Here we go............

Tube amp, soild state, 30 watts, 50 watts, 100 watts, good amps, bad amps,
overpriced amps, best bang for the buck amps. Let the discussion begin.....

I suppose a lot depends on the style of music you play, but my all time favorite guitar amp is the 100% tube-driven Atomic Space Tone from boutique amp builder Swart Amplification.

I got one of these in for review on my blog, but after spending three weeks with the amp I quite honestly couldn't bear parting with it, so I just bought it outright.

Tiny & light, with just 20-watts of power and a single 12" custom Mojotone speaker, the Atomic Space Tone is simply the most expressive amplifier I've had the pleasure to play. In fact, it blew my tweed Fender Blues Deluxe right out of the water––an amp that I was quite happy with until the AST came along.

Tube reverb. Tube tremolo. JJ5 AR4 rectifier. Dual JJ 6v6s for power. 12AX7 in the preamp. Carbon comp resistors. Tweed & Oxblood covering on a finger-jointed, hand-made pine cabinet.

I've never played such a soulful amplifier in my life, and it's surprisingly loud as well... I haven't taken it on stage as of yet, but I don't expect to have any trouble in a small club. A mic should take care of it if I do.

In fact, looking at Swart's website this morning I discovered that two of my favorite artists are playing the Atomic Space Tone as well––Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, and the incomparable Dean Wareham, currently of Luna, but previously frontman of one of my favorite bands of all time, Galaxie 500.

You can see my full review over on my blog: REVIEW: Swart's Immaculate Atomic Space Tone.

Not cheap, and probably not for the confirmed metal-head, but a tube-amp that absolutely blows the competition away, IMHO

Photos by Cary

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	Back-of-Atomic-Space-Tone.jpg (14.7 KB, 61 views)
	Atomic-Logo.jpg (11.0 KB, 60 views)

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egr :: guitar spoken here

I play bass, love tube amps, and have completely enjoyed the sound of my SVT since the first day that I used it back in 1972. I did triy a Standel (sp??) back in the old days. All transisters, didn't care for it.

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Willie
Houston, TX
ES-335
Fender Fretless Jazz
Ampeg SVT

My only amp is this 70s Peavey Backstage. I guess it's now a "vintage amp." It's been reliable for 25 years and with the right effects sounds pretty good...but a tube amp is definitely in my future.

Attached Images

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Wow...the look of that amp brings back memories. Growing up in the mid 80s, my friends and I all had those little Peavey amps. I had an Audition 20 and a Bandit at one point....I may have even played through a Backstage at one point in my high school career.

I must have went through 20 different effect pedals back then.... I used to have this funky Korg "Modular" thing with cartridge like pedals....also a whole bunch of the Boss pedals....particularly the "Digital Delay"...which back then was state of the art. I used to also use a "Rockman" for distortion and chorus at one point.

When I finally got a good tube amp (a Dean Markley), I seriously cut down on my effects!

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I'm still using a couple of old pedals, including a DOD Chorus and "Trash Master" distortion pedal (appropriately it's day-glow pink). I picked up an 84 Kramer Focus 2000 with an SD trembucker at the bridge and an original Floyd Rose. That guitar + the DOD + the Peavey = Hair Metal Heaven. I just have to make sure my wife is out of the house before I plug in...

I used to have an 82 Kramer Pacer Deluxe with the Floyd Rose... in green. It was the first really serious guitar that I had (prior to that I had a really cheap Kent Les Paul copy with a bolt on neck).... Soon after I got a Gold Top 30th Anniversary Les Paul (which I stupidly traded for an Ibanez Artist 335 when I went to college.... because the Les Paul was too heavy (I've seen them sell for 5 times what I paid for it in 1985). I traded the Kramer for a cheap Japanese Fender Strat with a locking tremelo. I also had a tricked out Charvel with a Floyd Rose, EMGs, and even a mirrored pick guard.... it was my main rock guitar for years. My non-playing buddy in LA is "holding" the Charvel for me to inspire his kid to play.... I'm in no rush to get it back. During that period I got a "green" Takamine acoustic with a stereo piezo system.

In college, I got introduced to serious Strats and Teles (although not serious enough to buy vintage).... At one point I had the funky Roland Guitar Synth (the silver one with the stabilizing bar). I got a standard USA Strat in about 1990, and put a Roland guitar synth pickup in it (ruining it). I got a great Mexican Telecaster in 1995 with a humbucker in the neck position (great instrument).....along with a Fender Jazz Bass. I also had a Martin Backpacker & a Yamaha classical.

I got rid of all of that stuff when I moved to/from Australia in the early 2000s, and played mostly acoustics for a while....Takamine Nylon, Seagull Steel string.... When I returned to the states, I again sold all my gear and decided to get guitars that would last me (right?!)....so I now have a real American Deluxe Strat, a Mexican Tele Nashville Power with great pickups, a trio of Line6 Variaxes + Taylor, Martin, Yamaha, & Larivee acoustics...plus an Ibanez 5 String bass.

23 guitars & 2 basses throughout my career...also, I did serious "test drives" with a Steinberger, a Martin 000, and a 2003 Highway One Strat....which were returned within a month of buying them for various issues.

I am currently longing for a vintage telecaster and a vintage feeling 335.

How's that for a history?

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THIS SPACE FOR RENT

Hehe... that old Peavey logo really does bring back memories. I bought one of their bass amps in the 80s, and then later used it as a serious workhorse for guitar. At one point I couldn't stand that cheesey logo anymore so we pulled it off, and replaced it with a chrome emblem that had fallen off of my old Valiant.

That amp sounded great with my buddy's early '80s Strat, and he put it to good use long after I had moved over to Fender tube amps... except for the occasional ear-splitting screech when we pushed it too far, that solid-state bass amp produced a really nice guitar tone––

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egr :: guitar spoken here

Love that Swart! Wow...

My fav amp of all time is my 66 Fender Princeton Reverb - it's a sparkling clean 5AR4/6V6 jewel. I've still got my '59 LP Jr, and the combination of 59 Jr and 66 Princeton Reverb is pure rockabilly heaven.

On stage I use a Roland Cube60. I love the variety of emu's and it's so deadgum easy to completely change settings on the fly. Highly recommended.

For overdubbing I use a Roland Micro-cube, direct into SONAR.

Also have a Marshall DSL-401 (tube) and a 1971 Kustom 100w (transistor) lead head too. Still a screamer.

Yeah, I really really like variety....

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"What it do, big pimpin??"

wow, sounds like you have some killer gear. You should post a photo of your LP jr. I'd love to see what that guitar looks like.