What's the best amp?

  • Thread starter Thread starter guadalupefrazier
  • Start date Start date
I will bite! I have owned maybe 1000 amps, insane I know but out of those my tops:
1-One specific Wizard MTL 100W I think it was a 2017, had many other wizards but none better, forum member here has the amp!
2-Early Friedman Handwired Marsha with a full clean and Cantrell voicing, insane amp, a forum member here has it and loves it
3-Original Mesa Mark IV A, fuck was that a good one, first one that hit Mass way back in the day, was my only amp for a long time while I was broke!
4-Carol Ann Triptik prototype, this was the amp Alan and I created that then became the Triptik, killer killer amp
5-One particular original SLO with all the mods, bought it for $1600! just a monster, have had who knows 10-15 soldano's none touched it, it was also th loudest amp I have ever heard except for one particular 100W plexi

Now the fractal handles everything LOL
 
braintheory said:
The midrange in the VHT's/Fryette's tends to stay more neutral, smooth/less growl or richness of tone in that region (especially vs Marshall's), most apparent on simple long held powerchords, so I think that's why they can come off bland (at least in that context) with the strengths being clarity, punch, robustness and openness and imo good overall balance, but for me at least they don't have as much of a particular wow factor as some other amps. I even feel this way about my 2150 despite it being a keeper
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I can see this. Played next to a wizard, it was a bit outshined. But the tone was far better, imo. Maybe it is a bit smooth. But the clarity is amazing and the gain character is tops
 
jharpersj said:
I will bite! I have owned maybe 1000 amps, insane I know but out of those my tops:
1-One specific Wizard MTL 100W I think it was a 2017, had many other wizards but none better, forum member here has the amp!
2-Early Friedman Handwired Marsha with a full clean and Cantrell voicing, insane amp, a forum member here has it and loves it
3-Original Mesa Mark IV A, fuck was that a good one, first one that hit Mass way back in the day, was my only amp for a long time while I was broke!
4-Carol Ann Triptik prototype, this was the amp Alan and I created that then became the Triptik, killer killer amp
5-One particular original SLO with all the mods, bought it for $1600! just a monster, have had who knows 10-15 soldano's none touched it, it was also th loudest amp I have ever heard except for one particular 100W plexi

Now the fractal handles everything LOL
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I used to have a 2016 MTL 100 I bought from you in 2017 (another forum member has it now). Had it for 6 years. Maybe it's the same one? You said at the time you switched to Fractal

I also got recently an early Marsha, but haven't gotten to put it through its paces yet and still have a 1989 SLO
 
Smashedguitaris⸸ said:
I can see this. Played next to a wizard, it was a bit outshined. But the tone was far better, imo. Maybe it is a bit smooth. But the clarity is amazing and the gain character is tops
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Yeah overall imo very good amps, I just couldn’t find a way to justify keeping my UL when AB’ed with some of my other amps at the time, but I still really like the 2150 I have as a poweramp

It’s hard to put some things into words, but at least to me quality tone as I perceive it largely comes from details/nuances going on around the notes that some guys here describe as 3D (like in a real Klon, Dumble, ‘60’s Alnico blue speaker, many ‘50’s and early ‘60’s pickups). Something clips don’t usually capture as well. To me that’s not VHT/Fryette’s forte. Not many high gain amps really are IME that great in that department vs the top tier non-metal amps I’ve tried, but so far of what I’ve tried that’s where I feel a good mark iic+ or Rev C shine above most other high gainers and a few modded vintage Marshall’s I’ve played and Hermansson’s mainly in the highs specifically seem to have a lots of detail/cool stuff going on (super hollow midrange as most already know)
 
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jharpersj said:
I have owned maybe 1000 amps, insane I know
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Holy shit. That is insane, but not in a bad way. Pretty awesome that you’ve gotten to play such a massive number of amplifiers. When did you start that epic journey/quest, if you don’t mind saying?
 
braintheory said:
Yeah overall imo very good amps, I just couldn’t find a way to justify keeping my UL when AB’ed with some of my other amps at the time, but I still really like the 2150 I have as a poweramp

It’s hard to put some things into words, but at least to me quality tone as I perceive it largely comes from details/nuances going on around the notes that some guys here describe as 3D (like in a real Klon, Dumble, ‘60’s Alnico blue speaker, many ‘50’s and early ‘60’s pickups). Something clips don’t usually capture as well. To me that’s not VHT/Fryette’s forte. Not many high gain amps really are IME that great in that department vs the top tier non-metal amps I’ve tried, but so far of what I’ve tried that’s where I feel a good mark iic+ or Rev C shine above most other high gainers and a few modded vintage Marshall’s I’ve played and Hermansson’s mainly in the highs specifically seem to have a lots of detail/cool stuff going on (super hollow midrange as most already know)
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I would have to play one again to be sure, but i think the fortin hiwatt maxwatt thing was similar. Very goood tone that was more on the smooth side. But that amp was bland. It is hard to describe, because bland is a bad thing, but it was good. Just not speciial. But you could literally play anything on it, and it would sound great. I hope that makes sense
 
sondoke said:
Holy shit. That is insane, but not in a bad way. Pretty awesome that you’ve gotten to play such a massive number of amplifiers. When did you start that epic journey/quest, if you don’t mind saying?
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Ha ha well I started buying and selling for extra money back when I was around 20 ish I am 56 now, back then I could find things in the New England area in the want ads and then sell stuff online newsgroups or early years of gear page. At that time I just had a large friend group and we would buy and sell to each other, I never passed up good deal and would sell to buy. Its probably more like 4,000 guitars and 1500+ amps have passed through my hands over the years. It has been super fun and I have been lucky to have some cool shit! These days prices are just stupid and sellng now is costly and a PIA so I am pretty done. I do gig and record and use the hell out of everything I own.
 
braintheory said:
I used to have a 2016 MTL 100 I bought from you in 2017 (another forum member has it now). Had it for 6 years. Maybe it's the same one? You said at the time you switched to Fractal

I also got recently an early Marsha, but haven't gotten to put it through its paces yet and still have a 1989 SLO
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Rupe has my Marsha, Brad bought it from me sold it to him, fuck was it killer, I have had maybe 25 wizards, that probably was the one, I did have two from that year not sure which one went to you! good to hear from you! Let me know details on your marsha and how you like it, the old SLO's rule. I still have a shiva 20th and just got a Tone King Royalist 3 that rips!
 
jharpersj said:
Ha ha well I started buying and selling for extra money back when I was around 20 ish I am 56 now, back then I could find things in the New England area in the want ads and then sell stuff online newsgroups or early years of gear page. At that time I just had a large friend group and we would buy and sell to each other, I never passed up good deal and would sell to buy. Its probably more like 4,000 guitars and 1500+ amps have passed through my hands over the years. It has been super fun and I have been lucky to have some cool shit! These days prices are just stupid and sellng now is costly and a PIA so I am pretty done. I do gig and record and use the hell out of everything I own.
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That’s super cool, man. We aren’t that far off in age, but definitely are in amounts of gear owned. I’ve owned a decent amount of stuff over the years, but nowhere near that. I used to love buying gear at a deal, playing it, and flipping it to try something else I was curious about. Keeping stuff that really blew me away. It was a great way to take time getting to know what you do and don’t like, maybe make a few bucks in the process. Or at the very least cover hobby costs. You’re absolutely right about the current market being prohibitive to selling/flipping. Not worth it.
 
I have been using a THD Univalve lately. Minimal parts in the circuit for maximum touch sensitivity. Power amp roar and crunch. Turn it up to infinite sustain and control everything with the guitar. Tight as a Hiwatt. More harmonics in phase than a Vox. Cuts better than a Marshall.
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jharpersj said:
Rupe has my Marsha, Brad bought it from me sold it to him, fuck was it killer, I have had maybe 25 wizards, that probably was the one, I did have two from that year not sure which one went to you! good to hear from you! Let me know details on your marsha and how you like it, the old SLO's rule. I still have a shiva 20th and just got a Tone King Royalist 3 that rips!
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Agreed, the '89 SLO I have is a lot better than the 2000's I've had and tried. More juicy midrange and harmonically rich, still the SLO flavor, but like there's maybe a little late '70's JMP2203 in there. It'll be a few weeks still before I can properly try my Marsha at volume, but it seems actually pretty good so far at more moderate levels. It's an early serial one, 100w with a depth, sat, c45 and modern switch on the back and a simple clean ch

The MTL I got from you was great, way better imo than the 1996 MC with C tranny I had before, but then I tried a friend's Hell Razor KT150 last fall and had to order one myself and honestly to me it's on another level to the other Wizard's I had before (haven't tried other KT150 Wizard's though admittedly). I've tried an earlier Royalist, but not the latest mk3 version and tried the Shiva 20th a bunch of times
 
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Smashedguitaris⸸ said:
I would have to play one again to be sure, but i think the fortin hiwatt maxwatt thing was similar. Very goood tone that was more on the smooth side. But that amp was bland. It is hard to describe, because bland is a bad thing, but it was good. Just not speciial. But you could literally play anything on it, and it would sound great. I hope that makes sense
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Yeah that makes sense. I haven't tried a Maxwatt, but IME Hiwatt's, Fryette's and Wizard's all have a more neutral/smooth midrange (I often say not as much growl or character in that area) and all excel in clarity, punch and openness and I think that's where those amps tend to wow people (myself included). To me they're all good amps. I think it's just that no amp has it all. Marshall's have generally a more interesting midrange character (usually uppermids too), but don't have some of the other qualities of those amps or others like also Recto's or Mark's. It's why I find lots of different amps worthwhile

With the "bland, but good" part, it's sort of I think like if you try a high enough quality vanilla ice cream it'll still taste way better than a lesser quality ice cream that's a more interesting flavor. The most impressive classical guitars I've tried so far were kind of like that too. The flavor of sound itself wasn't the most interesting I've heard, but the level of complexity/detail to the notes or what some here call 3D was just in another league to other guitars I'd tried and that's what made them so special to me as well as really any top notch thing I've tried that produces a sound
 
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glpg80 said:
+1

If I had to go to a desert island with only one, my Bogner would be my choice. Literally the only amp other than my prototype I built that doesn’t give ear fatigue after hours of playing and actually inspires you to write stuff.
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Yep. I don't know what it is about that amp. I wouldn't say it's my best for metal. It's not the first one I reach for for cleans, either. But every single time I plug into that amp, it just brings a smile to my face. It just sounds and feels right. Hard to explain to someone who hasn't played one, because I don't feel like clips often do it justice, but nothing else feels like that amp and nothing else inspires me to play like it.
 
I've played and owned a lot of amps over the past 20+yrs

Here's my current stable of best of the best for me:

78' JMP 2203
Diezel Herbert Mk1
Mesa Dual Recto Rev F
Sherlock Fat Head

Some amps that I moved on and sold included Uberschalls, VH4, 3ch Rectos, Wizard MTL, 5150, Engl Blackmore
 
I currently have no amps for the first time in years. Im actually quite content with the FM3 going into the KSR PA50. Having said that if I was going to buy another amp it would be another Atla and a Mark IV.
 
2203 clone with Mercury O100JM OT and any Naylor that isn't an Electraverb. The best cleans are from a CAA OD100.
 
I owned already a couple of amps like the MT15, JCM 800 SC20 and Engl Powerball II. I ended up sticking with a Diezel Herbert mk.3. The thing is just brutal, well balanced, huge headroom and simply sounds great. It´s a bit picky with PUs and Cabs but manageable.

I typically use the Ch. 2+ with a boost (either the Lichtlaerm KIY or Fortin TS808) although the Ch. 3 is also great with lower output PUs.

I have in my bucket list a modded JCM 800 style amp (see Dino JCM800, Fortin Cali, Hermanson, Wizard, etc...) and a JP2C. Usually these amps are really expensive in EU so i remain very happy with my Herbert.
 
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