Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: MDV on May 08, 2009, 01:10:19 PM
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Looking at anything. My powerball pleases me enough that I have plenty of time to try stuff out, but some days its not quite right, a bit glassy and stiff, precise and tight as all hell, but its got no lushness. So the amp testing begins again. Im on a mission to play every amp that looks like it might be the one that I can find.
? - denotes anywhere else you know of that the amps are in the shop.
Frontrunners so far
VH4 sounds great, merchant city, ?
Triamp imuso, ?
SE Sounds great, guitarguitar, ?
Invader same
Mesa MkII, III, IV, IV - ?
Rivera Tre sounds great, ?
Koch Johnny, pants, ?
VHT/fryette - Guitarguitar, ?
Krank - sounds great, ?
Decotone - sounds great - ?
Nitro - sounds great - ?
Ecstacy 101b - ?
Diamond nitrox - Sounds Great, ?
Savage - Sounds great?, ?
5150 III - Machine Head, ?
Elmwood - Nollys place.
Cobra - ?
Blackmore - ?
Looks like I need to pay a visit to sounds great.
You get the idea of the sort of amp this is about now. Pristine cleans to precision brutality. What else? Stick it and where you can play it on the list. Places with very high concentrations of high end metal amps much appreciated.
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as for Mesa, I would suggest the MK IV or the new MK V(I will be getting mine next week..) the II and III might not be versatile enough(II has 2 channels...III is a great metal amp..)
also consider the Road King-with the V coming out, you might could find some good deals on these used
the hunt is the fun part!!!!good luck
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My favs currently are the Marshall Kerry King, the Peavey 3120 and the Peavey JSX.
If you get a chance try the Krank Rev Jr - depending on what you're looking at you'd might be surprised.
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VHT Pittbull
Bogner Uberschall
Both @ Guitarguitar.
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Blackstar Series 1?
I watched the video for that on youtube and it does everything great!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhZCo6fuIpM
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Thanks guys, but youre sort of missing the point guys (mostly), I'm happy to recieve recommendations (except the uberschall, I dont like it, but VHT should be on there), but I cant find where to play most of these things.
Where are they?
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iMuso claim to have the Triamp in stock (http://www.imuso.co.uk/ProductDetail.asp?StockCode=EG01412)
EDIT: SORRY, being a numpty - didn't realise that iMuso was just a UK web front for a German shop, so the product is actually in stock in bloody deutschland! :lol: :roll:
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Sweet, thanks Antag.
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iMuso claim to have the Triamp in stock (http://www.imuso.co.uk/ProductDetail.asp?StockCode=EG01412)
EDIT: SORRY, being a numpty - didn't realise that iMuso was just a UK web front for a German shop, so the product is actually in stock in bloody deutschland! :lol: :roll:
But, according to the contact details on the site, they're in surrey?
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Blackstar Series 1?
I watched the video for that on youtube and it does everything great!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhZCo6fuIpM
Machinehead in Hitchin
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Well from personal experience I think the Pittbull $%&#in' rocks the socks. I got so addicted to it.
Can't wait to bring it over in the summer.
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Just phoned, surrey has them.
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Yeah, johnny, I've been wanting to play a UL and a Sig X for a while now. Wasnt too impressed with the deliverance, but it held promise for the brand - better low end handling, tighter, and it would be great.
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Yeah, johnny, I've been wanting to play a UL and a Sig X for a while now. Wasnt too impressed with the deliverance, but it held promise for the brand - better low end handling, tighter, and it would be great.
I think the Deliverance would work better with pedals. I just can't imagine how it could be good without them.
Plus this quote from (since the DAWN of time itself) the now updated website about it:
And as stomp boxes have gained more widespread appeal, you will find Deliverance amps to be pedal friendly and ultra-responsive to the many colors pedal effects produce.
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I would add Diamond Nitrox and Bogner Uebershall to the list. And obviously the Diezel Herbert!
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Ops, just saw that you don't like the Ueber *lol
What about the 101b then?
What about Soldano Decatone?
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i was going to suggest the decatone.
but the only dealer in the uk is sounds great in manc.
they might have one. but i have "b33f" wit em
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for the price of a mesa, if you don't mind 2 heads or maybe a head an preamp you could do something like a tubescreamer into a 5150II/6505+ and a fender type amp for cleans
not that I have a clue how to work this kind of setup with 1 cab,
MDV have you tried playing around with your EQ pedal before the powerball's distortion?
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Has anyone mentioned the Splawn Nitro yet?
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Has anyone mentioned the Splawn Nitro yet?
I saw that you replied and was gonna suggest some Splawnage.
I think Sounds Great has them.
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I havent tried the splawn, wasnt too fond of the herbert at all (its woofy), havent tried the 101b or the decotone. Duly added, thanks.
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if anyone knows how to hot rod a jcm 800 2205 into splawn nitro regions, let me know.
jesus plays a splawn.
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for the price of a mesa, if you don't mind 2 heads or maybe a head an preamp you could do something like a tubescreamer into a 5150II/6505+ and a fender type amp for cleans
not that I have a clue how to work this kind of setup with 1 cab,
MDV have you tried playing around with your EQ pedal before the powerball's distortion?
Not terribly fond of 5150s. They're ok, but a bit dark.
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for the price of a mesa, if you don't mind 2 heads or maybe a head an preamp you could do something like a tubescreamer into a 5150II/6505+ and a fender type amp for cleans
not that I have a clue how to work this kind of setup with 1 cab,
MDV have you tried playing around with your EQ pedal before the powerball's distortion?
Not terribly fond of 5150s. They're ok, but a bit dark.
and noisey!
you could run 2 heads to one cab if you had a stereo cab, or tonebone/radial or whatever make a switch that goes between your head and cab. its a 2x1 that switches two heads to one cab and it has some fancy switching so that in theory the unused head always has a load on it. personally... i wouldnt use it.
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if anyone knows how to hot rod a jcm 800 2205 into splawn nitro regions, let me know.
jesus plays a splawn.
Scott Splawn does! :)
Would meaning sending your amp Stateside, and it wouldn't be exactly the same, but Scott's mods are the dog's ya ya's.
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he doesnt mod marshall's anymore so im told.
i looked into it when i had the problem with my Soldano.
i was going to buy an amp direct from him because i wanted to avoid sounds great, who are unfortunetly the only importers of both manufacturers in the UK. In the end i went back to soldano after speaking to mike & bill @ soldano. Thats a reason why i'd recommend the Decatone, Soldano support is UNREAL!
I'm having trouble finding good information on 2205 mods. and shipping my amp to the US is a no no. id rather do the mods myself. this is off topic. please see my thread in the tech pages if you can heeeeeeeelp!
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Hi,
What about thinking about custom build if time is no object. Maybe Martin at MJW could make you just what you need. You never know if Twinfan is about you may be to pick his brains on them. Maybe when your at sounds great. I know he likes that place.
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Well, I have an Elmwood Modena M60 I'm looking to shift. If that tickles your fancy, you can come and try it down here in Bath.
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Well, I have an Elmwood Modena M60 I'm looking to shift. If that tickles your fancy, you can come and try it down here in Bath.
Did the guy trying it out not like it?
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Well, I have an Elmwood Modena M60 I'm looking to shift. If that tickles your fancy, you can come and try it down here in Bath.
Did the guy trying it out not like it?
Yeah, he loved it, but he has to offload some of his own kit before he can afford to buy it. We agreed I'd hold it for him for a few weeks, but since he's had no luck he told me to advertise it again should I wish.
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how far are you willing to travel?
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All my thoughts on possible amps are already listed, but have you thought about replacing the ecc83 in v1 with a phillips JAN 5751? I did that to my powerball and it warmed it up alot but still maintained its tight brutallity. just a thought.....
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Thanks guys, but youre sort of missing the point guys (mostly), I'm happy to recieve recommendations (except the uberschall, I dont like it, but VHT should be on there), but I cant find where to play most of these things.
Where are they?
You're welcome to pop in anytime and play my Revolution. Heck, I'll even take you down to the factory, and you can play everything in the Krank catalog. Really.
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Custom Audio Electronics - OD100
Soldano SLO 100
Bogner Ecstasy
Diezel VH4
Mesa Mark II C+
Personally if it were my choice.. it'd be the SLO100 everytime.. play one and you will understand why, I find the Ecstasy a little dark, the Mark II C+ is cool though mate!
but it's gotta be in those amps somewhere haha.
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i'm very tempted by the Randall modular head... did you try it?
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i say vh4. its the best amp ive ever heard and ive ordered one lol
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how far are you willing to travel?
Good question. Some distances and it starts getting very expensive and time consuming. Less than 250 miles isnt a problem, so as far as the midlands, manchester, leeds, etc. Down south would be helpfull but its quite a stretch.
Thank you for the invite, copperhead, most kind, where are you?
Oh, dheim, I havent played the randall modualr, and I would rather like to. Do egnater modules fit in it (since they invented it and randall bought it from them)
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how far are you willing to travel?
Good question. Some distances and it starts getting very expensive and time consuming. Less than 250 miles isnt a problem, so as far as the midlands, manchester, leeds, etc. Down south would be helpfull but its quite a stretch.
Thank you for the invite, copperhead, most kind, where are you?
Oh, dheim, I havent played the randall modualr, and I would rather like to. Do egnater modules fit in it (since they invented it and randall bought it from them)
i found absolutely excellent the "quieter" modules (the blackface is perfect! plexi isn't bad either) but had some perplexity on hi-gain ones... the recto sucks, IMO, th eultra is not bad but i had no opportunity to try the ultraXL...
egnater modules fit in, i think, but you can just use one tone at the time (they're dual channeled). i think so, at least.
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how far are you willing to travel?
Good question. Some distances and it starts getting very expensive and time consuming. Less than 250 miles isnt a problem, so as far as the midlands, manchester, leeds, etc. Down south would be helpfull but its quite a stretch.
that's the problem, the music shops i know best on the mainland are in and around london, and then in and around edinburgh... :lol: if you're not willing to go that far, i reckon the ones you've mentioned already (judging by the ads in guitar mags) would be worth a look, sounds great, guitar guitar etc.
how much spare room do you have too? rather than spending a ton on an uber-versatile amp, it might be a better idea to buy several different amps (if you have room!)...
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Diamond Nitrox:
http://www.diamondamplification.com/DA-Product.php?ID=2
Can be had here: http://www.firstlinemusic.co.uk/product.php?brand=Diamond+Amplification
Here in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wruKdQILykI :O)
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I just remembered, weren't you aiming to get a Peters amp?
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If you come to Manchester, i'm only 10minutes from sounds great if you want to try my Egnater with matamp cab :D
Egnater modules fit randall and vise versa, but the randall head and modules are single channel so you can only use 1 channel of the egnater if you put it in the randall. Usually channel A
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Yeah jonny, buts its hella expensive for an amp I cant try out. I'm happy to go 2k+ for the right head, but not without knowing it is first.
Still loving the PB, was getting some great sounds out of it with MXR 10 band and AD9 set to be "thickening" in the loop. Still not quite perfect, though.
Thats a great suggestion, kieran, I'll try that (costs little and very easy, no reason not to)
Thanks very much for the offer adam, I might well take you up on that (I'm fairly often in manchester, went to uni there).
Thanks for the links hunter :)
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VH4 Amazing tight $$$
Invader Time el34 grind! $$$
Mesa MkII, III, IV, IV - Heres my pic! everyones going to push there amps but honestly after you tweak you will become a fanboi.
VHT/fryette - Very dry but works well for sticato stuff with some lead delay its very good for that two. (very good in a band mix)
Krank - Please dont when you considering the other options :shock:
Decotone - Amazing! i used to have this one as well Its a dark amp and doesnt cut through that well in the mix. Nonetheless in a one guitar band it works well in a 2 guitar band you might get drowned out,
Ecstacy 101b - I still want to play one of these let me know what you think if you get to try one!
All i can really comment on
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Still loving the PB, was getting some great sounds out of it with MXR 10 band and AD9 set to be "thickening" in the loop. Still not quite perfect, though.
Try a tube screamer (or 808 or so) in front, drive 0, tone 5, level 5-10 according to taste. Works wonders on high gain amps!
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If you come to Manchester, i'm only 10minutes from sounds great if you want to try my Egnater with matamp cab :D
Egnater modules fit randall and vise versa, but the randall head and modules are single channel so you can only use 1 channel of the egnater if you put it in the randall. Usually channel A
Adam, I heard that Bruce is working on a GnR module, will you get one?
:O)
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Still loving the PB, was getting some great sounds out of it with MXR 10 band and AD9 set to be "thickening" in the loop. Still not quite perfect, though.
Tried overdriving the PB. It doesnt like it.
Try a tube screamer (or 808 or so) in front, drive 0, tone 5, level 5-10 according to taste. Works wonders on high gain amps!
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^ yeah, engls don't seem to like boosts that much for some reason. my savage se seems to hate boosts through the clean and crunch 1 channel, sounds very thin and brittle (maybe i just have it dialled in very brightly, but i don't think so), it's better through channels 3 and 4, but it still doesn't really need it.
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Still loving the PB, was getting some great sounds out of it with MXR 10 band and AD9 set to be "thickening" in the loop. Still not quite perfect, though.
Tried overdriving the PB. It doesnt like it.
Try a tube screamer (or 808 or so) in front, drive 0, tone 5, level 5-10 according to taste. Works wonders on high gain amps!
It's not really overdriving. With drive on 0 the most you do is take out lowend from the signal hitting the amp. Tightens up the lows and you can dial in more bass on the amp or depth in the power stage. I have very good experiences with it on most amps with high gain, if mushy lows are the issue.
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Thank you for the invite, copperhead, most kind, where are you?
Chandler, AZ, USA
Krank is in Tempe, AZ, USA
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Oh actually, while we're talking Britain:
Orange Thunderverb 200 is supposed to get pretty heavy.
Cornford MK50II? Maybe too saggy ...?
Marshall JVM410?
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^ yeah, engls don't seem to like boosts that much for some reason. my savage se seems to hate boosts through the clean and crunch 1 channel, sounds very thin and brittle (maybe i just have it dialled in very brightly, but i don't think so), it's better through channels 3 and 4, but it still doesn't really need it.
You have a Savage SE? :O Show me pics man!
Thank you for the invite, copperhead, most kind, where are you?
Chandler, AZ, USA
Krank is in Tempe, AZ, USA
LOL, MDV is in the UK I think over the ocean is a bit far for him.
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Well...y'know, if you're ever in the neighborhood.... :D
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Still loving the PB, was getting some great sounds out of it with MXR 10 band and AD9 set to be "thickening" in the loop. Still not quite perfect, though.
what be these "thickening" settings on the AD9?
I thought delay wasn't good for tightness or is that just reverb?
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If you come to Manchester, i'm only 10minutes from sounds great if you want to try my Egnater with matamp cab :D
Egnater modules fit randall and vise versa, but the randall head and modules are single channel so you can only use 1 channel of the egnater if you put it in the randall. Usually channel A
Adam, I heard that Bruce is working on a GnR module, will you get one?
:O)
Haha! Doesn't really sound like my kinda thing but i'll have to hear it first :)
I'm sure Jonathan will get one though!
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Still loving the PB, was getting some great sounds out of it with MXR 10 band and AD9 set to be "thickening" in the loop. Still not quite perfect, though.
what be these "thickening" settings on the AD9?
I thought delay wasn't good for tightness or is that just reverb?
Barely using it, basically. Low time, low repeat, low level and if you tune it in right it repeats a sound just enough that it adds to the sound as you play it, and doesnt step too much on the next note. Actual settings vary with song tempo.
It does detract from tightness like that, yes. Not a hell of a lot, but it does. Better for solos, though.
If I'm in the area, copperhead, I'll be sure to drop by :)
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EVH 5150 III in Machine Head Music in Hitchin. I've played it through an Orange 2 x 12. It's incredible. So much punch and clarity.
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EVH 5150 III in Machine Head Music in Hitchin. I've played it through an Orange 2 x 12. It's incredible. So much punch and clarity.
+1 really liked that amp, played it with its 4x12 cabinet very good :) they also have one at mansons....
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Thanks for the new additions guys, and nolly, might do, yeah. Dunno when or anything, if at all, but many thanks to all that have offered to let me try out there gear :D (The invitiation is of course returned if you ever want to swing by cumbria and test out any of my stuff :))
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Maybe you should add the Randall Nuno.
Comes under 1,500.
http://www.funkymunkymusic.com/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=1186
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Engl Blackmore is a great amp too and yet more versatile then you guys propably think. At least I thought that way before I played it. I love that amp because its so honest and in your face.
I guess its pretty close to a savage but less expensive and has a lot less knobs.
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I like knobs though
Wait that doesnt sound right...
I need to add the cobra to the list too. Apparently a pernickety git of an amp, but great cleans and can get seriously in your face.
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You might as well have a UK Road Trip to try all these amps out. I'll come with :P
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I'm widening the search -
Rack gear is now in. Start with pres, I can use those through the PBs power amp.
I'll begin
E530
E570
Triaxis
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You could have the ENGL power amp too if you want to get both and stick with ENGL :P
The Special Edition rocks.
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I have no allegence to engl. I just like some of their amps. Not fussed about sticking. Would be happy to mix and match for tones sake.
Just looking at the specs of the mkV
It looks awesome. So very very awesome. I hope it sounds as good.
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^ that it does!!!! :o
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All this amp, power amp, pre amp is getting me wanting to buy stuff :(
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I'm widening the search -
Rack gear is now in. Start with pres, I can use those through the PBs power amp.
I'll begin
E530
E570
Triaxis
i had a 530, but sold it...
in the end i preferred veeeeery much the bugera!
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Bugera!!!
Say it ait so!
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engl mustn't have t3h s0ul of valves...
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Bugera!!!
Say it ait so!
Check your PM.
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engl mustn't have t3h s0ul of valves...
well, it sounded not much better and thicker than a metal zone... definitely NOT like a powerball. don't let the engl name fool you...
- just for general information... i've played mesa, marshall, peavey, engl amps, and the best - and more versatile - tone i've ever had comes from my cheap, stupid, plasticy chinese toy amp for dumb kids. that costs less than the engl pre and rocks the sh**t out of it with eyes closed. it's not THE sound i dream of, but it's closer. name, tradition, legend... all bulls**t. what counts is just TONE)
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i was only joking, that was bugera's slogan at the start (maybe still is). I remember all the HC chaps took the piss mercilessly out of it (with good cause). :)
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Any progress MDV?
Are you gonna give a super duper whopper big ass massive report on the amps that were good ignoring the ones that were plain as shite?