Bargain amps that sound great
Here are a few of my favorites:
Early Ampeg Reverbrockets. I prefer the ones with 6V6 output tubes and a tube rectifier. I picked two up fairly recently for 600.00 each. They offer a different flavor then Fenders and are great for getting an early Grant Green sound with reverb. The amp he used sounds like either a Jet or Mercury. Both great amps but I I prefer the reverb models.
Magnatone 440: Great sounding amp with the Magnatone pitch shifting vibrato. The 213 is also great, a little grittier without the reverb. I've owned almost every Magnatone amp and these are the two I kept.
Gibson Ranger GA20T: sounds as good as my tweed deluxe for much less money.
Victoria tweeds: I've compared these with original Fender tweeds and they always compare favorably. I realize they are pricey new but the used ones are quite the bargain.
Swart STR: They sound glorious especially for big rhythm sounds.
I've always bought any BF Fender I've ever had the opportunity to buy and never regretted it. I know these aren't bargain amps however I think they represent excellent value because of their longevity and versatility. SF Princetons and deluxes.
Early Ampeg Reverbrockets. I prefer the ones with 6V6 output tubes and a tube rectifier. I picked two up fairly recently for 600.00 each. They offer a different flavor then Fenders and are great for getting an early Grant Green sound with reverb. The amp he used sounds like either a Jet or Mercury. Both great amps but I I prefer the reverb models.
Magnatone 440: Great sounding amp with the Magnatone pitch shifting vibrato. The 213 is also great, a little grittier without the reverb. I've owned almost every Magnatone amp and these are the two I kept.
Gibson Ranger GA20T: sounds as good as my tweed deluxe for much less money.
Victoria tweeds: I've compared these with original Fender tweeds and they always compare favorably. I realize they are pricey new but the used ones are quite the bargain.
Swart STR: They sound glorious especially for big rhythm sounds.
I've always bought any BF Fender I've ever had the opportunity to buy and never regretted it. I know these aren't bargain amps however I think they represent excellent value because of their longevity and versatility. SF Princetons and deluxes.
Comments
I had bought a recent EC VibroChamp, which has been fine at the same gigs (volume wise), but the 8" speaker just doesn't give enough low end when playing with others. So if that sits in the closet for a year, I'll probably sell it.
It has a bright cap on each channel so it twangs quite well with the right pickups, even with a fair bit of gain dialed in;
EDIT; sorry about the distortion on the camera mic.
(1957-1963) 66-J combo (similar to Tremolux)
(1963-1964) 98-RT combo (clone of/same as 1959-1960 Ampeg Reverberocket)
(late 60s) Thunderstar 1x12 combo (similar to Vibroverb)
(late 60s) Superstar 1x15 combo (similar to Vibroverb)
(1969-1970) Maverick 2x10 combo (similar to Vibrolux Reverb)
(late 60s) 2x12 Thunderbird combo or head/cab (Pro Rvb/Twin Rvb /Showman Rev etc)
(late 60s) Superbird/Super Thunderbird combos or head cab (Quad reverb/super six etc)
very affordable! they scream, they are the real deal. stadium rock! ( but the 66-J is more of Jazz/club/country amp, no reverb and no staduim rock there)
there was a lot of variation with Guild amps, they have others with the same name and different speaker configurations, and/or similar names that are completley different amps, and a lot of confusing things like that. the specific ones I listed above are all their top guns. I hate to use this word but some are super "rare." value/prices are all over the road but mostly pretty reasonable, when you can find them. from around 1967-1970 they used all the same Schumacher transformers that Fender used on black and siver face amps, on the ones that I have seen. some sound alot like a Fender (or the 98-RT an Ampeg), and others like the Maverick have more of somehow different "Guild" thing going on, but still retains the same similarities to a Vibrolux Reverb (in that case they are clearly not identical, however)