DaveH Posted February 28, 2011 Posted February 28, 2011 You guys playing Blackstar HT-5s... can you play these with a drummer and get a clean sound? Maybe I only play with animals or demand the squeakiest cleans here, but I've tried several amps with the twin EL84 power tube setup (some makers call 'em 20 watt, some 15) and with close or open back cabs, alnico or ceramic speakers, I cannot get cleans at gig volume with something that small.Honestly, I'm not that impressed with the clean side. It's doable, but I got it for the gain channel, and it's fantastic in that realm. I was really caught off guard by it. Oh, and the controls actually work like they're supposed to....the Night Train shouldn't even have controls except for volume. The TT is better, but both are flatulent in the low end. The Blackstar is tight....I run mine through a Mesa Thiele cab, love it. If you're looking for clean, you can do better than this one. If you require heavenly distortion and can live with so-so clean, you need this amp.ETA: This amp has a push-pull output section. I'm sure this has a lot to do with why I like it so much. Curiously, I found the new stock issue 12BH7 sounded better to me than any of the NOS ones I tried. Weird. The NOS *might* give it a better clean, but I was only comparing the gain side.
Punkavenger Posted March 1, 2011 Author Posted March 1, 2011 Hmmm, I've checked everything I could on youtube and the internet and it seems that Harry is right again... at least the silverface Princeton sounds best to me however inaccurate that might be considering all the different electronic devices the sound waves have to travel through to finally reach my ears. Plus a pro music friend of mine has toured all over Europe and the US with just his 70's weird brown color Princeton for amplification and it serves him just fine.PLUS the dive bar where I will be doing open mic stuff ... Well, just let me say anyone bringing anything boo tiki into that place would probably get beat up in the parking lot.Anyway ... anyone have a line on a good cond. Fender silverface reverb get back to meThanks!
jettster Posted March 1, 2011 Posted March 1, 2011 You should be able to get a used Budda Superdrive 18 combo under a grand. Plenty of volume and versatility, sounds great with any guitar or pedals.I played a Blackstar HT STUDIO 20 a couple of weeks back and was pretty impressed for the money. Once back home, I had to fire up the Budda (since it had been a couple of weeks) my urge for the Blackstar went away immediately.
polara Posted March 1, 2011 Posted March 1, 2011 Hmmm, I've checked everything I could on youtube and the internet and it seems that Harry is right again... at least the silverface Princeton sounds best to me however inaccurate that might be considering all the different electronic devices the sound waves have to travel through to finally reach my ears. Plus a pro music friend of mine has toured all over Europe and the US with just his 70's weird brown color Princeton for amplification and it serves him just fine.PLUS the dive bar where I will be doing open mic stuff ... Well, just let me say anyone bringing anything boo tiki into that place would probably get beat up in the parking lot.Anyway ... anyone have a line on a good cond. Fender silverface reverb get back to meThanks!I was looking at those, and I'm trying to recall... there are a lot of Princeton models that are pretty different, and the Princeton Reverb is a different (and from what I hear, superior) flavor of critter. Jim Campilongo sure gets great sounds out of his, no effects.
gtone Posted March 1, 2011 Posted March 1, 2011 The Princeton and other small vintage Fenders will sound great, but you'll have to mike 'em up for most gig situations. Just took my '51 Tweed Deluxe to a jam last week (don't tell wifey!) and I couldn't believe how freakin' awesome it sounded covering most of what we played.The BF/SF Fenders will take pedals a damnsite better than the Tweeds and will also have a good deal more clean headroom to boot. A bargain under a grand that'll hold value and you prolly won't regret buying.
Punkavenger Posted March 1, 2011 Author Posted March 1, 2011 Someone just contacted me with a '77 for $700 bucks ... is that a good year?http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/msg/2228552265.html
Jimbilly Posted March 1, 2011 Posted March 1, 2011 I don't think the Princeton Reverbs changed a lot over the years, but I think that's in the upper end of the value range for that year with a non-original speaker. I'd want to see a fresh service including Sprague caps, and premium tubes for that price. IMO, $500 would be a very good deal, $600 would be more fair. It wasn't that long ago that I bought my '76 Deluxe Reverb for a little less off Craigs. I had a '73-ish PR, to my ears they do some odd distortion when pushed, something a DR doesn't do. The DR is way more complex and 3D sounding. I dunno, for $700 you've got some real options, there's been a DRII on Craigs for similar price recently. I haven't played one of these, but this looks neat (Rivera R55 on Seattle Craigs)http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/msg/2238309587.html
GusS Posted March 1, 2011 Posted March 1, 2011 I thought they went for about what Jimbilly wrote, however looking at the completed auctions on ebay, $700 doesn't seem all that excessive anymore. That one may have the boost pull switch on the volume which you may find useful but which i think may be considered less desirable.If you don't need bells and whistles (tremolo, reverb) and want a real bargain, try a Fender Musicmaster Bass amp (a "bass amp" with 12" guitar speaker in an open back cabinet). They sound fucking amazing and can be had for $300 easilyharry
harry65 Posted March 1, 2011 Posted March 1, 2011 yup , mid 70's princeton reverbs seem to be going between 750-850 on the bay , with a weber seems like a nice deal to me , plus it's local and you can go try it out , that amp with a ts 808 and a tele is a match made in heaven................
harry65 Posted March 1, 2011 Posted March 1, 2011 A Super Champ XD and enough change for a Hamer. as usual dude says his best............
JohnnyB Posted March 1, 2011 Posted March 1, 2011 Here's a 1998 Top Hat Club Deluxe, which is near identical to mine except it has a Jensen alnico speaker instead of the original Celestion Greenback. It went unbidded at $777. The Club Deluxe is no longer made; it used 6V6GT output tubes. Top Hat still makes the Club Royale, which has an EL84 output stage. New ones are $2050 and stand up to boutique amps up to around $3.5K. And here's a blonde/oxblood Club Royale from the same time period in an active auction at your max price. It has the stock Celestion Greenback. These amps are from the period when they had GZ34 tube rectifiers. The tone and playing dynamics of these amps when the volume is at 6-8 must be heard and experienced to be believed. I could play my Club Deluxe at home with a Nanoverb in front of it at bedroom volume after the family went to bed. At jams with 4+ guitarists playing into 50w 2x12s this little thing would take over the room. It's about the same price as a modified silverface Princeton, but it is better built and has a greater volume and tonal range than a blackface Deluxe.
Cary Posted March 2, 2011 Posted March 2, 2011 A Super Champ XD and enough change for a Hamer.After hearing a couple of guys rave about them here (and elsewhere), I got mine yesterday. Ordered it new for about $250 plus tax from Guitar Center during their President's Day sale. Neat little amp - I spent a couple of hours messing around with it last night and you can coax plenty of sounds from it. I don't know if a person could gig with it, but it meets my "bedroom practice amp" needs perfectly.
harry65 Posted March 2, 2011 Posted March 2, 2011 A Super Champ XD and enough change for a Hamer.After hearing a couple of guys rave about them here (and elsewhere), I got mine yesterday. Ordered it new for about $250 plus tax from Guitar Center during their President's Day sale. Neat little amp - I spent a couple of hours messing around with it last night and you can coax plenty of sounds from it. I don't know if a person could gig with it, but it meets my "bedroom practice amp" needs perfectly.i gig the crappp outa mine , need a speaker upgrade , that's all.................
Cary Posted March 2, 2011 Posted March 2, 2011 A Super Champ XD and enough change for a Hamer.After hearing a couple of guys rave about them here (and elsewhere), I got mine yesterday. Ordered it new for about $250 plus tax from Guitar Center during their President's Day sale. Neat little amp - I spent a couple of hours messing around with it last night and you can coax plenty of sounds from it. I don't know if a person could gig with it, but it meets my "bedroom practice amp" needs perfectly.i gig the crappp outa mine , need a speaker upgrade , that's all.................Cool. As your's was one of the recommendations I read - Thanks!
harry65 Posted March 2, 2011 Posted March 2, 2011 A Super Champ XD and enough change for a Hamer. After hearing a couple of guys rave about them here (and elsewhere), I got mine yesterday. Ordered it new for about $250 plus tax from Guitar Center during their President's Day sale. Neat little amp - I spent a couple of hours messing around with it last night and you can coax plenty of sounds from it. I don't know if a person could gig with it, but it meets my "bedroom practice amp" needs perfectly. i gig the crappp outa mine , need a speaker upgrade , that's all................. Cool. As your's was one of the recommendations I read - Thanks! if ya really wanna be blown away run it into a 2x12 or 4x12 cab , it'll put some butter in your biscuit, lead in your pencil, pep in our step , swag in yer bag , yadda,yadda,yadda.............. http://www.allenamps.com/parts.php#transformers i also put the to26 from this page in there , my tech had to drill one small hole to accomodate , if ya don't wanna drill i believe the to20 is a direct replacement , with the to26 i now use 6l6's and get another 5-6 watts out of it , just sounds fantastic......................
Cary Posted March 2, 2011 Posted March 2, 2011 A Super Champ XD and enough change for a Hamer. After hearing a couple of guys rave about them here (and elsewhere), I got mine yesterday. Ordered it new for about $250 plus tax from Guitar Center during their President's Day sale. Neat little amp - I spent a couple of hours messing around with it last night and you can coax plenty of sounds from it. I don't know if a person could gig with it, but it meets my "bedroom practice amp" needs perfectly. i gig the crappp outa mine , need a speaker upgrade , that's all................. Cool. As your's was one of the recommendations I read - Thanks! if ya really wanna be blown away run it into a 2x12 or 4x12 cab , it'll put some butter in your biscuit, lead in your pencil, pep in our step , swag in yer bag , yadda,yadda,yadda.............. LOL - Yeah, I have been considering running it through the Marshall 4x12 loaded with Greenbacks sitting in my basement. Hmmmm
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