If you had to pick ONE amp, what would it be?

[mbrown3]

Just for a second, imagine you had to narrow things down to just ONE amp...which would you pick and why?

[Wbb]

Just for a second, imagine you had to narrow things down to just ONE amp...which would you pick and why? Based on what I've owned and tried for the last 25 years, it would be my Dr Z Maz Sr head. Easy to cart around, 3 individual ohm taps makes it simple to use many different cabs depending on my mood, and lastly: the amp just KILLS... a couple of pedals in front and I'm a very happy camper.

[Stan Malinowski]

My Blackface Fender Princeton Reverb, tricked out with a lot of mods (basically blueprinted it myself). I could listen to any of my single coil Strat guitars into this amp for the rest of my life! It is a bit too loud for my confined playing areas so I typically use my Carr Mercury - excellent built-in-attenuator.

[joe1962]

Wow, that's a tough one. I guess if I had to I'd go with my Dr Z Maz Sr combo. It's versatile enough tonally to cover most any style I'd play with a couple of pedals added. I'd hate to have to give up my Marshall crunch and Fender clean though.

[Smokehouse]

I would have to go with the latest Amp I just acquired..my Germino Classic 45 head with a Germino 2x12 cab. It does the vintage tone in spades. Very soulful & articulate. Cleans up with the guitar vol as good as I have ever heard. Can do all the old ZZ Top, Stones, Hendrix "Monterey", and plenty more. This amp takes me back to the reason I picked up the guitar in the first place. If you guys ever have a chance to try one you wont be dissaponted !! Plus Greg Germino is a true pleasure to deal with and backs his amps for life.

Smokehouse

[joe1962]

I would have to go with the latest Amp I just acquired..my Germino Classic 45 head with a Germino 2x12 cab. It does the vintage tone in spades. Very soulful & articulate. Cleans up with the guitar vol as good as I have ever heard. Can do all the old ZZ Top, Stones, Hendrix "Monterey", and plenty more. This amp takes me back to the reason I picked up the guitar in the first place. If you guys ever have a chance to try one you wont be dissaponted !! Plus Greg Germino is a true pleasure to deal with and backs his amps for life.

Smokehouse

+1 on all of that. I had a Masonette combo for a year and a half then moved up to the Lead 55 and 2x12 cab that I currently own. If you like old Marshalls you can't help but be impressed with Greg's amps, and he's a great person to deal with as well.

[michaelomiya]

'76 JMP 2203 - ripping tone out of the box, all the 60's, 70's and 80's tones right there. Add a boost or OD pedal and you're there.

a tad more brightness? '81 JCM800 2203 - see above w/ a tad more cut and presence.

NOTHING compares. (nonMV's are cool, just not as useable IMHO :D, and I've played/owned several)

[John Price]

I would stay with the one I've got now! LoneStar Head w/Genz Benz Cab! :D

[sylvanshine]

Bogner Ecstasy Classic- 3 channels with boost on each, killer fx loop, Class A/AB, Full/half power, plexi mode. While it might not be the best at each of it's channels, you'd have to lug at least 3 amps around to get the same sounds.

[pluto]

I agree with Mike. Stock, I would say a 2203 or 2204, JMP or JCM, whatever, doesn't matter. I don't know if I would a pick a '76 or '81 like Mike, but those amps are great. Plug in a cheapo overdrive or boost to slam the front end for hard rock and metal. Distortion with or without a boost is clean sounding and string to string definition is awesome. No muddiness to speak of. Just be careful with the presence and treble knobs though-can be a little too bright when the volume is high. Roll down the volume, and voila, very warm and BIG clean tones. Also, make sure it's plugged into a 4x12 cab with G12H speakers-that's the tone!!

[BFC]

Barber Echelon head, Barber 2x12/1x10 cabinet, and a pile of tubes. My kids will have to figure out what to do with that amp when I'm gone.

:cool:

Brian

[dannopelli]

Fender Evil Twin. The one without the the Tremelo.

[Jon Henrik]

I think I would have picked up a Bogner Ecstasy, or something as unconventional as the Line6 Vetta II.

The Bogner is probably the best-sounding amp I know about, and the Vetta is just so full of different amp sounds and versatality. I'm fully aware that modelling-amps probably is like cursing in church among you tube-freaks, but I think it would have been a great choice I I only could have picked up one amp...

[guitarzan]

That's a great point about the Vetta. I'm a recovering Line 6 addict and was willing to fight to defend the validity of the vetta in the pro-player rig world for a long time. It's just SO pickin' versatile- and you can't argue with that (especially when the amp model authenticity deficiencies are hidden in a full band setting). After a while, I just realized that I wanted to get closer to "my" sound than 72 others so I cannibalized the entire digital rig and invested in tube amps and stompboxes. BUT, if I had to choose a desert island amp, it would be hard not to put the Vetta in the top three choices. I'd like to say that I'd be loyal to my Tone King (my one true love) but I haven't had the pleasure of test driving many of the higher end (3k+) amps that offer substantial gain.

[jimmieb]

'76 JMP 2203 - ripping tone out of the box, all the 60's, 70's and 80's tones right there. Add a boost or OD pedal and you're there.

a tad more brightness? '81 JCM800 2203 - see above w/ a tad more cut and presence.

NOTHING compares. (nonMV's are cool, just not as useable IMHO :D, and I've played/owned several)

+1. May you know Paul Stebner of Guitar Remedy in Tustin CA. He plays one
and it is amazing. One the coolest low end response amps around. A couple OD pedals and a 4x12 grinds to your hearts content. Who else uses the JMP's?

Jimmie B

[jimmieb]

'76 JMP 2203 - ripping tone out of the box, all the 60's, 70's and 80's tones right there. Add a boost or OD pedal and you're there.

a tad more brightness? '81 JCM800 2203 - see above w/ a tad more cut and presence.

NOTHING compares. (nonMV's are cool, just not as useable IMHO :D, and I've played/owned several)

+1. Maybe you know Paul Stebner of Guitar Remedy in Tustin CA. He plays one and it is amazing. One the coolest low end response amps around. A couple OD pedals and a 4x12 grinds to your hearts content. Who else uses the JMP's?

Jimmie B

[jimmieb]

'76 JMP 2203 - ripping tone out of the box, all the 60's, 70's and 80's tones right there. Add a boost or OD pedal and you're there.

a tad more brightness? '81 JCM800 2203 - see above w/ a tad more cut and presence.

NOTHING compares. (nonMV's are cool, just not as useable IMHO :D, and I've played/owned several)

+1. Maybe you know Paul Stebner of Guitar Remedy in Tustin CA. He plays one and it is amazing. One the coolest low end response amps around. A couple OD pedals and a 4x12 grinds to your hearts content. Who else uses the JMP's?

Jimmie B

[jimmieb]

I would stay with the one I've got now! LoneStar Head w/Genz Benz Cab! :D

I've got to say I agree, I love my Lone Star 2x12 Combo as well. I'm not sure which Genz Benz cab your using and I am curious why not a Boogie Cab?
Still one amp, I'd have go with George Harrison's BF Deluxe of Abbey Road and Let it Be fame. Love that tone. "I got a Feelin, a feeling deep inside, Oh yeah." The tone of those two chord changes in the intro to that song are inprinted in my mind forever. If the Harrison family where unwilling to part with it, My second choice would be Clapton's Blues Breaker Marshall. I think that is what he used on 'Strange Brew' that tone of that snappy staccato in between the verses... amazing tone!

Jimmie B

[michaelomiya]

+1. May you know Paul Stebner of Guitar Remedy in Tustin CA. He plays one
and it is amazing. One the coolest low end response amps around. A couple OD pedals and a 4x12 grinds to your hearts content. Who else uses the JMP's?

Jimmie B

Yup. I had Paul work on an Ibanez 540S back in the early 90's. Very cool guy (just took like 3 weeks for a set-up. Oh well, he was doing stuff for Ty Tabor at the time, so I excused him for the delay!) :D