I currently have a vox vt30. I've had it for 8 months, and in that time I had such a love hate relationship with it that I'm already considering a new amp. I got it used to begin with and I think the speaker has gone. I play mostly classic rock and blues and have a peavey SC-3 (les paul style, mahogany body) so I'm looking for a tube amp (not a fan of solid state out of principal) that I can get saturated tones with without having the cops called to my house. I'm currently thinking about an orange tiny terror, but thats problematic. The combo is expensive but if I just got the head I'd still have to buy a cabinet (still expensive) Any suggestions of amps to check out? Looking to keep it under $800 here.
Hmmm.... I personally love Vox amps. I own a Vox Valvetronix VTX 60W. Got it used for $500, not too sure on the price new or if they still make it. You could probably get a lower wattage Valvetronix for a decent price. It is a hybrid amp, meaning it has both solid state and tube components. They compliment each other quite nicely and the presets and customization are quite vast. It is a very good amp for your playing style. How would I know? Because I play those styles as well. Hope I could help.
They're not bad amps but I just wasn't able to dial in a tone i was consistently happy with. The cleans were great, but the OD amp models were lacking and I found I had to put a bit of compression on or else the sound was totally lifeless. I suspect this is because tube amps naturally compress the sound, but I just found it annoying. I know a better player than me could probably sound a whole lot better through the amp then I could, but there were times when I would turn on the amp and say, "wow, this thing sounds like shit today, I dialed in the perfect tone yesterday" I found myself switching the amp off and playing through an app I have on my ipod, which has some quite incredible tone possible, especially on the peavey valve king model. may I ask, what models on the amp did you like, and whats your axe?
fenders are nice but I usually play on my humbucker equipped guitar. can you get decent break up out of a fender or do you need a pedal? speaking of marshalls my dream amp would be a marshal vintage modern but they're way to expensive. not to mention the police will be arriving at your house to address a noise complaint before the tubes start to really cook.
Yeah sorry it took a while, had to make a new account while I wait for my other one to get fixed up... Anyways, I got an Ibanez RG series with Edge 3 Tremolo (floating bridge). And I don't really remember the settings I had on my presets, made them 2 years ago. I know one has modern sounding high distortion, another more classic rock sounding (tube amp) high distortion, a few various clean presets with various effects such as echo and room. If you look up Vox Valvetronix VTX 60 watt you should be able to get a good idea of what the amp can do. It has quite a few settings you can mess around with.
if i were you i would check out JetCity amps, they have a GREAT bluesy sound, ALL TUBE! and their 20 watt and 50 watt heads are under $800, or check out the Randall rt503, 3 channel all tube, like 600$ and can play classical, blues, even modern high gain metal if u would like an ampo that can do anytrhing, i actually used to own an rt503, but sadly it was stolen by my ex-rhythm guitarist and he changed his number
right now I'm looking at the egnater tweaker. its a 15 watt combo, all tube, with some pretty nifty switches to tweak your EQ and gain.
Nice, sound like a great amp. I would personally go with a hybrid amp since it gives yout he best of both worlds, but if I weren't to get hybrid I would definitely go pure tube.
I just like tubes more. I dont hate solid state completely, I have that ipod app which gets some INCREDIBLE tones considering its fully digital. But nothing beats an all tube amp. There's a reason why some of the greatest guitar players of all time chose and still choose tube amps. Obviously great players have their own distinctive tone that would come through even on a line 6, but tube amps just have that "sweetness" and warmth. Just a more pleasing sound.
I agree, but like I said, hybrid is my amp of choice. They are tube amps, real tube amps, with solid state components so you can switch between the two sounds and even mix them. The combinations are endless.
I own the Super Champ and I love the thing to death. I replaced the stock speaker with a Cajun speaker to give it a little extra twang, and it does everything I could possibly ask for. It takes pedals really nicely and never really sounds muddy, and despite only being 15 watts I have no problem playing in a band scenario if that's your thing. What really shines is if you just hook a mic up to it. I feel like this amp was geared towards bedroom guitarists/recording if that interests you. But for >$500 you can't go wrong man. Look up some youtube videos or something, I love it to death.
Check out Crate. I love the high gain saturated sound. I like solid state, you can dial in a great tone at lower levels. The warmth of a tube amp is really nice, I owned a Genz Benz El Diablo and it did'nt have the saturation I like. I had a Vox VT30, I sold it, and I've got a Vox AD100VT the 2x12 model. I use it as an extension cab for my Crate 1200 DSP head. I used to use a THD Hotplate with the Genz Benz, it had the warmth and tube high gain but I just preferred the Crate.
Fender deluxe 22 watts all tube great speakers or for bit more get a the flexi I run a 50 watter through a half stack of green backs but you could get a 2x12 and run it at 22 watts and get a great oldsckool Marshall sound that rings like a bell...
[quote name='oldSCHOOL_toker']I just like tubes more. I dont hate solid state completely, I have that ipod app which gets some INCREDIBLE tones considering its fully digital. But nothing beats an all tube amp. There's a reason why some of the greatest guitar players of all time chose and still choose tube amps. Obviously great players have their own distinctive tone that would come through even on a line 6, but tube amps just have that "sweetness" and warmth Tubes kill solid state in almost every situation unlesd your in a death metal band on the road a lot bumping from place to place or something..