Cameron, Friedman, Splawn, Rhodes or Bogner..., recommend

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roryoi543

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I'm looking for a high gain amp for 80's HR/HM sound,
Lots of amps seem very nice e.g. Cameron CCV, Friedman BE100, Splawn Nitro or Quickrod,
Rhodes colossus, Bogner 101B, boogie MKV, Elmwood M90, CAE PT-100,
which one you choose?
 
CCV or BE-100 for that tone. 101B has more of an early 90s voicing.

-C
 
I've just gig with my new Quickrod and was in heaven all night. I found it not to be easy to play and control with plenty of bottom end. Two thumbs up for me.
 
Heres another clip I made yesterday of the Friedman be100, I recorded it with the built in mic on my dslr.
For the high gain 80's sound its amazing. Disregard my crappy playing, Im getting better....
 
Cameron CCV or, if you don't need the clean channel and solo boost, the Atomica.
 
Friedman or Splawn! Splawn is the best bargain for the money though! can't be beat!
 
So for me I would have to say Splawn based on your list. Have a Competition (Single channel Quick Rod) and a Nitro and the Competition nails that 80's thing IMHO. Also have a Cameron that can do it without blinking an eye but I worry about future repairs and Splawn has a great service dept. and it's not a one off or gooped amp. As for the Bogner I have an Ecstasy Classic and an Uberschall and I think as some have mentioned here goosing the blue channel will get you there with an 80's vibe. My recommendation though is find an 800 original or reissue and boost it with an MXR distortion plus or something. 80's heaven. In fact a late 70's JMP will get you that action all day long. If you wanna save some cash and re-live the 80's get an ADA MP1 and be done with it. To me that 'is' the tone of the 80's. Add a little chorus that's built right in and wham your rocking like Dokken.... The 80's didn't really have boutique builders we just had great modders like Jose and Lee Jackson. In fact the older Lee Jackson Ampeg stuff gets some pretty righteous tones on the cheap. I have a VL-502 and that amp can deliver some great 80's tones. YMMV but been through a shit ton of amps and still have a ton and for my money that elusive tone is easy to get if you have the chops with not a lot of cash spent. If it's flavor of the week you seek it's there waiting for you.... Have fun in your search and let us know what you decide and why.


Edit - I called my competition a Quick Rod.... Fixed
 
I like Splawn because it is affordable . Especially used in great shape..
Let you fingers do the rest..
 
Friedman or Splawn in that order nails 80's as well as Friedman modded Marshalls.

Born in the 60's and toured from 1982' to 1991' I can tell you as a whole there was nothing like the CCV in the 80's cept for a few anomlies unless you dial back the CCV quite a bit.

A UK made DSL-100 with some good pedals can nail 80's/ modded Marshall tone on the red channel.

After a fatty and a few beers nobody in the audience knows the difference anyway.
 
Best bang for the buck is a Splawn :thumbsup: Great sounding, great build quality and great great customer service.... all for about half the price as the other amps you've listed.
 
All good choices. I had a couple Splawn modded Marshalls, they were ok but not as good as other modded Marshalls I had. Haven't played a QR, so can't comment on it. The BE will set you back the most coin, and the Rhodes aren't cheap either. I think that for 2k you are looking at a Cameron or Friedman modded Marshall used and they sound great for what you are looking for. There's a couple of each used for sale here in the classifieds. Bogners seem a little different in tone than what you are looking for..at least to me. I personally put the Cameron modded Marshalls above all the rest..had 3 so far and they all killed. Had one Friedman modded 800 and it was nice but not quite as nice as the Camerons..
 
roryoi543":291t43zj said:
I'm looking for a high gain amp for 80's HR/HM sound,
Lots of amps seem very nice e.g. Cameron CCV, Friedman BE100, Splawn Nitro or Quickrod,
Rhodes colossus, Bogner 101B, boogie MKV, Elmwood M90, CAE PT-100,
which one you choose?
Click to expand...

Everybody is different and I owned and played the Friedman stuff (BE100, Shirley and Modded HBE sink Marshall JMP) and I really like the Splawn amps much better hand down... especially for the money. The new quickrod with the B+ is the shizzy and the Competition 50 is really killer too.

Other things you did not mention that I am fond of Marshall JVM 210 (which I think this amp sounds smoother and a bit darker than the 410 after owning three 410's) and EVH 50watt which is my fave out of the EVH line-up as it has it's own thing going on IMO that I really like more than the 100 waters..
 
Mosh I hear what your saying but for me the new Marshall stuff is really cheap inside (Chinese crap) I have worked on several and they are really not what they used to be. They sound good and whatever but as far as reliability and lasting like the earlier ones I kinda doubt it. Plus they are serious coin for what you get. I would have to stick with USA made and support Splawn. Everything these days has some Chinese shit in it but I would like some of my $$$ to stay here in the States. As for the Friedmans I have never owned a real one but I do have a Friedman modded MTS module that is a HBE and it sounds pretty good but it's just a pissed off Marshall sound. I forgot to mention VooDoo amps in my initial post to the OP. Trace is awesome and if you send him an amp and tell him what you want he WILL do it. I have his V-Plex and love it without a boost but I am sure if you boosted it you would get the 80's tones you seek.
 
I saw Peter Frampton a few year ago playing a large outside venue with a stock DSL-100 and one 4x12 of T75's I guess and he absolutely killed.

Everything from his 70's stuff to "Black hole sun" by Sound Garden, it sounded amazing.
 
I should mention a Wizard...they are killer as well. Just listened to some clips of a Rhodes Colossus that rocknchippy just got..they also sound amazing. Those will set you back a good amount though. What a great time to be playing guitar though, all the amazing gear choices out there!
 
They'll all get you there just fine. The Splawn Quickrod will do so while offering you the best bang for the buck.
 
Thanks for advance, really help me a lots for direction to choose ,
I just found some nice mic clips on youtube:



In the 1st video to my ear I personally like the CCV original, it has most balance tone, everything is not too much,
and it sounds juicy seems very easy to play fast picking.
The BE100 is also good, it has grit-like upper mid that nails 80s tone
Rhodes in this clips it is more mids therefore thicker and solid sound cut through the mix, has it's own character,
about the 3rd power pro100, never heard about it but sound quite nice.
But I also notice the CCV hum noise is louder than others....
 
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