Okay, I need your input since I'm lookin to buy an electric guitar amp. Not having played for a few years, I've lost touch with what good amps are available. Here's what I'm looking for;
* To be used to practise at home, record (in an ordinary house, not a massive sound-proofed studio), and also playing some small gigs (think size of an average pub). I'm thinking 30watts or less, and I have to be able to carry it without collapsing.
* I prefer tube amps to solid state, although I'm willing to be persuaded. Main thing is that it has a good tone for what I'm doing (esp. recording at lower volumes) - versatility here is also useful.
* I generally play blues, funk, soul, and a bit (hopefully more as time goes on) jazz. Rock also - think 60s rock, Nirvana, and indie music, rather than Slayer's greatest hits..
* My current guitars are a US Strat, an Epi' Les Paul and an Ovation. I get what effects I use from pedals, so an amp with lots of built-in effects isn't a high priority (I have a Rat distortion, Bluesbreaker pedal, Crybaby 535Q, and I'm gonna get a Boss Reverb and Boss Delay).
* Recording - I like micing the amp, but would also enjoy being able to take a line straight from the amp to the 'puter/interface sometimes.
* 'Fave' players, esp. looking at tone here - Jeff Beck, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Hendrix, Robben Ford, Buddy Guy, Jonny Lang, Steve Cropper, Joe Diorio .
* Price range - I want to spend roughly 150-300 quid, which is around $300-600.
* Current amp - a Marshall JTM45 combo (tube). I want something lighter than this and better for recording/playing at home.
I really like my Crate Palomino V16- $350 in the US, not sure where you are:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Palomino-v16-Class-A-Tube-Combo-Amp?sku=487826
Very nice tube tone - 15W, plenty loud. I also use pedals instead of onboard effects, but to be honest, most of the time all I need is to crank the amp and add a little gain. I do use an attenuator, since this baby is really loud in the home. More than loud enough for a small gig and can obviously be miked for larger spaces.
I'd say a Fender Blues Jr.
Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing. - Wernher Von Braun (1912-1977)
I'd say a Fender Blues Jr.
+1 on the Blues Junior, though no line out for recording.
If you were on a tighter budget and willing to try solid state, I'd recommend the new version of the Cube 30 or one of the Vox modelers with the tube in the preamp stage (can never recall the model numbers). The Cube 30 is really great for small gigs, practice, recording, but doesn't quite have that beautiful BJ tube sound. But it is very flexible in terms of tones and several of these -- esp clean "Jazz Chorus" and Blackface and Brit -- are very nice.
-=tension & release=-
thanks for the replies!
yeah, I was strongly considering the blues jr. esp. since reading the review of it in the amplification section, but I've heard that its pretty noisy on its own? Its both at the top end of my budget and the top of my favourites I've checked out so far, but I'm not sure I can afford a suitable noise gate as well, and that might be necessary for recording at low levels.
I checked the Crate amp, but I don't think its available over here. While I could order it from america, I'm pretty loathe to spend that much money on a product I've never even heard let alone tried out for myself first.
I'm gonna check out the Cube 30, hadn't given that much consideration yet.
Okay, the shortlist, as I've managed to get it so far, is....
Fender Blues Jr (but a bit worried about unwanted noise) - around 330 English Pounds
Vox AD15VT (think this is the Vox amp that got a mention) - around 120 EPs
Marshall AVT20X - around 230 EPs
Marshall MG30DFX - around 160 EPs
Cube 30
If anyone has any further suggestions/comments/etc on these or similar amps, I'd love to hear it.
:D
The Cube30 is nice. I've got one of the older ones (not much older but pre 30X designation) and it is a modelling amp. I like some of the tones quite a bit - tweed, blackface, and brit combo plus the Jazz Chorus (which it isn't really modelling since that was SS too). The heavy overdrive models don't do it for me - I'm not sure if that's because I'm not a big fan of heavy overdrive or it doesn't do them well. I'm still undecided about the "stack" model which is supposed to be a Marshall sound. The effects on the older Cube30 were nothing to write home about - pretty basic and ok to mess about with at home but not for real use. The reverb is ok. Maybe those are better on the newer X models.
As far as tube amps have you thought about the new Traynor combos - YCV20 or YCV40 (or maybe the WR - Wine Red - version of either of those)? Your budget would get you any one of those in North America but I'm not sure what the prices turn into in Britain. The big difference between the 20 and the 40 aside from the power difference (15W and 40W) is the output tubes which will have different tones - EL84 vs. 6L6. The WR models have Wine Red tolex with wheat grill cloth and a Celestion Greenback speaker. The YCV20 has a direct out for recording or to a mixing board while the YCV40 has an effects loop that you could use for recording though you will be bypassing the output tubes (the YCV20 has a output/speaker emulation on the recording out). They sound very good and I might have bought one but I went with one of the older Traynor amps from the 70's.
Pop music is about stealing pocket money from children. - Ian Anderson
