How many amps have you played

[Gary Steele]

Not for any debate. Just your opinion. What is the sweetest rig you have played thru. Iv had most. Im pretty crazy about my Paul Franklin LITTLE WALTERS
not sure you can beat them. I have about every popular effect. Using a nuX Atlantic and it honks. The amp steel seems to have a little bit of honk. Man it is killer. I dont need numbers on my knobs. Its all ears.

[Dave Grafe]

In 50+ years...

Epiphone Challenger
Fender Bassman 1959 4x10" with outboard Fender reverb tank
Fender Super Reverb x 2
Fender Pro Reverb
Fender Vibrolux
Fender Vibroverb x 3
Fender Vibrosonic x 2
Fender Twin Reverb
Furman PQ3/Lexicon PCM70/SAE P50
Revelation Preamp/Lexicon PCM60/Yamaha P2250
Randall "Steel Man" SGA500 x 3
Webb 6-14e x 3
Roland JC120
Quilter TB202 (currently have 2)
Quilter SuperBlock US

Most of these were loaded with JBL speakers. I probably left something out but all of these were decent. Best sounding? Everything with a JBL sounded excellent IMHO, the Twin Reverb, Super Reverb and Vibroverb were immensely fun, the Randall and Webb immensely clean and loud. The Quilters sound great and are the only amps on the list light enough for me to carry up and down the front stairs after my hernia operation.

[Dennis Detweiler]

Over the past 55 yrs:
Fender Super 6
Session 400
Revelation Pre - Crown Power Amp
MXR M81 EQ Pedal - Quilter 200 and 201 power Blocks
TC Electronic BG 250
I've experimented with others, but these are the amps or rigs that I've used on stage or in the studio. The amp that I've used the most over the years and still own is a 1974 Session 400. Speaker choices make a difference with each amp. I tried a Session 400 Limited once and couldn't zero in on my tone unless I used an equalizer.

[Dale Rottacker]

Fender Twin w/2 12" Jensens early mid 70's
Session 400 Limited
Session 500
Sarno Revelation
Crown 1002 Power Amp
Quilter Steelaire Rackmount
Session 400 1976
Fender 64 Dual Showman
Telonic's Super Twin 500-C
Bad Dawg p2p Twin
Quilter 202 ToneBlock w/12" & 15" Cabinets.

Was able to get great tone out of all of them with the exception, and most challenging being the Limited.

[Fred Treece]

5 or 6. Couple Fenders, Mesa Boogie, Roland, Carvin, and my current workhorse Katana 100. I have sounded terrible through all of them, yet I kept getting hired to play.

[Dave Grafe]

In addition to my list of personal amps above, when I was doing fly dates I specified a Peavey Nashville 400 or Session 500, both of which were excellent and dependable backline units.

[Richard Sinkler]

Pretty much in order of ownership.

1. Fender Twin Reverb with JBLs
2. Peavey Session 400 (Pile of junk - worst amp I owned)
3.Peavey Session 500 - great amp but too heavy and awkward to carry.
4.Furman Sound PQ-3 Parametric EQ/preamp with a Furman RV-1 rackmount real spring reverb, Peavey power amp into the JBL in that dead Session 400. My favorite amp setup out of all of these.
5. A couple of times I used an Evans Preamp into the power amp and JBL.
6. Peavey Nashville 400 with the Ken Fox Intense Mod (new in 1984 and I still use it today).
7. Peavey Nashville 112 with a TT12 speaker. (I switch off between the 112 and 400).
8. I tried a Mark Bass head into the speaker of my NV400. Worst mistake ever.
9. In the late 80s, I also used a Peavey Studio Pro 50 with a JBL along with my NV400. I also played keyboards and had all my synths and my steel guitar going through a line mixer, a rack mount effects unit, stereo out too the 2 amps. That was a sweet setup too. A Studio Pro with a JBL is pretty nice for steel. The stock speaker was not so great.

I think that's all.

[Lee Baucum]

Going back to about 1972:

Fender Bassman
Fender Twin Reverb
Fender Dual Showman
Peavey Session 400
Peavey Session 500
Peavey Nashville 400
Fender Vibrosonic
Evans FET-500 LV
Fender Steel King
Roland Cube 80XL

My Evans was built for me back in 1985. It's still awesome.

[Doug Beaumier]

A lot in the past 55 years:

Silvertone
Standel (solid state)

Fender
Vibrolux Reverb
Twin Reverb
Vibroverb
Super Reverb
Steel King

(and for guitar)
tweed, narrow panel Deluxe
Princeton Reverb
Deluxe Reverb

Peavey
Session 400
Session 500
Nashville LTD
Vegas 400
Nashville 112
Nashville 1000

Quilter
Steelaire
TT-12
TT-15
Mach III

I’ve been an all-Quilter man since 2014. I currently have just two amps: TT-15 and TT-12. And a spare 202 head. So I have three Tone Block 202 heads (two in cabinets and a separate one). The 202 is so versatile, lightweight, well built, and it sounds great. Dare I say… tube-like tone.

[Chris Robbins]

Nashville 1000 sold it, Nashville 112 ,still have it ,Fender steel king ,sold it ,Quilter toneblack, sold it ,Sarno Revelation with world 1.2 power , will never sell it ,Milkman half and half head ,would sell it if someone wants one.Katana ,hated it, sold it.Walker stereo steel ,sold it .A second Sarno Revelation and Im done .

[Brett Day]

From 1999 to 2003, I used a Peavey Rage 108 amplifier used for various instruments, then in 2003, I used a Fender Champion 30, and I'm currently using a Peavey Nashville 112-the Nashville 112 has been my main amplifier for 21 years.

[Dan Beller-McKenna]

This feels more like an admission of guilt than an accounting. In my defense, I am willing to buy an amp and give it a try, and willing to move on if it isn't suiting my needs.

I am only listing here amps that I had long enough to play more than one gig on. I did not include another half dozen or so that never made it out of the house. Nor did I list amps for other instruments. The ones in bold were primary amps for one or more years. The list is roughly chronological, but since 2010 or so, I have tended to own multiple amps at once, each for a different purpose, so there is a lot of overlap. (There was that time in 2012 that I owned three tube Twin Reverbs and a Dual Showman head in various stages of conversion at the same time:)

twins.JPG

I still own that '71 Twin (acquired around 2010) in the funky head cabinet. It is probably my best sounding amp when paired with my JBL 15 in a cab, but it never gets used because on any gig that is loud enough for the twin to be turned up to 4 or 5, where it starts to sing, I'm going to be in the PA and don't need that sort of stage volume (call it the Leo Paradox).

In addition to that Twin, I currently own the last three in the list . The Marsh is my favorite among them. Beautiful tone and plenty loud for all occasions, but it has an XLR out with very good speaker emulation. The Tone Masters each have their own place, and both get used a lot (I sold one of the Twin TMs to buy the Deluxe TM.) I have sold and then reacquired a few of these models, and I keep my eye out for a Toneblock 202 at a discount--that was a good sounding amp that I would like to carry around as a backup. There are still other amps I'd like to try. I played through someone else's Milkman Pedal Steel Mini at a show once and thought it was fantastic; we'll see what the future holds.

70s-80s
Fender Twin Reverb (SF ‘71)
Roland Cube 60 (orange)
Music Man 112
Lab Series (forget which model)

Since 2005
Peavey Backstage Plus
Peavey Heritage
Fender Evil Twin
Fender Twin Reverb (Reissue)
Fender Twin Reverb (Ultra linear ‘77)
Fender Twin Reverb (SF ’71)
Fender Twin Reverb (SF ’75)
Fender Dual Showman Head (’71)
Peavey Special 130
Pevaey Nashville 400 (two of them)
Peavey Session 40
Peavey LTD 400
Peavey Nashville 112
Peavey Session 500 (Head only)
Ampeg BA 112
Roland Cube 60 (owned about four or five of these)
Carvin BX 250
DV Mark micro 50
DV Mark Little 250
DV Mark Jazz 12
Quilter Mircopro 200 (12” combo)
Quilter Mircopro 200 (head)
Quilter Mircopro Mach 2 (head)
Fender Deluxe Reverb (reissue)
Quilter Tone block 202 (and Blockdock 12)
Quilter Aviator Mach III
Fender Twin Reverb Tone Master (two of them)
Marsh Mello-Verb Junior
Fender Deluxe Reverb Tone Master

[Bobby Martin]

'72 Fender Super Reverb w/JBLs bought new, '78 135w Twin w/JBLs bought new, '93 Re-issue '65 Deluxe Reverb w/JBL bought new, '96 Custom Vibrasonic Steel amp bought new, Fender Champion 40 w/Eminence up-grade speaker, '95 Custom Blonde Vibrolux Reverb w/Fromel mod and JBL D-110s, brand new Blonde Deluxe Reverb Tone Master. All-time favorite, '78 JBL Twin - recently sold, way too heavy nowdays. Love my Fender reverb amps!

[Jack Stanton]

Hello, my name is Jack and i'm a (amplifier)addict....
More or less in order:
1.Fender Twin Reverb w/ Orange JBL's
2.Black Webb that burst into flames on stage- one of the greatest sounding ever
3.Red Webb that replaced it- one of the worst sounding ever.
4.Evans Fet-500. Never could make friends with this one.
5.1st year Peavey Nashville 400-Great sounding amp. Was stolen. Probably owned 3-4 other Nashville's over the years trying to find one that sounded as good.
6.Session 400- owned several till found a '74 (1st year) that sounds great. After blowing the JBL 3X's I put an EPS-15 in it. Still have this one.
7.Peavey LTD-400- Tried several, settled on a '74 (1st year- there's a pattern emerging) with the EPS-15. Great grab & go amp. Still have it, needs a cap job.
8. Milkman Half & Half- most beautifully built amp I ever saw. Couldn't tame the reverb so I sold it. I understand Tim Marcus addressed the problem on latter models. Kinda wish I reached out to him before I sold it...
9. Peavey 112- couldn't get rid of it fast enough.
10. Quilter Steel Air- Nope
11. FYD Town & Country Octal Tube preamp w/ 100watt Fryette power amp . Ridiculously heavy, was hoping the mid shift would work like the Session 400. To my ears it didn't, but it was a great sound.
12.. Quilter TT-12 Nope, although I loved the size. Still would like to try the 15" model
13.. Little Walter 89 w/ 12" & 15" Paul Franklin Speakers. Great sound. Big & heavy with a sound to match. Still have it.
14,15 &16- Standels! Yesterday's technology today! All Transistor- Started with a Studio XII with a JBL K-120, only 20 watts but records spectacularly, Classic XV w/ a JBL K-130, two channels, no reverb, but the greatest tremolo you ever heard. Lastly, an Artist XV that's a head only that I'm having a 15" cabinet built for it. Same power platform as the Classic, but only 1 channel w' reverb. Both amps are 70 watts and if you don't have the amps miked they can struggle in really loud situations, which I'm thinking is one of the reasons everybody started going over to Peavy's in the 70's. Still have all three.

All that said, I brought the Little Walter, just with 1- 12" out to a gig the other night with a guitar player I work with a lot and has heard many of these amps and he said he thinks the Little Walter is the best sound I've ever had. His exact words were " The Standels have a sound, but the Little Walter sounds the best". Your millage may vary.

Oh, and PS- I still sound like me through all of them.

[Fred Treece]

This thread reminds me of the time a bandmate asked me how many girlfriends I’d had. When I told him he laughed and said I was practically a virgin. Funnier to me cuz I thought I was a slut.

I guess some of you guys had more money and time to spend it in music stores than I did!

[Dave Hopping]

Can't even begin to think of all the six-string and bass amps I've owned/used, but for steel here are the top three:

2019 Milkman PS300 Half & Half. Sounds gorgeous, great build quality, nice and light.
'80s Peavey Session 500. Sounds as good as the Milkman but I'd need a forklift to carry it around.
'06-ish Fox-chipped Peavey Nashville 112. Sounds OK, and it was my grab-and-go before the Milkman.

Two honorable Mentions:
2014 Fender Twin-Reverb Custom 15. Now in a head cab paired with a '64 Bassman speaker cab with JBL D-120F's. Heavy but nice old-school. Love me some blondes!
'81 Music Man 212HD-150 combo, with Eminence Legends. Also really heavy but sounds great and loud like a Pratt & Whitney JT-8.

[Dave Grafe]

I guess some of you guys had more money and time to spend it in music stores than I did!

My Quilter TT12 is the only amp I ever bought new in a store, everything else was purchased used from a fellow musician with the exception of a thrashed Super Reverb I found in a pawnshop and rebuilt. Almost all the gear I have ever owned required selling other gear to raise the funds as I expanded my knowledge of what best serves my needs.

[Fred Treece]

I guess some of you guys had more money and time to spend it in music stores than I did!

My Quilter TT12 is the only amp I ever bought new in a store, everything else was purchased used from a fellow musician with the exception of a thrashed Super Reverb I found in a pawnshop and rebuilt. Almost all the gear I have ever owned required selling other gear to raise the funds as I expanded my knowledge of what best serves my needs.

Same here.
That closing comment of mine looks a lot more snarky than I meant it.

[Dave Grafe]

[Dan Beller-McKenna]

What Dave said. When I started playing again in 2005 after 20+ years off, I made a deal with my wife that I got to keep all my gig money, but I had to buy my equipment from that. A lot of what I bought required selling something else I'd bought with gig money, plus more gig money.

Most of the amps in my list I bought on line. But I did buy some of the Quilters from a a friend/bandmate's store. I will probably do the same for future Fender stuff (different friend/band/store), although I like to think I'm done buying equipment.

[Buddie Hrabal]

1968 Sho-Bud (Evans Compactra 100)All tube, hand wired D-130
Evans HV-500 with Huey reverb boost circuit (Got Stolen)
Peavey Session 400 with BW-15
Peavey Session 500 with BW-15 Very heavy
Fender Twin 2-12's Nice but Heavy
Evans LV-500 Love it JBL-K130
Evans LV-500 4ohm SICA bass speaker (23 lbs less weight) Love it
It's my all time favorite. It's got tone and balls

[Paul Awalt]

Inorder since 1989:
Evans FET 500 (regret selling)
Fender Vibrosonic (sold)
Peavey 1000 (sold)
Peavey 112 (sold)
Milkman Half-Half (sold)
Telonics 500C (sold)
Little Walters 89', 12" Franklin (studio)
Milkman Pedal Steel Mini, 12" ReCon.JBL D120F by Tim (home)

[Donny Hinson]

I suppose I've mainly used 5 different amps over the years, but the particulars are unimportant because I'm a nobody. I probably own about 10 right now, But when I think of all the ones I've actually tried, I'm sure it would be around 75 or 80 of 'em. Some work better than others, but I'm not a gearhead, so I can manage with just about anything in a pinch.