It's been over 12 years...

Since I sold the last of my amps. 

I guess you could say I was one of the pioneers recording exclusively w/ amp sims. ;)

But listening to plenty of old rock and roll and finally having a place to settle down, I'm starting to miss my old Marshalls, particularly w/ the new Les Paul around. So I'm starting to look for something I could eventually buy, preferably w/o breaking the bank.

First consideration - I'd like the Marshall sound.
Second - high gain would be nice as an option, but I'm usually more after classic gain.
Third - I think I'd like something like a 1 x 12 combo.
Fourth - Preferably something below 30W. 15 would probably be even better.

So far, the one thing I've found which seems to match those expectations is a little combo by Marshall called DSL 15. It has tubes,  dual gain modes, 1 x 12 config and it's 15 watts. $600 new, though I might try to find a used one because, well, I'm a cheap bastard.

Anyone here have tried those or has any suggestions for alternatives? BTW, I'm really after that Marshall sound. Vox and Fenders or substitutes like Peavey and others may be an option afterwards.

Hey Rain!


Have you had a look at Blackstar? Made by ex-Marshall folks. They are really cool and most models come with it's own balanced record output which sounds good, from what people tell me. Most models have a control for American or British fuzz, they sound fantastic and are relatively cheap. I'm not sure how many combos they make if any, but you should look into them, they're popular and sounds amazing!

IMO of course
 
 
 
Edit to add: Here's the webiste for the company and yes they make Combos, affordable ones from 25w and up it seems. I work with so many guitarists who swear by these, ranging from Indie rock sound, massibe hi-gain stuff and a whole lot more in between. I am absolutely in love with the sound in those I have heard

If you ask 500 guitarists about this and you'll get 873,5 different opinions - it's beautiful

get a marshall, if you like the marshall sound.

there are so many good variations out there now.

if you want a recording amp, maybe consider one of these:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/JMP1C/


but my favorite "mini" amp right now, would probably be the Mesa Mini Rectifier

all-tube, EL-84-powered head gives you 2-channel/4-mode operaton
Each channel lets you switch between 10 watts and 25 watts
All-Tube, Fully Buffered FX Loop with True "Hard" Bypass Switch that fully removes FX Loop from signal path
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MiniRectHD/

my favorite part of the amp is the clean channel with the 'top boost' switch, sounds like a pushed AC15

really pedal friendly

you can get close to the authentic rectifier sound for HIGH gain, but it's a bit warmer than a real rectifier.

$59.99 and free shipping at AMS. Has a headphone out too.

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. If not as a first amp, I'll definitely consider these for the second and third and...

Blackstar - I've been curious to put those to test, especially considering the Marshall filiation. Plus, it has the word Black in it, must be a sign. ;) They seem to do nice little 1 x 12 combos which pack pretty much all the features I'm after.

Spacey - The drummer in my last band (mid 90s) used one of those gizmos to record his songs demos, w/ an old Gibson SG. I hated to admit it, but I think he had the best guitar sounds for demos - better than either the other guitar player or mine...

Herb - I browsed through Craigslit here in Vegas. There sure seems to be a few deals. 

That would only be fair to find the deal I guess, since I've sold some of those amps for peanuts - one Marshall combo which I loved - my first Marshall actually. I carried this thing on my shoulder by subway to just about every pawn shop I could find in Montreal. I think I got like $70 for it, just because the knobs were a bit noisy - nothing a 5 minute maintenance couldn't handle.

LOL

And Opeth too. Was one of my favorite bands in the genre, back in the days. :)
I've watched and listened to a couple of demos on Sweetwater's web site - including their little pedals - man, they sure pack in a lot of gain. Which would be cool because I could probably use that for some of my own projects. 


Probably won't be before a while, but it's fun to shop around for those things and see what my options are.

I love Mesa Boogies, but, for other guitarists. They're just not the right amp for me.

We were in the studio once - our first time actually - and I was trying to nail that solo, and having a hard time getting the right amount of gain from my own rig for it to really sing. I knew I could do it but the engineer wasn't the most patient guy and he began to be a bit pushy and said to just plug into the other guitarist's amp - a boogie. 

2 or 3 takes later, he said we were done, but I felt nauseous every time I heard that song afterwards. It's like it wasn't me playing - the solo was alright, almost too "perfect" - I hadn't earn that one, it always felt like we'd cheated.