I Found THE Amp (Incredible Fender & Dumble Tones!) - Suhr Bella
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- čas přidán 1. 07. 2024
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For years, I've been looking for the best guitar amp for Fender and Dumble tones -- and I think I've finally found it! The Suhr Bella is a modern amp that absolutely nails clean and overdriven guitar tones. This amp has a 3-way bright switch, 6db boost, 22/44 watt power switch, a buffered tube-powered effects loop, and a Celestion V-Type speaker. In this video, I'll go over all the features and tones you get with the Suhr Bella. Finally, towards the end of the video, I'll do a direct side-by-side comparison with all three of my amps: Suhr Bella vs Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb vs Dr. Z EZG-50
#suhrbella #guitaramp #gearreview
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Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
0:53 - What's so special about the Suhr Bella?
1:16 - My signal chain
2:58 - Clean tone
3:34 - Amp features (knobs & switches)
7:00 - John Nathan Cordy's video
8:09 - My favorite amp settings
8:19 - The EQ section
9:11 - Speaker & back of the amp (effects loop)
9:54 - Clean & overdrive tones (Browne Protein)
11:50 - Fuzz tones (Protein & Benson Fuzz)
12:25 - Comparing all my amps
13:00 - Fender Deluxe vs Dr Z EZG-50 vs Suhr Bella
15:12 - Closing thoughts
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Wow, amazing tones. I really like the clean tones of the Bella. You have three amazing amps, cheers!
Thank you!!
DUDE IT SOUNDS SO GOOD. Congrats on the amp my man. You make it sing!
Thank you so much man! I’m very happy with it
The whole boutique amp market is fun to play with but after 20 years the only thing I haven't sold and continue to use constantly is my Hot Rod Deville 212. It's really really hard to beat a big clean Fender amp as a do-everything platform. The way different pedals roar when they have that much headroom is too good in its own way. I actually liked the Deluxe the best in your side-by-side comparison.
Good Vid as allways Andrew, love this Amp! very underrated! here in Italy it's hard to find in a store too.
Thank you! Yeah, I can imagine. I had to wait 3 months for this one in Canada.
Though I have another High end Boutique amplifier, I got a Suhr Bella to have as a back -up. I was more than pleasantly surprised at how good it is. It has to be one of the better "Pedal Platform " amps to be had. I got it as a 1/12 combo, but bought a head cab for it direct from Suhr.. Now just use it as a head . Love it. I set my Bella with the Boost always on and just get the best pushed clean sounds I can get with that. More , or less Andy Wood settings , I play everything from Dwight Yoakum to Pink Floyed, SRV, ZZ Top , The Police , Dire Straits and originals .
The Bella is such a great amp. I'd still love to get one in my place at some point and give it a true go.
It was in my top list, back when I was looking for a boutique Fender combo for home. I ended up going with a Tone King Imperial MKII and absolutely love that.
The Tone King Imperial is a great amp! Good choice.
Clean comparisons for those that want to do quick comparisons
13:01 Deluxe
13:23 Dr Z
13:47 Bella
14:11 Deluxe
14:32 Dr Z
14:53 Bella
Isn't it a beautiful thing?!!! Glad it wasn't just me digging this thing haha...need to find a head version
Yes! I'm so happy with it. Really enjoyed your video on it as well. Cheers 😀
Surprised how nice the regular deluxe is in the comparison, easy to overlook them nowadays.
Totally! It's still a killer amp. There's a reason it's so popular.
Between the 3 I liked the DRRI the best.
Wow, that amplifier is wonderful, I have that IR package from York Audio and it's great, one question is which IR from that package are you using with which microphone and what number? Or in case you are using a mix, which one are you using? thanks for everything
I also want to know.
Thankx for great demo. I’ve been doing this A/B comparing for years. Takes years to train your ears to hear the truth. The Fender sounded typically bright and thinner in high frequencies…the most common complaint about Fender both new and vintage. Your Z EZG is much more balanced eq while still having a bell like tone but without the thin highs. The Bella has an even more down the middle frequency range, which cuts thru in a live mix. Also, Bella played at 44W the wound strings open up, more Fender low E like. My #1 choice is Bella, then Z EZG, never Fender….especially with Fender style single coil guitars💯
You've done a great job describing the differences. Thanks for checking out the video! ☺
Appreciate the video 👍🏽 good job, good playing. I listened with a good set of ear pods and overall I get that this is a good sounding amp but I really feel like you need to run an EQ in the chain, the high mids are just not coming through - or they are overly compressed? Other than that I can see that the Bella is a sweet option. Also, would like to have heard it more driven by the preamp - naked - no pedals.
Interesting! If all the amps are suffering from the same problem, then it's likely the IR that lacks those upper mids. Personally, I prefer this sound with all my amps for rhythm tones. I'm also pushing it with the blue side of the Protein here, which is very flat in the mids. I appreciate the comment and thanks for watching!
@@andrewclarkeguitar - yea there is the preference for mids one way or the other.. to me it’s the magic that cuts though. Keep up the good work.
Great playing man, love videos like these! Would you care to elaborate on the Suhr Bella vs. the Dr Z EZG 50? How do they differ, how are they similar? I'm on the lookout for a new "American" style amplifier and these are the exact two amps I've nailed it down to. Thanks!
It would be soooo hard to choose between them. It's kind of hard to put it into words, but I'll do my best haha. The main differences that I've noticed are that the EZG has a little more natural presence, a looser bottom end, and a more compressed feel when you dig in. The Suhr has more pronounced mids, a tighter bottom-end, and a stiffer feel.
The EZG is more one-dimenionsal. It really does one sound very well. The Bella can be tweaked to do just about any sound. The EQ is more powerful and the boost/bright switches are useable in all positions.
The reverb on the EZG is glorious and I have the non-reverb version of the Bella, so I can't really compare. The Bella also has an effects loop which the EZG doesn't.
Overall, the Bella is a safer pick. But the EZG has a sound that the Bella can't quite mimic.
I hope that helps a little bit :)
I appreciate the video. It would be great to hear the amp by itself. With the signal chain you're a ways off from just presenting the amp by itself.
The Suhr amp sounds great! Tbh, I love the Fender Deluxe the most. Must be the 6V6 tubes of the Deluxe. All three amps sound similar enough that if I were you I would sell the Dr Z and get a Marshall or a Marshall sounding amp to give you a more diverse range of tones? Or consider a Vox. Then you would have the holy trinity of amps, Fender, Marshall and Vox. I wish you much success, keep the videos coming!
They're all very similar for sure! I've had amps in both the Vox and Marshall camps in the past and I just found myself never choosing to play them. At this point, I prefer having three slight variations of a flavor I really like. I bought and sold 4 other Dr Z amps over the past few years: Remedy, Maz 38, Prescription, and Prescription ES. All great amps, but I just love the 6L6/6V6 sound and feel.
The Deluxe is absolutely incredible. Personally, I love 6L6 tubes best, but 6V6s have their own thing going on that is quite nice. Funny enough, I actually love the deluxe cranked best, it's one of my favorite OD tones and IMHO one of the most underrated tones out there. Everything you love about a cranked Fender tweed, but with a more refined bottom end.
@@andrewclarkeguitarWhat did you make of the Remedy and Prescriptions? I've heard the cleans from the Remedy are great, the Remedy although a Plexi styled amp is powered by 6v6s.
@@daviddorrian5349 the prescription was great. Very chimey. A little too Voxy for me as a main amp, so I sold it and bought the EZG. Then I bought a Remedy, and basically just always preferred the sound of the EZG. The Remedy just was too midrangey for my taste. Great amp for sure though. Honestly, wish I still had all of them.
I really appreciate comparisons. It does seem that at the end the Bella has darker in the first round and lost low end in the second round. A little EQ tweaking would have really improved the tone. That is a big deficiency in comparisons. You need to tweak EQ depending on your rig..
My man! Also have a Suhr Bella and that same vinyl on my wall! (though a Magnatone Varsity is my usual go to)
Well it sounds to me like you have excellent taste! I’ve never been lucky enough to try the Magnatone amps. What do you prefer about the Varsity over the Bella?
@@andrewclarkeguitar Late reply, but I found that I was just as happy with the Magnatone as I was with the Bella, but with less space being taken up in my small living quarters (even if the difference is more vertical). It can sound raw or refined, depending on the input and negative feedback setting. Reviews online state it's a loud amp, but it legitimately sounds great at almost any volume, and especially good with a Bluesbreaker-style pedal in front to shape the sound a little bit. Was lucky to grab a Varsity Reverb while they were still relatively inexpensive! The last superficial point is that it looks amazing! The Magnatones are now PCB though, and the Suhr is probably more able to maintain that refined/muscular Fender sound when you reach higher volumes. Anyway, you have a great amp in your hands too!
I think the price is great at entry level. A lot better price/ affordable than say Tone King. I bought a Sky King below msrp, at about $550 more than this. It includes the Tweed side, Ultra Linear option. With the two Iron man attenuators, and candy cab. Bella seems more something I’d comfortably gig easier, with black color and price. Some venues can be unforgiving 😅
But this one def has higher headroom, bright switch is nice, power section is there. But overall for headroom and the Fender sound at $2k or so, it’s a great pedalboard amp. Not so sure on the handwired, all the way through. I remember these amps a bit more expensive, for that awhile back.
But if I was shopping still this would be a contender against the Tone King Sky King I bought for sure! Next best deal is a 70s Twin for $800 used of Market Place, as a pedal platform. Then you go down to the HRD $300-$500 amps.
I have never heard of Dr. Z before, but it sounded really good. Between the three the Suhr was the “winner” in my opinion though.
The Suhr is my favorite of the three, but they're all great in their own way for sure. Dr Z make some amazing handwired amps that aren't over-the-top expensive (though, they're not cheap). I've owned 5 of them over the years. Thanks for watching the video!
Hey Andrew,
I know the Bella is supposed to be geared for the high head room cleans along with being a pedal platform amp.
But have you attempted to crank it? I haven’t seen much on it being pushed hard to achieve those tweed drive tones.
I have! It sounds amazing when cranked. Even with the lower output pickups in the Strat. It has a lot of clean headroom, but immediately falls into Tweed territory when the volume is above 5 or 6.
@@andrewclarkeguitar Amazing to know this! I am considering a Bella while pairing it with a Jrockett Dude for Dumble ODS tones. But would still love to have natural breakup from the amp pairing with an attenuator.
@@Varone26 That would be a killer combo. I've been using a Zendrive with the Bella a lot lately, and a Dumble-style OD is voiced perfectly for this amp. The switchable boost on the amp gives you a little more input gain as well, causing the amp to breakup earlier. Really can't get over how much I love this thing!
@@andrewclarkeguitar Thank you for this Andrew! Great to know this can be achieved.
@@Varone26 You're very welcome!
I really want to get the Bella with reverb! That was one of the best renditions of “Slow Dancing…” I’ve ever seen.
Thank you! Yeah, the Bella with reverb is equally awesome.
Damnnnn the Bella sounds so good
It's an absolute dream to play through!
Final 3 comparison, Suhr by a narrow margin over Deluxe, Dr. Z floppy bottom. Remarkable how the Fender holds up after decades of other amps chasing them.
The Suhr just sounds bigger than the other 2. I wonder if you could put a jumper from the send to the return and use the return level as a master volume.
Yeah, I agree. Interesting idea. You could also just put a volume pedal in the effects loop and use that as a master volume. I know a lot of guys do that.
In your comparison, the Bella sounds like a crisper version of the Fedner. Then again, I'm listening on laptop speakers! Is quality significant for the price tag, compared to many other amps?
Got my Fedner amp on 34th st in Manhattan, guy assured me it's not a knockoff
Honestly still think the Bella is the most usable amp for any working musician - I’ve put an EV in mine and the thing is perfect!!
Totally! The EV would be great in here. Definitely pushes it further into the Dumble camp. A Two-Rock or Amplified Nation is next on my list though haha
Such an underrated amp
Sounds super compressed! Do you have a compressor on? Must be in your interface since we aren’t hearing “in the room” sounds. Is it real if the neighbors can’t hear it?
He says that the OE Cali76 is always on.
I may get a supro keely i should have kept my amps nobi have to save! But my plug ins actually sound good thru my frfr speakers but amps are and always be different i need that in my life
I think you sleep'n the Fender Deluxe ! Thing sounds killer !!!
It really is a great amp.
Funny how subtle the differences are. The Fender was my favorite. My take-away is- the playing is what matters, not the amp.
Holy shit, that sounds incredible. Now I want one lol.
Here comes the flood of this is like a dumble demonstrations
Vovox cables are the best for studio ( and live )
Yeah! I've heard good things about Vovox cables for sure. Not exactly a fan of the look though.
Great demo. Not sure I understand why one would get a pedal platform amp like this these days. You have Bella, plus reactive load, plus IR to get what you want. Or you could use a $400 Tonex and have all of these amp tones, plus IR loader. Also a great pedal platform but even more dialed in for that task. What am I missing?
I think it all comes down to your personal use cases and what you value in an "amp". When I can, I gig with a real amp. There isn't anything out there (yet) that can match the way it feels. I have a UA Dream '65 that I occassionally gig with as well, and it's great. The best digital amp I've ever used. But it doesn't give me the same thing a real amp does. I could easily gig and play at home with just the Dream '65 (or another direct solution) and be satisfied, but I'd rather not. I like being able to enjoy the real thing at home in my apartment as well, and for that I need a loadbox/IR loader. Many guitarists will have a different view on this, and that's totally okay!
I should note that the Bella is a lot more than just a pedal platform amp. I think Suhr misrepresents this thing in their marketing. It's a "pedal platform" in the same way any vintage or modern Fender amp is. It's more that just about every pedal soudns great going into it when compared to other styles of amps.
@@andrewclarkeguitar yup, I hear the argument. I just don’t get it. How does the real thing feel different when the model can reproduce the same sounds given the same inputs? I get that there may be a psychological component where you do feel better knowing it’s the real thing, which would disappear when blind testing (a/b the 2 amps set up in a different room). That’s cool too-to each his own.
@@armandosinger I mean, you'd essentially be be saying that the entire modern guitar amp industry is built on that psychological component. I don't think modelling technology is quite there yet. In an A/B test where I'm listening to someone else's recording, I don't think I could consistently choose the real amp over the modelled amp. But as the player, I think I would pretty consistently be able to tell them apart. It becomes even more noticeable when you can hit the amp with different pedals. But again, is that difference worth thousands of dollars? Maybe not. That's up to you.
Which input did you use for deluxe
The normal input. I find the Vibrato input to be too bright. I typically use a seperate reverb pedal anyway, and I don't really want to clip the bright cap on that channel.
"I live in an APARTMENT"
It was at this time that little Steve realized he should have made better life choices. 🤣
I’m very happy living in an apartment thank you very much 😌
@@andrewclarkeguitar 🤣 Oh boy. Beautiful Classic S by the way.
Dr. Z 👏👏👍
no secret on this amp. But the price you can get a dumble clone from a boutique builder for the Suhr
That's fair! Which company would you go with for a Dumble clone?
@@andrewclarkeguitar Ceriatone and Amplified Nation are probably the best... Obviously Two Rock but they are insanely expensive... VHT Dfifty is the best price wise
@@frankiewalnuts Yeah, I've always wanted to get my hands on an Amplified Nation. But the others you mentioned look great too.
@@andrewclarkeguitar To me, there are too many good Dumble type pedals to worry about getting an amp to give me that tone. I just want big and clean. My 1965 Fender Vibrolux Reverb is the standard by which I judge all others. Some actually compare pretty well.
@@frankiewalnutsamplified nation is way more expensive. And ceriatone is a Chinese clone. Not exactly boutique
👍
Fender won the ending shootout for me
Me too, it sounded the most ‘alive’ to be me
Would probably sound great with a les Paul deluxe ( mini humbuckers ) ice picky strats will kill your audience.
Think I'll stick with my dumble sss 😏
Well damn. I would too 🤣
Amazing amp but im not hearing DUMBLE at all !
Check out John Cordy's video if you want to hear it doing more of a Dumble thing: czcams.com/video/wusFoMZoLLc/video.html
Sounds good but not "i wanna pay $2750 for a 44watt combo amp" good...
That's totally fair! I believe it's $2095 USD for this model (combo with no reverb). For comparison the '65 Deluxe Reissue is $1599 USD and the EZG-50 is no longer in production, but when it was, the head alone was $2599 USD.
You're paying for quality...components, build quality...you can get a Fendel Hot Rod DeVille ML that will sound as good for about $1,000 but it's going to need repeated repairs and servicing due to low quality components and build quality.
Sounds compressed as heck.
Probably would of sounded great with a les Paul deluxe ( mini humbuckers ) ice picky strats will kill your audience.
I am not hearing Dumble tones.
Suhr Bella is too loud for home use (and it's too pity to damp such a gorgeous sound with an attenuator)
Yeah, it's definitely loud.
How is that a sound review if you have 1000 gadgets connecterd?
Fender wins the comparison!
Another commercial
I bought every single amp, guitar, and pedal in this video with my own money 😕 I wasn’t paid a dime by any company for this video either.
This video commentary is unlistenable. There are no natural pauses between sentences. Bye now!
Strange..