Help Me Pick an Amp for my Bandmate!

[hexes]

I’d get the worst types of dudes complaining when I asked them to turn the twin from 8 down to 3.

being beamed in the face with 80 watts of bright guitar is not comfortable.

Let me guess, the Black Lips? I’ve had the misfortune to run into them at festivals. Cranking MV Twins… couldn’t get out of the room fast enough.

Anyways, to steer back to the topic: how about a Vibrolux Reverb? They’re like Deluxe Reverbs, just better.

i will almost ALWAYS suggest a vibrolux reverb instead despite being heavier and louder (and a very different amp) than a deluxe reverb. that aside, i have an addiction to 2x10: much more surface area than a 1x12, more air moving, LF coupling, delightful. I just built a blond tremolux/vibrolux clone for my 2x10 cabinet.

[Dr Tony Balls]

There’s a reason why Fender Deluxe Reverbs have been around so long & are used by so many Musicians. Unless you’re playing Stadiums or huge Venues Deluxe Reverbs work great in most Venues..

Unless you're playing stadiums or huge venues that somehow dont mic amps. Homie from Khruangbin is playing sold out shows at Brooklyn Steel (~2000 cap) with *one* deluxe reverb.

[higgsblossom]

my bandmate uses a HRD with their vaporizer and i can't complain for a moment about either of em.

I had a vaporizer for a while, and it's a fun amp but needed a lot of love to get it somewhere where it'd work for a band. A speaker change in those isn't recommended, it's required, IMHO.

Absolutely! The amp looks killer, sounds great but the speakers it came with are trash. Basically anything else will already be an upgrade.

[garyfanclub]

Been playing in NYC for a few years now, and not once have I have been in a situation or venue where I needed anything more than 20W. I'm usually running 15-20W 1x12 combos and it's just about perfect. That'd be borderline unmic'd in a big room, but I've yet to encounter that here. In that case, it's just good to have an efficient speaker (tends to help A LOT, and can sometimes make a 20W amp sound like a much bigger one).

I mixed a LOT of shows at Mercury Lounge (and others) when I lived there. Their backline is amazing, but wayyy too powerful for a 150 cap room. AC-30, Twin Reverb, SVT with 8x10.

Most of the time, local nyc bands would keep it sounding very reasonable! but for out of town bands, I’d get the worst types of dudes complaining when I asked them to turn the twin from 8 down to 3.

being beamed in the face with 80 watts of bright guitar is not comfortable.

Ha yep! Very familiar with that Twin Reverb, I’ve played it on “2” a couple times, much to my own chagrin (my JM sounded like a banjo). I think it even has aluminum dustcap speakers to boot, that didn’t help anything in the shrill department.

My Reverberocket was just about perfect for that room though, round and glassy!

[panoramic]

I just turn the master volume way down on mine

Not digging on you personally, but most people would sound a lot better if they had appropriately sized amps instead of going with the "overkill then tame it with the master volume" approach. Master volume controls are fine, but they are best served when used sparingly. There was far too much shit going on in the 80's and 90's when people thought they needed 100 watt guitar amps and then cranked down the master and it sounds like compressed garbage. 20 watts is loud enough for most (seriously) and an amp will sound better running closer to full capacity.

it's cool, if it were up to me we'd all be jamming smaller amps for sure. I just sort of "wound up" with an HRD because it was TOO cheap to pass up ($100 bucks I believe) my other amp is a 1065 bandmaster that actually sounds really great at low volumes imho. I'd much prefer to have 2 tiny town amps but as a father and as I am divorced and bleeding $$$ i don't have spare money to fuck with as much as I did back in the days of yore.
I've had LOTS of smaller amps over the years, uivox u45b's, bf vibro champs, SF Champs, SF musicmast Bass amps, sf princeton reverbs, silverface DRR's etc etc it just so happened that the shit went down with having a family at a time my band that gigged a lot broke up and this is the shit i was left with

[redchapterjubilee]

I picked a DRRI. I've had a HRD and I didn't really care for the gain channel so that rendered the master volume useless. It's a little bit louder than a Deluxe on the clean channel. Techs hate working on them, but they are everywhere and a lot less expensive than a DRRI. But I like the basic tone of a Deluxe better than an HRD, should pair nicely volume-wise with your amp, and it's fairly portable. Can't turn it up where you like? Hit it with your favorite always on overdrive of choice.

As for whether master volume amps are bad at low volume or they exist specifically to justify having bigger amps than anyone would ever need, nah, I don't agree with that at all. Depends on the amp, depends on the rest of the player's rig, depends on the gig/venue, etc. For over ten years I carried a Mesa Mark I head + 4x10 around this country and could play anywhere at any volume because that master volume was fantastic even at low levels AND it could also take 6V6's in tweed mode (I carried a quad of those too) and that made it even more reasonable.

[Maggieo]

Get a Milkman. They're perfect.

[Jestapali]

Well, I got a Blonde Tone Master Deluxe reverb, and my AC30 and Blues Jr have not left the house since. With the flexibility of the atenuator I can adapt it to any room. This one has the Celestion Cream speaker and the bright cap cut, so it breaks nicely and takes pedals wonderfully. And of course, it's incredibly light. Problems: not cheap and not a lot of used deals. Also, an issue for some: it does not have tubes.

It that is an issue for you, I'd vote Deluxe Reverb 65, but you might like the sound with the volume at 4.5 (for example) , and that might be too loud for some rooms, or not enough for other places. The Tone Master offers more versatility.

[Larsongs]

I like everything about the Tonemasters except their Tone when they’re turned up to Gig levels.. They sound good at low volume though.. If it works for you that’s all that matters..

Me I prefer real Tube Tone.. My 65 PRRI, 65 DRRI, modded Vox AC10 & my AC15 with Blue…. All are compact, loud enough for most applications with or without Mics for what I do…

If I need bigger I can take my Twin but prefer not to…..

[stevejamsecono]

So this story took an interesting turn that I didn't expect.

Liz owns a Vox Pathfinder 15R that she's used for practicing at home. For the hell of it I suggested she bring it to the room as I'd always enjoyed playing through it in our old space. Sure enough, she sounded quite a bit better through it it and it meshed nicely with my old Avatar 18 watt clone in a satisfyingly clangy way. We still need to try it with the full band in the room, but it certainly seems like a step in the right direction.

So! Vox-ward ho! I am gonna let her take my AC15 for a spin as well and see if that suits her even better.

[marqueemoon]

Interesting. My bandmate brought his Pathfinder to practice for a while and it wasn’t nearly loud enough for what we do.

[andy_tchp]

Hmm, was there a drummer involved? Great amps but I'd be surprised if one could keep up in a full ensemble.

[stevejamsecono]

Interesting. My bandmate brought his Pathfinder to practice for a while and it wasn’t nearly loud enough for what we do.

Hmm, was there a drummer involved? Great amps but I'd be surprised if one could keep up in a full ensemble.

I anticipate this will similarly be the case once we're all back in the room, but I think the important thing is at we at least figured out a tonal goal for her where formerly it was a bit more nebulous. I'm curious to hear how she sounds with my AC15 and if it'll be as satisfying.

[Larsongs]

Did the OP ever get a new Amp? What kind of Guitars are you & her playing? AC15’s with Alnico Blues are a great choice.. The the Vox AC15’s & Fender 65 DRRI’s & 68 Deluxe Reverbs sound great together in a Band. With just about any Guitars.

My current Band plays Vox & Fenders.. We have AC30’s & Twins but prefer playing our AC15’s (with Blues) & 65 & 68 Deluxe Reverbs… Between the 3 Guitarists we have a good inventory of Fender, Gibson, Gretsch, Rickenbacker & other Solid Body & Hollow Body Electrics. All work really well with the Fender & Vox Amps & make a fantastic Blend of Sound….

Good luck..