In *theory* I love the “Plexi” sound. To be more precise, I mean the Marshall Super Lead over-driven sound. Every time I try a profiled one of these amps on my Tone X profiler, it’s my go-to sound. Everytime I hear someone demoing one online – it’s the sound I’m looking for. I also quite like the sound of a Marshall JTM 45 as a pedal platform (again based on online demos), so much so that I have a JTM 45 pedal I use in front of my Fender amp, and I really dig it.
So, I figured it was time to dip my toes into the “plexi” world by buying some amps based on the plethora of demos I’ve seen online. I’ve tried the PRS HDX, the Tone King Royalist, and the Marshall Vintage 20 Studio. I’ve even tried the Plexi’s granddaddy, the Bassman, and its russian clone, the MIG. Here’s what I’ve decided. I don’t like a “real Plexi”.
Now before you immediately jump to the comment section to spout off about how these amps need to cranked to sound good, and that the cabinet really matters I already know that. But even cranked these amps just don’t sound good to me. There’s a harmonic to the gain that I find especially displeasing, an overtone that doesn’t sound musical. That overtone can be tamed a bit by dialing back the middle frequencies, but it’s always going to be there. I have cabs with Celestion Greenbacks, Celestion V30s, and Creambacks – all speakers that I love, but they don’t “fix” the tone on all the “plexis” I’ve tried.
The real frustration is this. Trying out amps before you buy them these days is a real chore. If you’re anything like me, you’re main music shop is Guitar Center. If you don’t want a Boss Katana, a Fender combo, a Vox combo, or an Orange Crush, you’re kind of out of luck. The independent mom and pop stores tend to carry a small selection of amp brands they’re particularly fond of, and if you don’t want one of those you’re again up a smelly creek without a paddle. What happens is that you end up buying an amp online and then returning it if you don’t like it. Many stores accept returns, but they don’t pay for the shipping back. So, you basically end up spending $65 or more each time you want to try an amplifier. This has been my life the last few months trying to find an amp I like.
So why do I love the Super Leads on my profiler but not the real thing? And if I like them in my profiler so much, why do I care about getting a real one? Obviously, the amp sound from the profiler is idealized, and is coming out of my studio monitors. It sounds like a recorded amp should sound. I know I wouldn’t get that out of a real amp being played loud in the room, but I at least thought I could get it close. As far as the second question goes, the answer is simple. I like tube amps. I like how they look, how they glow, how the hot tubes smell. I like the switches and knobs. I wish I could be happy with just a profiler with a bunch of built in amp sounds, but I just love amps too much.
What’s the lesson here? I guess what I’ve learned (and I don’t like it) is that I need to buy amps from Guitar Center online. That way if I don’t like it, I can just take it back to the local store without any shipping fees. That will unfortunately cause me to lose out on some deals however, but I guess it really isn’t a deal if I have to pay shipping to return the amp if I don’t like it. I just can’t deal with the gamble anymore.