Deluxe reverb.I've got a Silver-face Deluxe Reverb, and it's a fantastic clean amp for recording. And I was going to mention an AC 30 also, but they're as or more expensive than Soldanos!What kind of old Fender combos does Neil Young play through? I love his sound. I think they're Concerts. But any classic vintage amp will set you back a pretty penny.My third old tube amp is an Ampeg VT-40. Think that Stones clean/dirty sound. It's a unique-sounding amp.Ern

[drew]

Rock, if you're talking about buying new equipment off a showroom floor I haven't heard any Marshalls that rang my bell in years. I even felt the older models (like the JCM 800) were a one trick pony. You could get a good sound but one good sound is not enough for me. I like a selection.As a rule I would stay away from any amp that has a "gain" control, all gain does is create a hotter signal and they are using that as a replacement for overdrive, it is not the same thing.I think you already know how I feel about Mesa amps, that's what I gig with and I agree that the Mark series are the best to my ears. I love my Mk III but I haven't liked a lot of the the newer models that also seem to be aimed at the high gain market.Hey, how about I just give you my Super Reverb?

[ernstinen]

Quote:Hey, how about I just give you my Super Reverb? Hey, how about you just give ME your Super Reverb!I had a friend that had an early 60's Fender Bassman that was awesome for a dirty guitar sound.I also owned a Gibson "Bell" amp, which was really cool to crank up.But for a super clean and powerful Fender sound, nothing compared to my old late 60's Dual Showman with a 2x15 cabinet. You could crank that up to 11 and it was still clean! I used that to re-create "Cars" rhythm tracks. I'm sorry I sold it when I was a poor lad. Ern

[ernstinen]

I was researching Marshall Plexi's and came across this great website --- everything you want to know about guitar amps etc.!http://guitargeek.com/gearview/373/Ern

[booker]

Ok... so I go over to Sweetwater and crank up on a Marshall combo 122. It's a triple lead job. After playing it for 30 minutes and still not liking what I hear... I grab a PRS custom 24 down and play that. Much better. So... I ended up buying the PRS 24 and coming back home to my Princeton Chorus. It sounds sweet now.

[drew]

Yeah, that PRS24 is a real good amp.