Low Cost amplifier for distortion.

A

AndyK12

New member
Hi,

I've already got a Fender 65 deluxe reverb reissue - I'm looking for something comparable in wattage (20-40) that's a combo (head+cab would be OK, but not something I really want right now) that has a great distortion. I could care less if the cleans are horrible.

I've got $1000 USD ($1200 CAD) to spend. I've been looking at some marshalls, but I'm not hung up on brand name. I just want something that sounds good, and is good. Alternatives would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much,
Andy.
 
AndyK12 said:
Hi,

I've already got a Fender 65 deluxe reverb reissue - I'm looking for something comparable in wattage (20-40) that's a combo (head+cab would be OK, but not something I really want right now) that has a great distortion. I could care less if the cleans are horrible.

I've got $1000 USD ($1200 CAD) to spend. I've been looking at some marshalls, but I'm not hung up on brand name. I just want something that sounds good, and is good. Alternatives would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much,
Andy.
Click to expand...

Fender
Traynor
Laney
THD
Orange
Marshall
Soldano
Mesa
Krank
etc
etc
etc
etc
etc
etc

A thousand dollars will get you a lot of options for a 20-40 watt amp, and almost anything but the boutique if you consider the used market as well.

The problem is you said distortion. Thats like saying you want a sedan. There are still 50 million options.
But all of the companies listed have something marshall-like that might float your boat, while staying in your budget.
 
What kind of distortion are you after? Bluesy overdrive? British Crunch? smooth saturated sustain? all out metal?

I mean, when someone says "great distortion, crappy cleans," the first thing that springs to mind is a 5150 head, but that sort of presupposes what you're after is metal type gain.
 
Lancaster Amplification

www.detailaudio.com

It's Lancaster Amplification, I play one (the Leedis 30, which is reminiscent of a Vox AC-50 without any of the issues), but he makes a gainy amp called the Brutis that is pretty great and really reasonable (a 20 watt Brutis I believe brand new is under $1,000). I was really anal about tone and only played vintage amps (Ampeg, Sound City, Knight, Gretsch) and now the Leedis 30 is what I play at every show after the vintage amps went through a bunch of goofy issues (cap coming unsoldered in the pre amp, tube sockets becoming intermittent, etc). Vintage sound and modern reliability and not having to worry if it's going to work after getting unloaded into a club is a really great combination.

He builds them all point to point in Peoria, IL, tube rectified, all high-end parts, lifetime warranty and you can actually call and talk to him on the phone personally (his number is on the website). If you give Dave a call, let him know Scott Walus told you about him. He's a good guy.
 
Thanks these have been great suggestions.

I guess the kind of tone that I'm looking for is Robbie Robertson, which is probably just a cranked twin. Kind of scratchy, with a bit more sustain, but not really a chug machine. I guess vintage distortion would cover the bill. Rolling Stones, John Lee Hooker, that kind of thing.
 
I think that my Traynor Custom Valve excels at what you're looking for. Here's a link to MF.com's line of Traynor amps:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/navigation?q=traynor+ycv&st=

Orange amps do this type of distortion well also (their site isn't exactly easy to navigate though):
http://www.orangeamps.com/index.asp

Fender has several amps that have great vintage-type distortion. Even the Super Champ XD gets lots of great reviews from users here. Its a modelling preamp paired with a tube output section:
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-SuperChamp-XD-120V-Guitar-Combo?sku=483075

The Epiphone valve series of amps is good for budget-minded tube tone:
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/...tar-amplifiers-effects?N=100001+200990+338479

Peavey Classic 30 and Classic 50, plus their Delta blues series are good vintage distortion too:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/navigation?q=peavey+classic&st=
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/navigation?q=peavey+delta&st=

That should give you a good start. For the most part its going to be worth actually getting your hands on each amp, cranking it enough to push the power tubes into breaking up, and try them out yourself. Maybe you have a local shop that will let you take an amp home for a night, crank it, and return it if you don't like it. I'm not sure how common that is.
 
AndyK12 said:
Thanks these have been great suggestions.

I guess the kind of tone that I'm looking for is Robbie Robertson, which is probably just a cranked twin. Kind of scratchy, with a bit more sustain, but not really a chug machine. I guess vintage distortion would cover the bill. Rolling Stones, John Lee Hooker, that kind of thing.
Click to expand...

I'm no help to you, "scratchy" is somehting I try to avoid in my distortion sound. :p

That said, I know the Stones have been gigging with Mesa Mark-II's for ages now. A Mark series isn't going to be cheap, but you might find a II or a III used in your price range. Barring that, some of the amps based on it - any of the older Rocket series, maybe a DC-3, or if you can find one a Heartbreaker - should get you close, and while I personally didn't care for them at all, the Express 2:25 is probably close to what you're after.

Hell, on the cheap, have you tried a Fender Blues Jr?
 
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