Amp Advice

[ricochet]

One word of advice though, put it on wheels.

Maybe with an engine while you're at it.

[brandon_oh]

Wow, this forum is pretty tight. I really do appreciate the feedback. What a great group to share knowledge with!


So I am liking the 2 amp setup. Blues Junior Tweed NOS and a DRRI.

When you all say the DRRI will be loud enough, will be stay clean? I guess I have never heard one cranked nor will I be able to I dont think. I just want the "big amp" to have headroom and cleans. Maybe be on the edge of breakup so I can use a pedal to get it over the edge.

With the 2 amp setup, can someone explain how to actually run this? Y cable from my pedals? Selector box to play from source A, B or Both?

Once again, Thank you!

-Brandon

[ricochet]

Well, I think either your power stage is clean at a given output level or it's not. A pedal can't affect that. You have to increase the signal voltage level coming from the stage before that, which is the same thing turning up the volume does. Some amps' power stages are a lot cleaner than others, but none of them really break up till they're getting close to maximum volume. They do get louder after they max out and start breaking up, because the distortion adds harmonics. What the pedal adds is so-called "preamp" distortion from the earlier stages of the amp, and in some cases it may up the signal volume coming out of clean "preamp" stages.

A simple Y cable from your last pedal to the inputs of the amps can work fine, or you may want to use a stompbox that lets you switch between amp A, B or both.

[brandon_oh]

Awesome description and advice. You guys really helped me a lot and brought much needed clarity to the picture.


DRRI and my lil BJr with a Y cable would be fun to experiment with and I think that DRRI will be perfect for my needs. If I find I want to buy another amp later (Twin or Super), I can always do that. I dont think I will ever find a need to go much beyond the DRRI.

Thanks all!

-Brandon

[Lo-Fi]

The newish amp that impressed me the most for the bucks was a used Reverend Hellhound (they don't make 'em anymore).
Funny that this was the one Reverend amp I had not really heard of. Then I tried one - Holy Cow what a great flippin' amp. In a smaller amp the Reverend Goblin is an absolute killer little piece of gear.

[DRU LORE]

I second that. ( about the Super Reverb)
A Super Reverb also has the advantage of pushing way more AIR around, which is what human ears ultimately respond to.
You will never have your back to the wall with a Super reverb, you can always count on it.
Shop around and get a real hard wired one from 1970 or preferably '68, have it pre -B.S.-ed and never look back.

A short list of Blues players using Super Reverbs would not be a short list...

[felixq78]

First of all don't make the mistake of thinking that the numbers of watts on the badge has much to do with volume.
E.g. a Peavey Classic 20 can blow the roof off when lugged into a Marshall Cab.
The two amp idea is a good one, a Stereo rig can open up new worlds.
I use a Marshall JTM 30 (2x10) and a Peavey Classic 20, sometimes in stereo and other times on their own.
The Marshall has the best clean tone I can find. I reckon it's Marshall's best sounding amp ever. I've had a lot of Fenders too and this little beast beats most of them.
The JTM30s tend to overheat as they were designed with a fixed bias but Grant at Valve Heaven in Surry Hills in Sydney fixed that by adding a bias pot as well as a few other mods, now the amp sounds better than new. He's a genius.
Go here>>>>>>> http://www.amptone.com/g112.htm
it explains the watt/decibel dynamic

[TheDude]

Third vote for the Super Reverb! Best clean tone I personally ever had was a Tele into a silverface Super Reverb.

If you don't wanna spend the big bucks, you could at just hooking your BJ up to a bigger cab (2x12, 4x10)? I did that with my Champion 600 and it worked like a charm.

Another amp to look at could be the new Ampeg J-20. Check out the clips on youtube. It might go into overdrive too soon for you. Made in Korea, handwired point-to-point, and best of all it's cheap!