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What was your first amplifier?

RexKeltoi

By RexKeltoi
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RexKeltoi

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My first amplifier was a Traynor, loathed the thing and could get no useable tones but had to stick it out and got a Marshall combo a year later. Only had one modelling amp a long time ago a Peavey Vypyr which I also hated, never managed to get a tone I liked and it always sounds artificial. 

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RelentlessOblivion Grand Master

RelentlessOblivion

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My first was some no name, brand amp that came with my first guitar, a knock off Fender Strat. It only had a clean channel, and even when I bought an Epiphone Les Paul about a year later, the tone it produced, sounded God, awful, muddy and tinny at the same time.

 

currently, I’m using a Peavey Envoy 110 which I’ve had for close to 15 years, probably about time I pick up something newer if I’m honest.

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FatherAlabaster Grand Master

FatherAlabaster

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My very first amp was a Crate practice amp combo. Nothing good to say about the sound but it was fine to get started on. It had distortion and it might have had reverb. I don't miss it.

Those old Traynors can be great with decent cabinets and the right pedals. I had a 40 or 50 watt head for ten or fifteen years and I really enjoyed it. I wound up trading it in for the 100 watt Traynor head I still use. Mostly in my bass rig but lately I've been using it alongside my main amp and getting pretty good metal guitar sounds out of it. It really does need the right distortion pedal though, or a couple that stack well. Fantastic clean tones.

The Peavey Vypyr amps are terrible. There's much better modeling stuff available now. I'm happy with my tube amps though.

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RexKeltoi

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23 hours ago, FatherAlabaster said:

My very first amp was a Crate practice amp combo. Nothing good to say about the sound but it was fine to get started on. It had distortion and it might have had reverb. I don't miss it.

Those old Traynors can be great with decent cabinets and the right pedals. I had a 40 or 50 watt head for ten or fifteen years and I really enjoyed it. I wound up trading it in for the 100 watt Traynor head I still use. Mostly in my bass rig but lately I've been using it alongside my main amp and getting pretty good metal guitar sounds out of it. It really does need the right distortion pedal though, or a couple that stack well. Fantastic clean tones.

The Peavey Vypyr amps are terrible. There's much better modeling stuff available now. I'm happy with my tube amps though.

Mine was a combo so maybe a head with a decent cab would have better, guess I'll never know.

19 hours ago, AlSymerz said:

My first amplifier was a 25W four channel valve amp that I made myself.

(I realise the topic is about guitar amps but I don't care I just want to be involved!)

The fact you made your amp is pretty impressive, I have problems setting up my pedalboard unfortunately 

On 2/16/2024 at 6:34 PM, RelentlessOblivion said:

My first was some no name, brand amp that came with my first guitar, a knock off Fender Strat. It only had a clean channel, and even when I bought an Epiphone Les Paul about a year later, the tone it produced, sounded God, awful, muddy and tinny at the same time.

 

currently, I’m using a Peavey Envoy 110 which I’ve had for close to 15 years, probably about time I pick up something newer if I’m honest.

My Tokai was a strat copy, great looking guitar red with black pick guard and accents but I hated the tremolo bridge. Sold it to my brother in Senile Decay who traded it with Joe Rico of Sacrifice for his Mockingbird which I hated. The bird had a sharp corner that digs into ribs when sitting, friggin hated it. Joe used the Tokai Strat in the Reanimation video you can check it out on YouTube.

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AlSymerz Grand Master

AlSymerz

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12 minutes ago, RexKeltoi said:

The fact you made your amp is pretty impressive, I have problems setting up my pedalboard unfortunately

Home electrician for decades. I love making circuits. I once made a guitar pedal for my cuz. I'm currently making a voltage sensitive relay to switch a battery in and out of a solar system.

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FatherAlabaster Grand Master

FatherAlabaster

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15 minutes ago, RexKeltoi said:

Mine was a combo so maybe a head with a decent cab would have better, guess I'll never know.

The speakers in their cabs had a bad reputation. I've never heard them. You can still get the old heads pretty cheap. Especially since they're a Canadian brand, you could probably find a good deal up there.

There are way better standalone options for metal tones. I had to do a lot of tweaking and messing around with gear to get a guitar sound I really like. But I would replace this one if it died, it's a great pedal platform and I love it on bass.

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RexKeltoi

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22 minutes ago, AlSymerz said:

Home electrician for decades. I love making circuits. I once made a guitar pedal for my cuz. I'm currently making a voltage sensitive relay to switch a battery in and out of a solar system.

There is some decent coin to be made in boutique pedals especially if you make your own enclosures, sheet metal was my first job mid 70's working on an old  manual Brown & Boggs brake press. 

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