Favorite revisions/model of amps

[Yehuda]

It’s another slow day at the office, so here’s another question

What is your favorite revision of a certain amp (or multiple revisions/amps) and why?

For instance, I’ve always been curious about which bogner xtc people preferred
Pandora
20th anniversary
101a vs 101b

Etc

 

[Ryan990]

It’s another slow day at the office, so here’s another question

What is your favorite revision of a certain amp (or multiple revisions/amps) and why?

For instance, I’ve always been curious about which bogner xtc people preferred
Pandora
20th anniversary
101a vs 101b

Etc

I preferred the 101B over the Pandora
The Rev Green uber to the blue and ultra
Rev F recto over a G dual
The peavey 3120 over the triple xxx

I think that's the extent of my experience with different amp revisions

 

[braintheory]

You already know mine lol, but will repeat anyway:
Marks: IIC+ HRG
Recto’s: Revision C
VH4: ‘90’s Blueface and earlier ptp Protoypes
Uberschall’s: Revision 1
SLO: ‘80’s
Friedman: Marsha 100w
Naylor’s: so far equal between the 1995 and 2017 SuperDrives I had
XTC: ‘90’s 101B, but haven’t tried a 100B/A
Fender Blackface: 1964 Vibroverb
Vox: early ‘60’s Copperpanel AC30’s
All quite decisive for me in my experience comparing to others

The other top tier amps I’ve had/tried were more recent made stuff where I found them roughly equal with some subtle differences. My only Jim Kelley experiences were my 1980 and other of the same model from 1978. They seemed the same to me, but didn’t compare

 

[angelspade]

A few thoughts.:

I've always felt that the Peavy 5150II was superior to the original 5150. Tighter, slightly brighter and more aggressive upper-mids.

I prefer the MKI Diezel Herbert over the MKII version (look forward to trying a MKIII). More aggressive top end, and palm mutes felt more solid.

The EVH 5150III 100 Stealth felt the best of all the versions in that line. I like the additional gain, and it seems warmer and a touch more organic overall.

In regards to the Diezel VH4, I have found the latest revision to be vastly superior to the previous version. Brighter, more aggressive with far more usable and versatile channels 2 and 4.

 

[Yehuda]

I preferred the 101B over the Pandora
The Rev Green uber to the blue and ultra
Rev F recto over a G dual
The peavey 3120 over the triple xxx

I think that's the extent of my experience with different amp revisions

I didn’t get enough time with a 101b to compare against the Pandora I used to own, but especially for the price, I’d be shocked if there was anything a 101b with a boost couldn’t do that a Pandora could. I’ve heard the mercury magnetics 101b in particular is really good, and would love to try them. For now, my 25th anniversary poundcake does exactly what I wanted from an xtc, but I would like to shoot it out against one

 

[Ryan990]

I didn’t get enough time with a 101b to compare against the Pandora I used to own, but especially for the price, I’d be shocked if there was anything a 101b with a boost couldn’t do that a Pandora could. I’ve heard the mercury magnetics 101b in particular is really good, and would love to try them. For now, my 25th anniversary poundcake does exactly what I wanted from an xtc, but I would like to shoot it out against one

After I spent enough time with the Pandora I realized I just liked the voicing of the 101B better. It sounded much sweeter to my ears. I heard the same about the MM 101b's, and the white chassis 101B's to be the best of them.

 

[pipboy90]

I think the Mercury Magnetics Ecstasy hype is a myth. I emailed Jorg last month about what serial number range I should look for because I was looking to get one. He replied with this:

Never used Mercury output transformers, there some amp’s with power transformers and chokes by them but never the output. What we used where ECM from a company in Texas, the maker passed away a long time ago and no one took the company over. Sorry don’t have a serial number range but they had all silver caps, a real silver color like on a car or guitar, not zinc or chrome type plated.

Regards,
J o r g

Now someone correct me if I'm wrong, as I haven't personally tested this, but I heard from Dave Friedman on ToneTalk that changing an amp's stock power transformer has almost zero effect on the overall sound (as long as both PTs are to spec and operating properly). The output transformer can color the sound however, because the entire audio signal has to pass through it to reach the speaker.

So if they never used MM output transformers, then what those older Ecstasy models actually have are ECM output transformers, which may differ from the current Bogner custom shop transformers they now use.

 

[ners]

So I've got a clone of a Fender Showman from Carl's Custom Amps where I went down a rabbit hole like this...

The first channel and power section are the 6G14 circuit (brown panel) and the second channel is the AB763 (black panel).

Wound up learning all about the different circuits and what artists used what in order to choose what I wanted, Carl was crazy knowledgeable about them all and helped me decide. Basically have the best of the two most popular circuits Fender made.

 

[Jccobb2]

I have a rev1/green uberschall that is probably my favorite amp to date. It’s an absolutely monster for rock and non-djenty metal. Surprisingly versatile when you keep the gain below 1000 and ride the volume knob too. Also the bogner trick of diming the volume and using the gain knob for volume makes the clean channel definitely usable.

 

[Yehuda]

I have a rev1/green uberschall that is probably my favorite amp to date. It’s an absolutely monster for rock and non-djenty metal. Surprisingly versatile when you keep the gain below 1000 and ride the volume knob too. Also the bogner trick of diming the volume and using the gain knob for volume makes the clean channel definitely usable.

I absolutely love my rev1 uber! Such a thick sound and tons of clarity too! I haven’t played a rev green, but I’ve heard the Rev 1 is a little big bigger

 

[Jimty]

I’ll predict that the majority of most favoured models will be those now out of production or subject to very limited availability. There’s a good chance that the second best model might be the one currently in production however…. That’s not knocking anyone’s choices, it just seems to be the way things go.

 

[Yehuda]

I’ll predict that the majority of most favoured models will be those now out of production or subject to very limited availability. There’s a good chance that the second best model might be the one currently in production however…. That’s not knocking anyone’s choices, it just seems to be the way things go.

At least some amps are easy to find early versions of! Even though the cost is high, mark iic+ amps are for sale all the time! Now stuff like a rev c recto or a good condition60s Marshall or something- those can be tougher

 

[Jimty]

At least some amps are easy to find early versions of! Even though the cost is high, mark iic+ amps are for sale all the time! Now stuff like a rev c recto or a good condition60s Marshall or something- those can be tougher

Very true - even in the UK there’s a IIC+ SRGX up for sale right now and our used gear market (especially for the stuff I like) is tiny compared to the US/Canada. That said, I guess the asking price of some of these limits availability for a lot of folks. Not to say you can’t find a good deal though - they’re out there if you’re fast and lucky!

 

[skoora]

Whatever revision I can find and afford is the best one…

In a more realistic realm I think the Marshall DSL40C is a lot better sounding than the CR which followed it. Even with the cool extra features they added, the tone suffered. IMO.

I also like the EL34 LM version of the 6100 over earlier versions.

Prefer brown Fenders.