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Post subject: Help Me Pick a Portable Clean Amp.
Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2019 12:22 pm
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Hello Everyone,

So I've been on the hunt for a clean amp for a while and decided to go for something that's easy to haul and mic it up for everything. I will be using it for 100% clean, and on occasion edge of breakup tones (never for OD, or dirt. reverb and delay provided by Strymon pedals, so on board is not a huge concern). Everyone seems to say that the Princeton and Deluxe are the best sounding fender cleans. I think the deluxe might have a bit too much power for home use, and I'm worried about the lack of a mid band EQ on the Princeton (don't really want to spend that kind of cash on an amp and then have to get an EQ pedal). I have 10 guitars hanging on my wall that I swap between on a regular basis from single coil to humbucker, so I'm really needing something with a strong EQ to balance them.

The guitar player in our band plays a MK1 Blues JR, and while it sounds good for the kind of stuff we do (indie garage), I find it extremely harsh on the top end. His is all original/stock (except I replaced a few of the control pots when they stopped working). I burrowed his for a week and for my P90 equipped guitars (between 7-9K output), I had had the mids almost off, and the bass around 3-4 to clear up the mud. I could never get the highs dialled in correctly as the amp was either too harsh, or too dark.

I understand that the MK4 model has had a ton of upgrades since the MK1 that makes it "smoother, and less harsh". I also have the limited seafoam with the creamback at a store near me, and see that they also make one with a Jensen P12Q, and one with a C12N (not intested in the CREX model).

So if someone could point me in the right direction I would really appreciate it.

Will the Princeton 65RI have enough EQ power to deal with guitars from a tele to a les paul? I've heard they can be overly bassy/gritty with humbuckers, even with the bass on 0. If not, and I do go the BJR4 route, what would have the most clean/chimey top end between the stock speaker, creamback, p12q, or c12n.

*Pro Junior with an EQ pedal is another option, but I've heard they dirty up pretty quick.

And if you have any other suggestions for amps I am open to them. I have a bunch of gear which will get me around $1100 CAD credit at L&M so if we can keep it in that area (+/- a few hundred) I would be joyful.

Thanks everyone.


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Post subject: Re: Help Me Pick a Portable Clean Amp.
Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2019 12:31 pm
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I would have said Princeton. But since you are looking at other alternatives, I knew a guy who played a Les Paul with P90's through a Vox AC15C2 and it sounded really sweet. I feel like the Princeton has a more clear and pure clean sound though.


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Post subject: Re: Help Me Pick a Portable Clean Amp.
Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2019 12:59 pm
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I'm into the Princeton for sure. Heard it's a glorious clean tone, one of the best, but none are local hence why I was looking at the BJ.

How is the EQ on those amps? Is it pretty versatile with only the 2 band?

I found an original 70's for sale that had the trem pulled out and a high/low mid control instead it would have been perfect, but the guy won't ship :?


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Post subject: Re: Help Me Pick a Portable Clean Amp.
Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2019 5:29 am
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I didn't get to play around with it. You might be locked into a certain sound with that amp. But I guess that goes for most good guitar amps.

One reason you might not see too many responses here - if you are looking for a tube amp, "portable" and "clean" don't really go hand in hand. Low wattage tube amps tend to break up when you push them.


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Post subject: Re: Help Me Pick a Portable Clean Amp.
Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2019 12:54 pm
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Indeed wattage = headroom but with modern pa systems headroom isn't much of an issue anymore (imo). We've played near 100 shows with a Blues Jr set clean and are frequently asked to turn down. I'm really just looking for a beautiful clean sound around 30 lbs.


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Post subject: Re: Help Me Pick a Portable Clean Amp.
Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2019 12:56 pm
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I'm probably going to get tomatoes thrown at me here, but .... have you considered a Hot Rod Deluxe? It's a little heavy but the cleans are clean.


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Post subject: Re: Help Me Pick a Portable Clean Amp.
Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2019 12:59 pm
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IMO, for Fender cleans you'd be hard pressed to find anything better than a deluxe reverb.
W/ 5751's up front the clean headroom is nearly the whole dial(w/minor guitar volume adjustments between singles & buckers) and that's plenty loud for most situations mic'd or not.
If you prefer the 6l6 output vs 6v6, the pro reverb is your huckleberry.
On 2-3, my deluxe reverb sounds great in the living room.


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Post subject: Re: Help Me Pick a Portable Clean Amp.
Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2019 2:57 pm
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I had an hrd head for a few months but found it didn't really have the sparkle I was looking for, hence my Princeton quest. I'll have to hop into the store this weekend with a bunch of guitars and do a lengthy shootout.


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Post subject: Re: Help Me Pick a Portable Clean Amp.
Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2019 3:04 pm
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sfceric64 wrote:
IMO, for Fender cleans you'd be hard pressed to find anything better than a deluxe reverb.
W/ 5751's up front the clean headroom is nearly the whole dial(w/minor guitar volume adjustments between singles & buckers) and that's plenty loud for most situations mic'd or not.
If you prefer the 6l6 output vs 6v6, the pro reverb is your huckleberry.
On 2-3, my deluxe reverb sounds great in the living room.


I agree the Deluxe Reverb is a fantastic amp. In the house 3 is plenty loud enough and mine stays clean up to about 4 on the volume but beyond that the beautiful valve break-up starts to kick in. I run mine on 8 with a TAD Silencer attenuator (because 8 really is rather loud, even in a hall) and the tone is to die for whether I'm using single coils, P-90s or humbuckers.


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Post subject: Re: Help Me Pick a Portable Clean Amp.
Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2019 8:41 am
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yea seems to be drri vs prri for cleans on most of the stuff I've been reading. I think the PRRI is where I'm leaning due to the size (and the smaller speaker intrigues me), but I still haven't decided if I'll miss that mid knob. Interesting where I live there are no PRRI/DRRI on the used market that aren't priced near new.


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Post subject: Re: Help Me Pick a Portable Clean Amp.
Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2019 5:15 pm
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Boy_Narf wrote:
yea seems to be drri vs prri for cleans on most of the stuff I've been reading. I think the PRRI is where I'm leaning due to the size (and the smaller speaker intrigues me), but I still haven't decided if I'll miss that mid knob. Interesting where I live there are no PRRI/DRRI on the used market that aren't priced near new.


There's no mid tone control on the DRRI either. But you have a much larger selection of speakers to choose from since twelve-inch drivers are more prolific than the PRRI's ten.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


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Post subject: Re: Help Me Pick a Portable Clean Amp.
Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2019 9:13 am
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Boy_Narf wrote:
yea seems to be drri vs prri for cleans on most of the stuff I've been reading. I think the PRRI is where I'm leaning due to the size (and the smaller speaker intrigues me), but I still haven't decided if I'll miss that mid knob. Interesting where I live there are no PRRI/DRRI on the used market that aren't priced near new.

I would say that if you need a mid control then the PRRI and DRRI are not the amp for you. Those amps have gained their reputations without the need for mid control so if your tone requires one then I think you may be looking in the wrong place.

I think it is wrong to say that these amps do not have a mid control. They do but it is fixed. The relative level of the mids in the EQ can be influenced to an extent by where the treble and bass are set.


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Post subject: Re: Help Me Pick a Portable Clean Amp.
Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2019 10:16 am
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Seems like classic amps like Fender and Vox - they didn't want you to have a MID control. Maybe so the amp would stay dialed in to a certain sound they thought was superior (and maybe they were right in certain cases).

There are a few exceptions but I don't think they are what you're looking for. You're on a unicorn hunt. It will be interesting to see what you end up with.

Your best bet might be to go with one of the above suggestions and add an EQ pedal. I also recommend a compressor pedal with that rig (leave it on all the time). The Boss CP-1X is all you will ever need. Oh and Fender makes a compressor pedal too.


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Post subject: Re: Help Me Pick a Portable Clean Amp.
Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2019 6:22 pm
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I think I'm leaning towards a Traynor YGL1. Blues Jr/Princeton/vox tones with a mid control, plus auto/cathode biasing will save me money in the long run on servicing.

Heading to the store in the weekend for a shootout.


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Post subject: Re: Help Me Pick a Portable Clean Amp.
Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2019 5:26 pm
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Well I spent 2 hours annoying the L&M staff today. They didn't have a regular 65 Princeton, or BJ so I tried the following:

68 Princeton
65 Princeton with greenback
Blues Jr with creamback
Blues Jr tweed
Traynor YGL1
Pro Jr

68 Princeton was cut out instantly. Too dark and gritty.

65 with GB sounded the biggest by far, but seemed too pushed in the midrange (greenback?). I still want to try the standard version.

Blues Jr creamback was the runner up. Very clear sound, but I felt it was missing some magic. Also the eq was pretty weak and reverb tank wasn't working. I had to unplug and plug a few times to get it running.

Blues Jr tweed I think might have been broken. Sounded like it was running through a radio effect. Super thin and honky sounding. Worst of the bunch.

YGL1. Super harsh in the mids. EQ didn't do much. Immediate no.

Pro Jr surprised me. It had a chime that none of the others had and I didn't find the single tone control to be limiting at all. It was my favorite tone, but the low end was a bit undefined for my liking.

Have they ever made a pro junior with a bigger speaker?


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