Who here has owned all the major British amp brands?

[FleshOnGear]

Marshall, Vox, Hiwatt, Orange, Laney…

Which ones stand out to you? Particularly regarding vintage examples. I have an old Orange and an old Marshall, and they definitely stand apart in tone. I love them both! I think I’m mainly wondering if Hiwatts, Laneys and Voxes (and maybe other lesser known brands) have similarly unique sonic fingerprints.

It will be a long time before I can make another major amp purchase, but I’m thinking a Vox or Hiwatt might be up next. Both of those brands went through some significant circuit changes over the years, AFAIK, so I guess I’ll need to do a lot of research to decide which vintage to seek. Though, I’m thinking a late 90’s Vox would be fine for me. Please share any British amp experience.

 

[neikeel]

Me (and I guess a lot of others here too).
If it helps I’ve kept my 64 Vox AC30T, 65 JTM45, couple of Hiwatts (CP103 and JP) 66 spec Matamp S2000. I’ve sold my Laneys 100 and 60 but had a v early 60 alloy chassis that was stellar after I serviced it - v sad to see it go.
Vampowers, Orange 100s Matamp 100s Nolan’s Sound City 100s have all come and gone (I’d loved to have kept more but……).

 

[BlueX]

I'm not really qualified to reply in this thread, but the Vox AC-10 Segeborn plays in this video has one of the sweetest sounds I've ever heard. Think this amp was for sale at Musikbörsen Göteborg at that time. Very close to hit the buy button.

 

[FleshOnGear]

Me (and I guess a lot of others here too).
If it helps I’ve kept my 64 Vox AC30T, 65 JTM45, couple of Hiwatts (CP103 and JP) 66 spec Matamp S2000. I’ve sold my Laneys 100 and 60 but had a v early 60 alloy chassis that was stellar after I serviced it - v sad to see it go.
Vampowers, Orange 100s Matamp 100s Nolan’s Sound City 100s have all come and gone (I’d loved to have kept more but……).

I had a feeling you’d chime in. Thanks! I know that the Orange OR120 ended up not being your cup of tea, but I love mine. We’ve chatted about your Series 2000 before. I’m guessing that it would be very difficult for me to find one, though I’ve considered the current Series 3000 offering (which I would hope is similar). I’m curious if you’ve owned other Hiwatts and Voxes, and if so, what made the CP103, JP, and the 64 Vox keepers over the others?

 

[Crikey]

Marshall, Vox, Hiwatt, Orange, Laney…

Which ones stand out to you? Particularly regarding vintage examples. I have an old Orange and an old Marshall, and they definitely stand apart in tone. I love them both! I think I’m mainly wondering if Hiwatts, Laneys and Voxes (and maybe other lesser known brands) have similarly unique sonic fingerprints.

It will be a long time before I can make another major amp purchase, but I’m thinking a Vox or Hiwatt might be up next. Both of those brands went through some significant circuit changes over the years, AFAIK, so I guess I’ll need to do a lot of research to decide which vintage to seek. Though, I’m thinking a late 90’s Vox would be fine for me. Please share any British amp experience.

Brit brands
Marshall/Park
Vox
Orange
Hiwatt
Laney

Whod i leave out?

 

[FleshOnGear]

Brit brands
Marshall/Park
Vox
Orange
Hiwatt
Laney

Whod i leave out?

Some others:
Matamp (briefly associated with Orange)
Sound City (designed early on by Dave Reeves before he started Hiwatt)
Simms-Watts

 

[Stefan_E]

Yes, I have actually...but barely
I had a pocket Hiwatt that was maybe 1 W and ran on batteries. Hardly a Custom 50...
I also owned a Laney Linebacker 50 maybe 35 years ago, which was hardly comparable to a classic Supergroup.

But...I own vintage Marshall and Orange, and I had a Vox AC30 for a few years. They are very different brands and I really like them all for different sounds. You should try them all.

 

[AlvisX]

Very early 80s Laney Pro Tubes (Pre AOR series) are absolute killers and basically Marshalls
They were still fairly inexpensive when I got 'em . Not an easy find in the uSA these days

These are like a 2203 /2204 / 1992 ,top to bottom



Ive enjoyed taking Partridge equipped Sound City 50s and building Tweed bassman preamps in there ...for great results
I got these for 200 bucks in the 90s

 

[playloud]

Some others:
Matamp (briefly associated with Orange)
Sound City (designed early on by Dave Reeves before he started Hiwatt)
Simms-Watts

A few more I'm aware of:
Watkins
Carlsbro
Roost
Jennings
Kelly (first name John, not to be confused with Jim Kelley in the US)
Fenton-Weill
Burns
Bird

It's crazy how many old amps there are out there that can still be found for next to nothing, if not free. And you often get high-quality transformers, components and valves (eg. Mullard EL34s) as part of the deal.

Back before the wave of globalization/free trade which started in the 80s, many countries had a whole amp scene of their own - even outliers like New Zealand. Here's a page on Australian amps that's a real gem too.

 

[nortiks]

Ive enjoyed taking Partridge equipped Sound City 50s and building Tweed bassman preamps in there ...for great results
I got these for 200 bucks in the 90s

How much of the sound do you attribute to the Partridge OT? I have a Hiwatt clone coming in from Ceriatone and almost bought it without the output transformer thinking to get a Partridge reissue from Mercury Magnetics, but figured I try Nik's stock transformer before pulling the trigger on the reissue... Would like to hear your thoughts since you've messed with them first hand.

 

[Ufoscorpion]

Had a Selmer ( don’t think Selmer have been mentioned ) treble and bass years ago . There’s also Vampower as used by Marc Bolan and HH if we’re counting solid state , lol .

 

[JohnH]

I can only speak with minimal experience, but I'd expect that Vox may be the most uniquely different as compared to the other main UK brands? due to the classic tone being derived from EL84's with no NFB.

 

[Lily_Taeko74]

I've owned mostly combos Marshall, Laney, Orange and Vox. I love my JCM900, 1974x combo, JCM2000 TSL 122 as it covers everything from late 60s up til 80s brit metal. Owned a Vox AC30 and a Vox AC100CPH which I really love but sold it. I love Laney's take on the Vox combos which was the VC series which were made in the UK and had a more modernized setup. Orange amps I briefly flew with the AD5 and the Rocker 30 which are sweet amps in their own right but didn't stay long in my lineup. I briefly borrowed a Hiwatt 100 watt head for a string of shows some 8-10 years back, sweet amp. Ran it through my 412, found them to be darker than my Marshall with some low to low mid growl. Also can't forget Blackstar, I bought my Artisan 15 on the cheap like $315 I believe. I love that its a 1974x and an AC15 combination of tones. Had I knew I would love it I would've hunted for the Artisan 30 before prices climbed faster than gas prices

 

[CO_Denial]

I have had VOX, Marshall, Orange, and Laney. I still have My JCM2000 TSL122 and recently purchased a Laney Black Country 60 watt Ironheart. The Laney has become the favorite of any amp I've owned. All of the above were excellent sounding amps for one purpose or another. This Laney does everything extremely well. That distinctive British drive is very much present. It does high gain very well, and was mainly marketed for that. It also does a pristine clean and a classic overdrive... and any other sound I've tried to achieve... without breathing heavy. As far as longevity.... my original JCM900 burnt a tube or two, but was still rocking without other incident when I sold it. All of the other amps had problems after a while. The Laney is new enough that I can't answer that. I'm 52 now.... ask me in 30 years.

 

[danfrank]

I have never owned any of the originals because I’m cheap but I have built:

Marshall JTM45 & 45/100
SL100
SB100
2203
2204
PIG200 (early Major)

Vox AC30
AC50

Orange
Original 80watt, can’t remember the model number… From the ‘70s

Laney
T&B

Hiwatt DR103
DR 504
DR201

Vox amps are their own thing, mainly because they don’t use negative feedback in their circuit, sound good especially with a Rickenbacker guitar plugged in. Nice Jangly cleans but tend to break up early, mainly because of the no NFB circuit.

Marshalls are nice! A great chunka chunka chunka amp, especially the 2203/2204 amps.

Orange are lame, sound great with everything on “10”, sounds like early Black Sabbath… Which is funny because I don’t think Iomi used Orange amps

Hiwatt, I gotta say is the best sounding UK amp. It is unbelievable sounding! Great harmonics, LOUD, clean but will break up nicely (EL34 amps). KT88 Hiwatts are clean clean clean! Great for guitar and bass.

 

[purpleplexi]

I had a Wem Dominator and a Selmer treble'n bass 50. So don't tell me....

 

[playloud]

I can only speak with minimal experience, but I'd expect that Vox may be the most uniquely different as compared to the other main UK brands? due to the classic tone being derived from EL84's with no NFB.

It definitely stands out because Dick Denney designed the AC circuit (AC15 originally) through experimentation, rather than copying an existing circuit (cf. Marshall with the JTM45 or even 18W).

Dave Reeves deserves similar credit, particularly for his unique phase inverter design.