Most versatile amps you've owned...

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van hellion":q3kxsg7s said:
most things diezel are quite versatile, my boogie mark 4, my evh 5153, and as i spend more time with the rhodes i notice it has plenty of tricks up its sleeve as well.

in the end, an amp is only as versatile as whos playing it. Guthrie and a suhr badger are capable of many different genres and thats a simple little amp ;)

A Wood
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Very much agreed. I think the one thing that people talk about on here and other forums the most is whether an amp can get good thrash or metal rhythm tones, when it comes to is an amp versatile, etc. In my experience, that's more about a technique thing than anything else. Hetfield would be able to get a good rhythm tone out of a peavey classic 30 combo IMO. If you can't get it to sound "right" unplugged, it really doesn't matter what you plug into IMO, it's still not going to sound right. That's not to say there aren't differences between gear, because there are. But all they can do is amplify what you're putting in, and garbage in, garbage out as far as I've seen.

I love my xtc-c for all styles but it's something that I've played and stuck with for like 10 years now, so I'm very used to the feel etc. I think some amps can suit people's own sound/attack to some extent better than others. I think I typically have a bright attack, so dark amps work well for me. That said I also dial out a lot of bass and run the amp on tight excursion so it all balances out. Still, having seen far too many examples of guys that get their sound through lots of different setups, I really do think it comes down to the player. I've seen things repeatedly posted along the line of "we'd all sound the exact same playing a power chord into the same rig," etc, and honestly I do not agree with that at all. Take a simple little riff and have Cantrell, Hetfield, heck, even Guthrie Govan for argument's sake, play it through the exact same setup and you're going to hear THEM IMO.
 
'63-Strat":2hluo94u said:
I've seen things repeatedly posted along the line of "we'd all sound the exact same playing a power chord into the same rig," etc, and honestly I do not agree with that at all.
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Agree 1000 % .... I have had lots of guitar players try out for bands I have been in and have been teaching guitar on and off for 32 years. Different players sound different playing even if the rig is the same and nothing has been changed. This is a fact ... not even questionable at all.

:) The sound very much comes from the player ... the gear only does so much.
 
stephen sawall":2ulayma8 said:
'63-Strat":2ulayma8 said:
I've seen things repeatedly posted along the line of "we'd all sound the exact same playing a power chord into the same rig," etc, and honestly I do not agree with that at all.
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Agree 1000 % .... I have had lots of guitar players try out for bands I have been in and have been teaching guitar on and off for 32 years. Different players sound different playing even if the rig is the same and nothing has been changed. This is a fact ... not even questionable at all.

:) The sound very much comes from the player ... the gear only does so much.
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I totally agree. I play through my rig and sound a certain way. Other players plug into my rig and sound VERY different to me, even if they are using my exact settings and guitar. It's all how we touch the strings with our left and right hands, how we hold the pick, how we mute or don't mute strings, how hard we pick, etc, etc, etc. Then I go plug into their rigs and sound just like ME. I try and I try but I just can't shake my shadow! :lol: :LOL:
 
stephen sawall":9f7jfehz said:
'63-Strat":9f7jfehz said:
I've seen things repeatedly posted along the line of "we'd all sound the exact same playing a power chord into the same rig," etc, and honestly I do not agree with that at all.
Click to expand...
Agree 1000 % .... I have had lots of guitar players try out for bands I have been in and have been teaching guitar on and off for 32 years. Different players sound different playing even if the rig is the same and nothing has been changed. This is a fact ... not even questionable at all.

:) The sound very much comes from the player ... the gear only does so much.
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:thumbsup:

Don't get me wrong, I love having multiple guitars, and they can certainly bring out different things. But we live in an age of unprecedented choices and levels of quality as far as gear goes and are we hearing anything truly better or new? I dunno, honestly. Different, sure. I'm probably going to another jam/bbq this Sunday of a bunch of musician friends from around l.a. where everyone uses the same basic gear, though many bring their own guitars/basses etc., some bring some pedals at most. Some of these guys are *really good* :D, and it's always a wide range of tones/styles/playing levels. Interesting how when you take the gear thing out of the equation, it sometimes can lead to more focus on the music/playing IMO. That doesn't mean I'm selling my rig and getting a deluxe reverb just yet, lol, but it wouldn't be the end of the world if I had to, either. I have zero doubt that for the most part, most people would think it sounds more less the same where it counts anyways through a PA.
 
'63-Strat":1kwbiswm said:
Don't get me wrong ....
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I still have about 20 amps (even if I use four of them most of the time)and a lot of other gear. I play a lot of different styles with many people. Having the right tool for the job just makes the job that much easier to do.
I do not bring the same tools to paint as I do to do a tile job .... I agree there is a balance of things and a coin has two sides ...
 
psychodave":124beafv said:
For me it's the CCV. It's basically 3 channels if to include the solo master which can be set differently than the regular master. Now slap a TIM pedal out front and you have 5 channels. Who needs more than that? :)
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+1

Roid
 
'63-Strat":2si83qig said:
Don't get me wrong, I love having multiple guitars, and they can certainly bring out different things. But we live in an age of unprecedented choices and levels of quality as far as gear goes and are we hearing anything truly better or new? I dunno, honestly. Different, sure. I'm probably going to another jam/bbq this Sunday of a bunch of musician friends from around l.a. where everyone uses the same basic gear, though many bring their own guitars/basses etc., some bring some pedals at most. Some of these guys are *really good* :D, and it's always a wide range of tones/styles/playing levels. Interesting how when you take the gear thing out of the equation, it sometimes can lead to more focus on the music/playing IMO. That doesn't mean I'm selling my rig and getting a deluxe reverb just yet, lol, but it wouldn't be the end of the world if I had to, either. I have zero doubt that for the most part, most people would think it sounds more less the same where it counts anyways through a PA.
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You could not be more right. I sometimes think about selling everything (except my ESP Eclipse guitar and OCD and Polytune pedals) and just grabbing a JCM800 or something and just friggin' PLAYING the guitar instead of obsessing over gear. SUCH a distraction sometimes...
 
okay, i guess i'll post and get poked at....

i love my tourmaster amp. im bummed that it crapped out..but, seriously, after i figured out how to dial it in, and how to play it...i fell in love with it. im hoping the power transformer upgrade from egnater will be the last time i deal with this amp having downtime.

i agree that personal sound lies with each player. i play with a lot lower gain settings than that of some of my friends and former band mates, and, when they've picked up my guitar, they've complained that my rig is harder to play....and, i've complained that their rigs nearly played themselves. i cant stand a setup that you turn the volume up on and it's just going haywire with mega feedback and overtones and you have to work at to keep it under control. i'd much rather have an amp that makes me play better and isn't super compressed and overly gain saturated. that's why i love the tourmaster amp....OD1 in the TM is fantastic for just about any style of music save for super heavy thrash tones. OD2 is a great lead channel and can cover any high gain need i have. i plug straight into my amp. clean1 is pristine clean...and clean 2 is a tad dirty, esp with the power grid set low and pushing some power tube sweat out of the amp.

i'm working on documenting taking my PT out of it now, and then i'll get to work doing it. i'm a bit nervous about it though, even though the amp hasn't been on for near a month now, im still kinda worried that the caps have a charge in them...but i'm going to make a cap discharger before i do the replacement.
 
My bogner duende is really versatile. U can get a pretty wide variety of tones and styles out of it. The first can do clean up through a tweed type dirt, to a decent crunch. The second can do a brit type crunch up through a hotrodded brit sort of marshall like tone and then some, also u can combine the channels and blend them if wanted and all via footswitch. Reverb for each channel and vibrato makes it very cool. Also, I have a bray modded marshall that is not a 1 trick pony like other modded marshalls. It has a variety of push pull knobs that actually are usefull and comes with a great master volume. Brays amps clean up very well with the guitars volume knob also.
 
In no order:

H&K Triamp MK II
Diezel VH4
Marshall 30th anniversary
Friedman modded Marshall JMP

I don't have the Diezel or H&K anymore, but I'm planning on getting another triamp MK II... really regret selling that one ...

the Marshall 30th anniversary is a versatile amp. Not really the sound you'd expect from a Marshall though, but still...

As for the Friedman mod...I suppose since mine doesn't have a dedicated clean channel, some might not consider it that versatile, but there are still so many different sounds available. So I'd still consider it one of the most versatile amps I've owned :thumbsup:
 
I'm sure my Bogner Uberschall Twin Jet will become the most versatile amp I've ever owned.
 
Worst amp I have ever owned? H&K Switchblade! Yikes, hated it.
Best amp and most versatile? Either my PWE Event Horizon or 20th Anniversary Bogner Shiva. I had my Shiva sounding like a dual rectifier the other night with the modern switch and scoop switch engaged! But I hate heavy metal so I don't play any of that or expect my amps to cover those tones.
 
Hard&Heavy":1g2f08jn said:
All my diezels and I would say my elmwood m90. I did have a vht clx that was pretty versatile also.
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+1 on any of the Diezels!! :thumbsup:
JVM 410H as well :rock:
 
Mesa Mark III
ranges from clean all the way to metal (I don't play anything heavier)
 
My Rivera KHR55 and Rivera Duarte can each pretty do anything I need, and they each have their own voice as well.
 
Cant believe this thread is over about a year old and STILL my decision has not changed - the laney GH100TI is one monster of versatility. All that is required is the use of your guitar's volume knob :rock:
 
the good....pittbull ultra lead

the bad....isp theta head. with the two parametric mids, it had a metric ton of crappy sounds.
 
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