For the longest time I've maintained the mind frame that any amp I own HAS to have a good clean channel and a great dirt channel. My primary dirty tones should come from the amp which led me acquiring dozens of amps thorough out my years; Marshalls, Mesas, Carvin, Randall, Fryette, etc. My current amp is a Mesa Stiletto Ace. Lately, not sure if my tastes are changing, if my play style has matured or I'm just getting lazy, but something changed last practice. We can't and don't play as loud as we used to anymore (various reasons) at rehearsals and gigs. Packing up my gear sucks and requires at least 2 trips. I despise lugging my amp head (it was a combo turned into head, so it's heavy and bulky). This led me to really start contemplating making the switch.
There are so many great pedal options out there now compared to when I started playing in the 90/00s. Technology and innovation never ceases to impress me. Pedals have become literal amp in the box units at a fraction of the cost of an amp allowing for endless versatility. The tone is very close. I can dial in pedals to closely resemble the stiletto ace's dirt channel. Granted there are some minor differences in frequencies and characteristics, but it's damn close.
I would love to own a Suhr Bella or Wampler Bravado; but as a full time working father that's not justifiable. I came across this on an article recommending good pedal platform amps. There's not a ton of info on the web and youtube about this brand. I must of been at right place, right time when I was doing research b/c I found it used for a really good price (which made sense for me to get).
While I only got to bedroom test it (have rehearsal tonight and gig tomorrow), here's some highlights.
The channel is clean, transparent and very useable. It's not Fender or Mesa like, but it's neutral which is ideal for a pedal platform. The tone knob is versatile (works similar to wampler's bright knob) and can easily dial in the right tone to match my board. The amp is smaller, lunchbox sized. Not as small as a Vox Night train or Carvin Legacy 3, but small none the less. Legit weighs like 7 pounds and can be lifted by a pinky finger. It has 4, 8 and 16 ohm outputs. I haven't messed with the Ichannel, but cool option nonetheless.
Description:
Here's what Guru's say about the 5015 Amp Head:
5015 is our Single Channel + iChannel™ 50W head in a lunchbox size. Thanks to its easy 3 controls you can sculpt your tone to reach best performances in every situations, from your home to a big stage. You can obtain a totally clean sound with lot of headroom to use as a platform for your pedals rig, and/or choose to get it to compression of both stages, preamp or power section using its separate controls volume and master to obtain stunning vintage or modern tone.
With the SexyTone™, you can manage the EQ curve of your amp simply with a single knob which works on 3filters simultaneously, moving the entire tone-stack curve for best result and as a fine tuning of your final tone, matching the right cab etc..
It is equipped by a tube buffered Serial loop and has 3 out on 4,8 and 16Ohms.
Stunning tone with the highest transportability of its category.
Specifications:
AC Consumption max: 114 Watt su 110/220Vac
Power: 50 Watt @ 4,8,16Ohm
S/N Ratio: 82dB
Power section config. class: “AB” Push-pull
Speakers impedance: 4,8,16 Ohm
Normal In: < 1M Ohm
iChannel In: < 10K Ohm – 100mVpp
Send level: < 100K Ohm – 1Vpp
Return level: < 100K Ohm – 1Vpp
Dimensions: 290x220x160mm.
Weight: 7Kg.
Preamp tubes: 2x12AX7/ECC83
Power tubes: 2x5881/6L6GC
There are so many great pedal options out there now compared to when I started playing in the 90/00s. Technology and innovation never ceases to impress me. Pedals have become literal amp in the box units at a fraction of the cost of an amp allowing for endless versatility. The tone is very close. I can dial in pedals to closely resemble the stiletto ace's dirt channel. Granted there are some minor differences in frequencies and characteristics, but it's damn close.
I would love to own a Suhr Bella or Wampler Bravado; but as a full time working father that's not justifiable. I came across this on an article recommending good pedal platform amps. There's not a ton of info on the web and youtube about this brand. I must of been at right place, right time when I was doing research b/c I found it used for a really good price (which made sense for me to get).
While I only got to bedroom test it (have rehearsal tonight and gig tomorrow), here's some highlights.
The channel is clean, transparent and very useable. It's not Fender or Mesa like, but it's neutral which is ideal for a pedal platform. The tone knob is versatile (works similar to wampler's bright knob) and can easily dial in the right tone to match my board. The amp is smaller, lunchbox sized. Not as small as a Vox Night train or Carvin Legacy 3, but small none the less. Legit weighs like 7 pounds and can be lifted by a pinky finger. It has 4, 8 and 16 ohm outputs. I haven't messed with the Ichannel, but cool option nonetheless.
Description:
Here's what Guru's say about the 5015 Amp Head:
5015 is our Single Channel + iChannel™ 50W head in a lunchbox size. Thanks to its easy 3 controls you can sculpt your tone to reach best performances in every situations, from your home to a big stage. You can obtain a totally clean sound with lot of headroom to use as a platform for your pedals rig, and/or choose to get it to compression of both stages, preamp or power section using its separate controls volume and master to obtain stunning vintage or modern tone.
With the SexyTone™, you can manage the EQ curve of your amp simply with a single knob which works on 3filters simultaneously, moving the entire tone-stack curve for best result and as a fine tuning of your final tone, matching the right cab etc..
It is equipped by a tube buffered Serial loop and has 3 out on 4,8 and 16Ohms.
Stunning tone with the highest transportability of its category.
Specifications:
AC Consumption max: 114 Watt su 110/220Vac
Power: 50 Watt @ 4,8,16Ohm
S/N Ratio: 82dB
Power section config. class: “AB” Push-pull
Speakers impedance: 4,8,16 Ohm
Normal In: < 1M Ohm
iChannel In: < 10K Ohm – 100mVpp
Send level: < 100K Ohm – 1Vpp
Return level: < 100K Ohm – 1Vpp
Dimensions: 290x220x160mm.
Weight: 7Kg.
Preamp tubes: 2x12AX7/ECC83
Power tubes: 2x5881/6L6GC
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