Small Studio Amp

[TheGuitarMan]

Well, my wife bought me one of those Vox Pathfinders for about $80.00 at Media Play. Incredible amp! I've been a performing musician for well over 30 years & this thing blew me away. No reverb, but it does have vibrato & a gain switch. Great distortion if needed, & it has that Vox midrange boost switch. Way cool!
Used it for a gig in a 300 seater club recently & had no problem being heard. I think it's 15-20 watts. I think I'll leave my Fender Deluxe 112 at home from now on.

Hmmm. Yours must be an older one. I have a Vox Pathfinder myself. 8 inch blue bulldog speaker, 15 watts, tremolo and gain boost. No mid boost switch though. Paid $130 including footswitch. It's nicer than the new ones with the 6 inch speaker and 10 watts.

I do believe Vox makes a 15 watt tube amp. Don't remember what it's called.

 

[Low Country]

small studio amp

I would get the Tech 21 Trademark 10. If you try one out and dig the sound, you can buy a power cabinet for live gigs.

The SansAmp is great for direct recording, and you could practice with it too if you have the other necessary equipment.

I haven't heard the Vox Pathfinder (solid state), but I have heard the Cambridge 15 (tube preamp), and it sounds great. You can also replace the factory tube with a better one. Unfortunately, they don't make the Cambridge 15 anymore, but you can find them on eBay (sometimes) for about $95.

Practice Amps Rule.

 

[muzeman]

Hey Bob,

I'm looking for the same thing.

I tried out the Blues Junior and the Trademark 10.
Wasn't too impressed by the Junior.

The Tech was really good,bites even at low volumes.
Has a decent spring reverb too.

What I really liked about it was the way it reacted to my playing,picks up every note,bend,and harmonic perfectly.

I just want an amp to mic at low volumes,this seems to fit the bill.
Definitly worth checking out.

Seems like real tube amps have to be cranked to get a good sound out of them.

BTW-I bought an XT,took it back though.
Couldn't get a decent level without it clipping,and the only sound I liked was the clean tube pre simulator.
Sounds o.k,just not for me.

Hope this helps,good luck!

Have a Happy Holiday,
Pete

 

[MySiteSpace]

My vote goes to a fender blues Jr for a "small studio amp". I love marshalls - but really only their tube amps and even a 50 watt marshall is a mean sucker.

While it does not drty up too much on its own, the blues jr is a great sounding amp with real tubes.

Some killer prices on ebay too.

 

[Buffalo Bob]

Thanks guys! I've always been an acoustic player, so I haven't kept up on guitar amps.
Richie- the Crate I have is the G80XL. It's really not that buzzy, but at 80 watts, it's just too big in my little one-room studio. I also have a pair of Crate monitor wedges, that are real crap. Gotta start selling off this stuff so I can buy MORE CHANNELS!

Stone- how's the play going? Get out of here and get to work!

Thanks everyone- I've got to go and listen to some amps.....it's a tough job but somebody's got to do it!

Bob