Most overrated amp ever... pick 1!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bloodrock
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VHTStark said:
I think this is pretty accurate. They are amazing amps. But no way I am spending that much on one when my MKIV gets me 95% of the way there.

That said....we often end up spending the big big bucks for that final 5% (in tone...or feel....etc) don't we.

Plus there is the fact there is a small and finite number of....well...any of those old Mesa amps now. I am curious to see what happens in say, 10 years with the price of a Rev G Rectifier. Specifically an unmolested/unmodded one, as so many seem to be getting modded nowdays. Dime a dozen when I was playing in the late 90's early 00's punk scene....unloved and sold cheap until the, I wanna say, late 20-teens.
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Definitely some serious rose colored glasses being used on the G’s right now. Mesa made 1000’s. If anything their prices should start dropping with everything else.
 
Matchless.
For that much money I want to use all of the gain and volume available. Clean to edge of breakup, pretty nice, but everyone I‘ve tried turned up and really driving sounds like it’s broken. The Supechief was OK but still like a lame duck, Marshall with no teeth.
 
NorCal_Val said:
Any amp that doesn’t work for you, can be accused of being overrated.
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Bingo.

I've owned a shit ton of stuff from high dollar boutique to run of the mill...it either works for me or it doesn't. If it doesn't it just means it doesn't as opposed to being overrated. Cause there's alot of stuff that didn't work me that other players sound incredible on so obviously not overrated to them.

That said, my most recent no way in hell this works for me is the Mezzabarba Trinity. And for the sake or intent and my own hypocrisy of this thread, yes overrated lol!
 
Racerxrated said:
Amps that have great feel/touch sensitivity, mostly tend to make you work a little harder. But when you spend more time with them, I feel that your playing improves because you're forced to up your game a little. Vintage Fenders, some Mesas(Mark IIs), old Marshalls, Wizards, SLOs, VHT/Fryettes, even the Naylors to some extent have this commonality. Others I'm sure but those are the ones I've had experience with.

Amps that tend to be 'easier' to play, are typically SS in my experience although there are a few tube amps I've had that react in a way that seems 'easier'....Axe FX, Kemper, Randall SS stuff, preamps like the ADA MP1, Digitech GSPs, those all are super forgiving and going from a 'drier' amp like a D60 and immediately playing the AX8 I had a few yrs ago, was like holy balls I can fly around the fretboard now! Lol
But the small nuances that you can create with your pick on the 'harder to play' amps, that doesn't happen on the 'easier to play' rigs. The only tube amp that resembles those SS experiences is a non eq 2C I had; the response was so fast, I felt like a guitar hero in comparison to my other tube amps. Lol. It's really a noticeable difference with one amp that makes you work, vs one that does not.
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i understand what people mean when they say "easy", i just dont know if i agree playing a "hard" amp makes you better, playing clearly and making chugs pop with a ton of gain ala dimebag is more of an art and "harder" for me to play than clean runs on some low gain open amp. why do we never hear guys say "the action is wayyy to high on this guitar and the strings are too thick but im gonna make this my main cause it forces me to play "better"", hows that any different?? its silly
 
But then again, would you pay 3-4k depending on where you live for a Suhr's Plexi-style amp with few small extra switches?



Suhr products also seem to have lots of hype around them.
 
Rex Rocker said:
I loved the Randall G2 and G3 series stuff. A little bass heavy, but really natural and musical distortion while still having the solid state pissed off vibe. I liked those better than the Dimebag amps for the tone that I go for, personally.

I used to have a Fender Frontman that I converted into a head that sounded surprisingly heavy when boosted. Not gonna pretend it was the ultimate Wizard killer or whatever, but you would have never guessed it was a cheap solid state Fender of all things.
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I too own a Fender Frontman...
 
MrFlexx said:
Taste surely is different for different persons which is great. But to me my Splawn Quick Rod 1000 2014 is the best amp I own and ever tried. If you check my signature, you can see I own a few boutique amps. But I understand it's not for all.
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Yup, everything isn’t for everyone and thank god. I’ve had a ton of amps too but I try to keep it below 10 now just b/c as my wife says—“the basement looks like an ac/dc concert—why do you need 10 amps and 20 guitars when you make $3000 a year playing 10 gigs?”

Had similar issues with both the QR and Deliverance—stiff and really dry. I love hearing how that Estrada guy sounds out of his tho so it’s def user error
 
RaceU4her said:
why do we never hear guys say "the action is wayyy to high on this guitar and the strings are too thick but im gonna make this my main cause it forces me to play "better"", hows that any different?? its silly
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Vito Bratta talks about in this interview not necessarily about string height, but how he switched back to modified strats because the steinberger guitar he had was too "easy" to play and he wanted the instrument to kinda "fight" back for a lack of a better word.

 
gruggmanny said:
But then again, would you pay 3-4k depending on where you live for a Suhr's Plexi-style amp with few small extra switches?



Suhr products also seem to have lots of hype around them.
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I never understood Suhr’s removing the bright cap on their mkI amps but I guess they aren’t alone—everyone seems to feel the need to ‘improve’ amps that are already perfect.
 
tallcoolone said:
I never understood Suhr’s removing the bright cap on their mkI amps but I guess they aren’t alone—everyone seems to feel the need to ‘improve’ amps that are already perfect.
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Do the MKII ones have it removed as well?
 
gruggmanny said:
Vito Bratta talks about in this interview not necessarily about string height, but how he switched back to modified strats because the steinberger guitar he had was too "easy" to play and he wanted the instrument to kinda "fight" back for a lack of a better word.

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I understand too easy, I like thicker strings and more tension than I’m sure most would cause I like my strings to “bounce” when I’m shredding and want to lay in rather than pull the string along and get all floppy and hard to control, some dudes have a lighter grip and like their shit slinky, adjusting to taste though is different than just playing something one finds uncomfortable thinking they are getting better, to me you’re just adjusting you’re playing around the amp or guitar at that point
 
RaceU4her said:
i understand what people mean when they say "easy", i just dont know if i agree playing a "hard" amp makes you better, playing clearly and making chugs pop with a ton of gain ala dimebag is more of an art and "harder" for me to play than clean runs on some low gain open amp. why do we never hear guys say "the action is wayyy to high on this guitar and the strings are too thick but im gonna make this my main cause it forces me to play "better"", hows that any different?? its silly
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That's actually not different at all; I've always said that if I practice on an acoustic, or like you mention "action waay too high" that absolutely helps in some ways when you pick up your main guitars. After warming up on 'harder to play' guitars I'm in a great spot and am ready to go. It's similar then to amps that react 'faster' like a SS amp, or preamp that for whatever reason you can play a little sloppy but that sloppiness is somehow covered up; vs a 'harder to play' amp like those I mentioned, where you need to be more precise or it will show.
But, I see where you are coming from and I can't say definitively that the super sensitive amps make you a better player. I just know that I can't get away with much on them, vs my Randall RG for instance.
 
Amps that are not as forgiving allow for more touch sensitivity and detail. It will definitely make you play cleaner eventually.
Much like driving a car some want a very responsive drive. Obviously more bass can slow down everything. A slower attack and feel. These preferences are completely subjective and very much effected by your technique and types of material you play.
 
RaceU4her said:
I understand too easy, I like thicker strings and more tension than I’m sure most would cause I like my strings to “bounce” when I’m shredding and want to lay in rather than pull the string along and get all floppy and hard to control, some dudes have a lighter grip and like their shit slinky, adjusting to taste though is different than just playing something one finds uncomfortable thinking they are getting better, to me you’re just adjusting you’re playing around the amp or guitar at that point
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I dont even shave the bridge on my acoustic. I play with a high action on both electric and acoustic because i hit the fuck out of the strings.

I have always hated super low actions. My dad used to say he wanted to breathe and make the guitar fret. I just grab the lightning ⚡
 
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