Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Twinfan on December 13, 2006, 02:52:43 PM
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Malcolm in my AC/DC band is looking to finally get a valve amp setup in place of his tranny Marshall combo. He's got about £600 to spend and would ideally like something new.
Any suggestions? I think a Laney GH50L would be too treble-y (I own one so I know what they sound like!) so I'm leaning more towards Marshall.
DSL50 and cheap 2x12 cab?
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Changing the power valves to 6L6's will make the amp sound darker.
But for something else maybe the ENGL Classic?
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Looks nice - but too expensive :(
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JTM 45 and cabinet?
Old JCM 800 combo or head
The new Marshall heads will do it nicely too - modern classic or whatever they are called.
Boogie DC5 combo or head
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There's always tracking down a Matamp King Street head & cab, but that might be a little over budget! ;)
The only thing that comes to mind in the single channel stakes is either a GH50 or finding a JCM800. A DSL50 would be 2nd choice.
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Why on earth would you want a new amp?
The best value amp for your purposes would be a late seventies JMP 2x12 50 Watt combo. These can be picked up for £400-500. They are much better built than mopdern Marshalls. Also if you wanted to sell it you won't lose money, unlike a new amp.
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Id reccomend the new Peavey Windsor, definetly has that old ACDC vibe going when I tried it out.
Should be under budget as well.
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JTM 45 and cabinet?
That is what I would suggest if you can find one cheap enough. It is what angus uses in the studio, I believe his to be an early one and uses KT66 power tubes tho.
EDIT: For some reason I read it as Angus style tone that was needed, Meh.
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Peavey Windsor? I'll have to check that out. New one on me...
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Not sure what the reserve is but this is currently at £350 with a day to go
Buyer must collect - Kent / South London
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mesa-Boogie-DC5-Head_W0QQitemZ220060603488QQihZ012QQcategoryZ10171QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
(http://i5.ebayimg.com/02/i/000/7d/3c/4398_1.JPG)[/url]
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The Windsor sounds pretty good from this clip - http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1467825
Before the mod sounds fine to me, sounds like it may do ACDC if you used less gain, more mids and treble.
Orange Tiny Terror? People on HC say it can get even up to 80s metal style tones with a boost, I think someone said it reminded them of a JCM800.
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ok, lets get serious for a second - why would you buy ANY other amp than what Malcolm has used all through his AC/DC career?
This one is right on the money...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Marshall-JMP-100w-Valve-Super-Lead-Model-1959_W0QQitemZ190060781958QQihZ009QQcategoryZ10171QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Remember that Malcolm generally has a cleaner tone than Angus - pretty much that 'crunch' tone where the amp breaks up when you hit the strings hard and is clean when you pick lighter.
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Single Channel Marshall
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ok, lets get serious for a second - why would you buy ANY other amp than what Malcolm has used all through his AC/DC career?
because they wish to hang on to their eardrums and don't want their fillings to vibrate outta their teeth?
:wink:
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Cranking a 100w Super Bass, as Malc does, isn't an option in the pubs we play. We could use an attenuator but what's the point?
Had a chat with our "Malc" tonight and it seems he really wants a Marshall. The branding has really hit him. Doh! At least he admits he knows nothing about amps...
I'm thinking he'll be quite happy with a DSL50 and a 1936 2x12 with Greenbacks.
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You want a 50 watt vintage plexi head, or even 100, which has more balls. You can pick up a Marshall JMP45 amp for pretty cheap as has been said +1 on that guys. Bear in mind you'll have to have a stack amp on very loud, near full as well to truly replicate the angus tone, it's utterly sickeningly loud, to the point where it burns air.
Another alternative is to buy a second hand Cornford 50 watter head and cab, it might be outside £600 but it'd be the bollocks! as they are hand made like the first original marshall heads back in the day.
later,
Ben.
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Id reccomend the new Peavey Windsor, definetly has that old ACDC vibe going when I tried it out.
Should be under budget as well.
agreed, I tried that yesterday for the first time. very nice for the price.
had a lot more gain than I expected, though!
I guess matamp would be worth a try too, for a more boutique tone, but will it be under budget?
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I think any old style Marshall will do. If you play in small clubs alot, you could also check out a Marshall Bluesbreaker. Should sound very sweet with that signature Gretsch.
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The Bluesbreaker would be great, but it's over budget and he'd need an attenuator. Would be the business though.
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The DSL will get you in the ballpark, and you'll certainly have that Marshall sound, but I'd try harder to urge him to try out some other brands.
I still highly suggest the Windsor
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Id reccomend the new Peavey Windsor, definetly has that old ACDC vibe going when I tried it out.
Should be under budget as well.
agreed, I tried that yesterday for the first time. very nice for the price.
had a lot more gain than I expected, though!
I guess matamp would be worth a try too, for a more boutique tone, but will it be under budget?
Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised with it, wasn't expecting an awful lot after the Valveking.
Really reminded me of an old JCM800, would probably sound awesome with TS-9 or Keeley modded SD-1 in front.
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if a non-master volume Marshall is gonna be too loud then get a JMP head - they're very close in tone and sound great at any volume.
a simple master volume mod on a 4-input Marshall would control the volume too and they still sound great.
a DSL is a MASSIVELY waterred down version of that tone.
:twisted:
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Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised with it, wasn't expecting an awful lot after the Valveking.
Really reminded me of an old JCM800, would probably sound awesome with TS-9 or Keeley modded SD-1 in front.
I actually didn't mind the VK either, I thought it was pretty decent for the price, but the Windsor was a lot nicer!
The VK was kind of "decent for the price", the Windsor was actually "good", regardless of price. Not amazing, obviously, and something boutique would probably have it with its tail between its legs, but yeah, it didn't deserve to be that nice, for the price.
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Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised with it, wasn't expecting an awful lot after the Valveking.
Really reminded me of an old JCM800, would probably sound awesome with TS-9 or Keeley modded SD-1 in front.
I actually didn't mind the VK either, I thought it was pretty decent for the price, but the Windsor was a lot nicer!
The VK was kind of "decent for the price", the Windsor was actually "good", regardless of price. Not amazing, obviously, and something boutique would probably have it with its tail between its legs, but yeah, it didn't deserve to be that nice, for the price.
Oh don't get me wrong, "for the price" the Valveking is in the top of it's range, and the head paired with a decent cab produced a pretty stunning sound, but if I were willing to spend that kind of money on a decent cab, I'd have saved more for a decent head as well.
I did consider at one point getting hold of one the 212 combos and just using the poweramp with my H&K Access actually.
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Why on earth would you want a new amp?
The best value amp for your purposes would be a late seventies JMP 2x12 50 Watt combo. These can be picked up for £400-500. They are much better built than mopdern Marshalls. Also if you wanted to sell it you won't lose money, unlike a new amp.
I second this - I have a JMP 50 head & 4x12 cab (with 25 watt greenbacks) both 1970's & they sound mint! definitely got the AC/DC vibe!
cost wise the cab is a bit bruised but cost me £500 for the pair
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Oddly this was the amp used on the first few AC/DC albums.......
If you want a 70s rock sound get a 70s rock amp.
Incidentally the build quality of that era of Marshalls is a lot better than that of modern Marshalls. The most expensive components in an amp are the transformers and speakers, and this is wear many manufacturers make savings. The stack in the OT of a 70s 50 watt Marshall is the same size as a Fender Twin transformer! The same cannot be said for the modern Marshalls (or indeed many other cheaper amps).
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Oh don't get me wrong, "for the price" the Valveking is in the top of it's range, and the head paired with a decent cab produced a pretty stunning sound, but if I were willing to spend that kind of money on a decent cab, I'd have saved more for a decent head as well.
I did consider at one point getting hold of one the 212 combos and just using the poweramp with my H&K Access actually.
Ah, I think we're talking at crossed purposes, lol- I tried the Valveking 50 watt combo! I agree though- I'd rather have a quality combo, than a cheap halfstack. You get better bang for the buck with combos, normally, if budget is a concern
I also agree with the guys mentioning 70's amps- I guess if you want the ac/dc tone, get what they actually used... if you can find them, lol.
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Not that anyone will be interested - i just wanted to show em off! :D
(http://myspace-046.vo.llnwd.net/01491/64/08/1491218046_l.jpg)
Strangely I wouldn't even class myself as a big AC/DC fan! :twisted:
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nice Marshall mate - that's gotta be a '75 or '76 JMP head, right? - is it a 50w too?
if you ever decide to sell that baby, I've got first refusal :D
:twisted:
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nice Marshall mate - that's gotta be a '75 or '76 JMP head, right? - is it a 50w too?
if you ever decide to sell that baby, I've got first refusal :D
:twisted:
'76 50W & I'll keep that in mind, however I'd only sell it if there was no other option, I'd rather sell a kidney first to make the money! Just need some decent pickups in that SG special & it would be epic! Still my BK'd Les Paul copy sounds fantastic through it!