I'm about to purchase my first tube combo amp, and it came to these three/four:
1. Fender Hot Rod Deluxe / Blues Deluxe reissue
2. Marshall JCM2000 DSL401
3. Randall RG50TC
I like tone of the following guitarists: Eric Johnson, SRV, David Gilmour, John Petrucci, Andy Timmons, Mark Knopfler, Eric Clapton, Steve Vai, Guthrie Gowan, Richie Kotzen, Vlatko Stefanovski (awsome Macedonian guitar virtuoso who plays BD, HRDx and Vox AC-30 with couple of pedals on stage)... I know I won't be getting the same tones as these guys, but in addition to the amp, I'll go for the Analogman DS-1 and/or BD-1 or most likely one of the new VOX Cooltron tube overdrive pedals (the one with two modes) with T.C. Electronic G-major for the effects (or skip T.C. and buy chorus, delay and one or two more pedals... that's another thread to be started)) - I'm a sucker for delay and chorus - Eric Johnson has grail tone - to me...
The thing that bothers me with Fender that it might have a great clean channel, but the lead is poorer, and it has shared EQ for all channels. It has 40W and it is made in Mexico. 6L6 tubes. Blues hasn't got the "more drive'" thing, but I think I won't use it, anyway...
Randall has 50W, two separate channels with their EQ, two modes on each channel, and as I read, Marshall-esque flavored sound. It has EL34 tubes and it is made in China.
Marshall is also 40W, two separate channels with boost on overdrive and it has EL84 tubes. Parallel loop.
I read somewhere (maybe on this forum) that HRD has somewhat of linear volume that it doesn't get louder above 5, and that is quite touchy in 0-5 range...
I'm torn between having a HRD/BD and bunch of pedals through a great (if that is the story with HRD/BD, that it has great clean channel) clean channel, or go for the Randall (or Marshall, being similar amp) that has two gain modes (vitage and modern) and its clean channel with some kind of a boost that sets it in light blues breakup...
These three/four amps are in the neighbourhood of 600-650 euros...
Please, help me if you can, this thing is getting the best of me! I need to close this thing and buy any of these three cause I need amp ASAP, and don't know which one to choose.
Please, suggest some settings for testing these amps, cause I'll be doing it within next few days.
Thank you.
mullmuzzler | OSSMT