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$500-600 Tube Amp

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  • #16
    Re: $500-600 Tube Amp

    DSL 401. Three channels, with the clean and OD chanels having seperate EQ for great tone options. Best 40W amp out there in that price range. And no, the dsl401 and dsl 15 are not the same

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    • #17
      Re: $500-600 Tube Amp

      If all your doing is recording you might want to look into Solid State. Blackstar has just come out with a new ID series of SS amps and they sound promising and make recording very easy and have software built in for it. IMO SS and digital make recording a whole lot easier vs tubes but if you are dead set on valves try to get something in the 20 watt range if not lower. 20 Watts is still loud for a valve amp.
      Originally posted by KBliss
      WELCOME TO THE FORUM! Make sure you spend more time playing than you do on this forum. That's our sickness.
      Originally posted by trevorus
      The revolutionaries become the bureaucrats the day after the revolution is over...

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      • #18
        Re: $500-600 Tube Amp

        The most impressive all tube amp for use at low volumes is the Hughes & Kettner Tube Meister 18 head.

        You will seriously get more use out of that amp than just about anything, just because you can scale the volume way back with rich tube tone. And turned up, it's pretty loud. You can also turn it on Red Box recording out mode, and the amp is silent, so you can use it as a recording preamp.

        For home use, that's a good tube amp to buy. Most other tube gear is too loud or too clean. A modeling amp is usually what's best for apartment levels, but the H&K Tubemeister 18 is killer if you must go with tubes.

        Originally posted by Boogie Bill
        I've got 60 guitars...but 49 trumpets is just...INSANITY! WTF!

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        • #19
          Re: $500-600 Tube Amp

          Originally posted by kramersteen View Post
          itsabass is right. Used you will save a heap and get a better overall amp for your money.

          Like when i was looking for a valve amp it came down to a peavey jsx (used) vs a series one blackstar (new) both with cabs. I went with the jsx because it was almost $2000 less and just as good quality.
          Thanks for the input everyone.
          I found a forum where loads of people are selling their used gear. There are some good amplifiers (Blackstar HT-20 and 40, Egnater Tweaker) selling for about 450-550 USD, so if anyone has any recommendations for better amps outside my previous price range, I can try and find them used or second hand.

          Also, if I get a 50 watt amp and use it with an attenuator, will I be able to crank the amp and still get the same tone at bedroom levels?

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          • #20
            Re: $500-600 Tube Amp

            you have to have a good attenuator to attenuate 50W down to bedroom levels without it sounding like crap (really buzzy, muddy, no dynamics). The weber mass series uses a speaker motor to "react" to the amp the way a speaker would, to try to overcome the tone loss of traditional attenuators.

            I have a weber load dump (not the mass series) attenuator and I can crank my amp to ten and get it to bedroom levels but it sounds nothing like my amp on ten and I get a better tone with no attenuator and pedals. better attenuators will yield slightly better results but never forget that cranked tone is the product of many things including speaker movement and the amount of air moved by those speakers, when you're playing at bedroom volume you lose that to a great degree.

            I used to have a 50W head and I sold it because it was too loud. I play at home and in friends backyards and basements so I found a happy medium at 22W and I could have gotten away with 15.

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            • #21
              Re: $500-600 Tube Amp

              I think the thing you have to understand is unless you have a room dedicated to having your amp at a high volume when recording you want to keep the wattage down. 20 watts is more then enough for recording but if you have something such as a ISO cab then yea you can get a head and cab and just put the cab into the ISO box and run as loud as needed with waking up the neighborhood. I own a 40 watt Blackstar combo and for live work it gets the job done but when im recording or running to a board they always tell me to turn it down very low. So I would say unless your playing live you really don't need a high wattage head.
              Originally posted by KBliss
              WELCOME TO THE FORUM! Make sure you spend more time playing than you do on this forum. That's our sickness.
              Originally posted by trevorus
              The revolutionaries become the bureaucrats the day after the revolution is over...

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              • #22
                Re: $500-600 Tube Amp

                Originally posted by AG2997 View Post

                Also, if I get a 50 watt amp and use it with an attenuator, will I be able to crank the amp and still get the same tone at bedroom levels?
                No, and you'll spend money for no reason, adding an attenuator.

                For regular home volumes, you have only a few choices.

                1. Modeling amp like a Vox Valvetronix, L6, Fender Mustang, all the way up to Eleven Rack, Axe FX, Kemper, etc.
                2. Low wattage tube amp with power attenuation built in like the H&K Tube Meister, and other tube lunchbox amps and combos.
                3. Computer software guitar programs.

                Fitting an amp to your exact needs is easy nowadays. When it's a perfect match, you end up playing more and enjoying your sound.

                Only when you're in a rehearsal room with a loud drummer or onstage at a big venue do you need medium and high wattage tube amps.

                If I were you, I'd buy a used Avid Eleven Rack with Pro Tools, a low wattage power amp, and a 212 cab wired for stereo. If you need more power, just change power amps.
                Last edited by Gearjoneser; 05-05-2013, 11:20 PM.
                Originally posted by Boogie Bill
                I've got 60 guitars...but 49 trumpets is just...INSANITY! WTF!

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                • #23
                  Re: $500-600 Tube Amp

                  I'd say that for quiet (regular tv volume) playing a tube amp, even at 5 watts, is too loud. At least in my experience. Attenuators and dirt pedals help but you have to add them to the cost.
                  There are two kinds of people in this world that go around beardless—boys and women, and I am neither one

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                  • #24
                    Re: $500-600 Tube Amp

                    Marshall 40c
                    Originally posted by Bad City
                    He's got the crowd on his side and the blue jean lights in his eyes...

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                    • #25
                      Re: $500-600 Tube Amp

                      You might not believe it, but the 1.5w Lil' Night Train in plenty loud enough at bedroom levels; more so if you pair it with an efficient 2x12" or 4x12" cab. You'd probably be astonished at how loud a Zvex Nano Head is too, and that's only 1/2w in output. Realistically, 5w is more than enough, unless you can isolate the sound from family and neighbours very well.
                      Warmoth Group @ Flickr : SDUGF group @ SoundCloud : Basic Guitar Setup

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                      I dream of a better world, where chickens can cross the road without having their motives questioned

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                      • #26
                        Re: $500-600 Tube Amp

                        Originally posted by Stratovarious View Post
                        Laney VC or LC30

                        I've got the VC30 and I can NOT think of a better sounding amp for what I got it for ..

                        The clean channel alone is worth a million bucks . The dirt channel is grunty and dirty . Perfect for punk

                        The LC is more marshally and freakin awesome
                        +1. Laney is as good as Marshall and sell for less money. I wouldn't say the clean channel is as stellar as Stratovarious thinks it is, but it's somewhere between a Marshall and a Hi Watt clean tone.
                        "It is easier to fool people than to convince them they have been fooled" - Mark Twain

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                        • #27
                          Re: $500-600 Tube Amp

                          @Fender_Punk : No.. Laney is Laney, Marshall is Marshall. Laney tends to sound trebly as you crank it while Marshall is more middy. Laney is great tho dont get me wrong but they only work for me for hi-fi stuffs (forget plugging in 50 watt speaker to a 50 watt head like how vintage marshall used to be played thru, they'll be bright) If you end up getting a laney amp (and good luck finding one) use speaker(s) that is twice the power of the amp (50 watt amp 100 watt speaker) and from my experience using 30 watts laney amp thru 300 watt worth of speakers they sound very dark and dull so in conclusion, Laney is very liable to change.

                          To OP check out the blackstar HTs (20 preferably) imo the isf knob works very well and you can get a combo for that budget

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                          • #28
                            Re: $500-600 Tube Amp

                            check out the new dsl 40 combo too.

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                            • #29
                              Re: $500-600 Tube Amp

                              Originally posted by Chris of Arabia View Post
                              You might not believe it, but the 1.5w Lil' Night Train in plenty loud enough at bedroom levels; more so if you pair it with an efficient 2x12" or 4x12" cab. You'd probably be astonished at how loud a Zvex Nano Head is too, and that's only 1/2w in output. Realistically, 5w is more than enough, unless you can isolate the sound from family and neighbours very well.
                              There is a lot of merit to this suggestion. The LNT is a small, all-valve amplifier that can be made to sound very decent, has plenty of tonal options as you swap out valves, sounds decent at very low SPL and can still play loud if needed. Plus, it has a headphone/line out for "silent" practice/recording...
                              Why don't you take your little Cobra Kais and get outta here?!
                              My collaborative PROGRESSIVE ROCK PROJECT, As Follows.

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                              • #30
                                Re: $500-600 Tube Amp

                                The new Marshall DSL 40c is just a wee bit over your price range and would fit the bill nicely.

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