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description: Audio advice and discussions with audiophiles and professionals. Free discussion forums, open to all and frequented by industry experts. Ask questions and get advice on stereos, speakers, hi-end amplifiers, pre-amps, home theater, tube hi-fi, turntables, vinyl, tweaks, music, films, video, DVDs and more.
items: Price ranges
items: Re: Price ranges

Price ranges
type: item
description: I have no idea what I am shopping for but I would like to surprise the mate with a new amp. Right now there is a very old Fender, but I know thats not the preferred brand. The bad part? I have no idea how to justify the prices I see for the brands I am looking at.
creator: candoon
date: 2010-03-25T17:21:18-00:00

Re: Price ranges
type: item
description: Fender not a preferred brand? That's the first I've ever heard anyone thinking of Fender as an off-brand. Maybe things have changed but it seems to me they have always been one of the favorites, like Marshall. I know now days there are lots of choices, and maybe Fender has fallen out of favor, but I can't imagine that. At any rate, you can't go wrong with a classic Fender amp, like a Twin Reverb or something like that.
creator: Wayne Parham
date: 2010-03-25T18:44:40-00:00

Re: Price ranges
type: item
description: Howdy Candoon, What type of music do they like to play, and what kind of guitar do they have? These two preferences (especially the first one) will have a huge bearing on what type of amplifier to buy. Most players prefer tube amps (which are generally more expensive) over solid state amps, even for room-volume practice. Tube amps most always sound and "feel" better, although there are good solid state amps and bad tube amps. However, there are MANY different categories of tube amps, depending on which genre of music you play. Thermionic
creator: Thermionic
date: 2010-03-29T15:22:35-00:00

Re: Price ranges
type: item
description: Hi Wayne, Fender amps can range from "the Mother of Tone" to "avoid it like the plague at all costs," depending on the year and model. While Fender is indeed a household name and made some amps half a decade ago that are still spoken of in hushed, reverent tones by players today, they definitely made some real turkeys too, especially some of the '70s amps with ultralinear output stages, and most of their solid state stuff since when they introduced it in '66 or '67 to present. Nearly anything pre-1968 is highly desirable (except solid state, of course), with amps made before '65 (when CBS bought Fender) being the most valuable. Although CBS didn't really mess things up until '68 when they introduced the "silverface" series, quality had really went down in '67 after they had finished running off the old employees and bringing in unskilled replacements. Pre-1960 amps are among the most valuable and collectible. These include the "woody" (bare wood cabinetry) amps of '46-'47, and especially the '48-'59 tweed-covered amps, simply known to players as "tweeds." A '59 Bassman is considered the Holy Grail, and is worth several grand in decent condition. Tweed Fenders in general have a fat, warm, gutsy clean tone that serves blues, jazz, and country players well, that grows quite a bit of hair on it when the amp is pushed hard. The first Marshall amp was built on Jim Marshall's kitchen table using the tweed Bassman circuit, except with a different output transformer, all-ECC83/12AX7 preamp tubes (the Bassman's first stage had a 12AY7), and KT66 power tubes instead of 6L6 (which were very expensive in England). The eventual definitive production version of this amp was called the JTM45. "Brownfaces" or "brownies" were made from '59 to '63, and had both brown and cream Tolex coverings, and wheat-weave or oxblood grillecloths, and of course, brown faceplates. The rare '63 Vibroverb represents the cream of the crop in brownface/blond-era amplifiers, and is considered one of the …
creator: Thermionic
date: 2010-03-29T15:33:46-00:00

Re: Price ranges
type: item
description: Wow, excellent, interesting information. Thanks! I knew the 1960's Twin Reverbs and the like were the cat's meow for musician friends of mine. But I now see Fender made some lemons too. I guess that's probably true for their guitars as well.
creator: Wayne Parham
date: 2010-03-29T16:47:16-00:00

Re: Price ranges
type: item
description: Wayne Parham wrote on Mon, 29 March 2010 11:47 Wow, excellent, interesting information. Thanks! You're welcome! I've been playing guitar for around 30 years, and servicing guitar amps for a bit over 25. I also build custom, made-to-order guitar amps designed to a customer's specific tonal preferences. So, it would be a cryin' shame if I hadn't learned at least a little bit of Fender history by now, LOL! Wayne Parham wrote on Mon, 29 March 2010 11:47 I knew the 1960's Twin Reverbs and the like were the cat's meow for musician friends of mine. Blackface Twins are THE vintage amp for clean country and blues tones, as well as certain clean jazz tones. They also have an incredible tone for funky, jangly chords played on a Strat with the pickup selector set to position 4. Actually, pretty much anything you play on a Strat or Tele into a blackface twin is gonna sound good, as long as it's a clean (not overdriven) sound you're looking for. Also, Gibson ES335-type guitars + blackface Twin = killer blues tone. Wayne Parham wrote on Mon, 29 March 2010 11:47 But I now see Fender made some lemons too. I guess that's probably true for their guitars as well. Yep, they made some hokey guitars too, again because of the bean counters at CBS poking their noses into things they didn't understand. Fender's guitars went to pot about the same time as the amps did. Any time (1) your sole motivation is maximum profit margin without regard to quality and usefulness, and (2) you place the design of artisan products in the hands of "white-coated engineers" that cannot comprehend anything but figures on paper, the same thing will always happen. When CBS put Fender up for sale in 1983, it was still making money but just barely. Had it not been bought in 1984 by Fender's management and some investors (who were themselves musicians and as a result musician-minded) who resurrected it from the dead, CBS would have probably had to eventually close it down. However, even those guys made some mistakes …
creator: Thermionic
date: 2010-03-30T03:38:00-00:00

Re: Price ranges
type: item
description: Sorry to have confused just about everyone it seems, when I noted preferred brand I should have said its not my spouses preferred brand. I know that I hear the complaining almost all of the time of just "how old it is" and how its "been around for so long". I am just wondering if maybe I can upgrade and give the gift of a surprise instead.
creator: candoon
date: 2010-04-14T19:34:12-00:00

Re: Price ranges
type: item
description: What kind of music will be played with what kind of guitar? That's really the basics of where to even start looking. I've got several different kinds of amps and guitars. From a early 90's Epiphone Les Paul to Paul Reed Smith PA SE. Peavey 5150 combo for hard rock to the dreaded early 70's Fender Silverface Vibrochamp. Nothing pricey in my arsenal. What I really want is a USA Strat with a Fender Tweed Deluxe (or 5E3 clone) for blues.
creator: Shane
date: 2010-04-28T04:15:25-00:00

Re: Price ranges
type: item
description: Most a rock fan but some blues too, which I adore. Les Paul, I would love but I am not sure if my budget can allow for it. Mostly right now its still picking what works best for the needs (which I can only tell by being a fan) and then saved up and hoping prices do not change too much. Still looking into this, it didn't happen for the birthday so I hope by Yule if at all possible.
creator: candoon
date: 2010-06-11T17:33:39-00:00

Re: Price ranges
type: item
description: I would like to add, which I am sure most of us are aware of...the more distortion you need, the LOWER the wattage. If you want to play creamy blues, get the 250watt. If you want to play screaming shred, 15-50 watts should cover it. The reasoning is pretty simple: a 15-watt combo at full blast is going to create a good metal tone. a 250watt dialed back considerably to suit the volume is not going to be. And same thing the other way. a 15 watt is not going to be loud enough once you produce the tone you want for blues. Or you could find a very old SRD power soak, which was built so a marshall stack could be set all the way up without being 150db.
creator: Adveser
date: 2010-07-25T02:59:56-00:00

Re: Price ranges
type: item
description: Adveser wrote on Sat, 24 July 2010 21:59 I would like to add, which I am sure most of us are aware of...the more distortion you need, the LOWER the wattage. If you want to play creamy blues, get the 250watt. If you want to play screaming shred, 15-50 watts should cover it. The reasoning is pretty simple: a 15-watt combo at full blast is going to create a good metal tone. a 250watt dialed back considerably to suit the volume is not going to be. And same thing the other way. a 15 watt is not going to be loud enough once you produce the tone you want for blues. Or you could find a very old SRD power soak, which was built so a marshall stack could be set all the way up without being 150db. Agreed on the distortion, if you're using distortion direct from the amp. OTOH, a good distortion pedal will eliminate the "need" for a low wattage amp. 15W is plenty of amp in my experience, especially if you're just playing by yourself. If you're not and you're gigging, most likely you'll be mic'd thru the PA system and it won't matter anyhow. I gigged with a 10W amp for the better part of a year because of setting up that way.
creator: Shane
date: 2010-07-25T03:05:54-00:00

Re: Price ranges
type: item
description: Take it from one who knows... the best and only present worth giving to a man obsessed is the thing he is obsessed with! Better to save for the item than to risk giving something else
creator: Taylor-Sue
date: 2010-08-07T14:09:04-00:00