Guaranteed to survive nuclear fallout as well as the cockroaches. I've fixed my share of Peavey on my channel, both solid state and tube... There's lots of good ones if you take the time to tinker with the tones.
@@crazeyjoe most class a amps will make you a better player. You only get what you give em. You have to have perfect accuracy and intonation to make em sound like they do in the youtube demos.
@@WilsonTheArchitect A Harley Benton 2x12 Speaker Cabinet with 2 Celestion V30 speakers, with a price just over $200. The best deal for a really good quality speaker cab. Yes, substandard speaker cabs can turn a good sounding amplifier into a tonal waste land!
@@crazeyjoe i agree. And knowing how much headroom you want or how tight you want the low end helps to choose a cab. The higher the speaker wattage the louder they get before they break up.
I own a few Peavey TransTube amps, the more I play them the more I admire the genius of Hartley Peavey. They are quickly becoming my favorite solid-state amps.
@Edd silver stripes' T.Dynamic knob.Brightens & tightens. Too bright in extreme settings for nice pristine cleans that takes pedals great.Great for heavy crunch at those.
Played a JC120 in high school in a school jazz band in the early 90's and was always blown away by how good that thing sounded, now with the aid of the internet and finding out how many albums they were used on makes feel like I had an idea of good tone back then... kinda. Great vid Cheers.
+1 Clean channel; T dynamics on 10%, crank like a tube amp. Very close to Quilter kind of simulation. Part of the resurrection comes from intheblues man Shane who adores the Red Stripe Bandit. Red Stripes still go cheap and IMHO sound a bit better than the modern bandits. ruclips.net/video/Wc4NkZUItOg/видео.html
@@stevenburvenich168 Shane Diiorio (intheblues) introduced a whole new generation to the red and silver stripe bandit models, and is almost single handedly responsible for the market value increasing from around $100 U.S. to around $200-$250 US for a nice example with the footswitch. He's since sold all of his Peavey Bandit amps and swears by the Marshall DSL40 nowadays. I've had my U.S. Red Stripe Peavey Bandit for years, and never plan to sell it. It's versatile, bulletproof reliable, sounds great and takes pedals well. Is at as good as my blackface Super Reverb? Well, honestly, no. But... it's 85% of the way there sound and feel wise for 1/10th the price. I'd be absolutely gutted if some bearded hipster spilled a PBR in my Super Reverb at a watering hole.
I could kick my dad in the ass for getting rid of his and not even offering to sell it to me lol. He had a 1995 Silver Panel Transtube series Bandit 112 and the accompanying 1x12 Extension cabinet. Still one of the loudest and clearest sounding solidstate combos ive ever heard. Side note: in high school, my buddy used that same amp and the extension, early on in a band we were in, before getting his own Marshall half stack and actually could keep up with a Marshall JCM900 SL-X 50 watt half stack I was using. Pretty impressive really
I have a silver stripe 112 and also a pacer 100. Both are very good clean and with pedals, but as he states not so good with the stock gain distortion.
Tossing in a mention of the Tech21 Trademark 60, a workhorse that got me thru a few years of club gigs a few years back. Reliability was an issue, and no one knows how to fix 'em, but I used to get compliments on my tone with that amp. FWIW...
Thanks for including the Fender Princeton Chorus on this list. I have the 90s model and absolutely love it! Best clean you can get, awesome Chorus, the overdrive is good for old stuff. I use a pedal board on the front end for my distortion etc. it also has an effects loop which is a plus for some pedals.
You nailed this list! The Fender Princeton Chorus has amazing cleans, but also makes a great pedal platform. I used one live a few times to play hard rock covers and it did fine. Also, if you're going to do a Bandit, I recommend the teal stripe from' 89. It was designed by Jim Brown, the 5150 designer.
Glenn Ritchey I still play my SS-150, bought in 1991... over the years, I’ve ‘almost’ bought a Triple Rectifier, or whatever, but my Ampeg just sounds better, period.
@@pwsmanowar yes! i have one, and it sounds crushing! The clean channel is a great pedal platform also, and the bright button brings out the metal like no other..
Glad to hear the Fender Princeton Chorus mentioned. My drummer has one and it’s a great-sounding amp. It has a nice, comfy feel to it that you can kinda lean into. Which is very different from the very tight, percussive feel I usually get from solid-state amps.
The trick with the Princeton chorus is to turn it on the overdrive channel, set the limiter high, and bring up the gain. You end up with a hot, compressed, signal. Top it off with a little reverb
great video Robert! I owned the Fender Princeton and the Peavy Bandit,so you brought back some decent mems for me.Keep up the great work and God bless!
Hey man. I recently bought an 80's Yamaha B100 II head to play bass through. It's incredibly warm sounding for solid state. A friend told me to try playing guitar through it. Oh man!! Killer clean tone and it's a fantastic pedal platform! And they sell for about $200.
I had a G50 that I picked up With a laptop at a swap meet together for $20 the laptop was completely dead and unfixable. But only the speaker was not working. I put in a 12" guitar center speaker and it sounded great. Had to pawn it though. Really miss it. Also, replaced the braided wire that connects from the terminal to the voice coil and ended up fixing the original Yamaha speaker. I put it back in before pawning it.
Thanks for including the Roland Blues Cube. I think it's one of the most underrated solid state amps these days! I have the Artist 112 with a sparkle clean tone capsule and the clean tones are Fender at it's best in my opinion but it also does the job as a pedal platform for any kind of setup. The clean tone is great when you crank it up, it reminds me of a Bassman. The factory speaker brings the best out of that amp, so there's no need to change it at all. Other great features: built in power attenuator, tremolo, reverb, second channel (which is in fact the Boss Blues Driver), Boost and Tone function for both channels and last but not least: the footswitch which regulates many of the features mentioned above! Man, this amp is soo good that I sold all my other tube amps and I had many of those! It's light and very reliable. What else do you need? I think this thing will be a classic such as the Jazz Chorus.
Man, my cousin ( who was one of the reasons i began playing music) had the Peavey Chorus 2x12. Sounded just like Lynyrd Skynyrd The Breeze and it was SOOOOO LOUD!!! And an older Native American guitarist called Joe Puff who played with a great cover band called Cream Cheese had the JC 120, that i played through a coupla times with my little pedal board in a high school band opening for them (small town!!) He was my hero when i was a teen beginner...that amp!! RIP Joe Puff.
Nice Vid! In the early to mid ‘80s I had a Marshall MOSFET LEAD 100 that was GREAT! I also just got a New Fender Tone Master Twin The is just UNBELIEVABLE!! You’d swear it was a Tube ‘65 Twin!! GREAT AMP!! Please keep up the Good Work! Love your Content!!
Just got a new Orange Pedal Baby 100 today! My first amp was a Peavey Rage. I remember pushing the hell out of it jamming with friends as a teenager. I had it for probably 20 yrs until I lost it in a hurricane.
I just found a Peavey Bandit on Craigslist near my home in CT for only 35 dollars! I called them immediately to see the hype and of course someone beat me to it. It literally sold within 20 minutes of being posted.
I was in the Castleton GC a few weeks ago for my normal Sunday and they had this 1972 Kustom 2x12 SS amp in the used section. It was so...70's. It had this sparkling red padding all over it and probably 50 knobs on the control panel. Another customer plugged into it and was just noodling around on the clean channel and I was taken aback. It really sounded good. Very full and tight with a big roomy sound. And it was less than $200. I don't know if you've ever seen these things or something like it, but I was really impressed with it. That padding though...
When I started learning to play in my church they had a Peavey Stereo Chorus 212 and that thing was already over 20 years and solid as a tank. Never gave an issue and I think it's still there.
Lol yeah man I said CR120 as soon as I read the title!! It and the JC are the only ones I use . Well, except for my old Bandit lol and it just won’t go down lol. But I wouldn’t use it live. Only EVER use the CR for dirt live. Don’t think I would record with it but I can have a good night with a CR 120.
Alex Skolnick was a big proponent of the Marshall Mode 4 amps for a while. He said they could sound terrible unless you dialed them in right, and then they were killer.
Hell Yeah, the acoustic and Sunn heads are amazing and so much potential for really loud bass affordably. I’ve been playing acoustic since I bought my first all original 1972acoustic 370 head with matching 301 cab. After working on the farm all summer as a ten year old boy all I did was save my money so I bought that whole rig out the door for a hair under $400. That woulda been 1993-94ish and before the stoner metal scene revived them. I never met another bass player who had one or even new what they were for that matter. The other bands would always ask WTF is that? It’s so loud and so clear. It wasn’t til about 2010 and on they started getting popular again which meant price goes up big time! Of all the gear I’ve collected over the years, bass and guitar, I still have my first acoustic stack and it’s my go to!! I was lucky that my old man was a blues and southern rocker in the 70’s so he was the one who talked me into getting it even though I had every intention and enough money to by the 74 Ampeg stack I had gone to buy but fate is a fickle mistress. I still thank him all the time for talking me into that amp and since the. I’ve had quite a few SVT and other model Ampeg stacks even currently but.....yeah ya dig?!!!
I used a Sunn concert lead with a Yamaha S412 cabinet for a while in the 80's, it was a remarkably good amp. Most of these amps you mention are recent ones, the best SS amp I ever used was a 200 watt Kustom Kasino stack back in the early 70's. Hard to find these days but it was my workhorse for over a decade. I just made a RUclips video about it called "What's in your backline?"
Peavey Bandit 65 - Had one in the late 80's. Two channel, great clean and fabulous distrotion channel with "tube saturation" overdrive, spring reverb and a 12" Scorpion Speaker. I think it cost around £165 new. Sold it in 1991 and regretted it ever since.
I had a Sunn Concert Lead head that was loud enough to melt your ears to mush.The great Todd Rundgren used one in 75 on the Another Live album and I love his sound.
You forgot about the Orange OR-120H. That thing is leagues above the bad rep to the Crush name that those little combos give. It's no RockerVerb or OR, but it sure does sound like an Orange.
The bandit and stereo chorus were amazing amps. My grandma used a stereo chorus up until a few years back when she got her showman restored. I helped a buddy find a bandit a few weeks ago. Such a great amp. As for the Princeton chorus and Princeton 112, they’re great clean amps. They’re clean and although the drive channel is mediocre, they’re a decent pedal platform. I’m surprised the peavey musician and standard series weren’t on the list. Those amps are clean, and they have guts. You won’t get any high gain sounds out of them, but they take pedals great and have lots of head room
I like your attitude man. Don’t let the internet get to you and you still got your opinion off for us to check out the gear later on. Truly am glad I found this channel a while back that’s somthing I’d like to work on myself
I don’t know about “perfectly,” but if you’re looking for the JCM 800 sound, the MOSFET 100 is a solid alternative at a much more affordable price point. It won’t get you all the way there, but it will get you in the ballpark.
I have the Fender London Reverb amp which has a single 12 inch speaker and a built on 5 band EQ on the face. It belonged to a friend of mine who had a band in the 80’s. They played cover tunes on weekends. He sold it to one of his roadie hands and I later bought it from him, years later. It’s a great sounding amp.
Great list you put up, Robert! They brought back a lot of memories! If I may, I would like to add an honorable mention. The Randall RG60, with the orange faceplate for the Randall logo. It was my first full size amp. I bought it with summer job earnings back in 1979 at the humble age of 16, and I later added a DOD Overdrive 250, which was my first overdrive/distortion pedal. Damn, did they sure sound great together! I should have held onto that amp and the pedal. The RG60 was rock solid and powerful, more than enough to gig with, I used it to play my first backyard parties in high school. Even today, it would do the job well.
I've still got my Line 6 Flextone II HD and matching cabinet. To this day, I still swear by the amp is o this day. I can get tones out of this amp that can match any tube amp. The bonus is being able to share and download custom models. I even have a 1970's solid state Rickenbacker Road 30, 1x15 w/horn that sounds amazing to this day as well. I had that same Peavy 2x12 as well.
Own a Fender Princeton Chorus and you're right, this is a good value. Warning, it is heavy for a small solid state amp. Great clean and decent chorus. The only thing I don't like are the cheap looking knobs.
I love the clean sound, the reverb and the chorus on the Princeton Chorus combo - so much that I brought two of them (one for by son). They sound like the new Fender Tone Masters, except they weigh much, much more. You have to forget the overdrive channel and just pretend it's not there. If you're like me and have no desire to provide the maintenance that a tube amp requires, but want the classic fender sound that this amp undeniably delivers with the reliability of a solid state , then this amp is for you.
What about the GK 250ml? It was like Eddie VanHalen in a box. A lunch box to be correct. Keith Alexander plugged his into 2 Marshall 1960 4x12 cabs for live shows and it killed. Then you could take it home and play it in a studio apartment. Still one of my faves.
Why no mention of Lab Series amps? IMO the best sounding solid state amps ever made. I used one for years until I wore it out and will buy one again when I can.
Good Call. Just happen to be moving things around. Watching the Video, Reading the Comments, and starting at my L5 in the kitchen with an Engle Thunder 50 head & a Dr. Z Z28 head sitting on top of it. CRAZY!!!😎
A few years ago I bought a ZT Lunchbox amp because I wanted something very small and portable to take to rehearsals with my band, but I still needed it to be loud enough. This amp does the job nicely...especially when I add a small (1x12) extension cab. It's very loud, nice clean tone, takes pedals very well, has a nice full range of sound when the extension cab is added.
Peavey Special 130. I've been playing these for years. Sometimes two at a time. Generally, my go-to amp. The most reliable, amps I have ever known and will go head to head with my Fender Twins.
Hey Robert. Aussie Vaughan from the Vester groups. Good video! I've found on fb marketplace, another Vester. This time, a really cool & clean SG. What a Beast! Even with dime sized pots. The guy was asking for $125 & someone wanted it, so I offered $250. Happy to pay that. Also just found a Marshall Mosfet 100 reverb twin combo for $350 Aussie money, recently. I should snap it up but I just bought a MX 60th Ann' 50s Classic Player Strat, in desert sand & Gold anodised pg, Gold hardware & I think Texas specials. Bingo. They are increasing in Value! Cheers Bro.
Peavey Bandit--yes! It's nice to see the Bandit get a little public love. :) I've been using a Bandit 65--the *same* Bandit 65--since 1983, and while not the greatest-sounding machine on the planet, it has never failed me (and back when I gigged, it never had trouble filling a small-to-medium room with sound). I admit to having become a bit spoiled since I got a Vypyr 75 a decade or so ago, and the built-in effects allowed me to tweak the sound to my heart's content, so my ol' Bandit 65 sounds quaint by comparison. But I'm using it now, in fact, because my Vypyr abruptly ceased to work, and apparently Peavey no longer answers service queries.
Best all around guitar combo amp I ever owned was a Peavey special 212. Worked for ANY gig size, including competing with an Engl half stack, which I did often. I ended up moving across the country and it was just too big to make the cut at the time, it’s the one piece of gear I regret letting go. That said, everything is even smaller and lighter nowadays, and I don’t need thrash metal power anymore lol, but that thing was a great sounding powerhouse. Nowadays I use a smattering of Quilter tiny heads and holy smokes those things are awesome.
Yep, had an L5 (BB King amp) and the L7 4x10. Both should be top of this list but not even there. Kinda hard to get hold of them now so maybe that’s it?
Watched this to see if the lab l5 was on the list. Played one in high school. I’m 58 now and just bought one this year. Regretted selling it 40 years ago but there’s one sitting in my living room right now…. Guess I’ll go play!
I have one of those mini-stacks.. Perfect for the home studio/yard parties. You could gig with this set. It will easily reach over a full drum set if you need it to, don't expect it to fill a stadium on its own though. Oddly enough as much of a Luddite as I profess to be, all of my amps are solid state at the moment. From the Blackstar Fly twin, that I use as laptop speakers that I can plug a guitar into.. to that Marshall mini-stack.. to an old Crate 35 with a huge range of built in effects. Sold off some stuff in a move about 3 years ago, got great money for my mid-60's Fender deluxe reverb silver and got silly money for my Marshall half stack. I don't perform anymore, so its not like I need the power of a big tube amp, and the new solid state stuff is really really good. I've also been watching videos by Keith at Five Watt World, and you know what? he is right. if the amp is going to be mic'd up anyway, just get the sound right and let the PA do the volume.
1My 1st jam ever, the drummer had me plug into a Peavey version of that stack and the thing kept me snug between him and his buddy running a RG-50.. A few months later I got a pawn shop L12 combo that made all my tapes sound better until had to sell it. Set now with a VS100 head I'm happy with. Played the range from daisy-chained Twins to a ME-30 through a ghetto blaster
Robert's Guitar Dungeon I think people might be surprised how many death metal bands used this amp and still use it today. That’s not my style but it does a really good job at a modern metal sound as well
I have a Peavey Renown 400. 1984 and a Peavey Classic with phaser amd reverb solid state amp i still have them both 2023 also the Roland keyboard and guitar JC amps.
Hi from England.i can't get out the house because of disability so I rely on guitar playing to keep me going. The one I like is the peavy bandit. I put a jensen speaker in it and it sounded great, as good as my valve amps.
I have a removed left wrist joint & my guitar days are over. I switched to pedal steel, which I have to play with an amputated left foot, but I can do it with the prosthesis & a finger slide over my left thumb. No, I'm not a country western guy but played it when I had to ... like Wipe Out!
i have a jc120 but i found a jc70 (with a 12) at a resale for 7 dollars and i really like that one, i did replace the speaker as it died right after i got it but , it makes more sense than getting out the 120 as i dont need all that at this point .
You’re Definitely Right about the Blues Cube Robert,I have one & you can get every sounds in it , also the Peavey Bandit ( wish I have one) they Said it’s a Poor Man!s Plexie, ,that’s what I heard ,anyway Good Choices Robert Thank You
The ZT Club 200w is a beast. Best solid state amp Ive ever heard at a live concert when I saw Of Montreal. Monster tone and sounds great clean or driven. Traynor also makes great SS stuff too, but almost no one has ever tried them. My current pedal platform is a Peavey Wiggy. It gets a bad rep from tube guys but every single person that has ever played mine wants to buy it from me. Peavey nailed the Transtube circuit.
Marshall Valvestate 50, ive had it since 2007, put in a V 30, and groove tube preamp tube. Sounds so good it really sounds close to a JCM 800. Ive recorded at least 12 songs with it. Ive also got stacks of Amps Marshalls and Oranges. my only Combo amp is the Valvestate 50
The Peavey Bandit (especially the teal stripe version) is my favorite amp I've ever owned, including my tube heads. Got it for $150 used and it's been my main amp ever since
The Fender Princeton chorus is my personal favorite SS amp. I used one for years, largely as a pedal platform, but even it's gain channel sounded good, although not as versatile as a tube amp. The chorus was excellent, and the reverb tank was really nice.
I got this "Award Session Mark II Sessionette 75 Mosfet" 2x10 (celestions). Works here since 1982 without a hickup. Great little amp. Also I had a huge acoustic 200 SS head with a 4x12 plus 2x45w horns cab. That one played a large hall like nothing with a sound like angels. ;-)
SS King is my Pearce G1 ....owned it for years and I still love it . I respect Roland, LAB,Peavey and Sunn for solid state amps produced but Pearce is the best to my ears . I have not played a Quilter yet and I have heard they are very good .
Dude-Acoustic! I have a Acoustic 134 and it’s the warmest, fullest pedal platform ever. 120 watts of clean that weighs a ton but sounds amazing. From the 70’s not the recent reiteration. Check them out. What about cabinets? So important but often ignored. If you do a video about cabs, check out Barefaced guitar cabs. Because of an innovative design these cabs are louder, offer amazing sound dispersion and a low end that will rattle your fillings. Not cheap at all but it’s the first innovation in guitar cabs since the 4x12. You can watch a very interesting demo on Rob Chapman’s or Barefaced’s RUclips channel. Love your stuff!
If you're interested check out a Yamaha B100 II. It's a bass amp but holy crap is it a warm sounding amp! I bought it to play bass through but it's been strictly for guitar as of late. I play it more than my tube amps now!
The acoustic guitar amps are great. They're bullet proof with some maintenance and they sound so good. I recently got a 230. 150 watts, and a ton of tone shaping options. Awesome pedal platform.
The Peavey Renown 212 was a good amp(had one for about 6yrs in early 90s) and for anyone not caring for the chorus a better alternative to the Chorus 212 amp. The Peavey Studio Pro 40 which I bought new in '86 is still a good solid state amp. Replaced the stock speaker with a Celestion G12M-70 in '90 and that was a huge improvement. And ten years ago or so, I rediscovered just how good the Saturation circuitry really is still today and marveled at its pioneering spirit given the era in which it was designed. And it's hard to beat the JC-120 for nice clean tones and that is why if it ever stops being manufactured by Roland, it would be a sad day. That is a timeless guitar amp.
I cut the top part of my Peavey Renown 2x12 and boxed bottom in myself and use it with a 4x12 cab and it sounds magnificent.its now a piggy back half stack custom.
Peavey XXL ,Marshall Valvestate, Hughes and Kettner has plenty, Taurus amps, Hartke gt60, Acoustic/G120, Crate too many to name, DV mark mini heads, also just found a Randall Rg 60 less than 200 built 1981.AND SO MANY VOX amps. Your list rocks too! Just honorable mentions. Also I always wanted a Randall RT503 and just found a 100 watt cheap. Any experience?
The greatest solid-state amp I've ever owned and played was made by Lab Series. I've owned a 2x12 and a 4x10. They're so good in a side by side with a tube amp, You would not know the difference.
@@JimJWalker yes and BB and Ronnie Montrose. ha, I was offered $80 for my Peavey Studio Pro 112 (red stripe) that I paid $150 for in '03. Turned that down. a move made things tight. sold it for less.
Today I purchased a fender ultimate chorus 2x12 65watt combo for $80.00. It needed a bit of cleaning in the input jack and the pots. When the seller saw I wasn't afraid to dig into it, he gave me a Princeton chorus made in USA that needs work. Nice.
Back in the day I worked in a mucisic store, I got an Acoustic stack, 4-12" in each with a 200 watt head I think, built like a tank, it had a a built in graphic EQ control, clean and loud, I got the stack because it looked cool plus is pushed some air, I don't think I ever turned it up past two, lol.
I gotta try those randallss! Also Im intrested in more peavey stuff from the 90's and more top 13 guitars you may not know about! Rock on Robert! RGD! RGD! RGD!
I can’t think of a single solid state guitar head that’s even ok let alone worth the money. However when it comes to bass heads from the 1970’s solids ruled the roost because tube bass amps was kind of a small market. You had Ampeg, Marshall, Fender. But as a life long bass player I’ve played only Acoustic370’s through matching 301 cab and even use a few of them at once. One into matches cab, one into a Sunn 4x15, and one through a Sunn 6x10 guitar cab to pick up and make a clear sound when using Overdrive wether a Big Muff or just a Boss bass overdrive, the yellow one which I used as more of a booster with everything set to zero and the level dimed. It starved the bass input signal and used the amp bass knob dimed output signal to get the low end on the output side. I switched it up time to time because I’ve amassed quite a gear collection, mostly vintage. I had a Peavy 1x15 black widow with a David Eden 4x10 on top, Ampeg early SVT 8x10 cab, and Galien-Kruger 4x10 on top a Sunn 2x18. So all those variations rocked but usually ended up with the 301, Sunn 4x15, Sunn 6x10 all with an Acoustic370 head sometimes a Sunn concert bass through the 6x10 Sunn. It depended on the size of the venue but sometimes I only used two stacks but if their was over 50 people up to 1,000 I’d use all three and used two Sunn Concert Slaves on top LOL. Keep in mind I played in a doom/sludge/stoner metal bands so si leaning loudness is just part of the ethos for that genre and scene! Also we were a power trio and the guitar player was using a Marshall JCM 800, Marshall Superbass, and an Orange AD130 each one with their respective matching cab stacks. We were a notoriously loud band. We usually never “headlined” but given a headline set time allowance so we usually went on right after the opening act and had everything back lined because we had to be on no later than 9:30 to make absolute certain we were done before 11pm which is noise cut off time a lot of towns. The show could go on til last call but the cops never got called while other bands played because they weren’t as loud, still loud, not as loud as us though. Ok now after that long drawn out digression I was getting to loudness. With solid states a good rule of thumb is you need 3-4 times the watts to match a tube amp. So say I wanted to be as loud as a 100 watt tube I would need roughly 400watts with a solid state. So in my three stack rig I used 400 watts to each one then also used the two Sunn concert slave heads which were 1,000 watts a piece that way it provided a huge low punch and didn’t get drowned in the mix by three tube guitar stax. Like I said before we just plain old liked to be the loudest By far LOL HAHAHAHA! So in conclusion 70’s solid state bass rigs ruled because you can get a lot of volume very affordably, and not have to worry about constantly spending hundreds on a tube job once before tour started and usually about 3/4 of the way through but our guitarist was pretty amp savey so he did make it the whole way on most of our tours. However to get that wattage and volume needed from a solid state guitar head is much more expensive, and no matter what it never can get that warm buttery tone that you get with a vacuum tube circuit. One trick ponies. Which was super high gain which ended up just sounding tinny, thin, and zup zup on palm mutes instead of chug chug bowng!!! Cool video though ma’man!! I can see your point. Thank you for indulging me and letting me reminisce about days gone by! #DIMEBAG R.I.P. my southern brother from another mother!!!! #acoustic370 #SunnO)))) #SlaveTheDay #SlaveAmps #SlaveToTheSludge #DoomedToBeSlaved #SolidStateAmps #Bass #dropGtuning
My first amp was a Music Man 65 212. It was a hybird amp with a solid state preamp and EL34 power tubes. Great sounding amp. Also, I have no idea how the amp sounded overall, but one of the coolest solid state amd sounds on a recording I've heard is the intro to "Gimmie Shelter". Keith Richards used a Triumph Silicon 100 with tremolo. The tremolo sounds so clipped and sharp, very different than a Fender bias or opto trem.
My first amp was a MusicMan 112 Sixty-Five. The tremolo past 5 is so great. The SS preamp is great, and was very popular in the mid-70s. Similar in concept to Vox 7 Series amps in all the English studios in the 60s.
@@RobertWJackson Quite affordable, I have two actually. If you come across one they're worth a try. Made in Germany but found two stateside. Thanks for your channel, good stuff!!
I agree with you on the Bandit...never did think much of it, even when I had it :). The only solid state amp I still own is my old Marshall Valvestate S-80. Don't know whether I got a magic one, but that thing still sounds great.
I was crazy about my Randall RG75 which came with a Celestion. What an awesome amp! I played more gigs with this Randall than all tube amps combined, including my Boogie. I just loved the punch and cut of this amp. Really had that 80s sound. Fun amp. I don't care for new Randall solid states or tube amps.
Yup , the old USA made Saint Louis Co. Crate GX 130 C is the same exact stereo chorus amp..(SLM owned both brands then) ....finding them is like needles in haystacks tho, along with the VH140 c.....I,m always on the lookout for either one in good shape, but most folk know what they are worth and what they are capable of these days ... \m/ \m/
when a bomb drops and the dust settles, all that will be left are peavey amps!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I played mine for 30 years then I gave it to my nephew. It's still rocking.
@@collintheplonker4809 thats what I mean!! I just bought the delta blues 115 ! this one will outlast me, im 65
Guaranteed to survive nuclear fallout as well as the cockroaches. I've fixed my share of Peavey on my channel, both solid state and tube... There's lots of good ones if you take the time to tinker with the tones.
I have a Peavey Pacer I bought new in 1979, still going strong. Wish I could say the same for me in general!
Weather it’s tube, solid state, digital or just plain magic, one can always make an amp sound like shit.
If it is an amp that provides lots of clarity, it will certainly expose one's playing flaws!
@@crazeyjoe most class a amps will make you a better player. You only get what you give em. You have to have perfect accuracy and intonation to make em sound like they do in the youtube demos.
Dont forget about cabinet/speakers, they can make 60% of the tone
@@WilsonTheArchitect A Harley Benton 2x12 Speaker Cabinet with 2 Celestion V30 speakers, with a price just over $200. The best deal for a really good quality speaker cab. Yes, substandard speaker cabs can turn a good sounding amplifier into a tonal waste land!
@@crazeyjoe i agree. And knowing how much headroom you want or how tight you want the low end helps to choose a cab. The higher the speaker wattage the louder they get before they break up.
I own a few Peavey TransTube amps, the more I play them the more I admire the genius of Hartley Peavey. They are quickly becoming my favorite solid-state amps.
Good amps
Peavey red stripe..15 yrs ago 👍👍 Takes all peddles like a Mofo
Crate CR65 with the combine channel in the back.
Great amps!,the transtube knobs are vastly missused,heavy af tho.
@Edd silver stripes' T.Dynamic knob.Brightens & tightens.
Too bright in extreme settings for nice pristine cleans that takes pedals great.Great for heavy crunch at those.
At the time I am posting this, there is a Mint Marshall MF350 Mode Four available on Reverb... and no I am not the seller
Yeah, and some crackhead wants $1100 for it. I paid $229 for mine. LOL
@@RobertWJackson awesome. 🎸
Played a JC120 in high school in a school jazz band in the early 90's and was always blown away by how good that thing sounded, now with the aid of the internet and finding out how many albums they were used on makes feel like I had an idea of good tone back then... kinda.
Great vid Cheers.
90's Roland Blues Cube, Tech 21 Trademark, Orange CR120, Sunn Beta Lead... I have much love for SS amps.
I’ve played through all but the Sunn but yeah, these all should be in the list
I bought my Fender Ultimate Chorus in high school (circa 96-97). It’s still the best clean amp I own almost 25 yrs later. Beautiful tone.
Get a red or silver stripe USA Peavey Bandit. That tube dynamics knob backed off on the cranked up clean channel is where the magic happens.
Made in USA Red or Silver, can't go wrong. I have both with the extension cabs.
+1
Clean channel; T dynamics on 10%, crank like a tube amp. Very close to Quilter kind of simulation. Part of the resurrection comes from intheblues man Shane who adores the Red Stripe Bandit. Red Stripes still go cheap and IMHO sound a bit better than the modern bandits.
ruclips.net/video/Wc4NkZUItOg/видео.html
@@stevenburvenich168 Shane Diiorio (intheblues) introduced a whole new generation to the red and silver stripe bandit models, and is almost single handedly responsible for the market value increasing from around $100 U.S. to around $200-$250 US for a nice example with the footswitch. He's since sold all of his Peavey Bandit amps and swears by the Marshall DSL40 nowadays. I've had my U.S. Red Stripe Peavey Bandit for years, and never plan to sell it. It's versatile, bulletproof reliable, sounds great and takes pedals well. Is at as good as my blackface Super Reverb? Well, honestly, no. But... it's 85% of the way there sound and feel wise for 1/10th the price. I'd be absolutely gutted if some bearded hipster spilled a PBR in my Super Reverb at a watering hole.
I could kick my dad in the ass for getting rid of his and not even offering to sell it to me lol. He had a 1995 Silver Panel Transtube series Bandit 112 and the accompanying 1x12 Extension cabinet. Still one of the loudest and clearest sounding solidstate combos ive ever heard.
Side note: in high school, my buddy used that same amp and the extension, early on in a band we were in, before getting his own Marshall half stack and actually could keep up with a Marshall JCM900 SL-X 50 watt half stack I was using. Pretty impressive really
I have a silver stripe 112 and also a pacer 100. Both are very good clean and with pedals, but as he states not so good with the stock gain distortion.
Tossing in a mention of the Tech21 Trademark 60, a workhorse that got me thru a few years of club gigs a few years back. Reliability was an issue, and no one knows how to fix 'em, but I used to get compliments on my tone with that amp. FWIW...
Kustom K-200A4, amazing vibrato/tremolo, excellent reverb and cool look!
Thanks for including the Fender Princeton Chorus on this list. I have the 90s model and absolutely love it! Best clean you can get, awesome Chorus, the overdrive is good for old stuff. I use a pedal board on the front end for my distortion etc. it also has an effects loop which is a plus for some pedals.
You nailed this list! The Fender Princeton Chorus has amazing cleans, but also makes a great pedal platform. I used one live a few times to play hard rock covers and it did fine. Also, if you're going to do a Bandit, I recommend the teal stripe from' 89. It was designed by Jim Brown, the 5150 designer.
The Ampeg VH-140c / 150 should have been mentioned.
Glenn Ritchey I still play my SS-150, bought in 1991... over the years, I’ve ‘almost’ bought a Triple Rectifier, or whatever, but my Ampeg just sounds better, period.
Still have mine, bought it brand new in 2000 and it STILL blows away anything on the market
The Crate GX130c (same circuit as the Ampeg VH140c) is one of the greats. Used in the first few Cannibal Corpse albums.
@@pwsmanowar yes! i have one, and it sounds crushing! The clean channel is a great pedal platform also, and the bright button brings out the metal like no other..
Pigs RULE!
Huge tone, louder then the voice of God! No need for pedals.
VH 140 for life!
Glad to hear the Fender Princeton Chorus mentioned. My drummer has one and it’s a great-sounding amp. It has a nice, comfy feel to it that you can kinda lean into. Which is very different from the very tight, percussive feel I usually get from solid-state amps.
The trick with the Princeton chorus is to turn it on the overdrive channel, set the limiter high, and bring up the gain. You end up with a hot, compressed, signal. Top it off with a little reverb
I’m glad the fender princeton chorus made the list and the Roland blues cube. I enjoy them both very much.
great video Robert! I owned the Fender Princeton and the Peavy Bandit,so you brought back some decent mems for me.Keep up the great work and God bless!
Hey man. I recently bought an 80's Yamaha B100 II head to play bass through. It's incredibly warm sounding for solid state. A friend told me to try playing guitar through it. Oh man!! Killer clean tone and it's a fantastic pedal platform! And they sell for about $200.
Yamaha was marvellous stuff back then, G50 , G100 etc.
I had a G50 that I picked up With a laptop at a swap meet together for $20 the laptop was completely dead and unfixable. But only the speaker was not working. I put in a 12" guitar center speaker and it sounded great. Had to pawn it though. Really miss it. Also, replaced the braided wire that connects from the terminal to the voice coil and ended up fixing the original Yamaha speaker. I put it back in before pawning it.
Thanks for including the Roland Blues Cube. I think it's one of the most underrated solid state amps these days! I have the Artist 112 with a sparkle clean tone capsule and the clean tones are Fender at it's best in my opinion but it also does the job as a pedal platform for any kind of setup. The clean tone is great when you crank it up, it reminds me of a Bassman. The factory speaker brings the best out of that amp, so there's no need to change it at all. Other great features: built in power attenuator, tremolo, reverb, second channel (which is in fact the Boss Blues Driver), Boost and Tone function for both channels and last but not least: the footswitch which regulates many of the features mentioned above! Man, this amp is soo good that I sold all my other tube amps and I had many of those! It's light and very reliable. What else do you need? I think this thing will be a classic such as the Jazz Chorus.
Man, my cousin ( who was one of the reasons i began playing music) had the Peavey Chorus 2x12. Sounded just like Lynyrd Skynyrd The Breeze and it was SOOOOO LOUD!!! And an older Native American guitarist called Joe Puff who played with a great cover band called Cream Cheese had the JC 120, that i played through a coupla times with my little pedal board in a high school band opening for them (small town!!) He was my hero when i was a teen beginner...that amp!!
RIP Joe Puff.
Nice Vid! In the early to mid ‘80s I had a Marshall MOSFET LEAD 100 that was GREAT! I also just got a New Fender Tone Master Twin The is just UNBELIEVABLE!! You’d swear it was a Tube ‘65 Twin!! GREAT AMP!! Please keep up the Good Work! Love your Content!!
Just got a new Orange Pedal Baby 100 today! My first amp was a Peavey Rage. I remember pushing the hell out of it jamming with friends as a teenager. I had it for probably 20 yrs until I lost it in a hurricane.
I just found a Peavey Bandit on Craigslist near my home in CT for only 35 dollars! I called them immediately to see the hype and of course someone beat me to it. It literally sold within 20 minutes of being posted.
I was in the Castleton GC a few weeks ago for my normal Sunday and they had this 1972 Kustom 2x12 SS amp in the used section. It was so...70's. It had this sparkling red padding all over it and probably 50 knobs on the control panel. Another customer plugged into it and was just noodling around on the clean channel and I was taken aback. It really sounded good. Very full and tight with a big roomy sound. And it was less than $200. I don't know if you've ever seen these things or something like it, but I was really impressed with it. That padding though...
Sounds like a Kustom Tuck And Roll. I actually hate those things. LOL
My favourite SS amp is the US made Peavey Studio Pro I picked up used for £50. It has a beautiful clean tone.
When I started learning to play in my church they had a Peavey Stereo Chorus 212 and that thing was already over 20 years and solid as a tank. Never gave an issue and I think it's still there.
Probably. Those are great amps.
Horonable mentions:
-Sunn Beta Lead
-Orange CR 120
-Ampeg SS70, or G212
dimiaraujo90 I have a G18 Ampeg and it’s a great practice amp. As well, it loves the Helix pedal board in front of it
Yeppers. Love my Sunn Beta Lead... F'n horse ... And yeas, I've owned most of the tube. It's nice to have a real reverb and super reliable.
Lol yeah man I said CR120 as soon as I read the title!! It and the JC are the only ones I use . Well, except for my old Bandit lol and it just won’t go down lol. But I wouldn’t use it live. Only EVER use the CR for dirt live. Don’t think I would record with it but I can have a good night with a CR 120.
... and I will actually say the lead 12 was ok for what it was. I had the micro stack
Love my orange crush 120
Alex Skolnick was a big proponent of the Marshall Mode 4 amps for a while. He said they could sound terrible unless you dialed them in right, and then they were killer.
I love a good solid state amp, but the classic 70s Sunn and Acoustic heads deserve recognition. Beta Lead!
Hell Yeah, the acoustic and Sunn heads are amazing and so much potential for really loud bass affordably. I’ve been playing acoustic since I bought my first all original 1972acoustic 370 head with matching 301 cab. After working on the farm all summer as a ten year old boy all I did was save my money so I bought that whole rig out the door for a hair under $400. That woulda been 1993-94ish and before the stoner metal scene revived them. I never met another bass player who had one or even new what they were for that matter. The other bands would always ask WTF is that? It’s so loud and so clear. It wasn’t til about 2010 and on they started getting popular again which meant price goes up big time! Of all the gear I’ve collected over the years, bass and guitar, I still have my first acoustic stack and it’s my go to!! I was lucky that my old man was a blues and southern rocker in the 70’s so he was the one who talked me into getting it even though I had every intention and enough money to by the 74 Ampeg stack I had gone to buy but fate is a fickle mistress. I still thank him all the time for talking me into that amp and since the. I’ve had quite a few SVT and other model Ampeg stacks even currently but.....yeah ya dig?!!!
I used a Sunn concert lead with a Yamaha S412 cabinet for a while in the 80's, it was a remarkably good amp. Most of these amps you mention are recent ones, the best SS amp I ever used was a 200 watt Kustom Kasino stack back in the early 70's. Hard to find these days but it was my workhorse for over a decade. I just made a RUclips video about it called "What's in your backline?"
Peavey Bandit 65 - Had one in the late 80's. Two channel, great clean and fabulous distrotion channel with "tube saturation" overdrive, spring reverb and a 12" Scorpion Speaker. I think it cost around £165 new. Sold it in 1991 and regretted it ever since.
The Bandit 65 is one of all time favorite amps :)
Vox Super Beatle should be on this list as well as Lab Series L5, the favorite amp of BB King and the secret to Ty Tabor's tone.
Thanks for your opinions, always enjoy your channel.
I’m glad you’re enjoying the channel!
I had a Sunn Concert Lead head that was loud enough to melt your ears to mush.The great Todd Rundgren used one in 75 on the Another Live album and I love his sound.
You forgot about the Orange OR-120H. That thing is leagues above the bad rep to the Crush name that those little combos give. It's no RockerVerb or OR, but it sure does sound like an Orange.
Exactly! And it's not $2000. A steal at $450
As long as it's not a lemon xD jk. In all seriousness, I'd really love to check out some orange stuff
Can’t agree more. i have a Mesa Single Rectifier and an Orange OR 15. The CR120 beats them both
@@mikeyo3230 in what way? sucking?
Orange CR combos aren't bad little practice amps at all. I've compared them to an array of SS combos and they sounded better to me!!
The bandit and stereo chorus were amazing amps. My grandma used a stereo chorus up until a few years back when she got her showman restored. I helped a buddy find a bandit a few weeks ago. Such a great amp. As for the Princeton chorus and Princeton 112, they’re great clean amps. They’re clean and although the drive channel is mediocre, they’re a decent pedal platform. I’m surprised the peavey musician and standard series weren’t on the list. Those amps are clean, and they have guts. You won’t get any high gain sounds out of them, but they take pedals great and have lots of head room
I like your attitude man.
Don’t let the internet get to you and you still got your opinion off for us to check out the gear later on.
Truly am glad I found this channel a while back that’s somthing I’d like to work on myself
The Marshall MOSFET 100 is a solid state version of the JCM800. It’s my favorite solid state guitar amp ever.
I don't know how Marshall did it, but they did it perfectly.
I don’t know about “perfectly,” but if you’re looking for the JCM 800 sound, the MOSFET 100 is a solid alternative at a much more affordable price point. It won’t get you all the way there, but it will get you in the ballpark.
I have the Fender London Reverb amp which has a single 12 inch speaker and a built on 5 band EQ on the face. It belonged to a friend of mine who had a band in the 80’s. They played cover tunes on weekends. He sold it to one of his roadie hands and I later bought it from him, years later. It’s a great sounding amp.
My main gigging amp has been a Peavey Bandit for years - it sounds great, and I bought it for $80 (busted reverb tank, but I fixed it)
Great list you put up, Robert! They brought back a lot of memories! If I may, I would like to add an honorable mention. The Randall RG60, with the orange faceplate for the Randall logo. It was my first full size amp. I bought it with summer job earnings back in 1979 at the humble age of 16, and I later added a DOD Overdrive 250, which was my first overdrive/distortion pedal. Damn, did they sure sound great together! I should have held onto that amp and the pedal. The RG60 was rock solid and powerful, more than enough to gig with, I used it to play my first backyard parties in high school. Even today, it would do the job well.
I stand by my YAMAHA G100 212. It’s warm, responsive, and has loads of headroom.
These are so slept on. They sound excellent.
I had one in the early ‘80s. Used it for five years in a road band playing country music & never had a bit of trouble with it ever.
Hell yeah, I have one and they are awesome, with a parametric EQ built in too!
@@aitken1965 I have one of those,too. The 3rd version. It sounds as good or better than my jc120
I've still got my Line 6 Flextone II HD and matching cabinet. To this day, I still swear by the amp is o this day. I can get tones out of this amp that can match any tube amp. The bonus is being able to share and download custom models. I even have a 1970's solid state Rickenbacker Road 30, 1x15 w/horn that sounds amazing to this day as well. I had that same Peavy 2x12 as well.
Own a Fender Princeton Chorus and you're right, this is a good value. Warning, it is heavy for a small solid state amp. Great clean and decent chorus. The only thing I don't like are the cheap looking knobs.
I love the clean sound, the reverb and the chorus on the Princeton Chorus combo - so much that I brought two of them (one for by son). They sound like the new Fender Tone Masters, except they weigh much, much more. You have to forget the overdrive channel and just pretend it's not there. If you're like me and have no desire to provide the maintenance that a tube amp requires, but want the classic fender sound that this amp undeniably delivers with the reliability of a solid state , then this amp is for you.
I've got an Orange Crush 60R, and it is damn near impossible to tell it's not tube! I was blown away!
What about the GK 250ml? It was like Eddie VanHalen in a box. A lunch box to be correct. Keith Alexander plugged his into 2 Marshall 1960 4x12 cabs for live shows and it killed. Then you could take it home and play it in a studio apartment. Still one of my faves.
Why no mention of Lab Series amps? IMO the best sounding solid state amps ever made. I used one for years until I wore it out and will buy one again when I can.
Good Call. Just happen to be moving things around. Watching the Video, Reading the Comments, and starting at my L5 in the kitchen with an Engle Thunder 50 head & a Dr. Z Z28 head sitting on top of it. CRAZY!!!😎
@@reverendg5937 Thanks for the reply! Yes I love L5's I think they sound fantastic. Hold onto yours, it a good one.
Lab Series were good enough for BB King. I used to play one and loved it.
I saw Ronnie Montrose live playing a Tele through a Lab Series with amazing tone!
The Orange CR120 is a pretty sweet solid state amplifier.
A few years ago I bought a ZT Lunchbox amp because I wanted something very small and portable to take to rehearsals with my band, but I still needed it to be loud enough. This amp does the job nicely...especially when I add a small (1x12) extension cab. It's very loud, nice clean tone, takes pedals very well, has a nice full range of sound when the extension cab is added.
Picked up a Fender Ultimate Chorus and it sounds fantastic!
Great video as usual. Really enjoy the the best/worst countdown videos.
Peavey Special 130. I've been playing these for years. Sometimes two at a time. Generally, my go-to amp. The most reliable, amps I have ever known and will go head to head with my Fender Twins.
Slide players love them!
Bright and warm at the same time!
Hey Robert. Aussie Vaughan from the Vester groups. Good video! I've found on fb marketplace, another Vester. This time, a really cool & clean SG. What a Beast! Even with dime sized pots. The guy was asking for $125 & someone wanted it, so I offered $250. Happy to pay that. Also just found a Marshall Mosfet 100 reverb twin combo for $350 Aussie money, recently. I should snap it up but I just bought a MX 60th Ann' 50s Classic Player Strat, in desert sand & Gold anodised pg, Gold hardware & I think Texas specials. Bingo. They are increasing in Value! Cheers Bro.
Nice!!!
Peavey Bandit--yes! It's nice to see the Bandit get a little public love. :) I've been using a Bandit 65--the *same* Bandit 65--since 1983, and while not the greatest-sounding machine on the planet, it has never failed me (and back when I gigged, it never had trouble filling a small-to-medium room with sound). I admit to having become a bit spoiled since I got a Vypyr 75 a decade or so ago, and the built-in effects allowed me to tweak the sound to my heart's content, so my ol' Bandit 65 sounds quaint by comparison. But I'm using it now, in fact, because my Vypyr abruptly ceased to work, and apparently Peavey no longer answers service queries.
I was into the H&K Attax Series in the 90's, a lot of guys in the Okanagan region were into them back in those days.
Best all around guitar combo amp I ever owned was a Peavey special 212. Worked for ANY gig size, including competing with an Engl half stack, which I did often. I ended up moving across the country and it was just too big to make the cut at the time, it’s the one piece of gear I regret letting go. That said, everything is even smaller and lighter nowadays, and I don’t need thrash metal power anymore lol, but that thing was a great sounding powerhouse. Nowadays I use a smattering of Quilter tiny heads and holy smokes those things are awesome.
i used a Reknown 212 for a few years.. used a 4-12 cab along with 2 12's.. played where ever i wanted and often told thats too loud
Love your videos. Randall amps are the best. I have a Randall RG100ES from the 80s and it's killer. Keep up the good work!
Gotta say the Norlin era Lab series amps are the best sounding SS amps I've ever heard. Got the L3, and I would never get rid of it!
Yep, had an L5 (BB King amp) and the L7 4x10. Both should be top of this list but not even there. Kinda hard to get hold of them now so maybe that’s it?
Or it could be that it’s not YOUR list? 🤦🏻♂️
Watched this to see if the lab l5 was on the list. Played one in high school. I’m 58 now and just bought one this year. Regretted selling it 40 years ago but there’s one sitting in my living room right now…. Guess I’ll go play!
As a road musician for decades, I ran mostly Fenders. The last five years or so I ran around with a couple Lab Series. They honk!
I have one of those mini-stacks.. Perfect for the home studio/yard parties. You could gig with this set. It will easily reach over a full drum set if you need it to, don't expect it to fill a stadium on its own though.
Oddly enough as much of a Luddite as I profess to be, all of my amps are solid state at the moment. From the Blackstar Fly twin, that I use as laptop speakers that I can plug a guitar into.. to that Marshall mini-stack.. to an old Crate 35 with a huge range of built in effects.
Sold off some stuff in a move about 3 years ago, got great money for my mid-60's Fender deluxe reverb silver and got silly money for my Marshall half stack.
I don't perform anymore, so its not like I need the power of a big tube amp, and the new solid state stuff is really really good.
I've also been watching videos by Keith at Five Watt World, and you know what? he is right. if the amp is going to be mic'd up anyway, just get the sound right and let the PA do the volume.
1My 1st jam ever, the drummer had me plug into a Peavey version of that stack and the thing kept me snug between him and his buddy running a RG-50.. A few months later I got a pawn shop L12 combo that made all my tapes sound better until had to sell it. Set now with a VS100 head I'm happy with. Played the range from daisy-chained Twins to a ME-30 through a ghetto blaster
Crate G60XL with Celestion. That model with the Celestion it came with from the factory. Such a good distortion.
The Ampeg vh140c should have made the list imho. It and the Randall rg100 are probably the most respected high gain solid state amps ever made
I think there’s plenty of tube amps out there that would strongly dispute that argument, but I get what you’re saying.
Robert's Guitar Dungeon sorry I meant respected solid state lol
Robert's Guitar Dungeon I think people might be surprised how many death metal bands used this amp and still use it today. That’s not my style but it does a really good job at a modern metal sound as well
I actually really like those amps. I just didn’t think of it when I was putting this list together. ;)
Agree. I love the Ampeg VH140C. Crate GX130C is very similiar. I play thrash/death metal and the Crate doesnt disappoint.
I have a Peavey Renown 400. 1984 and a Peavey Classic with phaser amd reverb solid state amp i still have them both 2023 also the Roland keyboard and guitar JC amps.
Hi from England.i can't get out the house because of disability so I rely on guitar playing to keep me going. The one I like is the peavy bandit. I put a jensen speaker in it and it sounded great, as good as my valve amps.
I have a removed left wrist joint & my guitar days are over. I switched to pedal steel, which I have to play with an amputated left foot, but I can do it with the prosthesis & a finger slide over my left thumb. No, I'm not a country western guy but played it when I had to ... like Wipe Out!
Good video, spot on for the amps I’ve played on your list!!
Fender M80 head was a beast for old school death metal and did it amazingly well. They still sound good today.
i have a jc120 but i found a jc70 (with a 12) at a resale for 7 dollars and i really like that one, i did replace the speaker as it died right after i got it but , it makes more sense than getting out the 120 as i dont need all that at this point .
You’re Definitely Right about the Blues Cube Robert,I have one & you can get every sounds in it , also the Peavey Bandit ( wish I have one) they Said it’s a Poor Man!s Plexie, ,that’s what I heard ,anyway Good Choices Robert Thank You
Also, the old tweed-covered Washburn amps, like the one Rory Gallagher some times used. Cool little blues amp!
Gallien Krueger 250ML was a groundbreaking solid state amp, especially for its tone and portability. It should be on any all time best list.
Agree, Iron Maiden used these to great effect as did Fates Warning
Really loud amp with great tone when plugging a 2x12 cabinet into it.
The effects were on point too.
Carlos used an 800 watt GK at Woodstock.
Is that a bass amp ?
@@youthmanrecords420 they made bass amps but this is a solid state guitar amp with unbelievable chorus and reverb effects
Here are mine. Pearce G1/G2r, Acoustic 134/135, Marshall Lead 12 Mini Stack (glad you mentioned that one!) Lab Series L5.
The ZT Club 200w is a beast. Best solid state amp Ive ever heard at a live concert when I saw Of Montreal. Monster tone and sounds great clean or driven. Traynor also makes great SS stuff too, but almost no one has ever tried them.
My current pedal platform is a Peavey Wiggy. It gets a bad rep from tube guys but every single person that has ever played mine wants to buy it from me. Peavey nailed the Transtube circuit.
How did you feel about him listing it as an amp he hates?
Marshall Valvestate 50, ive had it since 2007, put in a V 30, and groove tube preamp tube. Sounds so good
it really sounds close to a JCM 800. Ive recorded at least 12 songs with it. Ive also got stacks of Amps Marshalls
and Oranges. my only Combo amp is the Valvestate 50
The Peavey Bandit (especially the teal stripe version) is my favorite amp I've ever owned, including my tube heads. Got it for $150 used and it's been my main amp ever since
I’ve been looking for a red stripe version for awhile. Haven’t tracked one down yet.
The Fender Princeton chorus is my personal favorite SS amp. I used one for years, largely as a pedal platform, but even it's gain channel sounded good, although not as versatile as a tube amp. The chorus was excellent, and the reverb tank was really nice.
I got this "Award Session Mark II Sessionette 75 Mosfet" 2x10 (celestions).
Works here since 1982 without a hickup. Great little amp.
Also I had a huge acoustic 200 SS head with a 4x12 plus 2x45w horns cab.
That one played a large hall like nothing with a sound like angels. ;-)
I used a cyber twin forever, even used it on my only recoding for my band(aspiring downward) played many gigs with it, I really liked that amp.
SS King is my Pearce G1 ....owned it for years and I still love it . I respect Roland, LAB,Peavey and Sunn for solid state amps produced but Pearce is the best to my ears . I have not played a Quilter yet and I have heard they are very good .
I really appreciate your brutal honesty. I subbed and like. Great vids sir.
Thanks man! Welcome to the family!
I've tried a few of these and the solid state amp I like the best is the Sunn Concert Lead.
Have you ever tried the fender fm212? I have one that I bought used with custom drivers in the speakers and it screams
Dude-Acoustic! I have a Acoustic 134 and it’s the warmest, fullest pedal platform ever. 120 watts of clean that weighs a ton but sounds amazing. From the 70’s not the recent reiteration. Check them out.
What about cabinets? So important but often ignored. If you do a video about cabs, check out Barefaced guitar cabs. Because of an innovative design these cabs are louder, offer amazing sound dispersion and a low end that will rattle your fillings. Not cheap at all but it’s the first innovation in guitar cabs since the 4x12. You can watch a very interesting demo on Rob Chapman’s or Barefaced’s RUclips channel.
Love your stuff!
If you're interested check out a Yamaha B100 II. It's a bass amp but holy crap is it a warm sounding amp! I bought it to play bass through but it's been strictly for guitar as of late. I play it more than my tube amps now!
The acoustic guitar amps are great. They're bullet proof with some maintenance and they sound so good. I recently got a 230. 150 watts, and a ton of tone shaping options. Awesome pedal platform.
The Peavey Renown 212 was a good amp(had one for about 6yrs in early 90s) and for anyone not caring for the chorus a better alternative to the Chorus 212 amp. The Peavey Studio Pro 40 which I bought new in '86 is still a good solid state amp. Replaced the stock speaker with a Celestion G12M-70 in '90 and that was a huge improvement. And ten years ago or so, I rediscovered just how good the Saturation circuitry really is still today and marveled at its pioneering spirit given the era in which it was designed.
And it's hard to beat the JC-120 for nice clean tones and that is why if it ever stops being manufactured by Roland, it would be a sad day. That is a timeless guitar amp.
I cut the top part of my Peavey Renown 2x12 and boxed bottom in myself and use it with a 4x12 cab and it sounds magnificent.its now a piggy back half stack custom.
Peavey XXL ,Marshall Valvestate, Hughes and Kettner has plenty, Taurus amps, Hartke gt60, Acoustic/G120, Crate too many to name, DV mark mini heads, also just found a Randall Rg 60 less than 200 built 1981.AND SO MANY VOX amps. Your list rocks too! Just honorable mentions. Also I always wanted a Randall RT503 and just found a 100 watt cheap. Any experience?
The greatest solid-state amp I've ever owned and played was made by Lab Series. I've owned a 2x12 and a 4x10. They're so good in a side by side with a tube amp, You would not know the difference.
D K ,I played Lab Series amps back in the day ,they sound 👍
I shared a bar gig in '83 with a local band who's lead player used a 2x12 Lab Series. All I could think was I was glad we went first.
bb king liked em
The Lab Series was a 1979 collaboration between Bob Moog and Gibson, if memory serves me correctly. I just saw a 1x12 combo sell for $80.
@@JimJWalker yes and BB and Ronnie Montrose.
ha, I was offered $80 for my Peavey Studio Pro 112 (red stripe) that I paid $150 for in '03.
Turned that down. a move made things tight. sold it for less.
Today I purchased a fender ultimate chorus 2x12 65watt combo for $80.00. It needed a bit of cleaning in the input jack and the pots. When the seller saw I wasn't afraid to dig into it, he gave me a Princeton chorus made in USA that needs work. Nice.
Back in the day I worked in a mucisic store, I got an Acoustic stack, 4-12" in each with a 200 watt head I think, built like a tank, it had a a built in graphic EQ control, clean and loud, I got the stack because it looked cool plus is pushed some air, I don't think I ever turned it up past two, lol.
Yep, those old Acoustic stacks were friggin’ LOUD.
I gotta try those randallss! Also Im intrested in more peavey stuff from the 90's and more top 13 guitars you may not know about! Rock on Robert! RGD! RGD! RGD!
Early 2000's marshall hdfx heads sound great with some tweaking and right pedals.
I can’t think of a single solid state guitar head that’s even ok let alone worth the money. However when it comes to bass heads from the 1970’s solids ruled the roost because tube bass amps was kind of a small market. You had Ampeg, Marshall, Fender. But as a life long bass player I’ve played only Acoustic370’s through matching 301 cab and even use a few of them at once. One into matches cab, one into a Sunn 4x15, and one through a Sunn 6x10 guitar cab to pick up and make a clear sound when using Overdrive wether a Big Muff or just a Boss bass overdrive, the yellow one which I used as more of a booster with everything set to zero and the level dimed. It starved the bass input signal and used the amp bass knob dimed output signal to get the low end on the output side. I switched it up time to time because I’ve amassed quite a gear collection, mostly vintage. I had a Peavy 1x15 black widow with a David Eden 4x10 on top, Ampeg early SVT 8x10 cab, and Galien-Kruger 4x10 on top a Sunn 2x18. So all those variations rocked but usually ended up with the 301, Sunn 4x15, Sunn 6x10 all with an Acoustic370 head sometimes a Sunn concert bass through the 6x10 Sunn. It depended on the size of the venue but sometimes I only used two stacks but if their was over 50 people up to 1,000 I’d use all three and used two Sunn Concert Slaves on top LOL. Keep in mind I played in a doom/sludge/stoner metal bands so si leaning loudness is just part of the ethos for that genre and scene! Also we were a power trio and the guitar player was using a Marshall JCM 800, Marshall Superbass, and an Orange AD130 each one with their respective matching cab stacks. We were a notoriously loud band. We usually never “headlined” but given a headline set time allowance so we usually went on right after the opening act and had everything back lined because we had to be on no later than 9:30 to make absolute certain we were done before 11pm which is noise cut off time a lot of towns. The show could go on til last call but the cops never got called while other bands played because they weren’t as loud, still loud, not as loud as us though. Ok now after that long drawn out digression I was getting to loudness. With solid states a good rule of thumb is you need 3-4 times the watts to match a tube amp. So say I wanted to be as loud as a 100 watt tube I would need roughly 400watts with a solid state. So in my three stack rig I used 400 watts to each one then also used the two Sunn concert slave heads which were 1,000 watts a piece that way it provided a huge low punch and didn’t get drowned in the mix by three tube guitar stax. Like I said before we just plain old liked to be the loudest By far LOL HAHAHAHA! So in conclusion 70’s solid state bass rigs ruled because you can get a lot of volume very affordably, and not have to worry about constantly spending hundreds on a tube job once before tour started and usually about 3/4 of the way through but our guitarist was pretty amp savey so he did make it the whole way on most of our tours. However to get that wattage and volume needed from a solid state guitar head is much more expensive, and no matter what it never can get that warm buttery tone that you get with a vacuum tube circuit. One trick ponies. Which was super high gain which ended up just sounding tinny, thin, and zup zup on palm mutes instead of chug chug bowng!!! Cool video though ma’man!! I can see your point. Thank you for indulging me and letting me reminisce about days gone by! #DIMEBAG R.I.P. my southern brother from another mother!!!! #acoustic370 #SunnO)))) #SlaveTheDay #SlaveAmps #SlaveToTheSludge #DoomedToBeSlaved #SolidStateAmps #Bass #dropGtuning
My first amp was a Music Man 65 212. It was a hybird amp with a solid state preamp and EL34 power tubes. Great sounding amp. Also, I have no idea how the amp sounded overall, but one of the coolest solid state amd sounds on a recording I've heard is the intro to "Gimmie Shelter". Keith Richards used a Triumph Silicon 100 with tremolo. The tremolo sounds so clipped and sharp, very different than a Fender bias or opto trem.
My first amp was a MusicMan 112 Sixty-Five. The tremolo past 5 is so great. The SS preamp is great, and was very popular in the mid-70s. Similar in concept to Vox 7 Series amps in all the English studios in the 60s.
I'm curious as to what you think of the Hughes-Kettner Silver edition solid state. I think the clean channel sounds quite tube-like. Thank you.
Not familiar with it, actually. I’ve never played through one of those.
@@RobertWJackson Quite affordable, I have two actually. If you come across one they're worth a try. Made in Germany but found two stateside. Thanks for your channel, good stuff!!
Robert well done,I'm a big fan of solid state amps. I think the Acustic brand ones are great for the money
Why do these channels have opening credits and theme songs, like they're 70s TV shows...
k
You should def try the Randall Titan, most powerful amp i have ever played and it's drive channel has tube purists scratch their heads in disbelief
I agree with you on the Bandit...never did think much of it, even when I had it :). The only solid state amp I still own is my old Marshall Valvestate S-80. Don't know whether I got a magic one, but that thing still sounds great.
I have a vintage Marshall lead 12 full stack and it's the shit. People are blown away when I tell them its solid state
According on some infos online. on the internet, Dimebag only used the warhead for cleans.
I was crazy about my Randall RG75 which came with a Celestion. What an awesome amp! I played more gigs with this Randall than all tube amps combined, including my Boogie. I just loved the punch and cut of this amp. Really had that 80s sound. Fun amp. I don't care for new Randall solid states or tube amps.
Forgot the mighty ampeg ss150 and vh140c...also the ibanez tbx head sounds great.
Jose Lozano SS-150 FTW!
Yup , the old USA made Saint Louis Co. Crate GX 130 C is the same exact stereo chorus amp..(SLM owned both brands then) ....finding them is like needles in haystacks tho, along with the VH140 c.....I,m always on the lookout for either one in good shape, but most folk know what they are worth and what they are capable of these days ... \m/ \m/