Favorite Small Recording Amps!

[I'm Painting Again]

two thumbs up on the tiny terror..model II..

pretty much ANY small tube amp is awesome..

[FBH]

Fender Bronco is a lesser known classic. It's basically a re-branded vibro-champ. I picked up a '68 for about $75 last year. After about $100 worth of service and parts, I've got a really usable recording amp.

[>Mojave_Gary<]

Last weekend I scored an Epi Valve Jr. I took it home to the studio, plugged it into an Ampeg 4x12 cab and was completely stunned. For the last week I have been doing some test recording with different mic/pre setups. I also have tried it plugged into a single vintage Celestion 12".
Turned out to be a deal for $100.00 brand new.

what are the things you like better between the use of a 4X12 and Single Vintage Celestion 12"

Essentually, depending of course on the tone and overall recorded sound I am trying for on a particular track, Multiple micing the speakers in a cab and/or room micing the cab will yield completely different results than say micing the single 12 with 1 mic stuffed into the fornt of it or room micing the 1 12" from a distance or, as I have done on several occasions, surrounding the cube cab that has the single 12 in it with sound absorbing material and micing it with 1 mic inside the SA material and 1 mic outside the SA material, adjusting of course for mic phasing and such. In general, for a full rythym guitar I will usually use a 4x12 cab and for laying down lead guitar tracks I will often route through a single 12" and sometimes a single 10".

[tdbajus]

no mention of marshall 18w yet? for shame
ax84 p1ex
+1 for vibro champ with pedals

any big amp with a weber mass

current, cheap amps you can buy in stores:
zvex nano head
vox ac15 (the one with the cheap speaker)
peavey classic 30
dr z ghia
behringer sansamp clone (not kidding - it is great)

i think overall the best plan on a budget is to have one small amp from the fender universe, then add another amp that does thick power chords well, or just has a very different character for doubling BIG gittar parts. obv it helps to have a comprehensive collection of guitars, OD's, compressors, and speaker cabs

How many people out there have that Weber MASS? I had a hotplate, which I was lerss than thrilled with...

[RefD]

I just picked up a magnatone melodier 109. it's ruling my world. It was between it and the blues jr. The blues jr's clean sound with my jazzmaster is to die for but the dirty was just sorta gimpy. I'm really impressed by the responsiveness of the 109 and was ultimately why I bought it.

not to mention the 109 looks really lovely.

[tdbajus]

I just picked up a magnatone melodier 109. it's ruling my world. It was between it and the blues jr. The blues jr's clean sound with my jazzmaster is to die for but the dirty was just sorta gimpy. I'm really impressed by the responsiveness of the 109 and was ultimately why I bought it.

not to mention the 109 looks really lovely.

She is good lookin'

My amps don't look half as nice, but I love them all:

1965 Deluxe (no reverb) jensen ceramic c12N- the ceramic speakers are a bit bright at first, mellow a bit with age, but the bottom on a Deluxe tends to be a bit flabby, and the alnico speakers make it even worse.

1965-ish Rickenbacker Electro E-12- sort of like a tweed Princeton, one 6V6, about 8-10 watts, but is a bit smoother when it distorts. Which is basically when it's being played.

I've got a newly acquired Supro Thunderbolt in the shop, which I am looking forward to getting back.

I sold a magnatone 213 that i had dumped a ton of money into- new cabinet, totally cleaned out. The 5th time I blew it up in 3 months after 8 hour recording sessions, I got rid of it. Sounded OK on guitar, but was astounding on Rhodes Piano.

[hobbycore]

Hahahahahahaha! I rock the 80's Peavey Rage 158. That things fucking terrible yet awesome in so many ways. I've been known to use it as a third layer panned center between dual recs, jcm 900s, and 5150's, or any combo of the 3.

God how I wish I still had the Sears Roebuck amp I got with my Teisco guitar when I was like 5 or 6............I think it had a 6 or 8" speaker. The tubes would get so hot that the covering on it near the back would get gooey
I loved that thing

Two inputs, tone and volume pot? maybe the sears 5XL?
I've got one that still has the original tubes. It just sits in the corner. PM if interested.

Man I love my peavey rage 158!! The old model that's all square and blocky.

[newfuturevintage]

Small amps I love to record:

-Champ (really any version that's not solid state). Great cranked. Can be very nice for rock bass guitar too.

-The "Legendary" Pignose! Surprised it's not been mentioned yet. Great little trash-chucker. Had mine since ~ 1991, and it turns up on recordings about once or twice a year. Not bad for something the price of a cheap stompbox. Good for harmonica too.

-Alamo Capri. 6" speaker, busted tremolo: absolutely horrible on everything, often in the best possible way. Always on the verge of self-destruction.

-Marshall Lead 20 combo. Solid state marshall practice amp from the era of the mini stack. Surprisingly good sound, provided you like the sound of a Marshall.

-smokey into a 1x12" cab. chunkachunka.

-Crate Power Block. Less for its own tone, which is kinda OK, but more as a swiss army knife problem solver: It's got a pair of line inputs for CD use. They bypass all the input circuitry, and have true stereo output. Good for bringing something like the POD out to the real world.

[inverseroom]

I am still digging the Magnasync Squawk Box, and this old Supro I got on Craigslist (late 1940's I think) that seems to be running on some Tweed-Princeton-type circuit. In any event it's amazing.

[Babaluma]

i bought the new fender chapion 600, it's based on the 70's blackface champ but with a ss rectifier. sounds amazing. is a little noisy. there are lots of mods for it. for the price it's great.

also second the pignose for a trashy ss sound!

[rydaken]

Some how the Kay brand of tube amps has escaped mention. At my studio, we have a handful of small tube amps (Vibro Champ, Harmony ???, a small Marshall jcm), but one of my favorites is a "Kay 703". I think it was had for around 80 bucks on the bay, dropped it off with a tech and for the price of a case of beer, I got it recapped and looked over. It sounds absolutely creamy (as if that means anything) and it's become one of those few items that is worth way more (to me) than what it costs.

[roygbiv]

Werd on the Silverface Fender Princetons and Champs! I'm no pro, but those things sound great on home recordings - much better than bigger amps IMHO.

Also check out the Harmony 303A - A little 5 watt 40 year-ld screamer controlled by one knob. (That's what she said).

You can find them pretty cheap, and if you push them with something hot (like an old TubeWorks pedal) you are magically transported to a shack outside La Grange.

But now I might be mistaken.

A haw haw haw.

(sorry - I'm bored tonight).

Harmony 303A:

[Ian]

For me nothing beats an old tweed Champ. Hard to get a bad sound out of it.

just a bit of wankery

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=5452324

[roygbiv]

just a bit of wankery

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=5452324

Dude - that sounds great! Is that your Champ? The whole recording sounds excellent.

[Ian]

just a bit of wankery

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=5452324

Dude - that sounds great! Is that your Champ? The whole recording sounds excellent.

yep...that's all Champ with an old Gibson ES-330 with P90's...the backing is just some plug ins from Logic. Thanks!

here is another...(just more wank)I use it for just about anything
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=5008304

It seems mics like 8" speakers!

Thanks for the kind words