[HELP] Recommend me a tube amp

[beary2teddy]

hey guys,

i'm currently using a roland cube 30 and i've decided to upgrade!

i'm looking for a tube amp with good cleans, not too picky about the distortion as i'll be using pedals....hopefully....

i'll be using the amp mainly in my room, so please don't recommend me a full stack

also, should i go for a modeling amp?combo/head&cab?

price range: 500 - 1k, but hit me with anything below 2k

I'm currently looking at vox ac15, fender hot rod deluxe, peavey classic 30, what do you think of these amps?

all of your comments are appreciated!

 

[subversion]

since your focus is on great cleans, are you game for a single channel amp?

i recently tried the Kustom Defender 5H- it's worth the/ your consideration. you'd have to invest ina complementary cab for it, of course but it'll cost you about $600+/- in all, very much within your working budget.

 

[beary2teddy]

i'm not sure if i'm ready to dive into a single channel amp, but what do u have in mind?

i dont mind checking it out, if i really like it i may just get it if it's within my budget

 

[subversion]

you are using pedals yes? IMO for a great pedal tone, a good, fundamental clean would complement your needs. we often invest in amps featuring more than 1 channel but we keep using the clean with pedals leaving the other avenue unused. there should be a need assessment here, agree?

 

[beary2teddy]

yeah, i'll be using my pedals, but i'm still not sure about going straight for a single chan amp hahaha

although i agree with you, most of the time its clean on the amp =S

ohhh...the irony... =S lol

 

[Godspeed64]

The AC15 is kinda picky with pedals. You get this trebly icy feeling with some OD's.
I suppose a Blues Jr could do the trick! Or a Bogner Alchemist. Both are not so picky with pedals.

 

[subversion]

that's the reason why i invest in a clean only amp for days when i bring my pedals out to play...

 

[beary2teddy]

for some reason, the first thing that caught my eye was spongebob and not the amp, he seems to just brighten up the pic with his smiling face

what amp is that, and what other only clean chan amp will u recommend?

 

[beary2teddy]

godspeed, how does the blues jr compare with the hot rod deluxe?

 

[dodgethis]

Blackstar HT-5. Comes in combo and head/cab form. You won't need that much power if you're playing in a bedroom. In fact, at your budget, you may be able to get the HT-20 head with the 2x12 extension cab, if you're willing to fork out about $300 more. Not sure about the combo price, though, but it will be cheaper since it only has one speaker. Was given a short demo of the thing while in Woodworkz the other day. Impressive piece of kit, I have to say.

 

[Godspeed64]

Totally different amps dude. Hot Rod Deluxe has more of that Fender thing going on. Blues Jr is more similar to the Two Tone and Pro Jr tonally.
Go Youtube for some videos?

 

[subversion]

what amp is that, and what other only clean chan amp will u recommend?

that's my Blackheart Killer Ant (head)- it was on SALE @ Yamaha last year, so i bought it...

if you can still find Epi's Valve Jr, it's worth checking out.

adding on to the list: LANEY CUB 8

 

[Godspeed64]

I second Laney amps. Look up on Youtube. Burgerman666 does most of his demoes on his VC50 which sounds amazing with pedals!

 

[valentinik_15]

Do consider Laney amps. I once thought of getting the LC30 or LC50. I find that Laney actually has a real kick ass amp distortion. They're both dual channel so thats a plus. But of course I believe that they're are not made in UK but China like most things including Celestion Speaker Cones. That aside, it really depends what you want to do with your amp but nothing beats a tube sound.

 

[loldude333]

I know i'm gonna get a lot of flak from the tube amp purists for this but...............

i think you might wanna check out the Sound Drive SG-612R. Its not a tube amp, but its distortion is as close to a tube sound as i've heard. Doesn't require warmup time, tube maintenance either. I don't know whether SV's promo for this amp is still on but at $450 (if i'm not wrong) it's most definitely worth checking out.

 

[subversion]

no flaks from me, i admire the SD amps- great distortion definition & it's that type of amp which makes all guitars sound amazing, in general. however if you don't embrace this distortion type, it's toxic.

 

[loldude333]

Ahhhh sub you just reactivated my GAS for the SD head man........it was a 1-off order was it not? Tell me anytime you're thinking of letting it go...........i'll gladly take it off your hands......haha.

 

[Weiht]

i've got a 5w blackheart head, and it has nice cleans. Headroom is decent for bedroom practice, unless u are high output humbuckers. The cleans are a little voxy due to the EL84 tube, and when cranked u get a vintage marshall type of tone. I do like single volume amps personally.

The fender blues jnr is really what its named. It does blues well, but i will stay clear of it for other things... I dun remember getting a gd amount of headroom.

If u are gg to stretch to 2k, then there are alot of amps in the mkt to look at. BTW, did the price of laney come down? There was a time the prices rocketed so high due to the pounds

 

[dodgethis]

Someone's selling a Blackstar HT-5 head for 450 without a cab on the Classifieds. You might want to check that out. A good cab to pair it up with, other than the Blackstar's own cabs, would be the Vox 112NT, which comes with a nice Celestion Greenback, rather than a rather bog standard Celestion 70/80 in the 1x12 in the Blackstar cab.

 

[subversion]

it was a 1-off order was it not?

it's now readily available (for purchase) @ SV.