Smoothest high gain amps?

[Smash]

Smoothest high gain amp I ever played was a Bogner Twin Jet. Before that, it was my Soldano Avenger, which I still own.

 

[jco5055]

Hey all! I'm thinking of adding another amp to the arsenal. Whatever I add, I'd like it to be the smoothest, most polished high gain amp I can get. So, I thought I'd ask everyone their opinions! What I mean by smooth high gain - no harsh frequencies, nothing "sharp" about it, not overly stiff, etc.

I'm not looking for fuzz. I actually run screaming away from fuzz. I don't like buzzy, fuzzy or harsh distortion. I'm looking for an amp that, when tracking with it, already sounds as close to polished and produced as possible. I have STL Libra, and almost every IR that Celestion and OwnHammer make. I'd like to be able to go through my Suhr Reactive Load, and, with the right IR selected, already be right where I want to be. I'd like that "studio microscope" to not reveal anything unpleasant. Something that already sounds like it's double tracked. I'm looking for something super refined. Open, 3D, polished...these terms come to mind.

I dig this KSR Juno clip quite a bit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02JCh_CzZbE

But there aren't too many other clips of that head around, and the ones that I have found, don't really sound like that. It's hard to really know for sure what I'd be getting, and it's a heck of a risk to take for such a pricey head that I can't play through first and has a long turnaround time.

If you like the Juno clip, I'd check out the KSR Gemini or Artemis, as those are more American Style amps, and at least I always associate that meaning smoother. The Juno was made solely to be a "British style" KSR amp since all the others are American style.

There are tons of fancy high gain heads on the market, but finding demo clips that I dig is proving to be quite difficult. Nearly all of them seem to be brutal, modern metal sounds, which is not what I am trying to achieve at all. I'm going for the idealized 80s rock sound. You know, the way it sounds in your head, afterward, looking back on it with rose tinted glasses.

It would be ideal to have:
• A lush, pretty clean channel
• A kick ass high gain channel for the kind of rhythm guitar I play (I go beyond what I think most consider to be crunch rhythm...we're talking Tom Scholz levels of gain. Like, the opening power chords of "I Think I Like It" off of Boston's Third Stage record)
• A saturated, liquidy and full lead channel

Don't worry about budget, but I'd like to avoid anything that is just legit unattainable for whatever reason. So, nothing crazy like Trainwrecks or Dumbles, nothing really hard to find used, like a Cameron or a real Jose, etc. Let's stick to stuff that is either in current production, or that I can realistically and reasonably find on the used market.

Also, one more thing...please don't post "Soldano SLO" unless you can provide a clip of one doing exactly what I'm talking about!

Not sure why it didn't post, but you' want to check out the other KSR amps like the Gemini and Artemis for sure.

 

[guitarbilly74]

80s and smooth means Boogie to me. Look for a Mark III or IV and you will be set.
Riveras are great for that too. Basically, find something out of the modded Fender lineage

 

[blackie13]

bogner xtc...

 

[ClintN667]

I have a KSR Orthos and its really smooth. Having said that I had a Friedman JJ jr. for a bit and I played a few other Friedman and I didnt bond with them cause I felt they were too polished for my taste. If you want a polished tone Friedman is a good choice.

 

[panhead]

As mentioned a Naylor superdrive 60 Butter, Ive owned all of the above mentioned

 

[MatrixClaw]

Soldano SLO.

 

[Candiria]

The Juno will do smooth all day. It's the smoothest/darkest KSR amp. It'll get plenty bright on the Clip modes, but the non diode clipping Lead modes are very smooth.

The clean is also nice, but I prefer Mesa cleans. They're not that different and an eq pedal pulling out some low mids and boosting some highs will get them pretty damn close. The KSR clean takes pedals really well too though, better than a Mesa Mark.

The feel of the other KSR amps will probably be too metal for you. They're a little tighter than the Juno, but much stiffer in the feel. None of the KSR amps are super tight like a Mark V or Engl, but they don't need a boost either. They'll take a boost well if you want, and they're very musical.

For me they straddle the line of being tight, saturated, and compressed without being too tight, too saturated, or too compressed. They don't lose their tone below a certain point on the gain knob, and they don't start out with the gain already in metal territory. You can play death metal on them, or you can knock the gain down and play Nick Johnston/Andy Timmons kind of stuff.

 

[boogie1]

Smoothest high gain amp I ever played was a Bogner Twin Jet. Before that, it was my Soldano Avenger, which I still own.

I agree 100% The Bogner TJ is the one of the smoothest, well defined high gain amps I've played/owned.

I find the Diezel's (VH4 & Herbert) a little stiff and compressed even though they're very polished sounding.

 

[Purpleibby]

I'm going to say BE-100, but the older the better.
The old ones with Mallory caps and the negative feedback on the speaker jack are about as polished as it gets.

Over the years, Dave has tweaked the BE-100 circuit to be a little brighter and a little more aggressive because the main beef you always heard with those amps circa 2014 / 2015 was " it's too polished" and "it sounds too much like a record"

I'll echo this! It was perfect how it was IMO, I wouldn't change a thing about this amp!

" it's too polished" and "it sounds too much like a record"

Shit that's what I love about it! I hear a lot of new amps and newer designs and I constantly wonder WTF did boxy, honky mids and strident highs come into style....do they want it to sound UGLY?...like bad ugly lol.

 

[MetalHeadMike]

Smoothest high gain amp I ever played was a Bogner Twin Jet. Before that, it was my Soldano Avenger, which I still own.

I agree 100% The Bogner TJ is the one of the smoothest, well defined high gain amps I've played/owned.

I find the Diezel's (VH4 & Herbert) a little stiff and compressed even though they're very polished sounding.

The Uber Rev blue I had was very smooth but as you said defined/articulate.

 

[Marshall Freak]

Real 2C+s are the smoothest amps I've owned; the older BE100s are super smooth and polished but too much so for my taste. The Naylor clips I've listened to are VERY smooth and have a cool unique tone that I've never really heard before. But they seem pretty dark too; Jubilees are darker and smoother than any other Marshall and have a unique gain structure due to the LED clipping and EQ that is way more responsive than any other stock Marshall.
Personally, if I were after a smooth tone I'd go after that Naylor SD60 in the classifieds right now.

+1. For as mean, nasty and vicious as they *can* be. There is no smoother lead tone ever created than a mk 2c+

 

[Whatamada]

I have to put my vote to the Diezel Herbert as well.
Hade one for several years and the amount of butter I could churn from that amp is unbelievable.
Sure, it gets a lot of cred from the metal scene, and rightly so, but it's so much more than that.

The Archon is a great amp too, I wouldn't say as smooth as some other amps on the list, but it can absolutely get a smooth sound.

 

[Nigel]

Gjika 10n & matching 2x12.

/thread

 

[braintheory]

Gjika 10n & matching 2x12.

/thread

I have a Gjika 10N myself. It’s of the best amps I’ve ever played (top 3), but I don’t think it fits what the OP is asking for. It’s not really polished, but rather raw and organic and only 1 channel

 

[garey77]

I just happs to have a Friedman Runt 50 in the classifieds if you are interested. I can provide sound clips, too.

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

Anything that says Bogner on the front. XTC, Shiva, etc.

 

[fusedbrain]

I'm going to say BE-100, but the older the better.
The old ones with Mallory caps and the negative feedback on the speaker jack are about as polished as it gets.

Over the years, Dave has tweaked the BE-100 circuit to be a little brighter and a little more aggressive because the main beef you always heard with those amps circa 2014 / 2015 was " it's too polished" and "it sounds too much like a record"

I'll echo this! It was perfect how it was IMO, I wouldn't change a thing about this amp!

Yup! When they made the move to the Synergy caps, they changed the filtering too.
IMO those older ones are the best version of the BE100.
I moved the NFB wire on mine to the 4ohm tap, but that amp is just the smoothest, greasy-est amp I've ever played.
Moving the NFB just opens the amp up a bit, but doesn't really change the feel or the core tone.
I owned a Bogner 101b and the Friedman at the same time, and the Friedman BE channel just sounded better to me for that chewy, crunchy tone vs 101b Blue. In the same ballpark, but the Friedman is just better to my ear.
HBE vs 101b Red is pretty much a wash. 101b Red has more gain than HBE, but if you turn on the SAT function on the BE100, you can get into the same zone.
101b has a better clean channel, and the foot switch functionality is better, so a 101b could be a better option for the OP, depending on his requirements.
I would also agree about the Twin Jet having a smooth, polished high gain tone, but the low gain channel on the TJ is not what I would call a clean channel. More a JCM800 kinda thing.

 

[jdel77]

Friedman BE-100. Sounds like a Grammy award winning mixed and mastered JCM800 2203. That might not be what everyone wants, but it's smooth and silky alright.

 

[the rossness]

Smooth amps:

The amps that come to mind are-

1: Carvin Leagacy or Leagcy 3 are VERY smooth. The clean channel will not break up. Gain channels are dark and smooth. Great for leads.

2: Bogner Esctacy is very smooth and can be dialed in in many different ways.

3: The Orange Rockerverb is dark and smooth. Very warm clean channel and an amazing gain channel. Put an EQ in the fx loop for extra versatility.

4: Not the most common amp, but the Kasha Rockmod is also worth considering.