best amp head for pedals JOSH'S BIG AMERICAN AMP PACK Helix / HX Stomp

best amp head for pedals JOSH'S BIG AMERICAN AMP PACK Helix / HX Stomp7 AMPS, 69 KEMPER PROFILES, AND TONE MATCHED IRS ON HELIX PLATFORMS. Theres nothing like a big, girthy, high wattage Fender amp. If youre looking for those huge, clean sounds that wail through garage practice or a stadium, this pack has you covered. Weve got everything from true, vintage Fender sounds to the highly modded, along with the $500k Klon and TS808 for even more thickness. Big Fender amps are the ultimate platform for pedals, and if you live

7 AMPS, 69 KEMPER PROFILES, AND TONE MATCHED IR’S ON HELIX PLATFORMS.

There’s nothing like a big, girthy, high wattage Fender amp. If you’re looking for those huge, clean sounds that wail through garage practice or a stadium, this pack has you covered. We’ve got everything from true, vintage Fender sounds to the highly modded, along with the $500k Klon and TS808 for even more thickness. Big Fender amps are the ultimate platform for pedals, and if you live or die by dirt pedals, these amp packs will be your best friend. 

‘67 Blackface Dual Showman

12 KEMPER PROFILES, 1 HELIX PATCH WITH A TONE MATCHED IR.

I bought a couple of these with the original cabs from a local person in Kansas City about 10 years ago and had them in a studio. This is one of the BIGGEST and powerful Fender amps there is. What’s not to love? 

Kemper Key
N - Normal Channel
B - Bright Channel 
V - Vibrato

Johnny Mac Blues (Modded Blackface Bassman)

8 KEMPER PROFILES, 1 HELIX PATCH WITH A TONE MATCHED IR.

This amp is cool because a guy named John MacIntyre gave it his “Bluesbreaker mod,”replacing the original tubes with EL84 tubes and completely changing the topology. It would be like if Fender made the VOX AC30 but was still a Fender.. When I had the JHS Music Store between 2010 and 2012, a semi-famous, local session player brought this amp in a flight case and told me the story of how he had it modded in Canada. I immediately bought it off him. It’s the only Bassman with a totally different power tube set, a mids control, a clean and dirty blend , and it’s super fun to play.

Kemper Key 
TS - 1984 Ibanez TS808
M - Mid Switch

‘68 Blackface Twin

11 KEMPER PROFILES, 1 HELIX PATCH WITH A TONE MATCHED IR.

I bought this from a liquidation store in Mississippi, and it was almost totally destroyed. The face was all busted up and gnarled, but our old engineer Cliff (d. 2021) rebuilt it internally and it has a true Fender reissue faceplate. This is a killer amp,  I’ve used it in studio a lot and it has a massive, painfully clean sound. 

Kemper Key
N - Normal Channel
B - Bright Channel
V - Vibrato
+  - $500k Klon

‘68 Bandmaster (Silverface Dripedge)

12 KEMPER PROFILES, 1 HELIX PATCH WITH A TONE MATCHED IR.

This might be the thinnest of the group, bright and sweet, but it’s still a big Fender amp. What can I say? I love this amp because it sounds so beautiful. It’s a transitional model between the Blackface panel and the Silverface panel. “Dripedge” refers to the silver lining around the face. This is a classic must have for any Fender nerd.

Kemper Key
N - Normal Channel
B - Bright Channel
V - Vibrato

Silverface Super Reverb

10 KEMPER PROFILES, 1 HELIX PATCH WITH A TONE MATCHED IR.

This amp is louder than any amp should ever be, and that’s why I love it. It’s so clean and so loud it can’t help but leave an impression on you. I ruined a ribbon mic in a recording session by placing it in front of this amp. It was just too much for the mic to handle. If you think Twins are loud... just wait until you hear this. I was destined to have this, finding it at a yard sale and having no idea what I was getting into. 

Kemper Key
N - Normal Channel
+ - $500k Klon
V - Vibrato 

Painted Bassman (Modded Silverface Bassman)

6 KEMPER PROFILES, 1 HELIX PATCH WITH A TONE MATCHED IR.

This head is super special. It’s a Bassman in the best sense of the term, but was overhauled by our former engineer, Cliff Smith (d. 2021) and is the punchiest, biggest Bassman I own. It recalls the amp sounds you’d expect to hear from bands like Nirvana. Cliff played with this amp, tweaking it over and over again, for at least five years, making it sound better and better. Most Bassmans will stay clean really well as they’re turned up, but this one has a really nice overdrive when cranked. 

Kemper Key
B - Bright Channel

Dog Man (Modded Silverface Bassman Combo)

10 KEMPER PROFILES, 1 HELIX PATCH WITH A TONE MATCHED IR.

This is a really bizarre build where someone took a mid-70s Bassman and dropped it in a combo with one 15” speaker. The cabinet is made of a bizarre, mystery wood and has frequencies you wouldn't normally hear in a Bassman. It was called a “Dog Man” for the animal inside. I traded someone a few pedals for this amp somewhere around 2014 and recently sold it. Amps come and go but this profile remains.

** Kemper / Helix Amp Packs are digital software products.  All sales are non-returnable, non-refundable, and final.  These products only work with the Kemper or Helix platforms.