Need amp suggestions for around $1000 or less new

man-in-moon

man-in-moon

New member
My little blackstar died on me so I need a new amp. I’m leaning toward a 1x12 combo or head with a 1x12 cab. I just need a good clean and a good heavy distorted tone. An effects loops would be good as well. So far my main contenders are.
PRS MT15 with a 1x12
Orange Brent Hinds or rocker terror with a 1x12 cab
Fender bassbreaker 30r
The only one of these I have actually played is the MT15. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Just keep in mind I have to go new to use my store credit.
 
Re: Need amp suggestions for around $1000 or less new

used Fender Twin Reverb...the king of clean...
 
Re: Need amp suggestions for around $1000 or less new

Sorry to hear that. RIP tiny Blackstar. What happened to it that turned it non-repairable?

Haven't played the MT15 yet but did the other two on your list.

Tiny Limos have excellent texture that sits in the mix like a boss but also have a little sponginess at every note start. It depends on your reference but if you really liked the Blackstar it has much more edge than the Limos have. Good stuff but check them out in person before buying.

The Fender Bassbreaker is an awesome combo for what it is but with more options and a littlebit more of everything, if you crank the dime cap higher a little you can get a Hotrod Deluxe. Again it depends on your reference but its clean sound is among the bests I've recorded in a long time:


What made it amazing is the range of clean sounds. Cutting EQ back it was jazzy on the video but during setup it did everything well from country spank through pedal friendly to textbook funky neutral. It is a really impressive amp.

What else to check for... Maybe a 5150 III LBX can be interesting to you. I'm not dying for the cleans but you can raze planets with the drive sound.

Also (to my biggest surprise too) one of the nicest recent small amps I had the luck to check was a Marshall Origin 20 head. In an A/B test (and an attenuator) I think it would be extremely difficult to tell the difference between this one and a classic Marshall head. Did not try it with pedals but folks say it is sparkling there.
 
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Re: Need amp suggestions for around $1000 or less new

I use an old Rocker 30 combo for my small amp needs so I would have to recommend that.
 
Re: Need amp suggestions for around $1000 or less new

I would suggest looking for a used EVH 1-12 combo, but since you have to use store credit, at the one's you listed the only choices? If so, I would probably say the MT15 although I haven't tried any of them, it just seems like the most versatile and the big bottles are a bonus for me. Can the store order anything? Guess I need more info to make an educated suggestion.
 
Re: Need amp suggestions for around $1000 or less new

Traynor YCV50 Blue combo w/1x12 extension cab should be roughly in that price range used and does what you want. (The newer model is covered in black, but basically the same amp.) The EL34s and V30s will give you nice cleans and distorted sounds, it has an effects loop. The gain channel doesn't quite get into high gain territory until you kick on the boost . . . you might need a pedal for super brutal stuff.

IMG_0613.jpg
 
Re: Need amp suggestions for around $1000 or less new

devastone said:
I would suggest looking for a used EVH 1-12 combo, but since you have to use store credit, at the one's you listed the only choices? If so, I would probably say the MT15 although I haven't tried any of them, it just seems like the most versatile and the big bottles are a bonus for me. Can the store order anything? Guess I need more info to make an educated suggestion.
Click to expand...

The store credit is with Sweetwater. So pretty much anything they carry that’s around that range. If I had it to spend I’d like to try one of the smaller Friedman’s. I have even thought about a helix LT but I’m not good with all the programming and what not.
 
Re: Need amp suggestions for around $1000 or less new

Sweetwater does kind of open up the possiblities! I do hear good things about the Egnater Rebel 30 Mk II, lots of stuff in that price range. Still thinking the MT15 and cab may be the best complete setup for ~$1K.
 
Re: Need amp suggestions for around $1000 or less new

IM4Tone said:
:smack:
Click to expand...

Yes, I did read it, and if you read the end of my statement you will see that. FWIW, the 5150 1-12 combo is $1299 at Sweetwater and it checks all his boxes and then some. And, if you know anything about Sweetwater, a phone call might get the difference even closer.
 
Re: Need amp suggestions for around $1000 or less new

if you liked your Blackstar then get another one...much easier picking up where you left off than starting all over again...
 
Re: Need amp suggestions for around $1000 or less new

The blackstar wasn’t a bad sounding amp. It wasn’t one of their bigger models it was just an ID core 40. So most things would be an upgrade.
 
Re: Need amp suggestions for around $1000 or less new

GuitarStv said:
Traynor YCV50 Blue combo w/1x12 extension cab should be roughly in that price range used and does what you want. (The newer model is covered in black, but basically the same amp.) The EL34s and V30s will give you nice cleans and distorted sounds, it has an effects loop. The gain channel doesn't quite get into high gain territory until you kick on the boost . . . you might need a pedal for super brutal stuff.

IMG_0613.jpg
Click to expand...


I used to gig a YCS Blue combo and cab like the one on the right. It was decent for what I was doing at the time. Also had a pair of YCS100H heads, running into a pair of Marshall 1960A cabs. Same story. Decent Fender/Marshall tones. But I replaced with a Hughes & Kettner Triamp Mk I and never looked-back. I've sold a lot of great amps since (including that H&K Triamp, that I wish I still had). But I don't miss the Traynor stuff. Dunno if it was the cheap toroidal trannies in them or what, but the tone was just a bland impersonation of the Fender/Marshall thing at best. Still, they were an adequate stepping-stone for me at the time.
 
Re: Need amp suggestions for around $1000 or less new

Horses for courses. I've been quite happy with mine for the last 12 years.
 
Re: Need amp suggestions for around $1000 or less new

I have a BH Orange head with Vintage 30 Orange cab -it's great and I toured with it last spring . Even used it at a large venue.

It's got British Plexi dirty voicing, channel switching to get to the cleans, wattage select, and an effects loop.

It's not going to get that Fender type of scooped clean/sparkle of course -it's going to be a British clean.
 
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