OK...What Amps Do You NEVER Regret Selling?

  • Thread starter Thread starter angelspade
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Speeddemon said:
I'm quite a fan of some Engls, but the Powerball 1 was a turd for sure.
Clinical, sterile, scooped, doesn't cut through the mix, etc.

But I'm never selling my Savage 60. :cool:🤘
Tight, mean, crunchy, saturated, defined.
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I've heard nothing but great things about the Savage series and the Blackmore ENGLs. (y)
 
H&K Tube 100 from the 90s.

Worst piece of shit I've ever owned or heard. Clean channel sounded like a guitar straight into a $50 mixer. OD channel sounded like a mediocre distortion pedal straight into the same board, but with extra flubby bass and grainy mids.

It sounded so bad that I felt ashamed of selling it to someone else - should have thrown it in the garbage bin.

The H&K Switchblade sounded...mediocre. Not good, not terrible. I really wanted to like it, due to the switching capabilities - but nah, sold it for $250 to someone else.

On the other hand, I LOVED the H&K Statesman, as well as the H&K Triamp.

Runner up for second worst: A JCM800 2210 I owned for a couple of weeks. It was just really uninspiring. Middy/boxy, compressed - but not in a good way. It did open up when you really cranked it, but meh, I got it at a bargain price ($300), but flipped it soon after.
 
Also, some amps only sound good if they're cranked and the speakers start pushing air. No attenuator will save them.

Every Laney (GH, VH) I've owned sounded fizzy and uninspiring until you cranked them past 3-4 on the master volume. Tried 5 different cabs and speakers, but same deal.

Which is a shame, because I really love a cranked GH100L or VH100R, but they're just so loud.

Same deal with every Marshall I've owned or tried. They're pretty much useless if you can't crank them. 2203/2204s being some of the worst offenders.
 
Ibanez Toneblaster 212 combo

"it was cheap and you could sure tell it"
 
Dreamspace said:
Also, some amps only sound good if they're cranked and the speakers start pushing air. No attenuator will save them.

Every Laney (GH, VH) I've owned sounded fizzy and uninspiring until you cranked them past 3-4 on the master volume. Tried 5 different cabs and speakers, but same deal.

Which is a shame, because I really love a cranked GH100L or VH100R, but they're just so loud.

Same deal with every Marshall I've owned or tried. They're pretty much useless if you can't crank them. 2203/2204s being some of the worst offenders.
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I’ve found select choice in preamp tubes helps remove that fizzy character. They are god awful loud though, can confirm. They’re badass amps when they are cranked though and cut in a mix like a 5150.

I’ve not sold my GH100S and my 5150 II but they don’t get played as much as my other amps.

In its current condition I’d even sell my aldrich in a pinch. It’s not usable as a gig amp as it can’t do the rolled back volume clean thing at all. It needs a second channel tonestack, pregain, and master. It has a passive unbuffered loop which is also a problem.

The only amp I don’t regret selling was my peavey Vypyr 60W. Just thin sounding and at band volumes it would have a bias runaway problem.

In a trimmed down style I’d be happy with just my XTC, Coliseum, and my own Enmity mod.
 
i'm not attached to anything. I have a love hate relationship with all my amps
 
Mesa Stilletto, Koch Multitone, Rivera Knucklehead, Fuchs modded Traynor, Ceriatone Chupacabra, Some Traynor Combo I had years ago, Laney AOR, Marshall DSL 50..........
 
Dreamspace said:
H&K Tube 100 from the 90s.

Worst piece of shit I've ever owned or heard. Clean channel sounded like a guitar straight into a $50 mixer. OD channel sounded like a mediocre distortion pedal straight into the same board, but with extra flubby bass and grainy mids.
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Wow, good to know. I almost bought one a couple of months ago.
 
Mesa Trem o verb

Friedman runt 50

So sick of mesa, though I own three other Friedmans that I likely won’t sell.

Considering replacing be100d with the PLEX someday since I also have a BE50 🤷‍♂️

Updating my SL67 to mk2 so may not get a PLEX
 
Marshall JTM 30 combo
H&K Edition Tube combo

Those two were just ridiculously thin and brittle sounding.

Koch Studiotone 20 head

Had a real love/hate thing with this one for a few years — loved the features, size, & convenience; never really bonded with the overall voicing of the amp. Also couldn’t seem to find the right speaker to pair it with.

ADA MP2 preamp

Bought this one instead of the MP1 because it was stereo, it looked cooler ( :rolleyes: ), and it was cheaper — which should’ve been a hint!
 
gibson5413 said:
ENGL Powerball- I owned an original ENGL SE EL34 that I really liked but the Powerball just didn't do anything for me. I had it for almost a year and bought it brand new from DerekB at Rock Solid Amps. Not trying to be offensive but it sounded like I plugged into a bar of plastic and wax. Sounded ok on its own but even playing along with my stereo it got lost. It just had no character or dynamics. I've heard the Powerball II is better. Either way, I grew weary as ENGL amps (at the time) were hard to get repairs completed on the amps in the US. It always worried me so I moved on from the brand.

Framus Cobra- I bought it after I moved the Powerball. I was extremely disappointed as I heard some good clips but mine sounded like it was neutered somehow. In retrospect, I think something was wrong with mine but there was no way to know. I also read a lot about the reliability of the Cobra or the Dragon. I sold it and the individual who bought it loved it. I was really surprised at the lack of sustain even with a lot of gain dialed in. I posted about it on HCAF and one of the members said "Why does that matter?" Oh well, different strokes.
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Derek was a cool guy. He loved those Engls. We used to talk on the phone a lot, but lost contact. Wonder what he is up to?
 
Mesa Boogie Triple 2 and 3 channel rectifiers. Wanted to love them, think they look cool with the diamond plate chrome and black chassis, but man just could not get over the high end sizzle or grind and loose, flubby low end and scooped mids. I’ve heard so many great recordings of them I just could not figure those amps out.
 
I forgot to mention in my post I had a Blackstar HT-5, and yeah I definitely do not miss it. Unlike the Marshall DSL1 I had (which I kinda miss, kinda don't due to lack of headroom) it just had ZERO tone whatsoever. Sounded like a solid state head if you played with any gain. I traded it for some DV Mark amp that I immediately sold on eBay.
 
JCM900

I don't think it was as bad as some say. But wasn't for me.
 
Yep, that solid state sounds was what I heard and hated too.
DeathlyFighter said:
I forgot to mention in my post I had a Blackstar HT-5, and yeah I definitely do not miss it. Unlike the Marshall DSL1 I had (which I kinda miss, kinda don't due to lack of headroom) it just had ZERO tone whatsoever. Sounded like a solid state head if you played with any gain. I traded it for some DV Mark amp that I immediately sold on eBay.
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stephen sawall said:
JCM900

I don't think it was as bad as some say. But wasn't for me.
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I traded a cheap amp for a Bugera 1990, and honestly based on them sounding really similar to the "real" amp in most comparisons online, I'm glad I got that sound on a budget. It's useable but not my favorite tone ever.
 
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