Incoming - amp that no-one else on this forum will care about

[AFKAEjay(retired)]

Haven't set it up in full 4CM with the AxeFx yet, but both Guitar into Fractal input running a full pedals + amp rig output into effects return and Guitar into Fractal input running a small drive pedal only preset with output 3 maxed into amp input sounded great.

Also worth an experiment: digital preamp model (instead of full amp) into the return.
Eliminates doubling up on the powersection (modeled one + real),( which ussually gives more treble then the original amp.)
Imo digital preamps into tube power gives an uncompromised result compared to fully analog.

Anyway…not the intended usecase

Which take you straight to the "Wait, why am I doing this again if everything sounds good?"

Well…you never have to think about if you want an analog or digital rig, you have both, and you can go left, right, or hybrid.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Well…you never have to think about if you want an analog or digital rig, you have both, and you can go left, right, or hybrid.

Yeah, that was the win on this -- at $450 and this small size, it's unlikely that I'm going to get the itch to chuck it.

 

[AFKAEjay(retired)]

Yeah, that was the win on this -- at $450 and this small size, it's unlikely that I'm going to get the itch to chuck it.

Yeah, and tubeamps like this are more or less timeless….so it doesn’t eat your bread of you happen to not use it for some time.

 

[EOengineer]

This is an older model with the Eminence-made Supro branded speaker. Actually works quite well, though I imagine a cream back would be great too. At $600-ish used from GC, etc., it's a solid bargain of an amp. I snagged a used Keeley Hydra for verb/trem so I'm $600 all in on this rig, which is waaaaaaay cheaper than used PRRIs go for these days.

Princetons are awesome amps but with the loop and extra headroom that Supro is probably a better choice for what you’re doing.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Yep, and I'm thinking the Supro will have a nice raw sound with good breakup compared to a Princeton, which is a good thing in my estimation. I got a Princeton and they're all about the cleans.

You haven’t turned the volume knob up high enough on that Princeton, unless it’s a vintage blackpanel Princeton non-reverb.

 

[dronerstone]

Nice one, old Supros are awesome!

That said, I'm checking out a couple 70's solid-state Peavey head behemoths tomorrow (same seller listing Century 120, Bass 400, PA 400, Centurion MKIII, prices are very good too). Planning to bring one of them home with me.

 

[Fishbulb]

You're right. Most places I take this one I can't turn it past 7 and it only gets a little hair on it. I have dimed it a couple times and it will break up real nice, but on 10 it's too loud for the venues I take it to. So I use pedals with it. Freakin' 6V6s sound great when you can push 'em!

This is kind of what I run into (breakup happening around 5, actual reasonable volume control normally set no higher than 3 when playing with a band), plus the fact that the Deluxe Reverb seems thin and shrill standing next to it, BUT thru a mic it sounds great. I thought about looking into one of those attenuators but sometimes having lush effects in the front end of a cookin' amp doesn't do it either. Kudos to Supro for making a smart small amp design.

 

[FuzzyAce]

Nice one, old Supros are awesome!

That said, I'm checking out a couple 70's solid-state Peavey head behemoths tomorrow (same seller listing Century 120, Bass 400, PA 400, Centurion MKIII, prices are very good too). Planning to bring one of them home with me.

I can't lie, I was checking out Peavey's site the other day, looking at a Nashville 115 Steel amp.
And of course a 6505...

 

[dronerstone]

I can't lie, I was checking out Peavey's site the other day, looking at a Nashville 115 Steel amp.
And of course a 6505...

They're pretty rare over here (Austria/EU), same as other beat-up old stuff, that's why I usually can't hold back once a "deal" spawns near me.

 

[FuzzyAce]

They're pretty rare over here (Austria/EU), same as other beat-up old stuff, that's why I usually can't hold back once a "deal" spawns near me.

I imagine they are rare! I have a soft spot for the old Peaveys. Durable as hell and I always managed to get good tones out of them.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

A little more time to legit play the Fractal through the effects return. It works, and sounds better than a lot of options, but definitely adds a layer of mid-scoop "you put power amp sauce on my power amp, bruh" to everything, even at low volumes. The bass bump is pretty easy to accommodate for. The treble is one of those things that's more "sounds fine, but also sounds like its going to be fatiguing if I play this for 45 minutes" than it is "oh that's brighter" if that makes sense. Of course turning off power amp modeling in the Fractal immediately cures this and brings back a layer of touch responsiveness, but...most of what I use in the Fractal are things that depend heavily on power amp distortion. A Princeton Reverb without power amp modeling is...a clean preamp.

Other notes on the amp -- I actually really like the 10" speaker in it a lot. Not boxy; more immediate/direct than a 12". Getting a 1x10" right is really hard (and not something I can really say I have my head wrapped around in terms of what is common to the ones I like vs all the other ones that sound boxy and gross), but when they are right they are very right. I've got a Weber Blue Pup and a couple of Fat Jimmy speakers I'll prooooobably try out eventually just because, but the speaker in it is not in need of an upgrade -- either to a different 10" or to a 12" (which is not possible anyway in this box).

 

[AFKAEjay(retired)]

but definitely adds a layer of mid-scoop "you put power amp sauce on my power amp, bruh" to everything, even at low volumes. The bass bump is pretty easy to accommodate for. The treble is one of those things that's more "sounds fine, but also sounds like its going to be fatiguing if I play this for 45 minutes" than it is "oh that's brighter" if that makes sense. Of course turning off power amp modeling in the Fractal immediately cures this and brings back a layer of touch responsiveness, but...most of what I use in the Fractal are things that depend heavily on power amp distortion. A Princeton Reverb without power amp modeling is...a clean preamp.

Lol…even in the digital domain poweramp distortion is impractical

Full models in to tube power: I always used a global EQ to compensate.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Keeley Hydra does the trick. Reverbs are less colorful than Strymon Flint, in a good way - I love the Flint verbs but for this application more straightforward is better. The color you can dial in (shimmer on the plate; more boing on the spring) sound awful. The spring is sufficiently realistic when run in front of the amp. Harmonic tremolo is VERY good and at least as good as I remember on the Flint, sine tremolo is maybe not QUITE as good as I remember the bias tremolo on the Flint? But I'll take that with having the additional option of vibrato for when the world is feeling entirely too stable underneath my feet