B-52 Amplifiers - Opinions?

[RacerX]

So avoid all those then.

[JACKSONFREAK]

B52s are made in the U.S.A. and designed by Bruce Egnator. At least some of the stealth series was. The AT series are really good amps for the money. Yo get Fender clean, Marshall/Mesa type distortion with more clearity than a triple rectumfrier. With the switchable effects loop and variable rectifier you can get almost an ysound you want out of them. The AT112 just came in yesturday so i had to check it out. and i was impressed. Although the AT212 has a bit more flexability with the extra gain stages each with its own volume control. They sound great just may need some new tubes to sit individual tastes. And they make thier own speakers too. Although the green back idea sounds pretty good as would Vintage 30's I tried a AT100 head on a Marshall V30 cab and it sounded Killer. We sell quite a few and i havnt seen any come back yet > Well at least not the newest version. The old ones had an issue with the reverb shorting out and doin weird things but they fixed that.
Great amp for the money and they sound good with a distortion pedal in front of them too.
Gil

[voodooamps]

I've heard studio clips of a voodoo modded Fender Vibrochamp that you would swear was a wall of highly modified Marshall stacks turned up to ten after the magic of studio mixing got through with the tone.

We mic'ed a GT75 Celestion, the mic went into a mic-pre, then straight into the computer. The only thing we added was a touch of reverb and a touch of delay on some leads. With that said there is no studio trickery involved, granted there is 4 stages of gain (it's very much a high gain amp) but no studio trickery, no pedals and no outboard gear used.



Hope it helps
Trace

[Twisteramps]

The voodoo modded vibrochamp I had hung really well with other high gain amps I've owned... but it didn't have an fx loop and was one channel only. But it was a great amp. Sounded better than most marshalls to me!

[zeegler]

I have an AT100. I think it's one of the early ones. When I bought it, the reverb was screwed up, and the amp sounded like fried ass. I took it to my local amp guru, and left it there. I was not in a hurry to get it back. After several months, he fixed it, and I took it home. I've been using it ever since. It sounds fantastic. I AM a little nervous of it breaking down again, but it's been flawless since I got it back so far, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'll be using it for a gig Saturday, so I'll report back and let you know how it survived.

The AT100 has a great clean channel unlike a lot of high gain amps, plus it has 2 separate high gain channels, and the effects loop has send/return level trim pots. On top of that, it has tri-mode rectification, which means you can choose between tube mode A, tube mode AB, or solid state rectification. That gives you a lot of versatility, plus the resonance control can add thunderous amounts of low end if you want it. I can't rave about the reliability, but the amp is certainly well designed, packed with features, and very user-friendly. If the reliability issues have been ironed out in the newer ones, then it's definitely worth checking into.

[Guitardude86]

Infernus may have played B52's during the recording of Gorgoroths latest album, but he asked me if I was interested in buying it from him sometime last year. Not that I wasn't interested but I didn't have the money at the time.. As usual.

[mhenson42]

Hold out for a Bugera.

[Sinistas]

My band's other guitarist has an AT100, and gets awesome tone.

[voodooamps]

The voodoo modded vibrochamp I had hung really well with other high gain amps I've owned... but it didn't have an fx loop and was one channel only.

We could add send/return jacks on the rear panel but of course one would need some form of a clean boost to increase the signal level as there is no room for a tube buffered effects loop (those Vibro Champs are mighty small--ha, ha) but it could be done.

But it was a great amp. Sounded better than most marshalls to me!

I’m glad you liked it Pete! I've always enjoyed your playing and phrasing (Pete is a great player for those who may not already know).



Be good!
Trace

[kelly user]

B52s are made in China. Avoid.

odd, they have a big sticker on them that says "Made in the USA"

[Jack The Riffer]

I have an AT-112 and it serves it's purpose for what I use it for. Has some nice crunch. I haven't tried dialing in any clean tones yet.

[Dreamland_Rebel]

wow, trace joind the board. hell yeah!

[Goolash]

I have the at-100, really like the tone I get out of it. My reverb did screw up, doesnt really matter I dont use reverb. But, know my footswitch has stopped workin. Not really upset or anything, I have a 5 year warranty with the amp so I'm going to take it to get the footswitch fixed or replaced. I still like the amp as long nothing serious goes wrong with it. I think alot of it being that they havent been building amps for to long, I knew this when I bought it. Thats why I made sure to get a good warranty. I'll report back later if anything else happens.

[zeegler]

Yeah, Goolash you should get all the problems fixed since you have the warranty. I was lucky, my tech had my amp for a long time, and made some tiny marks on the tolex. He was so worried that he had messed up my amp, he didn't charge me for the repair. The problems with your footswitch are probably in the amp itself. The footswitch is pretty much indestructible.

[Goolash]

Yeah Zeegler, that is what the guy at the repair shop said. He was saying that it is probably the jacks for the footswitch.