Your Top 3 Amps For Clean Sounds

impmann

ICBM said:

impmann said:

Hiwatt 200

FTFY

It's not just about even more headroom - I actually preferred the 200 to the 400, it has a deeper and more 'spacious' sound somehow... the 400 is tighter and a bit flatter-sounding. Not sure why. The 400 does sound absolutely huge for bass though.

Also not mentioned yet - Ampeg Super Echo Twin.

Actually, I found the Hiwatt 200 flat for guitar compared to the 100. There was a brilliance lacking - a lack of harmonic content, maybe. 

But hey, I wouldn’t object to either!! 

ICBM

impmann said:

Actually, I found the Hiwatt 200 flat for guitar compared to the 100. There was a brilliance lacking - a lack of harmonic content, maybe. 

But hey, I wouldn’t object to either!!

I'd agree that it's cleaner and doesn't have that little bit of harmonic complexity - that's partly why I liked it, for strictly clean sounds. It was the effortless depth and feeling of infinite headroom I really loved.

brooom

1966 deluxe reverb I recently sold
Jim Kelley Reverb
Magic amps vibro prince

Jalapeno

Mark1960 said:

Jalapeno said:

Mark1960 said:

Fender Blues Delux Reissue MKIII

Fender Blues Junior MKIII

Fender Twin Reverb

I'd take issue with a BJ doing cleans - the break-up starts with the gain on 2-3, it's not a clean amp at all (irrespective what you think of the actual sound) - that's the whole point of it.  The Pro-Junior is a lot better at cleans.

As you say, the breakup starts with the gain around 2-3. Below that is a decent clean platform in my humble opinion

And little volume, it just isn't a clean amp (and that's ok)

Wazmeister

lukedlb said:

Who’d have thought Clean could be subjective? I have waz’s Redplate, beautiful bf clean, yet it didn’t make my top 3. Mine:
1) Sound City mk3 100 watt into 4x12. 
2) Marshall Superbass 100 watt into two 4x12 g12h30
3) Kelly soundmaster into mixed 4x12
3b) Marshall Artiste ‘72 combo

The Sound City has a punchy clean as high as you go. The superbass, before it overdrives, is the clean Hendrix and close to heaven. The kelly has the warmest clean of them all, helped by the mixed speakers. The Artiste has sparkle, slim yet solid, Reminiscent of srv’s little wing. 

The 4x12 cabs are essential for strong clean. 

Interesting thoughts Luke...

My first valve amp was a Sound City combo... it was heavier than a railway crane...

PolarityMan

PolarityMan said:

block letter 5150

Not a a single lol??? come on that's funny shit right there.

lukedlb

Wazmeister said:

lukedlb said:

Who’d have thought Clean could be subjective? I have waz’s Redplate, beautiful bf clean, yet it didn’t make my top 3. Mine:
1) Sound City mk3 100 watt into 4x12. 
2) Marshall Superbass 100 watt into two 4x12 g12h30
3) Kelly soundmaster into mixed 4x12
3b) Marshall Artiste ‘72 combo

The Sound City has a punchy clean as high as you go. The superbass, before it overdrives, is the clean Hendrix and close to heaven. The kelly has the warmest clean of them all, helped by the mixed speakers. The Artiste has sparkle, slim yet solid, Reminiscent of srv’s little wing. 

The 4x12 cabs are essential for strong clean. 

Interesting thoughts Luke...

My first valve amp was a Sound City combo... it was heavier than a railway crane...

My SC was my first proper amp after returning to the guitar 7 years back. As such I wasn’t prepared for recognising how special it was and a year later sold it. Since then I continued to get incredible amps and quickly noticed what a clean amp really is. A bassman is not clean. A SC50 is almost (noisy though). The redplate is a great clean amp but is so much more: the tweed and the drive are addictive; it’s simply an amp that needs no pedals, unless modulation is your thing. 
However, the clean from the sc100 or the superbass or kelly provide space between each string with a directness or solid punch other amps cannot achieve. Probably, this is due to each amp using a 4x12. When I used the redplate with an 4x12 stack loaded with gh30 and 4 goodmans alnico from the 60s, my lord, did the amp sound incredible. 
In essence, my clean isn’t fender midscoop or jingle jangle acoustic, rather a solid, balanced definition of each string. The SC has much in common with a hiwatt. They pack a punch.