Top 3 favorite amps you have played

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I racked my brain on this thread, but all the amps I currently own, are ones I couldn't part with.

Ones I stupidly sold though:
ENGL SE EL34.
Wizard MCI
Splawn QR100 3 pre


one I've chased for 20 years:
Blackface TRec through an old 1960A in a Guitar Center in PA, after hours, in 05'
 
Erock said:
I racked my brain on this thread, but all the amps I currently own, are ones I couldn't part with.

Ones I stupidly sold though:
ENGL SE EL34.
Wizard MCI
Splawn QR100 3 pre


one I've chased for 20 years:
Blackface TRec through an old 1960A in a Guitar Center in PA, after hours, in 05'
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Is the SE EL34 thin sounding in the room or does it have a pair? As bad as the build quality is and the concern of no support in the US if something goes wrong, I’m all of the time wanting to try one out.
 
glpg80 said:
Is the SE EL34 thin sounding in the room or does it have a pair? As bad as the build quality is and the concern of no support in the US if something goes wrong, I’m all of the time wanting to try one out.
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The build quality is the entire reason I sold it. It looked like a complicated printer inside, and scared me. I had some switch set wrong one time, and it wouldn't make sound. I panicked before I realized I had it set wrong. It was a badass sounding amp though, it could get HUGE in the room if you wanted, a pair and a half. It was the amp that brought me my 15 seconds of fame. I made a tune called End of All with a guy on HC back in the day, where I did the guitars and bass, and he did the drums and vocals. He was an aspiring producer, and posted it a bunch of Japanese forums. It was completely his production though, as he re-arranged my guitar riffs and bass lines. It sounded killer, and made it to a top 10 one week on a Japanese metal radio station. They actually reached out to us for an interview, lol. :p
 
Erock said:
The build quality is the entire reason I sold it. It looked like a complicated printer inside, and scared me. I had some switch set wrong one time, and it wouldn't make sound. I panicked before I realized I had it set wrong. It was a badass sounding amp though, it could get HUGE in the room if you wanted, a pair and a half. It was the amp that brought me my 15 seconds of fame. I made a tune called End of All with a guy on HC back in the day, where I did the guitars and bass, and he did the drums and vocals. He was an aspiring producer, and posted it a bunch of Japanese forums. It was completely his production though, as he re-arranged my guitar riffs and bass lines. It sounded killer, and made it to a top 10 one week on a Japanese metal radio station. They actually reached out to us for an interview, lol. :p
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There’s such little documentation on them electrically that even if I owned one and it went down it would be a real pain to try to service. They’re extremely complicated which I don’t have a problem with if there’s adequate support or documentation. However, in the US you lack both which means you’re one bad component from owning a brick.

My Bogner was fairly complicated but Bogner has great support.
 
glpg80 said:
There’s such little documentation on them electrically that even if I owned one and it went down it would be a real pain to try to service. They’re extremely complicated which I don’t have a problem with if there’s adequate support or documentation. However, in the US you lack both which means you’re one bad component from owning a brick.

My Bogner was fairly complicated but Bogner has great support.
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yeah,, I love the sound of ENGL, but man, they are scary to own if you aren't endorsed. I will say though, I've had friends tour with them, and had good luck. I've also had friends that don't leave their bedroom though, and had them shit the bed. :LOL:
 
1) Diezel Herbert Mk.3
2) Diezel Herbert Mk.3
3) Diezel Herbert Mk.3

now seriously,

1) Diezel Herbert Mk.3
2) Marshall JCM 800
3) Bogner Ultra
 
CDawg said:
Crate Blue Voodoo 300.
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I still have mine that I bough back around '03-'04.
Most people don't realize the 300 & 150 are completely different amps than the BV120. Is it going to put a high quality top tier amp to shame? No. It will hold it's own just fine though. I gigged my 150 & 300 for a decade and it had no problem holding up against Rectos and 5150's/6505's. It doesn't hurt that the BV300 can get loud enough to drown out a drummer. I've done it before at practices LOL.

1742297916784.png
 
Currently in no particular order:
  • Headfirst Alta
  • Ground Zero Hellion
  • Naylor Superdrive 100
Some honorable mentions include:
  • Laney L50H Lionheart
  • Peters Pro Dual Channel Halo/Vega
  • Monomyth Skeleton Key
  • Zinky MOFO
  • Mesa Mark III Red Stripe
  • Marshall Vintage Modern 2466
Just ordered a SonicTone Loyalist with a custom mod after playing one the other day. We'll see where it lands when I get it in about a month and can play it through my own cabs. I'm 99.99% sure it'll at least land at the top of the honorable mentions category if not make it into my top 5.
 
Mesa Roadster
Bogner Uber Rev Blue
Rivera Knucklehead II

I haven't played one personally, but I'd really like to play or better still own a Matchless Superchief 120
 
Wizard MTL MKII 40w
Mesa Rev F
Wizard MC1 50w (custom spec)

Amps I wish I'd kept: Diezel VH4, Metropolous Super-Plex, Mesa Ltd Ed JP2C, Bogner Uberschall OG version
 
MadAsAHatter said:
I still have mine that I bough back around '03-'04.
Most people don't realize the 300 & 150 are completely different amps than the BV120. Is it going to put a high quality top tier amp to shame? No. It will hold it's own just fine though. I gigged my 150 & 300 for a decade and it had no problem holding up against Rectos and 5150's/6505's. It doesn't hurt that the BV300 can get loud enough to drown out a drummer. I've done it before at practices LOL.

View attachment 393373
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That's a long time to own an amplifier so it must do a few things that you like. I love channels 1 and 2 but 3 leaves a little to be desired. In 20 years of playing guitar I've owned about ten amps so I know there's a lot of things I haven't tried compared to most people. Had two different Mark IIIs and still own the Coli and I probably tried the VM in a store but the rest of your list I've never tried anything.

Agreed on the volume! LOUD! Not shy on low end either.
 
Amps I own:
1968 SuperTrem
1972 SuperTrem

Amps I've sold and regretted:
Mark 2C SRG(first opportunity at a C+; upgraded it and made $$ when I sold it. But, it was amazeballs as a 2C)
Cameron Modern mod 2203x(first Cam; sold it looking to try others but it was the best of the other 10 I had)
1988 Jubilee black tolex 2554 (this was an amazing stock Marshall, paid 800 for it. Sold it and bought 6 others looking for that same sound...none of them had it)

I'd still put either 68/72 on top of those others. But damn, lots of sold gear regrets over the yrs.
 
3rd Power Kitchen Sink- my favorite amp ever
Mesa Boogie Mark IV rev B- 2nd favorite amp ever
Bogner 20th Anniversary XTC- loved this one
 
Mesa Mark IV-a
Diezel Herbert boosted
Uberschall Rev Blue boosted- unpopular choice around here but ive used it live a bunch of times and been playing ubers since 2004, i played the rev green but i like the rev blue the best.

Ive owned about 70 amps, really hard to pick just 3.
 
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CDawg said:
That's a long time to own an amplifier so it must do a few things that you like. I love channels 1 and 2 but 3 leaves a little to be desired. In 20 years of playing guitar I've owned about ten amps so I know there's a lot of things I haven't tried compared to most people. Had two different Mark IIIs and still own the Coli and I probably tried the VM in a store but the rest of your list I've never tried anything.

Agreed on the volume! LOUD! Not shy on low end either.
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I'm one that doesn't get rid of anything. The BV300, 150 and Shockwave I've owned the longest. Up to 2017 they were the only ones I owned. I'd still have a Peavey Studio Chorus 210 combo if I didn't convert it to a head and give it to a friend.

In 2017 amps went underwater during a flood. I figured they were DOA and just got stuck in a closet. A few years later I figured what the hell let's see what happens and turned them on. To my surprise they fired right up like nothing had happened. I just needed to give the pots and jacks a shot of contact cleaner and all was good to go.

They did sit on the sidelines for a while as I was trying/buying other amps. The BV300 has found new life the last few years as a 3 channel bass amp. With the exception few minor component changes, the power section is pretty much a carbon copy of an SVT power section. Ch1 is a reasonable facsimile of the SVT tone. Ch2 makes for some gnarly overdriven tones. Ch3 is a bit over the top, but can still work for bass as long as I keep the gain down low. I also run a handful of bass preamps into the FX return. If anything it gives me some tonal variation to my other couple of bass amps.
 
anomaly said:
The crate bv-300 is nothing like the regular blue voodoo, it's supposed to sound excellent.
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It wasn't a comment on the sound, more the volume. I have no issues with any amp.

I love them all, even the bad ones. 🤷🏻‍♂️
 
Marshall JVM 410
Peavey OG 5150
Peavey JSX

Honorable mentions -

Marshall 50W JMP
Langner DCP-1 Pre-Amp
Langner modded ADA MP-1
VHT/Fryette Sig X
VHT/Fryette Ultra Lead
Splawn QR (mid 2000's era)
Laney GH50L
ENGL Artist
 
Racerxrated said:
Amps I own:
1968 SuperTrem
1972 SuperTrem

Amps I've sold and regretted:
Mark 2C SRG(first opportunity at a C+; upgraded it and made $$ when I sold it. But, it was amazeballs as a 2C)
Cameron Modern mod 2203x(first Cam; sold it looking to try others but it was the best of the other 10 I had)
1988 Jubilee black tolex 2554 (this was an amazing stock Marshall, paid 800 for it. Sold it and bought 6 others looking for that same sound...none of them had it)

I'd still put either 68/72 on top of those others. But damn, lots of sold gear regrets over the yrs.
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No Rev C?
 
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