Show Your Number One Amp

Alex said:
This one was my favorite amp -- a 1965 Fender Vibrolux Reverb. The Les Paul there is 'Ole Red, currently owned by Jared Nichols.

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Those old black face Vibroluxes and it's predecessor Vibroverb are some of the best amps Fender ever produced. If someone eventually develops a workable time machine I'm goin' back to the '60s to collect some of that old gear and my '66 Jazz Bass.
 
I don't really have a #1 guitar amp. My 15w Egnater Tweaker head needs to go into the shop to get checked out so I hauled my old war horse '90s Roland Blues Cube out of the gear room and have been using it lately. It's pretty much an all analog SS version of a Fender Tweed Deluxe but with more power and clean headroom. Great club amp that competed with Deluxe and Vibroluxe Reverbs. US built and very dependable.
This one's about 25 years old and the only repair it's had is a new reverb tank. I also put in an Emi CRex speaker to tame some highs.

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The #1 amp with a fitting partner

Mesa Express 5:25+ with Compact Cab


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This little guy. It keeps bumping "better" amps, as a Fender Super-Sonic 22, Egnater Rebel 30, BlackHeart Handsome Devil, Fender Bassbreaker, Ibanez TSA15H, Blues Jr, Marshall Origin 20H, Roland BC-60 Blues Cube, Traynor YVC20WR, countless Vox Valvetronix and MV50. Yep ... I even have two of them.

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Guess I shouldn't ignore the smallest and lightest amp I've ever owned. From the same people who built Rusty's Quilter this little beast is a legit 25w amp in a pedal with three separate voicings of late 50s to mid 60s classic Fender amps and they are damn accurate emulations too. It's pretty well stocked with some modern features as well and I can throw it in a gig bag, grab one of my 1x12 cabs, and head out the door with enough to play a light duty gig or jam with some friends. The crazy thing is I only paid $200 for it. It's my Deluxe Reverb on the cheap.
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PeteR said:
The #1 amp with a fitting partner

Mesa Express 5:25+ with Compact Cab
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the remaining number two - number 10 loudmakers:

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a pair of Laney VC15 Combos

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a pair of Tech21 TradeMark 30 Combos

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Tech21 TradeMark 30 #3 with Weber speaker

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Tech21 LandMark 60 Bass-Amp

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VOX DA5 and DA10

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VOX AGA70 Acoustic Amp
 
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Years ago I campaigned an old Showman head through a JBL D-120, for a long time.
Finally SS stuff got good enough.
Had a Tech 21 head with a great effects loop. I could put a GX processor in the loop and floor switch the loop off while I changed patches. Had a volume pedal on the processor so I could come up controlled. No surprises. Great for thousand seaters.
As the nineties and new millennium changed everything I used smaller (and lighter) stuff. Tweed deluxe and Harvard, then finally Roland 80X that sounded great in a club!
Nowadays I don’t play much in the way of paying gigs anymore, but my Yamaha covers nursing homes and parks, and I love the Quilter if I want anything more. Totally clean sounds, now.
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It dawns on me that I actually do have a #1 bass amp. This thing is unbelievably tiny but it puts out 175w @ 8 ohms into the 10" speaker in the cab. I plan to add a 112 cab beneath it to take advantage of the total 350w @ 4 ohms. The head attaches to the cab with a cradle to create the MG 350 Combo.
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This is the latest lightweight design from Jeff Genzler. This MG350 Bass Array combo weighs just 25lbs. The main driver is a 10" Italian built neodymium speaker and it's coupled with four 2" drivers that make up vertical array in front of the driver. They handle all of the highs and mid highs and provide broad lateral dispersion leaving the 10" driver to handle only the lows and mid lows. It's amazingly efficient and full sounding for such a small rig and that's a tribute to it's unique design. Old guys like me appreciate this new trend in lighter yet powerful bass gear. Even after I add the 112 cab the entire rig will weigh less than 50lbs and can be carried with one cab in each hand. We've come a long way towards lighter gear now compared to 100-150 lb rigs I used to tote around and they don't require any sacrifice in tonal quality.
 
Robb said:
Good eye sir, those are L500 patent pending, they are original to the guitar,1977 L6-s.
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I'm a huge fan of Bill's pickups and have been using them in my Teles and basses for about 15 years now. First Keystones then Micro-Coils a TL48 and P46 and J45 for my basses. I'm eternally grateful to Becky and Shannon for keeping the company and his legend alive.

I haven't reached the point of trying the others yet but that may have to wait 'til I have guitars I want to use them with. That's a wonderful old guitar you have as well. Part of Bill's legacy to us all.
 
soulman said:
I'm a huge fan of Bill's pickups and have been using them in my Teles and basses for about 15 years now. First Keystones then Micro-Coils a TL48 and P46 and J45 for my basses. I'm eternally grateful to Becky and Shannon for keeping the company and his legend alive.

I haven't reached the point of trying the others yet but that may have to wait 'til I have guitars I want to use them with. That's a wonderful old guitar you have as well. Part of Bill's legacy to us all.
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It's a nice guitar you're right, except for the Gibson name it has really nothing in common with other Gibson models, it's a totally different beast.
 
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