Desert Island Amp (Money's No Object)

Desert Island Amp (Money's No Object)

  • Bogner Ecstasy

    Votes: 10 12.3%
  • Diezel Herbert

    Votes: 9 11.1%
  • ENGL Special Edition

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Friedman BE-100

    Votes: 14 17.3%
  • Fryette/VHT Pittbull Ultra-Lead

    Votes: 6 7.4%
  • Marshall JCM 800 Master Volume 2203

    Votes: 7 8.6%
  • Mesa Boogie Mark IIC+ DRG

    Votes: 13 16.0%
  • Soldano SLO

    Votes: 14 17.3%
  • Wizard Modern Classic II

    Votes: 10 12.3%
  • Other (Please specify below)

    Votes: 24 29.6%

  • Total voters
    81

ChurchHill

New member
OK, so I'm really just curious... if you could only have one (or maybe two ;) ) amps, regardless of cost, what would your "desert island" amp be?

While I know what I'd pick (at least today), and I am interested in what everyone would pick, I'm wondering if there are some amps that I really should know about but don't... yet.

So, what's your pick? I've added a few of my top contenders to the poll, but with only ten options, there's not room for everything. To flesh this out a bit, I'll add some other models below. I've tried to keep this in alphabetical order...

Post your answers here!! And I know I'm missing a ton of stuff, so let me know!! :)

1 Bogner (Ecstasy, Helios, Shiva, Twin Jet, Uberschall)
2 Diezel (Hagen, Herbert, VH4)
3 ENGL (Artist Edition, Invader II, Savage 120, Special Edition)
4 Friedman (BE-50D, BE-100, Butterslax, JJ, Smallbox)
5 Fryette/VHT (Deliverance, Sig:X, Pittbull CLX, Pittbull Ultra-Lead)
6 Marshall (1959 Super Lead, 1987 Lead, 2203 Master Volume, 2555 Silver Jubilee)
7 Mesa Boogie (Dual Rectifier, Mark IIC+, Mark III, Mark IV)
8 Soldano (SLO)
9 Wizard (MTL, Modern Classic I, Modern Classic II, Vintage Classic)
10 Other (Ampeg, Cameron, Fender, Fortin, Framus, Hiwatt, KSR/Rhodes, Orange, Rivera, Splawn, Vox, etc.)
 
I have them.....

1) Henning Cherry Bomb
1a) Mesa Mark IIC+


With those two amps I can cover just about every tone I could ever want :rock:
 
Wizard.

Edit: KSR ARES added. This friggin amp rocks :rock: :rock: Jusr fired it up after a while not playing it, and it simply crushes.
 
Cameron CCV. Then add a good EQ pedal and a few other drives or gain pedal and there isn’t much it can accomplish.
 
KSR Artemis II

It does everything for me, I love every channel and the features and options give it SO many great sounds. I could not see ever see it leaving my studio. So many great ones though...
 
A good acoustic since I don't have any power on the desert island!

I'm not doing this right am I.....
 
rstites":1qbak7zl said:
A good acoustic since I don't have any power on the desert island!

I'm not doing this right am I.....
LOL!! Well, just for the sake of argument, let's say that it's a well-equipped desert island, complete with a large climate-controlled practice space and plenty of solar power... ;)

And just for the sake of curiousity, which acoustic?? Gibson, Martin, Taylor?? ;)
 
ChurchHill":1rq568b4 said:
rstites":1rq568b4 said:
A good acoustic since I don't have any power on the desert island!

I'm not doing this right am I.....
LOL!! Well, just for the sake of argument, let's say that it's a well-equipped desert island, complete with a large climate-controlled practice space and plenty of solar power... ;)

And just for the sake of curiousity, which acoustic?? Gibson, Martin, Taylor?? ;)

I only own one acoustic, a decent Seagull I picked up years ago. I'm not much of an acoustic player. It's good enough for me.

I did play an excellent all mahogany 1970's Guild about 20 years ago at a shop that I still think about. I was in grad school at the time, so funds were tight and I didn't purchase it.

Right now, I have my Soldano SLO and my Mesa MkIII. They're good enough amps for me. I haven't played several of the boutique, modded Marshall inspired amps (Wizards, Camrons, etc.) that get a lot of love around here, so I'm not really in a position to talk about them.

My core tone for the longest time was my old Marshall 2203. I loved it in a way, but honestly fought it's limitations the entire time I owned it. I watch people go on nostalgically about those, but they seem to forget how much the lack of a boost and effects loop (and even gain) are the reasons everyone modded the heck out of them.
 
Yeah, I'm not much of an acoustic player, either. :) I've got a Gibson dreadnaught, a concert Taylor, and a Taylor 12-string, but I don't play them much. I've always enjoyed 12-strings... anyway... ;)

I've always found tracing the history of things to be fascinating. So much of what we have today can be traced back to Marshall and Fender, and the first Marshalls were almost exact copies of the '59 tweed Fender Bassman. None of the circuits are that complex, but there is so much room for nuance. I have a great deal of respect for all the great amp builders that can take these same basic building blocks and turn them into something as unique as a Mark IIC+, an Ecstasy, a CCV, a Herbert, a BE, a Modern Classic, and so many others that are all instantly recognizable as their own sound.
 
ChurchHill":1do5szub said:
rstites":1do5szub said:
A good acoustic since I don't have any power on the desert island!

I'm not doing this right am I.....
LOL!! Well, just for the sake of argument, let's say that it's a well-equipped desert island, complete with a large climate-controlled practice space and plenty of solar power... ;)

And just for the sake of curiousity, which acoustic?? Gibson, Martin, Taylor?? ;)
I own Taylor nylon and steel six string acoustics, a 12 string Taylor, an old Takimine steel 6 string that was a Christmas gift from my dad when I was in like 4th grade that holds tremendous sentimental appeal (it’s a Martin knock off), but the hands down best acoustics I’ve ever played was a tie between an old Martin and an old Gibson. Both were fabulous.
 
Henning Cherry Bomb V2
Bray Modded 1959HW Reissue w/ two footswitchable LarMar PPIMVs

I'm still working on the second :D

Between those two amplifiers, there's nothing really that I wouldn't be able to cover. That would do it for me for sure.
 
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