New amp year - 2017 - second hand TSL head or Blackstar series 1 100w head?

nickp

which?

or neither

to do and play everything from jazz, through ska, blues and of course rawk - but probably not metal

monquixote

I would go Blackstar, but then I really hate TSLs 

meltedbuzzbox

I'd go elsewhere personally

guitarfishbay

What is the budget?

I don't find the EL34 S1s very warm sounding, they tend to sound dark and tight which is either something you'll love or not (mostly concerned about blues here, it'll do the other tones).  I liked mine but kind of wished it had more low end available.  The cleans were good and the drive tones are pretty decent.  Given it is a 100 watt amp there is enough low end, but it isn't an especially warm/deep sounding one compared to other 100 watt amps.

My first thought was actually multi-watt Dual Rec.  Either the Reborn or a Roadster/Road King (other models might not get you the cleans you want).  Don't write them off as purely metal amps, the cleans are good and they can get excellent warm drive tones for blues and rock.

nickp

guitarfishbay said:

What is the budget?

I don't find the EL34 S1s very warm sounding, they tend to sound dark and tight which is either something you'll love or not (mostly concerned about blues here, it'll do the other tones).  I liked mine but kind of wished it had more low end available.  The cleans were good and the drive tones are pretty decent.  Given it is a 100 watt amp there is enough low end, but it isn't an especially warm/deep sounding one compared to other 100 watt amps.

My first thought was actually multi-watt Dual Rec.  Either the Reborn or a Roadster/Road King (other models might not get you the cleans you want).  Don't write them off as purely metal amps, the cleans are good and they can get excellent warm drive tones for blues and rock.

budget about £400 ish (ie less than £500)

nickp

monquixote said:

I would go Blackstar, but then I really hate TSLs 

Paul Gilbert does alright with his

monquixote

nickp said:

monquixote said:

I would go Blackstar, but then I really hate TSLs 

Paul Gilbert does alright with his

I don't think he uses TSLs does he?

For years he was Laney and then more recently he has used Vintage Moderns and DSLs, but I don't think I've seen him use TSLs. 

What amp Paul Gilbert uses is largely irrelevant though as he would make just about anything sound good. 

One of the Studios I used to practice at had a variety of Marshall heads 800 900 and 2000 TSLs and everyone was pretty much unanimous that the TSLs were by far the shittest sounding. 

ICBM

Buy the TSL if you want the thrill of guessing if it will catch fire at any given time, or break down in a less spectacular way. Or maybe work.

I'm not a fan of the Blackstar either particularly, but they are at least fairly reliable - although the pots on the earlier ones are crap. (Later changed.)

For the range of sounds you've listed I'd probably get some sort of Mesa, but other amps are available...

John_A

I like the Blackstar's had a Series One 50 for years and it covers a lot of ground and sounds great, the JVM's sound a lot better than the TSL's IMO, but still prefer the S1

Of course the right answer is 'buy a Helix'

HHwarner

Dont get the TSL, out of the 2 Series One would be the one to get. Iv had both, there is no comparison

rico

(noob alert) - why are the TSLs so hated? Before I get flamed it's a serious question. 

monquixote

rico said:

(noob alert) - why are the TSLs so hated? Before I get flamed it's a serious question. 

Unreliable and sound bad.

dindude

Something from the Jet City range new, or a s/h Laney GH100r would be my choice before I got to a Blackstar or TSL.

ICBM

rico said:

(noob alert) - why are the TSLs so hated? Before I get flamed it's a serious question. 

Because they're extremely unreliable due to major design flaws that can't be completely fixed. Some of these require replacement of the entire main PCB, because it arcs and burns. You can buy the board from Marshall but it isn't cheap. Even after that there are other problems.

I have the remains of one here - I bought it off a friend for the scrap parts value because he didn't want to pay the huge bill to have it repaired, and I don't want to fix it even though I could, because then I would have to guarantee it to the next owner, and I can't. No loss - I'll need the transformers and other parts to repair other ones sooner or later.

They also don't really sound that good when they're working - thin and buzzy. The TSL100 isn't great, but the TSL60 is worse - although it doesn't have quite such serious reliability issues, if anything it sounds even weaker than the 100.

ThePrettyDamned

dindude said:

Something from the Jet City range new, or a s/h Laney GH100r would be my choice before I got to a Blackstar or TSL.

I remember a few years back when gh100ls were £400. Absolute monsters. 

jpfamps

monquixote said:

rico said:

(noob alert) - why are the TSLs so hated? Before I get flamed it's a serious question. 

Unreliable and sound bad.

But other than that?

ThePrettyDamned

jpfamps said:

monquixote said:

rico said:

(noob alert) - why are the TSLs so hated? Before I get flamed it's a serious question. 

Unreliable and sound bad.

But other than that?

According to the daily mail, they're responsible for the huge strain on amp repair people across the nation, forcing Carr, vox and even blackstar amps to wait in line, often for months. 

nickp

ok ok, I get the message

rico

Thanks - i'll remember to swerve them.

John_A

dindude said:

Something from the Jet City range new, or a s/h Laney GH100r would be my choice before I got to a Blackstar or TSL.

I'd say Jet City too if the OP was looking for a rock amp, but the Series One's are very versatile and IMO sound great.  As I type I'm starting to miss mine

gubble

Another vote for Jet City here too.

You'll get a much better sound than a JCM2000 and save a ton of cash.

It also will not catch fire - which is the only thing the JCM2000 range did well !