Help 'Right-sizing' a new amp

Also, any specific models would be helpful. I'm looking at <$650ish, and right now have no preference between tube/SS other than being the right size for this venue. All of the guitarists use Fenders, and I'm sure that affects their recommendations.

With that budget, for your application I'd be looking in the direction of a 15 to 30 watt tube amp.

Suggestions: (no particular order)

http://www.carvin.com/products/group.php?CID=VINT

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Peavey-Classic-30112-Tube-Amp-Combo-?sku=481014

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Vox-AC15CC1-Custom-Classic-1x12-Tube-Amp?sku=482625

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Traynor-Custom-Valve-20WR-YCV20WR-15W-Class-A-1x12-Combo-Amp-with-Celestion-Speaker?sku=480980

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Peavey-Delta-Blues-210-Tube-Combo-Amp?sku=481017

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Epiphone-Blues-Custom-30-Watt-2x12-Combo-Amp?sku=480288

i love fender tube amps, partially because i have an old blackface bassman that makes my strat sound incredible.
i would say try out a Fender deluxe blues reissue or just go with a Hot Rod deluxe. either way youi can't go wrong.

For your application check out the Fender Blues Jr. as well. This is a great sounding amp with plenty enough power and volume for your application. And it is an awesome sounding amp. :wink:

Fender Blues Jr.

The Hot Rod Deluxe and Blues Deluxe reissue are great amps (I own an HRD), but they are very LOUD. These are full fledged gigging amps. While the Blues Jr. is not as powerful as these amps, it has plenty of power for small gigs.

You will love the tone of this amp. 8)

Wes is totally right on (as usual) i couldn't resist spending every penny you had :wink:
if you do settle on one of the bigger ones you may need to get an attenuator to play thru it at home.

Thanks for the responses guys.

I had played through a Blues Jr. (NOS version) at the local guitar center. I loved the sound, but was worried about volume. 15 watts sounds so tiny when you say it. :)

I also tried the Blues Deluxe as well, and liked it too.

I hadn't tried any brands other than Fender. So thank you for some other options too.

Now that I think about it, our lead player uses an original 65 Deluxe Reverb (not reissue, he bought it in 67 with his Tele).

Now that I think about it, our lead player uses an original 65 Deluxe Reverb (not reissue, he bought it in 67 with his Tele).

He's pushin' a whoppin' 22 watts there, and I'll betcha he ain't usin' 'em all. :P

Now that I think about it, our lead player uses an original 65 Deluxe Reverb (not reissue, he bought it in 67 with his Tele).

He's pushin' a whoppin' 22 watts there, and I'll betcha he ain't usin' 'em all. :P

Hmm...I thought he was using a 45W...must be the Super Reverb then. My bad. And he sure ain't usin' 'em all. :)

Jerboa

15 watts may sound tiny, but it isn't. Lots of folks don't understand how watts relates to volume.

Take a typical guitar speaker rated 100dB @ 1W/1M. This means this speaker will produce 100 decibels volume at one meter's distance with just one watt power applied.

Just one watt. :shock:

Everytime you double the watts to a speaker you get approximately a 3 decibel gain in volume. 10 decibels is considered a doubling of volume (twice as loud). So 3 decibels is just a noticeable increase, but not anywhere near twice as loud. So here is the volume this particular speaker would produce with different watts applied.

1 watt- 100 decibels
2 watts- 103 decibels
4 watts- 106 decibels
8 watts- 109 decibels (starting to get real loud now)
16 watts- 112 decibels
32 watts- 115 decibels
64 watts- 118 decibels (very loud now)
128 watts- 121 decibels
256 watts- 124 decibels

So, you can see, an 8 watt amp will be about twice as loud as a 1 watt amp. But consider the 15w Blues Jr.. With this particular speaker it would produce about 112 decibels volume. That is very loud. The 40 watt Blues Deluxe would be about 6 decibels louder. You could hear the difference, but it would not be twice as loud. It would actually take about a 100 watt amp to be twice as loud as a 15 watt amp.

You will get plenty of volume from a 15 watt amp. You have already said that volume is a consideration, you are not going to be able to turn this 15 watt amp up. It will more than produce enough volume for your application with plenty to spare. Many players use amps like this to gig. It can always be mic'd into the PA if it is not powerful enough.

Power should never be the major consideration with an amp. Lots of unknowing people are sucked into this. No, the most important thing is good tone. And the Blues Jr. is known for its great tone.

There are plenty of other good amps in this power range you might look at as well.

Jerboa

15 watts may sound tiny, but it isn't. Lots of folks don't understand how watts relates to volume.

Take a typical guitar speaker rated 100dB @ 1W/1M. This means this speaker will produce 100 decibels volume at one meter's distance with just one watt power applied.

Just one watt. :shock:

Everytime you double the watts to a speaker you get approximately a 3 decibel gain in volume. 10 decibels is considered a doubling of volume (twice as loud). So 3 decibels is just a noticeable increase, but not anywhere near twice as loud. So here is the volume this particular speaker would produce with different watts applied.

1 watt- 100 decibels
2 watts- 103 decibels
4 watts- 106 decibels
8 watts- 109 decibels (starting to get real loud now)
16 watts- 112 decibels
32 watts- 115 decibels
64 watts- 118 decibels (very loud now)
128 watts- 121 decibels
256 watts- 124 decibels

So, you can see, an 8 watt amp will be about twice as loud as a 1 watt amp. But consider the 15w Blues Jr.. With this particular speaker it would produce about 112 decibels volume. That is very loud. The 40 watt Blues Deluxe would be about 6 decibels louder. You could hear the difference, but it would not be twice as loud. It would actually take about a 100 watt amp to be twice as loud as a 15 watt amp.

You will get plenty of volume from a 15 watt amp. You have already said that volume is a consideration, you are not going to be able to turn this 15 watt amp up. It will more than produce enough volume for your application with plenty to spare. Many players use amps like this to gig. It can always be mic'd into the PA if it is not powerful enough.

Power should never be the major consideration with an amp. Lots of unknowing people are sucked into this. No, the most important thing is good tone. And the Blues Jr. is known for its great tone.

There are plenty of other good amps in this power range you might look at as well.

is there a gauge or rule of thumb to tell where you need to turn a tube amp up to start to get that "just breaking up" tone many of us are trying to get?

is there a gauge or rule of thumb to tell where you need to turn a tube amp up to start to get that "just breaking up" tone many of us are trying to get?

Not really, but you can easily hear when an tube amp begins to saturate. On my HRD I can tell the tubes start to saturate around 4 on the volume. The tone gets thicker, starts to breakup or distort, and sustain is longer. On my EVJ head you can hear the amp start to breakup around 12 o'clock on the volume. Around 2 o'clock is the sweet spot for overdrive. After that the amp does not really get louder, but there is more breakup and the highs roll off.

Just go by your ears.

Check out this video of a 1 watt amp driving a 4 X 12 cab. :evil:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHSM5GJD87A

You can easily hear when this amp goes into saturation.

One of the best examples of cranked tube amp tone is Neil Young. Neil always plays through a Fender Deluxe (just 12 watts) cranked to max. He does not use distortion or overdrive pedals ever. He does have a device that changes the settings automatically on his amp, that is what he is stepping on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02z3gIg9lcQ

Neil's amp is the little Fender in front of the Marshall stack. :D