I started looking for a replacement for my 70 something Fender Twin (Silverface), after kind of realizing that it was way more amp than I need....
do I like it ?
Hell yea.... I've had it for a looonnnng time...since the early/mid 90's.....I've had it so long I barely remember what I had before it. However, in the last 10 years, I've rarely turned it up past 3-4 ... it's pretty obvious that it's way more amp that I need. 100 Watts pushed through some orange frame JBL's.....it's loud. ...and like I said...I haven't played anywhere where I need that kind of juice in a long time.
So I set off to find a replacement, that was smaller, lighter, and fit more into my lifestyle.....small, versatile, and yet loud enough to kick it with a drummer and hold it's own in a shotgun bar ....
do I like it ?
Hell yea.... I've had it for a looonnnng time...since the early/mid 90's.....I've had it so long I barely remember what I had before it. However, in the last 10 years, I've rarely turned it up past 3-4 ... it's pretty obvious that it's way more amp that I need. 100 Watts pushed through some orange frame JBL's.....it's loud. ...and like I said...I haven't played anywhere where I need that kind of juice in a long time.
So I set off to find a replacement, that was smaller, lighter, and fit more into my lifestyle.....small, versatile, and yet loud enough to kick it with a drummer and hold it's own in a shotgun bar ....
First thing I found was a Monoprice 15 Watt tube amp..... I've detailed this on another page.....so I won't go to deep here.
The Monoprice get's plenty loud and has a certain sound....and you know...
it is what it is.....
people way more knowledgeable than me call it Laney (or a good clone of a Laney).
Laney's don't sound like Fenders.
Not what I would describe as good-and-clean with a lot of headroom.
For what paid for it...($200 or so...) ...I kept it. Why not ? I didn't dislike it...and with a Joyo pedal and some tweaking...I could get close...but it definitely didn't entirely scratch my Fender itch.
The Monoprice get's plenty loud and has a certain sound....and you know...
it is what it is.....
people way more knowledgeable than me call it Laney (or a good clone of a Laney).
Laney's don't sound like Fenders.
Not what I would describe as good-and-clean with a lot of headroom.
For what paid for it...($200 or so...) ...I kept it. Why not ? I didn't dislike it...and with a Joyo pedal and some tweaking...I could get close...but it definitely didn't entirely scratch my Fender itch.
So this put me on a quest to find some old-school Fender sound....in a small package.
I remembered vaguely (in my lizard brain) playing a Fender amp that was made sometime in the mid-late 80's that I was pretty impressed with...it had all kinds of punch, a good clean Fender sound, and was pretty small.....and solid state , if I remember correctly...so I set off on the Interwebz to see if I could find out what it was....and if they even exist anymore.....
...and the first thing I run into ...is not what I was looking for.
Most of the web seems to be fans of either the Champion series or the new Mustang GT modeling amps....
Most of the web seems to be fans of either the Champion series or the new Mustang GT modeling amps....
So ...you know...trying to be open minded....and willing to try new things........ I decided to give the Champion 40 a shot. It didn't hurt that I found one at GC (online) for a pretty decent price ($119). I figured that if it sounded OK...40 Watt solid state might get me where I want to be....and if it sucked....I could probably recoop a few bucks back off it...
So the first thing I noticed about the Champion 40....is that it seemed like a toy.....I don't know what I was expecting...but wow ..it wasn't that.....I'm pretty sure I've had cell phones that were heavier than this amp...
But again.....trying to be open minded....it got some pretty decent reviews and such....I took it home and played on it for a couple weeks.
Some of the FX are pretty cool, and the different amp voicings make this amp produce a LOT of different sounds...
.......so only maybe half the effects, and half the sounds are somewhat usable.....the others ....... not so much.....
The last two amp voicings are just bad. Adding chorus and stuff to the reverb ??? WTF.....Why.....?? Just give me an awesome reverb.....I'll do the rest....
Oh yea..and about the verb......
A Fender without a spring reverb tank ????
Shame.....Shame.....
But again.....trying to be open minded....it got some pretty decent reviews and such....I took it home and played on it for a couple weeks.
Some of the FX are pretty cool, and the different amp voicings make this amp produce a LOT of different sounds...
.......so only maybe half the effects, and half the sounds are somewhat usable.....the others ....... not so much.....
The last two amp voicings are just bad. Adding chorus and stuff to the reverb ??? WTF.....Why.....?? Just give me an awesome reverb.....I'll do the rest....
Oh yea..and about the verb......
A Fender without a spring reverb tank ????
Shame.....Shame.....
Hey! Fender : Make a good amp with (maybe) trem and great reverb.....if it's a good amp...people will buy their own chorus and overdrive pedals without complaining in the slightest. I know....a few people are going to bitch and whine about the lack of effects.....but you know what ?? A few people are always going to bitch and whine no matter what you do.
Do what you do best.
The Champion 40 sounds OK.....but that's it....just OK......the clean channel is nice, but seems to lack a decent low end response. The sound and volume is there...but the tone is not. It sounds very "steril" ...the amp ain't got no soul....You can't "feel" it.
A speaker upgrade *might* solve some of these issues.?.... Maybe the 100 Watt version would sound fuller and better ?.....but the 40 just seemed "meh"..... the shine wore off pretty quickly....(even with the effects and voicings)..and at the end of a couple weeks I started looking for something else....
I can't explain why (in words) .... but the Champion 40 just didn't do it fo me.
I'm betting I would feel the same about the Mustang.... seems like these are just kind of suped up cell phones / iPads with a speaker attached to them....or maybe I'm not being as open minded as I thought.....
Do what you do best.
The Champion 40 sounds OK.....but that's it....just OK......the clean channel is nice, but seems to lack a decent low end response. The sound and volume is there...but the tone is not. It sounds very "steril" ...the amp ain't got no soul....You can't "feel" it.
A speaker upgrade *might* solve some of these issues.?.... Maybe the 100 Watt version would sound fuller and better ?.....but the 40 just seemed "meh"..... the shine wore off pretty quickly....(even with the effects and voicings)..and at the end of a couple weeks I started looking for something else....
I can't explain why (in words) .... but the Champion 40 just didn't do it fo me.
I'm betting I would feel the same about the Mustang.... seems like these are just kind of suped up cell phones / iPads with a speaker attached to them....or maybe I'm not being as open minded as I thought.....
Then one day... while surfing the cheap rack at Guitar Center (online), I saw something that looked pretty promising.
It was black and silver....and Fender all over, and the price was pretty low.... I think the total cost was $109.00, delivered to my door.
It was a Fender Harvard Reverb II ...... 80's solid state amp.
I know.....it's not tube.....but ... I'm not a snob.....I had on old Gibson GT-20 for a lot of years.... and I really liked that amp...so I figured "why not?" ... it's Guitar Center...if it really sucks, I just send it back....no harm, no foul.... I'll be out some shipping costs.... if it doesn't suck, for the price ....I'll keep it ...
So a few days later.... I'm the proud owner of a 30+ year old little 20 watt solid state Fender amp....
Most of the reviews I read online were pretty positive about the amp..... and as it turns out...they were dead on. I watched a couple youtube videos for the early models....(not the "II" version) as well as it's big brothers, the London, Yale, and Princeton amps of the same era.... and you know...they sound like what you would expect... a nice clean "Fendery" sound...plug a Strat or a Tele in...and you know what you're going to get.
Great information on this era/range of amps can be found HERE.
So why "this" amp ??
Several reasons, in no particular order...
1. Size....20 Watts is in the range I'm looking for.
2. Size....it's pretty light/small.
3. Headphone Jack .... always a plus. Just ask my wife.
4. FX loop.....I had an Idea.....and it required an FX loop.
5. Three band EQ + real spring reverb .... classic Fender setup.
6. Price.....$100 is pretty cheap for an amp of any reasonable quality.
7. Reviews .... no one absolutely hated this amp...all the reviews/videos were pretty positive.
8. No surprises..... a Fender amp that everyone says "sounds like a Fender"..... you know what you are going to get.
9. The "Gain" (overdrive) wasn't hated by all....... this is unusual for a Fender Solid State amp.
10. Sound .... by all accounts, it's surprisingly loud for it's size.
The Harvard Reverb II did not disappoint. It is a "classic Fender" sound. I crank the "Volume" up to 8-9 and leave it there, and use the "Master" and "Gain" to dial in my sound / volume / gain. Adjust the EQ's.....Treb and Mid a little high....Bass a little low....verb to taste. Almost the classic "6's" Twin settings. Depending on the guitar, or sometimes for a little variety, I sometimes set it scooped, with the Treble and Bass turned up fairly high, and the Mids turned down.
So... OK, truth be told...the little 20 Watt amp by itself *can* sound a little boxy / small. Adjusting the Reverb with the Gain and Master (volume), can make it sound bigger and give it a lot more body....but...it's still just a little lacking on the low end of the spectrum.....and well... mids could use a little punch too.....
This is why I wanted an FX loop ...specifically a Pre-amp output.....
I recently purchased a Monoprice 15 Watt (tube) amp, which also has an FX loop.....
The Monoprice amp is "voiced" very differently from the Fender..... much more of a Laney sound.
I upgraded the Monoprice amp with a GB 128 speaker....which definitely adds some low end to the sound of the amp.
So...what I tried was.... this....
It was black and silver....and Fender all over, and the price was pretty low.... I think the total cost was $109.00, delivered to my door.
It was a Fender Harvard Reverb II ...... 80's solid state amp.
I know.....it's not tube.....but ... I'm not a snob.....I had on old Gibson GT-20 for a lot of years.... and I really liked that amp...so I figured "why not?" ... it's Guitar Center...if it really sucks, I just send it back....no harm, no foul.... I'll be out some shipping costs.... if it doesn't suck, for the price ....I'll keep it ...
So a few days later.... I'm the proud owner of a 30+ year old little 20 watt solid state Fender amp....
Most of the reviews I read online were pretty positive about the amp..... and as it turns out...they were dead on. I watched a couple youtube videos for the early models....(not the "II" version) as well as it's big brothers, the London, Yale, and Princeton amps of the same era.... and you know...they sound like what you would expect... a nice clean "Fendery" sound...plug a Strat or a Tele in...and you know what you're going to get.
Great information on this era/range of amps can be found HERE.
So why "this" amp ??
Several reasons, in no particular order...
1. Size....20 Watts is in the range I'm looking for.
2. Size....it's pretty light/small.
3. Headphone Jack .... always a plus. Just ask my wife.
4. FX loop.....I had an Idea.....and it required an FX loop.
5. Three band EQ + real spring reverb .... classic Fender setup.
6. Price.....$100 is pretty cheap for an amp of any reasonable quality.
7. Reviews .... no one absolutely hated this amp...all the reviews/videos were pretty positive.
8. No surprises..... a Fender amp that everyone says "sounds like a Fender"..... you know what you are going to get.
9. The "Gain" (overdrive) wasn't hated by all....... this is unusual for a Fender Solid State amp.
10. Sound .... by all accounts, it's surprisingly loud for it's size.
The Harvard Reverb II did not disappoint. It is a "classic Fender" sound. I crank the "Volume" up to 8-9 and leave it there, and use the "Master" and "Gain" to dial in my sound / volume / gain. Adjust the EQ's.....Treb and Mid a little high....Bass a little low....verb to taste. Almost the classic "6's" Twin settings. Depending on the guitar, or sometimes for a little variety, I sometimes set it scooped, with the Treble and Bass turned up fairly high, and the Mids turned down.
So... OK, truth be told...the little 20 Watt amp by itself *can* sound a little boxy / small. Adjusting the Reverb with the Gain and Master (volume), can make it sound bigger and give it a lot more body....but...it's still just a little lacking on the low end of the spectrum.....and well... mids could use a little punch too.....
This is why I wanted an FX loop ...specifically a Pre-amp output.....
I recently purchased a Monoprice 15 Watt (tube) amp, which also has an FX loop.....
The Monoprice amp is "voiced" very differently from the Fender..... much more of a Laney sound.
I upgraded the Monoprice amp with a GB 128 speaker....which definitely adds some low end to the sound of the amp.
So...what I tried was.... this....
and what I got.......was a MUCH bigger sound.....but...the output of the Monoprice was kind of weak....I don't think the signal out of the Fenders pre-amp is high enough to really drive the Monoprice.
So then i tried this....
So then i tried this....
And....Boom!.....that's it.
Putting the Joyo in the connection between the amps allows for a TON of control over the signal going to the Monoprice.....
My next step is to see if I can find a good "clean boost", and try that....and then maybe try both a clean boost and the Joyo....for some really different tone options.
A good transparent clean boost should give me 100% Fender, with maybe just a little drive / dirt from the Monoprices output tubes....If I can drive the tubes hard enough.
Turn the Clean boost off and the Joyo on, and I should be able to really control the sound coming out of the Monoprice. Hopefully I can control some of the hiss that comes with the Joyo....
But I think one of the biggest tone improvements is just the speaker in the Monoprice...and the different (darker) sound of that amp with the Fender being used as the pre-amp....
I think it almost works like a tweeter / woofer setup....with the Fender giving the really kind of focused clean highs and the Monoprice pushing a LOT of mids and bass.....the Monoprice REALLY fills in the sound and thickens up the mids ...and yet keeps the "Fenderish" sound.
The two amps together.....are PLENTY loud... the Monoprice 12" Speaker (with 15 Watts of tube goodness behind it) provides a serious volume kick. The 10" speaker in the Fender and the 12" in the Monoprice combine to move some air.
You're still not going to be in major heavy metal territory with this rig...but.....for anyplace I'm going to be playing...this should do it.
If I'm having issues being heard over a drummer with this.........we're probably going to be asked to turn it down anyway.....
Putting the Joyo in the connection between the amps allows for a TON of control over the signal going to the Monoprice.....
My next step is to see if I can find a good "clean boost", and try that....and then maybe try both a clean boost and the Joyo....for some really different tone options.
A good transparent clean boost should give me 100% Fender, with maybe just a little drive / dirt from the Monoprices output tubes....If I can drive the tubes hard enough.
Turn the Clean boost off and the Joyo on, and I should be able to really control the sound coming out of the Monoprice. Hopefully I can control some of the hiss that comes with the Joyo....
But I think one of the biggest tone improvements is just the speaker in the Monoprice...and the different (darker) sound of that amp with the Fender being used as the pre-amp....
I think it almost works like a tweeter / woofer setup....with the Fender giving the really kind of focused clean highs and the Monoprice pushing a LOT of mids and bass.....the Monoprice REALLY fills in the sound and thickens up the mids ...and yet keeps the "Fenderish" sound.
The two amps together.....are PLENTY loud... the Monoprice 12" Speaker (with 15 Watts of tube goodness behind it) provides a serious volume kick. The 10" speaker in the Fender and the 12" in the Monoprice combine to move some air.
You're still not going to be in major heavy metal territory with this rig...but.....for anyplace I'm going to be playing...this should do it.
If I'm having issues being heard over a drummer with this.........we're probably going to be asked to turn it down anyway.....
Yea...that's cat hair on the Monoprices grill cloth....all the other stuff he ignores....but he loves that Monoprice grill cloth ...no clue why...
In my mind, and for my circumstances, this is just about the perfect rig for me.
Small/Light/Portable --- I can easily carry the entire rig...one amp in each hand...and it can easily fit in 1 seat of a car....Fender on the floor, monoprice in the seat....set your guitar on top....you're good to go. If I was playing out a lot....I would probably find an old duffle bag / gig bag that the Fender could drop into...and I could carry it over a shoulder...that would leave a hand free for guitar cases / bags (and doors).
Loud enough --- Oh hell yea, and yet...it also breaks down into two smaller amps... each with their own unique sound/tone.
Built in gain and reverb --- The Fenders reverb is pretty damn good for an amp this small.....and the gain is usable....with the Joyo in the mix, the tone possibilities go way up....clean to blackface growl.
Sounds good --- Oh Yea. Sounds great.....this little combo is fighting way above it's weight class. I know players that have spent a LOT more and got a lot less.
Priced right --- I figure I have probably a little over $375.00 into it.....but..if I had watched for sales / price drops / specials / ebay....etc...I bet the entire rig could come in right around $250-$275. .... I also paid a little over the street price for the Fender.... but even at $375 I'm getting WAY more than what I paid for.....these two little amps together sound like a big boy amp.....seriously.
Plays decent clean, and takes pedals well --- haven't had a chance to get a truly "clean boost" in the mix yet...but I did run my Tube Screamer into it....and yea...it went all kinds of SRV / Texas Flood without even trying..... BIG, full sounding.
Plays well at fairly low volumes --- Yep. In a couple of ways....The Fender sounds nice (by itself ) at fairly low volumes...and the Monoprice has a 15 Watt / 5 Watt switch so you can attenuate the volume way down, and yet still use the gain.....
Headphone jack for "no volume" practice --- Fender Harvard Reverb II has one.....Monoprice does not.
Flexibility / Options --- Each one of these amps sounds different....and can be played separately...or roles switched...and use the preamp output of the Monoprice to feed the power amp of the Fender...this gives the setup an entirely different sound....or you could even set them side by side and go stereo... huge amount of options with this 2 amp setup.
Small/Light/Portable --- I can easily carry the entire rig...one amp in each hand...and it can easily fit in 1 seat of a car....Fender on the floor, monoprice in the seat....set your guitar on top....you're good to go. If I was playing out a lot....I would probably find an old duffle bag / gig bag that the Fender could drop into...and I could carry it over a shoulder...that would leave a hand free for guitar cases / bags (and doors).
Loud enough --- Oh hell yea, and yet...it also breaks down into two smaller amps... each with their own unique sound/tone.
Built in gain and reverb --- The Fenders reverb is pretty damn good for an amp this small.....and the gain is usable....with the Joyo in the mix, the tone possibilities go way up....clean to blackface growl.
Sounds good --- Oh Yea. Sounds great.....this little combo is fighting way above it's weight class. I know players that have spent a LOT more and got a lot less.
Priced right --- I figure I have probably a little over $375.00 into it.....but..if I had watched for sales / price drops / specials / ebay....etc...I bet the entire rig could come in right around $250-$275. .... I also paid a little over the street price for the Fender.... but even at $375 I'm getting WAY more than what I paid for.....these two little amps together sound like a big boy amp.....seriously.
Plays decent clean, and takes pedals well --- haven't had a chance to get a truly "clean boost" in the mix yet...but I did run my Tube Screamer into it....and yea...it went all kinds of SRV / Texas Flood without even trying..... BIG, full sounding.
Plays well at fairly low volumes --- Yep. In a couple of ways....The Fender sounds nice (by itself ) at fairly low volumes...and the Monoprice has a 15 Watt / 5 Watt switch so you can attenuate the volume way down, and yet still use the gain.....
Headphone jack for "no volume" practice --- Fender Harvard Reverb II has one.....Monoprice does not.
Flexibility / Options --- Each one of these amps sounds different....and can be played separately...or roles switched...and use the preamp output of the Monoprice to feed the power amp of the Fender...this gives the setup an entirely different sound....or you could even set them side by side and go stereo... huge amount of options with this 2 amp setup.