clean amps

[Jonesy]

So then, ive been looking at the Fender 57 twin, Fender 65 twin 40th anniversary and a Hiwatt custom 50.
 Bsaically, which of these is generally seen as the best for crystal clean tones. No drive needed...its all  about clean from this amp.

Any othe suggestions would also be welcome :lol:

Also, what does the whole 'Blackface' thing mean?

Thanks...

[maliciousteve]

Mesa Lonestars are surposed to have great clean tones according to John Petrucci.

Another great clean amp is the Roland JC120. Which is a solid state clean amp with built in chorus. Surposed to be one of the greats. But if you're going for a tube clean then it may not be your thing.

[Jp.]

Black face refers to a different time period in fenders history.

I'm not 100% full bottle on it. ask Crazy Gra he seems a bit more knowledgable on these things.

[Skybone]

Both HiWatts & Matamps have a really great reputation for nice clean tones (and an awesome reputation for not so clean... ;) ).

[Searcher]

I love Vox clean tones.  Can't be beaten IMO.

[sambo]

i second the vox cleans...

tried an AC30 a while ago... oh my... cleans were absolutely lushious.

[HTH AMPS]

The AC30's clean tone is really nice but it has very little clean headroom - if you want to gig with this and have it stay clean, I would not recommend an AC30.

The Hiwatt is fairly clean but you'll want an older 4-input DR103 for the best clean tone AND they pretty much don't sound right unless you have a Fane-loaded cab.

A '57 Twin wouldn't be my first choice for clean - tweed Fenders are great for raunchy crunch tones, just not loud and clean.

The king of kings for clean surely must be the '62 Blackface Reverb 2x12 combo.  This amp will stay clean right up to 6 or 7 on the volume scale where it will be silly-loud.

An older non-master volume Matamp would be a good choice too, they have a VERY nice clean tone - they still make this amp too so you don't necessarily need to go vintage.

 :twisted:

[sambo]

ahhh i wouldnt know about that- didnt have the chance to play it very loud at all... bummer. thanks for the heads up HTH

[froglord]

Depends what sort of clean you want.

Generalising hugely, I'd say:

Roland JC-120 = Crystalline (I find them soulless and clinical)
Vox AC30 = Jangly
Fender = Rich and juicy
Matamp = Thick and crisp

I was playing clean blues on the Minimat earlier on, with some extra treble from the RC Booster. Lovely. Just lovely.

[sambo]

ill second the vox's jangly-ness

[Crazy Gra]

Also, what does the whole 'Blackface' thing mean?

Thanks...

I'm no expert but I know this to be fact..............

Blackface, the colour of the face plate (behind the knobs) also revered (by the Fenderazzi) for being the last great amps built at Fender before CBS started cost cutting. After blackface came silverface (apprx '67 through the '70's) and ppl often buy silverface amps (they're cheaper on the vintage market) and have them "blackfaced" that is, rejigged to blackface spec, which is apparently not hard. I believe that Fender made a particular botch of the twins (or was it the bassman?) in the 70's, they kept upping the power 'til they got to 135w I think, but losing tone (or so I'm told).

JMHO, Personally I like the vibroverb or super reverb for clean (alright, alright so I admit it, I like SRV) but they are "only" 40 watters but P.A.'s fix all that problem.

Cheers,

[Searcher]

A '57 Twin wouldn't be my first choice for clean - tweed Fenders are great for raunchy crunch tones, just not loud and clean.

Really?  I remember cranking a friend's Twin pretty loud and according to my memory it stayed very clean.  Are there different types of Fender Twins?  Maybe that would explain it.  I'm no Fender amp expert.

[froglord]

I remember cranking a friend's Twin pretty loud and according to my memory it stayed very clean.

That was my understanding, too. HTH, are you sure you're not thinking of the Fender Champ?

[Jonesy]

There are twins from a few different eras...trheres a 57', 6'5 and another one i think.

[Jamieh]

I use a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe.

I find the clean channel is gorgeous! It has a very very nice jangle to it. The only thing that I am not over keen on is that it is actually a tad too clena so I tend to drive it a bit further by running a pre-amp booster before the amp thus driving the input stage a bit more. Just slightly, but it allows for a bit more flexibility and bite when picking hard it just, but only just, starts to break up!