Low wattage tube combos that take gain pedals well

JeffB

JeffB

Let it B
Obviously there is some high dollar stuff out there- DR. Z, 65... any number of boutique amps..

I'm in the market for a new amp-get away from my VOX modeller, and go with a small tube combo, and hit it up with any of the newer very convincing Marshall toned pedals, Zvex BOR/Distorton, Crunch Box, Lovepedal Purple Plexi 800, etc.

There is the good old standby Fender Blues Jr or even the DRRI (more pricey than I'd prefer, otherwise, I'd spend a bit more and just grab a Rivera Venus 3 ,Dr. Z monza, Budda Super18), but what are some other reccomendations?

Marshall Class 5 (seems like the obvious choice)
Bugera Vintage whatever..
Vox AC4/CC15 (edit- the new one... AC15 custom)
 
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Re: Low wattage tube combos that take gain pedals well

The Mesa Blue Angel certainly does.
 
Re: Low wattage tube combos that take gain pedals well

night train, not a combo but it feels like one. Easy to move around. Doesn't shake the tubes as bad as a combo.
For clean to pretty dirty, it's got a lot of british chime and flavour.
It's not doing everything I need but it's doing 80-90% easy.
 
Re: Low wattage tube combos that take gain pedals well

I reckon the deluxe reverb is a better choice than the blues junior due to the fact that it has more headroom and more bass. The blues jr tends to bottom out if you squirt an overdrive pedal into it.
Check out the egnater rebel 20 with the dedicated speaker cab too. very tasty.
 
Re: Low wattage tube combos that take gain pedals well

I'd stray from the Marshall Class 5 if you want any amount of usable clean headroom. With the blues junior, it is a great amp but, like gibson175 said, you'll get fuller sound from the DRRI. Have you considered the Fender HRD or a 5E3 amp? Both sound choices in my opinion.
 
Re: Low wattage tube combos that take gain pedals well

thx folks-heading out to play some stuff this weekend. Hopefully can come to some kid of conclusion.
 
Re: Low wattage tube combos that take gain pedals well

I have only played them in the store, but I think the Blackheart stuff might fit the bill. It's made by Crate's parent company, but the price is hard to beat. The Little Giant is only $200. I wouldn't count on getting good gain tones out of it on its own, but I think it might be a good pedal platform.
 
Re: Low wattage tube combos that take gain pedals well

Ha, I bought a Blackheart to go into a "more tubey" direction from my VOX Valvetronix combo, and ended up getting rid of the Blackheart because the Valvetronix sounds better.
 
Re: Low wattage tube combos that take gain pedals well

A friend of mine uses a BLACKHEART 5w combo and likes it for pedals.
 
Re: Low wattage tube combos that take gain pedals well

If you look towards Balckhearts direction, I would recomend the Handsome Devil. The master volume makes all the difference in the world.
 
Re: Low wattage tube combos that take gain pedals well

I manged to play a few amps today-not necc "pedal friendly" ones, but amps I had been wanting to try.

Jet City 333 20W head- low volume not so good- cranked (way too loud for my condo) it was pretty nice- though not all that "soldano-ey" to me- maybe cos I've played a SLO a few times (and yes I know its a MIC vs. the real deal), but sounded a bit darker like a Laney. Still a neat amp if you can get that thing up at least halfway on the master. Very little clean headroom.

Blackstar HT5 mini stack & combo- ugh. What a disappointment. Clean channel was nice and should take pedals well, but the gain channel sounds like a tube version of a rockman with more gain- it does basically one sound (and not a very good one to my ears) my Vox modeller is more dynamic and "tubey", and the ISF control does little to nothing. Very bland. Maybe with a 4x12 it would be better, but..ick.

Egnater Rebel 20- another disappoinment. Wattage control totally castrates the tone...like an old Marshall Power Brake run at the lowest setting. The "tube mix" , like the blackstars ISF control, does so little it's not worth bothering with. Like the jet City, it sounded decent enough with the Master way up (and the wattage up as well)

I played a Marshall MGIV 15w Micro Stack that while not as "warm" and had some buzz, was much more fun to play through than any of the tube amps. It sounded very Marshally, screamed pretty good at lower volumes, and it was easy to dial in several classic Marshall sounds= Crunch channel did a great Plexi-ish tone, not unlike Jailbreak era Thin Lizzy, classic Joe Walsh, or 70s era Alex Lifeson. The OD1 channel reminded me of a 2205-not oversaturated, but a good amount of gain. OD2 reminds me of a JMP pre-amp- tons of gain, dark, and kinda biting-twangy-good for shredding on a neck bucker- not my cuppa, but. The new MGs while still very much solid state, are much improved over prior models. They still get kind weird when you roll the volume down on your guitar though.- treble and bass gets real brittle sounding.
 
Re: Low wattage tube combos that take gain pedals well

another vote for blues jr. cause thats what I would get; Id prolly buy new
 
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