I've just stumbled across a new tube amp fom Ibanez, which sounds (from the spec) as if it may make a great home amp. It's 5W (6L6 & 12AX7) and only around $200, online price. It even offers an FX loop and headphone output!
I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
Did you know that the word "gullible" is not in any dictionary?
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Looks like fun!
Also Johnson now has a low-priced 25-watt all-tube combo, with reverb, headphone jack and XLR direct out!
http://www.johnsongtr.com/Loredo_Tube.1014.0.html
It's GREAT to see tube amp prices coming down! Now if I could only find a little 1-watter for under $400 ... :D
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
Yep, that's the one.
Now if I could only find a little 1-watter for under $400
Look out for a Hughes & Kettner Cream Machine, Crunch Master or Metal Master. They should go for around $70-80 on ebay. I can't see one on the US site but you can get an idea from this German auction
http://cgi.ebay.de/Hughes-Kettner-H-K-Metal-Master-80s-Vintage-Original_W0QQitemZ7376708143QQcategoryZ46655QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
It runs off 2 12Ax7 tubes - one for the preamp and the other as the power amp. Includes a not-earth-shattering 4x12 Celestion emulator, Line-Out, Instrument out, Speaker-out, By-Pass and balance (regulates the balance between the gain and clean channels). Oh, and a foot pedal jack, to switch between clean/gain channels.
I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
Did you know that the word "gullible" is not in any dictionary?
Greybeard's Pages
My Articles & Reviews on GN
Thanks GB. I've heard about the Crunch Master (aka "Blues Master") - they are really hard to find but I'll be on the lookout. Cream Machine and Metal Master might be a bit too high-gain for my tastes, but the Crunch Master would be great. Amptone posted a copy of a letter on their site, in which they ask H&K to reissue them. H&K's response: not enough demand! They need to rethink that, IMHO.
H&K did come out with the TubeMan "pedal" which is really a three-channel preamp with a single 12AX7 ( http://www.amptone.com/hktubeman.htm ), but they are also difficult to find used at a good price. It's possible that the three channels are versions of the crunch master, cream machine and metal master; that's certainly what the soundclips lead me to believe.
I'm really hoping for a complete 1-watt combo though. For closer to $200. Why are those kits so darned pricey?
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
Why are those kits so darned pricey?
A tube amp needs a metal chassis, which will cost around $30-40 - unless you are buying a kit, the (pre-drilled) chassis is a one-off. Some people find an old valve radio or whatever and cannibalise that.
You need an input and an output transformer, which run $30-40 and upwards each for good quality ones. You need one holder for each valve - these start at about $3-4 and run to $20-30 each, depending on quality and material. Then, you'll need the valves to put in them - reckon $10-20 a piece, going upwards for matched sets.
The amp also has resistors and capacitors (which can run to $2-3 a piece), wire and other components.
I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
Did you know that the word "gullible" is not in any dictionary?
Greybeard's Pages
My Articles & Reviews on GN
The real cost is the labor in handling, packaging and assembling each of those parts as an individual item. A builder who's cranking out thousands of identical amps can do it a lot cheaper.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
Ah, makes sense. So, in a nutshell, I'd probably be better off getting a 5-watter and an inexpensive attenuator if I want overdriven tube tone at "the baby's sleeping, turn that thing down!" volume. Or I could just be happy with my Tech21 solid state amp and my headphones... :sigh:
The little Ibanez does not yet seem to be available in the US, by the way.
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
Ah, makes sense. So, in a nutshell, I'd probably be better off getting a 5-watter and an inexpensive attenuator if I want overdriven tube tone at "the baby's sleeping, turn that thing down!" volume. Or I could just be happy with my Tech21 solid state amp and my headphones... :sigh:Yeah, that or cough up the bucks and build a little bitty one. It's good experience.
Check out the "Moonlight" over at: http://AX84.com/
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
Ah, makes sense. So, in a nutshell, I'd probably be better off getting a 5-watter and an inexpensive attenuator if I want overdriven tube tone at "the baby's sleeping, turn that thing down!" volume. Or I could just be happy with my Tech21 solid state amp and my headphones... :sigh:Yeah, that or cough up the bucks and build a little bitty one. It's good experience.
Check out the "Moonlight" over at: http://AX84.com/
Yes, those are pretty cool. I had looked at their P1 and Firefly projects before. I'd love to build one (despite a lack of electronics skills), but it's the "coughing up the bucks" part that is the real problem.
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
Anyone see the Ibanez for sale in the US? I did a search looking for one and only found them in the UK.
If it was easy it wouldn't be worth doing.
