$500-600 Tube Amp

[Rockstar216]

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.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: $500-600 Tube Amp

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.

 

[Johtosotku]

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.

 

[Aceman]

Re: $500-600 Tube Amp

Marshall 40c

 

[Chris of Arabia]

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.

 

[Fender_Punk]

Re: $500-600 Tube Amp

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.

 

[NewWave]

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

 

[NewWave]

Re: $500-600 Tube Amp

check out the new dsl 40 combo too.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

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.

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...

 

[Mr. B]

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.