Recommended amplifier for 12 string

[NorwegianWood]

I'm not sure if I should post here or in the Rickenbacker amp section but I try here .

I recently purchased my first Ric ever. I actually bought two ( that was not the intention but I ended up with two anyway..). They are simply amazing.
It is a 360/12v64 FG 2000 and a 660/12 FG 2004. It is the two guitars that was discussed in my earlier
posts at viewtopic.php?f=1&t=386217 (there are pictures ).

Will probably ask more technical questions about the guitars later but my first priority is to
get an amplifier(or combo) that bring out the best sound. I got a Mesa Boogie F-30 amp and it is not suitable for this kind
of guitar (but excellent for overdrive/distortion sound). The Ric's sound much better trough my mini PA system (I also use the great Janglebox).

I also have a broken London City 100W amp (buildt in early 1970s) which is a Marshall copy. Its currently sendt for repair (not used it for 15-20 years).
The London City cabinet contains four speakers . It acutally uses four Celestion G12H30 bass speakers accoring to http://www.drtube.com/guitamp.htm#LondonCity .
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/revi ... 2H-30/10/1

Although the London City amp is a clean amp (no input gain control) I guess the Marshall type of amp its not ideal ? Here is some pictures of the 70W London City version http://www.rooockstar.com/rooockers/Chr ... amp/DEA_70
London City Cabinet : http://www.plekter.net/images/london%20city.jpg


I'm looking for advices on a suitable amp. It is of course a matter of taste..

I have seen recommendations for Fender 65 Twin Reverb (wery clean sound) , Fender Supersonic, Roland JC120 and Vox AC30.

The info I found is that for Petty&Beatles sound I should go for Vox AC30. For Byrds sound I should go for Fender amps or Roland JC120(McGuinn uses this one).
I like both the Petty/Beatles and Byrds sound.... It would be nice if the amp can work with two inputs simultanously (i.e. Ric-O-Sound).

I like clean sound without or with wery little distortion of the type which is nice for my ears. When I play trough the Mesa Boogie and set it as clean as possible the high frequencies
is terrible sounding. Playing trough the Janglebox-> mixer/PA system is much better and even better if I try it on my hifi system. When I
try it on my hifisystem I can get amazing guitar sound. Then its not as aggressive sounding even if I play at loud levels. I've tried to get that Tom Petty sound like on "Feel a whole lot better" and it seems like the hifi system came closest.

Have been told by some shops and AC30 users that the AC30 often fails and must be sendt to service. Is this a problem ? I know tubes does not last for ever and
will need to be replaced and thats not a problem. When I have tested Vox combos earlier I have thought they sounded slightly "muddy" (tested with Fender Telecaster and Gibson SG in a shop). Some info I found (maybe here in the forums) suggested this is much better with the alnico blue speakers. It probably helps with the Janglebox as well. The AC30 with alnico blue is far more expensive though. An AC30 with alnico blue speakers will be almost 3 times more expensive than a Roland JC120. As the Roland is not tube based it is much cheaper than the others. I also have Line6 pod x3 .

I will use the amp at my home so it will not be moved around a lot. I guess I do not need a monster amp as the Mesa 30W seems to be
providing more power than I will ever need. As the room is not huge I will need an amp/combo that is suitable for home use.

I also do some home recordings trough my Presonus box. Some times I like to record directly from the amps line output (ie. trough the tube preamp).
Vox and Fender does not provide record output but maybe the send output can be used ?

I am also playing bass (not ric yet). As I'm on a limited budgett I must spend my mony wisely now. Is there some amps (or combos) that is well suited both for bass and Ric 12 string guitar or is this a bad idea ? The Fender bassman can be used for both bass and guitar ?

[jimk]

We all have our favorites. So those are the answers you're certain to get. Personally, I think only you can be the judge on this one. Try out several in your price range.

JimK

[JakeK]

A Fender Deluxe Reverb ('65 RI) or VOX AC-30 (CC2X or Handwired) will get you all the sounds.

Congrats on your new guitars.

[tennis_nick]

Just a side note here,


Does anybody else find it odd that the AC30CC2X is MORE expensive than buying the AC30CC2 and the Alnico Blue speakers separately?

[admin]

Nick: When I asked about ordering Celestion Blues at my local music store the quote was $1000 for the pair.

I purchased them myself online and paid $488 for them to my door.

Few price quotes regarding music gear surprise me any more.

[wmthor]

Nick: When I asked about ordering Celestion Blues at my local music store the quote was $1000 for the pair.

I purchased them myself online and paid $488 for them to my door.

Few price quotes regarding music gear surprise me any more.

I recently paid musictoyz.com $250 for the Celestion Blue that now resides in my Traynor YCV20WR.

[fireglo67]

I've got a Vox AC30 CC2 but with the Wharfdale speakers, not the Alnico blues.
To be honest when I tried them out in the shop I didn't notice £600 worth of difference between the 2 different speakers, but I was playing a Rick with high gain pick ups through them, so maybe the toaster pick ups get a better sound from the Alnicos?

Anyway here is a simple equation....

Rickenbacker 12 string + Janglebox + Vox AC30 = Guitar Heaven.

[jingle_jangle]

A Fender Deluxe Reverb ('65 RI) or VOX AC-30 (CC2X or Handwired) will get you all the sounds.

Congrats on your new guitars.

Both of these, and the Super Reverb reissue, are cleaner than the Twin.

[NorwegianWood]

A Fender Deluxe Reverb ('65 RI) or VOX AC-30 (CC2X or Handwired) will get you all the sounds.

Congrats on your new guitars.

Both of these, and the Super Reverb reissue, are cleaner than the Twin.

Thanks to all for a lot of useful information.

Btw. did you mean that the VOX AC-30 CC2X is cleaner than Fender 65 Twin Reverb ?

I'm told that the Vox is a bit unstable and breakes down more often but I do not have any experience with them myself. I won't move
it around so it should not be exposed to damage from travelling.

I guess the Vox AC30CC2X will also provide distortion (gain control) just like the Mesa.
I'm considering to sell the Mesa Boogie F-30 if Vox AC30CC2X could serve all my needs (both clean and distortion).

[doctorwho]

If you can find one to try out, check out a Kustom '36 Coupe ... all tube, 6L6 power, foot-switchable clean and distortion channels, super deep reverb ...

[goofyfoot]

Trust your ears, brah. We all have different auditory thresholds so what sounds cool to one set of ears may not hold true for yours. I'd check out beaucoup amps and begin to narrow down the choices. Personally, I'm a tube amp sort of guy. I've tried to bond with solid-state boxes. But it hasn't happened so I've stuck with tube amps my whole life. My 12-string digs being hooked up to a JangleBox and then to an English-built AC-15 TB with Weber AlNiCo Blue Dog. Best of luck on your quest for tone.....Goofyfoot.

[sys700]

I run my 360/12V64 into various compressors and effects (including Janglebox) which I then send into two amps: 1963 AC-15 Twin and early 80's Roland JC-120. The combination of these two amps gives me all of the tones from Byrds to Petty to Beatles and the Smiths. In general the AC-15 is crunchy and mid-rangey and the JC-120 is fills in the clean highs and lows. I highly recommend this setup. I've played it through a mid-60's Fender VibroLux Twin as well and an AC-30 SuperTwin. They were both very nice amps, but a bit too loud to get the sound I wanted in a studio situation.

[grazioso]

if you you keep changing gear a lot get something that you can sell e.g. superreverb or bassman or that roland if you keep your things forever get something worthwhile like some vox handwired, aiken or other 18w, car mercury, hayseed, juke, samamp.... or maybe even tone king.

[whojamfan]

The JC-120 has 2 seperate channels that you can plug in to. My 360/12 sounds great through it, and you can always get a tube overdrive pedal(like the Radial stuff) to go in front of the amp. Since you are using it at home, maybe this might be the better choice, as you don't have to crank it up to get the "sweet spot" of the tubes. I have an AC-30 that sounds different, but great as well. All the amps listed are fine, it would be a matter of what does it for you.

[jps]

There is a JC-120 at my local GC for $499.