Amp Recommendation

[bvp663]

Hey Everyone! Just came back from Guitar Center and it got me thinking, I gotta have a new amp. I'm in the college dorms right now and I have my little Crate GX16R and it isn't cutting it. I need something with tone that'll inspire my playing and tide me over until i can get into a house or apartment and bring my Valvetronix up. I'm also looking for something with enough power for some small jam sessions and such and also something that isn't too expensive, no more than $300. Any recommendations? My friend mentioned the Pathfinder to me, and I just saw Vox came out with those new little amps. I've also heard Reverend is good. Hopefully you can help me narrow down some choices with your expertise.
Thanks

[moogrock]

tip #1 - dont go to guitar center to buy an amp. in fact in the world of amps -- unless you want something so specific that you cna only find it new -- NEVER EVER buy anything new -- buying 'em used will almost allways shave off a few bucks... .

i would advice you to try to find a relatively modern (ie 90s or so) fender tube combo -- there are quite a few of these floating around at around the 300ish price range... look around at the used guitar shops around town -- and ebay... although sometimes they go higher on ebay than they do in 'real life' -- so look... .

and if you are willing to hunt...
go look for a 70s musicanman or ampeg combo...
the musicman combos sometimes show up here and there for 300ish but they are starting inflate in price big time...
but the 70s ampeg (v2/v4 derived) combos are still WAY UNDERVAULED... the heads have shot up in price -- but the combos still are 400 or less always -- and those things are amazing...

but then thats my advice...
and it all depends oin what sort of sound you are going for...
you sortttta failed to note what sort of sound you were hunting for.. but since you mentioned VOX i thought those seemed like decent choices....

[HuskerDude]

I picked up a Peavey Classic 30 for about $300 over the summer, and it's simply wonderful. 30 watts, class A, medium gain (not quite Marshall/Mesa, more in the old Fender range) and killer tone, even with my cheap guitars. I play country, punk, indie, whatever, and it sounds good.

[jamoo]

I would get a used Vox Cambridge or a new Roland Cube 30. People speak highly of those Marshall ATV20's.


..

[kayagum]

Search the board for Fender Pro Jr- many people here like it.

I have one, and it's the practice amp that sounds good enough to record, and it can still crank enough to annoy your neighbors in your dorm.

[Rick Hunter]

Vox Pathfinder. Way better than that crate. 10-15 watts of fury. Well, I like it.

[villican]

second that on the Vox. read about it here and went out and got one. i'm really having a great time recording with it, but have yet to compare it recorded with my marshall 4X12.

[moogrock]

i completely forgot about the peavey classic 30!
those are quite quality.
and dirt cheap.
there are a few tube models peavey made throught there years that are actually worth owning and all dirt cheap.

[E-Rock]

Fender Pro Junior Rocks

[Sayer]

The vox pathfinder is definetly cool, but if you dont dig the tone, or if you want a little more power just for jamming, i would really recomned a musicman. The thing with the vox is that it sounds great and you dont have to crank it to get descent tone, especially because its not a tube amp, but also if youre jamming with people with something like a 2 12 or worse yet a 4 12 your going to get lost in the sound not because of a lack of power purs? but just because 1 ten inch speaker cant move enough air to compete. If you arent jamming with people that have this type of more powerful gear, you probly will in the future. So i would definetly trade the crate in on a music man.. Also, to contradict myself, i have seen a 1 12 musicman compete with a 4 12 mesa dual rectifier, so i know the right music man is plenty powerful and not more than 300.

[XXGABEXX]

Vox Pathfinder 15...

I used it to jam the other night with a bassist and a drummer. I set it up at about waist level and it cut through fine.

-GABE

[ottokbre]

I had a Peavy Classic 30 years ago. I wish I still had it too. It went to Jamaica with me in a crate, then came back to the US with me in an oversized duffle!!

You should have seen Airport security in Miami when they saw those vaumce tubes in my carryon! They thought they were small grenades!

Anyways, yes, cool amp. Very tough. All the Peavy Classic stuff has some redeeming quality. There is also the Classic 20.

Small Fenders are great. Old and new. Old Gibson amps can be sweet too.
The Pathfinder is a kick azz little solidstate amp. I think the Vox Valvetonix stuff is great too. The only modeling amp I would touch, actually. Be weary of its build quality tho.

[JGriffin]

Nice to hear good things about the Vox Pathfinder amp. The Vox Cambridge 30, on the other hand, totally sucks.

[Cellotron]

If you want the ultimate studio amp and don't mind paying big bucks check out Budda - http://www.budda.com/

all point to point wiring - all tube - extremely versatile tone - and when you overdrive these things they really scream but stay nice and meaty.

Best regards,
Steve Berson

[ottokbre]

yeah, if were talking more money, but small, I think the VHT Pitbull 45 sounds amazing. very versitle and well made. not point-to-point like the buddha, but solid and well priced.

it's class switchablem A or AB, and has a lot of well placed gain staging. it doesnt do that silly marshall pre-amp thing where it goes from spank to shread. the inbetween tones are pretty amazing and three diminsional.