The "can do everything" amp

[takk]

We know the Line6's of the industry claim to do this with their modeling. But it doesn't quite cut the mustard. Could Mackie, with their first guitar amp ever, actually deliver the one amp that can truly do everything? I doubt they'll get it right on the first try but I like the approach they are taking. See the amp here:

http://www.mackie.com/products/hotwire/index.html

Takk

[Immanuel]

My guess is, that if ever somebody achieves to make "the do it all amp", they will know so themselves, and the price likely not be much less than the highest priced things it can emulate - because it can actually compete with these things. If someone sells gear at hobbyist prices, it is because they know that hobbyists are their actual targets.

[Ashley Smith]

I wanna hear some demos :D

[Jasco]

I somehow doubt I'll be trading in my vintage Fenders and Marshalls for that thing.

[AxeSlash]

Still doesn't do pre-distortion EQ.

But then again, if it did a lot of the bells and whistles on it might become unnecesary, and then they'd have let the cat outta the bag...

Meh, I'll wait to hear it before I form an opinion. It might kick ass.


Then again, it probably won't.

[Tim Armstrong]

I've never had much use for "Swiss Army Knife" solutions...

Cheers, Tim

[AxeSlash]

I've never had much use for "Swiss Army Knife" solutions...

Cheers, Tim

What, you don't own any 57s? :grin:

[iCombs]

I've never had much use for "Swiss Army Knife" solutions...

Cheers, Tim

It seems to me that the best "Swiss Army Knife" is a sense of touch.

Outside of that, we all know how well Swiss Army Knives actually work...they can come in handy every once in a while, but are a poor substitute for the proper tool.

[eagan]

All true, but taking a look at the Mackie site, I think that to be fair to Greg Mackie, I'm sure he understands that. But what they say about its origins kind of hits the point there. Yes, maybe it's not ideal when compared to a particular best amp for a particular sound.

Swiss Army knives fit in your pocket.

A Craftsman 500 piece mechanic's toolset does not.

The point, according to the promoblurb, is a guy wanted variety pack 'o sound that he could haul to a simple weekend bar gig without a road crew and truck and not fill the stage with a pile of amps.

I can grok the point there.

Ideal? Doubtful. Practical? Quite possibly.


JLE

[Tim Armstrong]

Yeah, but that horse has already left the stable. My brother gigs with a really pretty fucking good-sounding Vox AD30vt that cost him under three hundred bucks...

Cheers, Tim

[Brendo]

yeah, and the AD60VTX sounds even better than that thing.

[weedywet]

The point, according to the promoblurb, is a guy wanted variety pack 'o sound that he could haul to a simple weekend bar gig without a road crew and truck and not fill the stage with a pile of amps.




and yet,
pick your favourite band.
did Hendrix or The BEatles or Led Zep or Nirvana or Sex Pistols or whomever bring a "selection" of guitar amps to their gigs?

or does the guitar player get HIS sound and that's it?

I never understand the "need" for a thousand choices of guitar amps in one gig.

is this made for cover bands?

no one else needs it.



I have a "can do everything" amp.

it's called a 1962 JMI Vox AC30

it doesn't do REALLY 'everything'... but VERY nearly so.

[blackieC]

is this made for cover bands?

no one else needs it.


Yes and no, in that order.

Swiss Army amp is perfect for the cover band playing Dirty McNasty's Pub and Delicatessen to a bunch of weekend drunk ya-hoos who only need to hear a sound similar enough to the original to remind them of what it was they thought they were hearing. It still probably sounds like ass, but they won't know or care.


The second market for these amps are the legion of casual guitar players that doink around on the old guit fiddle once a week or so because it reminds them of the time back in high school when Mary Jane Rottencrotch went down on them underneath the bleachers because they were "in the band". All theses guys need is the promise that it really is supposed to sound just like the amp they couldn't afford back then for a price that the wife won't castrate them for spending. It still sounds like ass, but they don't care.

So here you have two groups that both need and want this amp and combined their numbers dwarf the minority of players who actually care about tone and having their "own" sound.

Still early.

Need coffee.


I like my coffee like I like my women.


Cold and bitter.

[Jasco]

I never understand the "need" for a thousand choices of guitar amps in one gig.



I agree completely. I'll take one great tone over a billion average tones any day.

[eagan]

I never understand the "need" for a thousand choices of guitar amps in one gig.

is this made for cover bands?

no one else needs it.


That's what I'm saying. That appears to be the whole point of the beast. A reasonable approximation chameleon amp for cover bands who just want "close enough" for any tune that gets thrown at them on local weekend bar gigs and are trying to travel light.


JLE

[Buzzgrowl]

It still probably sounds like ass, but they won't know or care.

The way an amp (or guitar) sounds, responds and "feels" is more important for the player than for the audience.

The audience, even those for whom music is really important, cannot tell any difference at the majority of live venues because of many reasons, not least the acoustics of the venue itself, the PA and the way everyone interacts. Audiences who look out only for fun/entertainment can't tell the difference even on the recording and actually don't care at all how a distorted or clean guitar sounds. I found this out many years ago by actually doing a survey among non-musician friends.

I've played a Tech21 1x12 in a shop a couple of times and it could be a good all-rounder:

http://www.tech21nyc.com/tm60.html

However, for maximum flexibility, perhaps one of the Power Engine series with your own front end (pedals, preamp, multifx) would be even simpler: http://www.tech21nyc.com/pe60.html

Cheers, -Buzzgrowl

[nobby]

A TSL 100 comes close enough to be the only amp I'd need for a gig.

I can't get it to sound exactly like a '67 Deluxe Reverb or a '68 Dual Showman, so I guess I'll hold on to them.

[lambro]

For this goal I like a few 2 channel tube amps

Guytron probably my fav,

You set your clean and the level of your hot channel and use a floor pedal for variations on both, the Guytron is pretty impressive in this way, the only issue is switching from single coils to humbuckers would change the make up

going from almost Fender Deluxe > Voc AC-30 to an EVH brown sound then to a hyper version of that, all sound great.

having an additional dual el-84 power section in the preamp secion is a unique design deature.....the main power section is 4 el-34's

[omikl]

There was a review of a new amp designed in the UK and built in Korea called the Blackstar in last month's Guitarist.

It sounds like the amp I've been looking for:

One channel's pre-amp is based on that of an old school Marshall, the other on that of a Tweed Champ. It has turret board construction and based on the demo I heard sound pretty damn neat.

[ben_allison]

There are "jack of all trades" out there: Mesa Mark 4, Orange Rockerverb 50, Egnater Mod 50, Elmwood Modena, Rivera Kuncklehead Tre... the list goes on.

Te sky's the limit if you're ok throwing in an OD pedal or two (there are hundrends of killer dirt boxes available).

[ffaudio]

I still love the Randall modular rig.

http://www.bandslink.com/randall.htm

[JMP2204]

The other guitar player in the band I am in bought this Line6 Bogner Combo Tube amp... And it sounds great on everything from Alice Cooper to ZZ Top.

I wanted to dislike it, but it really sounds great. It doesn't hurt that he is a great player, and he customized a bunch of settings, but give the thing a listen.