Advice for choosing next amp

  • Thread starter Thread starter MadAsAHatter
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MadAsAHatter

MadAsAHatter

Well-known member
I've been window shopping for my next amp purchase and have narrowed down my selections to 3 amps. Granted, I will eventually get all three, but can only afford roughly one per year. So I'm trying to decide on which one to go for first. I don't have funds fully saved up yet, but am looking at having enough money sometime between Jan. and March. These are my choices an why I want it (in no particular order)

Allen Chihuahua DIY kit: I thoroughly enjoyed building my Ampmaker N5X british voiced class A amp and want to build an American voiced class A amp to compliment it. This one is based on a Fender champ style tone. It's slightly more complex than the N5X, but I feel would be the next step on my amp building experience.

Sonictone Patriot: My amp collection leans more towards British voiced amps. This one is high gain American voiced and would balance out the stable a little more. Clips I've listened to sound great and is just my style on the American side. Also Sonictone is a local to me boutique builder (about an hour away from my house) and Im all about supporting locally based businesses; especially when it comes to gear.

Jaded Faith/EVO Amps custom bass amp: This one is the curve ball. I have Rob's TM-50 guitar amp and have been experimenting with using it as a full tube "studio" bass amp. It's 90% a perfect bass amp for me, only lacking a little more omph on the low end and maybe needing a little more headroom. It's 50 watts and I think 100 watts would give the needed headroom for bass. I'm thinking of asking Rob if he can modify the TM-50 to 100 watts and have more low end to make a custom bass amp. Rob has also helped me out a lot on troubleshooting some amps free of charge and I really want to support his business when I can.

So given these choices and the why, which one would you choose to go for first?
 
Honestly I have no idea bro…
Just looked it up and my vote goes with the sonic tone….
 
Smashedguitaris⸸ said:
I didnt read the book, but Larry is the answer
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I would love Larry. I have zero issues paying for quality, but an 8K price tag and several year wait is too much even for me. Maybe if I could talk him into a German Caterpillar edition then maybe.

RaceU4her said:
time for a triple recto if you have too much british flavor
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I don't have an actual recto, but mostly have that tone covered with my Synergy/modded MTS modules covered. I love the tone of a recto, but have the hardest time bonding with it in person. Maybe I haven't fully figured out the eq like I have with the Mark series.
 
MadAsAHatter said:
I don't have an actual recto, but mostly have that tone covered with my Synergy/modded MTS modules covered. I love the tone of a recto, but have the hardest time bonding with it in person. Maybe I haven't fully figured out the eq like I have with the Mark series.
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thats weird, you got all those modded marshalls.. my triple G is like right between those and my iic+
 
Man I don't know between the ones you mentioned. I'm getting ready to start a Mata Amp clone build from Sirius Amplification. I've got the pcb, faceplates, and chassis coming as soon as the Australian and US post office can get them to me. I'm down to a 6505 and the Atla. I need to grab another mark iv, 3, or 7 to replace the one I sold last month and another KSR. But all the amps I've had over the past 8 years none of them have been something sludgy.

I think if you are pretty happy with your current amps, go with the build. If I could afford building one a month I would totally do it. I'm building a 2204 for a friend that had his amps stolen. I'm paying for it out of my pocket but I typically will do a build then sell it for parts for practically nothing to finance my next build or whatever. This guy was like my local childhood guitar hero so it's going to feel good to help him out.

What amps do you currently have besides the trinity of hot rodded marshalls?
 
RaceU4her said:
thats weird, you got all those modded marshalls.. my triple G is like right between those and my iic+
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I'm pretty sure it's not the amp; it's me. I didn't bond with a Recto back in the late 90's-early 2000's and walked away from them for a long time. I didn't know how to dial them in either back then. I understand the controls better now and have gotten much better with them, but still haven't spent enough time to fully mastered them yet. I still have a bit of trouble getting the low end and sag in the right place for me where it doesn't sound and feel flubby.
 
ClintN667 said:
What amps do you currently have besides the trinity of hot rodded marshalls?
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This is the current stable and I'm more than happy with all since they each offer something a little different from each other.

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looks like you're missing a Bugera. :dunno:

I'm noticing a lack of Marshalls, and no JP-2C
 
rsm said:
looks like you're missing a Bugera. :dunno:

I'm noticing a lack of Marshalls, and no JP-2C
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I used to have a Behringer B4500H bass amp. Does that count?

I've played through Marshalls more times than I can remember, but oddly have never owned one. I do have plans to eventually build a Super Lead or 800 clone. Or maybe do the Headfirst mod to an Origin. I just have a few things ahead of that project I want to do first.
 
I would do an 800 build with the Headfirst board. Not a hard build at all and sounds great. You can also mod it later to J.E.L. or something else
 
Have you ever tried a Crate? I've been told the ones with the weird head shell tolex are the best.
 
Nice stable but there’s no choice on any amps or builds if there’s not a Marshall in the house.
 
Hey - this is Nick from SonicTone. Happy to hear that the Patriot to on your list. If you have any questions about it or would like stop by the shop to try it out, just let me know. Happy to help. Contact info is on the website.
 
MadAsAHatter said:
I would love Larry. I have zero issues paying for quality, but an 8K price tag and several year wait is too much even for me. Maybe if I could talk him into a German Caterpillar edition then maybe.


I don't have an actual recto, but mostly have that tone covered with my Synergy/modded MTS modules covered. I love the tone of a recto, but have the hardest time bonding with it in person. Maybe I haven't fully figured out the eq like I have with the Mark series.
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and I thought I was the only one .....
 
sonictoneamps said:
Hey - this is Nick from SonicTone. Happy to hear that the Patriot to on your list. If you have any questions about it or would like stop by the shop to try it out, just let me know. Happy to help. Contact info is on the website.
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Hey Nick, thanks for chiming in. The Patriot (or Mercenary) is still on my short list. Thought I've been eyeballing the SE12 too. I'd love to hear how it sounds with a KT66 assuming it can take that tube. Once we get past the holidays there's a decent chance I'll take you up on the offer to visit the shop.

In the meantime I do have a question. How much of a tonal difference is there between the Patriot and American voiced Mercenary?
 
MadAsAHatter said:
Hey Nick, thanks for chiming in. The Patriot (or Mercenary) is still on my short list. Thought I've been eyeballing the SE12 too. I'd love to hear how it sounds with a KT66 assuming it can take that tube. Once we get past the holidays there's a decent chance I'll take you up on the offer to visit the shop.

In the meantime I do have a question. How much of a tonal difference is there between the Patriot and American voiced Mercenary?
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So, the American-voiced Mercenary 60 has the exact same preamp (and power amp) as the Patriot, just in a more compact, 2-channel package. So they sound exactly the same. And the class A SE amps are great. If you end up stopping by, we can try the KT66 in the SE-12, or any other octal tube you want to try.
 
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