Buying my first tube amp

[cr0wnest]

I went down today to check out amps, but to my surprise I didnt find ANY of the amps mentioned here.. Davis said they no longer have the VHT Special 6 in stock and they dont bring in that model anymore so thats out of the question, unless I can try it elsewhere? Didnt see a single Vox amp as well! :/

 

[slowth]

Vox would be at city music

Davis would have the special 12/20. Maybe the 6 they no longer carry.

 

[draven07]

If your budget can be stretched, i'd highly recommend checking out Egnater amps at Ebenex.

I came across their Tweaker 15 without knowing what it was. Tried it after being pushed by the guys there for a while, and was blown away.

Went online then to research and found many many raving reviews. Went back to the store the next day and the rest is history

 

[cr0wnest]

The Egnater looks interesting! But they dont have any <10W amps :/

Ah yes City Music has Vox tube amps, maybe ill head down soon to check em out. Looks like its either the Vox AC4 or Laney Cub 12 for me in terms of specifications and features, anywhere I can try Blackstar amps? I think there used to be one shop at peninsula but its gone now.

 

[fade2b14ck]

For Blackstar, try Woodworkz. I bought mine from there.

 

[CyanideJunkie]

If your budget can be stretched, i'd highly recommend checking out Egnater amps at Ebenex.

Good call on Egnater. As far as mass-market amps go, Egnater has one of the best MV circuits. It's Vox circuit is pretty convincing too.

 

[Osiris]

Also having a hard time deciding what amp to get...hope the guys/gals here can help me out! Here are some of my requirements:

1) Want the British tube sound
2) Low watt neighbour-friendly
3) Good for a diverse range of music from Classic Rock to Death Metal (with sweet, resonant cleans)
4) Idiot proof (not too many knobs and switches!)
5) Made in UK or USA
6) Prefer separate head & cab
7) Plus-minus $2,000 SGD (don't mind 2nd hand)

Was looking at the Marshall 1W series but Davis doesn't have the JCM-1 anymore. Don't really like the DSL version. Was recommended Carvin, but that had waaaaay too many knobs for me! Orange didn't make the right noises, Laney's don't got the 'look', and Mesa's just too expensive! Don't know much about other amps, so what are my options?? Haha! Thanks!

 

[1910]

Also having a hard time deciding what amp to get...hope the guys/gals here can help me out! Here are some of my requirements:

1) Want the British tube sound
2) Low watt neighbour-friendly
3) Good for a diverse range of music from Classic Rock to Death Metal (with sweet, resonant cleans)
4) Idiot proof (not too many knobs and switches!)
5) Made in UK or USA
6) Prefer separate head & cab
7) Plus-minus $2,000 SGD (don't mind 2nd hand)

Was looking at the Marshall 1W series but Davis doesn't have the JCM-1 anymore. Don't really like the DSL version. Was recommended Carvin, but that had waaaaay too many knobs for me! Orange didn't make the right noises, Laney's don't got the 'look', and Mesa's just too expensive! Don't know much about other amps, so what are my options?? Haha! Thanks!

your requirements are quite high, the closest amp i know that fits your description is the JCM800 but tht wont be neighbour friendly. maybe you want to look at a mesa lunchbox? i dont know how much it goes in sg, but in my its about price you mentioned.

another suggestion i would make is ceriatone, but i dont think they do anything thats death metal and its more a classic rock amp. likewise for Marshall Class 5



nway TS, you do realise that the AC15VR is not a tube amp rite? its just an amp with a multi-purpose tube "efffects" pedal that houses just 1 12ax7 tube.

 

[peter01]

Also having a hard time deciding what amp to get...hope the guys/gals here can help me out! Here are some of my requirements:

1) Want the British tube sound
2) Low watt neighbour-friendly
3) Good for a diverse range of music from Classic Rock to Death Metal (with sweet, resonant cleans)
4) Idiot proof (not too many knobs and switches!)
5) Made in UK or USA
6) Prefer separate head & cab
7) Plus-minus $2,000 SGD (don't mind 2nd hand)

Was looking at the Marshall 1W series but Davis doesn't have the JCM-1 anymore. Don't really like the DSL version. Was recommended Carvin, but that had waaaaay too many knobs for me! Orange didn't make the right noises, Laney's don't got the 'look', and Mesa's just too expensive! Don't know much about other amps, so what are my options?? Haha! Thanks!

There's a Mesa Boogie Mk1 on the buy/sell now. Haha. I second Ceriatone. What amps have you tried or considered so far?

 

[Osiris]

your requirements are quite high, the closest amp i know that fits your description is the JCM800 but tht wont be neighbour friendly. maybe you want to look at a mesa lunchbox? i dont know how much it goes in sg, but in my its about price you mentioned.

another suggestion i would make is ceriatone, but i dont think they do anything thats death metal and its more a classic rock amp. likewise for Marshall Class 5



nway TS, you do realise that the AC15VR is not a tube amp rite? its just an amp with a multi-purpose tube "efffects" pedal that houses just 1 12ax7 tube.

Hahaha! IKR?! Thanks for your reply. Yeah, the larger amps definitely won't make me popular with the neighbours!

Never heard of it before, but checked out the Ceriatone website on your suggestion and am suitably impressed. Where in Singapore can I find one though?

 

[Osiris]

There's a Mesa Boogie Mk1 on the buy/sell now. Haha. I second Ceriatone. What amps have you tried or considered so far?

Yeah, saw that. But it ain't the dual rectifier, and it's a pretty old model, outdated some may say. Ceriatone looks great! But there are so many different models, sub-models, that I have no idea which particular one would suit my requirements. They look really expensive though, like 3 - 5k range which is definitely beyond my budget. Besides, are they even available here in Singapore?

Tried the Orange Tiny Terror, Marshall DSL-1, H&K Tubemeister, Blackstar something, Peavey something, Fender tweed something, some Korean made combo tube amp, and a few others about which I absolutely can't remember any details! Which means they were either quite forgettable, or I got shit for brains... 50/50 chance of either possibility being true hahaha!

 

[1910]

Hahaha! IKR?! Thanks for your reply. Yeah, the larger amps definitely won't make me popular with the neighbours!

Never heard of it before, but checked out the Ceriatone website on your suggestion and am suitably impressed. Where in Singapore can I find one though?

I dont know where you can get it in SG, you could ask nik to ship them over or go down kl and haul the amp up. thers one around the used market in kl, a tweed clone for 1k ++ myr. that be erm 500++ sgd? no cab tho. but i think thats the least of your worries

i strongly suggest them if you can get them, they are all handwired point to point non PCB amps. they cost about RM3-5k new, so its a lot cheaper than say a Marshall JCM800.

technically they are custom amps, u tell nik what kinda amp u want he builds it for u at a price. theres a base selection like the OTS or Heywatt, but NIK is always open to mods. (NIK is teh ceriatone boss btw)

funnily i never own one of the amps despite visiting their shop and all

 

[CyanideJunkie]

If you're getting Ceriatone, you can order through Goose. Saves you the trouble of S&H.

 

[Osiris]

I dont know where you can get it in SG, you could ask nik to ship them over or go down kl and haul the amp up. thers one around the used market in kl, a tweed clone for 1k ++ myr. that be erm 500++ sgd? no cab tho. but i think thats the least of your worries

i strongly suggest them if you can get them, they are all handwired point to point non PCB amps. they cost about RM3-5k new, so its a lot cheaper than say a Marshall JCM800.

technically they are custom amps, u tell nik what kinda amp u want he builds it for u at a price. theres a base selection like the OTS or Heywatt, but NIK is always open to mods. (NIK is teh ceriatone boss btw)

funnily i never own one of the amps despite visiting their shop and all

Thanks for your reply once again! Yeah, sounds like a great amp. So there's a shop in KL, where though? Got the address? Will check it out if I'm going up. May even go up specifically to see the amp!

 

[Osiris]

If you're getting Ceriatone, you can order through Goose. Saves you the trouble of S&H.

S&H?? Dunno what that means... Also, where can I find the famous Goose?? But I suppose price wise, it'd be cheaper if I went up to KL and bought it direct from the dealer there right?

 

[1910]

Thanks for your reply once again! Yeah, sounds like a great amp. So there's a shop in KL, where though? Got the address? Will check it out if I'm going up. May even go up specifically to see the amp!

the shop is music master, in ss2 they are the main dealers for ceriatone. just google music master malaysia and it will point you the way.

owh its best to send them an email first, and also what amp you are looking for. i think the popular ones here are the OTS (Dumble clone) and the Princetone (tweed copy). so say if you are looking for a 1959 superlead clone, or a hiwatt, they might not have any in stock

 

[Osiris]

the shop is music master, in ss2 they are the main dealers for ceriatone. just google music master malaysia and it will point you the way.

owh its best to send them an email first, and also what amp you are looking for. i think the popular ones here are the OTS (Dumble clone) and the Princetone (tweed copy). so say if you are looking for a 1959 superlead clone, or a hiwatt, they might not have any in stock

Alright man, thanks! Will do some research to see which one best suits my needs. A monumental task though... haha!