Guitar Amp Question

[kiwigeo]

It's time to buy an amp for my recently acquired 98 Fender Strat. I used to have a borrowed Fender Twin reverb back in the 70's and would really love to own one again.

I'm looking at the reissued '65 black face twin reverbs. Does anyone have one or has anyone played through one? Reviews Ive seen of the unit are generally good although some people have retubed them with original tubes and also upgraded capacitors and other components.

[needsmorecowbel]

How do you like the guitar Martin? It always played well through a Hughes and Kettner Statesman - like a 20 watt valve amp made in Germany. They don't set you back much over $1300. I can link you to a video of your guitar played through that.

Stu

[kiwigeo]

Whats not to like about a Fender Strat? I just wish I had more time to play the thing. Yes put up the link and Ill check it out thanks.

[MBP]

I accidentally sent you a PM instead of replying to this thread.

Here it is.


Hi Martin,

I think the build quality of the current fenders and marshalls is not real great with PCB mounted pots, jack sockets and valve sockets etc etc

You are lucky that South Australia has one of it not the best fender cloner (Not so much a clone more of an improved version that is customisable). I will PM you his email address, he does not have a website but I have never heard a bad word about Barry or his amps.

I think for what you get (point to point wiring, unreal customer service and great australian amp) it will surprise you price wise. I think it would probably be cheaper than the fender anyway.

Lucas Miles could also be another option but is in Vic. http://www.lucasmiles.com.au/categories ... ge-Series/

Another South Australians is Andrew Neale, as far as I know he doesn't have any standard models and just does custom work, which is very highly regarded. He's prices are great and is very knowledgeable all things amp wise.
http://www.amplifiers.com.au/index.html

Dave Ulbrick is another very well regarded amp builder. He doesnt do a Twin clone (All of his standard models are his own not based on anything in particular) but has a few models and does custom work. He has a new model out the DV30/60. I was going to buy a DV30/60 but didnt have the spare money at the time. inquiries_ulbrick@hotmail.com

I would take any of these over a new or vintage fender. As far as I know the reissues do not actually follow the same schematics as the originals.

These amp builders do it tough with all the cheap imports and kits available so it makes sense to me to support the small builders who like small scale luthiers supply a better product usually for less.


Hope that helps


Also I left out a few people that could be of interest.

George Evans amps, a victorian based partnership with a 30 and 50 watt model. They have some great clips on the site.
http://www.georgeevans.com.au/index.php

Then there is Pete Reynolds (reynolds-valveart) in Sydney. He has a 50 watt two channel amp that has fender and early marshall tones and the JFR25 which is a 25 watt reverb amp. Unfortunately there is about a year waiting list on this amp and its about 4k.

There is also Ivan Richards who has been doing it for a long time. He has a few models and also does custom work. Very good prices and an awesome reputation. He would be my top pick I think. http://www.ivanrichards.com/amps.html

And finally there is the BJ amps. They have 3 models but also do custom work like everyone else. They may even be the best bet price and waiting time wise. As far as I know they are one of the few full time makers. They have a model called the dream reverb, I think out of their models that is closest to what you want. http://www.bjamplifiers.com.au/

There are more makers that could do what you want but that should keep you busy for now.

[needsmorecowbel]

I knew a guitarist studying music at art school and he went through four of those fender deluxe amps in a year. Think he gave up after four haha.

[P Bill]

+ 1 for BJ Amps. John is a valve amp wizard, among other things.
He designed and organized the production of my onboard preamp circut boards and an off board prototype.
My eubs don't sound piezo at all, just big and rich. Very quick turn around and easy to do business with.

[Bob Connor]

I've got a Hot Rod Deluxe that I've had for about ten years which I'm quite happy with. Before that I had a Bassman '59 reissue which probably sounded better than the Deluxe but it had no master so you just turned it up loud to get a bit of ovedrive. Previous to that I had a Fender Super twin which was 180 watts and so bloody loud I had to take a couple of valves out of it just to tame the bloody thing.

Regards

[needsmorecowbel]

Fender in Action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3VE5R_F ... e=youtu.be - the static is just from the crappy camera mic - There is also a univibe plugged in

Amp in Action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lyntDwL ... e=youtu.be

[Nick]

I have a Fender Hot Rod DeVille (410) Brilliant amp in my opinion & even though I don't use it much now, I'll never part with it. I will say though that the original tubes didn't last long before they started crackling & so forth so a quick trip to a guy that build amps here in Chch (used to build under the name Baja) and a set of Russian tubes ( ) later and it's stayed sweet ever since.
The other guitarist in my old band used to play through an original twin, thing weighed a continental tonne but boy did it have some snot!