Good amps for testing pickups that won't break the bank

[Pep]

I would be curious to hear your guys opinion on this. I'm only interested in tube stuff. I have an old Hot Rod Deluxe collecting dust that I am going to sell and reinvest in something that is more 'ear friendly'. Doesn't have to be fancy, just good solid tone.

Josh

[NightWinder]

For rock tones.....a pre 83' Jcm 800 (stock), with a nice overdrive pedal. Period. Let no one tell you different. Marshall is the most heard amp on the planet, and what better way than a pre 83' 800. I also like to use the Fender BassMan. With bassmans, you can really hear the push of the pickups......and can really here what different magnets are sounding like too. Them bassmans......man....even on 3 on the volume.....although I like a 2 x12 for the BM's. Thats a great amp!! Ebay has a few for arond $500. These 2 amps, have stood the test of time, among countless other fenders. For the modern stuff, the stock 800 just cant be whiped. Even with the bassman, and a really kickass overdrive, you'd be surprised at what REALLY modern tones you can get out of it. This is ofcoarse without breaking your account......... Both are reasonably priced, and can be found used at a Murders special...

[Spence]

Get a Mesa Boogie and fit it with a Ted Weber AlNiCo speaker.
Word of warning, I have demoed my pickups on my trusty F50 with said Weber for some time now and probably inadvertently sold more Mesa F50s than pickups.

[Possum]

from the old school.....

Find a '73 or earlier silverface Deluxe Reverb, there are still some in the $700 range if you do a saved search on Ebay and know how to work on tube amps. Also a much better investment that any printed circuit board amp. Lollar told me once you really have to have some kind of example of most kinds of amps, modern Fenders, old fenders, tweeds, Marshall. It would be hard to choose one amp. I've had the Hot Rod Deluxe 4x10 and could get some fairly decent tones out of it, the Deluxes just suck, still havent heard a good one, the reissue stuff same thing, Blues Juniors are cool but real bad for testing purposes, they make anything sound a little too good in some ways. I still think the old hand wired Fenders you can hear much better what a pickup is really all about. I use my Princeton alot, its an Ebay beater a '73, had to put alot of work in it, put in a bias pot, new speaker, but it kills for shop work home practice and real tiny venues where you can crank it. I do almost all my sound samples on the Princeton. Damn, all you need is money, I wish I had some kind of tweed amp but there aren't many players using them and the one handwired Fender Twin I heard sounded way too new, like a Victoria. Ok, I'll shut up now.....

[NightWinder]

Tell us more about the ted weber alnico speakers!!!

[soundmasterg]

+1 on the old Fenders. Easiest amp ever made to work on and completely reliable. Most players are familiar with the sound. They're a good choice.

[David Schwab]

Some of you will cringe... but I don't even own a guitar amp (not counting the little crate amp I have). I use both a Korg Pandora and the built in amp sim in my Roland digital mixer, and played through my home studio speakers. I can set this for various amp and distortion settings, so even though they aren't exact simulations, they are close enough to hear the pickup through different style amps, both clean and dirty.

[Pep]

Yeah, if money wasn't the limiting factor a nice example of a lot of amps would be nice. I am more in the Fender camp myself but would love to have a JTM. Dave, you mentioned pre '73 on the DR. Is that when they skewed away from the Blackface specs. My amp history is lacking. Thanks.

[NightWinder]

Your right........You have us cringing Hardcore!!!

[NightWinder]

You'll need some cool guitars too

[WolfeMacleod]

Best amp I've found for testing stuff is a THD Univalve. It's a very "honest" amp - if your stuff is crap, it'll tell you. If your stuff is good, it'll tell you.
And, you can switch tubes at will to see what your stuff will sound like through any tube combination.

Problem with many amps is that you can put anything through them, and they'll sound great.

Ignore Possum's statement aboutthe Fender Deluxes. He obviously hasn't heard a decent one. The '57-'59 Deluxes are freaking awesome sounding amps.

[Zhangliqun]

I've got two Fender Hotrods, 1x12 (Deluxe) and 2x12 (DeVille) and like 'em just fine. The overdrive truly sucks but I don't care because I just want 'em for the clean tone, which they have in spades, especially after you put in some Svetlana 6L6 Winged C's. (I get my overdrive outboard because I play a stereo rig.)

They're also super-easy to bias for those of us without a Weber Bias Rite. Don't even have to take the chassis out.

They will show weaknesses in a pickup pretty quickly on clean, while my Maxon Overdrive Pro stompbox does a decent enough Marshall imitation for testing purposes.

[Possum]

major cringing

Cringe warning cringe warning, abandon ship! Seriously, on the "dark side" I've heard some pretty good recordings done through a Line 6 (I'll never admit saying that though). The only thing I ever did with one like that is a Johnson thing ilke a POD sorta, its amp samples and anything plugged straight into just sound freaking awful, nothing like a real amp I ever heard. I've also heard an amp simulating Vox amp a couple years ago, would sound even better in a landfill, why people think these amps sound like blackface or Marshall or whatever you dialed in mystifies me completely.

I wasn't clear enough on the "Deluxes." I don't mean the vintage fender deluxe, they are killer little amps, what I meant was the modern Deluxes maybe they are called the Hot Rod Deluxe, very sterile weird tone, they are in the same family group of amps as the blues junior and hot rod deville, the deluxe should be dumped unless you can mod it, they have no soul at all. Also, the reissue deluxe reverbs are total toneless crap too. There used to be this guy that would bring one to our jam and most of us gritted our teeth when we saw that thing come in the door. Harsh, shrill, no warmth at all, some of the guys finally talked to him and he got rid of it and got something better. Again, why these are supposed to be "reissues" stymies me, all the printed circuit stuff just can't compete with a point to point wired amp. But ya know too, I had one of the last black face deluxe reverbs when I was a kid and it was really bright and annoying and I never liked it when I had it. Wish I had known how to mod those amps back then but no one did....

[NightWinder]

But ya know too, I had one of the last black face deluxe reverbs when I was a kid and it was really bright and annoying and I never liked it when I had it. Wish I had known how to mod those amps back then but no one did....

Could have been the pickups too since you were still a lil sheetwetter and were not making pickups back then . Plus the tubes back in the "Ol' days may has been washed up. Get It?

[Brock Little]

Since moving all and sundry to Hong Kong recently, I've had to re-invest in a lot of gear. The amp I got had to fit in the matchbox flat, and really perform without the $$$. I tested everything in HK with valves and ended up with a Vox AC15cc for about $500 US. I did have an 80w Marshall combo in Australia, but I swear this thing is just as loud. The main reason I chose this little beauty, though, is the clean tone. If you want a great test bed then this is it. The clean tone is magic and if you want distortion, then it's good old fashioned power stage grunt. YEAH! I don't know what would "Break the bank" for you, but if I followed some of the suggestions above I would be without food, shelter and female company for some time. I guess it all depends on how much you're willing to sacrifice for tone (food and shelter maybe, but I must remind myself of why I got into guitar in the first place).