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Posted
22 hours ago, Rimbo said:

So, in my merry world of fake amps, my audio interface just added a free version of STL AmpHub, which includes two shitty guitar amp sims and one 5150 v3.

It's very very good.

I just loaned my EVH 5150 iii, EL84 50w to a friend to plug into the 1960a cab he's already borrowing from me. He says its the best sounding amp he's ever heard and now shopping for his own. Ive never even heard it through that cabinet, I just play through the 1x12 EVH cab i keep here. 

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Posted
56 minutes ago, AnotherUTFan said:

I just loaned my EVH 5150 iii, EL84 50w to a friend to plug into the 1960a cab he's already borrowing from me. He says its the best sounding amp he's ever heard and now shopping for his own. Ive never even heard it through that cabinet, I just play through the 1x12 EVH cab i keep here. 

Well, this is an unofficial sim, but it sure does sound a lot like the real thing.

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Posted
On 6/22/2025 at 4:57 PM, Vanilla Strange Gato said:

I want to get an amp that takes pedals and is a little more traditional than what I currently use, which is a Spark Mini.  The Spark is fine for practice, but I would like to take the training wheels off and get on a big kid bike. 
 

At some point, I could see an ENGL Steve Morse head and some brand of cabinet being the answer.  It sounds really good.  I don’t need to be spend $1600 on a head right now and however much a good cabinet would run. 
 

The Line 6 or whatever the new Fender modeling board is called get some good reviews and can do a lot.  I’m not as familiar with what all I need to make that work. 
 

At this stage, a 50w Gen 3 Boss Katana looks like it would do everything I want and more.  It’s just me playing at home right now.  I’ve had a couple of invites to come jam with some other guys but that hasn’t happened yet and I would like to get a looper so I can practice improvising.  
 

What do you more experienced players recommend?

Used Tweed Fender Bassman.  My son picked on up a few years ago for about $750. 

Posted

My son suggested we get a kit from StewMac and build an amp together.  Y’all have any opinions on their amps?

It wouldn’t save any money.  Those kits are not cheap compared to just buying a similar amp that is already built. 

Could be a fun project though. 

Posted
My son suggested we get a kit from StewMac and build an amp together.  Y’all have any opinions on their amps?
It wouldn’t save any money.  Those kits are not cheap compared to just buying a similar amp that is already built. 

Could be a fun project though. 
Even basic amp building is very tricky for people with electronics backgrounds. I myself have repaired several vintagetube amps. I've installed mods to others and needed help because often the instructions are incomplete or assume a basic knowledge of certain aspects. That said, I've considered doing a kit project from somebody reputable like StewMac or MojoTone. If I do, I would do a very simple Champ type circuit or similat for my 1st build.

That's my opinion and I don't know your electronic/technical background. There are a lot of horror stories out there. Do your research.
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Posted

If you just want something for pedals I wouldn’t get a katana or any other modeling amp. The point of a modeling amp is they have all the pedals built in.

 

I’d get a low watt fender tube amp like a blues jr or a pro junior. They sound fantastic clean or with any pedals you want in front. If you really want to go economical monoprice has a 15 and even a 5 watt tube amp that get crazy good reviews for the price.

 

id go mojotone for a build.  

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Posted
9 hours ago, AnotherUTFan said:

Even basic amp building is very tricky for people with electronics backgrounds. I myself have repaired several vintagetube amps. I've installed mods to others and needed help because often the instructions are incomplete or assume a basic knowledge of certain aspects. That said, I've considered doing a kit project from somebody reputable like StewMac or MojoTone. If I do, I would do a very simple Champ type circuit or similat for my 1st build.

That's my opinion and I don't know your electronic/technical background. There are a lot of horror stories out there. Do your research.

Thanks for the input.  All good to consider. 
 

My son is an electrical engineer and worked on robotics teams in high school and college so he’s got some skills. 
 

I last soldered when I worked a semester at IBM up on Burnet Road prior to the PS2 rollout.  To be fair, I did solder a LOT, but that was a long time ago.  But it’s not difficult. I would just need a refresher. 

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Posted
1 hour ago, tbone_ said:

If you just want something for pedals I wouldn’t get a katana or any other modeling amp. The point of a modeling amp is they have all the pedals built in.

 

I’d get a low watt fender tube amp like a blues jr or a pro junior. They sound fantastic clean or with any pedals you want in front. If you really want to go economical monoprice has a 15 and even a 5 watt tube amp that get crazy good reviews for the price.

 

id go mojotone for a build.  

Also appreciate your input.  I had not considered Mojotone or Monoprice but will look into those. 

  • 3 months later...
Posted

Just ordered one of these cheep ($270) Chinese busking amps to see how well it might work with the modeling pedalboard, vocal mic and a Boss RC-10R looper that also provides some drum sounds.  I have a nice PA, but its a lot to carry around two speakers, a board and a sub.  This would be a grab and go thing for when the PA is overkill, which is more often than not.

https://www.coolmusic-tech.com/shows/12/13.html

947428fce79c0795685fc95a977f9163.jpg

4531d1c9f10e5f72defd12fab89f77f9.jpg

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Posted
17 hours ago, Goredho said:

Just ordered one of these cheep ($270) Chinese busking amps to see how well it might work with the modeling pedalboard, vocal mic and a Boss RC-10R looper that also provides some drum sounds.  I have a nice PA, but its a lot to carry around two speakers, a board and a sub.  This would be a grab and go thing for when the PA is overkill, which is more often than not.

https://www.coolmusic-tech.com/shows/12/13.html

947428fce79c0795685fc95a977f9163.jpg

4531d1c9f10e5f72defd12fab89f77f9.jpg

How does it sound?

Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, tbone_ said:

How does it sound?

So I got a chance to mess with it a bit in what is a typical live scenario for me:

  • Boss RC-10R looper to loop the harmony/backing track elements and provide drums/rhythm
  • Looped rhythm guitar using a Tonex one in lieu of an amp
  • Looped guitar detuned an octave to serve as bass
  • Lead guitar using a Tonex one + pedals
  • Vocals with a Shure SM57

It objectively sounds very good.  Exceptional if you consider the price.  I was impressed with the clarity/articulation that lets you hear all of those different elements well as a mix.  I already owned a Roland Cube Street EX that is more than twice the price, and this sounds light years better.  Listening to them side by side, the Roland sounds like the cheap Chinese piece of shit.

What it lacks is bottom end, which you just aren't going to get with 8" speakers.  Its fine for the scope of gigging I'd do with this, but if you are wanting people to feel the bass thumping, this isn't the right gear. It does have a line out, so I am going to see how that sounds with my PA's subwoofer.  Anyway, I think this little thing is a killer small gig rig that would work well for a singer/songwriter type, vocalist/accompaniment duo or one man band type thing like I tend to do.  Or if you just want a small thing to render modelled guitar amp sounds.  It probably has enough preamp for an acoustic guitar, but if you want to play electric, you are going to want something like the Tonex to provide amp/cab sounds through this.

Attaching a clip so you can hear what this sounds like with all those elements going through it.  This was just recorded using an iphone, so, if it sucks, that's why.

Edit:  Build quality seems solid, but no idea how it holds up to being lugged around and bumped.  They cut corners somewhere in this thing, but its not in the sound/features.

Edited by Goredho
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Posted

On a completely unrelated note, today I learned that Delbert McClinton taught John Lennon the harmonica licks he used on Love Me Do.

 

In honor of that, I post this, which is just a seriously bad ass tune

 

 

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