Christmas Amp

[ImNotJohnnyRamone]

I have a question on amps guys. I have a Randall RG75 and a DOD Electrics amp that has no model number and hasn't been made since the early 90s. I think its time for an upgrade.

I play a little bit of everything, from The Ventures to Ramones and mostly everything in between so I need a good amp that can take care of all my musical playings. I'm trying to start a Ramones sounding band too and my Randall just doesn't have the sound I need.

What would be a good amp for me would you guys say? Id rather it be a head and cab and not over $600. I've thought Mosrite of course but thats just too much for me right now. I also thought Marshall, I saw this really cool half stack in red for $400 but they don't seem to sell it anymore.

[ZacJM]

Look around local stores, I wanted to upgrade and found a 100W Marshal for $200 that I snatched up last summer. Are you looking for new or just louder?

[zarfnober]

If you really want to sound like Johnny, you need a tube amp, especially if you want to play live anywhere. You'll also want to use Celestion G12-M greenback speakers. You can actually get by with just one 12" speaker if you're getting mic'd into a PA. Even a 5-10 watt tube amp with a greenback speaker will get you closer to where you want to be than a solid state amp. Early Ramones records were made with 100 watt Super Leads going into 2-4x12 cabs loaded with greenbacks, a key part of his sound. Greenbacks have a very distinctive sound, regardless of the tube amp they're plugged into, as long as you're on 10. You could even buy a Valve Junior combo and do some simple mods and use a greenback speaker.

Send me a PM with your email and I'll send you a photo of a mini stack I made with a modified valve junior. It kicks butt and it's for sale.

Rocco

[Olav]

These seem to be 'all the rage' on several guitar oriented forums. 20W all tubes at $249.

20W dimed is plenty loud in most situations, they usually get hooked up to 1x12s, imagine what they do through a 4x12...

Marshall has a budget line out, I heard they sound great, real Marshall growl/roar, haven't heard how 'giggable' they are.
Though at $599 this is maybe a bit of a stretch to your budget

Marshall Haze MHZ15. 15W is nothing to turn your nose up on, connect a 4x12 and hold on to your hair.

[Sarah93003]

For my purposes I think these are great choices. I've got my eye on a Vox Night Train. They are all tube 7W/15W switchable and sound awesome through a cab.

[Olav]

NightTrain would be an awesome amp too, switching from 15 to 7(annahayaf!) watts makes it very usable in lots of situations. Not sure this has the voicing INJR is looking for. Might just, but I really dunno.

[Haole Jim]

Try a used Fender Cyber-Twin and wring it out.

[KRamone27]

I've heard nothing but good things about the new Fender Mustang amp.

[oipunkguy]

you might want to take a look at marshall valvestate line. new or used. if you are still starting out, a valvestate is a great way to go if you cant go for the full marshall stack. valvestates are much cheaper, they have a solid state power section, but a tubed preamp section.

if you look for any used ones made in the 1990's, or 2000's i bet you could get a half stack going for under 600.
greenbacks were used in that classic ramones tone, but Johnny just got new stuff whenever, and by the time they retired he was using 3 JCM 900 SL-X (superleads), one plexi head with the standard speakers (jcm 900 also known as a model 1960) in at least some of his cabs. the valvestates will get more or less the same tone, or at least very close to it.

that's probably what route I would go. you just might want to avoid the models that have all the crummy effects built in...

something like this maybe

http://cgi.ebay.com/MARSHALL-AVT50H-VAL ... 3a61856163