You know, recently I've been thinking that this board is a little bit too opinionated, and even a little confrontational. I think the fact of the matter is, that tone is subjective, and people won't always hear the same thing. Hell, tone is a
personal thing!
My biggest piece of advice, is simply to trust your ears. Looking for a new amp? It's good to get some recommendations, but
always try 'em out. See what sounds best to your ears. Whatever you like best is the right answer.
Always and ever, try stuff. Because opinions vary vastly, you'll often get disagreements. My previous amp, a Mesa Boogie Nomad 45, I bought blindly without knowing what they sound like, I had read about it online and it seemed that it would be enough for my needs, but as great as the little fellow was, it just wasn't quite what I was looking for. Drew and Leon here are big fans of the Nomad, and they certainly get what they're after out of it. Does this mean that they're wrong, or that I'm wrong? Nah, it just means that we don't get the same thing from the amp.
So, last year, I was looking to see what amp would suit me better, and I tested out a few of them, untill I came to an ENGL Fireball, and *BAM* that was the one. I've tried Rectos and 5150s, and they were nothing compared to the Fireball, it absolutely smoked them.
I'm sure that if I was to read a load of reviews, either the Recto or 5150 would've been the one that sounded closest to my needs, but after testing them, and trusting my ears, I decided that the Fireball was for me.
Anyway, moral of the story, trust your ears. I cannot state that enough: Trust your ears, because they won't fail you. It's you who has to live with the amp, not someone online you don't even know who says "This thing slays omglol!" so just trust in yourself.
