Which amp was your most disappointing purchase?

[Deleted member 8761]

Engl Powerball (v1) and Engl Invader. I could get agressive tones with these amps, but there was always a certain fizz in the overdrive that I could not get rid off. It really bugged me. Never had an issue with their preamp though.

 

[Mr. Burton]

1. Rivera KnuckleHead (version 1 1st year run)
"Yuck" not what I was expecting at all, after playing a friends
TBR-SL1 - Also was not happy wiith customer service back
in 1999 - Rivera's Son "Rivera Jr" is a real tool when speaking to him on the phone as a paying customer needless to say sold the amp at a substancial loss and will never buy another Rivera product ever !

Crazy. Paul Jr has been great every time I've spoken with him. Also crazy that you weren't into the Knuck1. Easily my fave of their whole stable. Different strokes I guess.

I can't say I've been disappointed by any of my purchases. I did a ton of research before buying most of them. Even the old shit Crate and Lead 100 Mosfet heads I was able to get something out of them. I've tested plenty that have been disappointing. The Deizel Einstein was a let down as was the JVM410. The Mode Four was a POS too.

 

[shreder75]

the list is short yet distinguished

Triple Recto
Triaxis/Simulclass 290

 

[mightywarlock]

#1- Engl Powerball v1. Traded my Mesa Stiletto for it. HATED it. Too much bass, no tone. Traded it for...
#2- Rivera KR7 - No matter how much I really wanted to like this, it was too loud, buzzy distorted mess, and squishy for my tastes.
#3- Peavey 5150 - Wanted to like it. I really did. But in my band setting it just didn't work.
#4- Stiletto ACE - WAY too bright.

 

[johnodge]

Peavey JSX - apparent Joe doesn't know tone lol
EVH 5150 iii - made me go WTF???

 

[Rayneman]

Bogner Shiva w/ matching 2x12 cab - purchased hoping for Degradation Trip tones, uh...no, at least not the one I got.

Splawn Nitro EL34 - hoping for a punchier Uberschall type tone...not sure what the amp was supposed to be tone-wise. Maybe got a dud, maybe it didn't get along with any of my cabs.

 

[leib10]

Bogner Uberschall Rev Blue. Could never dial out the flub or fuzz. Both other iterations of the Uberschall are much better.

 

[davyped]

So which amp were you looking so forward to getting but from the minute you flipped on the switch it just flat out sucked? For me it would it would be the JVM410H. I know allot of guys really dig this amp but it didn't work for me at all.

same here.

Dave

 

[primerib]

cheap amp: Ashdown Fallen Angel with effect. just garbage
pricey amp: Both Mesa Mark IV's I bought. blech

 

[sinfish]

Soldano SlO

I know I am gonna get allot of heat for this. It just doesn't live up to the hype.

 

[tlingen]

Twinjet, 6534 & ENGL SE EL34

 

[AndyK]

Marshall AVT50 head. I thought it sounded good in the store!? Nope!
Marshall SL-X. Damn what bad tone!
Soldano Hot Rod - Expensive, and thin tone.
Metaltronix 1000 - Not one good sound!

 

[thenine]

surprised at the anti-Uberness in this thread. I love mine. Mine is a rev2 which may have something to do with it, I dont know. Having said that, it is isn't my only amp so when I get tired of coloring with all black crayons I play something else. I might feel differently if it was my only amp.

 

[shreder75]

Took me a while to think about this, but definitely my first Splawn Nitro!

I already owned a Quickrod before getting it, and really dug it, so I thought I had a good idea of what I would be getting. I'm one of the guys that really likes the Splawn voicing. Bought one of the first runs in 08 loaded with KT77 from a friend. Spent months fighting with it, because it was sooooo close to what I wanted, just something I couldn't dial out/in. It was like the brass ring on the merry-go-round. So close, it had to be somewhere in the EQ, boost, pups, speakers, etc... I think I kept it for about 6 months before I finally gave up.

Fast forward to 2010, and I ordered a new one with KT88 direct from Splawn. I had to try it again, because I never tried KT88 in mine, and I wanted to try the built in loop level/master vol. My first one sounded much better with some preamp volume. Out of the box, within about 5 minutes I had what I wanted out of the new one. Either the KT88 make a huge difference, something has changed in amp itself, or my tastes changed radically. Go figure.

Kt 77 = phail sauce =D had them in my QR for one whole gig and couldn't get them out fast enough =)

 

[Hollywood]

surprised at the anti-Uberness in this thread. I love mine. Mine is a rev2 which may have something to do with it, I dont know. Having said that, it is isn't my only amp so when I get tired of coloring with all black crayons I play something else. I might feel differently if it was my only amp.

Love this post. I agree.
I will say that a good amount of Uberschalls did not sound good. I have one that just smokes, ask anyone ...But like you said, a brother needs at least the primary coloring kit to keep from getting bored.

 

[leib10]

surprised at the anti-Uberness in this thread. I love mine. Mine is a rev2 which may have something to do with it, I dont know. Having said that, it is isn't my only amp so when I get tired of coloring with all black crayons I play something else. I might feel differently if it was my only amp.

The voicing doesn't jive with a lot of people. That and the huge low end. They're just weird, but that's why I love them.

 

[thunda]

Marshall Silver Jubilee. No balls.

 

[JTyson]

Marshall TSL's..... nothing good to say about them

 

[metalmaniac93]

Well I do not have any major disappointing purchases, but the Shiva EL34 gain channel is not doing for me these days. Liked it at first, but not much anymore. I know Brad listed the Engl Savage 120 as being a disappointment, but I love it for the real heavy stuff!!!

 

[thegame]

MAKO CHW (Custom 100w)

Clean - Not terrible but bland and boring
Crunch - Very good. The only channel with even a hint of sparkle
Gain 1 - Too dark with zero presence. Its like the signal was cutoff after the high mids. Noisy as hell to boot.
Gain 2 - Even worse then Gain 1

The amp's FX loop was 100 % useless, slave output not hooked up (WTF ?) and shipped without footswitch (required for FX loop - probably did some customers a favor) and no back panel. To this day I hear of Makos being shipped from the factory without back panels. Anyway the entire amp had a very 'unfinished project' vibe to it, both in tone and performance.

Strangely, construction quality (not to be confused with a great sounding circuit) was extremely high which didn't mean shit to me because the amp sounded like it.