$500-600 Tube Amp

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AG2997

New member
Hello,
I'm looking for a tube amplifier for $500-600 that will give me a good tone for pop-punk/punk rock (Green Day, Blink 182, Sum 41 etc.). I'm only using it at home and for recording purposes, so anything above 50 watts will probably be way to loud (right?). I don't want to buy a used amp because this is probably the last amp I'm going to be getting for a long time (7 years at least), so I want it to be in good condition. It does not need to have a great clean channel.

Most pop-punk/punk rock bands I've seen use Marshall JCM 800-ish amplifiers, but thats out of my price range, so any amp within my price range that can give me that sound should do the job. I'll be using it with a Fender Standard Stratocaster with a Seymour DUncan SH-5 in the bridge.

Combo or Head and Cab, doesnt really matter which.

Thanks
 
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Re: $500-600 Tube Amp

Doesn't really matter whether its a head and cab or a combo, but a combo would be easier to accommodate in my room.
 
Re: $500-600 Tube Amp

I'd get a Marshall, and definitely a combo, as that gives you a much bigger bang for the buck. For some dumb reason, Marshall combos go for less than heads, even though a combo can do everything a head can do and more, but not the other way around. I'd look for the best local Marshall 800, 900, DSL, or TSL combo that you can afford. I sold my TSL122 last year, and it took almost a year to sell and brought only $800 locally – about 1/3 of what it cost new. That "kid" who bought it from me got a hell of a bang for his buck. That's a "top-of-the-line" 100W 2x12 three-channel model. Go down in wattage and in the number of speakers, and you will definitely get something in your price range.
 
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Re: $500-600 Tube Amp

ItsaBass said:
I'd get a Marshall, and definitely a combo, as that gives you a much bigger bang for the buck. For some dumb reason, Marshall combos go for less than heads, even though a combo can do everything a head can do and more, but not the other way around. I'd look for the best local Marshall 800, 900, DSL, or TSL combo that you can afford. I sold my TSL122 last year, and it took almost a year to sell and brought only $800 locally – about 1/3 of what it cost new. That "kid" who bought it from me got a hell of a bang for his buck. That's a "top-of-the-line" 100W 2x12 three-channel model. Go down in wattage and in the number of speakers, and you will definitely get something in your price range.
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I can just about afford a new DSL 40 Combo or the DSL 15 Combo. Are both of them the same? Since I'm only using the amp at home, I would just go with the cheaper DSL 15 if it sounds the same as the DSL 40.
 
Re: $500-600 Tube Amp

I dunno. If you like it, and really want a brand new amp, why not? But I do think you can get a better amp for less if you buy used.
 
Re: $500-600 Tube Amp

ItsaBass said:
I dunno. If you like it, and really want a brand new amp, why not? But I do think you can get a better amp for less if you buy used.
Click to expand...
I live in Singapore, and theres not much used stuff here. I find a lot of used amps on ebay, but an amp for say $600 automatically costs $800 for me because of the shipping charges. Thats why I'm reluctant to buy used unless I get a really good deal.
 
Re: $500-600 Tube Amp

AG2997 said:
I live in Singapore, and theres not much used stuff here. I find a lot of used amps on ebay, but an amp for say $600 automatically costs $800 for me because of the shipping charges. Thats why I'm reluctant to buy used unless I get a really good deal.
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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.
 
Re: $500-600 Tube Amp

The first thing that popped into my head was the MESA Transatlantic, as it will probably have the most versatility right out of the box. I don't know how much they are going for used, or even if there is one available in your part of the world.

There is also that OEM amp which looks like the H&K which is made in the Far East, but the name escapes me! It's Goldea, I think.

http://goldea.iconguitars.se/documents/gitarrfrstrkare.html
 
Re: $500-600 Tube Amp

One of the smaller Marshalls will definitely get you the tone you want and more. Blackstar is another viable option too. One thing to note, be sure to try amps out if you can find them, even if they might not be exactly what you had in mind in the first place. Online reviews, and videos are great to find some information, but they don't compare to actually sitting down with a guitar and really hearing it.
 
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
 
Re: $500-600 Tube Amp

50 watts for home and studio use is a bit overkill, in my opinion.

You could try out some of the Orange lunchboxs. The Tiny Terror could be a great choice for you, since you're not interested in clean tones.
 
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
 
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.
 
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.

images
 
Re: $500-600 Tube Amp

kramersteen said:
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.
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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?
 
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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