Crappy Solid-State Wimp Amps

[John Junk]

This story is pointless:

I've been playing guitar for like 15 years now, and I"ve never bought a new electric guitar.  I still play the same hand-me-down Gibson Challenger that I got from my cousin when I was 14.  Weirdly enough, I also never bought my own amp.  I've always found, inherited, or been given little dinky practice amps.  Even when I was in a band where I played shows a lot, I played through a Peavy Rage practice amp that we'd mic, or I'd borrow the other bands' amps.  I decided to finally buy my own amp now that I've become the guitarist for a new band.  But money's tight.  I only wanted to spend 200 bucks. So I figured I'd buy a cheaper amp and then move on to a real amp when I get more money together. I bought a used Fender amp.  Sounded good.  Stopped working after a day.  No sound coming out of it.  Returned it.  Then I bought a brand-spankin' new Fender FM 25 with a weird knob that has all sorts of cheesy effects that I thought were neat.  Played it for 4 hours at home.  Then it stopped working.  Traded it in for another new one.  Worked for 3 days, then stopped working.  No sound.  Nothing at all.  Insane.  I think this is God telling me to man up and buy a Fender Twin since I've been playing for 15 years.  Time to grow up and get some tubes.  Again, no point to this story.  Except that brand new solid state Fender amps are literally junk, so don't buy them.  Thank you and good night.

[kenkwan]

I've bought a Roland Blues Cube, which were fine. But yeah, I think it's time to man up and get the twin. The only time you'll regret it is when you have to carry it around.

[TL]

Find a good used old Music Man 4x10 or 2x10 (early ones have script writing instead of block print on the plate at the bottom of the face, were made by Leo Fender, and have better crunch than a Twin, if you're interested in that), and GET PSYCHED!!

[Laurie]

Amps must have sufficient crunch.

[PatrickChew]

Find a good used old Music Man 4x10 or 2x10 (early ones have script writing instead of block print on the plate at the bottom of the face, were made by Leo Fender, and have better crunch than a Twin, if you're interested in that), and GET PSYCHED!!

Music Man heads are pretty good also (and a bit cheaper). You can just plug into a cabinet and away you go.



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[Phantom Hugger]

I've bought a Roland Blues Cube

Is that what Blues Igloos are made out of?

[Gilly]

If I have a guitar that I can't find any info on, is it just a bad knockoff? It's a Stetson electric guitar that looks like a Gibson Les Paul Sunburst. The thing is I live in MN and I know that Stetson guitars were made in the early 20th century by the Larson Brothers in St. Paul and they are worth a lot of money. But, I'm thinking my guitar has nothing to do with them since they seemed to only make acoustics, and there are a buttload of Les Paul knockoffs. But, I can't believe that the internet has no info on my guitar.

[kenkwan]

I've bought a Roland Blues Cube

Is that what Blues Igloos are made out of?

Yes, it's also the preferred amp of the Blues Magoos.

TL, you're right about the Music Man. I always forget about the other Fender owned companies. I bought a G & L guitar that was a good bit less than a comparable "Fender" would've been.

[John Junk]

Thanks for these tips.  I will be sure to investigate.  I've had it with these Sam Ash goons.

[John Junk]

Okay everybody, thanks for the advice.  I bidded on a Music Man on ebay (as a matter of fact, I joined ebay in order to bid on this thing) but I lost it cause I just let the robot do everything for me.  So I got kinda desperate because I had a show yesterday and didn't have an amp to play.  I bit the bullet and bought a brand new Fender Twin.  I'm uncomfortable with divulging the price of this thing, but let's just say it's like the price of 14 Velvet Underground Banana Albums.  I'm on a payment plan.  But it's a beautiful thing.  I know vintage is probably better for some reason, but it's still a tube amp with an awesome sound, and I played a gig with it literally 2 hours after I bought it, and crushed the rest of the band with my awesome tone.  My amp is wimpy no more!

[TL]

Glad that worked out!
I'm currently scouring the eBay/Craigslist/etc. sites to find a Music Man bass amp and cabinet and a Music Man guitar cabinet so may band can be entirely Music Man compliant.  As it is right now, I play through two Music Man amps - a 4x10 and a 2x12, and our other guitar player uses a Music Man head through a Marshall cab.  I'm willing to pony up for the Music Man cab for him and the bass rig for our bass player just to achieve this goal, so if you happen to see or hear of any of these for sale, let me know, will ya?