The Roland JC120 is definatly THE best clean amp ever made! I haven`t been able to play one yet, but hearing it on Metallica`s concert in Seattle 1989, and other places, it is the next amp on my list for sure !
Recently bought a Roland Jazz 40. After having a Vox AC 15, Fender Twin Reverb, Vibrolux, ect. If you want that glassy Fender sound just engage the clean about 1/4 of the way. The new distortion is nice. And you can also add sound, you can't add clean. It's either there or it isn't. Tired of the tube amps. You have to turn them up so loud to get tone you want that they just aren't practical. With the right solid state amp you can keep the volume down and still get a great tone.
Best clean tone I ever got with my Telecaster was through a Legend A60. Clear, full, and loud. Excellent with all the pedals I used. It's on my Why did I sell that? list, the same list that every guitar player has.
Here's one that flew below the "clean sounding" radar back in its day: the Peavey Session. The Session was designed as a keyboardists and pedal steel guitarist's amp. It has 200 watts of clean RMS power. It is LOUD and won't break up at all. As a guitarist, I used a Session head in bands I played in back in the 80s. Since it wouldn't overdrive at all, I had a decent pedal for that purpose. As a clean amp it had a lot of body to its sound, and really did sound nice with my guitars.
I have a Twin Reverb RI and Roland JC120 which are both great clean, but the best clean sound I've heard is from a friend's Bassman '59 reissue manufactured around 1996.
Also worth looking into is the Peavey Bandit 65 and the Peavey Backstage Chorus 208. Sweet clear clean tones that sound almost acoustic with single coil guitars.
I had an Epiphone Super Eight [4 Jensen 8"] with Hammond Reverb as my first amp back about 1964 or 65 can't fucking remember. Great 30 watt surf guitar amp and a real clean sound. Miss the old girl. Playing thru a Twin now. Love the Twin. It's ALIVE!
I have noticed with amps I have owned over the years that its not just the amp. Its also the pickups and guitars used to get nice clean tones. Not only that, a nice cabinet that has the right matching speaker setup to match the amp and guitars.
Amen -the JC120 is the absolute "Clean" beast - cleanest amp I have ever played - he didn't mention it is a stereo amp too - Unfortunately I can't afford a Kilobuck for one so I got a Randall RG200 - 200 watts and it's clean channel is to die for - like the 120, the dual stage distortion channel is ok, but it sounds better running your pedals through the clean channel and letting the pedals add the flavor.
As far as Fender is concerned, a lot of their inexpensive transistor amps have really nice clean tones as well. Even some Fender amps have, gasp, surprisingly really good high gain sounds. Of course that is a conversation for another day! ;)
@@crazeyjoe I must admit to being rather a poor knowledge on the subject. Which SS amps of the big F have good loud clean sounds and for that matter good gain?
Joe Dazey I thought it a question for today. i wasn't being picky or a shit. I just really wanted to know as I really was looking for an inexpensive solid state amp (aren't we all and I'm Australian so I'm really cheap with $$) with great clean and dirty sounds. The Holy Grail of guitarists everywhere.I really like jazz, blues and 80's hard rock so if anyone can help me I'd be immensely grateful. :-)
@@skinnykarlos710 Absolutely! The Fender Roc Pro 1000 head (100 watts), Rock Pro 700 combo (70 watts), Fender Performer 1000 head or combo (100 watts) are "hybrid" amps. They are 100% solid state powered amplifiers. They both have a single 12AX7 (ECC83) preamp tube in the gain section of the "drive channel. Nice cleans and pretty good "smooth," not buzz saw sounding distortion on the drive channel. There are others, however, these are the first 2 that come to mind. They can be found on the used market for under $275.00 Australian Dollars. Here are some links... reverb.com/item/30268961-fender-performer-1000 reverb.com/item/29630153-fender-roc-pro-1000-head reverb.com/item/18728348-fender-roc-pro-700-guitar-amplifier This is a link to purchase a foot switch for these amps reverb.com/item/29216575-fender-fender-2-button-channel-reverb-footswitch-with-cable-0994056000
I know that you could not possibly know of every great clean amp, but there is one you ought to know about, 1949-51 Gibson GA-50 and GA-50T with tremolo. At approximately 30 watts from 2 coke-bottle 6L6s it has one 12” and one 8” speaker. It’s brown and looks like an old suitcase. I have one and also a ‘65 Deluxe Reverb, a ‘64 AC-30, a 1999 Komet Fischer Trainwreck 60 and many more of those kinds of amps. The GA-50 simply kills every other clean amp I have ever heard. The great Jim Hall used one for a time and said that it gave him the absolutely the best tone he ever had. It takes pedals like a dream even though it was designed and built a decade and a half before pedals were invented. It can play quite loudly with lots of headroom and if turned way up will produce a creamy and powerfully harmonic overdrive. However, that is not the best way to use it. Set at a low level with pedals is the key. Not only does this preserve your hearing and your lease, it preserves the amp as well. Those late’40s speakers are incredibly good sounding and are very hard to impossible to replace or to repair. You must treat them gently. Check one out, they occasionally show up on Ebay and Reverb and there are UA-cam vids (for better or worse) of them as well.
My amp made #2 on the list!! Bought a '65 DRRI earlier this year before the introduction of the Tone King versions. I don't know why it took me so long to subscribe here. I've long been fond your interesting, informative videos presented in your inimitably humble fashion, from your well-lit dungeon. lol
The older Fender black and silver faced twins are some of the best amps ever made. I'm also a fan of the silver and red striped Peavey Bandits, very loud and clean sound.
Four years ago, I couldn’t give away an old Peavey Bandit for anything less than about $80. All of a sudden people started RAVING about them to the point Peavey reissued the damn things. LOL
Music Man amps (the Solid State Preamp/Tube Power) and the Kustom HV100 (preamp tubes and Solid State Power) are hands down the best and loudest clean amps you can ever play through that give that tube warmth in your signal. Straight fact there. Speaking from over decades of experience and being the top Guitar Center Salesman in each store I worked (for the 3 years I was with them). It is my opinion, and a very solid one. Yes, the other amps you mention here are decent, but they can't do what the MM and Kustom can do for pure clean and loud (without a hint of dist/OD). Roland Jazz is pretty good too, however, it is completely solid state.
I own twin, deluxe and super...all reissues. Twin without a doubt is a clean tone monster. Volume maxed clean. My deluxe and super start breaking at 6-7. Clean is kind of a personal opinion. How much volume can you get away before breakup or if miked thru the house.
Thank you, Robert. Recently been watching JC120 reviews. Too big for my apt. but I agree with your choice after hearing it. I don't like 'chorus' very much but the JC is not average sounding chorus.
I bought a JC120 in 1979. Fantastic amp, and I used it all through the 80s with pedals. Also, it has a twin power amps - so it does a true chorus, and you can connect remote cabinets. As for the marshall story, you got it correct except for the transformers - they were radio spares, not mercury magnetics.
Always enjoy these lists. I would probably add (3) Mesa Rectoverb 1 x12 combo, (which is also a fire-breathing Dragon), the Laney Cub & the Quilter 101 ( all Fender Princeton-like pristine Clean's ) - but all of your choices were spot-on. Great information here. oNe LovE from NYC
Have you ever tried a Carvin AG-100 amp. It’s a combo with push button for acoustic. I’ve had mine for 15 yeas and I still love it. Just curious if you have any thoughts.
What are your views on the Vox AD 30 VT ? I'm starting to play guitar again after an injury that caused a partial amputation to my right and dominant hand. It's been a struggle learning how to use my hand again and playing guitar. When I saw the injury to my hand, my first thought was, "My God, I can't play". I Liked and Subscribed, Robert. Cheers.
Sorry to hear about your injury, but I’m glad to hear you’re recovery seems to be trending back in the right direction. The AD Valvefronix were the all solid-state version of the Valvetronix amps. Not great, but not horrible. But the VT models with the tube preamps were quite a big difference in tone.
Yeap, I've got one and was surprised he went with the SVT over a V4/VT22 guitar amps. Ironically the SVT preamp is based on the V4B head, just with 6550's instead of 7027A tubes, and more power tubes.
I think that fenders have an amazing clean tone. I’m basically a closet player so I never saw the need to spend 2 grand on a twin( even though I want one!) or a vox ac30 (which I really really want!) but I do have an older solid state fender sidekick reverb 65 which I bought in 1987.its been a very solid amp for me. When I was in the military it went with me nearly everywhere(even lost in transit for a month!) it’s been banged around and just keeps going and has an excellent sound still... I also have one of those fender fm212R things that I bought just for my louder days. The amp is hated by most players . It has terrible reviews. But I like mine. The clean Channel is actually pretty damn good.and with a little effort , playing with the controls , channel 2 can be ok too . For my acoustic amp, I have a fishman loudbox and it is fantastic
Thought I'd post a few details in a comment about this review, Cuz I have 76' Fender Twin Reverb and I just got a 93' Hiwatt DR103 this past week. The DR actually stands for Dave Reeves (No Big Deal, I like this Guys Channel and watch it quite often cuz it's Very Helpful in Many Ways) So the DR103 Custom Hiwatt 100 is of the Hiwatt Biacrown UK, 51 Hallgate Doncaster Made in England era. It's the version with the dual Normal Channel and dual Bright Channel inputs that can be bridged and used at the same time. I ran that into the 2 OS Rectifier Straight Bottom Mesa Boogie 4x12's Cab that I use for jamming with my drummer. I gotta tell ya, I've been utilizing a Dual Rec 100 watt head for Rig 1 and a Triple Rec 150 watt head for Rig 2, So them Cabs get plenty of juice, but Somehow that Hiwatt head puts out So Much More Power than both of those Mesa Boogie Heads put together! I think it could Blow All 8 of them 12's right outta the Cabinets without even being turned up Half Way. By that, I mean having the Normal Channel at around 1 o'clock so it gives it a Complete warm and full bottom end, with the Bright Channel at around noon to give it a Crystal Clear high end. At those settings, It's getting plenty of the Pre-Amp Tubes working, But only had to turn the Master Volume up to maybe close to the 10 o'clock position and That Was Pretty Violent, To say the least, lol... It could've kept right on going up, but I've Never Ever heard them 2 Cabs have that 'Please Don't Kill Me' sound like that before. That type of Clarity at Such a High Volume is Absolutely Amazing! Them OS Rectifier Straight Bottom Cabinets are some Seriously Tough Cabinets but they are No Match for the Headroom of that Hiwatt. The Hiwatt head does not have Distortion or Reverb, So It's All About Crystal Clear Power, and The Fact that It takes Pedals like a Champ, Is a Tremendous Bonus, So Without a Doubt, It's The Best Musical Investment I've Made Yet, Hands Down. I only paid a lil over $1800 for it with shipping included, So I got into the 'Hiwatt Club' without losing a limb. The 76' Fender Twin Reverb I have, I picked up for only $200 on Let Go. Them Tubes are kinda Beat Up, and the Pots are a lil Scratchy and Dusty, but the Screen is Tear Free, So I'll say it's still in Pretty Good shape considering it's a 42 year old amp. I will also be Inclined to Agree, That Infamous World Renowned Instantly Recognizable Reverb is purely a Gift from God Himself to the Music World, and has Definitely earned it's way into being 1 of The Top Best Sounding Amplifiers of All Time. It weights around 85 lbs, So it spends it's time in the Corner of My room, Nice and Cozy. It don't see No Travel or Gig time, Only Playing and Recording time, and it is Perfect for both, IMO. I hope y'all enjoyed a few extra details about a couple Historical Amps from a neutral persons Point of View. Have a Great Day - Jay
One thing about Fenders is that a big part of the clean tone is the Jensens. Now, not all Fenders come with Jensens. Celestions have become very common. My issue with Celestions is that they can distort too much and I like transparent speakers. I think they give more headroom and clarity. This is why I love EVs so much as well.
Like the "share the music"! So true too! Most of us have items kicking around we find old or ordinary that kids would pee themselves for... great idea!
For a SS amp, the Fender M-80 Chorus amp head, from the early 90's, has a great clean tone and plays loud. I sold mine when I bought my Marshall but, I found a Fender Princeton Chorus 2X10 combo amp for $100 and has the same tone but is a 50w. Oh, and the chorus effect on these models is about the best I've ever heard!
I had the chance to buy a carvin x100b from my guitar teacher when i started playing ..... i didn't. That is a mistake that will haunt me on my deathbed
Nice video. I own an AC-15 which I bought for that "jangly" clean tone, although it breaks up nicely, too. I was surprised that no Acoustic amps made the list. Never owned one, but a couple of friends did and as I recall they had a really clear, crisp tone.
Great video. Thanks. I would like to just add my two cents and say that the Fender Champion, a solid state 100 watt version 212, is extremely clean sounding. Recently, I am really curious about the Marshall Origin serious. Marshall designed it to not have the highs and lows taken out like many Marshalls of today are engineered, so with the Origin there is a natural wide spectrum of sounds available. People say that the Origin sounds a little bit like a Fender.
I too, like the Champion 100. Very affordable, sounds good, not too heavy to lug around and way easier to use than the Mustang series. The only modeling amp I would ever buy but of course I haven't seen all of them.
A couple years ago i picked up a Roland Mobile Cube at a garage sale for $20 brand new, never used. When i got home and online i was shocked to see that they sell for $189. At almost 200 bucks I'm not sure it's worth it but i will say for a little 5 or 10 watt practice amp it definitely packs a punch. I use it primarily for my mobile modular synth because it's not only small and light but it can run on batteries, is stereo and stays clean even cranked way up. It has a bunch of different settings for acoustic or electric guitar, vocals, or synths with a tone knob and both distortion and overdrive which are ok but the stereo chorus sounds pretty decent and the delay and reverb are surprisingly good. Plus it has mono or stereo 1/4 inch inputs, a stereo 1/8 inch input and rca line level inputs and a separate 1/4 inch mic input. It's definitely loud enough for small gigs and perfect for outdoor or traveling noise makers. Convenient, clean sounding with distortion, overdrive, chorus, delay and reverb in stereo for 20 bucks was a steal but if you can find one for around 100 or less buy it because if you don't like it you can probably sell it for more than you paid for it. This is a video of me using it at the garage i worked at lol. ua-cam.com/video/vW2olzw65Q8/v-deo.html
Princeton Reverb limited ed with a stock 12” speaker is the best small amp I’ve ever heard. Big sound. I had a blue jr with mods and new speaker and the Pr Reverb blows it away.
I'm a death metal guitarist, and I like my clean channel SUPER clean, absolutely NO dirt! I love my Hot Rod DeVille clean for my lead guitar tracks, and my Crate BV300H for my rhythm tones, the Crate is fuller sounding than the DeVille, but also a super clean glassy ch1, you sorta need an EQ pedal to extract it all, but it's in there for sure!!
Great video. I tried a Princeton Reverb at a music store and was blown away by the great clean sound coming from such a small amp but too expensive for me at the time. I had a great Twin Reverb about 50 years ago but you'd almost need a forklift to hoist it (so heavy). Today I get a decent clean sound from a Blues Jr iii by adjusting the volume lower and master volume higher. I also have a Peavey Envoy (solid state) that is surprisingly great at cleans too.
The Blues Jr.’s have a great clean sound! All of the Fender Hot Rod Series amps do, actually. They just came out with the fourth generation of these and I’m excited to hear them.
1956chip I second the Princeton Reverb. I own it and it sounds like a Deluxe Reverb that doesn’t blow my ears out. At 15 watts its similar volume to Blues Jr but with far superior clean and overdriven sound even after mods on the BJr.
Agree. I am still wanting a Princeton Reverb Reissue and am wondering, 1) is yours a blackface or silverface? 2) at what volume approximately is the breakup? I am assuming that the breakup volume would be slightly lower on the silverface (but could be wrong), thanks.
1956chip Mine is a blackface 65 reissue and has the spec ed 12” speaker so it may stay clean longer than the standard 10”. The sweet spot for me is 4-5. It start breaking up about 5 but can be clean if you play softer. Thats with a strat with very low output (5k neck) single coils so humbuckers or hotter pickups would distort it earlier. 5 is very loud and would be unwise though play at that level much. Comfortable but still nicely loud level is 3.5-4 and its still very close to breakup and will if you really hit hard. Lovepedal Amp 11 pairs nicely for a little lower volume sweet breakup. Sounds great with Tubescreamers but only when at that high vol breakup level. I think thats most fender amps though. I’m very happy with the stock sound.
Another great video ... Thank you! Once upon a time back in the mid-Eighties I owned a '65 Fender Twin Reverb with Utah speakers, but wound up selling it because it was just gathering dust (Yes, sacrilegious indeed!). However, in 2008 I wanted another 2x12" Combo to practice with and use for small gigs, but did not want to spend a lot much money. So, I bought a new Fender Frontman 212R from Musician's Friend (MF) with a Tank Reverb. It's a nice combo amp that possesses 100 Watts. The problem was that the "Fender Designed" speakers lacked character, clarity, definition, muddy when the distortion channels were engaged, along with not being able to handle the amp's power. Hence, taking from the lesson-learned in outfitting my Carvin MTS 3200 Half-Stack with the Warehouse Guitar Speaker (WGS) ET-65's and Retro 30's (which I shared with you on a previous post), I did the same to the Fender Frontman 212R, which I only paid $54 for each speaker (One ET-65 / One Retro 30) about three years ago from MF before the WGS price increases. End result? A totally different combo that is supremely better in every way; clarity, headroom, definition, the ease of handling pedals (which I seldom use), impressive distortion, and the speakers' effortless handing of the amp's brute power, I kid you not. On its clean channel I can turn the volume to '4' and its loudness is incredibly ear splitting, yet pristine clean. Moreover, I never used the amp to gig before the new WGS Speakers, but now I do. Plus, the speakers are so efficient I do not need to crank it as much as before either when just practicing. Take a look - wgsusa.com/et65 / wgsusa.com/retro30 . *PS:* I am in no way affiliated with WGS. I just love their speakers and wanted to share.
I have the *Roland JC-77* 80 watts 2x10. Half the weight of JC-120. Rarely needs to go past 2, it's that loud and Clean. Takes pedals and all-in-one processors very well. *Traynor YCV* series is a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe style 2 channel 1x12. I have the YCV40. Takes pedals well, and loud enough on 2 to play bars un-mic'd. I run the amp clean and have 3 dirt pedals in front, depending on the tone I'm after Mojo Mojo Overdrive, Boss Combo Drive (AC30) and Radial Tonebone Hot British. There are many Marshall 2 or more channel amps with amazing clean that I played. JVM100 combo (friend owns) and JMD501 combo (I own)
Thank you for your summation Sir...absolutely agree with your comments. I own 3 of those mentioned...FENDER ROLAND & BOOGIE....all fantastic super clean units....the only way to play. Look fwd to your next post
FENDER Amps are the best sounding, most reliable amps on the planet. Imagine playing through one, since 1966, with no breakdowns, other than changing some 6L6GC tubes. GREAT AMPS!
In my world, there are really only these three contenders: 1. Fender Twin Reverb or Super Reverb. Or, Dual Showman amp head with a 212 cab. Preferrably Jensen speakers in all variants. 2. Music Man 212 130 or 410 60 combo (essencially Music Mans answer to the Twin and the Super respectively. They have a transistor preamp stage and a valve output stage. The opposite of the usual hybrid designs, in other words) 3 Roland Jazz Chorus
I loved my Mesa Boogie Express 25 for clean till I got a vintage JC120. Nothing compares to a vintage JC. Most sound determining parts are the speakers.
Yeah, speaker size does have an effect on the overall sound, which is why I prefer the JC120 over them all, but it’s still the same front end, for the most part.
Morgan PR12 combo (maybe the best I've ever heard) Swart Atomic AST Pro head Swart Atomic Jr head Laney IronHeart 120 Orange Crush Pro (surprisingly good)
Great video, thanks! I have a challenge for you. Try the Gallien Krueger 100g and 200g, and the Rickenbacker TR25, all in clean. Let me know what you think.
Nice Choice for #1 Clean Amp. I love the HiWatt DR103, and #2 (all of 3 of them) but the JC-120 still beats them all for building a personal platform .
JC120 is a killer amp. The Chorus on it is superb. The newer recent versions tackled the overdrive on it and it's somewhat better. Waiting to get a newer version 2nd hand.
Said the following musicians... never: James Hetfield Kirk Hammett Robert Fripp Wes Borland Albert King, Andy Summers (The Police), Robert Smith (of The Cure) Billy Duffy (The Cult, Siouxsie and the Banshees) Pat Metheny. Jeff Buckley Steve Levine [producer of bands such as Culture Club, The Beach Boys and The Clash and a lot of others The amp is a standard in any major studio, btw
so basically you - a random nobody on the internet with... how many platinum awards did you say you have? - are complaining about "tone"? kid, grow up. And btw, both James and Kirk use the head version live, since the 80's. :)
Couldn’t agree more David! I’ve been a die-hard Metallica fan my whole life, and James Hetfield is the reason I learned to play guitar back in the mid-80’s in the first place. I follow them closely, including their gear. They’ve BOTH had Roland JC-120 heads in their rigs for decades now.
I believe that Evans Amplifiers are used by many professional pedal steel guitarists, who put their money with Evans, for its high power, huge headroom, light weight, and sweet, sweet clean tone. The pinnacle of solid-state without sterility IMHO. More than a few guitarists use Evans amps like a lightweight Fender Twin for wonderful, high-headroom cleans, and get everything else from their pedalboard. No need for chiropractors and pain meds. (or Roadies), to get “That!” tone.
I have an AC30 Top Boost with greenbacks. The first time I ever played an AC30 I was sold and it took me about four years to save up for it. Whenever I describe the clean tone to people I also use the adjective jangly but "glassy", too. It's just so responsive to the touch. I will never, ever again use another amplifier as my main amp. I'm actually curious as to how on earth George Harrison managed to get such an awful tone out of these babies. lol It's almost impressive.
All of this and yet absolutely no mention of the Music Man amplifiers. They sound superb and absolutely slaughter both Fender and Roland amps. It’s the pristine sparkly top end of the Jazz Chorus meets the warmth of a Twin Reverb. Quick attack but absolutely massive sounding and a much thicker tone than a Twin Reverb. It takes pedals better than a Jazz Chorus, especially drive pedals. The only amp that I enjoyed equally as much was a Matchless.
I remember playing a used 2x10 music man in a pawn shop close to 30 years ago. can't remember the model #..I thought it was one of the best sounding amps I heard.
Agreed. Music Man amps were the epitome of Leo Fender's progression towards clean headroom - from tweed to blonde to brown to black, and then to Music Man. Real loud. Real clean.
Music Man amps are kind of forgotten by a lot of people these days. Maybe some people were a bit put off by the hybrid layout, which was very unusual. They had a transistor preamp stage and a valve power stage. But I, for one, agree with you. They were absolutely stellar. Fender kind of responded, though, by going for an ultra linear output stage (same design principal as Marshall applied to their infamous 200 watt Major models that Mick Ronson and Ritchie Blackmore used) design on their line from 1977 onwards, which gave the Twin 130 watts and a totally clean, unclipped sound all the way up. They even had a a model called the Super Twin Reverb 'round that time. Ultra linear like the normal model, but with 180 watts. That thing was LOUD(!) and totally, totally clean. Weighed as much as an oil tanker, and put grey hairs in the heads of many a FOH engineer...
My 100 watt Heathkit stereo amp that I built in 1966 while in high school. In the late 1960's I had a Plush 100 watt Bass Amp head. It was designed by Carl Marantz and it was a spectacular amp.
The Peavey trans tube series has surprisingly good solid state clean tones. I used to gig with a 112 EFX and a TransFormer 212. Awesome amps, took tons of abuse.
Not necessarily. While that is the most traditional way of using a distortion pedal, plenty of people have also ran them into Marshall JCM 800’s and Peavey 5150’s, among other things, and those are definitely NOT clean sounding amps at all. But for the record, running a distortion pedal into the lead channel of a Diezel Herbert or something might not be the most enjoyable experience. LOL
I had one of those. Incredibly loud, nice chorus and vibrato, but the EQ wasn't very forgiving, and I had to change it all the time when I switched guitars. I replaced it with a Peavey Classic 50 and didn't miss it at all, especially the Scorpion speakers. After that I started building my own tube guitar amps, and I haven't felt the need to buy a ready-made amp since.
I had a peavey renown 400 in 86 that was stellar sounding on the clean channel!!.. the volume seemed to be endless as well... I should have never sold it... smh...
Evans amps are great for clean sounds. Many jazz guitarists use them... and they learned about them from pedal steel players, and you know they prefer a clean, clear tone. Really worth checking them out.
Only thing I didn't agree with was putting the fender deluxe reverb in the same class as the twin. My '65 deluxe starts breaking up at volume 3 and has a great nasty overdrive that ends up rocking on full. I've even taken it to a tech to get more headroom. Maybe it's just a hotrod of the bunch.
I feel your pain! I just can't get totally clean tone from ANY of the Hotrod Deluxe series amps. (original USA 70's, version, the version lll, version IV, doesn't matter) I've taken mine to a pro amp tech 3 times now. He got it have more power and a bit more head room, but unfortunately, no where near enough. (or at least not for me) A thought that maybe the (much lighter weight) HRD might be an acceptable replacement for my 135 watt Fender Twin, unfortunately, such has not been the case. Not even close. It sounds great a low volumes, but breaks up easily if you crank it up much, or hit it hard with hot pickups. It overdrives the amp even at low volumes. Very frustrating!!
I've found that a lot of the Orange Amps, even the solid-states have a a great clean sound. Nice sorta jazzy sounds. The Rockerverbs and the Crush series are good with pedals too.
I couldn’t stand a single-tone that I got out of the Crush series amps. (I admit I have not heard the Crush Pro Series yet.) The Rockerverb’s got so much gain in it that the clean tone for me was ALMOST non-existent. Then I tried a Thunderverb, which has EVEN MORE gain, and it DEFINITELY didn’t have a clean sound. That said, those two amps - especially the Thunderverb - are two of the coolest metal tones I’ve heard. I’d love to have a Thunderverb, but they ain’t cheap.
I totally disagree here. I have the Rockerverb 50 MKI 6V6 with a 2x12 cab with WGS-speakers. I did a lot of preamptube swapping. The clean channel is fantastic and takes pedals really well. I play a lot of funky stuff on this channel and got many compliments on the clean sounds. Also, this channel sounds very nice with an EP-booster in front. And you know what, the drivechannel goes from almost clean!!! to an outrageous overdrive and everything in between. It has four gainstages in one driveknob and it also cleans up very well. You have to know how to use this amp and you have to spend money on quality preamptubes and powertubes. If you say the clean tone is almost non-existent you never spend serious time with this amp. A Roland Jazz Chorus sounds flat and bland in comparison to the RV MKI. My Diezel Schmidt's clean channel sounds ten times better than this solid state crap from Roland. Man, I know, I had them all.
The Jazz Chorus isn’t solid-state crap, it’s one of the most respected solid-state amps out there specifically because of its clean tone. I’ve spent plenty of time with the Rockerverbs. I spent many years working at a store that carried them and I sold them for a living. I don’t have anything bad to say about them at all, I think they’re great amps. I just don’t care for the clean tone. Couldn’t get any headroom out of it without plugging a Tele into it. Play a Schecter with Duncans in it and just wouldn’t stay clean enough loud enough for my purposes.
As soon as I started playing this video, I was waiting diligently for you to mention the Roland jazz chorus. I was about to feel really let down, until I got to number one. You got that right - the Roland is the king of clean. As for the storage and sound, everyone knows that amp kind of sucks at that, but I will note that as a recording engineer, I recorded a guitarist using a small combo amp version of this amp, a single speaker, 60 W version, and for whatever reason, the distortion on that particular amp sounded really really good. I never heard another Roland amp sound that good distorted. Maybe it’s model-specific…
I have the Laney IRT 60 2x12 combo. The distortion channel isn't good enough for metal so I put pedals through the clean channel and it's awesome. The clean channel is super clean.
Cool vid as always!! Great amps on that list - Ampeg SVT, Vox AC-30, Mesa LS, Fender Twin, HIWATT - I'd favor the CP over the DR but that's my particular. A few I'd probably mention - Matchless, Morgan, Milkman, Reeves, etc. . . .
300watts : perfect amp for clean tones and blowing out all the windows in your house.
How to turn an indoor gig into an outdoor gig in one chord.
I laughed
😂 your neigheir face
@@DoglessEndeavor lmaoo
Oh look at me I have windows in my house pft
The Fender Princeton Reverb clean is stunning. The 6V6 tubes are the key ingredient. Incredibly rich and clear with a lovely lower mids to bass.
Totally agree, I own one and 6v6 tubes are my favorite.
I played on a Roland like that many years ago in a music store. I still talk about the sound of that amp.
Cool that it made the list.
I've been playing a 1983 jc120 since then, love it, cleanest sound. Thank God for the wheels.
Great to see someone focusing on cleans for a change. Really nice demo and totally agree with your No.1.
The Roland JC120 is definatly THE best clean amp ever made! I haven`t been able to play one yet, but hearing it on Metallica`s concert in Seattle 1989, and other places, it is the next amp on my list for sure !
That’s been the base of both James’ and Kirk’s clean tone for pretty much their entire career.
Recently bought a Roland Jazz 40. After having a Vox AC 15, Fender Twin Reverb, Vibrolux, ect. If you want that glassy Fender sound just engage the clean about 1/4 of the way. The new distortion is nice. And you can also add sound, you can't add clean. It's either there or it isn't. Tired of the tube amps. You have to turn them up so loud to get tone you want that they just aren't practical. With the right solid state amp you can keep the volume down and still get a great tone.
Had the chance to perform with the roland jazz chorus last week. Amazing amp. Unreal chorus and clean tone.
Best clean tone I ever got with my Telecaster was through a Legend A60. Clear, full, and loud. Excellent with all the pedals I used. It's on my Why did I sell that? list, the same list that every guitar player has.
The Mesa Boogie Mark V clean tone is pretty amazing as well. It just gets overshadowed by it's high gain tones.
Here's one that flew below the "clean sounding" radar back in its day: the Peavey Session. The Session was designed as a keyboardists and pedal steel guitarist's amp. It has 200 watts of clean RMS power. It is LOUD and won't break up at all. As a guitarist, I used a Session head in bands I played in back in the 80s. Since it wouldn't overdrive at all, I had a decent pedal for that purpose. As a clean amp it had a lot of body to its sound, and really did sound nice with my guitars.
I agree 100 percent with your top 2. Twin reverb and Jazz chorus are the best of the best
I have a Twin Reverb RI and Roland JC120 which are both great clean, but the best clean sound I've heard is from a friend's Bassman '59 reissue manufactured around 1996.
Your channel deserves to be at least 500 times as big as it is. I always enjoy your videos. Thanks.
Thanks man! Perhaps we’ll get there one day. In the meantime, we still have each other, right??? 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼
Also worth looking into is the Peavey Bandit 65 and the Peavey Backstage Chorus 208. Sweet clear clean tones that sound almost acoustic with single coil guitars.
I had an Epiphone Super Eight [4 Jensen 8"] with Hammond Reverb as my first amp back about 1964 or 65 can't fucking remember. Great 30 watt surf guitar amp and a real clean sound. Miss the old girl. Playing thru a Twin now. Love the Twin. It's ALIVE!
The top 3 were spot on...no argument here, dude
I have noticed with amps I have owned over the years that its not just the amp. Its also the pickups and guitars used to get nice clean tones. Not only that, a nice cabinet that has the right matching speaker setup to match the amp and guitars.
Amen -the JC120 is the absolute "Clean" beast - cleanest amp I have ever played - he didn't mention it is a stereo amp too - Unfortunately I can't afford a Kilobuck for one so I got a Randall RG200 - 200 watts and it's clean channel is to die for - like the 120, the dual stage distortion channel is ok, but it sounds better running your pedals through the clean channel and letting the pedals add the flavor.
Without a doubt the Roland Jazz Chorus is THE clean amp to gig with.
Agreed!
@ Ian Sheridan You must be new here. LOL
I would be hard put to better that list. The no's 01 & 02 are just stellar pics in my opinion. Just spot on m8, spot on !!
As far as Fender is concerned, a lot of their inexpensive transistor amps have really nice clean tones as well. Even some Fender amps have, gasp, surprisingly really good high gain sounds. Of course that is a conversation for another day! ;)
@@crazeyjoe I must admit to being rather a poor knowledge on the subject. Which SS amps of the big F have good loud clean sounds and for that matter good gain?
Joe Dazey I thought it a question for today. i wasn't being picky or a shit. I just really wanted to know as I really was looking for an inexpensive solid state amp (aren't we all and I'm Australian so I'm really cheap with $$) with great clean and dirty sounds. The Holy Grail of guitarists everywhere.I really like jazz, blues and 80's hard rock so if anyone can help me I'd be immensely grateful. :-)
@@skinnykarlos710 Absolutely! The Fender Roc Pro 1000 head (100 watts), Rock Pro 700 combo (70 watts), Fender Performer 1000 head or combo (100 watts) are "hybrid" amps. They are 100% solid state powered amplifiers. They both have a single 12AX7 (ECC83) preamp tube in the gain section of the "drive channel. Nice cleans and pretty good "smooth," not buzz saw sounding distortion on the drive channel. There are others, however, these are the first 2 that come to mind. They can be found on the used market for under $275.00 Australian Dollars. Here are some links... reverb.com/item/30268961-fender-performer-1000 reverb.com/item/29630153-fender-roc-pro-1000-head reverb.com/item/18728348-fender-roc-pro-700-guitar-amplifier This is a link to purchase a foot switch for these amps reverb.com/item/29216575-fender-fender-2-button-channel-reverb-footswitch-with-cable-0994056000
@@crazeyjoe Thanks Joe. Cheers heaps M8.
I read the title and instantly thought Mesa Lonestar and Fender Deluxe Reverb! Excellent list!
Thank you sir!
I know that you could not possibly know of every great clean amp, but there is one you ought to know about, 1949-51 Gibson GA-50 and GA-50T with tremolo.
At approximately 30 watts from 2 coke-bottle 6L6s it has one 12” and one 8” speaker. It’s brown and looks like an old suitcase. I have one and also a ‘65 Deluxe Reverb, a ‘64 AC-30, a 1999 Komet Fischer Trainwreck 60 and many more of those kinds of amps. The GA-50 simply kills every other clean amp I have ever heard. The great Jim Hall used one for a time and said that it gave him the absolutely the best tone he ever had.
It takes pedals like a dream even though it was designed and built a decade and a half before pedals were invented. It can play quite loudly with lots of headroom and if turned way up will produce a creamy and powerfully harmonic overdrive. However, that is not the best way to use it. Set at a low level with pedals is the key. Not only does this preserve your hearing and your lease, it preserves the amp as well. Those late’40s speakers are incredibly good sounding and are very hard to impossible to replace or to repair. You must treat them gently. Check one out, they occasionally show up on Ebay and Reverb and there are UA-cam vids (for better or worse) of them as well.
My amp made #2 on the list!! Bought a '65 DRRI earlier this year before the introduction of the Tone King versions. I don't know why it took me so long to subscribe here. I've long been fond your interesting, informative videos presented in your inimitably humble fashion, from your well-lit dungeon. lol
Thanks man! Glad you’re enjoying my channel. Welcome to the family!
The older Fender black and silver faced twins are some of the best amps ever made. I'm also a fan of the silver and red striped Peavey Bandits, very loud and clean sound.
Four years ago, I couldn’t give away an old Peavey Bandit for anything less than about $80. All of a sudden people started RAVING about them to the point Peavey reissued the damn things. LOL
Music Man amps (the Solid State Preamp/Tube Power) and the Kustom HV100 (preamp tubes and Solid State Power) are hands down the best and loudest clean amps you can ever play through that give that tube warmth in your signal. Straight fact there. Speaking from over decades of experience and being the top Guitar Center Salesman in each store I worked (for the 3 years I was with them).
It is my opinion, and a very solid one. Yes, the other amps you mention here are decent, but they can't do what the MM and Kustom can do for pure clean and loud (without a hint of dist/OD).
Roland Jazz is pretty good too, however, it is completely solid state.
Yamaha G100mk2 and Lab L5 are great sounding solid state clean amps used by lots of players.
My brother just gave me a 1980 Roland JC 60. I love it!!
Awesome list. Thank you!!! Why wasn't Orange included? 😕
Orange amps aren’t really known for their clean tones.
I own twin, deluxe and super...all reissues. Twin without a doubt is a clean tone monster. Volume maxed clean. My deluxe and super start breaking at 6-7.
Clean is kind of a personal opinion. How much volume can you get away before breakup or if miked thru the house.
Thank you, Robert. Recently been watching JC120 reviews. Too big for my apt. but I agree with your choice after hearing it. I don't like 'chorus' very much but the JC is not average sounding chorus.
Amazed no mention of MusicMan amps. Hands down best sounding clean amp ever. I have an RD50 and it just sings sweet as you like.
I agree.. The Loanstar amps sound beautiful and very musical.
TJ Nugent - Loan star because you'll need a loan to get it.
Bass Fishing with the Antichrist hahahah so true!!!
Mesa nomad series cleans are amazing as well. I like the clean channel with a drive pedal.
I love your cuts/edits. It gives you that classic Max Headroom presentation
LOL Thanks man. Other viewers give me guff about it all the time, unfortunately.
The JC 120 is just awesome!
I'm looking at buying either a Marshall MG100DFX or DSL40C....opinion?
Magnatone Twilighter and Fuchs Clean Machine and Jazz Classic II.
Henriksen solid state amps for jazz guys.
I bought a JC120 in 1979. Fantastic amp, and I used it all through the 80s with pedals. Also, it has a twin power amps - so it does a true chorus, and you can connect remote cabinets.
As for the marshall story, you got it correct except for the transformers - they were radio spares, not mercury magnetics.
Err....no
Always enjoy these lists. I would probably add (3) Mesa Rectoverb 1 x12 combo, (which is also a fire-breathing Dragon), the Laney Cub & the Quilter 101 ( all Fender Princeton-like pristine Clean's ) - but all of your choices were spot-on. Great information here. oNe LovE from NYC
I've had the AC 15 and Roland jc 120 and loved both. One that I use in the house now is the Yamaha THR1011 which also sounds great.
Try the Carvin Belair 212 Vintage Series. I own 2. It is one of the best clean amplifiers out there. IMHO
Have you ever tried a Carvin AG-100 amp. It’s a combo with push button for acoustic. I’ve had mine for 15 yeas and I still love it. Just curious if you have any thoughts.
What are your views on the Vox AD 30 VT ?
I'm starting to play guitar again after an injury that caused a partial amputation to my right and dominant hand.
It's been a struggle learning how to use my hand again and playing guitar. When I saw the injury to my hand, my first thought was, "My God, I can't play".
I Liked and Subscribed, Robert. Cheers.
Sorry to hear about your injury, but I’m glad to hear you’re recovery seems to be trending back in the right direction.
The AD Valvefronix were the all solid-state version of the Valvetronix amps. Not great, but not horrible. But the VT models with the tube preamps were quite a big difference in tone.
Big fan of the Peavey Classic series cleans. I have a Classic 50 212 and a Delta Blues 115. Both great amps.
The Ampeg VT 22. Ampeg's Version of the Fender Twin. Incredibly Clean with Enormous Headroom. Weights as much as an Anchor to the Titanic.
Yeap, I've got one and was surprised he went with the SVT over a V4/VT22 guitar amps. Ironically the SVT preamp is based on the V4B head, just with 6550's instead of 7027A tubes, and more power tubes.
I think that fenders have an amazing clean tone. I’m basically a closet player so I never saw the need to spend 2 grand on a twin( even though I want one!) or a vox ac30 (which I really really want!) but I do have an older solid state fender sidekick reverb 65 which I bought in 1987.its been a very solid amp for me. When I was in the military it went with me nearly everywhere(even lost in transit for a month!) it’s been banged around and just keeps going and has an excellent sound still... I also have one of those fender fm212R things that I bought just for my louder days. The amp is hated by most players . It has terrible reviews. But I like mine. The clean Channel is actually pretty damn good.and with a little effort , playing with the controls , channel 2 can be ok too . For my acoustic amp, I have a fishman loudbox and it is fantastic
Thought I'd post a few details in a comment about this review, Cuz I have 76' Fender Twin Reverb and I just got a 93' Hiwatt DR103 this past week. The DR actually stands for Dave Reeves (No Big Deal, I like this Guys Channel and watch it quite often cuz it's Very Helpful in Many Ways) So the DR103 Custom Hiwatt 100 is of the Hiwatt Biacrown UK, 51 Hallgate Doncaster Made in England era. It's the version with the dual Normal Channel and dual Bright Channel inputs that can be bridged and used at the same time. I ran that into the 2 OS Rectifier Straight Bottom Mesa Boogie 4x12's Cab that I use for jamming with my drummer. I gotta tell ya, I've been utilizing a Dual Rec 100 watt head for Rig 1 and a Triple Rec 150 watt head for Rig 2, So them Cabs get plenty of juice, but Somehow that Hiwatt head puts out So Much More Power than both of those Mesa Boogie Heads put together! I think it could Blow All 8 of them 12's right outta the Cabinets without even being turned up Half Way. By that, I mean having the Normal Channel at around 1 o'clock so it gives it a Complete warm and full bottom end, with the Bright Channel at around noon to give it a Crystal Clear high end. At those settings, It's getting plenty of the Pre-Amp Tubes working, But only had to turn the Master Volume up to maybe close to the 10 o'clock position and That Was Pretty Violent, To say the least, lol... It could've kept right on going up, but I've Never Ever heard them 2 Cabs have that 'Please Don't Kill Me' sound like that before. That type of Clarity at Such a High Volume is Absolutely Amazing! Them OS Rectifier Straight Bottom Cabinets are some Seriously Tough Cabinets but they are No Match for the Headroom of that Hiwatt. The Hiwatt head does not have Distortion or Reverb, So It's All About Crystal Clear Power, and The Fact that It takes Pedals like a Champ, Is a Tremendous Bonus, So Without a Doubt, It's The Best Musical Investment I've Made Yet, Hands Down. I only paid a lil over $1800 for it with shipping included, So I got into the 'Hiwatt Club' without losing a limb. The 76' Fender Twin Reverb I have, I picked up for only $200 on Let Go. Them Tubes are kinda Beat Up, and the Pots are a lil Scratchy and Dusty, but the Screen is Tear Free, So I'll say it's still in Pretty Good shape considering it's a 42 year old amp. I will also be Inclined to Agree, That Infamous World Renowned Instantly Recognizable Reverb is purely a Gift from God Himself to the Music World, and has Definitely earned it's way into being 1 of The Top Best Sounding Amplifiers of All Time. It weights around 85 lbs, So it spends it's time in the Corner of My room, Nice and Cozy. It don't see No Travel or Gig time, Only Playing and Recording time, and it is Perfect for both, IMO. I hope y'all enjoyed a few extra details about a couple Historical Amps from a neutral persons Point of View. Have a Great Day - Jay
Thanks Jason! That’s some great insight!
One thing about Fenders is that a big part of the clean tone is the Jensens. Now, not all Fenders come with Jensens. Celestions have become very common. My issue with Celestions is that they can distort too much and I like transparent speakers. I think they give more headroom and clarity. This is why I love EVs so much as well.
Like the "share the music"! So true too! Most of us have items kicking around we find old or ordinary that kids would pee themselves for... great idea!
Not my idea, I just support them. They’re a fantastic organization. ;)
For a SS amp, the Fender M-80 Chorus amp head, from the early 90's, has a great clean tone and plays loud. I sold mine when I bought my Marshall but, I found a Fender Princeton Chorus 2X10 combo amp for $100 and has the same tone but is a 50w. Oh, and the chorus effect on these models is about the best I've ever heard!
Hey bub when you get the chance and come across a Carvin x100b.
I had the chance to buy a carvin x100b from my guitar teacher when i started playing ..... i didn't. That is a mistake that will haunt me on my deathbed
Nice video. I own an AC-15 which I bought for that "jangly" clean tone, although it breaks up nicely, too. I was surprised that no Acoustic amps made the list. Never owned one, but a couple of friends did and as I recall they had a really clear, crisp tone.
A Fender Champion 100 has recently become my favorite amp.
I recently got a JC77. Best amp I've ever had.
Great video. Thanks. I would like to just add my two cents and say that the Fender Champion, a solid state 100 watt version 212, is extremely clean sounding. Recently, I am really curious about the Marshall Origin serious. Marshall designed it to not have the highs and lows taken out like many Marshalls of today are engineered, so with the Origin there is a natural wide spectrum of sounds available. People say that the Origin sounds a little bit like a Fender.
I too, like the Champion 100. Very affordable, sounds good, not too heavy to lug around and way easier to use than the Mustang series. The only modeling amp I would ever buy but of course I haven't seen all of them.
A couple years ago i picked up a Roland Mobile Cube at a garage sale for $20 brand new, never used. When i got home and online i was shocked to see that they sell for $189. At almost 200 bucks I'm not sure it's worth it but i will say for a little 5 or 10 watt practice amp it definitely packs a punch. I use it primarily for my mobile modular synth because it's not only small and light but it can run on batteries, is stereo and stays clean even cranked way up. It has a bunch of different settings for acoustic or electric guitar, vocals, or synths with a tone knob and both distortion and overdrive which are ok but the stereo chorus sounds pretty decent and the delay and reverb are surprisingly good. Plus it has mono or stereo 1/4 inch inputs, a stereo 1/8 inch input and rca line level inputs and a separate 1/4 inch mic input. It's definitely loud enough for small gigs and perfect for outdoor or traveling noise makers. Convenient, clean sounding with distortion, overdrive, chorus, delay and reverb in stereo for 20 bucks was a steal but if you can find one for around 100 or less buy it because if you don't like it you can probably sell it for more than you paid for it.
This is a video of me using it at the garage i worked at lol.
ua-cam.com/video/vW2olzw65Q8/v-deo.html
Princeton Reverb limited ed with a stock 12” speaker is the best small amp I’ve ever heard. Big sound. I had a blue jr with mods and new speaker and the Pr Reverb blows it away.
I'm a death metal guitarist, and I like my clean channel SUPER clean, absolutely NO dirt! I love my Hot Rod DeVille clean for my lead guitar tracks, and my Crate BV300H for my rhythm tones, the Crate is fuller sounding than the DeVille, but also a super clean glassy ch1, you sorta need an EQ pedal to extract it all, but it's in there for sure!!
Great video. I tried a Princeton Reverb at a music store and was blown away by the great clean sound coming from such a small amp but too expensive for me at the time. I had a great Twin Reverb about 50 years ago but you'd almost need a forklift to hoist it (so heavy). Today I get a decent clean sound from a Blues Jr iii by adjusting the volume lower and master volume higher. I also have a Peavey Envoy (solid state) that is surprisingly great at cleans too.
The Blues Jr.’s have a great clean sound! All of the Fender Hot Rod Series amps do, actually. They just came out with the fourth generation of these and I’m excited to hear them.
1956chip I second the Princeton Reverb. I own it and it sounds like a Deluxe Reverb that doesn’t blow my ears out. At 15 watts its similar volume to Blues Jr but with far superior clean and overdriven sound even after mods on the BJr.
Agree. I am still wanting a Princeton Reverb Reissue and am wondering, 1) is yours a blackface or silverface? 2) at what volume approximately is the breakup? I am assuming that the breakup volume would be slightly lower on the silverface (but could be wrong), thanks.
1956chip Mine is a blackface 65 reissue and has the spec ed 12” speaker so it may stay clean longer than the standard 10”. The sweet spot for me is 4-5. It start breaking up about 5 but can be clean if you play softer. Thats with a strat with very low output (5k neck) single coils so humbuckers or hotter pickups would distort it earlier. 5 is very loud and would be unwise though play at that level much. Comfortable but still nicely loud level is 3.5-4 and its still very close to breakup and will if you really hit hard. Lovepedal Amp 11 pairs nicely for a little lower volume sweet breakup. Sounds great with Tubescreamers but only when at that high vol breakup level. I think thats most fender amps though. I’m very happy with the stock sound.
Thanks David D. Very helpful reply for me. Beyond 3 would more than awesome volume/power for my purpose. Stock sound is amazing to me.
Great review!!! Matchless are extremely clean, I use them with Fender tube amps, which all sound pretty close to each other.
I watch, I learn. Thanks Robert.
My pleasure!
Another great video ... Thank you! Once upon a time back in the mid-Eighties I owned a '65 Fender Twin Reverb with Utah speakers, but wound up selling it because it was just gathering dust (Yes, sacrilegious indeed!). However, in 2008 I wanted another 2x12" Combo to practice with and use for small gigs, but did not want to spend a lot much money. So, I bought a new Fender Frontman 212R from Musician's Friend (MF) with a Tank Reverb. It's a nice combo amp that possesses 100 Watts. The problem was that the "Fender Designed" speakers lacked character, clarity, definition, muddy when the distortion channels were engaged, along with not being able to handle the amp's power.
Hence, taking from the lesson-learned in outfitting my Carvin MTS 3200 Half-Stack with the Warehouse Guitar Speaker (WGS) ET-65's and Retro 30's (which I shared with you on a previous post), I did the same to the Fender Frontman 212R, which I only paid $54 for each speaker (One ET-65 / One Retro 30) about three years ago from MF before the WGS price increases.
End result? A totally different combo that is supremely better in every way; clarity, headroom, definition, the ease of handling pedals (which I seldom use), impressive distortion, and the speakers' effortless handing of the amp's brute power, I kid you not. On its clean channel I can turn the volume to '4' and its loudness is incredibly ear splitting, yet pristine clean. Moreover, I never used the amp to gig before the new WGS Speakers, but now I do. Plus, the speakers are so efficient I do not need to crank it as much as before either when just practicing. Take a look - wgsusa.com/et65 / wgsusa.com/retro30 .
*PS:* I am in no way affiliated with WGS. I just love their speakers and wanted to share.
I have the *Roland JC-77* 80 watts 2x10. Half the weight of JC-120. Rarely needs to go past 2, it's that loud and Clean. Takes pedals and all-in-one processors very well.
*Traynor YCV* series is a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe style 2 channel 1x12. I have the YCV40. Takes pedals well, and loud enough on 2 to play bars un-mic'd. I run the amp clean and have 3 dirt pedals in front, depending on the tone I'm after Mojo Mojo Overdrive, Boss Combo Drive (AC30) and Radial Tonebone Hot British.
There are many Marshall 2 or more channel amps with amazing clean that I played. JVM100 combo (friend owns) and JMD501 combo (I own)
Thank you for your summation Sir...absolutely agree with your comments. I own 3 of those mentioned...FENDER ROLAND & BOOGIE....all fantastic super clean units....the only way to play. Look fwd to your next post
Thanks John!
FENDER Amps are the best sounding, most reliable amps on the planet. Imagine playing through one, since 1966, with no breakdowns, other than changing some 6L6GC tubes. GREAT AMPS!
You have to imagine that, because it never happened. We all love fender amps, but they lack the versatility of a vox or the reliability of a hiwatt.
In my world, there are really only these three contenders:
1. Fender Twin Reverb or Super Reverb. Or, Dual Showman amp head with a 212 cab. Preferrably Jensen speakers in all variants.
2. Music Man 212 130 or 410 60 combo (essencially Music Mans answer to the Twin and the Super respectively. They have a transistor preamp stage and a valve output stage. The opposite of the usual hybrid designs, in other words)
3 Roland Jazz Chorus
What’s your thoughts on the blues deluxe RI
Great amplifiers, though I like the DeVille version, better. But you could do a lot worse. Country players love that amp.
Robert's Guitar Dungeon well that’s a good thing since I’m a country player lol. Just layed one away
Nice! I bet you’ll love it then!
Robert's Guitar Dungeon hope so!
I loved my Mesa Boogie Express 25 for clean till I got a vintage JC120. Nothing compares to a vintage JC. Most sound determining parts are the speakers.
Rivera s120 or Rivera knucklehead are amazing clean amps. Swart amps are great for clean. Of course Fender.
Is the Jazz Chorus 50 also to be considered very good? I guess that reducing the size of Speakers plays a role but the JC 50 also has a 12" speaker.
Yeah, speaker size does have an effect on the overall sound, which is why I prefer the JC120 over them all, but it’s still the same front end, for the most part.
Morgan PR12 combo (maybe the best I've ever heard)
Swart Atomic AST Pro head
Swart Atomic Jr head
Laney IronHeart 120
Orange Crush Pro (surprisingly good)
Great video, thanks! I have a challenge for you. Try the Gallien Krueger 100g and 200g, and the Rickenbacker TR25, all in clean. Let me know what you think.
One video of the beat clean of amps for practice in the home please! 🙏
He gave you the answer in the video- low watt amps (5-15) like the Princeton and AC15
Blue Lane Frontier the AC15 is incredibly loud, not really a bedroom amp
Nice Choice for #1 Clean Amp. I love the HiWatt DR103, and #2 (all of 3 of them) but the JC-120 still beats them all for building a personal platform .
JC120 is a killer amp. The Chorus on it is superb. The newer recent versions tackled the overdrive on it and it's somewhat better. Waiting to get a newer version 2nd hand.
Said the following musicians... never:
James Hetfield
Kirk Hammett
Robert Fripp
Wes Borland
Albert King,
Andy Summers (The Police),
Robert Smith (of The Cure)
Billy Duffy (The Cult, Siouxsie and the Banshees)
Pat Metheny.
Jeff Buckley
Steve Levine [producer of bands such as Culture Club, The Beach Boys and The Clash
and a lot of others
The amp is a standard in any major studio, btw
so basically you - a random nobody on the internet with... how many platinum awards did you say you have? - are complaining about "tone"?
kid, grow up. And btw, both James and Kirk use the head version live, since the 80's. :)
Couldn’t agree more David! I’ve been a die-hard Metallica fan my whole life, and James Hetfield is the reason I learned to play guitar back in the mid-80’s in the first place. I follow them closely, including their gear. They’ve BOTH had Roland JC-120 heads in their rigs for decades now.
Robert - these kids nowadays...
Says the TROLL who is absolutely hellbent on proving to everybody that he’s right and we’re all wrong. 🤦🏼♂️
I believe that Evans Amplifiers are used by many professional pedal steel guitarists, who put their money with Evans, for its high power, huge headroom, light weight, and sweet, sweet clean tone. The pinnacle of solid-state without sterility IMHO. More than a few guitarists use Evans amps like a lightweight Fender Twin for wonderful, high-headroom cleans, and get everything else from their pedalboard. No need for chiropractors and pain meds. (or Roadies), to get “That!” tone.
I have an AC30 Top Boost with greenbacks. The first time I ever played an AC30 I was sold and it took me about four years to save up for it. Whenever I describe the clean tone to people I also use the adjective jangly but "glassy", too. It's just so responsive to the touch. I will never, ever again use another amplifier as my main amp. I'm actually curious as to how on earth George Harrison managed to get such an awful tone out of these babies. lol It's almost impressive.
They were plugged into PA systems back in the day which are essentially megaphones so the full tone isn't present during their concerts.
It's got shing
Peavey's Session 400 & 500 series pedal steel amps (210 and 250 watts respectively) are awesome if you want a clean sound at high volume levels.
All of this and yet absolutely no mention of the Music Man amplifiers. They sound superb and absolutely slaughter both Fender and Roland amps. It’s the pristine sparkly top end of the Jazz Chorus meets the warmth of a Twin Reverb. Quick attack but absolutely massive sounding and a much thicker tone than a Twin Reverb. It takes pedals better than a Jazz Chorus, especially drive pedals. The only amp that I enjoyed equally as much was a Matchless.
I remember playing a used 2x10 music man in a pawn shop close to 30 years ago. can't remember the model #..I thought it was one of the best sounding amps I heard.
Agreed. Music Man amps were the epitome of Leo Fender's progression towards clean headroom - from tweed to blonde to brown to black, and then to Music Man. Real loud. Real clean.
Have to agree. The Music Man amps would definitely hold its place in the top five.
Music Man amps are kind of forgotten by a lot of people these days. Maybe some people were a bit put off by the hybrid layout, which was very unusual. They had a transistor preamp stage and a valve power stage. But I, for one, agree with you. They were absolutely stellar.
Fender kind of responded, though, by going for an ultra linear output stage (same design principal as Marshall applied to their infamous 200 watt Major models that Mick Ronson and Ritchie Blackmore used) design on their line from 1977 onwards, which gave the Twin 130 watts and a totally clean, unclipped sound all the way up.
They even had a a model called the Super Twin Reverb 'round that time. Ultra linear like the normal model, but with 180 watts. That thing was LOUD(!) and totally, totally clean. Weighed as much as an oil tanker, and put grey hairs in the heads of many a FOH engineer...
ElephantTusks I used to have a Music 212, that was a good amp so was the Musician 110, cranking little amp!
Nice Video thanks! Am not an amp guy but want to own a 410 Fender amp if was to buy another combo
Carvin Legacy VL100. An absolute underrated gem amp. Pun intended.
My 100 watt Heathkit stereo amp that I built in 1966 while in high school. In the late 1960's I had a Plush 100 watt Bass Amp head. It was designed by Carl Marantz and it was a spectacular amp.
As a finger picker I use a peavey Nashville 1000,nothing can touch the full range response..
Larry Cooper oohhh
Hey Robert, have you tried a Carr Rambler? I think you would be impressed by its cleans
I played a Carr amp several years back in a shop, though I don’t remember what model it was. It sounded pretty good!
The Polytone Mini brute, some Carvins...but I prefer the Twin Reverb.
I love my JC120,
What about the Lab Series?
My best clean sound still is my Peavey classic chorus 212 solid state
The Peavey trans tube series has surprisingly good solid state clean tones. I used to gig with a 112 EFX and a TransFormer 212. Awesome amps, took tons of abuse.
am i right that i should get a clean amp if i have a distortion pedal?
Not necessarily. While that is the most traditional way of using a distortion pedal, plenty of people have also ran them into Marshall JCM 800’s and Peavey 5150’s, among other things, and those are definitely NOT clean sounding amps at all. But for the record, running a distortion pedal into the lead channel of a Diezel Herbert or something might not be the most enjoyable experience. LOL
most of rirvera but to be fair he used to work for fender.
I just bought a fender Princeton chorus. I love it.was wondering if it made the list?
Those were basically the more affordable solid-state versions of the Princeton Reverb reissues. They do sound great, though.
The Peavey Stereo Chorus 400 from the 80's is nothin' to sneeze at either.
God, I’d forgotten all about those amps. I haven’t seen one in years!
I had one of those. Incredibly loud, nice chorus and vibrato, but the EQ
wasn't very forgiving, and I had to change it all the time when I switched guitars.
I replaced it with a Peavey Classic 50 and didn't miss it at all, especially the
Scorpion speakers. After that I started building my own tube guitar amps, and
I haven't felt the need to buy a ready-made amp since.
I was coming here to brag about my Peavey Austin 400 from the 80s! It sounds amazing.
I had a peavey renown 400 in 86 that was stellar sounding on the clean channel!!.. the volume seemed to be endless as well... I should have never sold it... smh...
Evans amps are great for clean sounds. Many jazz guitarists use them... and they learned about them from pedal steel players, and you know they prefer a clean, clear tone. Really worth checking them out.
Only thing I didn't agree with was putting the fender deluxe reverb in the same class as the twin. My '65 deluxe starts breaking up at volume 3 and has a great nasty overdrive that ends up rocking on full. I've even taken it to a tech to get more headroom. Maybe it's just a hotrod of the bunch.
I feel your pain! I just can't get totally clean tone from ANY of the Hotrod Deluxe series amps. (original USA 70's, version, the version lll, version IV, doesn't matter) I've taken mine to a pro amp tech 3 times now. He got it have more power and a bit more head room, but unfortunately, no where near enough. (or at least not for me) A thought that maybe the (much lighter weight) HRD might be an acceptable replacement for my 135 watt Fender Twin, unfortunately, such has not been the case. Not even close. It sounds great a low volumes, but breaks up easily if you crank it up much, or hit it hard with hot pickups. It overdrives the amp even at low volumes. Very frustrating!!
I've found that a lot of the Orange Amps, even the solid-states have a a great clean sound. Nice sorta jazzy sounds. The Rockerverbs and the Crush series are good with pedals too.
I couldn’t stand a single-tone that I got out of the Crush series amps. (I admit I have not heard the Crush Pro Series yet.) The Rockerverb’s got so much gain in it that the clean tone for me was ALMOST non-existent. Then I tried a Thunderverb, which has EVEN MORE gain, and it DEFINITELY didn’t have a clean sound. That said, those two amps - especially the Thunderverb - are two of the coolest metal tones I’ve heard. I’d love to have a Thunderverb, but they ain’t cheap.
I totally disagree here. I have the Rockerverb 50 MKI 6V6 with a 2x12 cab with WGS-speakers. I did a lot of preamptube swapping. The clean channel is fantastic and takes pedals really well. I play a lot of funky stuff on this channel and got many compliments on the clean sounds. Also, this channel sounds very nice with an EP-booster in front. And you know what, the drivechannel goes from almost clean!!! to an outrageous overdrive and everything in between. It has four gainstages in one driveknob and it also cleans up very well. You have to know how to use this amp and you have to spend money on quality preamptubes and powertubes. If you say the clean tone is almost non-existent you never spend serious time with this amp. A Roland Jazz Chorus sounds flat and bland in comparison to the RV MKI. My Diezel Schmidt's clean channel sounds ten times better than this solid state crap from Roland. Man, I know, I had them all.
The Jazz Chorus isn’t solid-state crap, it’s one of the most respected solid-state amps out there specifically because of its clean tone. I’ve spent plenty of time with the Rockerverbs. I spent many years working at a store that carried them and I sold them for a living. I don’t have anything bad to say about them at all, I think they’re great amps. I just don’t care for the clean tone. Couldn’t get any headroom out of it without plugging a Tele into it. Play a Schecter with Duncans in it and just wouldn’t stay clean enough loud enough for my purposes.
As soon as I started playing this video, I was waiting diligently for you to mention the Roland jazz chorus. I was about to feel really let down, until I got to number one. You got that right - the Roland is the king of clean. As for the storage and sound, everyone knows that amp kind of sucks at that, but I will note that as a recording engineer, I recorded a guitarist using a small combo amp version of this amp, a single speaker, 60 W version, and for whatever reason, the distortion on that particular amp sounded really really good. I never heard another Roland amp sound that good distorted. Maybe it’s model-specific…
Fender twin king of clean
I have the Laney IRT 60 2x12 combo. The distortion channel isn't good enough for metal so I put pedals through the clean channel and it's awesome. The clean channel is super clean.
Roland JC 120
Greatest clean sound of all time!
Albert king used it for the reason
Oh yeah, the Roland Jazz Chorus. Great amp.
I used a JC120 back in the 80s...used the distortion control on all the time to add middle and grit...made it work great with pedals...
Johhny Marr and many other greats have used the JC 120, would love to get my hands a JC40 for a home use practice amp
Cool vid as always!! Great amps on that list - Ampeg SVT, Vox AC-30, Mesa LS, Fender Twin, HIWATT - I'd favor the CP over the DR but that's my particular. A few I'd probably mention - Matchless, Morgan, Milkman, Reeves, etc. . . .
carvin as the best clean sound. Forget the rest. were the others start crush carvin stay clean
Glad I found this post! Do you have thoughts on the Randall RC-235 Stereo Chorus? There aren't many out there (it seems) but just a couple used ones.