What's The Popular (Relatively Inexpensive) Combo Amp These Days?

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Lee Baucum
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What's The Popular (Relatively Inexpensive) Combo Amp These Days?

Post by Lee Baucum »

It seems that the Boss Katana was (is?) very popular. Anything else?
Lee, from South Texas - Down On The Rio Grande

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Larry Dering
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Re: What's The Popular (Relatively Inexpensive) Combo Amp These Days?

Post by Larry Dering »

I haven't seen anything new that kicked the KATANA out of 1st place. I started using the Tonex pedal last year and just a few days ago got its matching cabinet. That's just under 1k in expenses. The KATANA is hard to beat for general purposes and cost.
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Doug Taylor
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Re: What's The Popular (Relatively Inexpensive) Combo Amp These Days?

Post by Doug Taylor »

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... 9IQAvD_BwE

Line 6 Catalyst

I borrowed one of these awhile back to practice with a group and I was really impressed. It also comes in 60 and 200w I believe.
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Dave Grafe
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Re: What's The Popular (Relatively Inexpensive) Combo Amp These Days?

Post by Dave Grafe »

Quilter's TT12 is hugely popular for a reason
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Larry Dering
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Re: What's The Popular (Relatively Inexpensive) Combo Amp These Days?

Post by Larry Dering »

The Quilter is a bit pricy and frankly I don't like my 202 Quilter and plan on selling it. In all fairness I don't have the Quilter cabinet but I do have several size cabs with Tt 12 speakers and several with Peavey black widows. The Quilter doesn't do justice to any of them for my taste. The TC Electronics BQ500 has better tone and controls and It sounds good with an added reverb pedal and cabinet. Your mileage may vary and you might like the Quilter as many other do. A good used Peavey Nashville 112 is a great amp and widely used by many pro players.
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Jon Jaffe
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Re: What's The Popular (Relatively Inexpensive) Combo Amp These Days?

Post by Jon Jaffe »

I'm sold on the TONEXCab. It is light, powerful, and can accept a bunch of IRs. I use the TONEX One or the Peavey session preamplifier. I have also tried it with the Valeton GP5. At $599 (Sweetwater), coupled with the session preamp, it prices well below the TT12 used. If you haven't heard the sound from an FRFR-powered speaker like the TONEX Cab or the Fender FR 10 or 12, you are missing out. I have owned both the Katana and the Quilter TT 12 and 15, and sold them for the powered speakers.
They are voiced for both Guitar and pedal steel, not for vocals. Why would you expect a single 15-inch or 12-inch speaker to produce clarity across the low and high ends? For example, I have a Tommy Huff cab with a Ganz Straight Ahead power amp; it looks nice and is powerful, but it doesn't produce the sweet tones of the TONEX or the Fender.
I'm waiting for the new PV combo amp to arrive in January, and I'll reassess and compare them all once I get it and start playing live.
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