Which combo to give me MY sound???

[lookslikemeband]

Gang -

I'm used to playing my two amps (A single solo for clean and a dual solo for dirty), each into it's own cab (a 4X12).

I'm looking for TWO combos to be able to give me an "acceptable" sound comparable to my tones I'm used to (for smaller gigs, so I don't have to lug around so much gear!!).

I don't know much about DC series or F series... But I'm trying to avoid paying a ton for two TOV's....

Any and all suggestions are welcome!

Thanks!

Lance

 

[tele_jas]

Are you wanting Boogie only? I'd recommend the T-verb for either, but if you don't like the dual's clean then just use the T-verb for the dirty stuff.

How about a (non vintage) Fender Twin for the clean stuff? Like a mid to late 70s, i've seen them go for about $500. Or even just a mid to late 70s Fender anything (Vibrolux, Deluxe, ect...). I also (for cleans) like the sound of the Carvin Bel-Air, you can hear sound clips at http://www.carvin.com/jamroom/ It's the 5th one from the bottom, they seem to be running around $300-$400.

If you're wanting to stick with Boogie, then I'd check out a Lonestar for the cleans or the cheaper (but still sounds great) F-50. And don't forget about some of the DC-series amps too.

Thats where I'd start, I've gone the dual T-Verb route and love it (run one clean and semi dirty and the other classic rock and modern rock/metal), but don't like lugging around all the amps so at most gigs I just take one and a Boogie V-twin.

Thats my $.02 worth :wink:

 

[screamingdaisy]

Fender Bassman or Twin for cleans and a Rectoverb for dirt (it's for small gigs, and it should be easier to OD than the TOV).

 

[tele_jas]

Some other good clean amps are: Rivera amps, but still pricey unless you get in to the Duo 100 (100wt 2x12) or something along those lines.. And the Traynor YCV line of amps..... The 40 and 50 are both 1x12's and the YCV80 is a 2x12 and the clean sound is really surprisingly pretty good!

 

[Brewski]

Hey Lance,
I listened to the music cuts that you have on your site. Nice sound BTW. If you're looking for simple, you might to give the F-50 a try. It has a nice clean channel and it'll get into metal, but not into recto territory without a pedal. So, I'd suggest the Rectoverb for the dirty and the F-50, or the LSC for the cleans.

 

[jbird]

Lemme see here, you don't wanna lug around so much gear and you don't wanna pay a fortune. How about just playing either of those set-ups? Could'nt you configure one of those heads to have a clean and dirty channel? :?

 

[tele_jas]

Could'nt you configure one of those heads to have a clean and dirty channel?

Thats what I do.... and I mentioned above too. Unless it's a SUPER big gig with an easy load-in, then I pull out all my tricks (2 amps, A/B box ect..). Otherwise I just play one amp and have a good clean and a good distortion and I use my V-Twin on the clean channel to give me a few other distortion ranges (semi distorted and mid-distortion).

The dual amp thing is nice, but I absolutely hate carrying around all the extra gear. I find myself getting lazier as I get older and I don't want to spend more time setting up and tearing down than I do actually playing. Sometimes I watch my other guitarist set up his stuff and it takes him only about 5 minutes from start to finish since he's got a Line 6 amp and all his tones are stored. Then here I am, I play/practice duing the week and always tweaking my sound just a bit and then I always have to dial in my tones (mostly from memory since we play alot of the same rooms), but it still takes me a lot longer to set up ... But I think it pays off in the end..... But like I said, I don't want to spend all night setting up either.

 

[lookslikemeband]

Hey guys!

Thanks for the replies! AWESOME info... I used to have a Fender Twin, but I sold it to buy a TopHat....

Thanks Brewski!! I appreciate it man!

I might just go back to that for smaller gigs....

As for the use of my two amps.... I use an Ernie Ball Stereo/Pan pedal to "build" in and out of transitions... It's KILLER....

It's not a *click* Dirty or *click* Clean..... I'm so used to it, it's 2nd nature to me (and I generally have my left foot propped up on it when I play).... So yeah... two amps is generally the way to go..

I definitely gotta have a Boogie for my dirty sound - It's the best!! But you all know that! That's why we're all here!!!

 

[Valtyr]

Hey guys!

Thanks for the replies! AWESOME info... I used to have a Fender Twin, but I sold it to buy a TopHat....

Thanks Brewski!! I appreciate it man!

I might just go back to that for smaller gigs....

As for the use of my two amps.... I use an Ernie Ball Stereo/Pan pedal to "build" in and out of transitions... It's KILLER....

It's not a *click* Dirty or *click* Clean..... I'm so used to it, it's 2nd nature to me (and I generally have my left foot propped up on it when I play).... So yeah... two amps is generally the way to go..

I definitely gotta have a Boogie for my dirty sound - It's the best!! But you all know that! That's why we're all here!!!

I do something similar. My main guitar is a Parker Nitefly. I use the same kind of pedal to transition or mix the piezo and electric tones. I send the piezo signal to a Fender Acoustasonic 30 and the pickup signal to a Mesa F-30.

I'm really just a hobby player though, I haven't had the opportunity to try this setup in a band yet. This setup sounds huge at home though, and I like mixing the two tones together for a dual-tone solo sound (like Trever Rabin's solo in Lift Me Up or Shoot High,Aim Low).

The coolest thing about using this setup is that it isn't an abrupt change in tone like a footswitch, it actually sounds like the tone morphs into something else.

 

[TheRazMeister]

Tele....more about the Traynors please....I'm looking at the 20 and 40...are they really that good? The price seems to be in line...(this is for the Church so super, super Recto gain is not needed although I do need a fair amount for solos)

Some other good clean amps are: Rivera amps, but still pricey unless you get in to the Duo 100 (100wt 2x12) or something along those lines.. And the Traynor YCV line of amps..... The 40 and 50 are both 1x12's and the YCV80 is a 2x12 and the clean sound is really surprisingly pretty good!

 

[tele_jas]

more about the Traynors please

Dont know too much other than what I learned about them when I was looking for a "Perfect" combo. The cleans are VERY Fenderish, the distortions are supposed to be Marshall-ish, but I never really liked playing a Marshall but I really liked playing the Traynor amp! I was at a music store for about an hour and 50 minutes of that time was playing the Traynor. The only thing that kept me from getting one is the lack of solo boost, but the lead channel does have a "boost" feature that boosts the volume and the gain just a bit. I really liked what I heard, but I had boogie feaver and wanted a Tremoverb combo, and thats what I got.

For an amp half the price and even a quarter of the price of the other amps I was looking at (Boogies, Riveras, Bogners, Genz Benz, ect...), the Traynor could hold it's own pretty good and even excelled in a few areas... One area was the Reverb, very nice reverb (if you like it), better than all the others except the Genz Benz. The dirty channel is (like I said) supposed to be voiced after a Marshall, but it had smoother, tighter sound with more gain (at a lower volume too) and it didn't seem harsh at loud volumes. I played a Tele and a Ibanez with a HB in it and it reacted with the guitars very well. They're supposed to be "auto biasing" amps, which means it is supposed to adjust it's bias as you use it so that the tubes are always running at max performance.... Unlike a Boogie that is a "Fixed bias".

Obivously I edned up with the T-verb combo, but I've been contiplating selling my head and getting 2 combos to replace it......A Vox Valvetronix and a traynor 50 (the blue one). Why the blue one, it's supposed to be a little hotter on the distortion side and have more gain and a bit more low end than the 40, plus it's blue :lol: . Why the Vox, just to have a solid state backup amp and an amp to play at the outdoors gigs where the dew would hurt my beloved tube amps.