banner

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Well-executed "jack of all trades" tube amp?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Well-executed "jack of all trades" tube amp?

    Yeah, question of the ages perhaps, but my interests range across many genres, while money is, as often happens, in much shorter supply than inspiration.

    Long story short, I've been lurking around looking for a true tube circuit that will take me from true cleans up through, let's say 90s hard rock in terms of gain/crunch. Pretty much everywhere I go, I'll have access to pure solid-state volume where I need it, so the little sub-30w jobs have been my primary focus.

    My specific "one" and front-runner for years now has been the Peavey Valve King II series, either the mini-head and a cab of my choice or one of the 1x12 combos. On paper, its everything a home and small-gig guitarist would want in a single amp, with a massive gain range and a variety of I/O configurations. In practice, reviews are mixed, with many saying the tones just aren't there, the amp is too fiddly to gig with even when you find the tones you like in each channel, and the quality of the cab and speaker are where they cheaped out to have the money for the feature set. While none of this seems totally insurmountable with enough time and money, I'm hoping against hope that another manufacturer has taken the studio/small-gig do-all to a level of execution I'll be happy with long after initial novelty, and without needing hundreds more in mods to fully realize the concept.

    I'm wondering if any of you have found a true "do-all" in the clean through moderately-heavy gain range, that doesn't compromise anywhere a discerning ear will notice, but does wring out every drop of value for dollar in its price range. I'm no stranger to solid state but I am interested in true tube tone, so a hybrid "valvetronic" circuit isn't a turn-off, but modeling just isn't my bag at the moment.

    Thoughts?

    Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

  • #2
    Re: Well-executed "jack of all trades" tube amp?

    Originally posted by Liko View Post
    Yeah, question of the ages perhaps, but my interests range across many genres, while money is, as often happens, in much shorter supply than inspiration.

    Long story short, I've been lurking around looking for a true tube circuit that will take me from true cleans up through, let's say 90s hard rock in terms of gain/crunch. Pretty much everywhere I go, I'll have access to pure solid-state volume where I need it, so the little sub-30w jobs have been my primary focus.

    My specific "one" and front-runner for years now has been the Peavey Valve King II series, either the mini-head and a cab of my choice or one of the 1x12 combos. On paper, its everything a home and small-gig guitarist would want in a single amp, with a massive gain range and a variety of I/O configurations. In practice, reviews are mixed, with many saying the tones just aren't there, the amp is too fiddly to gig with even when you find the tones you like in each channel, and the quality of the cab and speaker are where they cheaped out to have the money for the feature set. While none of this seems totally insurmountable with enough time and money, I'm hoping against hope that another manufacturer has taken the studio/small-gig do-all to a level of execution I'll be happy with long after initial novelty, and without needing hundreds more in mods to fully realize the concept.

    I'm wondering if any of you have found a true "do-all" in the clean through moderately-heavy gain range, that doesn't compromise anywhere a discerning ear will notice, but does wring out every drop of value for dollar in its price range. I'm no stranger to solid state but I am interested in true tube tone, so a hybrid "valvetronic" circuit isn't a turn-off, but modeling just isn't my bag at the moment.

    Thoughts?

    Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
    I have a Laney LH50 head that I love. I use it at home and my wife hates when I'm too loud. Got great cleans, crunch, and more of a classic distortion sound. And, for whatever reason, Laneys are very affordable. It's 50w but very controllable with the gain and volume knobs, with separate controls for clean and gain channels.

    It'll be a less popular suggestion but I'm on a budget and try to squeeze out all the performance possible on as small a budget as possible.

    Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Well-executed "jack of all trades" tube amp?

      Well, a lot of companies are doing tubes amps that have a British and US tone stack or detail controls to approximate it -and then from those brands select one with a high enough Gain capability -So probably a Black Star or Mesa is the direction I'm thinking.

      The other approach would be putting a versatile overdrive/clipping pedal/s that does low to high gain and good mid control into a Fender Deluxe, Vibrolux etc -in this way you can get classic Fender clean and low gain and scooped and sparkle with Fender, and Mids and high gain with the pedal.
      “For me, when everything goes wrong – that’s when adventure starts.” Yvonne Chouinard

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Well-executed "jack of all trades" tube amp?

        EVH 5150 III or Laney Ironheart both fit the bill. They're higher wattage than you're looking for, but both function very well at lower volumes. The Ironheart has better cleans, and the 5150 III better mid-gain tones IMO.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Well-executed "jack of all trades" tube amp?

          One of the Orange lunchbox amps could do all that. The Brent Hinds is like a mini Marshall. The others are more typically Orange voiced.
          - Tom

          Originally posted by Frankly
          Some people make the wine. Some people drink the wine. And some people sniff the cork and wonder what might have been.
          The Eagle never lost so much time as when he submitted to learn of the Crow.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Well-executed "jack of all trades" tube amp?

            Traynor ygl2 . If more gain is needed a good od pedal will get you there.

            Sent from my SM-J320W8 using Tapatalk

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Well-executed "jack of all trades" tube amp?

              The supersonic 22 does it for me. Lot of thick gain if you can crank it. One of fenders best modern drive channels paired with basically a deluxe reverb with no tremolo with a really useable fat boost and solid state rectification for as solid low end as you can get from the 22w Dr platform...
              The first ones had some quality issues
              And there are better amps...

              But I like mine

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Well-executed "jack of all trades" tube amp?

                Spidervalve.
                Unless of course you are put off by the modeling front end.
                Otherwise, a true Swiss Army amp.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Well-executed "jack of all trades" tube amp?

                  Marshall JVM410
                  EVH 5153 series
                  Mesa Boogie MkV series

                  As others have pointed out above, don't let the wattage put you off. These have excellent master volumes and sound good at whatever volume you need.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Well-executed "jack of all trades" tube amp?

                    The three that come to mind are the Mesa Road King and Roadster, Marshall JVM410H/410HJS and Mesa Mk5 series.

                    I’ve got a Road King, and while super versatile, I still prefer the tones of a simple Fender amp, Marshall amp and then high gain of choice. Having a lot all in one is very convenient though. At some point you may want to just think Kemper/AxeFX into the right size power amp.
                    Oh no.....


                    Oh Yeah!

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Well-executed "jack of all trades" tube amp?

                      From what I've seen, the Bassbreaker tends to do this: a good Fender, and a Marshall channel..good, but not great. It isn't the same as a Mesa, or even a good Marshall, but it isn't terrible, and it isn't expensive.
                      Administrator of the SDUGF

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Well-executed "jack of all trades" tube amp?

                        If versatility and I/O options are the goal and you already have volume taken care of, you can't beat a good modeling setup.

                        Tubes are good for simplicity (and the constraint of having one core tone is good for creativity), but if you're going for versatility, a tube amp is absolutely the wrong choice. Plenty do clean and low gain, plenty do high gain and clean, but high gain amps tend to feel and sound stiff at low gain. Cheap tube amps with lots of IO options and features tend to have reliability issues (e.g. the Peavey MH heads).

                        A good modeler is indistinguishable from a tube amp in both tone and feel. Even if you're one of those people that claims they can tell the difference, it's undeniably better than settling for a clean tube amp and relying on pedals for high gain.

                        Get a Helix Stomp if you just want good amp tones and don't need tons of effects. Otherwise, get a Helix LT.

                        Sent from my SM-G970W using Tapatalk

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Well-executed "jack of all trades" tube amp?

                          Originally posted by bigcupholder View Post
                          If versatility and I/O options are the goal and you already have volume taken care of, you can't beat a good modeling setup.

                          Tubes are good for simplicity (and the constraint of having one core tone is good for creativity), but if you're going for versatility, a tube amp is absolutely the wrong choice. Plenty do clean and low gain, plenty do high gain and clean, but high gain amps tend to feel and sound stiff at low gain. Cheap tube amps with lots of IO options and features tend to have reliability issues (e.g. the Peavey MH heads).

                          A good modeler is indistinguishable from a tube amp in both tone and feel. Even if you're one of those people that claims they can tell the difference, it's undeniably better than settling for a clean tube amp and relying on pedals for high gain.

                          Get a Helix Stomp if you just want good amp tones and don't need tons of effects. Otherwise, get a Helix LT.

                          Sent from my SM-G970W using Tapatalk
                          Like I said, best of both worlds: Line 6 Spidervalve HDII.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Well-executed "jack of all trades" tube amp?

                            Mesa Rectoverb 25 combo is my do-it-all amp.


                            Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Well-executed "jack of all trades" tube amp?

                              Originally posted by Cynical View Post
                              EVH 5150 III or Laney Ironheart both fit the bill. They're higher wattage than you're looking for, but both function very well at lower volumes. The Ironheart has better cleans, and the 5150 III better mid-gain tones IMO.
                              The IRT Studio caught my eye; a lot of the same on-paper features as the Peavey, somewhat of a half-assed wattage selection but offset by the more straightforward pedal control, and it can definitely do a tight clean and a hard crunch. Haven't heard too many 70s-80s sounds out of it, Laney has a rep for much harder tones, so I'll have to play around with a TS or clean boost on the clean channel to see how clean it stays. Used prices are pretty nice, though I will need to find a cab for live work.

                              Originally posted by Mincer View Post
                              From what I've seen, the Bassbreaker tends to do this: a good Fender, and a Marshall channel..good, but not great. It isn't the same as a Mesa, or even a good Marshall, but it isn't terrible, and it isn't expensive.
                              The BassBreaker 30R does look like one hell of an option. No USB which is cool, I'd prefer running XLR anyway (and the switchable cab emulation is a real nice-to-have; enable for live, disable for DAW), but it doesn't appear to have a load box to defeat the speaker like some other options, for truly silent recording work. Not a deal-killer, I'd pick up one of these and mount it to that ventilation grate with some silicone spacers and a 1/4" plug to use the muting speaker out. Voltage selection was a nice to have but again not a deal killer especially with a usable master volume on the Marshall channel.

                              Originally posted by bigcupholder View Post
                              If versatility and I/O options are the goal and you already have volume taken care of, you can't beat a good modeling setup.

                              Tubes are good for simplicity (and the constraint of having one core tone is good for creativity), but if you're going for versatility, a tube amp is absolutely the wrong choice.
                              Interesting take. I do like the versatility inherent in my DAW plugins, but even though I probably couldn't accurately tell you which is which in a blind test, there's just always been something NKR about the modeling amps. I will give the SpiderValve a good look if/when I can find one.

                              Which is another problem; even though I'm in a major metro, it's a big sprawl, not really known for its live music scene, and GC isn't what it used to be in terms of selection, new or used. So, finding a decent selection of these lower-cost options to try out has been tricky of late, even though you'd think these kinds of options would be best sellers among home studio recordists and patio-gig players.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X