Old (ish) fender amps?

ThePrettyDamned

Okay, so I play a wide variety of styles but I'm mostly into my strat for anything from punk to funk and rock.

I love my pedals. Between the df2 and a fuzz, I can cop most tones and I'm definitely going to talk to @thorpy about the MIAB pedal he's put in the competition as it would be amazing for me. No idea what it's based on, but it's really fantastic.

So, I was thinking of a two or three channel custom monster but now I'm moving into a flat this year, money will be short. I thought about clean pedal platforms and have recently been looking at a few heads - first up, the jca 20hv, which is a lower gain head (and apparently linked to Aerosmith...?). Anyone tried one? Possibly still not quite clean enough.

Next up, I've been seeing some older fender amps - silverface ones mostly. Things like prosonics, bandmasters, bassmans... Are these any good? Seems they can be had for sub 500 quid, though I expect they'll need a service. A vintage 40 valve head has a certain appeal to me, and would probably sound great at any volume from whisper up, plus old is always cool to look at.

Tonally, I vary a fair bit but with the df2 I can easily get rage against the machine style tones, as well as thicker, fuzzier all out rock. I wonder how it would sound into a fender - they're very bright, and I've found blackface amps are a bit fizzy when gained up unless it's with something like a tubescreamer, which is a million miles from my preferred sounds.

I know the answer is a hot rod deluxe, but I reckon an older amp is way cooler and I'm super vain. Are there any older 1x10, 2x10 or 1x12 fender amps I should consider for a lower budget (hrdx money) or heads I could put through a cab? If it has a second channel, that's a bonus.

I loved the custom vibrolux I tried in store, bar how bloody noisy it was with gainy pedals (no negative feedback is the cause apparently) so that's a half decent tonal reference.

BenSirAmos

I looked at a lot of Fender amps when I got tired of lifting my Fender Twin. I thought there must be something that is as good from Fender that is a bit lighter.

I ended up with a HRDx.

ThePrettyDamned

BenSirAmos;583680" said:

I looked at a lot of Fender amps when I got tired of lifting my Fender Twin. I thought there must be something that is as good from Fender that is a bit lighter.

I ended up with a HRDx.

I have to admit, I love hot rod deluxes and they (in my opinion) take distortion pedals a bit better than some other fender amps because they're a touch less bright and a touch more "strident". This is the older v2 one, mind, but I doubt the new ones are different.

Edit: strident was a daft word. They don't go super fizzy with distortion, like some fender ones (notably the DRRI).

samzadgan

I heading towards a hot rod deluxe iii as well...the only reservation i have is the speaker....its basically a rebranded 70/80 i think...i have heard them in other amps and not liked them...but that could have been the amps themselves

I cant be too harsh until i actually try it out though.

Vintage fenders seem really cool, and i once played through a princton...absolutely sublime...but a good one is rare and expensive...and may require more work

ThePrettyDamned

There are Rivera era fender amps, too, which seem highly regarded...

ICBM

ThePrettyDamned said:

There are Rivera era fender amps, too, which seem highly regarded…

They are excellent, and underpriced for the quality of both tone and construction, but probably slightly out of budget if you're looking at Hotrod Deluxe money.

Do you need reverb? If not there are many old models, possibly even into the Blackface era, which don't command a lot of money… non-reverb Princetons, Deluxes, Vibroluxes, Pros and Bandmasters are rare but surprisingly cheap. Maybe not *quite* that cheap, but not far off, especially for a tatty one.

And there's always the Bassman - you'll probably get a 70s Bassman 50 head for that sort of price in less than brilliant condition.

ThePrettyDamned

ICBM;583716" said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

There are Rivera era fender amps, too, which seem highly regarded…





They are excellent, and underpriced for the quality of both tone and construction, but probably slightly out of budget if you're looking at Hotrod Deluxe money.

Do you need reverb? If not there are many old models, possibly even into the Blackface era, which don't command a lot of money… non-reverb Princetons, Deluxes, Vibroluxes, Pros and Bandmasters are rare but surprisingly cheap. Maybe not *quite* that cheap, but not far off, especially for a tatty one.

And there's always the Bassman - you'll probably get a 70s Bassman 50 head for that sort of price in less than brilliant condition.

How much would it cost to have something like a 70s bassman head to get looked at and serviced? Assuming the big stuff (transformer and other things I know nothing of) are okay?

Maybe I'll save for a Rivera era combo... Looks like they can be had for 600 ish. I quite fancy trying a Rivera era SS amp, but they're just going to slow down my acquisition of a valve amp...

timmysoft

Super 60 or thought about a peavey classic 30?

ThePrettyDamned

timmysoft;583724" said:

Super 60 or thought about a peavey classic 30?

I really love the classic 50, but too big really. The classic 30 I'm not so keen on - I like the 1x15 delta blues, which is very similar, though techs are not keen on working on them...

Although, peavey ultra! Do they do smaller ones of those, do you know? You're quite a fan, and you've had some pretty cool gear in the past iirc.

timmysoft

There was a prowler in the same series, 40w 112 combo, there was one on eBay a few weeks back.

Gassage

There's a 1976 Pro Reverb going for £400 on UK Gear Exchange on Facebook

ICBM

timmysoft said:

Super 60

If you're going to buy a Super 60, save some money and get a solid-state amp instead for a fraction of the price…

I can't think of many valve amps that sound more like a solid-state amp than this one - although 'The Twin' from the same series runs it a close second.

There's also the Champ 25SE, which is a hybrid - unusually it's solid-state preamp, valve power amp - which doesn't sound bad.

meltedbuzzbox

I would personally go for a Fender "The Twin"

They can be had for £300 ish

Super clean, not as nasty bright as most fenders and sounds like a big HRD. (to me anyway)

I guess it is old ish being 93 and earlier. 

Gassage

meltedbuzzbox said:

I would personally go for a Fender "The Twin"

They can be had for £300 ish

Super clean, not as nasty bright as most fenders and sounds like a big HRD. (to me anyway)

I guess it is old ish being 93 and earlier. 

Literally, the heaviest, loudest combo known to mankind.

jpfamps

ThePrettyDamned said:

ICBM;583716" said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

There are Rivera era fender amps, too, which seem highly regarded…





They are excellent, and underpriced for the quality of both tone and construction, but probably slightly out of budget if you're looking at Hotrod Deluxe money.

Do you need reverb? If not there are many old models, possibly even into the Blackface era, which don't command a lot of money… non-reverb Princetons, Deluxes, Vibroluxes, Pros and Bandmasters are rare but surprisingly cheap. Maybe not *quite* that cheap, but not far off, especially for a tatty one.

And there's always the Bassman - you'll probably get a 70s Bassman 50 head for that sort of price in less than brilliant condition.

How much would it cost to have something like a 70s bassman head to get looked at and serviced? Assuming the big stuff (transformer and other things I know nothing of) are okay?

Maybe I'll save for a Rivera era combo... Looks like they can be had for 600 ish. I quite fancy trying a Rivera era SS amp, but they're just going to slow down my acquisition of a valve amp...

50W 70s Bassman head can be got for around £250-350 depending on condition.

The main issue with the Bassman is that they only have a 4 ohm output, limiting choice of cabs.

The Custom Vibrolux is indeed very noisy. The lack of negative feedback isn't the really the reason; adding negative feedback reduces the gain, so there is less noise when the amp is idling, however this treating the symptoms not the cause.

Essentially the main problem with the Vibrolux is the very poor grounding layout and gain structure.

If you are looking for an under valued Fender amp, the Bruce Zinky designed 2 x 10 Prosonic, which seem to go for around £500 if you can find one. It's one of the very few Fender amps with a decent gain channel.

meltedbuzzbox

Gassage said:

meltedbuzzbox said:

I would personally go for a Fender "The Twin"

They can be had for £300 ish

Super clean, not as nasty bright as most fenders and sounds like a big HRD. (to me anyway)

I guess it is old ish being 93 and earlier. 

Literally, the heaviest, loudest combo known to mankind.

its frankly feather weight compared to my Hiwatt.

Think of it as an exercise aide rather than a heavy lift :-)

ThePrettyDamned

jpfamps;583760" said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

ICBM;583716" said:ThePrettyDamned said:



There are Rivera era fender amps, too, which seem highly regarded…











They are excellent, and underpriced for the quality of both tone and construction, but probably slightly out of budget if you're looking at Hotrod Deluxe money.



Do you need reverb? If not there are many old models, possibly even into the Blackface era, which don't command a lot of money… non-reverb Princetons, Deluxes, Vibroluxes, Pros and Bandmasters are rare but surprisingly cheap. Maybe not *quite* that cheap, but not far off, especially for a tatty one.



And there's always the Bassman - you'll probably get a 70s Bassman 50 head for that sort of price in less than brilliant condition.

How much would it cost to have something like a 70s bassman head to get looked at and serviced? Assuming the big stuff (transformer and other things I know nothing of) are okay?



Maybe I'll save for a Rivera era combo... Looks like they can be had for 600 ish. I quite fancy trying a Rivera era SS amp, but they're just going to slow down my acquisition of a valve amp...





50W 70s Bassman head can be got for around £250-350 depending on condition.

The main issue with the Bassman is that they only have a 4 ohm output, limiting choice of cabs.

The Custom Vibrolux is indeed very noisy. The lack of negative feedback isn't the really the reason; adding negative feedback reduces the gain, so there is less noise when the amp is idling, however this treating the symptoms not the cause.

Essentially the main problem with the Vibrolux is the very poor grounding layout and gain structure.

If you are looking for an under valued Fender amp, the Bruce Zinky designed 2 x 10 Prosonic, which seem to go for around £500 if you can find one. It's one of the very few Fender amps with a decent gain channel.

Ooo now that's sound advice, 2x10 would be cool too.

Thanks very much!

jpfamps

There's even a Prosonic on eBay at the moment for £500!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-Prosonic-60-Watt-Valve-Combo-Guitar-Amplifier-All-Tube-/261813480959?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3cf54cadff

ThePrettyDamned

Gassage;583745" said:

There's a 1976 Pro Reverb going for £400 on UK Gear Exchange on Facebook

Are these not 4x10? Might be a bit big for my room...

jpfamps

ThePrettyDamned said:

Gassage;583745" said:

There's a 1976 Pro Reverb going for £400 on UK Gear Exchange on Facebook

Are these not 4x10? Might be a bit big for my room...

2 x 12.

However you want the 40W non-master volume version not the later 70W version of this amp.

Jeremiah

ICBM said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

There are Rivera era fender amps, too, which seem highly regarded…

They are excellent, and underpriced for the quality of both tone and construction, but probably slightly out of budget if you're looking at Hotrod Deluxe money.

Do you need reverb? If not there are many old models, possibly even into the Blackface era, which don't command a lot of money… non-reverb Princetons, Deluxes, Vibroluxes, Pros and Bandmasters are rare but surprisingly cheap. Maybe not *quite* that cheap, but not far off, especially for a tatty one.

And there's always the Bassman - you'll probably get a 70s Bassman 50 head for that sort of price in less than brilliant condition.

Not really on topic, but are the modern Rivera amps anything like the Rivera-designed Fenders?