Replacement Amp

[colin]

Hi ... looking to replace my old fender valve amp, with a solid state one, have looked at -Katana 50 .. fender champ 40 ..fender mustang I am sure there are lots of you that have these ..would appreciate any views- opinions, my head hurts looking at you-tube demos
Cheers
Colin

[gusstrat]

Hi Colin,

You couldn’t go past the Katana 50, a versatile amp. I use mine for live gigs and get a descent Shadows sound with it.

Regards, Garry.

[barryg]

Hi Colin,

I think we're all moving away from the likes of AC30's which we find too heavy to lift now plus the development of digital amps have come a long way and these can produce some good Shadows sounds. The Boss Katana series have led the way for quite along time now and a lot of Shadows players use these now but there are others that will do the job. I currently use a Vox MV50 AC version amp linked to a cabinet with a Celestion G12M speaker that give a very useable sound and the MV50 is so small and light to carry around. It only has volume, gain and tone control though so I use a EQ with this setup for fine tuning.

Another amp that's been around for a few years and produces a good Shadows sound is the Vox Cambridge 50 amp (not to be confused with earlier versions of the Cambridge 30) and it's used by Shadows players with some very good sounds. This is very similar to the Boss Katana with computer links for downloading sound patches etc and similar in price to the Katana 50.

You can find You Tube videos of these amps and more to help you decide what to get. Let us know what you get and I would be interested to hear what you think of your choice. Having said this there other factors in achieving "the sound"

Barry

[colin]

Hi Barry
Thanks for your reply , I am sure the Katana is a popular choice, as are the Vox amps, I have always prefered Fender Amps over the years, and at
present my guitar playing is less Shads and more popular music, so I am sure any of the mid range amps will have settings for most guitar players
but a good clean channel is my priority ,and I do a lot of home recording in my studio, and a quiet amp at low levels is also a must ...not noisy
valves humming away, hence my quest for a solid state, in saying that I bet even they come with a few background noises, I plan to visit a few music
shops in the next week, but even that is miles away, but I will let you know if I get one
cheers
Colin

[sandytuck]

Hi Colin, Have you looked at the New Super Reverb Tone master. Four Jensen speakers, Adjustable power settings outputs etc.
Only half the weight of old 70s valve amp that I own, mine is 67 pound. Has a killer tone. The Tone master is outstanding
Not cheap to buy, though you only get what you pay for. Cheers Les

[john44]

Hi Barry for what its worth I have been very impressed with the Fender tone master series available in both a one or two twelve inch speakers models it does produce great vintage sounds for old instrumentals and weighs under 20 kilos if I were to replace my old 1964 fender concert amp it would be with the Fender Tone master
Cheers John

[barryg]

The Boss Katana and the Vox Cambridge 50 have internet connections to download online sound patches for other types of music so that gives you a wider sound option. There are probably many more amps that will do the job and it's a matter of personal choice plus price consideration and a sound test at your music shop will that will help you decide of course. I see the Fender Tonemaster is getting some votes.

[scanners]

As someone who owns a katana and an AC30 I can highly recommend the Katana, I’d actually say the echoes jump out more on the katana , I downloaded patches from the boss tone share site the Boss USA manager made from measurements from an AC 15 and AC30 and they are very similar to the real thing , you only have to make minor tweaks, I use the high cut on the parametric eq like the tone cut on the AC30.
Matthew