I would just like a few suggestions to work with here;
I need a new amp, my old peavey 10 watter has given up the ghost. I do not want a marshall, I do not want a modelling amp, I do not want a digital amp with inbuilt effects, I don't care about the distortion channel, I just want a good clean sound (If I need distortion I use a pedal). I just want a good amp, that has no digital stuff in it.
right now I have £200, though that can go up to £300, what sort of thing should I look at?
Thankyou
Peter
I'm sure the gang will post their various favorites. Mine is the Fender 25R (non-tube). $150US
-Laz
Yes, I've tried it's younger brother, the 15R, I found it to be a little "noisy", a lot of background fuzz, but maybe that was just a bad one.
Try a tech 21
How much does the Fender Blues jr. cost over there?
It has a pretty nice clean. If you find that it doesn't have enough headroom you can make a well documented tube change that will give you some more clean headroom.
I think it would be within your range in the states, but I believe it is more expensive there.
A Fender or Peavey. My guitar teacher is gigging with a Peavey Classic 30 and it has a good clean sound and amazing volume for such a small amp. I think it would fall in your price range.
I think Laz hit it right on the button. A low price amp with a good clean sound is the Fender Frontman 25R. Read these reviews on Harmony Central.
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
I know you said you don't want modeling, but I'll recommend it anyway: Vox AD30VT. It has a basic modeling pre-amp, which goes to a 1W tube poweramp which is then again amplified by a 30W solid-state amp. Really, try it in store, it has awesome clean tones.
for a cheap powerful amp, Behringer's are a steal, they're some of the least costly amps here in the states, and they have really pure clean, the only problem is their overdrive is crappy, and apparently you don't care about that
I don't follow my dreams, I just ask em' where they're going and catch up with them later.
-Mitch Hedburg
Did you see that!
I'd say Fender. They really do have great clean tones. I have a princeton chorus 210, and its nice. I get alot of comments on the clean sound of this amp. Now they don't make this model, but the Princeton 65 I think it is, should be in your price range, I can get a used one for 200 dollars canadina over here. You should really give them a look.
~PauL~
Vacate is the word...Vengance has no place on me or her...Cannot find a comfort in this world.
Snoogan: the latest series of Behringer amps actually have VERY decent overdrive/distortions in them. But yeah, the cleans were and still are amazing for the price you play. Only downside is that the new GMX series seems to have much lower volume with the clean channels. But if that ain't a problem, they are definitely worth checking out. For example, the GM108 is a very nice small 15 watt amp for at home, and costs a mere $60 or so. Purely analog, no effect unit. Amazing little bugger!
The Behringer GM 110 is all analog (so they say) and has a 10" speaker, which is nice if you'd like a fuller sound (although I hear great things about the 108, I've just always been unhappy with the 8" speaker in my Crate amp). It's a decent $100US copy of the Tech 21 amp that Nick recommends.
The Vox AD30VT and the AD15VT are 2 good choices to consider and in your price range. You could just set it on one of the Fender or Vox models and forget that it is a modelling amp.
Unfortunately, the Blues Junior is at the top of my price range, and 15 watts is just not enough.
I took a look at the Behringer GMX210 on their website, it looks faily good (despite the digital effects!). any opinions on this particular model?
It strikes me as strange that none of the manyfacturers make anything in this sort of price range, that doesn't have DSP, moddelling, or that kinda thing on. It seems that in their rush to better eachother one technology, they have forgotten the beauty of simplicity...
I have the GMX212, which is pretty much a beefed up GMX210 plus some extra thingies like global presence control and speaker-out. Read the reviews at harmony central, they give a pretty decent impression. In short: the (analog) modeling is great, covers everything from clean to hard-rock. Effects are mediocre, but some are usefull nevertheless. If you use mostly clean, note that the volume of the clean channel is MUCH lower then the volume on the overdrive channels/models/settings/whatever. Operating it is dead-easy, three switches which can each be set to three postions. You want a rock sound? Brittish->hi-gain. Totally clean? Tweed->clean. Use the three-band EQ and the gain knob and you can shape it to whatever you want.
As for simplicity: if you don't like an option, just don't use it. Amps can be as simple as you want them to be, espescially if you rely on outboard stuff for effects. I could record some stuff in whatever setting you want, although my playing won;t do the amp any justice.
I know I sound like a scratched recorded about Tube amps first and Equalizers, and I'm sticking to it. In that price range you'll find plenty of tube amps that will give you the purist clean tone and sound you'll every imagine, then allow you the option of power stage saturation.
Joe
