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Post subject: Amp purchase feedback pls + set up question
Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2011 5:21 am
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Ok, so i need a versatile & 'giggable' amp (read: plenty of power & clean headroom). I have been searching for months now and today stumbled across the 'Twin' online. Wow - tone +++. Actually it is exactly the tone, power and everything i have been after. Except for the price tag. Ouch. Anyways, i can't seem to find much info online about them - are they discontinued ? Plenty of infor on the Twin Reverb etc, but this is just the Twin - no red knobs either. If someone could point to me to a page where i could read & learn more about them i would be grateful.

I ventured to the local music store today and was steered towards a HRDx III. Certainly more within my budget, but i have since scoured these pages and have read a lot of comments about avoiding these things. Really ? Are they that bad ? Also, i noticed they have a 'power in' input - does this mean i could literally plug my Classic 20 into the HRD and effectively run the 20 thru the HRD ? Why would i want to do this versus just running them in stereo ? Classic 20 tone is rather special.

thanks for reading


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Post subject: Re: Amp purchase feedback pls + set up question
Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2011 7:52 am
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No they are not bad amps...Tone is pretty good, but they do not have the old fender clean sound it appears like you are after. For the price of one of these you could easily find a Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue used that will hold up better, have a better tone and still able to get that Fender clean sound you are after. Much better amp. IMHO. Check out the posts on the DRRI and you will see what I mean.

T2

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Post subject: Re: Amp purchase feedback pls + set up question
Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 3:06 am
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Thanks T2

So would you consider the 22 watts of the DRRI enough to cut through a band and fill a small venue ? I sort of steered away from that model because of the 22 watts, even though the tone is to die for.

That's why i started looking at the Twin and more recently the HRDx.

Any thoughts on the set up question of the 'power amp in' and how that all works - can someone point me to more info ?

thanks again.


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Post subject: Re: Amp purchase feedback pls + set up question
Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 5:28 am
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TRRI
65 Twin Reverb !!!
If you have enough strength to haul it, you won't find a more powerfull ultra clean Punch Amp on the market.
85 watts of pure Fender tone !!!!
All over the used market due to weight issues, then everyone goes out trying to find that sound in a smaller package.
If smaller is what you need there is none better than the DRRI
65 Deluxe Reverb.
What it does not have is the Punch and or headroom for days the TRRI has.
I use a comp on the fron end of my Twin and get very usable tones at home volume, even so its a bit louder on volume .8 (thats point eight) than the DRRI at volume 2.

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Post subject: Re: Amp purchase feedback pls + set up question
Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 8:54 am
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Zabble, I wouldn't worry about lack of headroom if I were you. The DRRI is pretty loud despite what the 22 W may suggest. I can't go over 3.5 on mine (playing a Gibson ES) with full band in a small-ish room. But you can hear every note as clear as a bell. Even the wrong ones, as an audience member politely informed me recently.


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Post subject: Re: Amp purchase feedback pls + set up question
Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 9:01 am
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If you want to save some money on a Twin, I'd go with a 70's Silverface Twin. 100 Watts of pure hand-wired tonal bliss. They can be had in the $600-750 range. Just look for something clean and maintained. I had one for over 30 years. Never had a problem with it. I sold it recently because it had way too much power for what I do now and its overall weight. They should supply a truss with every Twin as standard equipment. :lol:

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Post subject: Re: Amp purchase feedback pls + set up question
Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 9:15 am
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63supro wrote:
They should supply a truss with every Twin as standard equipment. :lol:


+1

A list of local chiropractors and their office hours might not hurt either.

:mrgreen:

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Amp purchase feedback pls + set up question
Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 10:23 am
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:lol: :lol: :lol:

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Post subject: Re: Amp purchase feedback pls + set up question
Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 10:47 am
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63supro wrote:
:lol: :lol: :lol:


You know, my '78 ultra-linear TR hasn't been out of the house in over three years now. OTOH, my TRRI sees a stage at least once a month. About 18 lbs difference between the two.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Amp purchase feedback pls + set up question
Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 11:35 am
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Another option that never seems to come up is the Roland Jazz Chorus JC-120.

Power and clean headroom, if you can live without valves:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LTjLhjr93I&feature=feedlik

Sounds pretty good to me.


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Post subject: Re: Amp purchase feedback pls + set up question
Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 9:06 pm
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DRRI for me loud little amps way loud for stage work with great tone too. had mine for years and still going strong. they pump out up to 30 watts with new tubes and a the bias set so my tek reckons. And they are so easy to carry around too..Cheers..From..Aus...


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Post subject: Re: Amp purchase feedback pls + set up question
Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 10:45 pm
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Hey, you asked about the HRDx III in your original post, and I just thought I'd give my two cents.

They sound good IMO and are pretty cheap, but are NOT reliable and NOT good for gigging. They get really muddy when you crank them, at lower volumes they have pretty good tone. And probably the biggest issue... the circuitry had a lot of corners cut. I just went through two of them - there's apparently bad solder joints on the board, when they heat up (like, after 15 minutes) bad things happen. On my first, I started getting terrible background noise and intermittent signal cutouts, on my second I got an uncontrollable feedback loop... and those are apparently really common symptoms.


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Post subject: Re: Amp purchase feedback pls + set up question
Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 11:25 pm
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Many of us here have owned a Holy Rotten Disaster, Maestro.

Welcome to the club.

:mrgreen:

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Amp purchase feedback pls + set up question
Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 12:55 am
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Thanks all for the feedback so far.

What about the Super Sonic 60 watt combo? I can pick one up used for about the same price as a new HRDx.

Not into hi-gain stuff - but this seems pretty versatile - some nice cleans & gain options. Plenty of grunt too.

US made ?

I could search the forums but i'm being lazy... thanks again.


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Post subject: Re: Amp purchase feedback pls + set up question
Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 5:16 am
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zabble, do you really need that much wattage? Usually 60-100 will do all but the biggest gigs. We did a couple of festivals outdoors way back, and never used over 100 watts. The soundman mic'd everything. For most club gigs 20-25 watts is perfect. Much more than that gets annoying.
Ampeg has the new GVT line of tube amps with a half power mode. They have one that's 50/25 watts. The Ampeg's I've owned sounded great, were clean and reliable. I'm also a huge fan of Egnater amps. You might want to try the Tweaker 44.

I agree about the HRD series. When you get blown off the stage by a guy with a 18 watt Marshall combo and you have 40 watts, that can't cut the mix, that's a problem. If all you do is play at home, the HRDlx is great. Gigging is a whole different ball game. You either cut or you don't. They don't hold up well to higher volume gigs. Just my experience, YMMV. My HRDlx died three times on different occasions right on stage.

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