Top 3 favorite amps you have played

  • Thread starter Thread starter Smash
  • Start date Start date
1982 20th anniv 2204 all mullard glass
70's Canadian superlead w laydown transformer
90's 1959 friedman be/hbe
 
This one has made me a few bucks and is sounding better all the time. I just had the rest of the old brown caps replaced. It's a 69 Twin and has done many hundreds of gigs. @Racerxrated
 

Attachments

  • 20250318_114358.jpg
    20250318_114358.jpg
    2 MB · Views: 15
anomaly said:
The crate bv-300 is nothing like the regular blue voodoo, it's supposed to sound excellent.
Click to expand...
Yeah I have a 150 and used to have a 120. I can confirm that they are related by name only. They don't sound remotely alike.

I would play mine a lot more, but a couple of the pots have issues that I need to sort out. But yeah, the 150s and 300s are really cool amps.
 
GJgo said:
"Best" is such a weird word and so day-to-day subjective…
Click to expand...
That’s a great point to bring up. It’s why I listed three amps for three different categories each. “Best” is too broad a word, there are too many different kinds of "best" out there.

For example, I’m a huge fan of the Ecstasy across several of its revisions, and think they are some of the best amps ever made, but I'm not sure I'd consider an Ecstasy to be the most immediately "impactful" force of nature kind of amp that will shake the foundations of your core when you crank it and blast out a few big chords and palm mutes, at least not in the same way a boosted 2-channel Triple Rec will be (for me, that honor goes to the Wizard HR KT150 which I did include in my list, hah), but I do think the more time I spend with Ecstasies, the more they impress me and the more I learn about them and what they can do.

I put two different Ecastasies in my lists because I think they are some of the most uniquely expressive, complex sounding, vibey, and characterful amps out there, and that’s not even to mention how well they maintain all their best characteristics across pretty much every level of gain they can be dialed for, which is so say "almost all of them" lol.

So yeah the word "best" definitely casts a very wide net. I love threads like this though, where you get to see the rubber meeting the road and people expressing solid preferences. I might start another similar thread sometime but emphasize it slightly differently, like "list all your favorite amps, but if you list them, you have to talk about why you like them" etc.
 
Last edited:
These are the amps I kept.
Many of the ones I sold I wish I still had. C'est la vie.

Mesa-
Mark IV
Tremoverb
Triple Rectifier 2 channel
Heartbreaker
California Tweed 4:40

Orange-
OR50
Rockerverb100 -first version (KT88)

Fryette-
Sig X
Deliverance 120
PS-100

THD-
Series One Plexi 50
Univalve 15
Bivalve 30
Flexible 50
Deco 36

I have a few more. But these are the ones I use. The Sig X gets used the most. My favorites are the THD. amps.

I do plan on buying a Fryette GPDI IR.

I might buy a few others. I have never bought a amp without trying one first.

With a VFE Standout in front and Ibanez PTEQ in the loop I can make just about any amp work.
 
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.
Click to expand...
 
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'
Click to expand...


Is this you Sir?? I love this demo!
 
Last edited:
Erock said:
thanks man :cheers:
Click to expand...

Dude no way! I've been listening to that demo off and on since you put it up all those years ago, lol. I didn't even read the title and knew exactly what that video was just from the thumbnail. It's in my mental map as a staple of "what Mills 4x12's sound like" hah. I've always liked that tone.
 
TheGreatGreen said:
Dude no way! I've been listening to that demo off and on since you put it up all those years ago, lol. I didn't even read the title to know exactly what that video was. It's in my mental map as a staple of "what Mills 4x12's sound like" hah. I've always liked that tone.
Click to expand...
Thanks brother! I guess I REALLY should have kept that thing. :LOL:
 
Racerxrated said:
JBLs?
Click to expand...
I love JBL's but I sold all but the single blown K120 I have because I'm too hard on them and shipping plus recone every six or eight months is too rich for my blood.. I have EV Force 12's in there right now and they aren't as nice as JBL's but they are pretty good. Hoping to recone that K one day and maybe acquire another, just not paying $500 for one, because those are THE speaker for a cranked Twin IMO. Mine was so well worn it finally gave up the ghost a few months ago.
 
1) My Wizards. Can't pick a favorite. They all fit how I play just perfectly, just in slightly different colors.
2) Mesa Boogie mkIV. My favorite Mesa and I have now owned a bunch of them. THE modern mark sound IMO.
3) Bogner Ecstasy 101b.

Other top amps: Fryette pittbull ultra lead, Soldano SLO, late 70's Marshall jmp 2203

All of these would be amps I loved within 10 seconds of playing....
 
braintheory said:
It’s a behemoth! I heard it was based around the Herbert and Uber, at least partly and I can hear it for sure. It’s the biggest, most efficient sounding amp I’ve heard so far. I had a particularly huge sounding mark iib converted to c+ colisuem and when AB’ed, the Beta still sounded a little more efficient/powerful and bigger, particularly the sublows. Unloaded plate voltage of 680 when I measured (same for my Hell Razor KT150). It’s like the amp with the biggest dick in the room. Admittedly it’s not one of my favorites I have in tone, but the power can’t be ignored
Click to expand...
Bram576 said:
Man it’s a killer amp. Feels kind of like what I wanted the Herbert to be, and straight in too!

Not that the Herbert is a bad amp at all by any means, I’m a big fan.

Plus the Beta is consistently the amp when people come over think blows the doors off most things in my collection.
Click to expand...
Agreed & agreed. The Beta is an absolute force to be reckoned with...a huge & powerfully crushing sound unlike anything else I've owned. Surprisingly quite also.
 
1. Cameron two channel HG/LG Jose modded JMP loaded with nos ge 6550s. One amp I regret selling
2. One of my Hermanssons…probably my custom 4 gain stage
3. Ground Zero Hellion v2

Honorable mention: Cameron overhauled Bogner XTC 101b
 
gybe! said:
1. Cameron two channel HG/LG Jose modded JMP loaded with nos ge 6550s. One amp I regret selling
2. One of my Hermanssons…probably my custom 4 gain stage
3. Ground Zero Hellion v2

Honorable mention: Cameron overhauled Bogner XTC 101b
Click to expand...
Hellion is a beast. I've had one under a year, and have only explored 1 and 6 on the voicings. Worth the price of admission alone.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top