Small amps - recommendations?

P

Pirateking

New member
I'm looking for a small but versatile guitar amp, maybe 60 watts or less (though my knowledge of these kinds of specific technical details is pretty minimal, so if I'm over/underestimating my needs, please correct me). Ideally, I'd like something that I would be able to use at a reasonable volume in my apartment and not piss off the neighbors, but also an amp that has a speaker out jack so that I can plug it into a cabinet for situations where I need to be louder (eg, house shows where the amp wouldn't be mic'ed). It doesn't need to sound fantastic at low volumes, I don't really care too much about tone when I'm just practicing at home, but I would like it to sound at least decent at louder volumes, like in full band practice or show situations. Feel free to recommend new or vintage amps, though I really don't like too much stuff (eg, amp modelling, etc.), just the basic tone knobs and maybe reverb. Are the newer small Vox amps any good?
 
Ooh, I just read up on the Pathfinder, that sounds really good. That's pretty much what I want, I think. I'll see if I can find one in town that I can try out.
 
Whatever amp you end up getting, if you're looking at tube amps, I wouldn't go over 30 watts class A or A/B. That might almost be too much for home use, and it's definitely plenty loud for gigs, short of large venues where you'd use a PA anyway.
 
I find I can tolerate the sound/tone of my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe at low volume (about 2 on the volume knob), and it sure sounds sweet when it goes up past 6 or 7. It is 40W, and can do some serious damage.

I am also a fan of the Vox Pathfinder, take a look around for a Vox Cambridge 15 if you can find one (out of production), similar to the Pathfinder, but with a tube in the preamp.
 
I also own a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and god DAMN the thing is loud, I wouldn't recommend it for apartment living (I'm going to have to leave mine behind when I go off to school :(). Playing straight through the amp, anything over 3 or 4 will about blow your head off, and anything over about 1 1/2 will surely bother your neighbors. I generally run through an effects pedal before hitting the amp, so I can keep the volume down, but the amp itself (like pretty much any tube amp I suppose) is made to play LOUD.
 
Hey! We're almost neighbors!

I've got to jump on the Pathfinder 15 bandwagon too. I've used mine for everything from bedroom jams to the Carpenter Center (you know - on Grace Street? miked up for that one tho...) It sounds astoundingly good for a $99 amp! Very nice clean and bluesy distortion. Has both a line out and external speaker out. Check Sam Ash and Guitar Center out on Broad Street, I think both of them carry it, if they can keep 'em in stock.
 
Solid state, always reliable, plenty loud or quiet, built like a tank, thick rich tones, carry it one hand and your guitar in the other.......ROLAND JC-77 though they have'nt made them in a few years you might be able to track one down. I paid $350.00 for mine. The ROLAND JC-90 was it's replacement and I understand that it is pretty much the same thing. I gave up my original 1969 twin reverb and switched to this amp.
 
I love the Peavy classic tube amps, great warm sound and fabulous overdrive
tube distortion. My 2 cents
 
well, im curious. this might have been answered, but what kind of guitar style are we talking hear? for clean....cant beat the fender champs back from the 60's and 70s.
 
If you're talking champ size, the Electar Tube 10 can't be beat for price. Sold through Gibson's musicyo.com.
 
Ive heard lots of good things about those little vox's. .....anybody got a clip they can post? I would love to hear one.

thanks
 
the harmonica player in my band has a blonde blues junior, and i love its sound on both his harps and with a strat plugged into it. however, my tele (89 american) sounds really thin and harsh through it. then again, my tele sounds thin and harsh through a lot of amps, too. :D

i have to give the amp thumbs up, no doubt. although, if i were playing more electric guitar, i'd be looking for an amp that mated up with my tele better.


wade
 
I have the Peavey Classic 30. I A/B'ed it against the comparable Fender amp (the DeVille?) and chose the Peavey. Go figger. My previous experience with Peaveys was some solid state model with an overdrive that sounded like a buzz saw. Bleah....
 
I was looking for something very similar a few months ago, and after trying out Ampeg, Fender, and Peavey tube amps I splurged for a Bad Cat Mini Cat. It's one of the few amps of its size/type that actually has a speaker out jack so you can hook up a cabinet. It also allows for unplugging the built-in speaker and recording directly, and there's a 1/8" headphone jack for quiet practice. Lots of cool features for such a small amp! I think it's the perfect amp for home use and for recording, and apparently it's even better if you hook it up to a cabinet, although I don't have one to try yet.

It's technically only a 5 watt amp, but since it's a 100% class A tube amp it's damn loud if you want it to be! It's also completely hand-wired, complete with 12ax7 and an EL84 tubes (1 of each) if I remember correctly. I was just blown away by the incredible tone and versatility of this amp...nothing else compared! Unfortunately it's a bit pricey because it's hand-built. Then again, it'll probably last a lifetime, and is easily repaired compared to the Fenders and others, which use mass-produced circuit-board components even in their tube amps. The cheapest I've seen the Bad Cat Mini Cat is $650. I got mine from classahighperformance.com. Once I heard it I couldn't bring myself to settle for the Fender Blues Jr. or Peavey Classic 30, despite the fact that they cost about half as much.

Anyway, check out the reviews at harmonycentral.com...they're pretty helpful, and there should be a good number of reviews for any given amp you might be interested in. Here's some technical info about the Mini Cat: http://www.badcatamps.com/product2.asp?pid=105&mode=1

I never got a chance to try out the Epiphone tube amps, but I know there are a couple of models and they're dirt cheap for tube amps. Here's a link: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid=040508123850004014233119268064/g=home/search/d=tp?q=galaxie

Good luck! :)
 
I've heard the Peavey classic 30 and it's the real deal.
I have a Blues Junior and agree with the comment about harshness with the Telecaster.The amp seems to sound much better with humbuckers.Still I'm very satisfied with it and it's easily the loudest fifteen watt amp I've ever heard.
 
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