Icons of amp distortion

  • Thread starter Thread starter oddguitar
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MadAsAHatter said:
I'd have to add a Diezel to that list, probably VH4 and/or Herbert since they're the most well known. I'd also want to add something from ENGL to that list. ENGL typically falls into Invader style or Savage style so maybe one or both of those.
In general German high gain like Diezel or ENGL have a distinct character that you don't find in British or American style high gain amps.
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You know, I thought about adding Diezel and ENGL (Bogner & Friedman too), but I didn’t feel like they changed the game like the amps I listed.
 
oddguitar said:
I’m going to respectfully disagree. The 5153 is a great amp, but it an evolutionary amp, not a revolutionary one like the SLO100 was in the 80’s.
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well thats why i asked in my last post what kind of iconic we are talking about, the SLO might be iconic in a revolutionary way, but in terms of actually being used in the real world i think the 5153 far surpasses it, there was a long stretch there for 20 years or more there where the 5150 and rectos dominated, then the 5153's came along and i think i see more of them now than any other amp in the metal world.
 
RaceU4her said:
Are we talking icons of the real world that are actually used on albums or we just listing our favorite amps?? Those are different things lol
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I’m talking the amps that were important moments in high gain amp design that went on to be used by famous guitarists on albums and in concert. The ones you buy if you want to get all the iconic flavors of high gain guitar tone.
 
This post kind of separates function vs sentimentality. Kind of reminds me of how many people thought a jose modded marshall is worth 20k. Baffling shit.

The slo was a top ten amp 30 years ago. But it isnt sniffing top 20 now and it isnt even close. Whereas a marshall silver jube and especially jcm 800 are still valid
 
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oddguitar said:
I’ve always preferred amp distortion to pedals
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I think this is where i got confused because it is kind of a non sequitur
Erock said:
I thought it was more about amps that kind of moved the needle, where everyone started wanting that tone. But yeah, definitely rock or metal amps. I'm like a kindergartener if you are gauging clean tones. I know about Dumble and Fender, that's the end of my knowledge, lol.

edit: oh you meant metal amps, I'm a bit slow, lol.
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I think you actually had the right idea and i just got confused because of first sentence that you correctly glossed over. Im still not sure why it is there, because half those amps were used with an overdrive to tighten the sound
 
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Eddie's Plexi
Mesa Mark series
80's Modded Marshalls
Soldano SLO

Those are the most important moments as far as high gain is concerned.
The most popular high gain amp over the last 30 years? It's the Dual or Triple Rectifier.
 
Dale B said:
Eddie's Plexi
Mesa Mark series
80's Modded Marshalls
Soldano SLO

Those are the most important moments as far as high gain is concerned.
The most popular high gain amp over the last 30 years? It's the Dual or Triple Rectifier.
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The rectifier sound literally changed my view of guitar tone. It is insane how many bands were using it when i was in highschool
 
RaceU4her said:
well thats why i asked in my last post what kind of iconic we are talking about, the SLO might be iconic in a revolutionary way, but in terms of actually being used in the real world i think the 5153 far surpasses it, there was a long stretch there for 20 years or more there where the 5150 and rectos dominated, then the 5153's came along and i think i see more of them now than any other amp in the metal world.
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Well the Mesa Mark IIC+ begat the SLO, and the SLO begat the 5150 & Dual Rec, and finally the the 5150 begat the 5153. EVH teamed up with Peavey to create the 5150, which was intended as a poorman’s SLO (which he had just used to record the F.U.C.K album) because he knew that Soldano would never be able to produce a signature amp in the quantities and price-range that Peavey could. So the 5153 is in many ways a modern version of the SLO.
 
My $0.02...a couple high gainers under the radar are the Demeter TGA-3 and the pre-Rocktron Egnater TOL 100.
 
Afa icons of distortion Langner would meet the criteria. Back in the day he engineered and designed the A/DA MP-1 and his amp line was legit af well ahead of his time. Back then a 5gs was nowhere to be found readily. His work was known to reach countless pros and countless recordings.
 
Exo-metal said:
Afa icons of distortion Langner would meet the criteria. Back in the day he engineered and designed the A/DA MP-1 and his amp line was legit af well ahead of his time. Back then a 5gs was nowhere to be found readily. His work was known to reach countless pros and countless recordings.
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Well if we start adding iconic preamps to the mix, in addition to the A/DA MP1/MP2, we need to include other rackmount preamp titans such as the Soldano X88-R, Marshall JMP-1, Mesa Triaxis, CAE 3+, Hafler Triple Giant, Bogner Fish, Soldano/Caswell X99, Mesa Quad and Studio Preamp.
 
Exo-metal said:
Afa icons of distortion Langner would meet the criteria. Back in the day he engineered and designed the A/DA MP-1 and his amp line was legit af well ahead of his time. Back then a 5gs was nowhere to be found readily. His work was known to reach countless pros and countless recordings.
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Do you know why he never got established as an amp maker, at least in the commercial sense?
 
Most if those preamps weren't even out when this was happening and he did have his own amps but they are beyond rare. If you want an Icon of distortion Todd Langner was one.
 
OP's list is complete. All the VH4, Bogner, Wizard (etc) are great amps for sure, but not genre defining.

I would also argue the Mesa Mark flew under the radar for most of it's life, overshadowed by the Rectifier series. It seems in latter years that interest in it soared.
 
Really, it's a Marshall, and then everything "British" after that is just a variation. The same could be said for the Soldano SLO 100, but it raises a new question: How far does the circuit need to be tweaked from that iconic sound to count as something new? For a Friedman or a Bogner, I say it's still Marshall enough to default back and give Marshall the credit. For a Rectifier, it was a new sound that defined a generation and stands on its own next to the SLO.

My four are:
Jim Marshall's amps
Soldano amps
Mesa Mark Series
Mesa Rectifier series

Everything else is variations on a theme. The 5150s are just "A poor man's Soldano", and all the "British" amps just go back to those four. Sure, Splawn perfected the Marshall sound, and more metal bands used the 5150 than the SLO, but those were the four.
 
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