How do i get a rockabilly tone out of my Marshall MG102FX?

Question

Ok, so i've got a hollowbody (the new G5420T Gretsch) Really nice guitar.

I'm not really a tech guy and have no experience in guitars or anything. How do i get that vintage rockabilly sound out of this amp? People even say that the MG series are bad. I personally think its a amp more suited for grunge, metal and hardrock, but come on.

I mean.. my friend has a Mustang III with built-in effects, and rockabilly sounds great on that one. It sounds better to me, a fuller sound somehow than i could ever experience with this amp.

I consider to buy an other amp, i am kinda on budget, i would suggest €500 to be the max, ofcourse thats probably to low to get a decent gear (and a set of pedals), isn't it?

Answer 1

When I think of rock-a-billy, it's clean tones with a lot of twang and reverb on a tube amp. The only distortion is from the amp being pushed to it's limit. A classic Fender tube amp like a Deluxe Reverb, Vibrolux, or Super Reverb would be typical. These are beyond your budget but that's the tone you should be looking for.



Why don't you try something from the Vox VT series? The VT50 and VT 100 are big enough to gig with and are within your budget. These have a good clean tone and a preamp tube to capture some of the tube tone. http://www.voxamps.com/valvetronix/vt-series/



I'm currently gigging with a Roland Cube 80XL and it would also work well for you. http://www.rolandus.com/products/productdetails.php?ProductId=1122



Bring your guitar into a shop and try a few of these amps out. It's the only way you'll know for sure.

Answer 2

My idea of a Rockabilly tone is just a nice clean tone with a lot of reverb. Maybe the MG just doesn't have a good clean tone. Sorry I don't know how much that budget is in US dollars. But a clean sounding tube amp is your best bet for rockabilly. Preferably something with a spring reverb like most Fenders have.

Answer 3

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