Amp Suggestion

best combo Ive owned was a DSL 40.
I sold it and gone through other gear just to try and for fun, but in hindsight of all the amps in the house my favorite was the DSL 40.
It just had a tone that was great and easy to get. Clean tube sound is so pleasent sounding and striking the chords /strings harder you can get it to breakup a bit which is what I liked.

Its the only tube Marshall Ive owned, so no comparison to Bluesbreakers etc.. some friends have had the big-stacks but thats way too much and they never get to crank it without a power soak blahblahblah, imo overkill.

The DSL 40 captured a sound I liked....very different than several tube Fenders Ive owned and a few other tube amps. I paid $425 I think? $400 used, something like that, local and no shipping.
Guitar Center is having 18months no interest.... I dont know if I would want Tubes on the road though, probably a Crown Amp and a Multi-FX pedals....but for studio and home, Marshall DSL 40 you might like.

I might even try the 15W DSL single 12", like someone said even the 5watt tubes are frggn loud! 15 watts is the Fender Blues Jr range, and those are loud....40watt-60watt, DSL40....I also heard a friend loves his Fender SUperSonic said they really made that one versatile, and hes got a pile of high end Tube amps and always loves the Blues Jr and the SUper Sonic (I dont think hes turned his 100watt Marshall double-stack up past 3 in 15yrs)....That Fender Super Sonic 60watt combo might be interesting to try.
 
I'll stop spamming the tone thread with my amp choice stuff.

What about amps that are only pArt tube? I won't be running the amp that loud that often so do I need it all tube, could I get away with a solid state power section? I know Vox do some amps like this. Ok, so I won't get the power break up at the top end but i would possibly be happy with that compromise provided that the effect on the overall tone of the amp wasn't too detrimental
 
It really comes down to your personal preference when making that choice. I used to gig with solid state amps, didn't get my first tube amp until about 14 years ago and that's also the same year I got rid of my solid state amps. That is just my preference though; I'd say check out the Vox hybrids and compare them to the backstar amp you've already tried. If either one has a tone and feel that works for you then pull the trigger and get that bad boy home and cranked up. :guitar:
 
Personally I don't think that the difference between a solid state and a tube preamp section is nearly as drastic as the difference between a tube and SS power section. I'd MUCH rather have the tube power section. That's where most of the magic of a tube amp comes from: pushing the power section into breakup.

But depending on your tastes, a SS power section might be up your alley. I think it comes down to getting your hands on them and giving them a run-through.
 
Yeah, I just need to get in there and try loads out when I have no time constraints. Should be having my contract extended beyond Easter now too so may have a few more quid handy.
 
That is a good deal if it's the one with the V30 speaker. Over 600 quid in the shop when I tried it.
 
Gents,

Been away a while, doing little bits of recording but, new job, travelling etc - not that much recording.

Finally closing in on the amp choice though. The Blackstar HT Club 40 was probably a bit overkill for what I need it for. Mainly home recording or small pub gigs etc. So, I tried the Blackstar Studio 20. Basically, it's the 20 Watt version. Same tubes, still a 112 combo etc; pretty much the same layout. Can't get hold of the Blackstar SE with the V30 in it anymore anyway.

The non-SE blackstars have a Celestion Rocket 50 speaker. Sounded fine to me when trying it on its own but just wondered if anyone else had heard of these things and had an opinion.
 
JDOD said:
Gents,

Been away a while, doing little bits of recording but, new job, travelling etc - not that much recording.

Finally closing in on the amp choice though. The Blackstar HT Club 40 was probably a bit overkill for what I need it for. Mainly home recording or small pub gigs etc. So, I tried the Blackstar Studio 20. Basically, it's the 20 Watt version. Same tubes, still a 112 combo etc; pretty much the same layout. Can't get hold of the Blackstar SE with the V30 in it anymore anyway.

The non-SE blackstars have a Celestion Rocket 50 speaker. Sounded fine to me when trying it on its own but just wondered if anyone else had heard of these things and had an opinion.
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Well, IMO, if you have decided on Blackstar, then get one with the best speaker you can because the speaker makes a big difference. Those Rocket 50s are not very good.

And you say "small pub gigs". 20 watts might be powerful enough, but a 1x12 cab doesn't project much sound. Sure, you can mic it if the place supports that, but then what? You won't be able to leave your spot because you won't hear yourself. You're gonna be forced to stay in front of a monitor wedge. Middle-watt amps can theoretically be powerful enough to gig with, but you have to be able to hear it without sitting directly on top of it.
 
Greg_L said:
Well, IMO, if you have decided on Blackstar, then get one with the best speaker you can because the speaker makes a big difference. Those Rocket 50s are not very good.

And you say "small pub gigs". 20 watts might be powerful enough, but a 1x12 cab doesn't project much sound. Sure, you can mic it if the place supports that, but then what? You won't be able to leave your spot because you won't hear yourself. You're gonna be forced to stay in front of a monitor wedge. Middle-watt amps can theoretically be powerful enough to gig with, but you have to be able to hear it without sitting directly on top of it.
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LOL, Greg - the sort of pubs I am talking about you won't have enough space to wander off away from your amp... you've never been in an old welsh pub, have you! I first played at my local when I was 15. The band room is probably 5mx5m! The drum kit and two blokes probably take up 1/4 of the space.
 
I've never been to Wales, so no, I've never been in an old Welsh pub. If that's the kind of place you're playing, then I guess it doesn't matter what amp you use. It's gonna be a racket in a room like that.
 
DSC00034.jpg
 
I also spent £250 quid on a new (2nd hand) surf board a couple of weeks ago so between that and the new house I don't have that much money left.
 
Hey JROD, looks like you are interested in a couple amps I've been thinking about for awhile now. I haven't tried them out yet, but I'm interested in the Blackstar HT-20 head and the Peavey Valve King 20. At present I have a Peavey Classic 30 that was a combo but I converted to a head. I would like to stay around that wattage because it is plenty loud and I've never cranked it (well maybe for 5 minutes when no one was home). Anyways I have a 2x12 cab and a couple of 1x12 cabs so I like the idea of a head. I like my C30, but would like a little variety. Peavey has now come out with the C-20 in a head version and also the 6505+ in a 20 watt head. I've yet to try these out but looking forward to it. I'll be interested in what you decide. Happy amp hunting!!
 
FYI the HT-20 and HT-40 are rather different amplifiers, the 40 is not just a higher powered 20.

The 40 has a fixed (adjustable!) bias output stage and can in fact put out rather more than 40 watts, 50, even 60 watts is possible but of course distortion gets ever higher.

The HT-20 is essentially cathode biased (but with some FB adjustment) and as such, 20 watts is about all she wrote. The amp is however certainly up to small to modest pub gigs but maybe keep the drummer off the steak?

And yes, the Rocket is not terribly good but this is a very competitive end, practice/studio/small venue amps, of a very competitive market. Those that know will change the speaker or use an extension cab.

Some say "They" forgot to fit a standby switch on the 20? Well "they" are not saying but you only need to yank the jack plug out of the front socket and the amp turns off the output valves (Ia goes from ~100mA to less than 2mA) This also happens if you pull a speaker jack (yes, you can use the amp as a "pre amp" sans load) and this feature is common to all the HT series bar the 5 and One and is on all the Series One amps.

Dave.
 
Cheers, all useful info. Obviously I don't mind the 20 not being as loud as the 40; I just hope they are tonally similar as I liked the sound of the 40, albeit the 40 with the V30 speaker
 
JDOD said:
Cheers, all useful info. Obviously I don't mind the 20 not being as loud as the 40; I just hope they are tonally similar as I liked the sound of the 40, albeit the 40 with the V30 speaker
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That V30 is a whole world better than the Rocket. That's gonna be a big impact on the perceived voice of the amp.
 
My buddy has the Blackstar HT20 combo and gets great sounds from it, doesnt gig with it just records. It caused me to go the same route but got the head only version and run it through an Orange 1x12 closed back with a vintage 30 and also a Marshall 1x12 with some sort of Celestion. I am very happy with the set up. Here is the only song I have recorded with it. We did it live then overdubbed a second rhythm guitar track after. On one track the Orange cab is miced and the overdub we miced the Marshall cab. My buddy then later recorded leads over it using his ht20 combo and added bass and mixed it. I am happy with the tones we got and cant wait to do more with it.

https://soundcloud.com/liv_rong/phototropism-1
 
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