best emando amp?

[Proghead]

i'd like to know what is generally the best, affordable emando amp available that would lend itself well to jazz and funk, but would also fit well in a rock band.. so i imagine the amp has to be powerful enough to keep up with the 2 electric guitars, bass, drums and vocals. My rock band does have a very powerful PA system though.
Keep in mind that my emando will have 2 humbuckers...i'm waiting for it right now to be completed..it's a Ryder Em-45

[jmkatcher]

Rivera Clubster or Pubster
Peavey Classic 50, 30 or Delta Blues

[clem]

If you've got a good P.A. (and a spare channel) go for the POD XT Live by Line 6. It is INCREDIBLE!!! Many different amp models, effects, volume/wah pedal,etc. You can (and should) tweak/modify every parameter to create the deluxe reverb, jazz chorus, marshall stzk, amtchless, etc.e tc. YOU want (and its really easy to do). Best of all it costs $360 and weighs about the same as a Champ Amp. You can't get more versatility for the $$. Check out the Line 6 website. I use it for guitar and emando with my band...IT ROCKS (and jazzes, and blueses, etc.). http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

Good luck,
Clem

[Pedal Steel Mike]

I can't say that it'as "the best" but I've been using a Music Man HD 212 since 1977, and it works very well for every instrument and style of music I've played in all the years sicne I bought it.

I got it used, which means it has to be from 1976, the first year they were made, (when Leo Fender was making them) I occasionally run into the guy I bought it from and he always tells me that selling me that amp was the biggest mistake he ever made.

[Lee]

Any of the Peavey Classic series are great for the price.
Fender Blues Junior or Deluxe Reverb Reissue are good choices.
Log onto www.fenderforum.com

[mrkrishna]

I had a 'Roland Jazz Chorus 212' that I used for years when I was touring. Did wonders for my emandos, but is a solid state amp...Kerry

[taboot]

I love amps. It's a big part of why I love playing electric so much, as a matter of fact. The bottom line is that you should play the amp that feels right. When you receive your mandolin, take it to the used music gear store in town, and plug into half a dozen amps. Buy the one that feels right, and you will KNOW when you're playing that one. As far as models go, all 15 watts of my Fender Pro Jr. can easily keep up with the line-up you describe, but not without some natural, honey-sweet tube saturation http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif How much power you want really depends on how loudly you need to be able to play clean tones, beyond that, get something with tubes to warm up your highs and you'll be set. People really like the Polytone amps for jazz work, but the overdrive on those things is pretty lousy to my ears, better to look for a two channel tube amp. The Peaveys mentioned above, the smaller Mesa offerings, and any of the smaller Fender amps should suit your needs perfectly, and if you buy used you'll come in well under $800, $500 is more likely.

Christian

[mrmando]

I really wanted the Fender Deluxe but couldn't afford it, so I got the Blues Jr. For $800, though, you could get the Deluxe and have enough left over for dinner and a show.

[wmr]

I am currently using a musicman 210-65 Tube rectifier not solid state). Fender twin reverb 65 reissue and a ampeg jet 12-T for the smaller gigs. I play a 5 string Rono with dual Bill Lawerence humbuckers and a 5 string Mannn with seymour Duncan coolrails & a fender electric 8 string with a SD coolrails as well. I must add that I run any of these configurations thry my pedalBoard. Which contains EB volumepedal>Buddah Wah>Fulltone fulldrive2>Fulltone Distortion Pro>MXR envlopeFIlter>Boss Octave oc-2>LIne 6 DL-4 Delay.

I also play a godin a-8 straigh thru a genz-benz acoustic amp.

[mandroid]

My Nice Little Fender 60s Vibrochamp is up for adoption, Nice tube tones,
plus...a vibrato on/off button, my homemade remote box...
all for $300 + something for shipping.

[Dennis Schubert]

Fender Princeton Reverb or Deluxe Reverb, original point-to-point wired models thru the 80's, not the reissues. The '65 and earlier blackfaces are mighty expensive, but the later silverface models are within your price range. Take care of either one of these, and you are almost guaranteed to get your money back if/when you decide to sell in the future.

[Proghead]

thank you all for the imput..i'm looking at a new Behringer BG412S Ultrastack speaker cabinet..four 12 inch Bugera speakers at 400 watt rating, and it's for 280$ on Zzounds.com!
i'd have to figure out what amp Head to get for it..but it's so cheap and has such a good reputation!
what do you think guys?

[Dfyngravity]

if you are looking for a state of the art amp under 800, than i would go with a VOX. there is a new line out, go to their website and check it out. if you want the head, look for the VOX AD60VTH or the AD120VTH, you can switch between 16 different amps, with tones of effects. you can listen to it on the website. truely an amazing amp. im getting ready to buy the VOX AD50VT which is a combo. this is where it is at!!! great amp

[Treblemaker]

I have played amplified mandolin since around 1993. I own a '72 Fender Twin Reverb, a '64 Vibro Champ, an '86 Boogie Mark III and a Maxi Mouse battery powered amp.

I have found the twin is not well suited to Emando or even my Fishman, Piezo enabled Flatiron F. The tone is as wide as the Grand Canyon and the amp seems to work best when cranked and therefore is too unwieldy to be useful in most contexts - unless I am playing my Tele.

The Vibro Champ is great for small clubs - totally portable and has good, even tone - though somewhat lacking in bass as it is only like 5 Watts.

The Maxi-Mouse is fine for street work or in a pinch - but that's it's utility.

The Boogie Mark III is totally recommendable for Emando. It's got GOBS of headroom and can be switched from 60 to 100 watts on the fly. The tube tone is punchy and direct and the onboard EQ works great. This is the sh*t folks.

One other recommendation - as a formerly touring player I have used the Fender Blues Jr. Amp and this is another terrific tube amp with a small footprint and a great deal of mojo for amplifying a mandolin.

Finally, my not-so-secret weapon of choice is the Alesis Nano-verb. This $100 box serves as a handy preamp - boosting the input signal into whatever amp I use and provides a great, floaty reverb if set to Hall 2 with the mix at 9 O'Clock and the output at 3 (with input and adjust at 12).

Treblemaker (who rarely posts here)

[Dfyngravity]

I have a Fender Princeton 112 Plus if anyone is interested in a pretty decent amp that is very loud, 65watts with overdrive. New amp on the way so I no longer need this one. PM me if you are interseted or just email me at dfyngravity@comcast.net. Any reasonable offer, looking to get about $150 or so out of it.

[Billiam]

if you are looking for a state of the art amp under 800, than i would go with a VOX. there is a new line out, go to their website and check it out. if you want the head, look for the VOX AD60VTH or the AD120VTH, you can switch between 16 different amps, with tones of effects. you can listen to it on the website. truely an amazing amp. im getting ready to buy the VOX AD50VT which is a combo. this is where it is at!!! great amp
Funny you should mention the Vox. I bought the bottom-of-the-line AD15VTH to give voice to my Mandobird. I like it. Plenty of choices of tone and effects to keep me amused, and I really only play for my own amusement. But do you really want lots of digitally modeled gimmicks (okay, the Vox uses analog modeling too), or the amp that has THE tone you want?

[jmkatcher]

When my last tube amp took ill, I seriously considered a Vox AD amp as a replacement (being somewhat tired of debugging tube amps). I tried an AD60VTX while auditioning amps and it just didn't measure up to the tube amps. They have a really really bad reliability record too. BTW, the new AC30 sounds wonderful and is priced well, but is very high maintenance (e.g. you have to desolder the speaker(s) to get access to the tubes).

[mmukav]

Although I'm new to the e-mando game, I'll throw out my 2 cents.
I'm playing my mandobird 4-string through a Peavey Delta Blues. All-tube, under $500. Sounds great! Found a really sweet combination with reverb and vibrato.....whoa!
I think the tubes really warm up the sound, especially an instrument such as this with lots of highs.
Next band practice I'll try it through a Fender solid state M-80, with one clean channel and one very crunchy channel. I'll let you know what that sounds like.
Mike

[Ken Sager]

I played a gig last Friday night with my cheap Fender 5-string emando rigged with a Roland GK2 synth pickup through my Roland KC-300 (12" 100w) keyboard amp. I use a Digitech GP14 signal processor to give me a tube stack sound for the emando signal, and the GR-33 synth has effects built in for the synth signal. I can mix the two on the amp (four inputs) and set a good stage volume and send a blended signal to the mixing board for the PA. It rocked. Hard. The Roland keyboard amps are pretty flat so with your favorite tube effects you can do pretty much anything. There is nothing better than playing fat B3 organ, bass, grand piano, and electric guitar on a tiny little mandolin. Nothing better.

Best,
Ken

[Strange1]

I use, and have used for about 15 yrs, a 1970 Deluxe Reverb Fender (tube, of course) for my 1959 Fender 4 string elec. It gets the best sound of all that I have tried. I use a little bit of chorus with it too. Prior to 15 yrs ago, I used a varity of amps.

Jack