Best solid state amps of 2015

Re: Best solid state amps of 2015

well I am mainly a tube guy but the music store I take lessons at is an orange dealer and I play around with the crush series every time I go in and I gotta say they are pretty nice sounding amps. they also carry marshall and I prefer the orange crush over the mg marshalls
 
Re: Best solid state amps of 2015

I loved the RG1503 I played around with...also my T2HL (tube/ss hybrid). Both cheap/Chinese-built but solid & sound awesome.
 
Re: Best solid state amps of 2015

The stuff peavey made to compete with the jazz chorus back in time is still a good ss option. Yamaha also something that had a very usable gain channel too. If you can find one of those then that would work great.

These days the trend is towards modelling amps rather than ss only. For that the Blackstar ID series is a good option, old roland cubes also sound good, peavey vypyr/vip is another. You could buy a small pa & one of tech 21character series pedals or their fly rig 5. Many different devices out there now that sound good & many ways to go about.
 
Re: Best solid state amps of 2015

Suprised no one has mentioned the Yamaha Thr series. I got the THR10 and its fantastic. Side by side with my blackstar ht-5 tube amp I cant hear the difference.. :)
 
Re: Best solid state amps of 2015

In the past 20 day that have come and gone in 2015, I can not remember any new SS amps being placed on the market...

Having stated that.... THR10 sounded nice when we were in the local music store for a few laughs...
 
Re: Best solid state amps of 2015

The Tech 21 Fly Rig 5 sounds amazing direct into a PA or DAW. It came out NAMM 2014. This year, the Peavey Vypyr Pro sounds like it will be great.
 
Re: Best solid state amps of 2015

To you guys who dont use any solid state amps and only play tube amps. How do you deal with neighbors and such?
 
Re: Best solid state amps of 2015

i would like to see peavey making a something like a Bandit Head, and having the 3 lead modes (vintage, high gain, modern) made into individual channels.

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or the bigger brother:

peavey-xxl-head_2.jpg
 
Re: Best solid state amps of 2015

To you guys who dont use any solid state amps and only play tube amps. How do you deal with neighbors and such?

When I lived in America I had a nice house with a basement where I could blast my 40 and 50 watt tube amps all day and all night with no problems. That was nice.

Here in Greece, I share a small apartment with my girl and we have 5 different apartments filled with neighbors in the same building. So, no more jamming at night, right? Not quite... I bought a Laney Cub 12 as a practice/home tube amp. It is a 15 watt/12 inch speaker combo but the catch is it also has a 1 watt (technically a little under 1 watt) input on it as well. So, when I want to jam at night or even record whenever I want I can just use the >1 watt input and still get that "full volume" tube push. I love it and I know there are other tube amps out there with switches or similar options.
 
Re: Best solid state amps of 2015

I use solid state amps because I like the sound.

The price and lack of maintenance just makes it better for me.
 
Re: Best solid state amps of 2015

My most reliable so far has been the Vox Valvetronix AD50VT. Early ones had overheating issues but the later ones had PC fans in them to solve that problem, which mine does. Not exactly completely SS as it is a modeler and has a 12AX7 in the power section as part of the "virtual" power amp circuitry. It surprisingly makes a difference and different brands do affect the tone. The recent Marshall MG series aren't bad. Could benefit from a better speaker. I dig my MG30. Great little practice amp.
 
Re: Best solid state amps of 2015

My most reliable so far has been the Vox Valvetronix AD50VT. Early ones had overheating issues but the later ones had PC fans in them to solve that problem, which mine does. Not exactly completely SS as it is a modeler and has a 12AX7 in the power section as part of the "virtual" power amp circuitry. It surprisingly makes a difference and different brands do affect the tone. The recent Marshall MG series aren't bad. Could benefit from a better speaker. I dig my MG30. Great little practice amp.

I agree on both amps and like both (I had an MG50) although the Vox is more versatile/more options.
 
Re: Best solid state amps of 2015

Or also about any SS head you'd use to throw pedals in front,
Meaning it would have LOTS of clean power, flexible EQ and a FX Loop.
 
Re: Best solid state amps of 2015

Or also about any SS head you'd use to throw pedals in front,
Meaning it would have LOTS of clean power, flexible EQ and a FX Loop.

Depending on your definition of "lots", my H&K Edition Blue 60R covers that. Very sweet cleans. Takes pedals well. Comes stock with a Celestion speaker. It's "lots" of bedroom power.
 
Re: Best solid state amps of 2015

It's a very low wattage amp, and I have a) a fondness for preamp tube distortion and b) more dirt pedals than I know what to do with. So, when I'm running 7W at about 8'Oclock on the Master, the dog and the wife are the only ones being annoyed.

To you guys who dont use any solid state amps and only play tube amps. How do you deal with neighbors and such?
 
Re: Best solid state amps of 2015

I saw a tiny but very cool amp this year.

Roland's Cube Lite.

It seems like the perfect mini practice station. Exactly what you need for an extended work trip, cramped college dorm, or to get for a kid who's starting out (even just for hiding in the living room and quiet playing when the baby's sleeping). It connects with your iDevice for jamming, is easy to use, and sounds decent . . . Plus you can record/reamp stuff with it. It's not going to replace your Marshall stack, but is pretty awesome for what it is and it's dirt cheap.
 
Re: Best solid state amps of 2015

If it hasn't already been mentioned, I've been starting to grow quite fond of the new Roland Blues Cube. For a solid state, that amp is scary close to a tube amp to my ears, and that's the way they intended to build it.

You know what even increases its credibility even more? Eric Johnson is now using these bad boys. Now THAT says something!
 
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