good affordable tube amps?

[mattleesc]

just played a reverend kingsnake earlier and HOLY ****, my kustom 30 watts sounds like crap now. super super demoralising. the cleans sound so much punchier and warmer and just so.. alive.

any cheaper tube amps with great cleans to use with my gt2 and other pedals? was thinking of something around 20~30 watts, like the peavey classics or something. any suggestions?

thanks!

[Metalman_666]

Re: good affordable tube amps?

If you're thinking Peavey Classic series, then the Classic 30 is probably the way to go. On eBay you can usually find them for pretty cheap, heads or combos.

[oba]

Re: good affordable tube amps?

The Laney Lc30II, very good amp for its size and not so expensive...
The Rivera makes good 30w amps too, the cleans are crystaline and the dirty channel is something "from hell", but i don't know about the price...
I hope i could help you

[WhoFan]

Re: good affordable tube amps?

my Classic 30 with the matching Tweed 1x12 Extention cab only cost me $500 Canadian.... roughly $440 American i think.... i use the Extention cab with my C50 head a lot! Cool little amps and extremely loud..... Best $500 i've spent. The C30 is easy to carry and has a great clean channel.... i enjoy the Distortion channel when i can crank it up.... it takes a tube screamer well!!!! But i use my C30 for it's great clean channel with lots of pedals..

I need to retube it right soon! also i have a buzzing noise in mine sometimes with Low Notes that comes and goes.... sometimes i think it's the reverb springs.... Still i'll get it sorted out and it was a great deal for the money

[DesertRose]

Re: good affordable tube amps?

its cost me a 100 bucks to retube a amp

[Aceman]

Re: good affordable tube amps?

Fender Pro Junior!

[aleclee]

Re: good affordable tube amps?

If I were going for a rig with pedal-based overdrive, I'd run a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. The cleans are world class and it takes pedals well. At $600 for a brand spankin' new 1x12 combo, it might not be super cheap but I'd describe it as pretty affordable.

[Christobevii3]

Re: good affordable tube amps?

Crate v3112T is what i got, 30 watts with a tone tubby.

[WhoFan]

Re: good affordable tube amps?

If I were going for a rig with pedal-based overdrive, I'd run a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. The cleans are world class and it takes pedals well. At $600 for a brand spankin' new 1x12 combo, it might not be super cheap but I'd describe it as pretty affordable.

For clean tones i like these Hotrod amps for sure.... It surprises me how many pros use these from time to time... I saw Simon Townshend-(Petes younger Brother) in the UK a few weeks ago and he was using a Hotrod Deville....

In the same price range as a HR Deluxe i also love the Traynor Amps.... i want the Red Wine 20 watt one with the greenback speaker and the Blue higain 50 watter...

[kmcguitars]

Re: good affordable tube amps?

When I think budget minded tube amps, The names Crate,Peavey and Fender come to mind. I scored a HRD on ebay last year for $325. Being that my band plays mostly outdoor gigs now , My Princeton was having a hard time keeping up in the mix. I don't like taking vintage amps out in the elements (Got caught in a rain storm once ) So the HRD was a perfect fit.
Like AlecLee said `The cleans are world class and it takes pedals well' It has ext. speaker out to run another 8 ohm load.

[Pecan]

Re: good affordable tube amps?

The classic 30 is my fav cheap tube amp. It has a strange vibration though at moderate volumes only. You can hear it when your playing loudly in a jam session. And you can't hear it at really low volumes. But at medium it has like a vibration sound, i think its the tube suspenders. great amp though.

[Dills]

Re: good affordable tube amps?

I can highly recommend you the hughes and kettner 20th edition tube amp (20watts). I bought one and have never looked back, really nice sparkly full cleans and the overdrive channel is really nice aswell (alot of gain on tap if needed). Affordable and really good tone. I have tried the classic series amps 30 and 50 (used the 50 for a few years) and i could not dial out (even with blue mods) the excessive mids in the sound and the bass notes were not tight enough, very harsh overdrive channel. But then again it might just be the one i used to use.

Dills

[WhoFan]

Re: good affordable tube amps?

The classic 30 is my fav cheap tube amp. It has a strange vibration though at moderate volumes only. You can hear it when your playing loudly in a jam session. And you can't hear it at really low volumes. But at medium it has like a vibration sound, i think its the tube suspenders. great amp though.

i was using my C30 tonight at a jam.... Sometimes i get a buzzing sound in the back of the cab and sometimes i don't.... tonight it didn't... I just used a 1999 MIM Standard strat with a Duncan Custom, a cord and the C30 on the gain channel... no pedals tonight. I have a love hate thing with gain channel on this amp.... I love it for some songs and others it is not dirty enough... I was playing VH's Unchained thru it tonight and with my bright sounding MIM strat it sounded like some of the Live VH versions i have heard out there among collectors....

[Pecan]

Re: good affordable tube amps?

I have the same problem, It really does come and go, it can come at any time. If you find a cure please tell me cause I plan on keeping my classic 30. The gain channel is... limiting, I normaly need to keep my gain on max even with it at a decent volume. The cleans are wonderful, slightly cloudy but still sparkly. The mids thing is what I love about it. I have to admit I hate the bass though, but I can live with it because apart from that its perfect when I wanna play some classic rock.

[Robert S.]

Re: good affordable tube amps?

The Peavey C30s are nice and a know a few guys locally getting great tone from them. I have seen reports that they do tend to "rattle" a bit for some folks and I have never seen a cure-all for that online.

I picked up a Crate V32 a month or two ago to lighten the load for small gigs. Great tone, two channels with a boost and plenty of gain for classic rock stuff. I run a TS9 into both the clean and drive channels and I end up with 6 very useable tones from lush warm cleans to bone grinding distortion with killer feedback and overtones.

I picked it up fro a GC and I got it out the door for under $450. They list at $599 but that price can obviously be talked down. The trick is to walk in with money and don't leave with the amp until you get your price. If you hit the GC with $500 cash 2-3 times a week, pester a single salesperson and then walk out only to come back a couple days later to repeat the same performance, they will sell you the amp at cost just to get rid of you!

All you have to say is, "here's $500, I want that amp today". Tell the same guy that for a week or two and it'll happen. Ignore the "it costs this....I need a manager........No one else sells it this low" stuff.

Money talks.