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*WORST* BUILT/MANUFACTURED AMP?

J.D.

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Joined
May 24, 2006
Messages
10,030
The "BEST BUILT/MANUFACTURED AMP?" thread got me thinking about the problematic amps everyone seems to complain about. Worst I can think of in recent memory are the Marshall TSL heads with the funky footswitch plug and PCB construction that looks more like a PC.
 

27sauce

Active member
Joined
Jul 9, 2007
Messages
4,415
Anyone remember Rhino amps from the mid/late 90's? They were made in my hometown of El Paso Tx and sounded pretty badass. Malmsteen had a signature mode, they had a Marshall type, A Fender..l. They were really great amps but built like shit, I've only every come across a few that had never been repaired or needed repair.
 

Kris Ford

New member
Joined
Jan 6, 2007
Messages
4,003
We have a winner!!! Gonna be hard to top this piece of shit...
Picture003.jpg

"Orange" Crush 15...Looks cute, (only thing good about it), sounds like a cheap radio, some bad connection at the power source, causing it to turn on and off at will, and the sound of bacon frying here and there...
Now it has earned the title of "large coaster"...:rolleyes:
 

J.D.

Well-known member
Joined
May 24, 2006
Messages
10,030
I agree, some of these tiny, low-power (and low-priced) combos seem like a deal but man do they use the cheapest components and construction.

Sound (and built) like a cheap radio is a good analogy :)
 

latestarter

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Joined
Nov 9, 2009
Messages
4,173
My Crate Club 50 was a piece of shit. The overdrive channel was great, but it juts kept breaking down. Mark Knopfler used one apperently....bet he didn't take it on tour!
 

Triburst

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Joined
Feb 12, 2006
Messages
4,353
The amp tech that changed some of the caps in my JMP says that B-52's are the worst he's ever worked on. However, he also said that some Crate stuff is surprisingly good. Go figure.:wah
 

sonar

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Joined
Jan 10, 2003
Messages
3,589
The Seymour Duncan 84-50 was built like crap. The sucker developed nasty feedback issues almost out of the box and I could never get it anywhere near band levels without that nasty, screeching whistle. After months of numerous warranty work and a separate visit from a well regarded tech I gave up and traded it in for peanuts. Shortly after I heard a Duncan rep bashing the line calling it one of the worst products he ever had to work with, from design to dealer stock. I bought my Vibrolux shortly after and swore off new amps for a decade.
 
Joined
Apr 24, 2006
Messages
81
Worst built amp I ever had was an Acoustic G 100 T. You better set a prayer before every rehearsal or gig that the amp will make it through - it did not by a chance of 50-50.
 

grimlyflick

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Joined
Oct 27, 2005
Messages
1,276
Fender Prosonic.

Sounded awesome, blew up 3 times, too unreliable to gig with, and at one point even Fender UK said they didn't know what was wrong with it?!!! :rolleyes:

:salude
 

Mark Kane

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Jul 18, 2001
Messages
5,742
Stramp!! Sounded really cool. The physical design was just terrible.
 

Wookie

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Apr 15, 2005
Messages
1,267
Worst POS amp I ever owned was a early 90's grey carpet covered Fender M-80 1x12 with red knobs. Worst "distortion" sound I ever heard in my life. The clean channel was pretty decent - and REALLY clean it was.
vintage-fender-m-80-chorus-guitar-amplifier-amp_360336843288.jpg
 

access

New member
Joined
Dec 3, 2001
Messages
1,625
I've had good and bad experiences with guitar amps but the worst was with a Behringer EP2500 power amplifier.

Something happened where the amp must have started pumping DC right to the speakers. We used quality Community Speakers with the little 'fuse' designed to protect from this kind of stuff, but the power emitted was so great that it just burned right through the internal protection circuit.

The speakers caught on fire during the set and some guy then showered them (and subsequently us) with a fire extinguisher.

If you have never used a fire extinguisher it is not like in the movies where a whipped cream looking substance comes out! It is pure HELL! You can't breathe, you cant see and that white powder just fills everything.

I was scrubbing that white stuff out of my gear for weeks, and needless to say we didn't get paid for the gig after the place was evacuated for the fire. I've never tried getting a gig there since either.
 

keef

Active member
Joined
Jan 27, 2002
Messages
5,006
Worst built amp I ever had was an Acoustic G 100 T. You better set a prayer before every rehearsal or gig that the amp will make it through - it did not by a chance of 50-50.

My first amp was an Acoustic 1X15 bass combo - I started out on bass. Great sound, but it blew up twice during gigs. POS if there ever was one.
 

JRW8214@AOL.COM

New member
Joined
Aug 10, 2003
Messages
3,987
I've had good and bad experiences with guitar amps but the worst was with a Behringer EP2500 power amplifier.

Something happened where the amp must have started pumping DC right to the speakers. We used quality Community Speakers with the little 'fuse' designed to protect from this kind of stuff, but the power emitted was so great that it just burned right through the internal protection circuit.

The speakers caught on fire during the set and some guy then showered them (and subsequently us) with a fire extinguisher.

If you have never used a fire extinguisher it is not like in the movies where a whipped cream looking substance comes out! It is pure HELL! You can't breathe, you cant see and that white powder just fills everything.

I was scrubbing that white stuff out of my gear for weeks, and needless to say we didn't get paid for the gig after the place was evacuated for the fire. I've never tried getting a gig there since either.

That really sucks. I remember reading a bio on Jim Morrison years ago and he apparently broke into the studio one night and sprayed the place with a fire extinguisher. One of Robby's guitars was permenantly ruined.
 

Jurius

Active member
Joined
Sep 2, 2007
Messages
1,399
Worst amp I've ever had was a Mesa Mark III. I ordered it on reputation alone and never get a decent sound out of it. The amp was reliable but the tone sucked wether clean or overdriven.
 
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