Perfect Office Amph?

[sunvalleylaw]

Spudman said in relation to the Blackheart Little Giant:

It's a perfect office amph.

I have a goal to save enough this year to get a better office amph. I currently am using my son's old SS cheapie that came with his Fullerton ST-3 Strat pack. It sounds fine on the clean channel, and it is paid for, so no hurry here (something like this would probably wait 'til my next birthday), but nonetheless . . .

Which one would you pick and why?

My candidates:

1) Blackheart Little Giant head with some sort of cab. I have played through this at Spud's office and just love the sound. It is tube driven, and has that thang goin'.

2) Peavey Vypyr 15 - I love how versatile my son's Vypyr 30 is, and while the 15 does not come with the stompboxes, it does have great tweakable amph models, and it is only like a hundred bucks.

3). Vox DA-5 Tried and true modeling, supposedly sounds great despite size, very portable, runs on batteries.

4.) Vox AD30 You can find good used ones for cheap, and it has some great models.

I would want to use the office amph for taking around to jams, or whatever, but would not worry about it carrying over a drummer. My max spending limit would be the Blackheart with a cabinet, which looks to be the most expensive of the above. I suppose there is a Crate that is out there too to check out (or an Epi Valve Junior), but I lean toward the Blackheart if I go that way just because i have played with it enough first hand to know what it is about. So that is the list I have for now. What do you all say?

 

[Robert]

I know, I know - the Line 6 POD! Perfect office amp - you can use headphones!

Maybe the Pocket POD? http://line6.com/pocketpod/index.html?utm_source=Index&utm_medium=DropDown&utm_campaign=Pocket+POD

Out of your options though - numba 1. :dude:

 

[Jimi75]

How 'bout the ZVex Nano amp?

 

[Lev]

How about the new Vox Valvetronix range - the VT series. Double the amount of amp models from the old series, lots more effects and the ability to store your own presets. Got a great review in last months Guitarist magazine in the UK...

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Vox-Valvetronix-VT15-15W-1x8-Guitar-Combo-Amp?sku=483551

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Jimi, that looks really cool, but it is well above the price limit of a Blackheart with a cab.

Lev, good thought. The 15 and 30 could be good candidates, but if I was going to do a Vox, I think I would either do the really little DA-5/10, or get a used AD30. The Vypyr is really great for a hundred bucks too. I think I would have to go just play those at guitar center or something and see which one I liked. Keep the thoughts coming!

Robert, I will want a regular amph. Headphones don't do it for me that much.

Interesting, I almost start to look at this as the Blackheart vs. the modelers. Hmm.

 

[Katastrophe]

Put me in for a vote for the modelers in this instance. You'll get more versatility, and they'll sound great at office volumes. A 30 watter would be more than enough for a jam, especially if there isn't a drummer to contend with.

Plus, if the Blackheart / cab is at the top of your budget, you would have to go over to get some pedals to come close to the range you'll get out of the modelers at the same price point.

I haven't tried the voxes (voxi?) yet, so I can't comment, but I really do like the Vypyr.

Offer your son $20.00 and switch amphs with him. He won't mind, will he?

 

[Blaze]

 

[Robert]

I think the clean tones on the Vypyr suck. I can't get any good clean sound out of it. The Vox amps are to my ears much better in that respect. For monster gain tones though, the Vypyr rocks.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Well, when there is an opportunity, I will have to go into one of the box stores that have both peavey and vox stuff and test the modelers. Robert, at first I could not get good cleans out of my son's vypyr too, but now I really like his Marshall setting, and the Fender settings. One has to dial the gain back, and adjust the eq., then save your pre-sets. Peavey sends them out with the presets dialed up way too hot on the cleans.

But you may have tried that already and still prefer the Vox cleans. That is why I will have to go check it out.

Kat, good point on the pedals, etc. I have my tube amph setup already with my C-30. It would be nice to be able to throw just a little modeling combo in the back of the car and go wherever. I do love the Blackheart sounds though. That is why I get drawn back to it.

Blazes, I may have to see if I can find one of those Orange Crush micros in person. A quick google search turned up some for like 60 bucks! I was not wowed by the cleans on the vid though and would have to check it out.

OK, I am going to shut up now for a while. I want to hear others' opinions and not write about my pre-judgments.

 

[tot_Ou_tard]

It don't mean a thing if it ain't got those cleans.

How many & what kind of pedals would you need?

Maybe a Bad Monkey or a Dano into the Black Heart would be enough.

Do you have any extras at home.

 

[tunghaichuan]

Put me in for a vote for the modelers in this instance. You'll get more versatility, and they'll sound great at office volumes. A 30 watter would be more than enough for a jam, especially if there isn't a drummer to contend with.

Plus, if the Blackheart / cab is at the top of your budget, you would have to go over to get some pedals to come close to the range you'll get out of the modelers at the same price point.

Another thing to consider is that the Blackheart combo amp is fairly heavy due to the transformers and the plywood cabinet. The head + a cab will be just as heavy, if not heavier. Something to consider if you plan on hauling it around.

I haven't tried the voxes (voxi?)

In English it is voxes. In Latin it would be voces (third declension, nom. pl.)

tung




Offer your son $20.00 and switch amphs with him. He won't mind, will he?[/QUOTE]

 

[duhvoodooman]

I'd support the modeler route for an office amp, too. How about:

http://www.zzounds.com/item--VOXDA5

Nice portability! Or one of those Roland Cubes, like CB has.

If you get a DA5, stay away from the pink ones.... oke:

 

[sunvalleylaw]

It don't mean a thing if it ain't got those cleans.

How many & what kind of pedals would you need?

Maybe a Bad Monkey or a Dano into the Black Heart would be enough.

Do you have any extras at home.

Nope. I was thinking about that. An ideal rig would be a ZYS, a Rodent, and some sort of delay/chorus/verb/phaser/etc. multi. That would be expensive. Cheaper would be a used Bad Monkey, a used 'Guvnor, and my AX1G I already have.

Oops, I was going to shut up. Ok, back in the listening seat now.

 

[Blaze]

Crate 5 watts tube amp


http://http://cgi.cafr.ebay.ca/Crate-V58-5-Watt-Tube-Amp_W0QQitemZ350132587680QQcmdZViewItemQQptZHarmonicas

 

[piebaldpython]

Perfect Office Amp

OK, if you want a modeler, how about the Digitech RP250 for $150?

Looking at what you are writing.....about a perfect set-up....with pedals.....so to me, that means TUBES. In which case, the Little Giant is great.....BUT.....the Head and Cab is heavy-ish and takes up a lot of room

Here ya go.....TUBULAR sounds in a wee little package for $329, so a bit cheaper than the LG......ta-da....the Little Lanilei 1/4 Watt.....has it's own speaker (6.5"), plus easily hooks up to a cab for post-work jam sessions....has hi-mid-low gain capability and if you want nothing but clean headroom, they can change the tubes to just two 12AU7's.
http://www.songworks.com/14watt.html

 

[markb]

I'd support the modeler route for an office amp, too. How about:

http://www.zzounds.com/item--VOXDA5

Nice portability! Or one of those Roland Cubes, like CB has.

If you get a DA5, stay away from the pink ones.... oke:

Another DA5 vote here. Great Fender cleans, good Marshall drives and beyond, pedals work well and it's got effects. Cheap, easily portable and surprisingly loud on the 5w setting. I mostly use mine on its 1/2w attenuator position. If you want all this (and more) with a bit more power get an AD30VT. Modelers have so much going for them for a small practice rig.

 

[street music]

I know that the Roland amps on my list.

 

[TS808]

With all the options out there, I don't think you could go wrong with any of the amps mentioned so far. I'm still waiting for my Blackheart cab to get delivered but the head is compact and very light.

Vox is coming out with a 4 watt head as well as the new Night Train too.

A few years back there weren't this many options....now with the advances in digital modeling and the small tube heads, it makes choosing an amp alot harder.

 

[tot_Ou_tard]

it makes choosing an amp alot harder.

You mean more fun.

 

[TS808]

You mean more fun.

Yeah, that too :AOK:

 

[wingsdad]

Great suggestion, Blazes :AOK:

That clip led me to this one by the same guy, with another gorgeous axe, playing the little bugger Clean:



So, as fate would have it, on a casual visit to My Local GAS Station yesterday, I spotted a practically new fresh trade-in. I tested it out with a couple of guitars. It's all that. :AOK: :beavisnbutthead:
I couldn't resist, especially when new it goes for around $60 without an AC adapter, and it could be mine for a mere $35 with a fresh Duracell 9V and the Boss PSA120T AC adapter it's original owner had mated it with

Here's how the Orange Micro Crush stacks up compared to my other mini amps:

 

[street music]

Wingsdad, that is just so bad, you might get too much amph and blow a fuse.

 

[Duff]

Don't forget Fender

SVL,

My Fender Super Champ XD combo tube amp is really really a great little amp. Go to the fenderforum.com and you will see the thread with a couple thousand posts on this great little amp that has been taken under the wing of the Blues Junior guru Bill M. Bill M. has done a lot of experimenting and so forth with the amp and I immediately followed his research advice and replaced the stock fender speaker with an Eminence Ragin' Cajun ten inch, same size, easy job, from MF, n/affl, for 65 dollars. Got a lot more volume because the RG is 100dB plus sensitivity and the stock one was about 95dB. One dB makes a big difference in perceptible sound, so just a few more decibels of sensitivity means a lot more volume.

The tones are really great. Super great Fender clean on the clean channel almost all the way to the ceiling. The modelling channel has about 12 Fender amps modelled including the most renowned tweeds and blackfaces and the vererable bassman, along with several others; plus the obligatory marshall and vox models and even the acoustic Fender Acoustasonic model for your acoustic guitar.

It also has a range of quality effects including reverbs, tremolo, vibrato, delay, and mixtures; with an FX level control. In addition to the amp models which have their own gain characteristics factored in, there is a separate drive knob that works along with the volume knob in the usual way. So, it is super versatile and a highly recommended amp by fender enthusiasts.

It is basically an all tube type amp with a modelling chip introduced somewhere in the circuits. The clean channel is probably close to an all tube amp because it doesn't have the modelling interjected. So it is not exactly an all tube amp but it is not a typical hybrid amp either.

I don't know all the scientific details, but it has real tube tone with 2 real 6V6GT Fender power tubes and one 12AX7preamp tube.

So, at 299, this excellent amp with the super nice Fender clean and great models, is well within the price range you have set for yourself. Plus you get the five year Fender warranty. Peavey has a five year too I think.

But, for 299 where are you going to get a tube amp with modern modelling like this? Even the super expensive new Fender amps have the digital section in the all tube, so to speak, circuits: amps like the expensive and really neat SuperSonic and some of the other really expensive ones I can't remember the names of.

I have a Blackheart 3/5 Little Giant head and an Epi one by twelve cab and an Epi Southern California four by twelve cab. You should hear the Blackheart or the VJr thru that Epi 4 by 12. Really neat. AND, the Epi So. Cal. is 16ohms so I plug it into my Peavey Delta Blues extension speaker jack and always have five speakers producing sound. This even works great late late at night because turned down low I get some nice smooth buy satisfying low volume sound. I use my Delta Blues almost all the time at night because I like the straight in sound to evaluate my new guitars and the reverb, drive, and tremolo are just right for me.

I like to turn the speed down real slow on the tremolo, just open from off and turn the depth up just enough to get the rotating speaker sound. Nice slow, shallow, tremolo; sounds almost like a leslie rotating speaker where the tweeter rotates at a variable rate. I suppose they still make them, probably big bucks.

I know you have the Classic 30 and it probably will let you run a 16ohm cab.

Why am I talking about this when I'm trying to talk about the Super Champ XD.

Actually, if you get a Blackheart Little Giant Head and a 16ohm cab you will have a cab to hook up to your Peavey. The Blackheart lets u use several different ohm rated cabs. You don't even need a reverb to have the Blackheart sound great. You don't need any effects. You can just enjoy the pure tone of the signal from your guitar, which is nice if you have a great guitar like I know you do. Plus you just got that great new guitar. You don't need a lot of gadgets to make your guitar sound great if you have a great guitar and amp to begin with. It makes a special combination I am finding.

I have several pedals, my RP350 the best, and I hook them up when I want to, but lately I've just been enjoying really good guitars and amps.

I am using my Zoom B2.1u constantly into my Marshall
MB30 though and my new Squire Affinity Jazz bass sounds really good, hand picked, nice low action. I play myself to sleep with that one too when I get the urge to lay down some bass lines. Then when I pick up my guitar and play it it feels so small and manageable, it's amazing. I also practice at night in the dark so my ear is getting really trained and my fingerings as well, most certainly.

I wake up with my guitar on my chest all the time.

The topic: the Blackheart will be very portable if you get the head. Then you can get a small one by twelve cab and that won't weigh much either. Portability will not be a problem at all. A plus will be that you can use the cab with your other excellent amp if you get a compatible ohm rating like I did for my VJr.

I already had the VJr one by twelve cab with the Lady Luck Eminence speaker in it and it sounds real good with both the VJr and the Blackheart.

Carried on, I know, but I hope I shared my amateur observations in a way that helps you out and makes some sense.

When the time comes you will know in your heart and soul, you will just have to sensitive to it and listen to it, the knowledge that is, and not get distracted and wind up getting something else by accident. I do that a lot and either wind up bringing it back or paying for it.

Duffy

 

[Tone2TheBone]

Nothing but love for my little Micro Cube. Find a used one cheap on Craigslist and you'll love it.

 

[Blaze]

Description


The Carl Martin Rock Bug is an Amp/Speaker Simulator and Headphone rehearsal unit that operates on a single 9v battery. Although this type of accessory is not new, we believe there is nothing on the market that feels as real or sounds as realistic as the Rock Bug! You simply get the feeling that you are playing through a good tube amp. Just plug your guitar (with or without pedals) into the unbalanced ¼” input, plug your favourite headphones into the unbalanced ¼” output and off you go! Adjust your instruments’ volume with the Guitar knob, select an open cabinet or closed cabinet simulation with the mini-toggle switch, and wail away through the privacy of your headphones. If you like, use the AUX stereo inputs and add an MP3, CD or DAT player to the mix; adjust the Master volume for your music, blend in your guitar sounds with the Guitar volume, and either play along with your favourite cd’s or add a personal touch to your pre-recorded backing tracks. Utilizing the balanced XLR output, you can connect your Rock Bug to a mixing console for recording, solo gigs accompanying the pre-recorded music with your live guitar, or as a DI for live performance when you are packing light, or your amp goes down. You might not think an Amp-Speaker Simulator is new, but with all these features, the Rock Bug is the little Danish-Swiss Army Knife that belongs in the pocket of every guitar-players gig-bag!

Clips
http://www.carlmartin.com/sound_files/Jazzy%20Bug%20Bounce.mp3

http://www.carlmartin.com/sound_files/Mr_Martins_Rock_Bug.mp3