Small, cheapish tube amp...

  • Thread starter Thread starter SteveMcB
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SteveMcB

Just some guy from NZ
Hey guys,
I'm on the lookout for a cheap, smallish tube amp, and am wanting any recomendations you have for what models to consider. I don't have a lot of cash at present, so I'll likely have to go second hand.

I play rock, pop rock, and a little bit of whatever else. The amp would be for recording, low-med volume use on stage, and practice. Single channel is fine, as for live use the distortion thing can be done with Rat, Tube screamer and J-station. I'd prefer at least a 10" speaker. Preferably easy to carry - I often have to park quite a long way from where I'm actually playing - I have to carry a couple of guitars, pedalboard and amp...

Guitars include Ibanez Rg570 with Dimarzios, homemade hollowbody ash tele with duncans, Lap steel with single P90, Synchromatic sparklejet (cheap korean Gretch).

My brother has a Mesa subway rocket (weird version that we can't find anywhere on the web - single channel, no reverb, 240v model). It would be ideal, but it's in another city, and not at all for sale! :(
Under consideration so far...

Mesa subway rocket
Fender Champ 12/Blues Jr/Pro Jr
Peavey Classic 20/Classic 30


Any other suggestions?

Thanks,
Steve
 
The Peaveys and the Blues Junior would be your best bet. There's also the H&K Tube Edition which I think is not made anymore but was a recent enough model.

You could try a Univox tube head and a small 1x12 or 2x12 cab, both of which fall into your budget if you watch Ebay closely.

The Mesa would be great, but since you have the money for one of those you could also look at a vintage Fender Princeton. There's the Marshall JTM 30 and 60 which should still fall into your price range.

If you have a chance to check out a Tech 21 Trademark 60, then you may want to as an alternative to toobs.
 
I have an Ampeg J12T. 15 Watts, Class A. Comes with a nice splashy reverb and tremolo. It's a nice Fender/Vox vibe, and great for recording.
 
Kevin,
I've tried the Laney - nice enough, but a bit thin and strident sounding I found. I think maybe it's just my being used to the bass end thump that you get with 12" speakers. But it just wasn't for me.

freshmattyp, sadly no-one seems to have imported anything ampeg makes to this country, except maybe the odd SVT (which I'd love to have for bass, so long as I never had to move it :eek: ). Will keep my eyes open for it though. New or old model?

toorglick, I'll have to look into those Marshalls and the H&K. While I realise the Trademark 60 is a different beast to my J-station, I'm really set on a tube amp rather than an emulator, my current setup being from my J-station into the fx return of a fender solid-state amp.

Thanks for the replies,
Steve
 
Depends on your definition of "cheap", but I've been incredibly satisfied by my Fender Deluxe 112. Lots of tone, lots of volume, lots of crunch, and portable. I only paid $400 for it back in '98, and you could probably find one used for less.

Ditto on the Blues Junior, though. Good amp for the money.
 
I bought a tweed Pro Jr about 8-9 years ago now. In that time I have gone through 15 or so other amps, including other Fenders, Ampeg, Marshall, Vox...some cheap and some quite expensive. The Pro Jr isn't better than most of the other amps I've bought and gotten rid of. I just haven't been able to part from it because I love it so much. It's just so easy to use and has a great small tube sound. If you use fx and mic it on stage anyways, it is one of the most useful amps I know of. AND It's light and easy to carry where you need to go. Ever hauled a Fender Bassman with no casters around oh 4-5 nights a week? OUCH! :) Oh, it also has a 1/4" out for the speaker, so it's really easy to plug it into a 1x12 (or a 4x12 like I do sometimes) cabinet to get different sounds.

H2H
 
Hard2Hear said:
Ever hauled a Fender Bassman with no casters around oh 4-5 nights a week? OUCH! :)
Click to expand...

Man, my first amp was an old Fender Bandmaster, similar to a Bassman. Sounded great, but the damn thing was huge. Just two 12"s, but the cabinet containing them could have housed a Marshall stack. Combos are definitely the way to go for regularly gigging types.
 
And the thing about the older Fenders is those big cabinets were solid wood and made to last forever...and give you a HERNIA!

H2H
 
Oh yeah, Steve McB...
I have some friends in a band from around Auckland somewhere. The band is called "Detour" (now Detour180 in the US). You ever hear them?

H2H
 
Funny, my primary amps are a Bassman and a Bandmaster with 2x12 cabs. I use only one at a time, though. I settled on those after going through a whole bunch of combos over a few years. The sound is different, to me at least, enough to justify dragging them around. Actually, I'd say the difference between a combo and a half-stack (or full stack if you will) is almost dramatic. Even when recording them. I always find combos to be "boxy" sounding.

Anyway, you should also check out the Kalamazoo Reverb 12. You'll probably have to have a tech look at it once you find one, but, I used to have one of those and regret selling it off. Awesome tone; stock heavy 10" CTS alnico, true PTP wiring, dual el84s. Mmm...lots of tone even though it hissed a little. On that note, anyone looking for a recording amp ought to check into the Kalamazoo Model 1 or 2. I had a Model 1, another amp I highly regret selling (in fact, of the amps I've sold I regret selling this one the most). It records very very well. It's "the better" alternative to a vintage Champ.

I can understand wanting a real tube amp over SS and emulators. There really is no substitute for the real thing.

Other amps worth noting for small, cheap combos: Epiphone Galaxie 25, which is new line. And the Electar Tube 30.
 
Wow, thanks for all the replies guys...

Hard2Hear - I have heard of, but not heard Detour. Between my job (it's 04.15 here, and I'm at work), studying for exams, and my wife, there's not a lot of time for music, especially going out to hear live music. Ah, I have become such a nanna in my (not really very) old age...

My definition of "cheap" is probably sub $500ish US (including second hand to that price).

The trouble is with the size of the market here and the fact that everything goes via distributors, adding an extra layer of middlemen to the profit-taking price-inflating ranks, we pay a lot more for most music gear than you guys. Except for the cheapest, made in the far east junk, which is cheaper here presumably because of shipping distances. Also, there is quite a bit of stuff that just doesn't get brought into the country because of the size of the market. And some of the major distributors have relatively recently been burned by bringing in large (for us) quantities of cheap but decent gear that has been tipped to be hot (Danelectro and synchromatic guitars in particular), and not been able to sell them. So Electars unheard of for example. The stores seem to be sticking to the major products by the major brands very closely. Thus, the fenders, peaveys and such are likely to be my lot.

I am totally disinterested in a stack, or a head and cab setup... I'm trying to downsize from a 2x12 solid state combo here!

Thanks again,
Steve
 
SteveMcB said:
Kevin,
freshmattyp, sadly no-one seems to have imported anything ampeg makes to this country, except maybe the odd SVT (which I'd love to have for bass, so long as I never had to move it :eek: ). Will keep my eyes open for it though. New or old model?
Click to expand...

It's a reissue of an old model. My quck and dirty online search shows them going for $450 USD new.
 
Thanks freshmattyp, I'll keep an eye out for it. But as I say, I don't think anyone's bringing Ampeg into the country at present.


How about the Carvin Vintage 16? Anyone used it?
Fits in the price and features bracket...

Steve
 
Fender Deluxe Reverb reissue or silverface DR
Traynor Guitarmate or YCV20
Orange AD15
...and my usual advice of old Ampeg, Sunn, etc, which you may or may not find around. Old MIJ amps copied some famous designs, e.g. Univox made copies of Fender's reverb preamps and also the Bassman/Plexi preamps.

You might also try to find Simcha Delft (nee Steven Delft) who is either in NZ or Australia. Winds trannies, probably builds amps as well. Check the bbs at ax84.com and you'll probably find a number of homebrewers in your neck of the woods.

Haven't tried the Vintage 16 but I do have a Vintage 50. Nice amp, but...stock it has diodes in the overdrive channel, and the "acoustic presence" is a presence control which only works on the clean channel...you may disappear in the mix when you stomp on the overdrive. The diodes are easy enough to remove or to install a compliance trimmer since there are two each way.
 
You really couldn't go wrong with a Carvin. www.carvin.com

VINTAGE16 - Vintage 16/5 watt triode amp, 100W 12" speaker $399.99

112NOMAD - 50 watt, all-tube combo amp, 12" speaker $ 529.99

Check out the message board over at Carvin.com, a lot of guys there have sound clips if you search for them.

stu
 
A question about the laney 15: is the clean sound better on that amp, than on a non-valve fender? (i need a great clean tone for recording)
 
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