What's that one amp you bought repeatedly trying to love it, but couldn't?

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napalmdeath

napalmdeath

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For me, the SLO30 I bought one twice.. It had so many great things going on in the tone department. Aggressive, great voicing, great loop, great master, punchy.. But, I could just never get it tight enough to my liking. Part of me still loves that amp, but I know it'll have the same results. Been looking at the Mezzabarba Skill 30, but I've read they don't have a master and are super loud.
 
Bought more than my fair share of 2 and 3 channel rectifiers and could not figure out how to get them to work for me. Wanted to in the worst way as a lot of my favorite guitarist/bands were using them. I wasn't into boosting many years ago, I think that would have helped a lot for the low end how loose/flubby they tend to sound but still find they just have an upper presence buzz that sounds a little anemic when listening back.
 
jasonP said:
Bought more than my fair share of 2 and 3 channel rectifiers and could not figure out how to get them to work for me. Wanted to in the worst way as a lot of my favorite guitarist/bands were using them. I wasn't into boosting many years ago, I think that would have helped a lot for the low end how loose/flubby they tend to sound but still find they just have an upper presence buzz that sounds a little anemic when listening back.
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Those need volume. Which is why they don't work for me. Masters are touchy! Have to goose it to get rid of that fizz.
 
Can't say I've ever re-bought an amp I sold because I didn't like it.

I have been through multiples of stuff like the JP2C that were easy to move and readily available so I knew I could get another one later. That said I've become more of a gear black hole: nothing leaves once it comes in lol
 
JJ jr. First one just seemed like it had waaay too much sizzle. I couldn’t bond with it. Couple years later grabbed a modded one from a member here and I love it! 🤷🏻‍♂️
 
haven't bought them repeatedly, but Diezel is like that for me. I want to love them and just cant get on with them. Jubilee's are also a bit like that.
 
None yet for me. SLO’s are more on the loose side, but I find with the right tubes, speakers and pickups I can tighten it up more than what most may be used to. Of course the right boost too for tightness
 
Any tube Marshall. Jmp/Jcm/Dsl.
Floppy low end. Eq does nothing. (For fast, technical metal that is)
 
Possibly the D-Moll. I have a brand new one being delivered today, second time owning one, and I'm already wanting to put it up for sale so I can buy that Driftwood I'm now into. I only tend to keep one high dollar amp at a time. Hopefully the D-Moll comes through, I remember my first one completely kicking ass but I moved it on the first day because I was already wanting the new toy of the week. I get tired of being a slut.
 
braintheory said:
None yet for me. SLO’s are more on the loose side, but I find with the right tubes, speakers and pickups I can tighten it up more than what most may be used to. Of course the right boost too for tightness
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I couldn't with an SD-1, and several others. And my Creamback 65's are pretty tight. I don't know.. There may be some boosts I overlooked. I wish I had my VFE Dragon when I owned one. That pedal gets super tight with the LPF & HPF filters.
 
napalmdeath said:
I couldn't with an SD-1, and several others. And my Creamback 65's are pretty tight. I don't know.. There may be some boosts I overlooked. I wish I had my VFE Dragon when I owned one. That pedal gets super tight with the LPF & HPF filters.
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I find the Creambacks 65’s somewhere in the middle in tightness, but I find the cab itself matters more and the VHT Fatbottom cab I often use with it is inherently very tight. For tight speakers that work particularly well with mine it’s the 20w GB’s, JBL’s and Roger Charles/Cletrons. Even with plain jane V30’s I think it can be good (if the right cab)

For tubes I like Tungsrams in the pre, for newer stuff the Gold Lion CV4004’s aren’t bad, vintage US 12BZ7’s can also help in the slots outside V1. For powertubes Sylvania’s and some KT66’s I find also tighten. Tight pickups too. For boosts I’ve loved the Klon, Yamaha OD10M, still gotta try the TC Pre and Boss FA1

I mean really if I want a tight I amp I won’t choose the SLO, but I think I can make it work if I need to. I also haven’t tried the 30w or any BAD versions, so maybe they differ. I have a 1989 and 2014 SLO. Surprisingly it’s more receptive to tube swaps than a lot of my other amps
 
braintheory said:
I find the Creambacks 65’s somewhere in the middle in tightness, but I find the cab itself matters more and the VHT Fatbottom cab I often use with it is inherently very tight. For tight speakers that work particularly well with mine it’s the 20w GB’s, JBL’s and Roger Charles/Cletrons. Even with plain jane V30’s I think it can be good (if the right cab)

For tubes I like Tungsrams in the pre, for newer stuff the Gold Lion CV4004’s aren’t bad, vintage US 12BZ7’s can also help in the slots outside V1. For powertubes Sylvania’s and some KT66’s I find also tighten. Tight pickups too. For boosts I’ve loved the Klon, Yamaha OD10M, still gotta try the TC Pre and Boss FA1

I mean really if I want a tight I amp I won’t choose the SLO, but I think I can make it work if I need to. I also haven’t tried the 30w or any BAD versions, so maybe they differ. I have a 1989 and 2014 SLO. Surprisingly it’s more receptive to tube swaps than a lot of my other amps
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I have (2) closed back Friedman Vintage 1x12's. They're pretty tight and punchy cabs, but I'm sure there's better. They sound great with just about any amp though.
 
napalmdeath said:
I have (2) closed back Friedman Vintage 1x12's. They're pretty tight and punchy cabs, but I'm sure there's better. They sound great with just about any amp though.
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Ah yeah those actually are really nice sounding cabs. I’ve played them. I haven’t tried the SLO 30 or BAD 100, so not sure how they compare. I agree though SLO’s aren’t my pick if I want tight. I mostly use it for rock and ‘80’s stuff
 
I haven't gone back for seconds on any amps... yet.
 
Mesa Stiletto
Mesa Tremoverb
Mesa Studio 22
Mesa Dual Rec
 
Soundstorm said:
Possibly the D-Moll. I have a brand new one being delivered today, second time owning one, and I'm already wanting to put it up for sale so I can buy that Driftwood I'm now into. I only tend to keep one high dollar amp at a time. Hopefully the D-Moll comes through, I remember my first one completely kicking ass but I moved it on the first day because I was already wanting the new toy of the week. I get tired of being a slut.
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I love my Diezels...But I could not get the D-Moll to respond the way I wanted it to.
 
For me its the Mesa Rectifier series. I keep trying to get them to sound like some of the recordings that I have heard, with very limited success. I'm constantly messing with the EQ and presence in an attempt to find the right balance but it eludes me. I think I may have to have one modded, probably the only shot at satisfaction with a Recto for me.
 
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