Small Tube Amp
Someone above mentioned Supro amps. Whew, they are awesome. Not only did Page record with one, but Jimi Hendrix owned one early, early on in his career. They are usually cheeeap in the 2nd hand shops, because nobody seems to know anything about them. Supro was made by VALCO MANF. eventually of Chicago. Valco was the reorganized
National Dobro Company that almost went under during WWII. Three of the National partners gained control of it and renamed the company VALCO. One of them was one of the Dopyera brothers. Valco made amps for GRETSCH, GIBSON, SILVERTONE, OAHU, and others, as well as their own lines, Supro being one of them. I owned a 5 watt '62 Supro and it was a killer amp. Its tone depended on the speaker cabinet you played it through. Through an 8" Utah it sounded like a sparkling clean to crunchy Vox. Through a single 12" it sounded much stronger. Through
a 4x10, it sounded like the most accurate SRV you've ever heard.
As amps go, I like the small, 60's all tube amps, preferably class A.
However, all that being said, now I play a Zoom 503 through an 80 watts/channel stereo, or through Sony Sports headphones, and I do not miss having a real guitar amp at all. I love
my Zoom 503. I'm not promoting them, it just happens to be the only thing I could find in my hometown to go with me on the road while traveling with a construction crew. Like I say I love the thing, I just can't believe it's 3 models behind the newest Zoom stuff. If I want Class A sounds, I set it on Vox Crunch, and play with the gain down. If I want more of the metal thud I set it on Marshall Stack or Mesa Boogie Drive and it just simply rules. Of course the cleans are other-worldly, and the effects are all in stereo.
Just realize that the amp modelers shine the best when played through anything other than a guitar amp. ie, PA system, home stereo, DI, clean power amp. The deal with guitar amps is that your amp's tone is not complimentary to the setup the modeler is emulating. For instance, maybe you're playing a Vox emulation through a bass amp with 15's.
Anyway, that's my thoughts. Either small, old tube amps, or modelers.