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Joe Bonamassa Forum → Joe's Guitars, Amps and Gear → Pedals please ... ?
John, Eva was referring to this Marshall
http://www.thomann.de/de/marshall_mg10c … ncombo.htm
I think this is a great amp for homeuse.
I practiced the last 12 years with a small 10 watt transistor amp
and a rangemaster in front. It sounds ok and I don't get sued by
the neighborhood. 
Alex
Hi Eva. I have to agree with those that said concentrate on the amp first.
No pedal will make a lousy amp sound good but with the proper settings even an old cheap pedal can make a good amp sound great.
You really don't need 50 tube watts as that can be punishingly loud. Believe it or not a 25-30 tube amp will easily keep up and probably surpass the band's volume at times.
Getting a smaller amp will also allow you to turn the volume up for paracticing and gigs, which in turn will get the transformers working properly and bring out the best qualities in the amp. Pedals like tube screamers also work best when an amp is cooking so the pedal can push it over the top and really make it sing.
That being said, ceriatones and really good marshall type amps. I played an 18 watt ceriatone marshall clone through a 2x12 cab that that was amazing and very loud.
I have an old fender amp that I'm remodding again(Iget bored) to Dumble specs because I found some old dumble schematics.
Since it's on my work bench in peices at the moment I've been using an old canadian made 2 EL-84, 20 watt 1x15 combo from the early 70's that sounds fantastic and is so loud in the rehearsal room that I had to make an open baffle in the back so the amp wouldn't punch so hard. It was under well under 500 and sounds more like a plexi than any marshall I've had in years. Along with a number of other marshalls I've had and was stupid enough to sell I've had 4 plexis and some of those old tube amps sound amazingly close, including some of the ceriatones.
They're also right around your budget and you'd be amazed at how good they sound with pedals.
Either way, I'd take my time and concentrate on the right amp. Pedals are everywhere and there's no short supply. Once you have an amp that makes you smile every time you turn it on, finding the right pedal will be a lot easier.
if youre looking for a marshall type sounding amp, but want one for a little less.....look into a ceriatone amp. I'm good friends with a local STL musician, he just bought the overtone special, it is a phenominal sounding amp at 50 watts....i'm looking into the 18 watt plexi copy right now. you can hear sound clips of just about any amp made if you search on you tube. as far as pedals goes.... i agree with the above statments about the 808's. i have an original 808 i use ( it is cured btw, thanks to you guys that told me some things to try to fix it ) i would trade that 808 for all the tea in china. full tone makes some really great stuff as well, some of it can get a little salty though... good luck !!
Brian
** sorry guys, it's late and my typing sucks... I WOULD NOT trade that 808 for all the tea in china ** LOL sorry about that!!!
I second the Ceriatone suggestion, awesome amps a bargain bin prices. Marshall, Fender, Dumble, Trainwrecks, Matchless....all under a grand (except the Overtone, just over). For OD/Distortion the best I have tried are: Ibanez TS-808, Fulltone OCD, Boss Bluesdriver, BK Butler Tube Driver (actually the Tube Works 3 knob version). For blues the Boss and Ibanez are awesome. OCD best overall pedal, it can cover any ground from clean boost to stand alone distortion. The Tube Driver has a tone of gain but is very smooth, think EJ or Gilmour. One lesson I have learned is to buy wise is to shop for the future. Don't get something you wouldn't see yourself using 5 years from now. Good Luck!!
The problem is though Ceriatone etc all need to be imported from the US and the cost tbh is ludicrous then you have to pay import fee's. Same with pedals made over there, theres not much made here thats cheap
The problem is though Ceriatone etc all need to be imported from the US and the cost tbh is ludicrous then you have to pay import fee's. Same with pedals made over there, theres not much made here thats cheap
Ludicrous? About $1500 including shipping+head cab for Overtone vs. $6000 for a Two Rock or Fuchs at about $3500. Ceriatone Plexi 100 about $1200 including shipping and cab vs. Marshall handwired 1959 $3000. Ceriatone does not tax so it kind of makes up for shipping. I try not to pull too hard for any particular brand/company but Ceriatone has some of the best service and products BAR NONE. Not "for the money" like IMO Peavey, Crate, Line 6. In Ceriatone's case you DON'T get what you pay for, you get MORE! My .02, peace!
JohnTB wrote:The problem is though Ceriatone etc all need to be imported from the US and the cost tbh is ludicrous then you have to pay import fee's. Same with pedals made over there, theres not much made here thats cheap
Ludicrous? About $1500 including shipping+head cab for Overtone vs. $6000 for a Two Rock or Fuchs at about $3500. Ceriatone Plexi 100 about $1200 including shipping and cab vs. Marshall handwired 1959 $3000. Ceriatone does not tax so it kind of makes up for shipping. I try not to pull too hard for any particular brand/company but Ceriatone has some of the best service and products BAR NONE. Not "for the money" like IMO Peavey, Crate, Line 6. In Ceriatone's case you DON'T get what you pay for, you get MORE! My .02, peace!
Not really shipping prices but import duties aswell, When u compare big brands that you can find over here or a maker from the us only that $1200 dollars would easily become upto $2000 especially with amp weights and judging by how high the price of the $ is against £ and other currencies it would probably work out just as expensive as finding a used marshall head and cab
Yeah, a good Amp is more important than even which Guitar you use! Not even close. So, I'd suggest a serious Amp, first.
Do you want to play mostly at alone, or with Drums, etc. ? That would be a big factor as to what amp to get.
But, one great choice would be a Peavey Classic 30, or Classic 50. Good workhorse Amps, with great Tones.
And pedals? Yeah, TS, Rats, and just about any BOSS ODs are staples of most Players' Rigs. BYOC also has some GREAT options, if you can do basic soldering. Fun to build your own, too! Their TS Style Clone has a bunch of great options, when building it. Lots of possibilities.
After OD/Distortion/Fuzzes, I'd probably say a good Delay Pedal will yield the best bang-for-the-buck. Again, BOSS makes a solid selection. And some of the Line6 and the Digitech ones are good, too.
But, I'd probably get a great Tube Amp first. The way a good amp responds to your Touch and Playing, is like having extra Effects, already built in.
Noticing that you live in Germany I'd suggest you check out the Nobles ODR-1 overdrive pedal. They're very popular with the studio and road guys here in Nashville.....made in Germany too!
Thanks a lot everyone, that gives me an idea about what to search for ... the amp is another question. I know that I won´t get a tube marshall for under 500, so it´s probably better to check out a few of those you mentioned before I just buy a Marshall because it´s a Marshall.
I wish I could stuff you all into a bag and take you to the guitar store with me ... thanks so much for your advice!Joe Bonamassa wrote:Good luck on your search.. Why didnt you raid my spare stash when you were hanging out with us in Germany? Tons of stuff in there!!! LOl!!
Joe BOh well ....
Sorry I'm a little late on this........Since Joe mentioned the "F" Company, another good amp for the money Eva is the "F" Blues Junior. You can view specs here:
http://www.fender.com/products/search.p … 0213205000
As far as pedals, check out Digitech:
http://www.digitech.com/pedals.php
Roy
Thanks again for all the help - I´m stuck at my desk learning for the uni at the moment, so I haven´t got the time to decide on something yet. But I´ll let you know as soon as it comes to the shopping-part (hey, guys like shopping too when it comes to guitars and gear, right?! ).
To answer the questions about the amp that some of you asked in order to help me: I play at home or with friends, but not on a stage with a band (which is simply because I´m too baaad....), needless to say I try to play Blues, but also need an amp that´s good for playing clean (picking etc.) - and I want to have a tube amp. But I have so many suggestions from you helpful people already that I´ll have to spend some time in trying them all out - so thanks again. 
Eva
In that case I dont think you will be disappointed with a Blues Jnr nice cleans and good drive.
If you are looking for a OD pedal, here it is: www.rodenberg-amplification.com!!
Ulrich Rodenberg is a very nice german guy who builds handmade overdrive pedals. I'd like to say his pedals are at least as good as a TS808 but... [that's only my Opinion] ehmmm... better.
A boss delay *is recommended*. And maybe a classical Vox Wah.
But a great tube amp for a students budget?! I'm also searching...
Offtopic: I want a Dumble ODS 
@ Eva: Prima Anfang - dann kannst du ja gleich noch 'nen "Homework Blues" komponieren
To answer the questions about the amp that some of you asked in order to help me: I play at home or with friends, but not on a stage with a band (which is simply because I´m too baaad....), needless to say I try to play Blues, but also need an amp that´s good for playing clean (picking etc.) - and I want to have a tube amp.
Eva
Take a look at the Peavey Classic 20 or 30.
I believe that the C20 is discontinued but you can still get them used. The C30 can also be found used for decent prices. If affordability is an issue, then they are worth looking at - used. The C30 in particular is also easily capable of live work, should you choose to do that in the future at some point.
Both of these will deliver a very good Blues tone - clean, slightly broken up or on crunch setttings - without pedals.
After that you can get a Tubescreamer or Fulltone OCD etc to give you more variation.
i've been hearing some good stuff about the new blackstar amps. they make the five watt ht-5 which you can get in head/cabs and a combo. great little amps, very loud too. there around £250 for the head (i think).
http://www.blackstaramps.co.uk/products/ht-5/index.html
as for pedals, i've just picked up a digitech bad monkey, pretty good for the money. TS flavored OD with more EQ options. i still have a boss sd-1 thats gets an airing now and again, plus the blues driver, which was my main drive until i got a box of rock clone.
actual, i've probably got a few pedals peeps can have lol
Take a look at the Peavey Classic 20 or 30.
I loved my Peavey Classic 100 tweed head from '94.
Fender has a small tube combo out too now I think it's 15watt. The Fender Champion 600 is a great small tube amp. You can always mic them for larger gigs.
HI Eva,
Blimey lots of advice and offers!!, for me it was trial and error - eBay most of the time you can use like a library and buy and sell pedals without loosing much cash - lets you shop around.
If you're on a budget - the old TS5 Tubescreamers have the same PCB's as TS-9's but a plastic shell - and so cheap!
I gave in and bought a TS-9 and got a Pignose detonator to pad out the lower tones, but it's players preference, - I find that with a driven fender hot rod deluxe get's me pretty close to joe's tone, shame my playing doesn't match!
For an overdrive pedal my vote goes to the Digitech Bad Monkey as well. I use it on like 70% of the songs I play.
It's great for switching between rhythm and lead sounds. Lots of times I put my amp on the Clean setting (Vox AD15VT Valvetronix) for an acoustic-like sound. Then when I switch on the pedal I can get a nicely overdriven Marshall sound. When combined with the treble boost on my strat I can get a really good David Gilmour lead sound (could get a little loud though...).
Joe Bonamassa Forum → Joe's Guitars, Amps and Gear → Pedals please ... ?
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