Give me some good advice re amps

NikkibNikkib Posts: 32Member
edited September 2016 in Guitar Amps, Effects & Accessories
I am hoping that some of you might be able to give me some good advice re amps. I have currently got a Fender Frontman 15G amp which came as part of the starter package that I bought along with my Squier Strat and other bits and pieces. I have now bought a Epiphone LP Custom that I am having lessons on and I am finding that when I am practising at home it just sounds distorted and 'tinny' compared to how it sounds at my tutors using his equipment.

I dont know if it is just that my small and cheap amp is not much good, whether I have not got it set up correctly (because I dont know how to or what all the knobs mean!) or quite what and just wondered whether any of you more experienced guys could shed some light on this for me.

If a different amp would be better, could you maybe suggest a few that would be suitable for home practise with my LP but that still sound reasonable for bluesy kind of stuff which is what I am ultimately would like to be playing, along with other stuff!

Any help or advice or instruction, as always, greatfully received!!

Comments

  • Mark PMark P Posts: 2,314Member
    To a large degree we are often talking price with this sort of situation. I see the Frontman is a discontinued model but I have a vague recollection it would have been maybe something in the £70 to £80 range. I'm pretty sure your tutor will have an amp that's a higher price bracket - BTW it would be useful to know what he has if you like its sound as it would give us a guideline.

    Generally the more the money the better the amp and it being heavier also seems to make it likely it will be better. If an amp with a lot of extra channels, effects, and features costs the same as a basic but similar wattage and size of amp, then it's likely the basic one will sound better as you won't get all those extra features for no cost without losing something somewhere else.

    I know if I had the Frontman G I'd be noticing the lack of reverb which does (used in moderation) add a lot of body to the guitar sound - but maybe you already use a reverb pedal? I'm afraid the settings on the amp that work best will be governed by the sort of guitar and pickups you have and the way you play it. See this link here :-
    Guitar amp settings
    ... massive variations in suggested settings depending on what group / musician you want to get your sound in the ballpark of. I'd take blanket suggestions like that with a pinch of salt by the way as it takes no account of the type of amp (or guitar) being used!

    I currently use 3(!) Fender amps, going back three years or so I had 2 Vox amps. Prior to that I had a Marshall. All those brands have their "type" of sound but all would happily do bluesy - and that would apply to many other makes of amp too.

    Much as I like Fender amps at the moment I could not do a blanket recommendation on all their amps as I got a Super Champ X2 as a replacement under warranty for a Super Champ XD that got a fault. Supposed to be an update, indeed an "upgrade", of essentially the same model and I hated the X2 as much as I loved the XD. However I've seen lots of players rhapsodise about the X2 so it shows how much of how good an amp is has to be down to personal taste.

    I'm not trying to be difficult by not suggesting specific amps but it would just be a personal recommendation on an amp that I like personally. Musical tastes, ears, the acoustics of they playing environment, the type of guitars and pedals - all will affect how "good" an amp seems.

    Maybe you could take your amp along on one of your lessons with you and see if the tutor can make it sound good for you by tweaking its settings?
  • stickyfiddlestickyfiddle Posts: 355Member
    In my experience those little solid state Fenders and Marshalls are fairly awful. With £80 or so I'd unquestionably go for one of these, depending on your situation:

    Fender Mustang 1/2; if you like Fender-type clean amp sounds in particular
    Vox Valvetronix; if you like AC30 type sounds above all else
    Peavey Vypyr; if you like higher gain sounds most
    Yamaha THR5; if you want something that covers all bases fairly well and looks good in the living room.
    Jamup Pro XT iOS app with Apogee Jam interface; if you have an iphone/ipad/ipod touch and want to jam along to mp3s, slowing them down and changing pitch.

    I have a Mustang 1 and Jamup/Apogee and both are great. The Jamup app in particular is really excellent and so flexible, as long as you have good headphones or speakers to plug into.
  • Ape09090Ape09090 Posts: 2,744Member
    Have a few hours fiddling with the knobs on your amp and learn what they all do....
  • martinsmith99martinsmith99 Posts: 391Member
    Budget will dictate what we advise. Although, I would not recommend an amp with less than a 12" speaker (personal preference).

    My Peavey Classic Chorus 212 cost £130 on the used market.

    It's solid state so sounds the same at any volume. It's louder than I'll ever need (will drown out a drummer on 3) and will play nicely with the volume turned all he way down. Gigs, band practice or just bedroom use is fine. They come up on eBay about once a month.
  • JockoJocko Posts: 7,107Member, Moderator
    The Fender Frontman that comes as part of the Squier Pack is pretty limited. I have given umpteen of them away over the years as I have purchased unwanted Squiers. I like my Vox AD30VT, which has a power control allowing you to drive it fully but turn it down from its full 30 watts to a whisper. It also has a ton of built in effects.
    There are a load of them on eBay at the moment.
  • Ape09090Ape09090 Posts: 2,744Member
    Fender Mustang 1 or 2
  • MegiMegi Posts: 7,208Member
    Originally Posted By: Ape09090
    Fender Mustang 1 or 2
    I like these too - having tried a Mustang series amp before, and been very impressed with the range and quality of tones available. Good built-in effects also. A Mustang 2 would handle small gigs and rehersals as well as practice/home needs - a nice little amp to own.
  • zoglugzoglug Posts: 314Member
    I had a fender frontman, it came with a pacifica i bought and it wasnt very good. I found it very difficult to get a decent tone out of it, so when i moved the pacifica on, i moved the frontman on too.

    I now have a mustang 1, which is very good for my needs. It is nice and compact but at the same time can be very loud. Whilst i am no expert with the amp, i am able to get a decent variation of tones from it, especially using the fuse software. Here it is sat neatly on my computer desk



    All in all, for the money, a great little practice amp.
  • ESBlondeESBlonde Posts: 980Member
    The suggestion of knob twiddling is a good one.

    On your Epi LP you will find if you turn down the Volume slightly (say to 7 or 8) the tinny amp will stop distorting. If it still sounds thin, try turning the tone down on the guitar until it doesn't.

    You will at least get something a lot more acceptable like that. You can also adjust the controls on your amplifier, they are very interactive. So more Mid makes the bass and treble less effective, taking out the mid makes either (or both) the treble and bass more effective. Some amps sound better with the mid driven hard and maybe less treble and or bass.

    Learn how these controls can get you nearer what you hear in your head as the ideal sound. this is a great opportunity to learn a trick that will serve you well for you entire career.

    Next lesson, learn how to mix your playing technique with the various amp/guitar settings to get classic tonal variations for different musical styles. ;-)


    I'm not saying you can't get better amps than the little fender BTW, they certainly do exist. But a good guitarist can get a half decent musical tone out of pretty much anything. It's just that we like it to be easy. :-)
  • LurcherLurcher Posts: 710Member
    Nikki, there are a lot of factors that could be giving you a 'less than best' sound from your amp. Naturally, being spoilt by your tutor's gear is a consideration. I think we'd all like to know what his amp is as a starting point. The Frontman is sort of ok for typical clean Strat type sounds but they are not so strong on heavier stuff (a common problem with many Fender amps).
    Give us a bit more to work on and I dare say we'll come up with some directions you should be looking at. For instance, what sort of music/sounds are you trying to play?
  • ryperryper Posts: 97Member
    ESBlonde is right, before throwing money at a new amp, learn about what you got in front of you!

    firstly because it's worthwhile learning to get the best from your gear.

    But also, although a frontman is not a great amp, half decent tones can be found, I have played through these amps at friends houses before now and can usually make it sound pretty decent!

    the vid in this link explains a little

    http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/squawk-box/61949-how-eq-your-amplifier.html
  • The23rdmanThe23rdman Posts: 1,560Member
    I have a Mustang I and love it - especially with the Fuse software. I do, however, spend 90% of my time with it stuck on the 65' Twin Reverb setting with a bit of reverb added. It's a to die for bluesy tone. Bought mine off eBay for 50 quid used.
  • ShambekoShambeko Posts: 108Member
    Hmmm. My Mustang 1 also spends about 90% of the time on the Twin Reverb setting. The other 10% on the British 60's.
  • LotusLotus Posts: 332Member
    Hmmm my Mustang 1 spends 90% of its time on a clean channel downloaded via Fuse :-)

    Graham
  • Ape09090Ape09090 Posts: 2,744Member
    same here for the fender cleans on a mustang
  • Mark PMark P Posts: 2,314Member
    Same experience here with modelling amps and modelling hardware I've had. After a bit of a play around with settings when first bought usually just end up using two or three settings at the most after that - often just one. There has been just one exception so far - the only modelling amp I've used where I regularly use several settings has been the now discontinued Fender XD series.

    Though I've found when I've bought an amp with only one voice and no modelling I start to pine for the ability to be able to tweak the settings.
  • NikkibNikkib Posts: 32Member
    Thank you loads guys, that has given me some very valuable input. Spoke to my tutor tonight and the amp that I play through at my lessons is a Vox so it could well be the way forwards!

    Thank you once again smile
  • TinyghostTinyghost Posts: 834Member
    Hey Nikkib
    I'm not a fan of modelling amps either. I think it's like a guitar, you want a specific sound with a couple of tonal variations; not something that does as much as possible...most of which will be useless to you.

    A small valve amp for home use, if you are aiming to play with others (band etc) in the future. I have a Vox AC15 which I use at home (but it is very loud), so an AC4 would be ideal. The Fender blues jnr is good too, but prices seem a bit ott.
    This will give you an idea of how your guitar interacts with your amp (unlike a modelling amp where, I feel, the guitar's sound doesn't really cut through in the same way). Some of the solid state Vox's are quite good also, and Laney amps are generally a good Voxish copy and reasonably priced.

    I can recommend Orange, I love my DT, but the micro terror and tiny terror are great, but very simple amps. But that's only if you want to get back to the basics, the root of tone making through how you use your guitar and your hands.

    If you are into bedroom playing and home recording, I guess you're probably best off with the Fender Mustang (why did they use the name of the guitar?) which seems pretty good to me.
    If I want to play quietly at home I have an old pig nose, which has just a volume knob and is battery powered, but sounds great esp for bluesy stuff (warm, rich and "just at the point of break up" type sound...no reverb, but really helps you get the best from your guitar pickups).

    I think you can't go far wrong with a Vox (as long as it's either fairly modern (90s to present day) or very old (60s)) smile
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