I'd say there's honestly a decent amount of overlap between the 101b, Sabot and Savage. The 101b covers lower to mid gain sounds better than the rest, while the Sabot is the most brutal sounding amp I've ever heard. The Savage can get very close to the Sabot, but also has 3 other channels that can get similarly close sounds to the 101b. The main difference between them all is:
1. The 101b is the first amp I've ever played where it just FELT awesome. It doesn't record as well as the other two for the same sounds, but it is insanely fun to play because it's super responsive to my playing style. I don't know what it is with this specific 101b either. I've owned 2 others and never really cared for them.
2. The Sabot is just insanity if I'm going for heavy sounds. It's not the clearest of the 3 but it's got this aggression that is just unmatched by anything else I've played. The pick attack and chunk of it is crazy, but it's very much a one-trick-pony.
3. The Savage can arguably do everything the other two can, it just doesn't have the feel of the 101b (and it's a bit more modern sounding, though still on the British side IMO) or quite the aggression of the Sabot. However, it has MIDI and fits in perfectly with my pedalboard and it has way more sounds in it than the others. If I could only keep one amp, this would be the one, even though the other two I find more fun to play, this one can cover everything and cover it well.
The Iconic is awesome. The voicing of the original 5150 with the versatility of the EVH amps. I actually use this amp as a pedal platform quite often because its clean channel is great.
The Redbeard is more in the SLO camp, it's less aggressive than the Iconic, but with a boost it'll rip your face off. It reminds me more of the SLO crunch channel though as it's not super gainy. The clean channel on it is FANTASTIC and might be the best clean in a channel switching amp I've ever heard. It's so good that I haven't played my Deluxe Reverb since I got it... And the clean almost seems like it was an afterthought because it's literally just one knob.
The Deluxe Reverb is a Deluxe Reverb. The 101b's clean channel is supposed to be the same preamp, but the magic of these amps is in the power amp and pushing it to the edge of breakup. The 101b sounds good on that channel, but its 100w EL-34 power section isn't the same as the 30w 6V6s in the
Fender. I bought this amp as my blues/pedal platform amp. I love it, but I also don't play it as much and have thought about selling it a few times. Still kinda on the fence.
The Heart Attack I got because it was on sale, stupidly cheap, and I figured if it sounded even remotely close to a Recto, I'd be happy, since I like Rectos but they're not a sound I care to have that much money tied up on. I'm happy to say that, it sounds REALLY close to a Recto and it's honestly pretty awesome for $50. Very, very impressed.
I did finally get a Dual Rec tho this past year
