Nice tube combo amps under $500?

  • Thread starter Thread starter elenore19
  • Start date Start date
jonnyc said:
I just noticed in the new sweetwater that the Peavey Windsor is now available in a 15 watt combo with all kinds of features that'd make it killer for studio use(has a built in power soak). I have no idea if they're really available yet since sweetwater likes to jump the gun and put stuff in their catalogs before they actually come out. I'm gonna give one a run to see if it's worth a crap, as soon is it comes out and I get some spare change.
Click to expand...

Ooo, that's intriguing. I've looked that windsor head for a while, but a 15w combo? sounds like it would be pretty sweet. Any idea on what they have for a price on it?
 
Also, just found this one. Someone suggested it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/CRATE-VINTAGE-CL...QQcmdZViewItem

Good value? or no? Is it worth going for? or no? Definitely in my price range, actually a pretty perfect price.
Click to expand...

That's weird. From what the listing says, somebody took the electronics of the 30W 1x12 and stuck it in the cab of the 50W 2x12.

Either that or the guy is wrong and that's just the 50W 2x12 model. If it is what he says it is, you'll basically be getting the amp I've had for a long time and really dig, except it'll be pushing 2 12"s instead of one. Yeah, sounds like a deal to me, as long as the guy isn't charging an arm & a leg for shipping.
 
elenore19 said:
Ooo, that's intriguing. I've looked that windsor head for a while, but a 15w combo? sounds like it would be pretty sweet. Any idea on what they have for a price on it?
Click to expand...


$399, and you can probably find it a little cheaper at other places. Like I said I'm picking up one when I get a chance. Check out sweetwater's website, they have all the details on it.
 
If youre looking for a versatile affordable amp, the Valve King is the best bang for the buck out there. Crystal clear bell like clean, nice OD channel and some kind of turbo boost for gain/disto sounds.

Much love and respect for the entire Classic and Delta lines, but you wont really get a modern gain sound out of em w/ out something in front. Same goes for the blues junior and deville.

Good luck and lets us know whatcha get!
 
If you keep getting "hiss" from solid state amps..... don't expect tube amps to be better. They are notorious for a little more noise, especially in the budget priced arena of amps (which 500 dollars most definitely puts you). Is there any possibility its your guitar?

If you want a decent crunch tone, check out some of behringer modeleing (*putting flame suit on*) amps. They werent that popular so you can get one on ebay cheap. Personally they sound about as good as the original Line6 POD, going thru a solid state power amp and middle of the road speakers. I used to care more about high gain sounds and onboard effects than anything else and almost bought one. I like palm muting that open "e", or "d" chord chord and hear the speakers oomph.
 
If you're really lucky, you might be able to find a Fender Deluxe Reverb RI in the $500 range. Hard to beat the sounds from them (if you like Fenders).
 
bluesy tone with some crunch, for punk? hrrmmm. any chance you have a cab already or could get one by selling your spider? the orange tiny terror head is a nice sounding and fairly versatile little amp but fifty bucks out of budget. the one i played had the matching 112 cab and sounded huge. it has to be the best new production amp in it's price range. the clips i heard before playing it didn't do any justice for this amp. definitely the best i've heard in that range. that windsor caught my eye too. when's the thing going to be available?

ggun, to be fair, i normally play a strat, which isn't exactly the thickest sounding guitar. what kind of stuff do you use the blues junior for? also, i like amps on the thicker, darker side. seems to work well with a strat for me used for blues to raunchy rock stuff. the blues junior and classic series amps i've tried have been too ice picky for my ears.

p.s. - living in hotel rooms sucks ass when you want to plug in and crank up an amp.
 
I've never had or heard an amp, solid state or tube that didn't hiss when ya hit OD, you won't find one, but you can find your favorite hiss :D and I have to stand up for my Delta, the OD section kicks ass it does take 20 minutes for the amp to heat up though, I don't use any pedals or outboard effects, never have since the 60's I have had Marshall stacks, Fenders Mesa and this 30 watt amp I mean thats all it is, is tube power hissin OD, it has a beautiful clean channel that can be provoked...yep I mic it on stage, its just a monitor so to speak. There are lots of amps on the market for under $500 a friend of mine just got one of the Carvin solid states 2-12 amps with an ext 2-12 cab, he loves it. The thing I hate are amps and guitars that have ground issues and you have to keep the hand on the strings to keep the noise down, that sucks....30 watts and a 87'PRS
 
travelin travis said:
ggun, to be fair, i normally play a strat, which isn't exactly the thickest sounding guitar. what kind of stuff do you use the blues junior for? also, i like amps on the thicker, darker side. seems to work well with a strat for me used for blues to raunchy rock stuff. the blues junior and classic series amps i've tried have been too ice picky for my ears.
Click to expand...

I usually play my Les Paul through the Jr because when I'm playing my Strat I'm looking for clean and glassy, and the Jr isn't that at all. I have a BFDR with a JBL K130 that does that very well; the Jr is far and away darker and thicker than the Deluxe.

I have a friend who plays his Strat through my Jr whenever he comes over, though, and he's been trying to convince me to sell it to him for several years. He gets a nice fat tone from it, and he doesn't run anything in front of it but delay and chorus. He's a bit of a tone freak, and he likes the Jr better than his Boogie Mark IV.

Could be it's just a matter of taste.
 
goodbyebluesky said:
If you keep getting "hiss" from solid state amps..... don't expect tube amps to be better. They are notorious for a little more noise, especially in the budget priced arena of amps (which 500 dollars most definitely puts you). Is there any possibility its your guitar?

If you want a decent crunch tone, check out some of behringer modeleing (*putting flame suit on*) amps. They werent that popular so you can get one on ebay cheap. Personally they sound about as good as the original Line6 POD, going thru a solid state power amp and middle of the road speakers. I used to care more about high gain sounds and onboard effects than anything else and almost bought one. I like palm muting that open "e", or "d" chord chord and hear the speakers oomph.
Click to expand...
It's hard to describe what I hear. I know what noise is from my guitar and what isn't. The distortion I have with my solid state is good up front, but if you listen closely with your ear next to the speaker there's an overlying hiss type noise. I've played on a couple of tube amps and I could not find this noise.
 
while the noise/distortion you are trying to avoid might well be primarily dependent on your amp, it is unlikely that it is a function of solid state Vs. valve amplification in general
 
This one is a no-brainer.

The Tech-21 Trademark 60 is the amp you're looking for. Simply the best all around tone for a solid state amp. It's totally reliable and more than enough power to gig with. This amp is known for it's tubelike tone and versatility.

Granted, a new one goes for just over $500, but you can find them in "like new" condition in the $350 to $400 range.
 
Buck62 said:
This one is a no-brainer.

The Tech-21 Trademark 60 is the amp you're looking for. Simply the best all around tone for a solid state amp. It's totally reliable and more than enough power to gig with. This amp is known for it's tubelike tone and versatility.

Granted, a new one goes for just over $500, but you can find them in "like new" condition in the $350 to $400 range.
Click to expand...


BLASPHEMY!!!!! CRUCIFY HIM!!!! BLASPHEMY!!!!!
 
Peavey Valveking

I owned a valveking for a week or two. i had to return mine due to noise issues, but i loved the amp. it had a great clean and reverb, and i think it has the kind of sound you're looking for. i was going for a sound along the lines of rise against, the offspring, weezer, green day, etc. is that about right?

i'd definitely go and try the valveking if i were you. after i returned it, i didnt have enough money to buy another one (it was on sale when i got it) so i ended up with a solidstate laney (dumb mistake) but ive tried other valveking 112's that didn't have the problems mine did, so ive concluded that mine was a lemon.

bottom line: try it in person before you buy it, and definitely check it out.

im surprised no one has said this obvious answer yet, but it had to be said eventually:

YOU have to go to the stores and find the sound you like. the advice on these forums is probably good advice, but nothing beats your own ears when it comes to finding the right amp. get out there and piss off the store owners. and if they give you attitude, buy the amp somewhere else.

good luck.

Adam
 
I've had tube amps and solid states, and they all get lots of hiss if you are using enough gain. Noise Gate or noise suppression pedals come in real handy for that reason.

I really don't think that a little tube amp like a blues junior or a VJ is going to give you a real strong punk rock sound without using a pedal, and even then maybe not. IMO, you would be better going with a Marshall Valvestate, or a randall RG100 or something like that....bigger, heavier tone, though not as nice and "tubey" sounding. But is nice and "tubey" something you really need for punk rock? I don't know?
 
amra said:
I've had tube amps and solid states, and they all get lots of hiss if you are using enough gain. Noise Gate or noise suppression pedals come in real handy for that reason.

I really don't think that a little tube amp like a blues junior or a VJ is going to give you a real strong punk rock sound without using a pedal, and even then maybe not. IMO, you would be better going with a Marshall Valvestate, or a randall RG100 or something like that....bigger, heavier tone, though not as nice and "tubey" sounding. But is nice and "tubey" something you really need for punk rock? I don't know?
Click to expand...

i agree to a certain extent. its not really the genre that comes to mind when you think of a nice smooth tube sound.

however, i could never suggest a SS amp over tube no matter what kind of genre we're talking about.

i think the fenders are almost out of the question. in my experience, they wont get close to what you want without pedals and possibly some additional eq.

obviously if you had the money, a marshall or mesa would be ideal for what youre looking for.

id look at the b52s as mentioned earlier. peavey also leans towards heavy sharper tones as opposed to fenders recent amps. thats why i suggest you check out their stuff as well.

try and get your hands on a dsl401 off ebay. that'll probably be perfect for you.

Adam
 
Pretty much anything I'd recommend has already been recommended, so I'll offer my humble opinion on one within your price range, instead. Last November, I tried out a Peavey Valve King 112 combo, and I pretty much liked it. Plenty of headroom in the clean channel, and the lead channel distortion is a helluva lot better than the "Fuzz Box" Amp Models setting on my Line 6 Guitar POD 2.0, and ya don't have to crank it too much to get the distortion. I don't need a lot of distortion for what I play, however, so if I do want distortion I'll use a pedal, and I even ultimately went for a Peavey Classic 50/212 instead of a Valve King (the miracle of a store that has a 90-day lay-away - I'll have it come mid-October). For somebody posing a question such as you have, I would not hesitate to recommend the Peavey Valve King 112.

Matt
 
Sounds lke you want an old Fender or Marshall, hard to come by for under 500. Tube amps probably don't have less noise than SS to my knowledge.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top