Underrated Amp Models

Atomica High?
-
Austin
Oooh yes! I find it similar to the BE/HBE but with a little more clarity in the low-mids. The default presence is pretty low, so set it around 6 and then tweak away. It's really great for thick and aggressive rhythm tones.
 
Personally, my go to amp model is the Herbie 3, just love the tight warm distortion I get from it.

I used to use the Friedman HBE model a lot before I discovered the Herbie 3 ;)


I discovered and fell in love with the Herbie late in the game unfortunately, the last few firmwares I'm just not connecting with it though. Something in the gain but not sure how to describe it.
 
Cameron 1B, CAE3+ Rhy, Fryette D60 M and Badger 18

Amps a re rated Id think - but you dont see them mentioned in threads that much - particularly the Fryette or Cameron.
 
Definitely the Nuclear Tone.. I got turned onto the real version of this amp by the guitar player from Tauk (AWESOME band, check them out, they just opened for Umphrey's Mcgee this last tour, they got chops upon chops) and he sounds so damn good live I have to inquire. I love using it slightly dirty then pushing it with an OD. The real amp (atomic space tone ) is quickly becoming a modern classic already.
 
I was a Mesa guy for decades, but have been spending a lot of time on the Triptik, Maz 38, and Tucana. I never played on any of them as actual amps, but am impressed with how much ground you can cover with these amps, a few basic effects, and the Eternal Love (Lovepedal Eternity) drive pedal. Awesome amps. The OD amps, Shiva, and Wrecker models also scream.

That's one of the killer values of the Axe Fx product line. For what you get, the price is a steal... getting to test just these amps would cost many times the price of entry here.
 
The Mesa Triaxis model is probably one of my favorite lead tones. Its tight but isnt sterile. It's got a little sponginess to it so you can dig into and get some dynamics. Awesome.

This. That Triaxis is basically my go to amp. I'll use other things on tracks for variety in tones, but for pure pleasure, sitting and messing around with riffs or just practice, that one rules my Axe.

I also really enjoy the Friedman Smallbox....little darker than the HBE, which I dig for flavor on tracks. Weirdly enough, I've played the Smallbox extensively in real life, and while it's a good amp, I like the Axe model much better.
 
Last edited:
I have had the Axe for a couple of years now and have just discovered the Orange amps. My favourite is the Orange AD30 (Clean and Dirty channels), especially when paired with TheAmpFactory's TruBrit IRs.
 
Trainwreck Liverpool for gorgeous mid-gainy tones.

And I just put the Chieftain (Boutique 1) in one of my other presets and wow! Not underrated, but not one of my usual go-to amps.
 
A lot of people like the Friedman HBE, but my favorite Friedman is the Dirty Shirley model.

Also really enjoy the Carol-Ann Tucana, FAS Modern III, and TriAxis clean.

Totally agree with PK86, especially the Dirty Shirley. The D.S can do a very light crunch, to crunchier, to rock, to hard rock, to heavy, to very heavy and so forth. Funnily enough, in the covers band I play in, the Dirty Shirley is actually my main go-to amp as t ticks A LOT of boxes. I'm still blown away by how good she is! The Carol-Ann Tucana as well as the CCV, BE/HBE and even the EURO Mod Red is slowyl growning on me again..
 
Oooh yes! I find it similar to the BE/HBE but with a little more clarity in the low-mids. The default presence is pretty low, so set it around 6 and then tweak away. It's really great for thick and aggressive rhythm tones.

If you want more clarity in the low mids from the BE/HBE reduce Negative Feedback. Friedman's designs are a bit odd in that he takes the feedback off the speaker jack rather than off a transformer tap. The mating cab for a BE/HBE is 16 ohms which means lots of feedback. But if you connect the amp to an 8 ohm load there is about 30% less feedback. The amp will sound tighter and clearer in the low mids.
 
If you want more clarity in the low mids from the BE/HBE reduce Negative Feedback. Friedman's designs are a bit odd in that he takes the feedback off the speaker jack rather than off a transformer tap. The mating cab for a BE/HBE is 16 ohms which means lots of feedback. But if you connect the amp to an 8 ohm load there is about 30% less feedback. The amp will sound tighter and clearer in the low mids.


This maybe would be another one of those instances where you mentioned the speaker tab defaults being selectable from a drop down and the settings being loaded by selecting that default
 
If you want more clarity in the low mids from the BE/HBE reduce Negative Feedback. Friedman's designs are a bit odd in that he takes the feedback off the speaker jack rather than off a transformer tap. The mating cab for a BE/HBE is 16 ohms which means lots of feedback. But if you connect the amp to an 8 ohm load there is about 30% less feedback. The amp will sound tighter and clearer in the low mids.

That was a game-changer of a tip. It cleaned up some frequencies that were bothering me in those models and gave the amps more muscle and authority. Thanks a lot!
 
Last edited:
Oooh yes! I find it similar to the BE/HBE but with a little more clarity in the low-mids. The default presence is pretty low, so set it around 6 and then tweak away. It's really great for thick and aggressive rhythm tones.

This amp used to be a prickly beast in some of the older firmwares. I'm finding now with most amps that I can take treble and presence much higher without any harshness coming in and this amp is a monster!!
 
That was a game-changer of a tip. It cleaned up some frequencies that were bothering me in those models and gave the amps more muscle and authority. Thanks a lot!

Maybe we should have a speaker cab ohm setting in the amp model that adjusts the negative feedback and impedance curves. Could work with the new Cab Block Impedance Presets that were mentioned the other day?
 
The Carol Ann Triptik and OD2 have become my go to amps for dirty. I really like the. Divided by 13 models too for cleaner sounds. I don't see any of these gettin a lot of attention on here.
 
Back
Top Bottom