If you want to hear what that kind of amp sounds like "dimed", listen to BB King Live at the Regal. No pedals. They hadn't been invented. A Gibson, a small Fender with a Jensen 12, cranked.

One of my favorite albums!

I like the old Tone King Imperial 20 watt amps from early-mid 90's. Great sound w/rev/trem,cool retro look,and only about 25 lbs.. I look at the Carr Rambler as a heavier amp in sound and weight...not as purrty as the TK Imps and a Fender Deluxe Reverb right in between those two in looks,sound, and weight. Those 3 amps and anything similar are the do all tube amps to have.

1. Tone King Imperial
2. Carr Rambler
3. Fender Deluxe Reverb (go silver and save...ditto for Princeton Reverbs)

For pure tone when volume (need of) is not an issue there's nothing sweeter than a Fender Princeton with no verb....absolutely the king of tone! Tweed Deluxe if you want snarl.

The guy only makes a few amps in his Kansas City garage, but Gehring (only at Mass Street as far as I know) makes the best amp I have ever played through. It was a 30 watt one twelve I had on approval, and it was head and shoulders better than all the tweed, blackface, silverface, shamefaced, or whatever, I've ever plugged into. But it was too loud for the band I'm in, so I had to send it back. Hand made from the ground up, and only 1500, which will buy you a knob on a Dumble. If they get one in, check it out. It was the Alien of amps, straight up.

quote:

Originally posted by BAR:
I have a Don Grosh tele. I play mostly blues, folk rock, old country, rockabilly type stuff. Would that amp be suited for this kind of playing?

Then what you want is the Carr Rambler.

As a note - I just listened to the sound samples on their website -- they're bad. Distant and thin. Not indicative of the Rambler's I've recorded. Maybe you've already played one but if not I have samples I could send you.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: elambo,

Since your query included it, I encourage you to try a Victoria. I don't own one, but I tried one a few months back and was ASTOUNDED at the richness of the tone. (It was the Victoria Regal II.)

I played through an 18 watt Dr. Z "MAZ" yesterday at a jam. I've used this amp before and found it to be a quite different voicing than the old Fenders that I usually play. This time I tweaked it and got some very, very cool tones. We played country, country-rock, and blues. Outstanding amp. I'd want to mess with it some more before I bought one, but I was really impressed.

Many Tele pickers on the other forum I frequent, Guitars by Leo (G&L), love the Dr. Z MAZ. You can search the G&LDP (Discussion Pages) there for more comments and info: Guitars by Leo

Well this thread certainly has "covered the waterfront" so let me chime in.

First disclosure, I presently use and own 5 amps the newest of which is a '64 Princeton. But I have owned and played MANY boutique amps.

To me, the most important part of the original post is "I don't play out." Carr's Mercury was built with you in mind and is a STELLAR tone machine at any volume. It even has enough clean headroom that you don't have to have crunch all the time. The Rambler & the new Vincent run 6L6 tudes and are Carr's "Fenderish" amps. They are also great. The Vincent may be the most incredible "new" amp on the market since it can switch between 7 and 33 watts making it ideal for bedroom or stage. A little pricey..but worth it?!?!

I haven't played (and won't) reissue Fenders because there are so many vintage ones available. They are better, period. The 6G2 Princeton (so-called "brown sound") is a perfect amplifier and can be found for around $1K. But it doesn't break up until 7-8 and that's pretty loud for the house (but nothing in a club/band context). It has a unique tube bias tremolo (that many boutique builders try to emulate now). Takes pedals well (if want to add overdrive/distortion or??).

Dr. Z makes great amps but they are definitely NOT Fenderish. More like Vox/Matchless. The Mini Z is a small screamer but doesn't do clean well. Teh Carmen Ghia is very cool and simple and can do both clean and crunch. My experience with Dr. Z is that different tubes make a LOT of difference in how the amp preforms/sounds/responds.

If you like Fender Tweed sounds (and don't want to go vintage) Victoria is great. Well built and they nail the vintage tweed vibe.

O.K. now the most important part--you need to play your guitar through the amp(s) before buying. OR be willing to do a lot of "trials/sales/swaps, etc." until you find the right oneS.

Bon Chance

Duolian...I agree with your perspectives on the Carr stuff...I love my little Mercury so much that I'm very close to getting a Vincent. The Rambler is good if you want tremelo and reverb, but I think it is 14/28 watts if I remember correctly in stead of the 7/33 of the Vincent.

I played New Year's Eve with another electric guitar player (Strat/Bogner amp, nice amp BTW), bass, drums and I used my I-35 and my Mercury. While it's not the biggest venue, it was packed....100 or so people...Here's where I'm at now:

I was going to sell the I35 because I love the P90's so much....not selling it anymore...I'm loving it.
The Mercury never came off of 2 watts...(1/10, 1/2, 2, 8 watts available). Then, I can always mic it if I needed to. Now, I'm not thinking I need a Vincent, although they're great...The Mercury does it all...Fender sounds, Great overdrive, great 'real' reverb....unreal. It also sounds great with my I35, 290, Tele, and '66 Jaguar and '66 mandocaster...I just don't know how you can go wrong with the Carr Mercury....I'm convinced.

The whole thing about 'watts' is something we could all go on and on about...And, while I use a good amp stand, I never had any issues hearing my guitar on 2 watts, volume to about 6, another electric guitar, drums and electric bass....I still may get a Vincent and sell my '57 Deluxe Fender, but the tone of the Mercury has me pretty darn satisfied.

Geoff, I like what you said...kinda sparked me to write this post...The best advice is to play through them...for me, however, I've got to own them for a while...use them in different contexts and really see if I like it or not...just like with acoustic instruments. While it gets expensive, my herd continues to become more refined and the stuff I own is in the 'keeper' status.


Kia Manuia,

Dale

www.daleinskeep.com

Hey Dale:

Happy New Year!! So glad you're keeping the I-35.

The Mercury is the bomb...I may well break my "nothing new" vow and get one because its SO good.

I'm looking forward to getting a 290 soon (from a mutual acquaintance in SA ).

I agree with the owning them. Sometimes it takes a while and a variety of contexts to really know what your rig will do. I too am on the quest for the refined arsenal and the ability to bring the right tools to the gig/job/playing opportunity. And since I don't have roadies, its got to be "easily heftable" (another plus for the Mercury).

Great guitar in a Cronkhite gig bag, "grab and go" (e.g. able to carry without breathing hard) amp=heaven.

Thanks everyone for your responses.

Sonoman - I live in K.C. and was able to speak with Mr. Gehring. Unfortunately he's not taking any orders at this time. That being the case, I'm leaning towards the Carr Rambler or the Victoria Victorilux.