Which amp has the best overdrive tone to your ear?

[VintageCharlie]

Dear forum members,

i'd like to hear your opinions about which amp(s) you like most for their slight crunch to slightly overdriven tones (not talking about hi-gain - just from semi-clean to vintage crunch). I'm talking about any vintage amps, including Marshalls, Orange, Hiwatt, Magnatone, etc. Which has the smoothest, organic, most complex and harmonically rich tone, without getting fizzy, especially in the high mids? I'm very interested in your impressions. I'm about to build a Marshall 45/100 and i'm also wondering how it stacks up against others in your opinion.

Thanks a lot in advance!

All the best,

VintageCharlie

[Facetious11]

If you like super smooth n creamy mids. Id suggest a JTM50 watt bass head with a tube rectifier. Thats Duane Allman's amp and he has the creamiest and smoothest tone IMHO. He also replaced the celestion speakers with JBL speakers which are cleaner and little less barkey. Thats my 2 cents. : )

[darkbluemurder]

IMHO "smooth" does not go together with "Hiwatt" or "Orange".

But it is a matter of personal taste as to which overdrive is best. And tastes do change.

Cheers Stephan

[VintageCharlie]

Thanks for the input guys! Will listen to Duane - sounds interesting about the JTM-50.

Regards,

VintageCharlie

[Facetious11]

Thanks for the input guys! Will listen to Duane - sounds interesting about the JTM-50.

Regards,

VintageCharlie

His live tone anyway. Pick up live at the Fillmore East (Deluxe Edition if you can) by the Allman Bros. His tone and playing just blow me away everytime. Dickey has great tone too. Its a little cleaner and brighter though. He used 100 watt heads.

[bluesbreaking]

Bass spec JTM50 with a tube rectifier's very good, but I'd recommend against using JBL speakers if you're looking for smooth and opt for greenbacks since JBLs overdriven (in my experience) have a rougher edge than greenbacks do (especially if you ever use a fuzz: harsh city). To my ears, most the early EL34 amps have very creamy, smooth tone if you use the normal channel or a smaller bright cap. The kind of tone I have in mind for that kind of setup (early EL34 amp with greenbacks) is Clapton's tone in Cream at the end of 1967, although he's using more gain than the tone you're describing.

[Roe]

you want best tones or smoothest tones?
I enjoy plexi 100watters and a tw express

[fillmore nyc]

If you like super smooth n creamy mids. Id suggest a JTM50 watt bass head with a tube rectifier. Thats Duane Allman's amp and he has the creamiest and smoothest tone IMHO. He also replaced the celestion speakers with JBL speakers which are cleaner and little less barkey. Thats my 2 cents. : )

I never thought of Duanes tone on the Live Fillmore recordings as creamy or smooth... to my ear, his tone is sweet, but VERY aggressive and raw, in a vintage way. Listen to his solo at the end of Elizabeth Reed... thats about as aggressive as a non MV vintage Marshall ever gets.
IMO, Dickeys tone is smooth and creamy, though.
My 50 watt Metro Plexi is built as a '71 metal front Lead & Bass spec with a potentiometer on the NFB. Im playing it thru a Marshall Mode Four cab that I pulled the speakers out of, and loaded it with old G12-65's.
Thru my LP (original PAF's) its as close as I've been able to get to Duanes tone. I may convert the cab to half open/half closed back to see if that gets it even a bit closer.

[Roe]

the key to a good distorted tone is to distort and compress the highs more than the lows, something which involves reducing bass early on in the circuit (e.g. by using brightcaps or mixer bypass caps). when the poweramp distorts this gives a defined and sweet tone which is not harsh