Last night I had the opportunity to play an American Standard Tele through a Matchless amp... or rather a small amp built by a guy that used to work for Matchless.

No pedals.
None necessary.

Godlike tone.

I need a rig like that.

Phil... if you're reading this, what was the make of that little amp?

Star Nova...

Maken'Music is the only dealer in IL, but they sell them for relatively cheap, about $825 with tax. Most dealers carry them for 900-1,000....

5 watt class A point to point Fender champ clone...

5 WATTS?
That thing cranked!

Watts are a funny thing, todd. Kinda like horsepower... putting a bus engine into a civic does no good if the wheels can't get the power to the ground.

That amp does it the brutal, inefficient, dirty, simple old way, and that's why it sounds so goddam good. Every note has a beginning, middle, and end. No more flat notes, or "coloring" your sound after the fact with effects... suddenly the guitar just sorta plays itself.

I'll "color" ya! Eat me, you slacker.

I think I commented on that last night, on how every damn note was really defined and you could hear each and every note in the chords I was playing, even just bashing it out with overdriven tubes.

I never use effects anyway -- normally just my 88 Squire Strat through a Peavey Delta Blues (single 15" model), which sounds pretty great. But this was a different beast, altogether.

...

drive 100 miles west, get Chuck(e)D's motorcycle out of storage, and have at it. You've got the weather for it.

Baseball practice. Where's my little green envy emoticon?

Those tube (tweed) peaveys do a fair job of imitating a good amp, as do the fender Hot Rod series. No mistake... better than average, and tons better than solid state or "modeling." But when you plug into the real deal, and get nasty, the exorbitant price tags suddenly start making sense. "Holy Shit" tone is painfully simple, and painfully expensive. Good guitar (standard american fender, et al), and a top-shelf badass amp. Done. It'll ruin ya on other amps, tho.

If I had the pocketbook for one of them sukkas, I'd be all over it.

But I don't think even a '58 Strat could ruin me on my main squeeze, "Susan."

She ain't pretty, but there's just something magical about her.

When they're right, they're right. My 89 usa tele is nothing amazing, but never fails to sound good, feel good, and stay the hell in tune. Some texas specials dropped in to give it teeth, and a replacement pickgaurd (tortoise, on lake placid blue), and it's just different enough that I don't see others just like it.

But yeah, I picked it up in a store in college, and couldn't bear the thought of anyone else getting it.

This thread needs a more descriptive title -- "Hey, look, actually music-related discussion!" -- or something.