Amps that were such a letdown after you played through one ?

BowynMadley

Every friedman amp I've tried has been underwhelming. As have all the ID range of blackstars, Engl and orange amps (however I've not tried any Orange amp over 30watts) 

I tend to like nice tight natural sounding distortion with tight bottom end. Call me a fussy bleeder if you wish.

bbill335

Drri. Bad tone and crappy reverb! The 68Custom sounds better but the reverb died one I tried. 

digitalscream

Soldano Decatone. Lusted after one for the best part of a decade...then, when I finally bought one, it just didn't stand up against my JCA50H. I spent about 6 months trying to coax it into doing what I wanted, and in the end gave up and went back to my trusty workhorse Jet City amps.

Same goes for the Victory Kraken (EDIT: but to a lesser extent...I could live with gigging the Kraken, but not the Decatone).

In fact, the only thing I've had which does sound just as good (but gives me more flexibility) is my current pedalboard, based around a Bogner Ecstasy Red and AMT F1 preamp. Run into the effects return of pretty much anything (or even direct into a recording interface), it gives me exactly what I get from the JC amps.

professorben

timmysoft said:

The biggest let down was the Blackstar S1 200, just a shocking shit amp that i'd waited for, for a bloody long time.  I was also not impressed by the Splawn Nitro and Bogner Ecstasy 20th anniversary, i found both to be overpriced and lacking any real feel. I tried a Lazy J20, found that bland AF, i was expecting to be blown away by the depth and feel.

 I actually really like the blue voodoo, i toured one for a year or so, it always sounded big and powerful, i had the BV60 head and matching 412, it was an ace rig!

I'll add the Blackstar Series one 50w head. 

Just simply awful, it has all the features I wanted, but it was just harsh, woolly and naff. 
Shame, I really wanted a UK brand to give me the tones I wanted. 

Telejester

Anyone who didn't dig the victory v40, why not ? 

On paper it sounds like a pedal platform dream, what is not to like ?

IvisonGuitars

Anything by Blackstar.

Most Divided by 13 - bland as a bland thing.

firepaulmusic

miserneil said:

Anything by Blackstar.

Most Divided by 13 - bland as a bland thing.

Anything by Blackstar seconded! 

Moe_Zambeek

miserneil said:

Anything by Blackstar.

Most Divided by 13 - bland as a bland thing.

Interesting...(not the Blackstar bit - I think almost everyone knows they are sonic beige)...Divided by 13 are another ex TGP darling but with lots of pro players. The only negatives I've heard were about noise and a mildly cantankerous proprietor.

shaunm

I won't go as far as to say they were a let down as it might just be my playing and my style that didn't suit.

Dr Z - Maz both the 18 and the larger one. I found them really clinical and had nothing about them that stood out. They didn't seem to have any character. 

Fender Silverfaced twin - Brittle clean, clean clean. I didn't really find anything redeeming about it. 

I have struggled with a couple of Matamps but I understand that they are notorious for showing up flaws in playing and I have so many of those that it probably accounts for why I didn't get along with them. 

kjdowd

Blues junior - dull, lifeless, characterless

Every Marshall I've ever tried (although as these were mainly in rehearsal studios it may not be entirely fair...)

Telejester

If you opened up a blues jr and a computer and set them side by side, you could hardly tell the difference, sadly that's how they build amps these days. Most beautiful innards I ever saw  were my old cornford hellcat head and hiwatt, they knew a thing about amp design and layout.

ICBM

Telejester said:

If you opened up a blues jr and a computer and set them side by side, you could hardly tell the difference, sadly that's how they build amps these days. Most beautiful innards I ever saw  were my old cornford hellcat head and hiwatt, they knew a thing about amp design and layout.

Sadly Cornford knew how to build amps but not how to make them sound good, although the Hellcat wasn't anywhere near as bad as the Harlequin. The faults with the Harlequin are down to the circuit design, not the build quality - too much gain in the wrong places and caps to strangle the tone everywhere… result, congested muddy sound. Probably second to the Swart for disappointment, given the hype about them.

I've also never played a Dr.Z I haven't hated either. Harsh, strident, clangy and none too well built given the price of them.

tone1

Suhr Corso 
Line 6 DT25 combo
HT5 combo (early one with duff valves)

Misty

65 Amps anything. I really tried to like them, but it didn't happen. I love the Dr Z Maz though, and I've said before I'm surprised at any criticism of their build quality, though I'm not a tech. If anyone can be bothered, take a look through this page on the Dr Z Carmen Ghia:
http://www.guitaramplifierblueprinting.com/doctorzamps3.html

Blackstar....FWIW the only one I played through that I really liked was the Artisan 15 head and cab. 

ICBM

Misty said:

I love the Dr Z Maz though, and I've said before I'm surprised at any criticism of their build quality, though I'm not a tech. If anyone can be bothered, take a look through this page on the Dr Z Carmen Ghia:
http://www.guitaramplifierblueprinting.com/doctorzamps3.html

There are several examples of questionable build quality in those pictures - in particular the wire running over the top of a power resistor, which is very bad practice. The whole thing is quite haphazard and DIY-looking considering the price and the hype regarding them.

Gassage

Any Blackstar (utter tripe)
Most Marshalls. DSL and JCM900 in particular
Egnater Tweaker

Misty

ICBM said:

Misty said:

I love the Dr Z Maz though, and I've said before I'm surprised at any criticism of their build quality, though I'm not a tech. If anyone can be bothered, take a look through this page on the Dr Z Carmen Ghia:
http://www.guitaramplifierblueprinting.com/doctorzamps3.html

There are several examples of questionable build quality in those pictures - in particular the wire running over the top of a power resistor, which is very bad practice. The whole thing is quite haphazard and DIY-looking considering the price and the hype regarding them.

Well I'm surprised, but as I said I'm no engineer and respect your knowledge here, thanks for taking the time to look. Those photos are at least 10 years old now, so hopefully things have improved. I must say I'm not aware of any real hype surrounding Dr Z as they are quite low profile in this country, but seem to be very highly regarded in the US. Doesn't stop me liking them:)

Voxman

kjdowd said:

Blues junior - dull, lifeless, characterless

And that's just the good stuff!  

Cabicular

Gassage said:

Any Blackstar (utter tripe)
Most Marshalls. DSL and JCM900 in particular
Egnater Tweaker

I've got an Artisan 30 head which is possibly the best clean Marshall I've ever had
I've not really like any of the others

Bridgehouse

I resisted jumping in on this thread for fear of getting lynched.. 

But, seeing as it's Saturday and I'm supposed to be doing DIY...

Back in the early 90s a chum of mine had a mid sixties AC30...  and it was, just, terrible..... noisy, clangy, far too muddy and farty and as reliable as an Austin Princess..


*runs and hides under duvet with small gap to see out*