Do you have an amp gathering dust?

robgilmo

I had my old Deuce sat there unused, probably for the best part of two years since moving house.

I fired it up this evening, OMG, I cant play it loud as I have neighbours now, mostly why its been sat there unused, but jesus, even at bedroom levels , I totally missed this! The difference between this 2x12 and my Vox 1x10 is mental.

JAYJO

Ive got a Wem dominator mk111. Was kept in a cellar for 10years then in a wardrobe for about 12 years. Now under a dressing table in the spare bedroom soon to be music room. The Amp was used regularly in 1984- 85. Then used as a bass amp 85- 86. I bought it for £40 1983. I tend to use fender super champ xd or  amplitube 5. Also firehawk fx through active speakers at home as i dont gig now. I have bought some new pedals and plan to use the wem at some point....i think..

ICBM

I've always thought big amps sound great in a way small ones can't, even at very low volumes. True, you can't turn them up loud at home - but if they sound great quiet, so what? You're not 'wasting' a big amp to run it at a tiny fraction of its power if it gives you a great sound.

I have an amp which would be gathering dust if it wasn't tucked inside a flightcase... my Mesa Blue Angel doesn't get much use, not least because it's quite noisy at home volumes. It's just so easy to flip my Peavey Studio on and use that, so I usually do.

robgilmo

ICBM said:

I've always thought big amps sound great in a way small ones can't, even at very low volumes. True, you can't turn them up loud at home - but if they sound great quiet, so what? You're not 'wasting' a big amp to run it at a tiny fraction of its power if it gives you a great sound.

I have an amp which would be gathering dust if it wasn't tucked inside a flightcase... my Mesa Blue Angel doesn't get much use, not least because it's quite noisy at home volumes. It's just so easy to flip my Peavey Studio on and use that, so I usually do.

It sounds bigger, deeper, its hard to put a finger on it, the bigger speakers do throw the sound out further. My little Vox, you can pretty much point a finger at it and say 'thats where the sound is coming from' but the Peavey pretty much fills the room, even at such low volume. I really did miss this. 

Can you not quieten down the Mesa? Your Peavey has a 12 inch speaker doesnt it?

Stevepage

Nothing amazing, just my Line 6 Spider III 15 combo. I bought it on a whim whilst on a trip to London around 15+ years ago as I fancied a little practice amp. I've not used it in years because it sounds terrible 

robgilmo

JAYJO said:

Ive got a Wem dominator mk111. Was kept in a cellar for 10years then in a wardrobe for about 12 years. Now under a dressing table in the spare bedroom soon to be music room. The Amp was used regularly in 1984- 85. Then used as a bass amp 85- 86. I bought it for £40 1983. I tend to use fender super champ xd or  amplitube 5. Also firehawk fx through active speakers at home as i dont gig now. I have bought some new pedals and plan to use the wem at some point....i think..

You really should blow the dust off it, after so long though would it be prudent to bring the voltage up gradually if you recommission it?

jasonbone75

Since I got an FM9 I haven't powered on any of my amps

Matt_McG

I have a 50 watt 1960s Park head that I haven’t turned on since lockdown.

Humboldt

I'm just after an attic clearout. Came across a little Champ that I bought in 1972 and one of those Marshall Silver Jubilee mini stacks. Neither are my kind of thing now so I just left them there.

Kurtis

ICBM said:

I've always thought big amps sound great in a way small ones can't, even at very low volumes. True, you can't turn them up loud at home - but if they sound great quiet, so what? You're not 'wasting' a big amp to run it at a tiny fraction of its power if it gives you a great sound.

I have an amp which would be gathering dust if it wasn't tucked inside a flightcase... my Mesa Blue Angel doesn't get much use, not least because it's quite noisy at home volumes. It's just so easy to flip my Peavey Studio on and use that, so I usually do.

Is it the circuit or the bigger cab/speakers? 

HAL9000

No amps gathering dust. I have a hoover for that.

Neilybob

This 100watt Peavey Classic Head and 4x10 and 1x15 but when I do flick the power switch on (every 6months or so) those 8 EL84's sound FECKIN glorious! 

veldt666

Every once in a while, If I’m feeling full of energy, I’ll pull out some of my older amps to a gig, If stage space is generous.
It’s very exhilarating to unleash a large valve amp, and feel it, rather than just, hear it.
Running a pair, ( Or even one), Rivera Twin 2 combo’s, in stereo, is still a sonic joy to behold.
Or a Boogie rack system.( Quad pre + 295 power amp), linked to a pair of Boogie 1 X 12 cabs,( Loud, wide & very dynamic).

Then arriving at a gig, where backline is supplied, and a Boss Katana combo is all on offer, it can dull the enthusiasm, big time.

Littlejonny

veldt666 said:

Every once in a while, If I’m feeling full of energy, I’ll pull out some of my older amps to a gig, If stage space is generous.
It’s very exhilarating to unleash a large valve amp, and feel it, rather than just, hear it.
Running a pair, ( Or even one), Rivera Twin 2 combo’s, in stereo, is still a sonic joy to behold.
Or a Boogie rack system.( Quad pre + 295 power amp), linked to a pair of Boogie 1 X 12 cabs,( Loud, wide & very dynamic).

Then arriving at a gig, where backline is supplied, and a Boss Katana combo is all on offer, it can dull the enthusiasm, big time.

Is that the Fender Twin II? I used to gig one of those. It did sound wonderful. I sold it when I was a uni student because I didn’t see the point in keeping it at home. Doh!

veldt666

. Littlejonny said:

veldt666 said:

Every once in a while, If I’m feeling full of energy, I’ll pull out some of my older amps to a gig, If stage space is generous.
It’s very exhilarating to unleash a large valve amp, and feel it, rather than just, hear it.
Running a pair, ( Or even one), Rivera Twin 2 combo’s, in stereo, is still a sonic joy to behold.
Or a Boogie rack system.( Quad pre + 295 power amp), linked to a pair of Boogie 1 X 12 cabs,( Loud, wide & very dynamic).

Then arriving at a gig, where backline is supplied, and a Boss Katana combo is all on offer, it can dull the enthusiasm, big time.

Is that the Fender Twin II? I used to gig one of those. It did sound wonderful. I sold it when I was a uni student because I didn’t see the point in keeping it at home. Doh!

Yes, The Twin II, from 84. Stunning amps, the whole range, from the ChampII upwards

Roland

There’s a 50w 2x12 sitting in the room next to me. It hasn’t been turned on for several years. I haven’t gigged it since 2010.

snowblind

There is something special about a 2x12. Luckily the ones I have now are getting used so the only amp in the house with dust on it is the old Peavey keyboard amp. Since the kids gave up any pretence of playing piano it hasn't really been needed.

The THR-II also doesn't see much action but its only little, poor thing.

ICBM

Kurtis said:

Is it the circuit or the bigger cab/speakers? 

Both, I think - transformer size matters too.

fastonebaz

I have a marshall jmp super pa 100w 4 channel head from 1974 ish sitting on my shelf for 25 years collecting dust.  Not sure what to do with it.

Lestratcaster

I still keep my Peavey 6505+ as the band I used it in broke up in 2019, and we had the covid stuff where I purchased a Kemper during the pandemic as I was mainly playing at home. It sat in the spare room for a while but it was dusted off for a reunion show about 3-4 months back.

Now my mate uses it in the band that we've reignited. I can't bring myself to sell it as it sounds great.

ICBM

fastonebaz said:

I have a marshall jmp super pa 100w 4 channel head from 1974 ish sitting on my shelf for 25 years collecting dust.  Not sure what to do with it.

Use it for guitar, they sound fantastic. If it hasn’t been turned on in 25 years, don’t - have it serviced first or something expensive might blow.

You can do some very simple mods to the channels to give a range of different voicings - essentially all the four models (Lead, Bass, Organ, PA) have a channel 2 which all the PA channels are the same as, only the channel 1s are different, so you can mod 1 to Lead, 2 to Bass, 3 to Organ and leave 4 alone, and have all the sounds in one amp. You have to leave the tone stack with the Bass/Organ/PA values - only the Lead is different - but actually that helps them sound a bit fuller at lower volumes. The Bass and Organ channels actually sound better than the Lead, to me. All you have to do is add a few caps in the right places, and change the Lead channel cathode resistor.