Have your say in a very ambitious project

Zen should implement every single idea and feature mentioned by everyone thus far. The amp will weigh 150 + lbs, be the size of a small refrigerator and cost $20000 (for the initial deposit). And 2 weeks after this comes out everyone will immediately want a smaller, cheaper scaled down version. Sometimes the future is easy to predict.
 
If someone could just once and for all do a true and honest disection of the most amazing sounding '59 Bassmans (the actual ones used on tons of recordings that studios and collectors wouldn't sell regardless of the rediculous offers) and then produce an amp that is indistinguishable in tone and behavior...I'd buy it. Shit, I'd buy four of them.
 
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BlueParfait said:
why not a slider EQ like Mesas then?

Seems like that would do the trick and then some
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Because that's post tonestack AND post input.

We're talking about at the beginning of the circuit - like a pedal would be. A mesa GEQ is a completely different thing
 
BlueParfait said:
Ohhhhhh right.

My bad. Mind got foggy after a long day.
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All good

Just wanted to make sure it was crystal clear soundstorm and I were not talking about something commonly available, because it's such a wildly different function, even if it seems similar
 
I'll give it a go....

3 Channel Amp - EL34 100 Watt

- Clean - Ultra clean to slight breakup.
Controls - Bass, Mid, Treble, Gain, Volume

- Gain 1 & Gain 2 - Both from ultra gain to slight breakup. Enough gain where a built in Boost or external OD is not needed. Note - both channels are clones of each other. Instead of your standard rhythm / lead channel let the players decide which is which. That way the limit of each channel is not dictated right out of the gate. Again let the player decide.
Controls - Bass, Mid, Treble, Gain, Volume, Mini switch Boost - footswitchable, three gain modes - think JVM.

- Front Panel General Controls - Dual Masters on the Gain Channels, Resonance, Presence, 50/100 Half Power Switch, Noise Gate, Single Input.
Back Panel - Tube Series/Parallel Loop /with Mix with Hi/Lo switch for pedals or Rack Effects (think Fryette), Speaker Outs, Ground, Bias Test Points for each tube, Built in Attenuator (think Marshall Yngwie, Midi, and a standard switching jack.

Pretty straightforward. With a really good effects loop that can handle options but most importantly able to provide high gain Marshall to more modern High gain with the three modes per channel. Also enough High gain tones that go from slight breakup to full on gain, no pedal needed if the player didn't want to use them. And cloned channels that allow the player to dial in how much or how little as opposed to just a rhythm and lead channel.
 
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thegame said:
Zen should implement every single idea and feature mentioned by everyone thus far. The amp will weigh 150 + lbs, be the size of a small refrigerator and cost $20000 (for the initial deposit). And 2 weeks after this comes out everyone will immediately want a smaller, cheaper scaled down version. Sometimes the future is easy to predict.
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Hot damn Nostradamus - if I knew what a pound was I'd probably agree. Is it like a cute little kilogram?
 
This one is easy . Marshall based single channel with all the controls ON THE FRONT. Standby , power , resonance, presence , dual masters with a global master.

Oh wait — that sounds a lot like a Cornford MK50 H!!
 
I just want a 2 channel amp with amazing cleans, I’ve yet to find a channel changer that has truly amazing cleans with a good feel, and a tight and articulate gain channel in the spirit of a modded Marshall with that growl.

The clean on my ss100 is pretty nice, but it feels kind of loose and thin, doesn’t sound that way, but feels that way. The gain channel is perfect in every way. Had Dave tweak it.

I would like:
-great fx loop
-tightness toggle
-mid toggle
—John petrucci world domination mode toggle
-toggle on clean for crystal clear and chime, if that’s even possible?

I don’t want too many bells and whistles. Just a great two channel amp with killer cleans and tight articulate marshall’esque gain.

I’m talking two rock cleans, but I doubt it’s possible?

Or a one channel flame thrower that cleans up into a magnificent clean.

Although, I wouldn’t mind a multi channel amp if you incorporated Musks neural link and you could control everything with your mind.
 
mooncobra said:
I just want a 2 channel amp with amazing cleans, I’ve yet to find a channel changer that has truly amazing cleans with a good feel, and a tight and articulate gain channel in the spirit of a modded Marshall with that growl.

The clean on my ss100 is pretty nice, but it feels kind of loose and thin, doesn’t sound that way, but feels that way. The gain channel is perfect in every way. Had Dave tweak it.

I would like:
-great fx loop
-tightness toggle
-mid toggle
—John petrucci world domination mode toggle
-toggle on clean for crystal clear and chime, if that’s even possible?

I don’t want too many bells and whistles. Just a great two channel amp with killer cleans and tight articulate marshall’esque gain.

I’m talking two rock cleans, but I doubt it’s possible?

Or a one channel flame thrower that cleans up into a magnificent clean.

Although, I wouldn’t mind a multi channel amp if you incorporated Musks neural link and you could control everything with your mind.
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Neural link you say? I'll tweet something about censorship to lure Musky in, then start talking amps. Or maybe something more covert - "Don Lemon claims Elon is too radical to bankroll the Zen amp project". Worth a shot.
 
The problem with the "ultimate amp" for me, is that my favorite amps for every type of tone have different power sections and wattage. I have never played an amp that allows you to change wattage on each channel that actually could achieve this.

My favorite clean tone is the Deluxe Reverb. The 6v6 power section without a master volume that sounds epic when cranked is a huge part of this. You can put the preamp on a larger power section and it sounds cool clean, but you'll never get those pushed cleans correctly. This channel, I'd want to be able to add the bright cap in or out and I'd want a mid boost or a knob that can be turned on or off in the circuit.

My favorite crunch tones come from 50w British (Marshall) amps with EL34s. 50w because I like a little bit of power sag so it thickens up and isn't too bright, but still enough headroom that it stays tight. I'm partial to the Plexi tone, but JCM is cool, too.

High gain, I'm split. I love hotrodded Marshall sounds, but I feel like this could just be switchable on channel 2, as I probably wouldn't change settings much. Maybe a bright switch and a mid scoop (contour) switch.

That said, historically, I haven't ever lived without a 5150 for long. I also dig boosted Rectos and German (Engl/Diezel) voicing. These are generally 100w 6L6 amps, but I do usually prefer Rectos and Diezels with EL34s or KT77s. I've never played an amp that successfully blended a solid British and American/German tone in one - I've played a few that got close, but they weren't as good as just having one of each.

I also now find it weird when I play my amps that don't have a built in gate. I have a gate pedal, but the one in my Savage and Iconic seem to do something different? It's cool to have an amp that's silent at all times, too.

Everything would need to be MIDI switchable. Would also be cool to have a good built in load box, without the IR junk. My Engl Savage 60 Mk II is the closest I've gotten, but I still prefer my Bogner 101b or Armored Sabot for the Marshall side. It also can't quite get that 5150 sound, like my Iconic. If I had to pick one amp, I'd stay with the Savage, since it covers the most ground best. None of my channel switchers can even touch the Deluxe Reverb on the low gain, though.

I guess you could maybe do all of this with a weird power section like the Road King, but it'd be insanely expensive to retube and just seems like complete overkill. I had both versions of the RK and didn't feel like changing the tubes on each channel did much. There's obviously more to the power section for the different sounds than the tube itself.
 
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No knobs at all. Uses facial recognition tech to judge the tone and volume level by your mood and or facial expression.
Oh, and a built in pocket pussy or dildo so when it, as Devin says, fucks hard, you won’t feel left out. Now if you want to call it your “cup holder” or whatever in the literature, that’s up to you.
 
ZEN Amps said:
Neural link you say? I'll tweet something about censorship to lure Musky in, then start talking amps. Or maybe something more covert - "Don Lemon claims Elon is too radical to bankroll the Zen amp project". Worth a shot.
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I saw an interview with the guy who was the first person to get it and he said it’s not fair for him to play video games against others because it’s instantaneous for him, he doesn’t have to meddle with a controller, just thinks his next move and executes.

Think if you could do that with tone! Just think of the most glorious tone and bam, there it is! Haha!!
 
Panhead5 said:
Most of this is stupid, Build what you think works best and is practical . Make sure Leon demos it on Youtube,
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Yeah, just build what you would want the amp to be. Catch-all designs tend to suck, never having one glorious tone but a few good ones. The builder having a particular vision is what matters more. The amp should live or die on that.
 
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