Best Guitar Amps from Budget to Boutique (with @PsionicAudio)
Episode 65: Best Guitar Amps from Budget to Boutique
Welcome to the Chairmen of the Boards Podcast! The ultimate pedalboard podcast with the foremost rig builders in the world: Grant Klassen (Goodwood Audio), Brian Omilion (Omilion Audio), and Mason Marangella (Vertex Effects/The Rig Doctor). We’ve teamed up to democratize great tone and provide you with our best tricks, tips, resources and hacks so you can build the pedalboard of your dreams!
//SPONSORS//
The Guitar Sanctuary – https://theguitarsanctuary.com
Sweetwater Gear Exchange – https://sweetwater.com/used
Neural DSP – https://neuraldsp.com (use discount code “chairmen” for 30% off)
Mono – https://monocreators.com (use discount code “chairmen” for 10% off)
Best-Tronics – https://btpa.com (use code “dachairs” for 10% off)
Stringjoy – https://stringjoy.com (use code “BOARDS” for 10% off)
//GUEST//
Lyle Caldwell (Psionic Audio)
YT – @PsionicAudio
//HOSTS//
Grant Klassen (Goodwood Audio)
YT – @GoodwoodAudio
IG – https://instagram.com/goodwoodaudio
Brian Omilion (Omilion Audio)
YT – @omilionaudio
IG – https://instagram.com/omilionaudio
Mason “The Rig Doctor” Marangella (Vertex Effects)
YT – @VertexEffectsInc
IG – https://instagram.com/vertexeffects
#guitaramp #guitaramplifier #guitaramps
#Guitar #Amps #Budget #Boutique #PsionicAudio
Originally posted by UC0lvt4Tpj5xI4Cfzfz4SHzg at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfnA0Dd-7jE
23:22 – The AC4, AC15, and AC10 are all cheap Chinese amps as far as I am concerned. You get what you pay for. I am a Vox and Fender Fan.
I also have Orange, Mesa, Marshall, Blackstar, Behringer, Burger, Crate, Kustom, Johnson, Acoustic, Ampeg, and Peavey for reference.
If you ever owed hardwireds, then you know it's kind of dumb. Those cabinets aren't that great, and some of them sound boxy.
I heard you complain about the Supro stuff, and they are cheap, too. Their cabinets aren't good either. I recently watched a couple of those videos because I picked up the Delta King 12" 1822 for $350 tax included. I like the sound. It looks like a good amp to mod. The boards definitely are better than '90s Fenders, though, which are paper-thin, with thin copper traces, and they can easily crack.
On all of my Vox amps, I changed out the Chinese tubes. A couple of times, I changed out the speakers. I have an AC4C1 amp that I upgraded with a custom Weber ceramic 10" speaker, and it sounds good, but it could be better.
And yes, you have to take them apart to get to the tubes. If you aren't willing to go through some effort to get what you want, then don't complain.
A lot of those amps you were talking about come up every day because people die. Their girlfriends sell their gear, or they end up in pawnshops. They are being forced to sell their gear by non-musicians. I have been pawn shopping since I was born. Some of the amps you were talking about are less than $400 currently.
The market has been oversaturated with gear, so some of that stuff, like the Hotrod Deluxe, the Deville, and the Blues Jr, are everywhere. I can walk into pawn shops or see posts on Marketplace 24 hours a day. It is not hard to come across certain gear at all.
Getting what you want all comes down to patience and making sure you save the money.
If you can repair your own gear, then you really don't have to worry about it dying the majority of the time. You can always fix the overheating issues by using heat sinks and fans.
Impossible to choose for me. Love them all and great job! You turned me on to Children of Bodom.
Whats a mod I should do for the hot rod deluxe before it burns ??
Just waiting to see where the Bugera 6262 lands
If you’re into high-end boutique tone, I just saw a demo for the new G-Craft GC-1 amp — co-designed by Joe Walsh. Only a few exist. https://youtu.be/y1LKS9DY6qg?si=UfBLib7CFN-Ybt-F
Great video guys! Please bring Lyle back to further discuss amps. I loved the tangents, but would like to hear his opinion on the build quality of amps such as Headstrong, Vintage Sounds, Victoria etc.
I did get an early blackface VibroChamp (1964?) in 1978 from a friend for $30. Had to pawn in 1981, for $30.
Got sticker shock 10 years ago when I looked those up on Reverb. ????
When the Hell is Fender gonna address the now obvious bias issue on the Blues Jr? We are at version IV of the BJr, and all I see in the versions are exterior, cosmetic minor changes. Fix the bias, Fender. This should have been addressed a decade ago! How many power tubes, pc boards have to burn before the fix is done at the factory?
I’ve always said,,, don’t buy a Logo. Guitar or Amp. You pay a Lot more just for the Logo. More often than not? It ain’t worth the extra money.
Thank you for allowing Jr on the set today,
it brought out a totally different side of Lyle, which I was glad to see.
Go Dads, go! Raise them right, with tons of love. Good show Mason.
Maybe a show on replacing cheap pcb's with the mods and methods required for 'hand-wiring'?
12” Princeton (the one with the larger cabinet, not sticking a 12” speaker in the 10” cab) is my favorite amp for home use.
I’m very skeptical about boutique amps after buying an expensive Morgan Princeton type, having many problems with it. The parts used are really cheap, all Chinese tubes, caps etc, bad input jack, poor grounding etc, etc. I had the components completely re-done by a pro, but at a cost. Other well known expensive amps are built in the same factory such as freeman, and Magnatone. I hope they are better built than the Morgan. I will stick with mid 60’s fender amps and other quality amps of that era, that properly serviced will last till the end of time and hold their value.
I will never understand when there is a well-known problem on an amp, they just keep making it anyway. Come on Fender watch Lyle dissect an amp and fix what needs fixing. I want a new Princeton but I'm afraid to buy one. I'm old school, I think you buy an amp once and it should last a lifetime. Louie Shelton did with his '69 Princeton.
It's funny how no one on a real, knowledgeable amplifier based video mentions the Vox Pathfinder 15r, when the discussion turns to solid state practice amps.
And you're right about Seal/Jeff Beck; absolutely classic!
great podcast..re fx loop dry/wet rigs are the go..at some gigs the foh has no decent fx and in house guys that glare when your sound guy even looks at his 1987 boomer delay. so im always dry/wet. job done but you still have to know how to plug in all those options.also as a total music hound ill use a broken bike wheel if it makes me a amazing sound.but running your delays and modulations into another power amp being fed from your main amp still works and can be done nowadays with really light solid state stuff..tube amp at the heart.the amp from steely dan you mentioned i have one please keep it quiet..ha ha.
Lyle makes me never buy a factory made amp ever again
Brian should write a textbook on amplifiers. I would definitely buy that.
Lyle should do voiceovers
I got an original Fender de Luxe reverb from the 60s it's been maltreated but eventually found the right persons that did the right things they are right saying tha is one of the best Amp ever cheers from Italy ( ps how I got it is a long story….)
Marshall told me they've quit making boards for dsl 40 c . Now u know .
Please tell us what a beginner or intermediate player on a budget should get for home use (non digital) that's above 5 amps. I have a Blackstar fly, and it's great for travel and home use and sounds good. But buying that along with the not included AC adapter I spent nearly $100. It's a freaking 3 watt amp! It's a joke what these amps are going for. Man i with I still had my Fender Super Champ! Rock on
Very little of our communication uses satellites, zoom or whatever they are using certainly doesn’t lol
Any comment on the Engl Fireball 25?
Clickbait title
Tophat definitely deserves way more love!
Great video. Glad I came across it.
Did he do a review on the Monoprice 1×12? If so tag me
He mentioned peavey solid state. Peavey solid state has been my sound such i started back guitar and cant spend much money
Lyle is great… And more!
No matter what I play through, it sounds like me. It is in your fingers. I'm loaded and have, or have had, about everything there is. Tools. Learn to use them, or that boutique screw driver will still strip the screw. There was a day when guitar players did everything they could to be unique. That died. Go Xerox…lol.
That's a cute Kid! I am looking for Jimmy Page with a LP through whatever. Gotta have that sound on Sick Again
I love Orange amps, but those pots have always bothered me. I put shims in the split shaft on mine to not break them with the set screw. I would like to change them one day, but luckily no failures yet outside of cleaning. Theres a couple other small things they do I don’t like, molex connectors for the filaments right on the tube socket thats soldered to the PCB and hot glue gobbed on top. This has been a failure point, and I think the newer amps now solder direct. My Rocker 30 which I love has cathode biased EL34’s, and the large cemet bias resistors just kind of hang unsupported on the board. They move when things warm up. I have a chasis mount resistor to fix this. The Chinese amps have quite a few QC issues.
On the newer Vox AC30’s I’m not impressed. I bought one new about 5 years ago, no experience with Vox before, but after 30 minutes of playing it would crackle. Being under warranty I took it back to the store and they replaced all the tubes for me. Took it home, same thing. I opened it up just to have a look and thought the PCB was kind if cheap looking, thin and a little bent where it was fixed. I didn’t want to dissemble because it was new and warrantied, so I took it back to the store. They thought I was crazy, but they kept it for testing and later phoned me and confirmed that it was crackling after 30 minutes. They said they would replace it or refund me, so I took the refund. I didn’t want another after what I saw inside the amp. Also, the cabinet was MDF. Didn’t seem worth it for the price when I could get a nicer amp for the money, namely a handwired made in Canada Traynor YGM3 (I’m in Canada)
On effects loops I’m 100% solid sate if its designed well. They don’t color the tone, theres no tube to go bad and you’re likely putting solid state devices in that loop anyways, what difference is adding two more solid state stages in there that sound good (designed well) and are consistent. I’ve installed tube loops that absolutely changed the tone and characteristic of the amp vs a solid state where I can barely if even tell the difference. I always install an effects loop bypass switch, but it honestly isn’t necessary I find when you have a good effects loop, its more for the mind.
Lyle is such a treasure to listen to!
I been using a Blackstar studio 10 6L6 and its a light weight tube amp with an excellent sound, its loud and gigable. If you like the 6L6 fender or mesa sound its great. You can find them for $500 or even less brand new or open box.
Headstrong lil king (s)? Seems a lot of money but endgame to me…
Suhr Bella or Friedman Twin Sister Combo or Bad Cat Hot Cat 1X12 ????
About Peavey:
A few months ago I played with an old bandmate of mine for the first time since 1993.
In 1993 he played his father’s old Peavey Deuce 100 watt 2×12 tube combo. At band rehearsals I’d play my bass into it too, together with him playing his guitar into it. I used to rent a bass amp for gigs. It sounded great. Only thing was the reverb unit needed repair. But hey, when you’re young you want new guitars and not spent money on stupid repairs… ????
So, after 31 years we played together for the first time again. We both had been playing for all those years but never met up again because we both moved to different cities.
Guess what! He was still playing that same old Peavey Deuce!! Only had to change the power tubes a few times and yes, the reverb unit still acted funny… ????
As a bassplayer I learned early on about the importance of good speakers and cabinets (and the combination of both…).
So I invested in various high quality ones.
I don’t care so much if my amp head only lasts 5 to 10 years, like Markbass, Taurus, Aguilar. But, I stay away from brands like Ashdown and Ampeg the last 15-20 years. Their amps, even the more expensive models, sometimes are already broken on the website…????
(My old Trace Elliot head from the mid 80’s still works like it came from the factory yesterday. ????)
But what I’m seeing with guitarplayers these days is the opposite: they buy a nice amp head, and what cash is left is for just a cabinet!
Also, they change out speakers without even checking if they’ve been designed to go with the cabinet… And than typically don’t understand why the ‘stupid speakers’ sound like sh*t…
I find that strange. More so because all the information is just a few clicks away, quality brands are quite easy to approach on internet and even almost all their guitar heroes have their own Youtube channels and are in contact with their fans almost on a day to day basis.
any thoughts on roland jc120?
I'd like Lyle's opinion of Quilter amps. Specifically the Cub models.
Dear Lyle, i fully respect your knowledge about tube amps so if you say that a tube amp has design problems, its probably true.
But while you can have factual and objective criticism about a design of a tube amp, any comment about sound is always subjective.
There are no good or bad sounding amps, there are just amp that you think sound nice and amps that you think do not sounds nice.
And dont forget that some of the most beautiful solo guitar sounds are made with very inexpensive, weird, incorrectly used or sometimes even broken amps 😉
Budget: Vox ac30 or ac15 by far
It was Manic Depression that Seal and Jeff Beck covered. Holy smokes what a track that was.
Lyle is awesome. Love Psionic
Lyle, 1st off. I enjoy watching your amp service videos. I’m always impressed on your knowledge.
Mason,
I have a vertex steel string V2 I believe,
It’s a bit microphonic.
You can hear me tapping on the pedal through the amp.
I bought it in 2020 I believe.
I love that pedal, however I have to remove off the chain due to the noise when I click it on.
Do you think it is a ground issue?