First tube amp

C

crate5476

New member
I've been lurking on this forum for a while and I figured of all the guitar forums I've checked out, this is probably the best one to ask this kind of a question.

So within the next few months I'm gonna be getting a decent sum of money, so I'm going to replace my crate gt15 (which is decent, but the bass grumbles and sounds like crap when you crank, and solid state, practice amp distortion sounds awful). I was thinking of getting a Peavey Classic 30, because I want a nice tube amp that I can crank without disturbing the rest of my family TOO much. I checked it out at my local shop and it sounded great, so I was wondering what to know about it. Are the stock tubes good? Is there any tube rattle, and will I have to shell out more bucks to buy something to stop that? What are things I need to know about tube amps before buying one?
I was also wondering what would be a good pedal to push it when I feel like playing higher-gain stuff, I can't afford boutique stuff.

Thanks to anyone who took the time to read my entire post, and many thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to answer my questions!
 
Re: First tube amp

You might get some rattle if the tubes aren't good...the 50 watt version has a guard over the preamp and power tubes to keep them in tight and make them quiet.
 
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Re: First tube amp

All the new Peavey Classic 30s have tube rattle or so I've heard. The old one's are fine.

There is a cheap Classic 30 in my local shop that is practically brand new.

I liked the amp alot but it isn't something I would be happy with forever and with my small supply of money I will not be able to afford another good amp for a long time.

The tones were great and if you like it, I highly recommend it but it just wasn't for me.
 
Re: First tube amp

I don't think you will be able to crank that without bugging people, because 30 watts is loud. I would suggest trying it out at a store first if possible to see if the master volume is going to be able to do what you want it to.

If you don't get any suggestions for the pedal, then you might want to start a new thread. I can't help you because I don't have any pedals.
 
Re: First tube amp

Welcome to SD...

I had a classic 30 for about half the time I spend at the Atlanta Institute For Music, the ran across a STEAL for a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe.... I'm sure there where a LOT of groans heard in unison when they read this, but hear me out....

First off, I'm a 6L6GC fan....

Secondly this amp is one of the EASIEST amps to mod to your EXACT liking...
Thirdly it can be manipulated to give a very close Blackface tone

There ARE a few mods that need to be made before you go gigging with it.... Firstly it has the HOLY @#%& linear taper rheostat installed so when you put it on 3, it's at about 80% volume... an easy mod to fix with an audio-taper rheostat, Secondly, the 5-Watt transistors are crap as well, but that's another easy fix for little money... Purchase some decent ones and solder the new one's in... In fact, when most people say there amp was working the other day and now it's not, so you get a steal, it's usually one or both of the transistors that fried... Thirdly check the Power tubes, they are usually REALLY good vintage tubes with Groove Tubes stamped on them.... You can use the common 12AX7 pre-Amp tubes and get some decent tube saturation at the top, or you can use the 12AT7's like I did and had a CRYSTAL CLEAR Amp with MASSIVE headroom... In the end, it worked well at bedroom volumes as well as onstage, because I used a modded TS-5 for bluesy gain, and a MXR Doubleshot for classic rock crunch and Hi-Gain "rectostortion"

The best reason of all......

The Unofficial Fender Hot Rod Owner's Guide....

Nevermind, it's been deleted from the student page....

It's a 40-watt 1-12" that can be modded in SO many ways... That's my vote... I've been keeping an eye out for a good deal, but I think everyone found Justin's site and started grabbing them up...

Good Luck on your quest!
Allen
 
Re: First tube amp

I have a 15W amp and can't even crank it to 1/2 without people in the street being able to hear me clearly.

I highly suggest starting with a lower wattage if you can help it. Go out and try as many amps as possible I guess!

and I can second the fender hot rod as a possible, if you can control the volume. I loved the bass response on the one I played. Way too touchy on the volume, stock. I wanted an amp I could naturally overdrive at less volume.
 
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Re: First tube amp

^^ This guy got the Vox Night Train

i'm getting one soon

they're the best lo-watt amps outside of the boutique you can get bro.

Use the matching cab for practice and small gigs...put it thru a 4x12 if your drummer's a caveman. Never want another amp.
 
Re: First tube amp

Unfortunately, I still don't have a tube amp. But here are my recommendations:

- Get a 15W amp (tube amps are MUCH louder than solid state)
- Try the Laney VC-15, the Fender Blues Junior and the Orange Tiny Terror (I think in this one you will also need a cab) and see if you like those more than the Peavey
- Get a Boss SD-1 for boosting and great overdrive tones. A Blues Driver (BD-2) is also a good choice, like it was said.
 
Re: First tube amp

the peavey classic series are very good amps. but if you are looking to crank a tube amp 30 watts will be waaaay too loud, as others have already said. i was on the same amp hunt a few years ago. depending on how much you want to spend there is a huge range of low watt tube amps. i am happy with my 1/2 watt zvex nano. but it is a bit pricey and you have to buy a cab. thru an orange 2x12 is sounded pretty loud. can't compete with a drummer but also can't crank it late at nite.

a few weeks ago i bought the vox ac4tv. very impressive! sounds great, simple controls, and has settings or 1/2, 1, and 4 watts. i live in a condo complex and if i am on the 4 watt setting and want to crank the tubes it has to be during the day, and i usually have to put the amp in the closet for more isolation. the 1/2 and 1 watt setting sounds fantastic thru the built in 10" speaker.

the epiphone valve jr could be another option as it usually gets good reviews. it's 5 watts.

since there are so many choices i'd take your time and try as many as you can. i'm sure more people will be chiming in with their opinions here. yea, this is a great forum with very cool knowledgeable people. have fun!
 
Re: First tube amp

I have a non-master-volume Blackheart 5 watt head, and it's way too loud for my house. Even through a 1x12.

I say get something with a master volume --- Peavey Classic 30 is a great choice --- Fender Blues Junior is a great choice, you really can't go to wrong with all the options we have these days!
 
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Re: First tube amp

What kind of music are you playing? I think that's the most important thing to tell everyone before you pick a specific amp.

For high gain stuff, I'd highly, highly recommend a Blackstar HT-5. Yes, it has some solid state components, but Joel from Blackstar sent this to me:

Hello,

The HT-5 is basically one of our HT-Dual overdrive pedals with a 5W
push-pull valve power amplifier, it has an ECC83 in the preamp and a
12BH7 in the power amplifier.

In the preamp we use op-amp circuitry to get the signal level up to a point
where the ECC83 will overdrive (this is required as the ECC83 has the full
HT supply applied and hence headroom). As the ECC83 is at the end of the
preamplifier signal path it is the valve harmonics and compression that you
hear and the op-amp is really used as a signal booster.

Similar is true in the power amplifier. We use a high voltage MOSFET phase
splitter to boost the level and generate the out of phase signals required
by the push-pull power amplifier. But all the tone, compression and
overdrive are from the 12BH7.

This is the way we achieve the all valve sound with increased reliability
and a more affordable price. We have A/B'd these products against everything
else in the market and are confident they beat any comparable product on
tone and flexibility.

Best,

Joel from the Blackstar Team
Click to expand...

In other words, don't buy the "it's a hybrid so it sucks" hype. I think it sounds great, and there is quite a range of tones to be found. Also, it's loud. I've kept up with a drummer with it, but it definitely won't do gigs to 200+ unmiked, and it doesn't stay clean long.

If I were looking for more of a clean to overdriven sound, I would think about either a Killer Ant or Little Giant from Blackheart. I have just played a Little Giant briefly, but it was decent for what it was, and it was good for the price.

Finally, you can look into something that gets most of its distortion from the preamp if you're interested in practice and gigging. I know Mesas do this, and when I went to try out some Fryette stuff, I found that they sounded good at relatively low volumes as well.

But tell the forum what kind of tone you're looking for, and I think we may be able to be more helpful.
 
Re: First tube amp

misterwhizzy said:
If I were looking for more of a clean to overdriven sound, I would think about either a Killer Ant or Little Giant from Blackheart. I have just played a Little Giant briefly, but it was decent for what it was, and it was good for the price.
Click to expand...

Note to the OP: I have one of the amps misterwhizzy's talking about, and he's right on.

They do a more "bedroom plexi" thing. Not a metal amp by any stretch of imagination. Luckily with the Pentode / Triode switch you can get Vox type cleans with it. I use mine on 3 watt (Triode) most of the time, not because of volume, but because I like the tone and EQ better.
 
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Re: First tube amp

In my experience even a 5 watt tube amp will be loud for bedroom use.

That being said the Peavey classic series are great amps. I have the 50 watt version and I loved it.
 
Re: First tube amp

You won't be able to crank the Classic 30 at home, it will be way too loud but it has an overdrive channel that you may like the sound of without having to turn the amp up too much. If you're looking to go out gigging at some point a 30 watt split channel amp will serve you well whereas a 15 watt amp might not. I have a Laney VC30 which is similar to the Classic 30. The dedicated clean channel of an amp with EL84 output tubes is GREAT for pedals - my overdrives sound better through my Laney than through my more expensive amps.
 
Re: First tube amp

Wow! I'd like to thank you all for your extremely helpful responses, I'm glad I came to the right place. I just need to get over to the music shop and try out everything!

Just to point this out, this does NOT need to be an amp that can do a live situation, but it would be nice if it could cut through a drummer.

I play mostly rock, classic rock, metal and occasionally I'll play some blues as well, pretty much anything between The Beatles and Metallica, but I also play some clean stuff so I need something with a decent clean tone and not just overdrive.

So on my next trek to the shop, I need to check out...
1.Vox Night Train
2.Orange Tiny Terror
3.Fender Hot Rod(fender, I'm guessing metal is not its strong point?)
4.Laney stuff
5. Vox AC4TV
6.Blackheart stuff (you guys said not so much for metal though....)

Thanks for all your input!
 
Re: First tube amp

I'll take this opportunity to recommend you at least give the Blackstar a shot. It sounds like it might be really close to what you need. At the worst, you'll be able to come back and tell me what you liked or didn't like about it. I think for the price, it really can't be beat.
 
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