Another amp recommendation thread... Concluded

thecolourbox

Hi all

Been thinking about my amp (Fender 68 Custom reissue Princeton Reverb) and trying to sell it in order to replace it with something cheaper as it's way too loud to use in my spare room and I don't often get much opportunity to play outside of the house, so seems a waste to have so much money sitting in an amp that sits under my desk doing nothing most of the time. I have used the Princeton a bit the last few weeks but I realised before that I hadn't even switched it on for a good 7 months. Just thinking I may as well try to cash in on it and get something cheaper, but use the leftover pounds to fund some more fun GAS. (I've also got a few other bits that if sold would give me some good GAS funds to play with)

But, it's struck me that I don't actually know how to replace it in this scenario if by any miracle anybody wanted to buy it. So looking for recommendations! Yesssss it's a "recommend me an amp" thread!

So, spec would be:
Small in form, Princeton size is ideal so around that physical size is cool
Master volume - don't know why I got the Princeton knowing it did not have one, useless to me without that.
Should be able to go clean fairly loudly, drive is only a bonus not a necessity as I'd want it to be good with drive pedals (so modelling amps are out). I use either an MXR Distortion Plus or a JHS Twin Twelve for drive, Fuzz would be either muff based or fuzz face based, maybe a Rat.
Don't mind in principle if it's valve or solid state, but would need to be loud enough so maybe use the Princeton (or louder) as a volume reference point (think that's 12watts valve)
Reverb or FX loop
Sound wise, tender to favour Fender Blackface type cleans but am open on this to Voxier sounds or the Roland Jazz Chorus type sound even if they are nice clean and work with pedals, drives again would kind of be irrelevant as I'd use a pedal unless the amp drive was spectacular.
Nice looking - shallow I know but it matters to me! So no Peavey Bandit lookalikes! Again means modelling amps are probably out as they tend to be either ugly or look like toys (or both in the case of Katana!)
Styles to play through it - I tend to play either clean to accompany my singing as a sort of electric singer songwritery type thing, or I play with a sort of White Stripes/Strokes/Yeah Yeah Yeahs type drive sound for more up tempo rock stuff.

Ideas I've had, thoughts on these welcome:
Fender Super 60 - been offered a nicely refinished one for about £300 and I believe they have a decent albeit slightly 80s sterile clean sound on them. Not huge in size but think they are a bit heavy in weight
Blues Junior - there must be decent sound in them somewhere right? Though think one I last tried was very rattly
One of those sold state Fenders, I think the chap from radiohead uses one but something along those lines
Roland Jazz Chorus JC22 - the new small ones but think it'll be too quiet, think they're only for home use really aren't they

Thoughts on a postcard

Or should I abandon all logic, all sense, and all my money on a Supro 1605R if i sell everything I want to?!?!?

Thanks all

ThePrettyDamned

Peavey bandit. They're not tiny though.

Vox ac10? 

thecolourbox

Oh yeah forgot the Ac10 and the Night Train combo they did actually. Thank you

I don't want a Bandit though, they're too big, too ugly and I'm not sure I like the sound but suppose the last one is changeable if I tried it with pedals

thecolourbox

Or does anywhere do a 1x12 cab with 2u rack space within it for a preamp and power amp? Could not find them when I looked but searching for rack Mount cabinets brings up only IT furniture

Edit : adding the word guitar to the search was key, they do exist albeit without speakers at the one I've looked at just now so would need some further spend and work

Funkfingers

Cornell Vintage Brown 10. 

ICBM

Just get an attenuator. Cheaper than a new amp and will let you use the Princeton properly.

Forget the Super 60, the only thing valve-like about it is the weight.

Winny_Pooh

Interested in a vintage silverface champ?

https://i.imgur.com/3xi678R.jpg

Smaller, handwired 6w, nice at low volumes and gets raw when turned up. New filtercap capcan and the desirable discontinued Weber 8" heavy magnet speaker. (original speaker here too) 

thecolourbox

Cheers guys.

@funkfingers that's a bit spendy I'm afraid, if I was looking to spend that much I'd go for the aforementioned Supro! 

@icbm I have an attenuator but it's very fiddly with the short speaker wire and still sounds like the Princeton which I don't like that much. It also doesn't give me the clean volume for playing outside my little room, and it would cost more money rather than giving me any GAS funds.

@winny_pooh thanks but not for me thanks, need that master volume and reverb, and presumably more clean volume than that would give

ICBM

thecolourbox said:

@icbm I have an attenuator but it's very fiddly with the short speaker wire and still sounds like the Princeton which I don't like that much. It also doesn't give me the clean volume for playing outside my little room, and it would cost more money rather than giving me any GAS funds.

So it needs to be quieter but louder than the Princeton, sound like a Fender BF but not like a Princeton (?), have a master volume and reverb, be like a Supro 1605 (which is a 5W 1x8" amp and won't have anywhere near the clean volume of the Princeton) but not as insanely expensive...




How about a second hand Mesa Express 5:25? Selectable 5W or 25W, clean channel, overdrive channel, valve-driven reverb, loud enough to gig, looks nice, typically sells for around £600-£650.

thecolourbox

Lol I know it sounds like I'm talking in contradictions! But the Princeton is not loud and clean at the same time so when I'm playing out anywhere it's not any good. The home volume thing is not really an issue as I wouldn't use it at home. Lastly it's the 68 Custom one which does not sound like a blackface one, hence why overall it actually does very little that I'd want an amp to and costs roughly twice what I'd consider justifying in an amp

Edit - will look into the Mesa, thanks. Though would be a net spend still but who knows, if it works. Oh and the Supro, that's just a silly impulse thing that wouldn't actually happen, I would not spend a grand on an amp

p90fool

Winny_Pooh said:

Interested in a vintage silverface champ?

https://i.imgur.com/3xi678R.jpg

Smaller, handwired 6w, nice at low volumes and gets raw when turned up. New filtercap capcan and the desirable discontinued Weber 8" heavy magnet speaker. (original speaker here too) 

Are you selling one @Winny_Pooh ?
PM me

dazzajl

The job you’re describing is done here by an Orange Crush 35rt. A nice simple analog but SS amp, small, light and good looking (if you like orange) 

I’m not really a fan of anything smaller than a 12” speaker but this 10” does its job pretty well, with a nice clean channel and a dirty side that has that Orange fuzz, rather than a more usual gritty drive. The reverb is about right for just taking the dryness off at home and the tuner is useful, though it doesn’t mute the sound. 

I even took it to a rehearsal with our outrageously loud drummer once and could still hear myself. Although the clean channel is anything but with it all maxed out. 

EricTheWeary

dazzajl said:

The job you’re describing is done here by an Orange Crush 35rt. A nice simple analog but SS amp, small, light and good looking (if you like orange) 

I’m not really a fan of anything smaller than a 12” speaker but this 10” does its job pretty well, with a nice clean channel and a dirty side that has that Orange fuzz, rather than a more usual gritty drive. The reverb is about right for just taking the dryness off at home and the tuner is useful, though it doesn’t mute the sound. 

I even took it to a rehearsal with our outrageously loud drummer once and could still hear myself. Although the clean channel is anything but with it all maxed out. 

Yeah, I think it has to be worth looking at the Orange SS stuff. 
I was also thinking about the DV Mark SS stuff , the Jazz combos ( not the one with the 8” speaker though) and the heads. The micro head is supposed to have Blackfaceish cleans and doesn’t cost much. These certainly don’t tick the Cool box but they don’t have the associations of Marshall, Blackstar, whatever but are just fairly anonymous looking  bits of audio equipment. 
If you are looking at valves you have to accept or manage their quirks; if not and you like your pedals then decent SS. 

thecolourbox

Thanks fellas I'll look at the Orange and the DV Mark then. The black model of the Orange looks OK and appears to be dirt cheap new at PMT though that's probably an error knowing them. Wasn't too keen on a couple of Orange ones I'd tried before as the drive was a bit 70s glam but I'm willing to have an open mind.

It's not so much the quirks of valves I have an issue with as such, it's the fact I don't like how the Princeton sounds that much at any volume and it's a waste having a £500 amp sitting under a desk for eight months when I could spend that on better more interesting stuff

mbe

Orange Crush 35rt. Quality build with good quality components.

All analog with decent digital reverb mixed with dry through signal. Clean can keep up with drums with a decent sounding breakup at full volume that's really good with pedals.

You might even like the dirt channel as it provides a wide range of tones with varying stages of gain.

Also available in black.

dazzajl

That PMT price on the Black Crush 35rt is really good. And shows stock so even if it’s an error, nothing to stop one buying one before they change it 

HAL9000

mbe said:

Orange Crush 35rt. Quality build with good quality components.

All analog with decent digital reverb mixed with dry through signal. Clean can keep up with drums with a decent sounding breakup at full volume that's really good with pedals.

You might even like the dirt channel as it provides a wide range of tones with varying stages of gain.

Also available in black.

If you're buying used, be aware that Orange changed the electrickery bits a few years back, so that whilst the new ones are all analogue and very decent amps, older ones may be less to your liking. FWIW my main amp is an Orange Crush Pro CR60C. It does everything I want and if anything ever happened to it I'd buy another in a heartbeat - no need to look at anything else.

dcg

I'm a big fan of silverface Fender Champs (and have owned 3) - but the 8" speaker remains a limitation.  So, for what it's worth, my suggestion is a Vox AC4HW.  These have a 12" Celestion Greenback and only 4 watts (but can shout if required); using the high input and hot switch, you can get a sensible bite and breadth to your tone - plus the amp is handwired, looks fab, and can be carried without the intervention of a chiropractor...

thecolourbox

I'll see if I can try one of the Orange ones this week then, from what I listened to earlier on YouTube they would be clean only with drive pedals as the drive sounded not too great but suppose that could be better in person. But clean is the most important here I think for my use case as peaks will always sound better for the range I'm pitching at

I don't think an ac4 is for me, admittedly it was only the crap 10" ugly cream one I had but when I used it in public it was not at the right usable volumes for the clean and drive sounds, and that one had no reverb though I've no idea if this edition does

Beexter

I'll second the recommendation for the Mesa Express 5:25. I have the "+" version (with the graphic eq) in a head version and really like it. The 5 /15/25w settings per channel are really useful. I recently considered changing it for a combo and tried a Carr Sportsman, Impala, Skylark, Morgan AC20, Louis Electric  (whatever the Princeton style one is), Dr Z Maz 18 and a couple of other Dr Z's and a Bad Cat Black Cat 15 and none of them made me want to part with my cash. I just really like the clean tone on the Mesa and it is much more flexible than anything else I tried. It's a personal opinion and trying an amp in person is the best way to know what works for you. Downside to the Mesa is that you'll need to add cash to whatever you get for the Princeton to get the "+" version. The original Express could probably be had for similar money to what you'd get for the Princeton.

thecolourbox

I don't think the Mesa is for me, notwithstanding that it seems to sound like the V Twin I have as that can probably be dialled out, the idea of spending another £150 on top of what I'd expect to get for the Princeton for an amp that will just sit under the desk until such time as an acquaintance might be struggling for someone to join their jams is not one I can justify at the moment I'm afraid