sacguy71
Member
funny you dislike the Revv as I found it sounded tight and great without a boost but folks have different preferences in tone
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braintheory
Well-known member
Yeah it’s tight without a boost needed. I just found the tone itself for my taste to be bland and synthetic and just not come off as well when directly compared to other amps I liked. I can see though I think why some like them
Bram576
Well-known member
I think the big thing why people dislike them is they sound very synthetic, compressed, and digital sounding even though they’re a tube amp. I’d rather use an axe fx or quad cortex to be honest.
sacguy71
Member
understand so for me, it works. Different from my Mezzabarba that is more open and loose.
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braintheory
Well-known member
Yes exactly. There’s I think different levels of synthetic, but really most amps made in recent years sound relatively synthetic to me (including the recent non-high gain amps). Wizard and Naylor is one of the few exceptions (needles in the haystack) along with Alessandro for non-high gain. Those guys somehow are able to still get a pretty raw, organic sound in their amps. Mezaabarba too from what I remember of the one I had
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braintheory
Well-known member
That looser quality (and lack of growl) is part of why I didn’t keep my Mezzabarba (I heard the metal mod version is supposed to be better though), but what impressed is how raw and organic it sounded for a non-vintage amp and all the nuance around the notes that you just don’t hear in many recent made amps sadly. Amps like Revv, KSR, Engl and Omega are the exact opposite to me. I find them just uninteresting sounding, somewhat cardboard-y/filitered and the notes don’t connect very well on leadwork. I often use the analogy hear of like comparing from concentrate juice with the fresh squeezed or at least non-concentrate version. Most of these recent made amps to me are like the from concentrate version. It’s just not as inspiring to me at least
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Smash
Hack
I dont want my guitar tone to sound like frozen orange juice. I know that
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braintheory
Well-known member
Well not insult anyone’s taste, but I found the Uber Ultra and a few other amps (at least for me) to have that kind of sound. Just not what I prefer to hear
To me it’s just this trend of no longer valuing richness or all these other nice details in sound and I think that’s a very bad direction and I think also leads indirectly to less artistry or expressiveness in the performers. Classical guitar has also been generally heading that way and it sucks
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braintheory
Well-known member
Like frozen orange juice where you also taste the cardboard. Some amps we can’t even call it orange juice. Maybe medicinal orange syrup of some sort, especially with most of these recent made pedals
Smash
Hack
I dont feel insulted. I love solidstate amps and tube amps. I was very surprised by how much i enjoyed the uber. I think i must be immune to inorganic. I just care about punch and character of gain. The uber isnt the best sounding amp out there, but it is really special and its other qualities overshadow what voicing may slightly lack.
This makes it sound like amp doesnt sound good. That isnt the case. It is a great sounding amp. Just doesnt break into top 3 best sounding amps. Punches like ivan drago, though
Smash
Hack
Lmao. Your cardboard metaphor is my favorite. I literally laugh every time
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grrr_me_scary
Active member
If you're thinking about 4-channel amps, then you should consider the KSR Colossus, Mesa Boogie Road Kings and/or the Roadster.
They all sound great with certain drive pedals in front of them and they have a lot of tonal options on each one.
Based upon all the various amps threads in here (and elsewhere), if you ask for opinions about certain amps, then you will find as soon as one person says the amp sounds great, then you will get another person saying it sounded horrible to them.
We each hear things differently, and our tastes can be just as different, so you will be getting a lot of different opinions/responses for this post.
I have found amps that others say sound great to them can sound harsh to me or lack luster.
Even out of my own amps, I will find that can be true depending upon the guitar, pickups, and cab, that I was using at the time.
GLWTSearch!!
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braintheory
Well-known member
Some solid state amps can sound quite good, especially the old Randall RG100ES and Ampeg VH140. I just still find them a bit flat or 2D when AB’ed with my favorite tube amps, but those amps to me sound more raw, organic than those examples of modern amps I don’t care for
Yeah the Ultra has plenty of power and punch no doubt. I think that’s why guys like it and I’d think why some compare it to wizards, but I didn’t like the tone or feel itself and a few other amps of mine still were stronger in power and punch, but it could IME hold its own with (if not outdo) the vast majority of amps I’ve tried in that department. That is why I held on to it for a bit
Smash
Hack
I am going to suggest something to you. And it will be a lot of work. But when we dont like an amp, we need to assign it a cardboard level. You are going to have to go back in your old notes and modify for this
Now level 5 is going to be some serious cardboard, so we gotta leave that for the biggest pieces of shit.
sacguy71
Member
I get it you guys do not like the hi fi modern Revv and Engl tones. For me, it is great sound I want for recording. I already have an amp modeler and the real amp sounds way better.
Smash
Hack
Never played one. Would love to. I heard a fireball 100 live and thought ot cut great. I probably wouldnt keep anything from either brand, but i am sure they have some cool amps
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braintheory
Well-known member
Yeah we all have our preferences. No right or wrong. For more modern amps I like the Hermansson's, Wizard Hell Razor, Megalith Beta and MLC Silenoz and I still think the early 2 ch Recto's boosted work for a lot of modern stuff. I like modern a lot if done well (to me of course), I just don't like it when it gets too filtered of the qualities that I feel make the sound rich and interesting to listen to
A lot of guys in the high gain world describe amps like Diezel's or Engl's as hi-fi (amps that I guess sound almost already recorded), but to me hi-fi is more about having exceptional detail to the notes where you hear more nuances (in just one note so many details), which I actually feel is a relative weakness of those amps and most "modern" high gain amps. To me hi-fi amps are the Alessandro AZZ series, Ronin's, Dumble and I guess the closest I've heard for high gain would be the mark iic+'s
Either way it sounds like it may also be worth trying a Herbert, KSR, Recto and a few others. We can only give our opinions, but we what we like is what we like
sacguy71
Member
loved the rawness of the Fireball and studio sound of the Revv. RedSeven has some interesting stuff as well.
sacguy71
Member
right on and I am in no rush since I still need to sell off a few amps and guitars first. I probably will replace my HX stomp as well with a better modeler like the Fractal or Kemper at some point to get more amp and fx models not available on Line 6 modelers.