Best EL-84 amp

[GeoBull]

I own an LSS 1x12 (also an '07 LSC 2x12). I bought the LSS to side-by-side with my LSC and ended up keeping both. I've been very happy with both and have even had some opportunity to compare them in e.g. a jam setting against other amps: Bruno and Dr. Z Maz Jr. However, it is fair to say that 1) I didn't do a deep A/B of the LSS vs. anything but the LSC, 2) I'm subject to morbid regret (kidding, sort of).

I'll also add this as some of the reasons I remain a big LSS fan:

-Good feature set
-Looks so **** good
-VERY nice sound when you drive ch. 1
-VERY nice clean sound on ch. 1 at low to med volumes
-Nice lead sounds out of ch. 2
-Looks so very good
-Relatively portable
-Have gotten lots of compliments on the sound of it

And some concerns:

-With my guitar (Parker Fly Mojo) not much clean headroom; I start getting fur with Gain at 11ish and master at 12ish, guitar full, hitting it a bit hard; this is a seperate subject I've gotten a lot of good advice about on this forum
-Didn't comparison shop a ton against other EL-84s. Did trade in a Vox AC30CC2x12 for the LSC and wouldn't trade the LSS for it

Question: What do you think is the best EL-84 amp? Why? If LSS, why better than others? If others, why better than LSS? I'll make this an aided survey question by providing the following as a list of possible comparisons but don't limit yourself to these:

-Dr. Z Maz Jr.
-Dr. Z Maz Sr.
-Bruno Underground 30
-Goodsell
-Vox AC30

Also, my comments on the amps I've A/B'd to some extent (in both cases time was too limited for me to really understand the amps fully)

-Dr. Z Maz Jr.
Kinda, I don't know, scratchy? Not much clean headroom. Liked the way it looked and from what I've read there are good sounds in there.

-Bruno Underground 30 (I think that's what it was)
Did one think REALLY well: furry, loud, rock sound. Didn't seem to do much else: especially clean.

 

[SixVeeSix]

I will preface this by saying that I am phobic about mini-switches, having replaced many on guitars through the years. They tend to wilt rapidly under abuse. I am a fairly careful person but I felt like I was walking on eggshells when I tested the LSS with what, 9 mini switches just waiting for a gentle tap to completely destroy them. I ended up deciding against both the Lonestars and the Express amps because of all the minis. *end of rant, sorry *

So I am going to vote for the Maverick 1-12 or short head, which has only 2 mini-switches tucked away on the back corner, pretty well guarded. It is easy to remember that the one closest to the edge is the channel switch and the other one is the Fat/Bright switch and Fat is up. Even my tiny little brain can grasp this .

I love the tones of this amp once I started using it as a clean/not quite so clean amp and using a pedal for over the top distortion. Very easy to dial, lush reverb, fat jazzy cleans and snarly grindy not so clean tones.

I find the redundancy features comforting also. If the rectifier tube fails you can switch to solid state and finish the show. If one pre amp tube fails you can switch to the other channel and finish the show. The output tubes are very easy to get at in the back (always bring a screwdriver AND a kitchen hot pad for hot tubes). So I feel pretty comfortable about making it through the gig and not needing my Peavey Backstage 50 backup amp (laugh if you will, clean tone is decent and it ALWAYS works )

My second vote is a bit of a cheater but......Blue Angel!! May seem a one trick pony but it is actually very versatile for a clean/not so clean amp. Again you will need a pedal for over the top gain but having the option for 6V6 and/or EL84 output grind is an amazing idea. And only ONE mini switch!!

Third in my book would be one of the Vox AC-15 reissues that were built by Marshall (I think, correct me if I am wrong) in the 90's. With the right tubes in there that is a sweet little amp!

 

[dannymusic]

AC15H1HW-

great, great amp. simple. tones a plenty from the good old days. paired with it's stock Celestion Blue will destroy the 90s AC15RI.

The VALVETECH HAYSEED 30 (or 15) is a handbuilt AC30 with vintage specs and your choice of trannys for a grand$$. MUST have either the vox or weber blues. www.valvetech.com


EL84 and blue bulldogs are the ticket to sonic bliss.[/url]

 

[Bikedude]

Well GeoBull, if you read my earlier review of my favorite EL84 amp, at your request, you know my favorite is the Goodsell 17. Looky here---www.superseventeen.com

 

[JAZZGEAR]

Question: What do you think is the best EL-84 amp? Why? If LSS, why better than others? If others, why better than LSS? I'll make this an aided survey question by providing the following as a list of possible comparisons but don't limit yourself to these:

-Dr. Z Maz Jr.
-Dr. Z Maz Sr.
-Bruno Underground 30
-Goodsell
-Vox AC30

W/O regards to channel switching and power scaling (5-15-30...), and if you don't mind pedals for for distortion, I'd have to say that the Dr Z. MAZ Sr. sounds significantly better than the LSS in the cleans dept. And it takes pedal quite well.

However, overall the LSS is a better value.....

I think that absolute best sounding EL84 amps out there are the Sampson inspired/designed amps.....e.g. Matchless, Bad Cat, etc. But those will set you back about twice the price of the LSS.....

 

[yettoblaster]

I had an Ampeg J-12T that really rocked and was LOUD with a primitive kind of sound (class "A") and a paper voice coil speaker. A bit Vox-ish, but clearer midrange and didn't break up until hella loud. Could do the Vox angry bee hive thing, but not until the windows were breaking.

Didn't sound like a typical EL-84 amp to me (but neither does the LSS).

MUCH cheaper build quality than any MESA though.
Cabinet rattle is almost guaranteed but sometimes can be fixed. Sometimes not.
Had another model (J-12R) that blew in infancy and was never as good as the first one I had.

 

[ursinus]

I think you may want to try a Heritage Briton. It may be what you are looking for. I've tried one and did a few jam sessions with a friend who owns one. It is a simple amp and takes pedals well.

 

[Platypus]

Check out the Dr Z Prescription ES.. I liked it a lot more than the Maz series.

 

[Murphy Slaw]

I have to agree with SixVeeSix (again) because I own and gig a 1;12 Blue Angel.

I'm not at all into fizzy/fuzzy over the top metal, and if I was, I wouldn't be looking at an EL84 amp.

The Blue Angel is the most amazing built amp I've ever played. I play smaller clubs seating usually under 350 people, and never mike it. We have a loud (obviously) stage volume, mike the kick, and the keys are in the mains. A lot more bleeds through 4 stage mikes than you might think.

In a 200 seat club, I can use the 15 watt 2;6V6 setting cranked about 3:00 for a good crunch, and wide open for some pretty nice tube distortion. Flip on the fly to 4;EL84's (turn down, obviously) for a totally different tone. Then I still have the option of using all 6 power tubes.

Fine machine.

 

[JAZZGEAR]

Check out the Dr Z Prescription ES.. I liked it a lot more than the Maz series.

Hmmm? Never tried the Rx.....Oh boy, I feel some G.A.S.

 

[LPClassic]

To me the best one is the Mesa Maverick 4x10.

I have tried a Dr Z 38 and is very good, I have a goodsell super 17 reverb 2x10 and is very good but a little too brigth sometimes, still the maverick takes the bill in cleans. Onthe other hand my second best goes for the budda SDII 18 (I have a head) and the 30 (combo 2x12) not very great cleans but very harmonic rich and great lead channel.

 

[Platypus]

Check out the Dr Z Prescription ES.. I liked it a lot more than the Maz series.

Hmmm? Never tried the Rx.....Oh boy, I feel some G.A.S.

Crank the piss out of it, it sounds glorious

 

[lyman]

nice to see the maverick owners representing, SixVeeSix and LPClassic! i wish it had 2 of the clean channel, instead of the 1 clean and the oddly voiced lead channel. but man, the cleans are nice. and a switch of the bright/fat selector and a twist of the gain knob turns it into a different beast.

 

[lesterpaul]

agree with jazzgear on the maz sr...I have a 2x12 combo and it luvs my fulldrive mosfet....good loop section as well...mine is the no reverb model,which many z heads swear sounds better-I cannot compare to others, but she is cool-I prefer the z thru my thiele with ev-can pull off some tones much like my 50 watt marsh -anybody who lives within driving distance of north alabama might just be able to talk me out of it as well!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[SixVeeSix]

nice to see the maverick owners representing, SixVeeSix and LPClassic! i wish it had 2 of the clean channel, instead of the 1 clean and the oddly voiced lead channel. but man, the cleans are nice. and a switch of the bright/fat selector and a twist of the gain knob turns it into a different beast.

Then here is something for you to try on the lead channel. Turn the master way up, the tone controls all the way down and then just crack open the gain knob a wee bit. Now start playing with your tone knobs - depends on the guitar and pickup preference. I get a gorgeous grindy sort of "clean but evil" tone that I really like this way. It also responds to an overdrive pedal differently than the clean channel so you get 4 sounds between the 2 amp channels and one pedal. Nice!

 

[igfraso]

How would you rate the Studio 22+ compared to those other Mesa Boogie's amps with EL-84?
Regards

 

[SixVeeSix]

I loved my 22 but had to have it modded to be able to get a lead tone that was louder than the clean tone. It's a nice amp but does not compare to the Mav or Blue Angel, Dyna Watt is a very "in your face" sound and the tube rectified stuff sort of "caresses" every note. Which is why I did not include my Subway Blues, it's a great little jam amp but a bit too rude sounding for my tastes overalll.

 

[lyman]

nice to see the maverick owners representing, SixVeeSix and LPClassic! i wish it had 2 of the clean channel, instead of the 1 clean and the oddly voiced lead channel. but man, the cleans are nice. and a switch of the bright/fat selector and a twist of the gain knob turns it into a different beast.

Then here is something for you to try on the lead channel. Turn the master way up, the tone controls all the way down and then just crack open the gain knob a wee bit. Now start playing with your tone knobs - depends on the guitar and pickup preference. I get a gorgeous grindy sort of "clean but evil" tone that I really like this way. It also responds to an overdrive pedal differently than the clean channel so you get 4 sounds between the 2 amp channels and one pedal. Nice!

cool. thanks for the tip! i'll try that out. when i use the gain channel, i do find that it sounds best with the eq knobs down. i guess because of the fixed tone stack before the eq stages (as in a dumble, no?). but i haven't messed around with the gain/master relationship on that channel.

 

[plumptone]

Lots of love for the DC-3 here. It's been a real trooper for me - much more versatile than many other EL84 amps out there, and it LOVES to be hooked up to a quad box. I also used to have a great relationship with a studio .22 back in the day - was able to balance out the clean and dirty pretty nicely. What's great about the studio .22 is that you can really crank the hell out of it and get those power tubes working hard. Never pristine clean at high volume, but very, very articulate and responsive.

 

[LPClassic]

Thanks for the tip, I will give a try too. I normally like to run the gain and the middle all the way up, then the master of the clean channel maybe around 12 and the general master to control... man, that amp is so responsive... and that saturation actually seems to kill the lead channel.

Now I like the lead channel too but the clean has so much things going on that you can do that it;s a pleasure to just keep trying different things in it. The lead channel seems to be a little more restricted in that area.