Best amp for clean sounds

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CrowT.Robot76

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First post :rock: . So I'm looking for an amp to get me some sweet cleans. Here is a short list I have so far.What other amps should I look into to? If you guys could point me in the right directions I would be very thankful. Oh yea I would really like to be under $1000 so I would have to look for used Mesa amps.This thread on TGP also looking for as much input as possible.

On to the list.



Roland JC-120

Fender Blues Jr.

Vox AC15C1

Mesa Boogie Lone Star

Mesa Boogie Electra Dyne
 
CrowT.Robot76":3vjwtawp said:
First post :rock: . So I'm looking for an amp to get me some sweet cleans. Here is a short list I have so far.What other amps should I look into to? If you guys could point me in the right directions I would be very thankful. Oh yea I would really like to be under $1000 so I would have to look for used Mesa amps.This thread on TGP also looking for as much input as possible.

On to the list. All amps considered.
Roland JC-120...Garbage
Fender Blues Jr....Garbage
Vox AC15C1...Garbage
Mesa Boogie Lone Star...Beyond Garbage
Mesa Boogie Electra Dyne
Click to expand...
....Worse than Garbage
Fender Blackface clean tones 1960's Pro Reverb,
Modern, Engl 520 Preamp modded by John Landgraff,
Best Clean tone ever, Landgraff D'Lux with winged =C= 6L6 tubes...Played EVERYTHING, and they doin't come close. 4500.00 for a Combo...5000.00 with a 4 year wait for the combo. THE best made, period. THE new Trainwreck/Dumble. ALWAYS going up in value for the real deal. Nothing else compares, not even close.
 
do you like cleans that are pristine crystal clean or like some slight breakup to them?
do you require lots of wattage/clean headroom?
using single coils/humbuckers/p90s etc ?
do you have a tube preference (6L6,EL34 etc)
 
I would like something with pristine crystal cleans. I am running humbuckers most times 90%.But I also have a Tele. I dont care what tubes I would be running.Also I really dont need anything over 50 watts.
 
Roland JC120 combo with stock speakers
Roland JC120h
not the 120 reissues
Marshall JMP1 preamp
Late 60's Fender Twin Reverb


Are a few good ideas for you.
 
Give the Egnater Rebel 30 a shot, great cleans on the cheap IMO.
 
What kind of cleans are you looking for? I mean, who's cleans do you like? The amps you listed vary a bit.
 
Twin= sterile and dull
120= sterile as well

The lonestar will be your best bet imo... if you want to drop over the 1000 on a used combo. you'll have perfect cleans and an amazing drive side as well. it's heavy as crap though... so steroids will have to play into the budget somewhere.

My 2 and 3 choices would be the fender hot rod deville 4/10 and the peavey classic 50. the clean is a little better on the hrd but the drive sucks terribly. the peavey is the best all around budget amp imo.

a used mesa dc3 or 5 would also be a good choice. the 3 will give you less headroom so if you need more volume i'd search out a 5 or 10.
 
RockNRun":17512uxw said:
Give the Egnater Rebel 30 a shot, great cleans on the cheap IMO.
Click to expand...


I really like the cleans on the Rebel 30. More so then any fender I have owned. Can get sparkly and spanky without being ice picky like most fenders I have played.
 
Mudder":2tj24xb9 said:
What kind of cleans are you looking for? I mean, who's cleans do you like? The amps you listed vary a bit.
Click to expand...


This :thumbsup:
 
PS- any 15 watt amp is not going to give you much in terms of super clean headroom (meaning that it will stay clean and not distort at higher volumes). If you want clean cleans from a vox youll have to step up to the ac-30.

and the new ac 30 custom is a bad ass sounding amp... and it's right at 1000.
 
CrowT.Robot76":1nbhzbra said:
I would like something with pristine crystal cleans. I am running humbuckers most times 90%.But I also have a Tele. I dont care what tubes I would be running.Also I really dont need anything over 50 watts.
Click to expand...

Lots of great recommendations so far.

What I would recommend you do is go play/try out some of these amps if it is at all possible. My interpretation of "pristine clean" may not be what yours is.

Also, you mentioned the wattage that you may or may not need. In a tube amp, usually the lower the wattage the higher you will need to push the volume to get levels required to play with others to be able to be heard. A lower wattage tube amp will then have more breakup, thus negating the clean and pushing you into overdrive territory. If you want to get a tube amp with great cleans, in order to be heard with the clean you are looking for you will need a higher wattage.

Based on that.. you should eliminate the Blues Jr and the AC15 right off the bat. The JC-120 is a 60 watt amp, with very nice cleans.... but it may not have the voice or "breath" you are looking for. The Lone Star is switchable between 10/50/100 watts.... at the 10 watt you may find more break up than you are looking for. The Dyne is also switchable between 45&90 watts....... I guess point being... the higher the wattage on the tube amp, usually the cleaner it will be at higher volumes. The Roland is Solid State... but it is also 60 watts putting it outside of your 50 Watt requirement... point being is that wattage is a factor, but don't disqualify any amp because of the wattage.

I won't be redundant by recommending what has all ready been posted... but if possible go check these amps out... and crank em up! If they stay clean at the volumes you will need then that's the amp you want.

That said.... don't eliminate an amp that has great od/breakup at higher volumes if you may want to get into overdrive territory... you can always roll your guitar volume back to get nice cleans then turn the guitar volume up to get nice breakup..... just be mindful of the volume that you will need.....

Hope that helps....
 
Diezel herbert;)


jk...although its nice

Fender Twin for sure!! :thumbsup: AND you can get great deals on them used for cheap! The cleans out of those amps just leap out at you with a blossomy chime that i havent really heard from other amps. Not that other amps dont have good cleans, but this one is my favorite. Much better than my fender hot rod deville for sure (though that still is a great amp)
 
RockNRun":1aqcw6ev said:
Give the Egnater Rebel 30 a shot, great cleans on the cheap IMO.
Click to expand...

I was about to say this or a renegade. I really dig the lead tones from the renegade but IMO the cleans on that amp are what really blew me away.

I've got a full quartet of KT88's in mine and it's literally one of the loudest cleans I've ever heard in my life. It would easily go toe to toe with a 65 watt fender....easily.

The tweakers cleans are also unreal for such a low wattage amp. That little bastard is LOUD and SO clean. If I were looking for a super tight budget amp and really only cared about cleans, I'd take a tweaker over the low watt fenders.
 
I honestly think the cleans on the JC-120 are just a tad overated. First, when you turn on the amp, you will hear a nice static white noise floor. And the eq kinda sucks on that amp. I did however love the stereo fx return as well as having a stereo chorus, but I would take a tube amp over it pretty much any day. I ran pedals into a JC-120 for a bit, and I could never get rid of a certain sterileness.
 
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