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Post subject: Re: Amps that grow with you?
Posted: Thu May 05, 2016 2:54 am
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Aspiring Musician
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OK, we need to stop hiding the truth from him.

The truth is, it doesn't matter what you buy....it's only a matter of time before you will feel a strong need to buy something else.

This is known as GAS.

You will get it, just accept it.

If you have a spouse you might want to prepare them for it.

8)

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Post subject: Re: Amps that grow with you?
Posted: Thu May 05, 2016 10:06 am
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What about the new Bassbreaker combos?

http://shop.fender.com/en-US/there-are-no-words


based on the styles that the OP has shown interest in, none of the amps mentioned (except the super sonic) are versatile enough on their own to deliver the wide range of tones that the post shows an interest in. (albeit these are all fine amps, and you can get a lot of great sounds out of them and add the right set of peds in the signal chain,..)

for a versatile amp that will cover a lot of sonic territory the Bassbreakers seem to fit the bill no?

The only other Fender amp that will do that (and just about anything else) are the Mustangs, but we're wading into a whole different pool with those.


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Post subject: Re: Amps that grow with you?
Posted: Thu May 05, 2016 10:44 am
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If u play loud (band setting with drummer), and you get away with playing amp on 6-10...
DRRI all the way !!!! Also you may find a SS22 on c.l. for about 500 cash , they really sound good too
If u dont play loud the Princeton RI, or better yet, for a home-bedroom amp, a vintage vibrochamp !!!!! This way u can dime it and get crazy tone that'll NEVER get old!
Some of the best rock n roll tone is my cu22 with dragon II's into my 1974 Vibrochamp dimed, (and the amp was 300$ on c.l.)!!!

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Post subject: Re: Amps that grow with you?
Posted: Fri May 06, 2016 1:27 am
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KidBlast wrote:
What about the new Bassbreaker combos?


While the Bassbreaker does, at this point, seem possessed of "the right stuff", I'm withholding judgment until there are a few more of them in the field so as to gauge whether or not so many of the aggravating afflictions that have plagued many of Fender's new amp designs will manifest in this model as well.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Amps that grow with you?
Posted: Fri May 06, 2016 4:44 am
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I'm withholding judgment

yea this is true..

but there is this thread to chew on..
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=101010


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Post subject: Re: Amps that grow with you?
Posted: Fri May 06, 2016 6:58 am
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This time next year I'll have a more definitive opinion.

Initial impressions are often ephemeral at best.

Everyone loved Pontiac's Fiero when they first came out......until they inexplicably began to self-immolate for no apparent reason.

:lol:

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Amps that grow with you?
Posted: Fri May 06, 2016 7:58 am
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Aquiring more amps is an answer to varying gig settings and tonal needs.
Power requirements suggest a 5 watt amp, a 25-50 watt amp, and a 100 watt amp to cover a wide variety of settings.
Amps, as I see them, come in four tonal groups. Fender, Marshall, and Vox for Rock. The 4th is clean for Country, Acoustic, and Jazz.


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Post subject: Re: Amps that grow with you?
Posted: Fri May 06, 2016 8:30 am
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Tim's kinda right when you're talking about traditional valve designed amps, hard to find one amp that fills all the niche-needs.

I have 6 different guitar amps (well 7 if you count the acoustic amp)

the only overlapping ones are the Mustang III and IV,. I bought the III to have a good practice and casual jam amp. but when stores were blowing out the V1 Mustang IVs, I jumped on one thinking I'd probably sell the III.

but the MIV wound up being the perfect amp to leave at the place where the cover band I was in at the time rehearsed. It did everything I needed it to do, and we covered a lot of ground with the songs we played.

This is why I'd definitely suggest a casual glance at these amps as they really do a lot of stuff well and wont set you back a tone of dough.

And while they are not a tube amp and the subtle differences are there for sure, but they sound pretty good!! with the cost vs what they do, (and I've never had a problem with either of mine so for me reliability has not been a problem) I'd say they are worth at least checking out.

They do have a wide range of possible sounds, but they do require some getting used to with regard to settings and editing the presets.

oh! and the Champ X2 as well, a tube amp with digital FX...


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Post subject: Re: Amps that grow with you?
Posted: Sat May 07, 2016 4:30 am
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Retroverbial wrote:
This time next year I'll have a more definitive opinion.

Initial impressions are often ephemeral at best.

Everyone loved Pontiac's Fiero when they first came out......until they inexplicably began to self-immolate for no apparent reason.


:lol:

Arjay



Not wanting to change the subject but, I own 3 Pontiac Fieros. The fires you speak of only occurred in 4 cylinder engines with carburetors and only in the 1984 models. Fuel injected 6 cylinders were offered the next year and the problem disappeared. But the fires were more exciting to the press, and the fix was boring, so all anyone ever heard about was the fires.

What really stinks is the four cylinder was only offered so Pontiac could meet EPA fleet MPG requirements.

My baby is a Red 1988 GT with 78,000 original miles on it. :D


8)

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Post subject: Re: Amps that grow with you?
Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 4:54 am
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I am now even more happy with my Supersonic Twin 4 years on, and play it almost every day still. :D

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Post subject: Re: Amps that grow with you?
Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 2:58 pm
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Retroverbial wrote:
KidBlast wrote:
What about the new Bassbreaker combos?


While the Bassbreaker does, at this point, seem possessed of "the right stuff", I'm withholding judgment until there are a few more of them in the field so as to gauge whether or not so many of the aggravating afflictions that have plagued many of Fender's new amp designs will manifest in this model as well.


I got the latest issue of Guitar Porn, I mean Premier Guitar yesterday. They have a good-sized review of the Bassbreaker 45, and point out that there are reasons it costs less, like particle board instead of wood and modern print boards that may not be all that serviceable. They still give it a good review, though.

I don't know... If that's shortcuts taken, I'm not fully convinced a Bassbreaker 45 should command the same price as a Marshall DSL-100 or Vox AC-30 for British sound. The Marshall DSLs seem to be better value for money, then, and I'm not counting watts.


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Post subject: Re: Amps that grow with you?
Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 4:14 pm
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arth1 wrote:
I got the latest issue of Guitar Porn, I mean Premier Guitar yesterday. They have a good-sized review of the Bassbreaker 45, and point out that there are reasons it costs less, like particle board instead of wood and modern print boards that may not be all that serviceable. They still give it a good review, though.


That's the reason why I'm holding my opinion in abeyance -- let's see how well they fare in the field and how durable/reliable they are.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Amps that grow with you?
Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 9:12 pm
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I agree with Arjay in that there needs to be some time-in-service evidence before we will know if those new amps are going to be viable.

Nobody really addressed my earlier comment directly except to say they liked theirs.
Have the issues with the SS22 been resolved satisfactorily?
Is there now a general consensus that they can be relied upon?
Or do they still fall into the "fine for home use but don't take to a gig without a backup" category?

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Post subject: Re: Amps that grow with you?
Posted: Thu May 19, 2016 9:15 am
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The circuit traces in many modern amp boards are small for two reasons.
The traces have a capacitance value that can affect high end response.
The electricity flowing through the traces doesn't stay in the copper. The electrical field extends beyond the physical trace. This allows for interaction between signals in adjoining traces. The symptom is usually crosstalk between circuits.
In old designs, the engineers spaced out the layout to prevent crosstalk. New designs act like they are immune to them. The layouts are crammed together until the crosstalk becomes inevitable. Their,"cure" is small traces to reduce the electrical field size.

The workability of the boards is an afterthought in most designs. We need to up our game when dealing with thin traces on double-sided boards. The engineers aren't gonna go backward just to please a service tech.
All modern amps use essentially the same imported parts. The USA made components are only used for military equipment.
Congress mandated that, so American manufacturers can jack up the price, knowing the Defense Dept has to buy from them.
Imported parts are not a problem as far as reliability is concerned.

If it a tube amp, a real pro will have some kind of backup. A tube has the constitutional right to expire at any time. Deal with it. It's worth it.


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Post subject: Re: Amps that grow with you?
Posted: Thu May 19, 2016 9:44 am
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I hate that.
I realize it's true but I hate it.
It basically means, "Here is your bowl of 5h!t, now eat it while you watch others get steak 'n lob."
It reminds me a little of the "illusion of choice" thing.

I guess that's why there is a such thing as the boutique amp industry.

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