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The king of combo amps

Joined
Feb 27, 2003
Messages
110
I was wondering what you guys think about what is the best combo. My personal favs (having played neither, but just fantastic specs, and based on word of mouth) is the vox ac30 and an orange ad30. what do you guys think are the best? and also, which one would you guys pick out of those two brand new, the ac30 or ad30 and why?
 

SG Johnny

New member
Joined
Jan 10, 2003
Messages
832
An origianal Marshall bluesbreaker would be my choice for king.

I can't think of a combo that has be lusted after over the years like the BB.

Tweed Twin would be second and Vox AC30 would be my third choice.
 

klatuu

New member
Joined
Jan 2, 2005
Messages
207
I would try a Tophat if I was going for Vox tones, IMO they have a greater complexity of tones. If I was looking for a channel switcher I would opt for a Bogner Shiva, due to it's great clean channel and very good OD channel. Both are "relatively" mid cost as opposed to other boutique amp companies, and are extremely well built.
 

gmann

Well-known member
Joined
May 26, 2003
Messages
6,147
Combo amps? tweed Bassman. Since I can't afford an original I bought a Victoria 4X10 and love it. Two of my buddies have originals, My Victoria blows one away, much to my buddies dismay, and it sounds damn near as good as the other one. A tweed Bassman is a great all around amp for damn near any application except metal IMO.
 

DrRobert

Les Paul Forum Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2003
Messages
6,050
While I love my tweed bassman, it's not the top of the heap around here. I've never owned a real Bluebreaker. A vintage AC30 ways 80#? which make it a problem for portability although they sound absolutely killer. I think the Bassman is a better sounding rock amp than the Tweed Twin. Even though the others are worth a lot more, I think the BF Deluxe Reverb or Vibrolux Reverb are the most flexible/useful amps out there...
 

smoking guns

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Joined
Sep 5, 2003
Messages
588
I have been playing Orange exclusively for 3 years now - amazing tone - go play them both - you decide
 

Joe Ganzler

Active member
Joined
Jul 18, 2001
Messages
6,911
That's easy - one of these:
1904_p34681.jpg

1904_p27323.jpg


These two have continually "made the cut", LONG after my '60 Tweed Bassman, '57 LP Tweed Twin, and BFDR have gone down the road (Among others). What's amazing to me (and rarely talked about) is the GREAT clean tones you can get out of a BB combo too; in short, I've found that I can get ALL of the tones of the above-mentioned "holy grail" amps and MORE with either of these BB combos. . .
 

mkg

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Joined
Apr 25, 2004
Messages
233
Ditto Dr. Robert, especially the BFVR. Used my '66 on a gig for the first time the other night (had been keeping it at home, using the SFVR for gigs).
Pretty big room, great PA and soundman, amps mic'ed (as usual).
IMO there's not a sweeter, more versatile combo than a BFVR, especially with humbuckers.
I set amp volume at about 5 and used my LP Studio to control volume. It was a breeze to go from clean and punchy r&b to Stones-type r&r snap and snarl.
 

Joe Ganzler

Active member
Joined
Jul 18, 2001
Messages
6,911
sickboy79 said:
Tweed Bassman, hands down.

Yeah, my Tweed Bassman was a nice amp - could NOT hold a candle to either of my Marshall BB's however. Owned all three AND a '57 LP Tweed Twin side by side for two+ years. . .No tweeds left in da' HOUSE!
 

DrRobert

Les Paul Forum Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2003
Messages
6,050
ScreamingTrees said:
Hey Joe-
What do ya mean by "LP" Tweed Twin?

Low Power-the classic tweed twin with the dual rectifiers and two 5881s. Great rock machine-very similar to the tweed bassman with the 212 Jensens...
 

Michael Minnis

Active member
Joined
Feb 12, 2004
Messages
1,597
Best combo for what styles of music? Only rock? Jazz? Country? Blues? R&B? Funk? Fusion? I'm assuming rock.
 
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eliot323

New member
Joined
Dec 23, 2004
Messages
86
I'd like to propose the little known Cornford Hellcat combo - 2*12 Vintage 30s, EL84s, 35 watts, reverb, foot-switchable modern and vintage channels, point to point wired. It's a gem!

eliot323
 

professor

New member
Joined
Jul 22, 2001
Messages
4,889
For a Marshally vibe, I'd say the Aiken Invader combo... with a three-knob reverb and a great attenuator, it is a wonderful, versatile gigging amp...!
 

Brownsound

Les Paul Froum Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2005
Messages
1,322
I keep hearing nothing but raves about the Bad Cat amps. They are somewhat spendy but Im told the sound is not to be believed
 

Gitfiddler

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 25, 2003
Messages
1,194
What, no Boogie lovers out there?!
Man, I can tweak my MkIV to get almost any sound out there.
OK...it does take time, but if it is to be "the king of combo amps" it better be one supremely versatile mother.
 
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