$2000 Budget for Amp

[Rockbly]

I have a $2000 tax return and I am being irresponsible and blowing it on an amp. It could be a Head or a Combo. If it is a head I will be running through different 1x12 cabs with Vintage 30, WGS Veteran 30, and WGS Green Beret (Greenback). I play Blues, Blues Rock, Rock. I need something that will sound good at talking level- no high watt monsters. This is being use in my 18x18ft den. All kinds of different guitars will be used through it. Any opinions?

[jeremy]

Re: $2000 Budget for Amp

will you be recording with this amp or just sitting around playing?

[Swampy]

Re: $2000 Budget for Amp

AC15? Can still exceed talking level if wanted.

That's a nice budget for what you're looking to do.

[treyhaislip]

Re: $2000 Budget for Amp

Just a thought...maybe buy a $1,000 amp and save the rest in case of a rainy day?

[Rockbly]

Re: $2000 Budget for Amp

Looking at Suhr Corso, Carr Raleigh, and Mesa Mark V 25 head

[Lampy H]

Re: $2000 Budget for Amp

Tiny Terror and money in your pocket.

[Rockbly]

Re: $2000 Budget for Amp

Looking at Suhr Corso, Carr Raleigh, and Mesa Mark V 25 head

[Rockbly]

Re: $2000 Budget for Amp

will you be recording with this amp or just sitting around playing?

Sitting around playing

[Gearjoneser]

Re: $2000 Budget for Amp

Some of the most impressive sounding lower wattage blues rock amps I've ever heard are Bad Cat, and your budget is high enough. You just need to figure out which model is for you.

Bogner also has a new low wattage Goldfinger 54 Phi that's cool.

[jeremy]

Re: $2000 Budget for Amp

i like the carr mercury a lot for home use, havent tried the suhr corso

[Drano Max]

Re: $2000 Budget for Amp

Fryette, anything. You can get a Pittbull CL for half that if you look around. Deliverance, and Sig X's can be had for that budget too. The Pittbull 45 would probably be a great fit. Besides the Sig X, they can all be had for less than $1000.

[Lucy Diamond]

Re: $2000 Budget for Amp

Either a (used or new old stock) Mesa/ Boogie Blue Angel or a Mesa/ Boogie Lone Star.

You could get a Blues Deluxe and a good overdrive pedal and spend the rest on Hookers and Beer. \m/,

[vinta9e]

Re: $2000 Budget for Amp

http://www.themusiczoo.com/product/21555/Victory-Amplification-V30-The-Countess-Guitar-Amplifier-Head/

[jeremy]

Re: $2000 Budget for Amp

45w is a lot for playing at home. honestly i havent played the fryette stuff but i wasnt under the impression they were known for their blues, blues/rock tones

[Boogie Bill]

Re: $2000 Budget for Amp

The Lone Star is a good choice, either the Special or the Classic....just pick your power lever and preferred power amp tubes.

The Mark V is the ultimate Mesa, and it's like getting nine different amps in one package....actually 27, because each of those nine modes has a minimum of three power options. This one has really allowed me to tailor my sound, and it makes it easy with all the different guitars I use. I bought the C90 112 combo, and added a V30-loaded 112 Wide-Body Closed-Back cab. I like this rig better than the head/412 or 212 version, as it is more portable and more versatile. If you want to go "All In", it's hard to beat a Mark V.

I also own Mark IIIs and a Mark IV combo. The IIIs are pretty simple, but I think all of the Mark Series amps are good for blues and rock, and obviously the Mark IV and V can do even more. I gig with either a Mark III half-stack, a Mark III EVM Combo or a Mark IV EVM combo. With the combos, I like to use them with the Mesa 112 EVM Thiele cab underneath, and I have never been out-gunned with this combo/cab rig. Yet, they sound pretty good at low volumes and the Mark III and IV have power amp options from 15 thru 85 watts on the Mark IV. And don't buy into this crap about Mesa's being tooooo complicated. Criminy, if you can use a computer or a smart phone....

And late last year I found a deal on a used Mark V:25 that I could not refuse, and got the full stack version. Amazing little amp; I am so pleased. A simpler version of the big guy, it still rocks. Looks cool as hell, too! Very portable, versatile...what more can I say. I probably could have used this on 80% of the gigs I've done in the last 20 years or so, so it does have some power, but it works very well in my home, too. I love the FAT Clean, and the II-C+ modes.

Now, I haven't played one yet, but Mesa has another new amp out: the Mark V:35. It's basically an all-new version of my old DC-3, which is still a pretty fabulous little amp. I find that for basic blues and rock club amps, that 35-55 watt power range is about right where you want to be, unless--you are playing just super clean and dynamic rhythm parts very LOUDLY, in which case I would recommend a 100-watt amp. The V:35 has the 4xEL84 power tubes, but has 10- and 25-watt settings too. Thirty-five watts can play pretty clean, and yet when you push them they get that beautiful creamy tone. I would definitely tell you to check out the V:35, and I would get the combo and the 112 C-90 Thiele. Look into getting the combo with the new Fillmore Speaker, rather than the standard C-90.

Mesa makes a lot of great amps. One friend of mine in Seattle uses a TA-30 combo for his pop combo, another uses a Stiletto Ace in his strictly blues band, and another friend here in town uses an Electro-Dyne. All of them are really good players and all have killer tone. That's one of the things about why I love Mesas--when I bought my first Mesa back in the mid-'90s, not only did I start getting a lot more compliments on my tone, but I quickly became a better player. People NOTICED.

Lots of good amps on the market these days. I like new Carr, Allen, Headstrong and PRS amps; and I like the old Marshall Vintage Modern and the DSL50, and old BF Fenders and Music Man amps. But when I found Mesa, I sold all my vintage Fenders and Marshall amps. I feel really lucky to have found the tones I was searching for in these amps.

Bill