Any love for OLD SCHOOL solid state amps?

[broj15]

Thought this could be a fun thread, though I'm not sure how much traction it will get around here, but why not give it a shot.

So who here has a thing for vintage solid state amps? I'm talking early Peavey, Plush, Earth, kustom (the older ones), Traynor, Sunn, Acoustic Control Corp. etc.

I'm currently really liking my Peavey Musician 400: 6 band active eq, built in effects (really like the built in fuzz for bass), 200w @ 2ohm, lots of clean headroom, and it takes pedals super well.
The tone is a bit sterile, and the amp feels really "stiff", but I feel like it causes the notes to have a certain "immediacy" if that makes sense, and with the right eq settings the low end always stays tight.

So have any of y'all ever really enjoyed using one of these old relics or do you feel like high powered solid state amps fell by the wayside for a reason?
I guess digital modeling amps could fall into this category, but that's not exactly what I'm talking about. I feel like solid state amps tend to fall short when they try to immitate tube amps as opposed to just being thier own thing.

Also if anyone knows of any cool tube power/ss preamp based amps (Peavey Roadmaster super festival and the Musicman HD amps cone to mind) those would be cool too.

 

[Shask]

I liked a lot of the late 80's and 90's era SS amps. Randall RG series, Randall Century series, Peavey Supreme, Peavey Transtube, Marshall Valvestate, etc.....

I think one issue is high power SS poweramps are not cheap, and people have this perception that SS amps should be cheap. Higher priced SS amps never sell. I also think these days, the modeler preamp + big PA SS Poweramp is the goto for people.

 

[budda]

Randall G3, roland JC-120/60, peavey xxl, acoustic brand - good times.

 

[sleewell]

i would probably try them but its going to be hard to unseat my current double quilter rig.

4lbs each, 200 watts each, about $225 and they sound great = pretty awesome.

 

[broj15]

i would probably try them but its going to be hard to unseat my current double quilter rig.

4lbs each, 200 watts each, about $225 and they sound great = pretty awesome.

I've been interested in quilter amps since I saw someone use one as a pedal platform with one of those cheap biyang "metal master" pedals a few years back. Tone was absolutely crushing and the volume was insane.

 

[Bearitone]

I like peavey Bandits and love my Roland JC-40. Tried a VH-140C and was very sorely disappointed but, i think mine might have been fucked up (it was only $100 used and had literal mold growing in it).

As far as the low end staying tight, i almost always prefer (not need) a boost. The only amp i ever tried that straight up did not need a boost was a Mesa JP2C


Old school solid state is cool but, I’m a bigger fan of “New” school solid state. The ISP Theta combo/head kicks serious ass, AMT and Amptweaker make extremely tube-like preamps, and Orange’s PedalBaby 100 poweramp thumps.

If i were to buy a solid state head right now it would definitely be the AMT SH-100

EDIT: The one piece of old school solid state gear i wish i still had was my Mosvalve 942 poweramp. Best SS power amp period if you ask me.

It’s almost like SS Power amp technology went backwards/ got mildly shittier-sounding since the Mosvalves and it is just now catching up again with poweramps like the pedalbaby.

 

[Necky379]

Yeah VH140C isn’t bad but I prefer my Bandit for solid state stuff. The VH140C eq is so weird to dial in, it took me awhile to figure out. I have a rack Spyritus preamp, it does one sound I like. I’ll add that PLX build quality is great, I like it. There’s a reason I keep it, the one sound.

I picked up a Randall RH200 awhile back when I was feeling nostalgic and had some change in my pocket. That was the first half stack I ever got to play through. When I was in high school my friend had one so I bought it. Found it to be unusable with a band. If it’s against a drummer alone it’s fine. As soon as another guitarist started through a 6505, gone. Crank the mids, turn the amp up, no use it can’t compete.

My Bandit is the shit. I turned it into a head and run it through a 2x12. That thing can do anything. I use it for At the Gates tones as a practice amp. It can do modern tones, bluesy overdrive, cleans anything. Even at 80 watts it gets plenty loud and can drive a 4x12 just fine.

I’ve got a solid state Randall power amp, the RRM-2-80. Two channels 80 watts each. It’s a great unit and has the unique feature of being able to switch between constant current or constant voltage. My MP-1’s sound great through it. Really great power amp for guitar preamps.

 

[budda]

I've been interested in quilter amps since I saw someone use one as a pedal platform with one of those cheap biyang "metal master" pedals a few years back. Tone was absolutely crushing and the volume was insane.

If it's good enough for Cave In, it's good enough .

 

[wakjob]

Mid to late 60's SS Vox were killers...
The 70's had tons of off brand no longer with us amps that were built extremely well and sounded great.

Loved my Lab Series L5!
Holmes Tech 15 combo was my first amp.

The 80's Marshall JCM solid state amps were phenomenal.
Fender, especially the older SS amp, often overlooked.

 

[Splenetic]

Peavey Classic VTX and VT amps have tube power amps and ss preamps, both seem like they'd do the whole pedal platform and doom/fuzz/stoner shit pretty well.

 

[troyguitar]

Dunno that it's old enough to be old school, but my main amp these days is a Peavey Studio Pro 112 from the last years of USA production (red stripe, delta logo). For $100 used it's a fantastic amp, easily keeps up with a metal drummer before getting into any kind of nasty SS clipping. I'd like to try a Quilter sometime as a newer, lighter version of the same type of thing.

 

[devastone]

EDIT: The one piece of old school solid state gear i wish i still had was my Mosvalve 942 poweramp. Best SS power amp period if you ask me.

I had the 962 in a rack with a Kasha Rockmod II, Rocktron Replifex and Intelliverb, and a few assorted pedals in front (wah, boost, Phase 90, etc...), and ran through 2 2-12 Avatar cabs, it was incredible, best tones I've ever had and went from home practice to way too loud volume. Granted, I don't want to carry that much now, but I loved that rig.

 

[mogar]

First thing that popped into my head was the almighty Bandit. One of those and a cheap 2x12 and you're set.

 

[broj15]

Not surprised to see alot of love for the bandit. I already have a real stripe, but unfortunately It decided to go on the fritz a couple weeks ago & I haven't gotten a chance to take it in to see what's wrong with it yet. Really wish mine had an output for an auxillary cab though. Running it with an extra 2x12 would be sick.

 

[vilk]

I have a Sunn Beta Bass, though I use it to play a guitar through a 1960B. It's from the 70s. I think it's a great guitar amplifier, and the design is really smart. Two separate fully EQ-able channels that can be played separately or at the same time, also two separate FX loops for each channel and then a master FX loop. I use it to set one channel clean and one channel dirty, but really there's a lot of room to try some crazy stuff with that set up.

My issue with it is that it doesn't sound very good with drive/fuzz/distortion pedals. If you push the digital C mos technology valve it kinda sounds like an 8-bit video game, so tube screamers and boosts are not your friend. Fuzz pedals sound thin. Really you're just kinda stuck with the Beta drive sound... but then again, the Beta drive sound can be pretty good. It kinda makes whatever you play through it seem like it was written in the northwest in the 90s.

Having said that, if you're a guy who isn't into drive pedals so much and just want an amp for plug and play, the thing can't be beat. It's loud as fuck, too. I play with a Mesa Roadster and a 700w Aguilar and it never gets turned up past 2.5 on the master or I'll be the only thing you can hear.

 

[troyguitar]

Not surprised to see alot of love for the bandit. I already have a real stripe, but unfortunately It decided to go on the fritz a couple weeks ago & I haven't gotten a chance to take it in to see what's wrong with it yet. Really wish mine had an output for an auxillary cab though. Running it with an extra 2x12 would be sick.

I haven't looked, but I assume that the external cab jack can be modified to keep power to the combo speaker instead of cutting it out when an extra cab is plugged in. I'd like to do that with mine if I ever end up playing live in a metal band again. A closed back cab for low end and the open back combo for high end would be nice.

 

[broj15]

I haven't looked, but I assume that the external cab jack can be modified to keep power to the combo speaker instead of cutting it out when an extra cab is plugged in. I'd like to do that with mine if I ever end up playing live in a metal band again. A closed back cab for low end and the open back combo for high end would be nice.

Not sure which version you have, but i have the older one (not the solo series. I think it's just called the bandit 112). It's at my practice space right now, so I can't confirm but I'm pretty sure it comes with a Sheffield. But anyways, mine just has output & input for the effects loop & a 1/4" for the foot switch.
I know it's possible to disconnect the built in speaker and wire up a 1/4" speaker jack. I could just get it rehoused as a head, provided that's a reversible mod. Mines just in such clean condition that I'd hate to defile it too much.

 

[Adieu]

In retrospect, Marshall Valvestate was very cool and just needed better speaker(s)

 

[conorreich]

The Marshall 8100 Valvestate is my absolute favorite amp. I got mine for $100 until my fathers ex girlfriend sold it (obv without my permission)

 

[ElRay]

I love my Crate GFX50 Two-Tone - Two independent channels (inputs for two guitars), on-board (descent enough) effects and tape-deck input.