Demeter TGA-3

Three channel tube amplifier, footswitchable, 75 watts (2X5881s), point-to-point wired, submasters for clean and boosted channels, stereo FX loop with slave out for external amplifier. This would rate a 10 except no series/parallel capability for FX loop (would have better unaffected dry tone).

I use this amp with a Guild Bluesbird AAA, Tom Anderson Hollow DropTop, and Parker Fly Hardtail. It sounds almost as good as my Bogner Ecstasy. ALMOST. This amp is very versatile. It retains its articulate voice thoughout its gain range in all channels. It has a breathy clean tone, a singing blues tone, and a hypersatuated distortion. It reminds me of the Hafler Triple Giant, but less harsh (not to knock the Hafler - sometimes harsh is cool). This amp is very quiet when not being played.

I have no choice but to ding this amp here. The control pots are garbage. They feel rough and uneven from pot to pot. The threaded shafts are barely long enough to go through the panel, and are easily stripped. The knobs are funky, and will not fit a better quality pot without modification. These problems definitely detract from what would otherwise be an exceptional amplifier.

I am lucky enough to have an excellent service tech. He can fix or modify just about anything. He was impressed with the design and construction of the amp (except for the aforementioned pot/knob fiasco). While I am sure that Demeter would be able to send the part necessary to repair the amp properly, it should be noted that some people can't spare the time, expense, or hassle for the exact parts, and the amp should have the capability to be repaired with like or better quality parts right there in the shop. I don't believe that any amp should need to go back to a manufacturer. Ever.

I have been playing over 20 years. I have a Bogner Ecstasy 101B, Mesa/Boogie Studio .22, Hafler T3, Hafler Triple Giant, Sholz Sustainor and Hughes and Kettner preamps, Mesa/Boogie fifty/fifty power amp, and H&K, Boogie, and Rivera cabinets. If my TGA-3 were lost or stolen, I would probably not make myself crazy trying to replace it.

This a update review.....I use this amp with two 1-12" cabs, loaded with green backs...plenty of power...all tube,,,3 channels of tone.

Now after a months worth of gigs,,small clubs,,large clubs,,halls,,and outside shows...this thing is awesome..the #2 channel being my favorite..the sound on this channel is about as good as it gets,,clean as hendrix in the west in little wing, dirty as stevie ray boogie's..and the lead tone is open & full of harmonics,,the other nice thing about this amp, you can play loud but it does not hurt, you or the people in the crowd..its very open & wide, full of tone,,as one would say...i don't think i will ever get rid of this head...i will try a 4-12 cab at the next show,,,my god can it get any better....

as chevy would say,,,LIKE A ROCK..........

Talked some more about biasing and settings, they were very helpful..

i think i found the holy grail....i really want to hear one of his newer models...i have had,,,soldano slo-100,,all types of marshall's,,Rivera's,,and hiwatts,,,but this thing is on its own planet,,,mucho tone,,a friend thats had a fender tonemaster played it last gig,,he sat in a number,,he was amazed..said it played itself...

very early 1984 head, 2 EL-34's, 3 channel, i would say, a voxish marshall 45 clean, a plexi crunch, and a very musical OD channel, tons of eq, and a gain & master on ea. channel. NO reverb.

Let me see if i can explain this good to you, i have been very happy useing Rivera gear for the past 3 years, my reviews in harmony central are under jake combo & 100 knuckelhead. i always seemed to get close to want i wanted, but had to settle for what i had, a great sound...but after reading and hearing about amps like two rock, Fuchs, Boyden & Demeter i had to locate some and try them out. i play very high energy blues rock, think stevie meets eddie, and i only use 1 good channel, and use my volume knob for clean & crunch, also a boss super overdrive for a lead boost. this amp honestly has a sound that nails stevie's sound, but also Gary Moore and Robin Ford's tones,with a turn of the volume & tone knobs on your guitar, all on the overdrive channel...clean to mean and in between, awesome.....

I have been dealing with the store i got it from for over 14 years, they told me it was built like a rock, and i believe them. i already sold my rivera's so i will gig with just this amp, and my band gig's alot........i will bring tubes & fuses....

I called and talked to stacy about this amp, and they were very helpful. i also told them what kind of music i played and would it fit my style, they told me about the tones that can come out of this thing, and when i tryed the amp in the store, they were dead on..I will buy a new combo in the future....

I have been playing 31 years, and thats bars, studio, and tour's.i thought i heard it all, but i was wrong, there are some great amps being hand made out there, ya just got to go and find them. i tryed two rock, bogner & VHT's and this one was far better for my style of music. i still would love to play on a Fuchs or a Boyden, i think there are 2 types of customs out there, fender/boogiemarshall style and Vox/marshallsoldano style, i like the vox/marshallsoldano style. if i lost this amp i would buy a new Demeter in a New York min.The only thing i wish it had, was a naked blonde sitting on top.....

I'm not sure what year this amp was made (#101), but it is an early TGA-3, 1 x 12 combo. It is the 75 watt model, and runs on 6CA7 or 6550 output tubes, into 2, 4 or 8 ohms. The folks at Demeter have told me that is is a very early example of their 3 channel, all tube amp. It features channel switching, separate EQs and effects loops. There is no reverb, and this is not a complicated amp. There is a bright switch for the yellow clean channel, a boost/edge switch for the green gain channel, and a dark/normal switch for the solo ultra gain channel. Not complicated like a Mesa Mark 4, but very versatile.

I play les pauls with humbuckers, P-90s and mini HBs. They all sound great through this amp. I have been gigging with this amp for 4 years. I have yet to hear anyone else play through a multi-tone amp that I thought sounded as good. I go for vintage sounds. I bought mine after hearing Sonny Landreth live with his. I had also heard Michael Ward (School of Fish, John Hiatt, Wallflowers) with his. The Stone Temple Pilots and Bonnie Raitt use this same amp. That should give you an idea of how many sounds it is capable of. The clean channel sounds like an old Bassman and breaks up at just the right spot. The green channel (edge switch on) sounds like an old 4 input Marshall, grindy and bright. The red solo channel (dark switch on) sounds so big, warm and fat that it is hard to describe. Many 3rd ultra-gain channels only sound loud, gainy and raspy, with no beef (Marshall TSL comes to mind). This red channel really sounds great, and can put you out front when your band is playing a loud part of a song that you have to solo over. It has plenty of power (NEVER had it halfway up) and sounds good at all volumes.

I had a intermittent tube overheating problem at one time. The folks at Demeter helped my tech figure out over the phone that a bias pot was faulty--then they sent it out the same day! Have not had a problem since then and I always gig without a backup.

This is a great company to deal with. Although my amp is not made anymore and I am not the original owner, they have been so helpful, even sending me free knobs when I sheared one off unloading equipment. They want their amps functioning, regardless of age or warranty. These folks know their stuff.

I have been playing for over 25 years. I have owned and currently own several tube amps, vintage and boutique. Believe me, I love vintage guitar sounds. This amp delivers those tones without lugging 3

I was told this was one of the last TGA-3s that Demeter made. I went from using mostly vintage stuff like blackface bassman, deluxe reverb, tremolux, and marshall amps when my band picked up a Steve Vai lover for lead guitar. The TGA-3 was found after alot of searching and loving Stone Temple Pilots tone. It is a 3 channel amp with an Clean, what I would call a "Marshall crunch", and an over the top Gain channel. It is footswitchable with an effects loop I dont use. I use this for gigs and it likes to be loud. I dont really miss reverb, but it is all I would put on it. I use an MXR analog delay, volume pedal and a MXR phase 90. No need for the Fulldrive 2 on this baby. When I described the tone I was trying to cop to James Demeter he recommended Groove Tube 6L6s (#1s -ye haa) and I like. 9 is a strong 9.

I use a 70s Les Paul Custom, a new LP Classic, Suhr Classic with v60s, Anderson Classic SSH, Grosh RCVT with Frahlins, and a PRS Archtop II (waiting on the single cut). It is perfect for the newer high gain Bush,Creed,STP,Oleander stuff. The clean cops a great Bassman type sound, it drives nicely and has a wide range of tone off that sound. The when driven it has great headroom. The pull bright is a nice feature on this channel. The green channel (what I use as Marshall type) is also versitile and gives gain that is very articulate and musical to my ear. The red (gain) channel goes farther than I want to, but gives me a tone that is more pleasing than boogie gain or Soldano. It gets a little noisy on some guitars, but is easily managable for what you get. I give it a 10 for versitility and an awesome range of tones. I run it through an older Marshall 1960 Slant cab with V30s and there is no reason to change for me.

No problems. I bought it used, changed the tubes it keeps going and going. I dont see it as a tube eater. It is well built and my amp tech was quite impressed with the quality of craftsmanship. The knob colors dont bother me. The 10 is here is earned.

Top Notch. I bought the amp used and after talking to the person who picked up the phone I said "you sure seem to know this amp". After a bit of helpful conversation I asked his name so I could hook up with him when I needed help. It was James Demeter. They have answered every question I ever had. They didnt have to work too hard for this 10, but I feel they would.

I have been playing for 25 years with LOTS of years off. Im not a pro, but want the tone just as bad as pros do. If this amp was boosted I would be sad and look for another one. I tried everything but Two Rock, Trainwreck, and Dumble (and would have if I could have). No Marshall, Boogie, Egnator, or other amp I tried has both the versitility and tone quality that this had. There is nothing I hate about the amp. I like being the only one on my block with a Demeter as well and get alot of comments on it. I own Bogners, Fenders, Dr Z, Matchless, Gibson, Boogie. They are all fine amps and if I didnt have the Demeter I would use my Shiva reverb for gigging, its also a great amp with perhaps a little nicer gain channel. I have to give this amp a 9 overall so James will keep working!

Tube amp -- Clean channel (bright switch) Dirty channel (with boost/edge switch) Lead channel (with dark/normal switch). Clean has 3 band EQ and FXsend/submaster, Dirty & Lead channel share an EQ and an FXsend/submaster. Effects loop, slave out, 5881/6CA7 bias switch, output balance adjust for tweaking power tubes, 4/8/16 ohm speaker outputs. 75 Watts. I got mine with a 1x12 cabinet (Celestion Lead 80). I use it for everything - recording, gigs, rehearsals, and I've loaned it out to others for their various projects. The FX loop can be slightly confusing since the FX sends also act as master volumes, but I don't use any effects so it's not a problem for me. No reverb, which might bug some people. I hate the knobs though, they are color coded with the footswitch though (it just looks odd with the tweed covering I got, so I put Marshall knobs on it). So a point off for ugly knobs and not having hash marks to recall settings.

Everythng from clean Fenderish twang to ultra high gain insanity. Even the feedback is musically pleasing. Used it with Strats, Teles, Les Pauls, etc. - all with great results. Also have used other cabinets (worked outstanding with an SWR 4x10 bass cabinet with the tweeter turned down!) It's dry (no reverb) but that's how I like it. LOUD - it was louder than my 100 Watt Marshall. It's quiet (a tad noisy with single coils, but that's life!) It's a very dynamic and versatile amp.

I've owned it for six years and not a single problem at all. Not even a blown fuse! Even my buddy Bob "The Gear Slayer" hasn't been able to kill it. And he's killed almost every piece of equipment he's owned (including a Boogie, a few Fenders, a Silvertone and various guitars and pedals).

They've been great. As I said I haven't had any problems with the amp but when considering changing power tubes (from the stock 5881 Sovteks to an EL34 type) - they gave me specific recommendations for all compatible tube types. They're small, so they have time to give you attention.

I love it. I'd buy it again in a heartbeat. I love that I can dial up great sounds with any guitar (and basses too). I hated the look of the knobs, so I changed 'em. I could do without the FX loop since I don't use it, but it's not doing any harm there. At the time I bought it I also checked out the Mesa Boogie Mark IV. By comparison the Boogie was noisier and had TOO much control. I like the simplicity of the Demeter (yeah I call 17 knobs simple - compared to that Mark IV with every knob with pull features). Sometimes I wish it had reverb (or Demeter's great trem) but I understand that Jim Demeter figured that people would want to choose effects that THEY liked. It's hand built, so it's not cheap - but it's worth it.