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Post subject: Are there HUGE differences bewteen solid state & valve a
Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 2:18 pm
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The reason I am asking is that I currently own a Line6 Flextone II, which is a solid state amp. Since joining the forum, I have noticed that a lot of Strat guys are convinced that the Fender valve amps go hand in hand with a Fender guitar. Is this just people being brand loyal or is there something else?

I mainly play heavy metal but since purchasing my MIM Fender Strat, and completing my Arctic White parts-o-caster I have been diving heat-first into blues playing. I seem to struggle with getting the correct tones out of my Line6. Are the Fender valve amps the ticket?

Side note: I've been playing for 15+ years and it wasn't until I started tackling Blues-type music did I realize that I am not as good a player as I thought. This made the guitar fun again!

Thanks for your thoughts and comments!

-Mike

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Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 2:33 pm
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Im in before debate.

Well fenders were used pretty much back in the day for blues so yeah. If you want that bluesy sound a fender tube amp is the way forward.

However there are alot of other amps that can do it too. Both solid state and tube

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Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 3:28 pm
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i had that Flextone, there are some pretty good blues tones in there, just gotta find them. Play with the bassman channel.

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Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 5:53 pm
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Wouldn't use anything but a tube amp. I've got a 65 Bassman and a hand built Marshall Plexi clone, play blues-rock and love the grind of tubes cookin.......... 8) Mike

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Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 6:32 pm
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Hey there Sonic! There are no rules or correct tones for the Blues! Played in the "Salty Dawg Blues Band" for many years, the amps went from Music Man-Fender-Matchless-Fender. But keep up that acoustic playing on the Yamaha, and you'll find the sound you need for the electric. IMHO Your playing and ear training on the acoustic will give you a balanced idea of what you'll want for the electric tone. With that list of guitars and the Flextone, I'm sure your tone is right there. Art

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Post subject:
Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 9:33 pm
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cyber twin se. not pure ss, not pure tube, but real interesting in a real good way.

ss, many good amps out there: peavey, tech21, roland JC-120 (any of the JC's), etc...

tubes amps, nothing new in decades, and the really good stuff hasn't been made for decades either.

i suppose i should be expecting a gangbang any moment...

ciao,
johnny.


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Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 10:43 pm
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Hey Sonic and Johnny, BB King still uses that Lab Series solid state amp, as far as I know. And Johnny Winters still drags out the Music Man. It's the Blues man! And equipment is your second fiddle! Know what I mean? Art

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Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2010 10:15 am
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Hm. Some time ago i was looking for an amp for lifetime. So i listened to all kinds of exotic and expensive amps. listened to samples and demos and tried a few interesting ones. And for my "dissapointment" the only ones that really suited were Fender's valve amps. i am not a fanboy and i actually was looking for something that is not a Fender. i guess my ears are just too heavily rubbed in with that "standard" sound...

e: i play a telecaster.. various styles. some blues. but some of my friends that have those old tiny-tube-mesaboogies wouldn't change them for my drri.


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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2010 6:32 pm
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My buddy had an awesome Fender Twin Reverb valve amp, which sold with his Jackson Kelly. I wish I would have picked it up, this was when I was too cool for blues and metal was it....now I am kicking myself because I could have had both the guitar and amp for a cool $200. Damn.

-Mike

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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2010 8:08 pm
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hi aclempoppi,

i am a fan of ss amps, the cybertwins in particular. have great admiration for the engineers that put this together. not just amp, but a whole studio masquerading as an amp! and it has the best (most likeable) tones i have heard to date compared to any amp.

ciao,
johnny.


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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2010 8:17 pm
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FWIW, to my blown-out ears, nothing sounds like the Blues quite like a cranked Deluxe or Princeton Reverb with aTele, Strat, or Les Paul hooked-up to it. This is coming from a guy who plays with a Fender Bandmaster Reverb, a Mesa Boogie Lonestar, and a Plexi clone. With all due respect to Line 6 (who make some great products), no modeling amp can provide the dynamic response and feel that a player gets with a tube amp. It's like Scotty used to say, "Ye kant change the laws of physics Captin!". Just my two cents, but if you get a chance, try out a Blues Deluxe Reissue or a Deluxe Reverb Reissue.

Matt


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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 6:18 pm
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To me there isn't a better blues amp than the Super Reverb, just awsome tone. The downside is that they are big and heavy. As others have said a Fender tube amp can help nail that sound. Good solid state amps are also capable of providing a good sound. Albert King loved em. Probably the biggest key to your sound is in your hands as you are finding out. Welcome to the blues!


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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 6:48 pm
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One final thought I wanted to add to my post involved a blues band I saw last summer. The lead guitarist sounded fantastic and believe it or not he was using a Fender Frontman 65R. I asked him about his choice of amps and he explained that he had a Twin Reverb but for smaller clubs at his age (probably younger than me) he liked the light weight Frontman. I can only imagine how good this guy would sound with his Twin. The point I'm making is that your sound can be enhanced by a good amp but in the end it's the hands that create great blues!


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