Are B-52 tube heads any good?

[Andrew Lamprecht]

Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

the last 5 years i have spent 2140 bucks,i got 950 of that back in resales.

See... thats $1190 you lost.
You could have bought the Sovtek (those go for $500-$600) and they are solid good sounding amps.
The ENGL Screamer is an all around good amp for all types of music, especially hard rock-metal. You could have bought that.

I found adams post informative as I have fallen into the whirlpool of crap as well. Not with amps but maybe just with pedals.

Right now I have 7 pedals and all together I paid about $240 for all of them. I just bought a pedal for $265... that one pedal will sound better and be more reliable then the loads of cheaper stuff. Then if I sell that pedal I can get almost the asking price for it, maybe more because they are becoming more rare as time passes.

Good stuff holds value and if you buy used, sometimes you can make money on the deal or at least get what you bought it for. I bought a used guitar for $280 and got $265 for it a while back. I bought a used pedal for $40 and sold it for $45. If you buy those things new... Guitar would be around $360 and I would have lost $95. Bought the pedal new I still would have lost $35.

Adams right, it's a whirlpool of crap.

 

[ravendouglas]

Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

i cant argue with logic like this at all..i dont even know what a sovtek is..i am going to guess by the spelling..it is russian made maybe?

 

[B2D]

Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

I think I might have come off a little too harsh in this thread. I can tend to say things very directly, and take a more cynical or opinionated tone that I really intend. I apologize if I offended you, man.

The point about used gear that people are tying to get through to you is that, when you buy cheapo import junk new, you lose in the end. It doesn't last. You aren't satisfied. And when you go to sell it or trade it in, you take a bath on it because nobody wants cheap used crap. The moment you take your brand new piece of chinese pressboard out of the box, it's suddenly worth half what you just paid for it.

Buying a good used amp - in many cases, a really good used amp - will cost you the same (or just a little more) than some indo-chinese budget piece on initial purchase, but save you hundreds in residual value. If you bought, for example, this 2-channel Dual Rec (no affiliation with seller) for the BIN of 1,190.00, you could gig with the thing for five years and turn around and sell it for the same money...

...You lose nothing, and providing you took care of the amp during your ownership of it, the guy who buys it from you gets a killer amp that's just as useful and toneful as it was when you bought it 5 years prior.

Good equipment holds its value because, being well-made using quality components, it tends to remain desirable.

Budget gear loses value because, being cheaply-made using cheap components, it rarely lasts long enough to even be re-sold more than once for any kind of money.

Continually turning junk over for new junk locks you into a "whirlpool of crap." Buy new piece for $400. Sell it for $200. Buy new piece for $450. Sell it for $230. Ad infinitum. Do that enough times and you WILL have cumulatively spent that $3,000 you initially said you could never afford, and you will still have just one sh1tty little amp to show for it.

You don't even need to spend a lot to break the cycle - as Empty said above, there are literally tons of good amps to be had for relatively little coin:

http://cgi.ebay.com/SOVTEK-MIG-50-S...UITAR-AMP-/320572981923?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sovtek-MIG-100-...ller-Muff-/290462631180?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0http://cgi.ebay.com/Laney-AOR-100-Pro-Tube-Lead-Amp-Head-/230508639196?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

http://cgi.ebay.com/RedBear-MK-60-Amplifier-Red-Bear-MK60-Amp-/150478148456?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

http://cgi.ebay.com/ENGL-E325-Thund...-all-tube-/120595080732?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

http://cgi.ebay.com/Blackstar-Venue...-60W-Tube-/120604236631?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-1988-Ca...Watt-Tube-/280492531915?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

http://cgi.ebay.com/Peavey-5150-Head-Bias-Modded-JJ-Tubes-/400142930660?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

http://cgi.ebay.com/PEAVEY-Ultra-Pl...Amplifier-/370408770607?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

If you're not sure what used/out of production amps are good (because there are a lot of them out there) ask around. Do some research. There are deals to be had.

BREAK FREE OF THE WHIRLPOOL OF CRAP

Can we vault this post?

 

[ravendouglas]

Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

its a great post

 

[ravendouglas]

Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

I think at this point there'd be some good solid state amps out there for not too much more money that would be a lot more reliable and sound better.

i just bought the best solidstate amp i have ever heard. ibanez toneblaster x....i will take my beating now.

 

[crusty philtrum]

Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

Sovteks are great value-for money amps. Russian made and largely Fender-based. Built like tanks and likely to hold up well for many years. As are many older tube amps.

I would have thought recent times would be good times to get a good second-hand deal, with people who bought expensive amps that sit at home finding they need to get some cash together. It is worth considering that you have sold amps on the second-hand market, and i will assume that they were in good shape, maybe perfect shape, and you sold them because they did not suit what you wanted to acheive with them. Applying the same thinking in the other direction will show you that there will be plenty of people selling tube amps in just the same way.

How to protect yourself from the possibility of someone trying to sell you a problematic amp ? I would suggest taking a knowledgeable friend with you to check it out, and/or ask the seller if it's possible to take it to a tech for a quick appraisal. My opinion is that older tube amps without printed circuit boards are less likely to have 'hidden' or intermittent problems, and at worst they might need a basic service.

It is somewhat ironic that a tube amp costs more than a s/s amp and yet requires occasional maintenance, but i liken it to owning a high-performance sports car or other specialist vehicle as opposed to a regular everyday beat-up Ford or Nissan. The cheap old car will do what's required at a basic level. The greater costs of owning and maintaining a performance vehicle is a more specialised area but those who use such vehicles will tell you of the refinements and superiority in performance. It's like guitar pickups .... you can buy them cheaply, and they will work. But to step up to improved tone usually involves spending more money. If you can hear and feel improvements using a tube amp, it would be better to save up whatever dollars it will take to get a good one that suits your purposes. I, like others who have posted here before me, spent many years jumping from one item of gear to another, and losing money along the way. Now i target what i want and won't compromise : Not enough funds available right now ? Fine, then i make it a priority to gather more funds and go get what i want first time around. The extra expense is far less than the losses suffered by trying to find cheap alternatives.

Which brings me back to the issue of second-hand. Many great tube amps have lived in someone's bedroom , basement or loungeroom and have not been hauled around to gigs and rehearsals, so they are probably in great shape. A quick look-over by a tech would ascertain that the internals are in good shape. You might choose to be cautious about s/h goods, as most people probably would, but i wouldn't discredit it altogether as a viable option.

 

[ravendouglas]

Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

another fine post above..yea the gear i resold was in mint shape.thats why i got what i thought were good resales..i sold gear in awsome,like new condition,which is the way i like to keep my gear.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

^ you'd be amazed what kinda deals you can find on stuff just cuz it's not necessarily mint

i'm still pissed that i missed the 70's Orange OD80 2x12 combo i saw on eBay for like $700. The orange tolex was kinda marked up and a little tattered in some places so nobody wanted it...me, ALL of my guitar stuff is a little rough around the edges so why stress?

Plus those little knicks and marks are kind of reassuring to me...this amp could've taken some serious knocks but it's still working fine. Like the new Vox Night Train head that fell off a Marshall 4x12 at my shop...the steel chassy broke the heads off of two screws but the amp still functions fine...tubes didn't break or anything. That's a sign of a quality amp. I wouldn't dare drop a Bugera from that height...hell i wouldn't drop a Line 6 Spider from that height...

Anyway rant over...we're just tryin to help you open your mind and stop wasting your money on Musician's Friend.

 

[ravendouglas]

Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

thanks all for the sound advise.

 

[ravendouglas]

Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

good replies from well meaning forum members..thank you.

 

[sosomething]

Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

Yeah, I think you get what people are trying to say at this point. Hope it didn't feel like we were piling on.

 

[B2D]

Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

Something else that Adam said, or at least a paraphrase of something he said that I've kept in mind...

It's better to have a few peices of "AWESOME" than a handful of "meh".

Or something like that.