Here are my favorite amps for low- and mid-gain playing with single-coil pickups:
1. CA Tucana Lead with F184: 4x12 Greenback Mix
This boutique amp delivers amazing Marshall rock tones except the controls are responsive and produce usable tones at any setting - usally a weakness of real Marshall amps. For Plexi tones that cover Jimi Hendrix through AC/DC I like to dial the Input Drive to 9 while keeping Overdrive at 2. More modern Marshall tones can be achieved by setting Overdrive higher while keeping Input Drive around 5.
Add Delay and Wah pedals for solos. Phaser, Chorus, or Rotary will color your tone nicely.
2. Double Verb Vib with F123: 2x12 Double Verb Mix
This Fender amp with "Magic Six" settings covers a huge range of tones from vintage clean & surf, through blues & classic rock, 80s chorus clean, and punchy harmonic John Mayer tone. Use the guitar volume and tone knobs to adjust the feel without changing settings on the amp!
The Zen Master drive pedal with a low Drive setting adds enough focus for soloing without too much dirt. Use the classic T808 OD drive pedal for that recognizable driven blues and rock sound. The amp itself has enough dirt when played at the "Magic Six" settings - so the drive pedals are just there to change the flavor.
You have to add Tremolo, Chorus, and Spring Reverb to this rig!
3. 5F1 Tweed EC with F133: 1x8 EC Champlifier I5
Beautiful cleans for Mark Knopfler style playing. A great amp to play expressive solos with fingers instead of a pick. Its drive sound is that of a little amp being pushed rather than a huge 100W beast - a nice variation to have in your arsenal. I keep this amp/cab in Scene 2 as an alternative to the Double Verb Vib so it's easy to change things up whenever I feel like it.
4. Deluxe Tweed with F081: 1x12 Deluxe Tweed Mix
The 5E3 is so simple with just a Volume and Tone control but it's very versatile. Great edge-of-breakup and slightly driven tones. The main adjective that comes to mind is a "sweet" sound. Nice for vintage tones across soul, rock, blues, and more. There's something pure about this amp - I can't bring myself to add any effects besides reverb - it sounds so good just by itself.
5. AC-20 12AX7 T with F119: 1x12 AC-20 Dlx Mix
My favorite Class A Vox-style amp is the AC-20. It's very easy to dial in - almost like the 5E3 equivalent for Vox amps because it only has a Cut tone control instead of Bass/Mid/Treble. I like this amp clean for chimey and crisp tones. Great for playing funk with a Compressor pedal but it can do a lot more!
Try the Full OD or T808 OD drive pedals for lead playing.
That's it! These are the amp models I currently use after lots of experimentation. I could live with just the CA Tucana Lead and Double Verb Vib, but the fun of the AX8 is having 200+ amp models to choose from
.
What are your top amps and cabs?
1. CA Tucana Lead with F184: 4x12 Greenback Mix
This boutique amp delivers amazing Marshall rock tones except the controls are responsive and produce usable tones at any setting - usally a weakness of real Marshall amps. For Plexi tones that cover Jimi Hendrix through AC/DC I like to dial the Input Drive to 9 while keeping Overdrive at 2. More modern Marshall tones can be achieved by setting Overdrive higher while keeping Input Drive around 5.
Add Delay and Wah pedals for solos. Phaser, Chorus, or Rotary will color your tone nicely.
2. Double Verb Vib with F123: 2x12 Double Verb Mix
This Fender amp with "Magic Six" settings covers a huge range of tones from vintage clean & surf, through blues & classic rock, 80s chorus clean, and punchy harmonic John Mayer tone. Use the guitar volume and tone knobs to adjust the feel without changing settings on the amp!
The Zen Master drive pedal with a low Drive setting adds enough focus for soloing without too much dirt. Use the classic T808 OD drive pedal for that recognizable driven blues and rock sound. The amp itself has enough dirt when played at the "Magic Six" settings - so the drive pedals are just there to change the flavor.
You have to add Tremolo, Chorus, and Spring Reverb to this rig!
3. 5F1 Tweed EC with F133: 1x8 EC Champlifier I5
Beautiful cleans for Mark Knopfler style playing. A great amp to play expressive solos with fingers instead of a pick. Its drive sound is that of a little amp being pushed rather than a huge 100W beast - a nice variation to have in your arsenal. I keep this amp/cab in Scene 2 as an alternative to the Double Verb Vib so it's easy to change things up whenever I feel like it.
4. Deluxe Tweed with F081: 1x12 Deluxe Tweed Mix
The 5E3 is so simple with just a Volume and Tone control but it's very versatile. Great edge-of-breakup and slightly driven tones. The main adjective that comes to mind is a "sweet" sound. Nice for vintage tones across soul, rock, blues, and more. There's something pure about this amp - I can't bring myself to add any effects besides reverb - it sounds so good just by itself.
5. AC-20 12AX7 T with F119: 1x12 AC-20 Dlx Mix
My favorite Class A Vox-style amp is the AC-20. It's very easy to dial in - almost like the 5E3 equivalent for Vox amps because it only has a Cut tone control instead of Bass/Mid/Treble. I like this amp clean for chimey and crisp tones. Great for playing funk with a Compressor pedal but it can do a lot more!
Try the Full OD or T808 OD drive pedals for lead playing.
That's it! These are the amp models I currently use after lots of experimentation. I could live with just the CA Tucana Lead and Double Verb Vib, but the fun of the AX8 is having 200+ amp models to choose from
.What are your top amps and cabs?
