Who makes an under 30W head that REALLY sounds like a Plexi!?

[Pat Boyack]

I lament the loss of the time when one could gig a good old plexi. Nothing sounds like them. Output section overdrive and Celestion speakers! I moved to small Fender tweed combos years ago after losing the great volume war.

I was using a 20watt Cornell Plexi 18/20 at a rock club here in town and the sound man asked me to turn down. A 20watt amp was too much? No wonder RnR is dead......

 

[CK6]

I was using a 20watt Cornell Plexi 18/20 at a rock club here in town and the sound man asked me to turn down. A 20watt amp was too much? No wonder RnR is dead......

You need to hire you’re own sound guy!

 

[Weaseldust]

And I mean REALLY sounds like a plexi. Not kind of lol… I have had many vintage plexis through the years, 50 and 100 watters. And I still have my early ‘69 100W superlead… In the last year or so I have tried to find a smaller and lighter amp that can get that sound. I bought Cerisatone 4Xel84, hand wired 20W, JTM30, Origin, Friedman Runt and Friedman Pink taco… The Pink taco gets close but there’s no getting around that EL84s just don’t do it… Has anybody yet invented something that will get me what I want but is small enough to sit on a 1x12? And when I say sounds like a vintage plexi I don’t want any of that fizzy buzzy stuff that you inherently get from EL84s… sweet and harmonic is the ticket… I don’t care if it’s $200 or $2000 I’m open to anything… What say you!

Marshalls in the 20watt category, with el34 ... That plexisound you think of is by the way equally due to speakers ... You need some old celestions, and then you start tweaking...a eqpedal in the effectsloop is very helpful. Or just go in throug the return of the effectsloop with your guitar a skip the preamp...try it. Buti like to do it with only an eq by itself in the loop...try setting it up the exact opposite of the settings ju have on the amps lowmidhigh. Its really cool and can sound reaaaally good...you need tweak and listen, listen listen

 

[renderit]

Around 5 minutes in when he talks aboot the ghosting you get your plexi cobbed.
It works at low volumes on any amp I put it through (with some adjustment for the amp type).
I use it on everything but particularly on my 65 Deluxe simply because I can get most everything I want with the drive and this amp.

I hear Plexi.

 

[Don]

Around 5 minutes in when he talks aboot the ghosting you get your plexi cobbed.
It works at low volumes on any amp I put it through (with some adjustment for the amp type).
I use it on everything but particularly on my 65 Deluxe simply because I can get most everything I want with the drive and this amp.

I hear Plexi.

I should not have watched this video!

 

[DonnRowe]

the Origin pedals are really good!

 

[IMMUSICRULZ]

There is a company called Lerxst that makes some pretty good 15W and 30W head amps. They're run by Alex Lifeson of Rush, who uses them both in the studio and on tour along with his Marshall amps.

But if you want an old skool 15 watt amp, just get a Vox AC15.

 

[garywright]

 

[Mr. Papa]

Any love for the Budda Superdrive 18 or 30 for this purpose?

 

[jb_abides]

I should not have watched this video!

Ditto. Thanks @renderit

More green birds take flight away from my nest ...

 

[Tim]

Not cheap but ordering the Germino Lead 35... spoke at length with Greg on the phone and it sure sounds like what Im looking for. More power and volume than a 20 watter but definitely more manageable volume than a 50.... And he can put it in a 20" headbox so size and weight will be less than a full size 50.... I love that its the exact same circuit (68/69 plexi) as his 55 model but with a change in transformers he was able to lower the wattage without affecting tone... and I will get the PPI master installed which can be completely bypassed but if I need to bring down the volume a bit its there just in case... A four month wait, but time flies so looking forward to it...

Thanks again for the suggestions!

Ed, did you get your amp? Just wondering if you found plexi sound under 30 watts...

 

[Mr. Papa]

I can't help but wonder if any of the plexi pedals out there would do a good job through a low watt clean amp? Like the Marshall Bluesbreaker or the dozen other clones? I have a Gov'nor that does a great JCM800 sound.

 

[CK6]

So Ed… thoughts on the Germino?

 

[Any Name You Wish]

I should not have watched this video!

I also should not have watched this video. Geezzz, just when I thought I had it figured out too.

In my humble experience, and note that I have never played through a plexi dimed but have pushed my '59 Bassman up there plenty, something gets lost when you go below say 45-50 watts. The sound the OP is striving for may be beyond 20-30 watts. In that video demonstrating "ghosting" I think that might be it. It's the high power X-factor. It is also the land of permanent hearing loss. It is like The Ring "my precious" or Smack or that smokin hot girlfriend I had in college. You can get it, but you'll pay dearly.

 

[TM1]

What about the Marshall Astoria Custom? Got one and run an Origin Revival Drive through the loop! The Astoria also has a great effects loop and a 20db boost circuit

 

[Cliff Gress]

I put a Greenback in my SV20 cab. Nice improvement.

 

[Any Name You Wish]

I just picked up a lightly used Origin Effects Revival Drive off reverb. I'll do a full report soon. Get one and a Fender or Marshall tube amp with lots of clean headroom and you will find the holy grail, even at home studio/bedroom volumes. This thing actually works. It is bizarre.

 

[Tim]

Ed seems to have left the building, hope he is doing well.

 

[Wizard1183]

And I mean REALLY sounds like a plexi. Not kind of lol… I have had many vintage plexis through the years, 50 and 100 watters. And I still have my early ‘69 100W superlead… In the last year or so I have tried to find a smaller and lighter amp that can get that sound. I bought Cerisatone 4Xel84, hand wired 20W, JTM30, Origin, Friedman Runt and Friedman Pink taco… The Pink taco gets close but there’s no getting around that EL84s just don’t do it… Has anybody yet invented something that will get me what I want but is small enough to sit on a 1x12? And when I say sounds like a vintage plexi I don’t want any of that fizzy buzzy stuff that you inherently get from EL84s… sweet and harmonic is the ticket… I don’t care if it’s $200 or $2000 I’m open to anything… What say you!

No one. A plexi tone comes from 4x12 or 8x12 and cranked.

 

[Tim]

And I mean REALLY sounds like a plexi. Not kind of lol… I have had many vintage plexis through the years, 50 and 100 watters. And I still have my early ‘69 100W superlead… In the last year or so I have tried to find a smaller and lighter amp that can get that sound. I bought Cerisatone 4Xel84, hand wired 20W, JTM30, Origin, Friedman Runt and Friedman Pink taco… The Pink taco gets close but there’s no getting around that EL84s just don’t do it… Has anybody yet invented something that will get me what I want but is small enough to sit on a 1x12? And when I say sounds like a vintage plexi I don’t want any of that fizzy buzzy stuff that you inherently get from EL84s… sweet and harmonic is the ticket… I don’t care if it’s $200 or $2000 I’m open to anything… What say you!

Hey Ed, don't know if you're still around, but I find it curious that you don't like EL84's and yet Jimmy Page, who is your guy, always seems to have an AC30 in the mix from the videos I've seen. Maybe he figured out a way to get rid of the buzziness or only uses it clean. Would love to hear your thoughts on that.