Amp question-Orange Crush 15R

If you get the Epi, get the combo. With the head you will also need a speaker cab.

Epiphone Valve Jr Combo

This is a very good amp with excellent tone. And great tone is probably the most important thing to look for in an amp. But without pedals you will have two basic sounds, clean and overdriven. You don't even get reverb. The overdrive is fantastic for blues type tones if that is what you are into. But you gotta play it real loud to get the overdrive tone. So if you are a straight bluesman, go for the Epi.

The Vox is far more versatile. It models many famous amps and has some effects too. Being solid state you do not have to crank it at all to get overdriven tones, you can get distortion at super quiet volumes that won't bother the family or neighbors.

If you are into many types of music and volume is a concern, go with the Vox. It is an excellent amp.

If money is a consideration, check out this Behringer.

Behringer V-Tone GM108

This amp has all the features of the Vox for much less. It gets very good reviews. Behringer makes good gear for a great price, about the best bang for the buck out there.

And congrats on the plumbing job. :D

Well, If your worried about the lack of controls, then you can upgrade to the Valve Special or Standard. I have the special, and its all the tone of the JR. but with the flexability you want. I personally don't like the sound of Vox stuff, but thats just me. Maybe no-one who really knows those amps has showed'em to me. But the valve series amps are fantastic, and affordable.

Re the Epiphone Valve Junior....What I said plus what Wes said.Particularly what Wes said he knows what he is talking about!! However I do caution you against opting for an amp just because it has a zillion different settings and options. I have found that once I settle on a sound or tone from an amp or pedal that 95% of the time I play through it like that. It may well be that because this is your first amp that the ability to switch effects, drives etc. will help you determine what type of amp/tone you want in the future. In my case the Epi is my 5th amp (yes they are all here gathering dust and I do use them from time to time) This amp makes my ears the happiest yet and at a cost much less than some of the other amps ex. Fender 900 Deluxe (lots of power,effects etc. but very sterile sounding on the clean channel) I play my Epi in my room dedicated for music at about 1/2 power with volume turned down a bit on my guitar. Granted I am an old deaf fart but the loudness at that level is well within reason. Like I said I do play with a reverb pedal (a Behringer DR100,quite inexpensive) and sometimes a delay pedal. This does not provide the overdrive crunch but also have an overdrive pedal,EQ pedal and attenuator on order. One of my main problems with my other amps was opting for the correct effects. For ex. if I used certain effects like flanger etc. that was it, although the Fender does have some combo settings eg. Rev with delay. Sorry for rambling but in my opinion it all comes down to getting the tone you want...in my case I love the warmth of the small tube amp and plan on adding a few effects pedals to dial in specific sounds. This is one of the best benefits of an amp with nothing but a volume knob...now I have to buy pedals and this really makes a gearhead like me happy (g). I could however live with the warm clean tone that the EVJ delivers with addition of a reverb pedal.
I guess the best advise anyone could give would be to go to a store and ask the sales guy/girl to plug in whatever amps are in your price range and either demo them yourself or get him to play a tune through them. Make your decision based on your ears..not someone elses. In my case initially I was too embarassed to do this and bought lots of gear that really didn't fit the bill.
Sorry for the long rant
Robbie

Can I throw a VOX DA5 into the mix?

Great little amp similar to the microcube. Great sound, a selection of effects, CD and mic inputs. Can be run on batteries.

We tried one of these when my son was looking for a practice amp. He opted for the microcube. If it had have been my money I would have gone for the VOX - just. Both great little amps.

Haven't heard/tried the Orange but would definately give it a try before parting with my hard earned.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

8)

My son has a Vox DA5 and I really like it. When I was buying him an amp I compared the Microcube to the DA5. I really liked the clean tone and the acoustic simulator on the Microcube. They were fun to play with. But when you give the Microcube too much gain and too much volume the speaker would rattle on low frequencies. This would happen at not especially loud volumes. There was no such problem on the DA5. That amp will play much louder without speaker rattle IMHO.

Thanks for all the info!

Wes, I think you nailed it with versatility and low volume, I found a AD15VT locally very slightly used that I'm going to have a look at.

Nick

*DOH!

sorry I initially posted this in the wrong section :oops:

I just tried out one of the little Orange solid states deals at a local shop. I loved it! Amazing sound for a little guy. I am seriously thing about picking it up as a practice amp. I love my rivera, but it's hard for me to get the full tone and warmth in the basement without damaging my hearing. Also, the orange would be ideal to throw in the back of my truck with my guitar and head over to practice.

By the way, I also tried the Vox and Roland and in my opinion the Orange had a much nicer tone. Just my opinion, but I guess that's up to personal preference.

I also tried the Tiny Terror head. Very nice.

Just bought it! I bought the Orange CR15R. It will never replace my main amp (Rivera Clubster). I love the tone I can get out of this little fella. I can get anywhere from a nice warm clean to a dirty lead. It's light weight enough that I can throw it in the back of the truck and not be worried about leaving it in the parking lot during work - then leave directly to practice at quitting time.

http://www.humbuckermusic.com/orcrus15rcom.html