Help me find a new guitar amp!

gutsofgold · Post by **gutsofgold** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 8:50 am

I'm looking for a new guitar combo. Something small like a single 12" combo that would be suitable for a small bedroom and a small dormroom (got to bring my music with me to college

) and also something I can throw a mic infront of and record with. I have about $500 to spend and thats used pricing as well. My only concerns are, I want to find a tube amp but a tube amp with a distinguishable sound and I dont need something insanely loud, I want to be able to crank it and not go deaf in my bedroom, ya know?

Any suggestions? So far I am left with the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe but Im sure there is more out there.

Randy · Post by **Randy** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 9:56 am

I know a few people who got rid of their Hot Rod Deluxes fairly soon after getting them. They are just plain loud, and if you play them quiet, they sound like a solid state amp. Kind of brittle. They are great if you want that blistering rockabilly tone, edgy icepick stuff.

For small bedroom/dorm room stuff, I have nothing but good stuff to say for the Fender Champ, Vibro Champ and the Bronco. You can get them for around $250 in great shape and they are loud enough to play with a drummer who can keep it quiet. A friend of mine would chain two Champs together to get a Champ Stack, and they would hold thier own against a fairly loud drummer.

getreel · Post by **getreel** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 10:03 am

I have a little Ampeg Jet II one 12" reverb and tremolo. I got it used for $350. It's 15 watt class A tube and sounds really good for what it is. It doesn't have tons of low end, but it's gets a good Vox-like tone and when driven sounds nice and cuts real good.

chovie d · Post by **chovie d** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 10:20 am

dorm rooms are small and your roomates/and people down the hall will become quickly agitated by your combo amp. even at 5 watts they are loud.
Trust me there is always one straight A, curve wrecking, bio-chem, pre-law whatever student who will run screaming to your dorm boss, the second you even think about turning your amp on at any volume no matter what time of day. sorry for the pesimism. get out of the dorm asap. till then is there some kind of headphone system you could use? pod or something? something super small and noiseless. otherwise , yeah fender champ

on the plus side, my freshman year I recorded a bunch of sorority girls cheering, and have used it for live Beatles like, girl screaming many times.
"Ladies and gentlemen! It is my great pleasure to introduce Chovie D!"
-cue girls screaming

Spark · Post by **Spark** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 10:46 am

POD is a good suggestion in this case. POD and some cheap powered monitors? Thats my practice rig. If I fired up the JCM800 Id be evicted in no time!

gutsofgold · Post by **gutsofgold** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 10:52 am

Well if I get kicked out of the dorms, then shit happens. I can only hope I get kicked out anyways. The champ seems like a solid amp. It actually suits me better considering I have some decent pedals to throw in front of it and I wouldnt need the extra channels or effects on the Hot Rod anyways.

mjau · Post by **mjau** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 11:30 am

Yep, Champ's a great suggestion, and maybe also a Fender musicmaster tube amp. I've also liked the Laney LC and VC series of tube amps, and you can find them used fairly cheap. I recently picked up a 20 watt tube Hiwatt for stupid cheap, but I don't think the guy knew what he was selling.
Anyway, the Laneys are good amps that have a Vox-y vibe to them. For $500, you might also find one of the small Orange tube amps (AD15's), and they can sound good at lower volumes.
The Hot Rod's are ice-picky, that's for sure.

dwelle · Post by **dwelle** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 4:29 pm

save some dough and get a smokey.

all the little fender combos (the old ones anyway) are great as are the little ampegs refered to above. i've got an old jet that sounds super cranked at unbelievably low volumes...

inverseroom · Post by **inverseroom** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 4:32 pm

When we lived briefly in an apartment during an academic semester in another town, I got one of those little Tech 21 amps with the rattan grille cloth...it was really great, I have to admit. The Champ sim is superb, the speaker sounds pretty decent, and it's got a headphone jack. I sold it when we returned to our house, but I miss it sometimes, it was neat.

brian beattie · Post by **brian beattie** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 5:57 pm

all the amps suggested so far (except the little smokey) are more expensive and louder than the little silvertones and valcos and magnatones and mascos and airlines. The champ IS a champ, it's true, but it's purty loud for a little amp.
where do you live? You need to visit one of those boutique-y used guitar stores that has a big selection of little oddball amps. There is a perfect amp for $200 or less out there, you just need to sample a few.
brian

mrclean · Post by **mrclean** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 6:48 pm

Vox Valvetronix Amps - not strictly full tube amps but they do have a preamp tube. As the sales pitch goes:

"The Valve Reactor circuit uses a 12AX7 triode vacuum tube together with an actual low-wattage tube power amp circuit, a virtual output transformer and a dummy speaker circuit that simulates the impedance changes of a real speaker."

I have the little 15 watt model and it is an amazing little amp. Great sounds, line out for headphones, and it can get plenty loud if you want it to.

You can get them for less than 200 bucks. Go to a store and try one.

gutsofgold · Post by **gutsofgold** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 6:57 pm

thanks for the help so far. i'm going to try and find an ampeg jet around here. seems like a solid little amp. i love the way EL84 amp sounds too.

gutsofgold · Post by **gutsofgold** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 7:19 pm

on second thought, whats the difference between the blackface and silverface champs? any certain model i should be looking for?

Randy · Post by **Randy** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 8:29 pm

gutsofgold wrote:on second thought, whats the difference between the blackface and silverface champs? any certain model i should be looking for?

The great thing about them is they are all the same circuit. It's such a simple design that it didn't make sense to change it around too much. The silverface and blackface are the AA764 circuit (AB764 for the Bronco). If it's a tube Champ, it shouldn't be that different from any other one, except for things like the condition of the components due to age.

Some folks claim the blackfaces sound better because the components were of higher quality, but after playing a bunch of them, I have yet to find a remarkable difference between silver and blackface Champs.

A great resource for Fender amps is the Fender Field Guide

0xeneye · Post by **0xeneye** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 7:32 pm

Champ (SF or BF, doesn't matter)
TopHat Portly Cadet
Vox Brian May

all come to mind.

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Help me find a new guitar amp!

Help me find a new guitar amp!

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