If you were gonna build yerself an amp or two for the Tele twang, what would you choose?Some players prefer the EL84-based sound, some the Fender-based sound.
EL84s
Vox - AC15 / AC30
Trainwreck - Rocket / Liverpool
Dr. Z - ZWreck / Stangray / Prescription ES /
Bruno - UG30
???
Which amp(s), speaker cab(s), and speaker(s) combinations do you prefer for the ultimate Tele country tone? Stereo setups, compressors, overdrive/boost, and delays welcome!
BF Twin, Super, Deluxe, Princeton - all with reverb, size depending on the gig. The BF bassman is great too, but so is the blonde bassman - both with stand-alone reverb in front.
I actually played Fender amps for a long time because - well - that's what you are almost supposed to use for country (rock). Turned out that I preferred the Vox style amps by far but then I prefer John Jorgensen's tone to say Vince Gill's (both great players BTW).
So I Rocket preamp with octal power tubes should do it.
Another great option, especially if you like Brad Paisley's tone is the Dr. Z Stangray.
I'd say it depends on what kinda country your playin and how much volume you need..If you want the classic sound fender twin.Newer stuff ac/30.(I like the classic )
If you don't need a lot of head room don't rule out the princeton reverb.
Hey guys, thanks for all of the replies. There's no right answer of course ( except maybe Roe's: run in stereo and take the best of both worlds). Both the Fender and EL84 sounds are unique and equally great. I think I lean a little more towards the the shimmer and complexity of the EL84, cathode biasing, and rectifier tubes. Although.. to keep sitting on the fence a little longer, I equally dig both Brad Paisley's tone (EL84 based) and Eric Johnson's clean tone (pair of Twins). EJ's stereo chorused clean is pretty magical.
I really like the RxES and Stangray's punchy, jingle-jangle clarity. A Rocket and ZWreck are pretty phenomenal and I love my Liverpool amp. Building a proper one this winter.
@Cbass, +1 for the Princeton Reverb! Great sounding amp and plenty loud with an efficient speaker.
@Diablo, great clips! Absolutely shredding and great Blackface tone.
Thanks for your help on my last Blackface-ish inspired build
First off... I seem to be a huge EL84 fan so my answer will be biased.
For country, which I attempt to play every now and then, I don't think you really can beat the Stangray.
Such a great clean by itself or just insert your favorite reverb.
The loop really helps with the pedals- especially delay.... WOW!
Here's mine... oh and by the way pair it with a Z-wreck of course!
My take on both of them.....
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
That is a sweet pair of amps! Very nice. I am familiar with that Mercury AC30 PT; it's a real beast. Great looking '52!! Are you running a Blue and a Gold?
Thanks! I put together a nocaster using a USA custom body and boat neck. I picked up some custom shop relic tele PU's.
Problem is.... Now all of my other guitars don't quite feel the same anymore.
I really love the clean almost compressed feel of the ray. This really lends itself to great chicken pickin'... If only I could.
I also like the simplicity of three knobs so I'm not tweaking constantly.
I run both of these amps with two blues typically and occasionally the wreck with an alnico tone tubby and weber f150.
Every time I tell myself I'm going to save for the gold, another amp build comes up and the budget starts again.
Now i'm planning a JCM 800 build with some spare mercury
magnetic hot rod deluxe iron.
My hot rod deluxe has been such a pain in butt I decided to rip it apart and just use it as a speaker cab and salvage the iron.
I hated the drive channel on that amp anyway as well as that cheap pcb fender stuck in there.
I really like Nocasters and that fat U neck. I have been threatening myself to build one (actually, have one built) for a while now. I just love their simplicity. I know what you mean about the clean/compression thing with the Stangray; that is a badass amp for sure. I dig the EL84 sound.
Matchless is popular amoung session country players
I see a lot of dumble combos as well
WEM and Simms Watts 100 as well as Roost/Hiwatt if you need volume but wanted to keep the cleans.
As country has become more pop in the key of B minor with the addition of violin and fiddle the tone has become blured and more edgy. pushing modeling amps to the top of the list.
It would be hard to go wrong with any fender twin reverb and tube screamer. or Bassman.
Yep, a Twin will work.
Here's me in 1985 through my 64 Twin with JBLs (I can't even pick the thing up anymore), MXR compressor and volume pedal.
Yep, Twins work for country.
I come in around 1:35. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQFlm3XQCQY
