Recommended amplifier for 12 string

[paologregorio]

WRT the reliablility of the CC series; it's not an issue; they're well built amps. The issue is with some of the Chinese preamp tubes the amps have been sold/shipped with; they have a tendency to be really microphonic, noisy, or just plain fail early on. Once they're replaced, the amps work great. The HW series are also quite nice; I have a vintage AC 30, a CC2X, and a HW; I like them all and would use any one of them interchangeably with the other-I don't use the onboard reverb or tremolo on the CC or vintage amp, so none of those effects, or the lack thereof, is an issue for me. All of my amps have the Alnicos in them, but I've heard guys playing throuh Greenback or Wharfdale-equipped AC 30s and they sounded great. Another option is to just buy one alnico and mix and match the speakers in the cabinet; a number of amp nuts have recommended this setup-one alnico and one ceramic speaker. I haven't tried it yet myself, so I can't vouch for it from experience, but that is definitely an option; I'd recommend a Weber Blue Pup over the Celestion; you can get them in a higher wattage if you want to, Weber quality is top notch, and they're a bit more reasonably priced.

Having said that about Vox, I don't think you could go wrong with a Fender either; I own both a `65 Twin Rev RI, and a Super Rev RI; they sound cool. I tend to prefer the 12" speakers that come with a Twin, somewhat, but that's a personal choice. Bear in mind that with the Fender RIs there is no wattage drop switch, so to get in the "sweet spot", your amp volume might be louder, but on the other hand, the sweep of the tone controls on Fender amps is bigger, so it's easie r to dial in the tone you're looking for, and the amps come with a bright switch, which also helps. Fender's tremolo and reverb effects are also top notch, far superior to Vox's IMHO.

[britinvasion]

I've been liking this combination lately.

[buttonjaw]

Wanted to bump this thread seeing as though you all are amp-saavy and are talking about Ric-o-Sounding to separate amps. I am running a 360/v4 (with toaster pickups) with the neck pickup going into a Vox AC30 (Alnico blues) and bridge pickup into a stock DRRI. Here's the question: It seems like the bridge pickup gives me a "chimier" tone regardless of which amp it goes to. But even when going into the DRRI I still can't really get that great chime that I want. Is there anything I can do to the DRRI to get a more janglier tone? Even at low volumes (2) and the bass knob at zero and the treble knob at 10 it's not that jangly. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Scott

[beatbyrd]

Wanted to bump this thread seeing as though you all are amp-saavy and are talking about Ric-o-Sounding to separate amps. I am running a 360/v4 (with toaster pickups) with the neck pickup going into a Vox AC30 (Alnico blues) and bridge pickup into a stock DRRI. Here's the question: It seems like the bridge pickup gives me a "chimier" tone regardless of which amp it goes to. But even when going into the DRRI I still can't really get that great chime that I want. Is there anything I can do to the DRRI to get a more janglier tone? Even at low volumes (2) and the bass knob at zero and the treble knob at 10 it's not that jangly. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Scott

Check out a JangleBox 2 to help you nail 'that' sound. Go to their website for sound clips. Fantastic unit. A lot of 12 string people here use and endorse them. Tom

[paologregorio]

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.

Wow, I have every one of these except the Deluxe; I hadn't noticed they were cleaner than the Twin, but I don't have the small voice coil Blue Jensen Alnicos in my Twin; I have the 40th Anniversary RI Blackface Twin in the blonde Tolex, which came with ceramic magnet Eminence speakers with much bigger voice coils, which I then switched out for the Weber CA 12 JBL clones, so that's probably why.

You can't go wrong with any of the amps Paul listed; if you're mostly playing at home, I'd say get the Deluxe; If you're going to start gigging, get the Super Rev RI, or one AC30s; the Voxes have a half power switch, which comes in handy for at home.

[buttonjaw]

Scott[/quote]
Check out a JangleBox 2 to help you nail 'that' sound. Go to their website for sound clips. Fantastic unit. A lot of 12 string people here use and endorse them. Tom[/quote]

Thanks Tom for the reply. I'm already running a Rothwell Love Squeeze compressor on the bridge pickup to the DRRI which really evens out the sound. So can I run the Janglebox 2 before/after the Love Squeeze without compressing it too much?

[buttonjaw]

And is the Janglebox 2 really that much better than the orginal? Thanks all.

Scott

[beatbyrd]

Check out a JangleBox 2 to help you nail 'that' sound. Go to their website for sound clips. Fantastic unit. A lot of 12 string people here use and endorse them. Tom

Thanks Tom for the reply. I'm already running a Rothwell Love Squeeze compressor on the bridge pickup to the DRRI which really evens out the sound. So can I run the Janglebox 2 before/after the Love Squeeze without compressing it too much?

I would use the JB2 instead of any other compressor. But..... McGuinn used a pair of compressors early on in the Byrds and that's the 'jangle standard' for most of us. In answer to the other question, yes, the JB2 is an improvement over the original. Either one will make your 12 string sound a lot better, though. Tom

[Folkie]

I play my 330/12 and 360/12 through an old solid state Fender Princeton Chorus amp, which is quite similar to McGuinn's Roland JC-120. This amp puts out 51 Watts R.M.S. through two 10-inch speakers. I run the guitars through a Janglebox JB2 which goes directly into the amp's clean channel. The sound is sublime!

[sys700]

IMO the JB1 is better than the JB2. I spent hours and hours comparing them and sold the JB2. YEMV but I found the JB1 to have more sparkle and less fiddly to dial in the sound. JB2 has knobs that do nothing when in one mode which was a PITA. JB1 is essential if you own a Ric.

As far as amps go, JC-120 is nice, chrus is wonderful, but alone it's too thin. AC-15 is nice and percussive with a crunch to it with lots of harmonics, but alone it's missing a bit of the low end. Fender Super Reverb sounds amazing, and has more low end. I usually run my Rics through all 3, but mainly the Vox and the Super. I also have a Fender Twin Reverb but it's a silver face, too loud, and just doesn't have the presence of the Super.

[larsongs]

My 360 6 & 12 String Guitars sound better thru my Vox AC15CC1X than my Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb or my Marshall VS100 Half Stack.

All 3 Amps are loud enough for most applications other than major Concert Events. I almost bought an AC30CC2X but thy are way heavier than I want to lug around & way louder than I need for most applications. That said, if the right one came along at the right price I'd probably get it anyhow.

Hard for me to imagine playing Rics thru anything other than Vox Amps with Alnico Blues. They are an amazing sounding combo.

Glenn

[bvstudios]

I picked up a used JC77 a while back and fell in love with it... Less weighty than the mighty JC120, but the chorus works the same magic (one speaker dry and the other effected) as the big brother. It works my 370/12 with my Zoom (heresy, I know, but it works) running compressor with no amp modelling, and while it's not quite a janglebox, it's enough for me. The JC77 also takes my Chet Atkins ( using the built-in the reverb and some external echo) down country roads nicely, and the distortion circuit on it is mildly better than the strange oddity on the 120. At least my Strat likes it.

Kind of an all-round amp that you can still lug upstairs if needed... And it can be very LOUD, too. I had it in a high-roofed gymnasium-like hall about a month ago with my 370 and my Strat, doing a Jimmy Buffet-like show for a convention, and the leads cut over the drummer on 6/10 simply by picking a little harder, no volume pedal required.

[elreydlp]

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.

Wow, I have every one of these except the Deluxe; I hadn't noticed they were cleaner than the Twin, but I don't have the small voice coil Blue Jensen Alnicos in my Twin; I have the 40th Anniversary RI Blackface Twin in the blonde Tolex, which came with ceramic magnet Eminence speakers with much bigger voice coils, which I then switched out for the Weber CA 12 JBL clones, so that's probably why.

You can't go wrong with any of the amps Paul listed; if you're mostly playing at home, I'd say get the Deluxe; If you're going to start gigging, get the Super Rev RI, or one AC30s; the Voxes have a half power switch, which comes in handy for at home.

Paul-that Twin RI of yours is not only a thing of beauty-it sounds great. One of my favorite amps that I have played through.

[wmthor]

Paul-that Twin RI of yours is not only a thing of beauty-it sounds great. One of my favorite amps that I have played through.

I'll echo Skip's comment.

[Chris82]

AC30.

-Chris