Laney TT50 combo opinions

Bidley

Seen one of these at a pretty decent price locally, and it's caught my interest. 3 channels and a Classic Lead 80 which I believe came as standard? No footswitch and it's proprietary i think, which is a bummer.

What does TFB make of these? I play mostly old school heavy metal (think Maiden etc), can it do a decent amount of gain?

ThePrettyDamned

These have insane amounts of gain if I remember correctly. Bit noisy, but otherwise really good sounding.

Paul Gilbert used them and the vc50/vc100 amps on the spaceship one album, toured with them too I think? 

Kittyfrisk

@Bidley  If you do decide to go for the Laney & you can't live without a footswitch, I have a Laney FS-6 MIDI footswitch that I may possibly be persuaded to part with.
Pretty sure the 50 combo did come with the Classic Lead 80, the 100 2x12 with Celestion G12 Century Vintage Neodymium.
I rate the Laney TT series far above the prices they usually sell for, so good luck whatever you decide to do.

Bidley

@Kittyfrisk that's good to know, thanks for the offer, I'll definitely give you a shout if I go for it! I have a Helix that I could use for midi duties but the footswitch would be nice as an extra option.

StefB

Wonderful amps. I’m on my third or fourth (and final!) TT50 head and have had the 1x12 combo in the same, later livery as the one currently on eBay. 

They have the ideal amount of gain for classic metal, but won’t go as heavy as a VC50/VH100, which is no bad thing. 

The combo does come with a Classic 80
as standard and it is a great fit. The combo doesn’t have a standby switch for some reason (the head does) if that bothers you, and ICBM will confirm it isn’t needed anyway. 

MIDI switching/programming is a piece of cake without the FS-6, BUT, you cannot program the reverb on/off state as part of a MIDI preset without the FS-6 so bear that in mind. It’s the only way of turning it on or off, other than by turning any of the channel reverb pots or the master reverb pot all the way down to remove it from the signal path. 

To top it off the clean channel, like most Laneys, is terrific and can be a great platform for drive pedals if needs be. 

I can’t recommend them highly enough so long as you are happy to at best break even on resale. 

@Kittyfrisk, we really must still have the conversation about your 2x12 combo at some point too...

StefB

If it is the amp in Dereham you are looking at, the metal grille covering the entire open space on the back is missing, from the photos at least. 

They came fitted with them ex-factory and you can see the screw holes where it was once fitted. Might be worth asking the seller if he still has it as they provide valuable protection to the speaker and valves and can be removed in seconds to carry out maintenance when necessary. 

Bidley

Cheers @StefB some great info there.

That is indeed the amp I'm looking at. I didn't notice the grille missing - not ideal and a further shame... Probably not something Laney carry either. If I get it I'd like to be comfortable gigging with it, and without that cover I'd be a bit jittery!

Kittyfrisk

@Bidley  Contact Laney about the rear grille, their customer service can be pretty amazing on obsolete items.
If not, it's just a bit of pressed steel with holes in, try & get one fabricated.

@StefB   " we really must still have the conversation about your 2x12 combo at some point too..."
What? We have a conversation in October 2020 when you expressed an interest,  "I’ll PM you Wednesday about the amp."  and since then you don't write, you don't call. Zip, zilch, nada.
So I'm just supposed to put my amp on hold and wait around to hear from you?  Gosh darnit, I'm better than that! Sob!  
I've got all my life to live, I've got all my amps to give, and I'll survive, I will survive...





But yeah, whenever      

StefB

I didn’t say which Wednesday. 

Bidley

@Kittyfrisk he does apparently have the grille, so we're in the clear there... I'm sorely tempted. Never had an amp with midi before!

Kittyfrisk

StefB said:

I didn’t say which Wednesday. 

You trickster Sir! 

Kittyfrisk

Bidley said:

@Kittyfrisk he does apparently have the grille, so we're in the clear there... I'm sorely tempted. Never had an amp with midi before!

Funnily enough, MIDI was the aspect that held no interest for me at all 
I just hadn't had an amp with EL34's or Neodymium speakers so when it came along I thought, why not?

StefB

I was just about to quiz you about the 6L6s!

Kittyfrisk

StefB said:

I was just about to quiz you about the 6L6s!

Yup, researching one amp spec while typing about a second. Not a great idea...

Kittyfrisk

Nurse!! Who am I & why am I here???

adamino

You will definately  need a tubescreamer with this amp.

mrn1989

Dragonforce used to tour with the TT100's, so they must be filthy

Adey

I've had a TT50 head for a while and it is a great under rated piece of kit. Three channels, two master volumes, and looks fab too.

The only problem I had with mine was that the lead connecting the footswitch had developed a fault and was causing it to switch channel off and on. It's like a 20pin old computer cable. Laney didn't have them any longer, but made me one up for less than £30 delivered. Great service!