Help Me Pick an Amp for my Bandmate!

[cestlamort]

I'd vote Deluxe Reverb (I don't have experience with the tone master ones, but nice to have a light amp. And probably could be flipped after tour).
I can't imagine a Pro Junior keeping up without turning into pure overdrive. (Mine does need to be serviced, so I could be wrong there).

A curveball: I'd also consider one of the smaller Rolands: JC77/90 (50/60) etc. Not Fender, but a nice contrast to the Marshall/Vox sound and will be loud enough.

[mackerelmint]

A 112 cab with a Quilter in front of it.

[marqueemoon]

Maybe they’re better now, but my impression of the HRD is it’s shrill and woofy in the low mids.

That’s my bias from decades ago though playing in bands with people using them and using them as backline amps a few times.

[stevejamsecono]

Maybe they’re better now, but my impression of the HRD is it’s shrill and woofy in the low mids.

That’s my bias from decades ago though playing in bands with people using them and using them as backline amps a few times.

I feel like they've made speaker and circuit tweaks to them over the years that has upped their sonic rep a little, but I think I'm just personally shell-shocked from back-lining them for over a decade and am happy to never see one again. It's a very purposefully bland sound that I think works for the pedal people.

Either way, Liz plays one now in the space sound we might just need to tweak it more to get a more agreeable sound out of it.

[JSett]

Well, I must have been very lucky then as I've never had a single issue with any of the ones I've owned or played bar the odd tube going pop. But I have heard of the issues you mention. My vote would still go for it for ubiquitousness and ease of replacement if something drastic goes wrong. Walk into any secondhand music store in the land and you'll probably pick a replacement up for a few bills. Vintage, hand-built, top of the line... They can all break down sometimes and, on tour, ease of replacement is certainly a thing to factor in in my book.

[s_mcsleazy]

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

[Jonesie]

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.

[andy_tchp]

I’m regards to Fender gigging amps, I love a good Deluxe Reverb. Nothing sounds sweeter IMO.

I know some are tossing around the idea that sub 35 watts won’t keep up with a drummer, but it’s really hard for me to buy that.

Agree with all this. DRs can get seriously loud (and sound way better than the others listed in the poll).

[hexes]

deluxe reverb. it is my number 1 backline amp for musicians performing at my venues. blues jrs just sound godawful every time we get one in.

i have fixed MANY hot rod amps and wouldn’t touch one to tour with. I never had a problem on the one I owned, but i didn’t own it long. I also know how to keep amps running well.

count me also as someone who can’t stand fender’s new ‘tone master’ amps.

[Fiddy]

Traynor YBA-1A

[Larsongs]

deluxe reverb. it is my number 1 backline amp for musicians performing at my venues. blues jrs just sound godawful every time we get one in.

i have fixed MANY hot rod amps and wouldn’t touch one to tour with. I never had a problem on the one I owned, but i didn’t own it long. I also know how to keep amps running well.

count me also as someone who can’t stand fender’s new ‘tone master’ amps.

The 65 DRRI is an excellent choice.. Just about perfect for any Guitar, type of Venue & choice of Music…. The 68 Deluxe Reverb offers everything the 65 DRRI does plus some other really great features…

I completely agree about the Tone Master Amps & Digital Amps in general….

[panoramic]

Maybe they’re better now, but my impression of the HRD is it’s shrill and woofy in the low mids.

That’s my bias from decades ago though playing in bands with people using them and using them as backline amps a few times.

there are lots of guitar players in the world who don't grasp tone knobs on their guitars or their amps. I had the same opinion of HRD's and I have one currently that is definitely not shrill, it's the first year production model also. I had a lot of stuff done to it internally which may have changed some of the tone but I can't see it having been much. They have cold solder joints that typically need to be repaired so i had all of those done a few years back and it sings, i can even get it to sound like a vox.

[marqueemoon]

Maybe they’re better now, but my impression of the HRD is it’s shrill and woofy in the low mids.

That’s my bias from decades ago though playing in bands with people using them and using them as backline amps a few times.

there are lots of guitar players in the world who don't grasp tone knobs on their guitars or their amps. I had the same opinion of HRD's and I have one currently that is definitely not shrill, it's the first year production model also. I had a lot of stuff done to it internally which may have changed some of the tone but I can't see it having been much. They have cold solder joints that typically need to be repaired so i had all of those done a few years back and it sings, i can even get it to sound like a vox.

Like I said, old biases are definitely at work for me. I’ve never had a chance to spend much time dialing one in. Usually not even a soundcheck. It’s also fair to say that more diplomacy on my part might have helped with the crappy sounds my bandmates dialed in with theirs.

I’m sure I’d be better at all of this now. Still not my first choice on the OP’s list. I will go play one next time I visit a big box store just to see if my opinion has changed though.

[garyfanclub]

Yeah... uhh 40W is loud as hell. Show up at a venue with a PA and you're going to have that thing on 2 the entire night. 15-20W with a very efficient (i.e. sensitive) speaker (99-100 db or so) is the way to go.

I'm with the the DR crew here (and I'm not really a Fender cleans guy). 22W is a sweet spot, and with an efficient speaker you should have more than enough volume on tap. The inherent mid-scoop on these should also help the with the two guitars sitting in the mix together nicely.

I've got nothing against the HRD series, but they're way too loud, and those audio taper volume pots exacerbate the issues with getting the volume dialed in properly. They don't sound *bad* though, if anything they're just generic and a bit bland, but that's actually good if it's a house/backline amp and you need versatility. Don't have any issues with the Blues Juniors either, same basic sound, a workable utility amp. Take all of this with a grain of salt though, I'll play through basically anything I don't have to schlep around NYC to the gig.

I digress though, just get a DR.

[ElephantDNA]

Agreed on the HRD probably of the options above. Though I also agree that they are far from reliable - I played one for a long time when I used to tour just because it did the job and I didn't want to bring out my vintage stuff, but I had to repair/switch it out more than once.

For me, I like the boss katana as a lightweight, affordable amp option in this type of setup. But I appreciate the fact that some people still would prefer tubes. I prefer tubes generally too, but those katanas are probably the best sounding amps in the budget price range.

The "fender" sound on those is actually the crunch channel with very little gain. There are also exotic ways to set it up if you're willing to do things like download patches and mess around with the program. But again, appreciate that not everyone wants to do that type of thing.