Which Phaez for me?

[FennRx]

so i see all you guys ranting and raving about these amps. And I finally have a basement and a Marshall 1960 cab, so I'm thinking about getting a new or new-to-me amp. I'm looking for relatively low wattage; no 100w needed.

I play mostly 70s style hard rock and some old school British (American) Blues. Which Phaez would be a good fit for me? ( Feel free to post links to videos). Or perhaps I should just get a Class 5 head and save a few bucks?

[kingedb]

IT Department - Kill The Troll - YouTube

IT Department - Kill The Troll - YouTube

[FennRx]

umm, i'm not trolling. I'm really just to tired to go through hundreds of posts looking for advice.

I am intrigued by the SIBLY since I'm an admitted JP fanboy, but some of the videos on youtube really didn't wow me.

Here's what I know:

1) I have physically played a Class 5 and like it.
2) i've never played a Phaez and don't know anyone who has one
3) i can't play a phaez before I buy.

[FennRx]

and for further proof:

my new house


and my man cave with my new to me 1960 cab

[Batman]

A Daisycutter should meet your needs. The music you play is very similar to what I like to play and my DC-14 nails the tone and gain I am after to play this type of music. I picked mine up used for less than I can buy a Class 5.

[onioner]

I love the DC for classic rock tunes, indeed, it may be my favorite for the genre, but IMO, it aint a blues amp. The JTM inspired amps might be a better compromise.

Can you name some amps that you've tried that have the kind of tones your looking for, even if only vaguely? That would help.

[Tim Plains]

For your skill level, I recommend a battery operated Danelectro.

[ANEAS]

Originally Posted by FennRx

umm, i'm not trolling. I'm really just to tired to go through hundreds of posts looking for advice.

I am intrigued by the SIBLY since I'm an admitted JP fanboy, but some of the videos on youtube really didn't wow me.

Here's what I know:

1) I have physically played a Class 5 and like it.
2) i've never played a Phaez and don't know anyone who has one
3) i can't play a phaez before I buy.

This is true unless you know someone near you who will let you try a Phaez,you will have to do as many others have done take a leap of faith and buy one ..If you are Leary of this Idea then maybe a Phaez is not the Amp for you...I can understand not being able to audition a PRODUCT is a daunting idea ...What Randy does is building a custom amp to best fit your needs and style of play ,this can't be done by off the shelf products it is a hit and miss process ....if you ask everybody you will get many different choices ,this is something you must do by yourself,you pick what will make you happy in the end....Here on MLP there are a lot of happy Phaez owners so you may be swayed to buy one ,Phaez is a good amp at a reasonable price,if you get to play one then you may also become MLP Phaez supporter......JIM

[FennRx]

Originally Posted by onioner

I love the DC for classic rock tunes, indeed, it may be my favorite for the genre, but IMO, it aint a blues amp. The JTM inspired amps might be a better compromise.

Can you name some amps that you've tried that have the kind of tones your looking for, even if only vaguely? That would help.

i must admit i haven't played a whole lot of amps. I really like Clapton's tone on Beano, especially "All Your Love". And in that vein I also am a Freddie King fan; Texas Cannonball is just fantastic imo. I also really like JP's live and studio tones, as well as old school JTM-style ACDC.

I realize that this covers a wide range of tones and styles and I do not expect one amp to cover all of them. But since my budget is small (ie new house), I'm just looking for something that might be a nice compromise for when I'm sitting in my basement.

Originally Posted by R9.

For your skill level, I recommend a battery operated Danelectro.

You are such a dick. I'm surprised you didn't tell me to get 9 AFD Marshalls like AXE.

[rclausen]

I would say the DC or Jericho/Jackal. It seems like the SIBLY is more of a one trick pony and is hit or miss with their users. I have the Jericho and think its great. Take a little leap of faith and get one...you won't regret it

[Deftone]

I have a 14w DC and it's awesome. Very loud for 14w, (plenty for home use) nails Marshall tones and works great with pedals.

Or just email Randy, tell him what you want and prepare to be stunned.

[Standard 64]

Wow,ask a simple question and your first response is that your a troll. I have stayed away from the Jonestown kool aid around here,their are so many OTHER great,fantastic and better amps in this world to choose from.

[bluesymetalhead]

Originally Posted by FennRx

Here's what I know:

1) I have physically played a Class 5 and like it.
2) i've never played a Phaez and don't know anyone who has one
3) i can't play a phaez before I buy.

I was in the same boat as you, wasn't sure about buying an amp before playing it, and to be quite honest, no videos clips really cut it for me. But man did people make 'em out to be good!! I ended up just trolling the classifieds here and on TGP till a Phaez popped up, I jumped on it and lemme tell ya..... Best damn amp I ever had!! After buying it I sold my Peavey 6505+ 120w half stack and I am currently selling my Fender Hot Rod Deville 60w and will definetly be having a custom Phaez made to ordered in the near future. Love my Phaez. Try a Daisycutter. One thing that made me confident in buying a Phaez was that, if you notice, when a Phaez pops up on in the Classifieds here, it don't last long!!! So if ya don't like it, someone else will snatch it up....maybe even me

[kingedb]

Originally Posted by Standard 64

Wow,ask a simple question and your first response is that your a troll. I have stayed away from the Jonestown kool aid around here,their are so many OTHER great,fantastic and better amps in this world to choose from.

You troll therefore you are. Back in your hole Standard.

[kingedb]

Originally Posted by FennRx

umm, i'm not trolling. I'm really just to tired to go through hundreds of posts looking for advice.

I am intrigued by the SIBLY since I'm an admitted JP fanboy, but some of the videos on youtube really didn't wow me.

Here's what I know:

1) I have physically played a Class 5 and like it.
2) i've never played a Phaez and don't know anyone who has one
3) i can't play a phaez before I buy.

Cool man. You'll get some recommendations. Congrats on the house! Every man should have a mancave. It's a great feeling!!

[onioner]

Yup. I still think Jericho. Best compromise. Does the blues thing better, and definitely can do classic rock too. Probably the most popular Phaez these days.

Originally Posted by FennRx

Here's what I know:

1) I have physically played a Class 5 and like it.
2) i've never played a Phaez and don't know anyone who has one
3) i can't play a phaez before I buy.

I get that, but if you could play a Phaez next to a Class 5, you would laugh at yourself for even considering the latter. It does take a leap of faith, for sure, but those leaps can be rewarded. Seriously though, if you'd be content with a Class 5, you don't have much to lose by taking that leap. That's kind of the bottom line. I can't promise you that any Phaez you get will be your most favorite amp ever, but it will blow away anything else in it's price range.

Where are you located by the way? "South of Heaven" covers a lot of ground. Maybe you'll be lucky and there will be someone close enough that you can try one out. Doubtful, but might as well take a shot.

Originally Posted by bluesymetalhead

One thing that made me confident in buying a Phaez was that, if you notice, when a Phaez pops up on in the Classifieds here, it don't last long!!! So if ya don't like it, someone else will snatch it up....maybe even me

Well, mine's been up for a while, which has been surprising, but I'm not letting anyone steel it. If I dropped $75 I bet it would be gone in a heartbeat. But I'm not gonna do that. Just can't see myself parting with it for any less than I'm asking. But, sure, the point stands. You'll still lose some cash on the flip, but no more than most any other amp. For a tiny builder, these amps are surprisingly easy to move.

And is it just me, or is the Douchery getting more blatant? Is it like this all over the forum, or does Phaez still draw out the jackasses? Criticism is fine, even encouraged, even if it isn't fair, or accurate, but posting just to be a jerk? Why? Anyways, whatever.

[coldengray]

Originally Posted by FennRx

I play mostly 70s style hard rock and some old school British (American) Blues. Which Phaez would be a good fit for me? ( Feel free to post links to videos). Or perhaps I should just get a Class 5 head and save a few bucks?

Hit up YouTube and search "Phaez JTM18". That is the amp you want. British blues tone all the way and then Plexi-crunch with the boost.

[Ferosferio]

Jackal. It's awesome. I wanted classic rock/beano blues tones plus and the Jackal delivers. I like having the effects loop for my delay and reverb. Rob

[coldengray]

FYI the Jackal is a Jericho with an fx loop. Both are the JTM18.

[Rayzer59]

Originally Posted by FennRx

2) i've never played a Phaez and don't know anyone who has one
3) i can't play a phaez before I buy.

I looked and didn't see, probably missed it, where are you? Location says south of Heaven, and your Avatar thingy suggests south of the Mason-Dixon Line, so you gotta be close.

[wrc73]

+1 on the JTM based circuit Phaez amps. I have a JTM 18 which is now called Jericho without an fx loop or Jackal with an fx loop. This amp covers a lot of ground really well and would sound amazing through that 4x12! If you are looking for something to cover blues through 70's classic rock the JTM based amps are a great choice.

Now, to be fair to the trolls, there are other amps out there that will do this just as good as a Phaez, but they will cost two to three times as much.

Edit: Nice house, enjoy your cave!

[matmont1305]

My take, I had a Class 5 and thought it was OK, although the lack of a MV was a real drawback for me as they are really quite loud when you hit the crunch zone that you buy it for.

So I sold it, added some more coin and bought a Studio 15. A big improvement, I now thought I had the amp I was looking for and was quite content.

Then I started sipping the Kool Aid, took the leap of faith and got a DC10. At first I was plugging it in to the Studio 15 (using it as an external cab). The Phaez was such a massive leap up in tone and versatility that it was a long time before I even plugged in to the Marshall. Eventually I set aside an afternoon to A/B the two. That little experiment lasted all of ten minutes! the Marshall was up for sale that evening.

Since then I had a vertical 2x12 custom made and loaded it with Scumbacks and fitted the head with some nice old tubes. To say that it is tone heaven is an understatement.

I now have two more Phaez amps, a Jericho and a SIBLY ( although a 7 watt single EL84 model). They each do their own thing, the Jericho does the Blues/Rock thing extremely well with really nice Marshall cleans. The SIBLY excels at the more aggressive 70's to 80's hard rock and being 7 watts does the low volume thing very well. Gets plenty loud also! While the Daisycutter is really its own thing it is based heavily in the Marshall camp and covers all the ground the others do, not exactly nailing any one particular tone but sounds outstanding trying to. Being able swap several octal power tubes gives it access to a huge variety of tones and the tone stack is incredible.

If asked to decide on a favorite, I couldn't give you an answer. Other than that all are staying put. If I had to take one out to cover all bases it would be the Daisycutter, there's not much it can't do, and I have little interest in what it can't anyway. For Blues/Classic Rock I'd take the Jericho and to get downright mean and nasty it'd be the SIBLY Jr (and for Some sweet Zep of course!).

Decide what is most important to you and take the leap, it will be the best money you ever spent.

[DrakeZero]

Sounds like you want an amp that can pretty much do about everything. Or Jack of all trades amp.

The Jericho or the Jackal (JTM18 or JTM25) with a boost channel would probably be your ideal amp. It has the ability to go from JTM (beano) sounds to JP all the way to harder rock (even up to 80's sounds if you want)


But I noticed you like british/american blues so if you prefer cleaner headroom versus quicker breakup then the JTM25 might be something you would like.


I own a JTM25 so if you want to know more about it you can message me. I can even try to do a few demos though they would be with my phone so the quality would be harder. I am working on ideas of getting a ISO cab so I can do demos for people.

[eaglewolf]

Tell you what - you can have my Phaez if I can have your house. I won't even make you throw in any extra cash. Honest.

I was going to say a JTM-based amp but many beat me to it. If you need to be less loud, have a MV installed if the amp doesn't already have one. My MLP-35 is JTM-based with an extra gain stage to get you to JCM levels of distortion. I think it does the tones you mentioned quite well.

Standard does have a point. There are a lot of great amps out there that don't say Phaez on them. (Standard doesn't have any way of knowing if they are better since he never tried a Phaez, but we'll ignore that and the Koolaid comment for the moment.) However, Randy offers amps built to your specs for a reasonable price. If you can get by the down side of not being able to buy one in a local store and try before you buy, then they are definitely worth considering.

David

By the way, I wasn't kidding about the trade. I will do it if you want to!

[alligatorbling]

Originally Posted by FennRx

i must admit i haven't played a whole lot of amps. I really like Clapton's tone on Beano, especially "All Your Love". And in that vein I also am a Freddie King fan; Texas Cannonball is just fantastic imo. I also really like JP's live and studio tones, as well as old school JTM-style ACDC.

I realize that this covers a wide range of tones and styles and I do not expect one amp to cover all of them. But since my budget is small (ie new house), I'm just looking for something that might be a nice compromise for when I'm sitting in my basement.



You are such a dick. I'm surprised you didn't tell me to get 9 AFD Marshalls like AXE.

short answer, daisycutter

[singlecut]

Originally Posted by standard 64

wow,ask a simple question and your first response is that your a troll. I have stayed away from the jonestown kool aid around here,their are so many other great,fantastic and better amps in this world to choose from.

jonestown kool-aid?

My phaez amps haven't killed me yet.

Although they have killed alot of other amps
perhaps while your avoiding the kool-aid ,you could avoid these threads as well.

I've yet to see you ever offer anything that adds to the quality of a thread.
Just your standard64 phaez hate.

Perhaps you might find the time to offer the op some knowledge of your experience of owning and playing a phaez and all the other great amps you mention.

PLEASE SUGGEST A " GREAT ,FANTASTIC AND BETTER AMP"

[Deftone]

I don't think you can go wrong with a DC.

[Hector Arcadius]

C'mon now FennRX, I have never played a Phaez but I have played a Class 5. Not a bad amp, but I wouldn't dare to put them in the same phrase or next to each other, virtually or figuratively speaking...



Oops! I just did...

[V2]

Duophonic.
Ask Randy to build each channel to suit your tastes.
BF channel for American Blues
Sibly channel for your dirt.

Here's Alex playing his:

You Tube

You Tube

[LPV]

I've had my Daisycutter for 3 years. Great amp for 70's tone and beyond. You can't go wrong. Match it with the right speaker for best results. The class 5, meh...