Time to consolidate my amphs?

[gatorbrit]

I've acquired three amphs over the years, my first - a first gen Flextone 60W, then a Vox VT15 and finally a newer Crate V50 with upgraded tubes.

My go to amph these days is the Crate. Even though the OD channel is pretty bad, the clean channel is great and I get a nice tone when I run my TS clone pedal in front of it.

Despite owning two modeling amps (which served me well in the past) I really enjoy the full tube sound from the Crate - there is something about the tubes that the other amphs just don't seem to be able to match. But the Crate is a big amph and it is a one trick pony for its size - basically it has a good clean channel and that's it.

OK. To the point. What I would really like is a smaller versatile tube amph with a master volume that could replace all three. I reckon I could sell all three for maybe $500 ($100 for the Vox, $200 each for the other two). My practice space is getting sort of cluttered.

So first, is it worth selling these amphs given that I won't get close to half what they were new, second, what amphs should I be looking at that would be good for bedroom playing and small gigs. Price range <$800.

I guess I have graduated to a level where I am now a competent enough player that I would like really nice tube amp, rather than several amphs that are, frankly a compromise.

Finally - I play classic rock (Stones, Zep), Blues. I'm don't really need bone crushing distortion.

Sorry for the wordy post...
Many thanks!

 

[FrankenFretter]

I'd look at the 20-watt Blackstar combo, the HT Studio 20. I love my HT-5, and it's great for low-volume jamming and practicing. It has a lot of tonal variety, especially with the Infinite Shape Feature.

 

[gatorbrit]

Thanks for the recommendation - I'm listening to a review of the blackstar on youtube right now and it sounds awesome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MOXCh5qOds

Definitely one to put on the list to check out .

Thanks


I've also got to decide whether to sell the other ones. I don't know why have an emotional attachment to them!
Cheers

 

[Eric]

I've also got to decide whether to sell the other ones. I don't know why have an emotional attachment to them!

I once read about something called the endowment effect: http://endowment-effect.behaviouralfinance.net/

It seems to be really pronounced with guitar-related things, IMO.

Regarding your amps, I would do exactly what you suggested: sell off your existing amps and get a new one. I previously had a Crate V50 that I was able to sell for $200, but depending on how the market is around you, you may need to be a little patient before you can make the sale. I agree that the clean channel is great, and I actually kind of liked the dirty channel, though it could get a little flabby at times. I was a little hesitant to sell, but I now think that selling it was the right choice.

For ideas on new amps, it depends on what you want. I'd say about 20W should be plenty. A Vox AC15 was the first thing that popped to mind, but you might also want to go more rock-based. I picked up a Jet City JCA2112RC after I sold the Crate, and I like it a lot. The EL84s seem to be a little different than the 6L6s in the Crate, though the difference isn't that huge.

There are other good options out there too, like any number of Fender amps (Blues Jr., etc.), Peavey Classic 30, Fender Super Champ XD (modeling pre-amp on one channel, but highly rated), Marshall Class 5, or a Blackstar like FF mentioned.

If it was me and I had your budget I'd probably look at an AC15, Jet City, or Super Champ XD. Shop around, see what you like, what's available on craigslist, etc. It will probably become clear soon enough, but hopefully I've given you some decent ideas.

 

[gatorbrit]

The endowment effect - that's actually very true. Funny thing is that I am a finance professor and should know this!

I think you are right though - I need to sell them. I have limited time to play and when I do I want to go straight to an amph that has great tone right away. As a result I never touch those other amps.

I'll look into your recommendations.

Cheers

 

[Lev]

I'm going through the same thing right now, I just sold my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe today after 11 years as my #1 amp. I also have buyers lined up for a couple of other amps. I haven't 100% decided what the replacement will be yet but there are lots of options. Just one thing to bear in mind though, a 20W tube amp will be loud enough for small gigs but if you want to play loud & clean at volume then in my opinion you may need 30W at a minimum. Most 20W amps will start to break up when the volume is cranked at gig levels, that may be what you are looking for but for me I like to be able to stay clean most of the way up the volume dial. Every amp is different of course and some are louder then others but I've discounted anything less than 30W for that reason.

 

[gatorbrit]

Regarding 20 vs 40W. Blackstar amps for example have 20W and 40W version. Apart from the cost difference, and a little added weight, and of course the higher output, is there any disadvantage to having the 40W for someone who rarely plays at loud gig levels?

I guess I am thinking about keeping my options open but trying to find a one amph fits all solution.

 

[tunghaichuan]

Regarding 20 vs 40W. Blackstar amps for example have 20W and 40W version. Apart from the cost difference, and a little added weight, and of course the higher output, is there any disadvantage to having the 40W for someone who rarely plays at loud gig levels?

I guess I am thinking about keeping my options open but trying to find a one amph fits all solution.

The apparent loudness isn't going to be that different. Wattage is logarithmic; that is a 100 amp is only twice as loud as a 10 watt amp.

The real difference is in clean headroom. A 20 watt amp is going to overdrive faster and run out of clean headroom sooner.

 

[Eric]

Bear in mind that a lot of people actually like the power-tube distortion, which won't happen if you're playing a powerful tube amp at non-maxed volumes. So yeah, 40 watts wouldn't be that much louder, but if you're always playing overdriven stuff, all of your distortion will be coming from the pre-amp ("gain"), which is a different sort of sound.

 

[FrankenFretter]

^ What they said. And you also have to figure in the the efficiency of the speaker you're using, right Tung?

 

[tunghaichuan]

^ What they said. And you also have to figure in the the efficiency of the speaker you're using, right Tung?

Good catch, thanks for pointing that out. The more sensitive a speaker is the louder the decibels.

Also the power handling of the speaker will come into play. I like to use a speaker that is rated for at least twice the power of the amp. I don't like speaker distortion, which can cause the speaker to burn out prematurely.

 

[bcdon]

How about a Mesa Boggie TA-15?

 

[gatorbrit]

The Mesa is a sweet amp. I think with a cab as well it is getting out of my price range though.

 

[bcdon]

The Mesa is a sweet amp. I think with a cab as well it is getting out of my price range though.

Yeah, sorry. I thought the prices had dropped since the TA-30 was announced; and I don't seem to see that many used.

 

[MAXIFUNK]

40 watt black star or classic 30 or 40 watt tweaker any of the 3 will be a great buy.

 

[gatorbrit]

Those three are the ones that I am looking at right now. Leaning towards the blackstar though.

 

[oldguy]

Last month, thanks to some overtime pay at work, I bought a Peavey Classic 30 on clearance for $300 and a Hughes and Kettner Statesman 40w Quad EL-84 for $769.
They're both great amphs, but I think the Peavey is the better deal for the money. The H&K does sound better to me, but for the difference in price, I doubt if anyone in the audience would notice.

 

[Lev]

Oldguy I'd love to hear your opinion on the Statesman. Over here in Europe the Quad 40w is €580 where as something like a Fender HRDlx is €825 and a Peavey C30 is €635. So with that in mind would you recommend the Statesman given that it's the cheapest of the bunch here in Europe. Any negatives to report with the amp? So far I've only heard good things about it but there's no stockists that I can find to try it out so I'd be ordering blind online.

 

[oldguy]

Oldguy I'd love to hear your opinion on the Statesman. Over here in Europe the Quad 40w is €580 where as something like a Fender HRDlx is €825 and a Peavey C30 is €635. So with that in mind would you recommend the Statesman given that it's the cheapest of the bunch here in Europe. Any negatives to report with the amp? So far I've only heard good things about it but there's no stockists that I can find to try it out so I'd be ordering blind online.

I don't want to hijack the thread, but briefly I'd say the H&K sounds warmer, maybe more Fenderish in the clean side with the "twang" button engaged, than the C30. The OD side is not for heavy metal players, it works well for classic rock or rockabilly.
My unshielded Tele with the vintage Fender pickups makes the H/K hum pretty loud when you're angled wrong towards the amp, but that's pretty normal. The Tele's the guitar I like best through it though.
It's a little larger and heavier than my Traynor YCV-40, but that's not a negative so much as an observation.
The one thing I might pick on is that the OD seems darker than the clean side, and a little tone control/pickup selection tweaking seems to take care of that, as there are no seperate controls on the amp for the 2 channels.
I knew that when I bought it, and I've never had an amph yet that I was 100% happy with when switching from clean to O/D, unless it had eq for each channel.
Hope that helps.
Back on topic now, please.

 

[Lev]

Thanks for the response Oldguy - apologies for the Hijack !

 

[gatorbrit]

I don't want to hijack the thread, but briefly I'd say the H&K sounds warmer, maybe more Fenderish in the clean side with the "twang" button engaged, than the C30. The OD side is not for heavy metal players, it works well for classic rock or rockabilly.
Back on topic now, please.

You're not hijacking - this is useful info! I'd like to check out the H&K amph as well. Cheers!

 

[gatorbrit]

I reviewed a couple of amphs today.

First I checked out the Blackstar 20W combo today at Sam Ash. Hmmm. It was a little disappointing. It seems to be a bit of a two trick pony. Great clean thing going on and great overdrive, but not much in between. I found it hard to dial in a nice warm overdriven tone - the OD tones seemed more metal flavored than I would like. I am primarily a classic rock/blues sort of player.

SamAsh didn't have much else in that caught my eye so I went across the street to Guitar Center. Our GC always looks like a pre-school has been let loose in it. The place is always a mess. Anyhow I tested the Egnator Tweaker first. It was good, but a little overwhelming. Then I found the Egnator Rebel 30. Oh yeah. This thing is really nice. Plenty of really warm OD tones - great clean tones and a nice 1w-30w headroom attenuator which is great for different venues. I think this one is at the top of my list right now.

 

[Tig]

Then I found the Egnator Rebel 30. Oh yeah. This thing is really nice. Plenty of really warm OD tones - great clean tones and a nice 1w-30w headroom attenuator which is great for different venues. I think this one is at the top of my list right now.

One of their best amps. It might be just what you are looking for. If my price limit was higher, I would have gone with the Rebel 30 over the Tweaker 15.

 

[marnold]

If you can find a Jet City JCA20H or the JCA2112RC (the combo version, Eric has this one), I'd suggest giving it a spin. It'll do the classic rock thing great. The only thing is that if you are looking for lots of super cleans, look elsewhere. This amph can do clean, but that's not really its M.O.

 

[gatorbrit]

I took the plunge and traded my Crate V50 in at GC. They gave me $150 for it. But get this - the Egnator Rebel 20 is on sale there because they are not going to carry it in the stores anymore. The head is usually $550 but they had it out for $450! So I haggled a bit and ended up getting it for $400. I also scored a 1*12 egnater cab to go with it. All in all I think I did OK. Been playing the rebel 20 and it is great - I think it is perfect for my mostly bedroom playing - but it does get loud if you crank it. Now I have to tell my dear wife.

 

[Lev]

Congrats. Glad you found what you were looking for. Those Egnaters sounds like excellent amps. Of course the rule round here is that without pics it never happened!

 

[Tig]

Sweet trade. Happy new amph day!

 

[gatorbrit]

Here is the new baby. Sitting on my Fender Bass amp - I really should try and learn how to play bass sometime. In the foreground is my Dean EVO special.

 

[Brian Krashpad]

Congrats! That little "stack" looks great!