What is the best amp you have ever heard or played?

[Cory]

My RA-100 of course! :wink:

In all honesty, I'm not just saying that because I own it - it's literally the best sounding amp I've ever played/heard, so I guess that's why I bought it! I also like Bogner Shiva's too (but not as much as the RA-100).

 

[thecek]

my modded marshall 1987x "plexi" and now, my mesa mkIIB

 

[mikebat]

Besides the amps I own, A Roadster and a first gen JCM800 with metal toggles (these are most like the JMP's that preceded them) the best three tones I have heard/played of late were:

- Orange OR15 into an Orange 2x12 cab, it was thick and bouncy, not muddy or fuzzy at all. It sounded huge. The clean tones were pretty good as well! It was a real shocker. I think a cool set up would be two of these with a Radial a/b switching into a single 4x12. One for clean, the other for drive. For $600 each....it almost makes sense.

- Marshall JVM410 in the crunch/ green and Orange channel... what they call the plexi sound. It was the best sound that amp made, not tons of gain, but with a little TS9 love at the front...that sound was just awesome.

- Third Power RPO100 . Holy mother of rock! What a great rock tone! Thick and articulate, with all the sustain and playability that most Marshalls lack. This is seriously one for the ages. No one ever seems to mention these guys, even if it is the best sounding EL34 amp I have ever heard. It seriously blew me off my feet.

A friend swears by the Mad Professor CS40, but I cannot see it out gunning the Third Power.


That said....if someone would like to loan me a Friedman amp....I would be willing to run it through it's paces....

 

[lespaulguy32]

There are two for me - when I first heard Incubus' Morning View as a child, I LOVED Mike Einziger's tone (yea, I know, I keep saying it). So, thus bringing the Tremoverb as my first favorite. Then, came my Road King. I love the sound of both, and both are my favorites.

 

[longfxukxnhair]

I own 2 of the best I have ever heard. A Marshall 6100 (blue rolex/el34) and Engl SE670

 

[SixVeeSix]

Some of this may be vague, sorry. Brain cells all gone!

Played:

First, my current favorite solid state amp - Tech 21 Trademeark 10. All analog modeling amp. Not wild about the Marshall tones until you crank it but the Fender cleans and semi-cleans are sugar sweet and the Mesa lead tones are great. All stock except for the reverb tank, it died so I replaced it with one from a Peavey Backstage Plus and it sounds even better. A great all-rounder, simple and cheap. Get one, you won't regret it. Ultimate bedroom amp.

Mid-50's Fender Harvard, original speaker. Dimed it, was hopping off the chair and sounding awesome.

70s Marshall 50 watt combo with two EV SRO 12"s in it. A friend of mine owned it, it owned the world!

Brownface Fender Deluxe Reverb with JBL D120 speaker. Great at any volume.

A pair of Fender Champs that I bought as chassis only (consecutive serial numbers). Splitter box, dimed and run into a 2-12" cab I made with EVM 21Ls that were well broken in (got 'em from a sound man). That was a Godly tone indeed, totally touch responsive.

Mark IIIC Simul-Class in Class A with EL34s through a Vox 4-12 cab with 2 JBL D-120 and 2 EVM 12L. That was my tone for a couple of years in a heavy metal funk band. I just left it in the lead channel and turned the guitar up and down. Killer, moved some serious air.

A friend's Sunn, all I remember is it had LOTS of tubes and only sounded good LOUD and it was LOUD!! He had a cabinet with 6-10"s in it. Straight in with a Strat or Les Paul Jr. and you ruled.

Heard:

Jeff Beck's Marshalls

Whatever Pete Townshend used on the Tommy tour.

 

[KiwiJoe]

The best I've ever heard was a Mark I when Larry Carlton was using them back in the mid 70s-early 80s. There was just something about the way the amp reacted to his touch that was very horn-like with lots of dynamic response. He uses a volume pedal to really emphasize the dynamics, true, but man, when he just let it all loose, the sustain and richness blew me away.

I got to gig with a friend's Mark I back in the 80s, and, it sounded great (especially when cranked), delivering some of what I heard in LC's playing (my ability or lack thereof had a lot to do with the "some of it" part :lol: ). I'm looking to find an original or RI at some point, but right now I'm really happy with my Mini Rec. I've been able to dial it in to get a very similar vibe and tone.

 

[ryjan]

A couple weeks ago I played an old two channel Triple Recto that my buddy had just bought from flea bay.
It's in the top 2 or 3.

 

[SonVolt]

peavey bandit hands down

 

[SixVeeSix]

peavey bandit hands down

Yeah, but only the Chinese one with the crap speaker.

:lol:

 

[Jorn218]

There are three "best" amps I have ever heard. I have also played all three.

The absolute #1 amp I have heard/played was a tube amp a friend made using a RCA schematic he found in a book. It had one preamp tube and one power tube with tube rectifier. He ran this into an old Jensen in a movie projector speaker cabinet thing. That amp was insane once turned up all the way. super low wattage class A crunch. The best power chord bloom/crunch ever. Lead runs were beautiful. Beats any guitar amp Ive ever heard or played. I plan on building something similar for recording, and playing at the house. Turned up the gain levels would do Bohemian Rhapsody/Won't Get Fooled Again type power chord crunch. Brought a tear to my eye.

#2 is a tie. In no order is the Mesa Dual Rectifier and Soldano 100W 6L6 Avenger (first run with the cool head cabinet). These are here because I have not heard any other amps pull off the type of Metal I play better than these two. The gain/compression levels for tremolo picked rhythms is perfect on both of these. Tonally they are different beasts with the Avenger taking a hair lead in the lead tone, where it falls barely behind the Rectifier in rhythms.

 

[elpingua]

There are two amps that have blown me away.

When I was a teenager and just barely learning about guitar equipment my friends and I got into a bar we where too young to drink so all we could do was listen to the live band. The guitar player was a decent player but he had this sound that was very clear and every little vibrato or pinch harmonic just jumped out it seemed. Sure enough it was a Mark IV back when they where fairly new products. That left an impression on me with MB.

The second was when I heard a Dual Rectifier (3 channel) in person back in the early 2000s. It ripped my face off - sounded so good and low..it sounded like a Lion Roaring in my face. Well anyway I saved up my pennies and came back and bought that amp and loved it.

Yeah I love MB amps! Lots of great amps out there but it seems like in my mind I am set on Boogies.

 

[ryjan]

I always end up back with a Boogie.

 

[Given To Fly]

Some of this may be vague, sorry. Brain cells all gone!

Played:

First, my current favorite solid state amp - Tech 21 Trademeark 10. All analog modeling amp. Not wild about the Marshall tones until you crank it but the Fender cleans and semi-cleans are sugar sweet and the Mesa lead tones are great. All stock except for the reverb tank, it died so I replaced it with one from a Peavey Backstage Plus and it sounds even better. A great all-rounder, simple and cheap. Get one, you won't regret it. Ultimate bedroom amp.

Quite the opposite, you have brain cells in spades!

There are too many amps to narrow it down to one. So...

Practice Amp - Tech 21 Trademark 10. I have two, each made about 10 years apart. The design never changed and the tones are still very much relevant today. Tech 21 calls it their "Recording Amp" which may seem like a gimmick but in this case the title is appropriate. Good tones, intuitve layout, "everything you need, nothing you don't." :wink:

Amp I've heard/Amp I own - Mesa Boogie RoadKing played by John Petrucci on his first G3 Tour. He opened with "Jaws of Life" and my mind was blown . Subsequently, my Roadster, which was a shot in the dark, has really turned out to be the best overall amp I've ever played/owned. I own very few things that I would claim are the best, even in a subjective opinion, but the Roadster is unique in that regard.

Amp I would not buy but appreciate - I recently played a Bogner Goldfinger 45 which is not a high gain amp by any means, but the clean channel was incredible! I was playing an Ibanez Universe and the salesman who I've know for a long time was going over the amp with me. The tones I was getting out it were downright beautiful! I'm beginning to understand the appeal of Class A tube amps. I would not buy a Bogner Goldfinger 45 because its $3400 and thats a lot of money for an amp I'm only beginning to appreciate. With that said, that amp has been on my mind quite a bit. :shock:

 

[Given To Fly]

Some of this may be vague, sorry. Brain cells all gone!

Played:

First, my current favorite solid state amp - Tech 21 Trademeark 10. All analog modeling amp. Not wild about the Marshall tones until you crank it but the Fender cleans and semi-cleans are sugar sweet and the Mesa lead tones are great. All stock except for the reverb tank, it died so I replaced it with one from a Peavey Backstage Plus and it sounds even better. A great all-rounder, simple and cheap. Get one, you won't regret it. Ultimate bedroom amp.

Quite the opposite, you have brain cells in spades!

There are too many amps to narrow it down to one. So...

Practice Amp - Tech 21 Trademark 10. I have two, each made about 10 years apart. The design never changed and the tones are still very much relevant today. Tech 21 calls it their "Recording Amp" which may seem like a gimmick but in this case the title is appropriate. Good tones, intuitve layout, "everything you need, nothing you don't." :wink:

Amp I've heard/Amp I own - Mesa Boogie RoadKing played by John Petrucci on his first G3 Tour. He opened with "Jaws of Life" and my mind was blown . Subsequently, my Roadster, which was a shot in the dark, has really turned out to be the best overall amp I've ever played/owned. I own very few things that I would claim are the best, even in a subjective opinion, but the Roadster is unique in that regard.

Amp I would not buy but appreciate - I recently played a Bogner Goldfinger 45 which is not a high gain amp by any means, but the clean channel was incredible! I was playing an Ibanez Universe and the salesman who I've know for a long time was going over the amp with me. The tones I was getting out it were downright beautiful! I'm beginning to understand the appeal of Class A tube amps. I would not buy a Bogner Goldfinger 45 because its $3400 and thats a lot of money for an amp I'm only beginning to appreciate. With that said, that amp has been on my mind quite a bit. :shock:

 

[gonzo]

for me,

the best rig i ever heard,

was a Wide Open Ampeg V4 into a 4x12 cab.

awesome incarnate.


best rig i've ever played,
would be my very own Mark2b 60w head into a marshall 1960b loaded with greenbacks.

 

[dodger916]

Best tone had to be a Lonestar Classic 4x10 combo. Wide tone palette with plenty of tight bottom end.

Most incredible Boogie lead tone was a lead channel on a Subway Rocket 1x10 combo. Amazing feel straight in; covered any minor flubs, and simply wailed...but the Rhy channel left me wanting big time.

 

[bandit2013]

It has been a while since I posted in this thread.

This is one non-mesa amp that I really enjoyed playing though: Fender Blues Deluxe. I could not get away from this amp and almost bought one while I was shopping for an amp for my nephew. I like the blues and this amp delivered. Not sure how it would compare to my RA100, would be hard to let that one go.

The best amp I have ever heard, played and own is the Roadster channeled though a standard Recto slanted cab stuffed with EVM12L black label speakers. Very versatile and capable of wide range of playing styles. The modern voice on CH4 has got to be one of my favorites. I have tried other tubes in this amp but prefer the Mesa originals overall. What I like most other than a given channel is that the controls are responsive and I can easily dial in tone and gain structure to suit my needs. From blues, jazz, or soft ballad to hard rock and heavy metal, this amp dishes it out as long as I can play it. Excellent with both humbuckers and single coil guitars. So far has the best sounding reverb I have heard.

 

[FlamencoD]

For me, the three best amps I've ever played:

My Express 5:50+ (with Avatar 2x12 cab with a V30 and a G12H30)
Mark V Combo
Marshall Bluesbreaker reissue.

I've played a lot of boutique amps (Dr Z, 65 Amps, PRS, Divided by 13, etc.), several other Mesas and a few vintage fenders that IMO didn't sound as good as my [amazing] 5:50+. I owned a Marshal JVM that when cranked was pretty awesome (although not as great as my 5:50+ or the others listed above).

Some other amps I'd love to play through: Original Mark I, King Snake, Two Rock, Fuchs Overdrive Supreme, Tone King, etc.

 

[beardownchicagobears]

Best amp I've ever played? For me, there is two, but they are a helluva two (and in no particular order of importance):

*Marshall JVM410H
*Mesa Boogie Road King 2

Those two amp hooked up to a handful of select cabinets can pretty much do any thing I could ever ask.