Advice for choosing next amp

  • Thread starter Thread starter MadAsAHatter
  • Start date Start date
Building kits is a lot of fun and kind of satisfies the GAS urge during the build process.
I just finished a TAD 2203 kit. Now I‘m planning on the HS build
 
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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Hey - I know this is an old thread, but I just wanted to circle back here to let you know some exciting news - I'm about to release the Mark II version of the main circuit that's in the Modern Series line-up (the Mercenary, the Loyalist and the Patriot.) I'll be announcing it soon with demo videos, etc. The Mark II upgrade includes a some new features, but - more importantly - an extra gain stage for more gain on the high gain channels. (The first Mercenary Mark II was just taken into a local studio here this weekend and performed amazingly. Got tons of great feedback on it.)
 
sonictoneamps said:
Hey - I know this is an old thread, but I just wanted to circle back here to let you know some exciting news - I'm about to release the Mark II version of the main circuit that's in the Modern Series line-up (the Mercenary, the Loyalist and the Patriot.) I'll be announcing it soon with demo videos, etc. The Mark II upgrade includes a some new features, but - more importantly - an extra gain stage for more gain on the high gain channels. (The first Mercenary Mark II was just taken into a local studio here this weekend and performed amazingly. Got tons of great feedback on it.)
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That sounds exciting! I've been sold on getting an amp from y'all for a while now. I had hoped to already have one, but life got in the way of the fun stuff. Looks like having to postpone a purchase worked out for the better anyway since you'll be releasing a Mk II soon. Looking forward to the demo vids and hopefully paying y'all a visit sooner than later.
 
FFFFUUUUUUU!

I forgot about this thread :lol:

Did you get anything new since this? Seems you need a Recto and/or Bogner of sorts :dunno:

Forgot you had that Peavy Vypyr 60 head conversion :yes:

Edit: Or did you just answer my question? I typed this last night and forgot to send it.
 
311splawndude said:
FFFFUUUUUUU!

I forgot about this thread :LOL:

Did you get anything new since this? Seems you need a Recto and/or Bogner of sorts :dunno:

Forgot you had that Peavy Vypyr 60 head conversion :yes:

Edit: Or did you just answer my question? I typed this last night and forgot to send it.
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I kinda forgot about it too LOL. I have gotten a couple of small things since the original post, most before the end of 2023.

Rob came out with a Version 2 for the EVO amp and covered costs of the updates. Since I was shipping the amp to him I tossed in a couple of MTS modules for him to mod. He did a Hiwatt DR103 and Orange AD200B for me. Picked up a Symergy Bman while they were having the Christmas sale as well. I've been using all 3 for bass and they sound amazing.

I put that MOD 102+ amp kit together as a quick project. Also started working on a Matamp GT120 clone, but still need transformers for it so it's been on hold for a couple of months. I did buy a Heyboer set but changed my mind about using them. I decided to go with Mercury instead. I'll end up using the Heyboers on a SLO clone.

The only actual amp I bought was an Ashen Miley. It's a 6 watt bass amp that uses 6N3P power tubes, 6N2P preamp tubes and based on Ampeg Portaflex tones. I like that I can crank it to 10 to get that gritty power tube saturation without bringing down the walls. For a 6 watt amp it still gets respectable volumes. I measured just shy of 106 dB from 3 ft. away when fully cranked. He upped his prices recently to $700, but between the lower price and Christmas/New Year sale I only paid $400.

I was planning to get something from SonicTone (likely a Patriot) back in Feb-March, but had to put that on hold for a little while to throw some extra money into savings. Needing a new roof and a new shed is not too far off. I want to be able to pay for them outright when the time comes without fully draining the home improvement account.

The Silverbass is really the Bman that I made a new faceplate for. The Synergy plate looked out of place next to the other 3.
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MOD 103+ kit
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Ashen Miley
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Nice collection!

And, while the Mono is a modded Marshall type, I'd still recommend an early 70s NMV Marshall. The clones are cool, but still clones. In a head to head, the original always wins. It's instant AC/DC straight in, and with a boost or two, or a Dist pedal you can play nearly any style.
 
MadAsAHatter said:
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?
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If I were you I'd go for option #1. There's something very satisfying about making music with something you've built.

I see you've got an Egnater Armageddon 4x12. Are you using the stock speakers?
 
Racerxrated said:
Nice collection!

And, while the Mono is a modded Marshall type, I'd still recommend an early 70s NMV Marshall. The clones are cool, but still clones. In a head to head, the original always wins. It's instant AC/DC straight in, and with a boost or two, or a Dist pedal you can play nearly any style.
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Thanks. They're not at the top of the list yet, but I would like to add a couple of vintage style NMV amps down the road.


JohnnyGtar said:
If I were you I'd go for option #1. There's something very satisfying about making music with something you've built.

I see you've got an Egnater Armageddon 4x12. Are you using the stock speakers?
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The Armageddon and Vengeance cabs were the first I owned with G12-T75's. Turned out they weren't my thing. I did a full swap in the Vengeance cab to Weber Grey Wolf/Silver Wolf mix. I kept the K100's in the Armageddon. Right now they're paired with WGS Retro 30's. I like the tone, but the WGS speakers can't hang with Celestions at higher volumes. At some point I want to swap out the Retro 30's for Redbacks.
 
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