Gerr
New member
I need a new amp with more power and more versatility than my current Blackstar HT-5. Hopefully within the next 6-12 months, I will join my church's band as a rhythm guitar player. It's one of those mega church's that seats 2500+, but it has a good PA system, so don't need a lot of power, but probably more than the 5W of the HT-5. The amp would need above average cleans due to the type of music that I will be playing in church and be able to keep it clean at a higher volume, ie not get dirty early. The trick here is that this same amp would need to sound good for my preferred type of music, that being 80's Rock with a focus on AC/DC, GnR, and Metallica, and do so at a lower volume for use in my home as a practice amp. While Metallica is one of my favorite bands, I am not a fan of Metal and they would be as heavy as I would likely ever go. My favorite sounds out of an amp are a classic rock crunch and a hard rock low-mid gain distortion, which is where most of the 80's Rock sounds fall. I am torn between a combo unit and a mini-stack, but one 1x12 speaker is all I would need. I have a new Eminence Governor 8ohm speaker sitting at home, so can easily upgrade the speaker in a combo unit or buy a basic empty 1x12 cab to put it in. I don't mind getting a power-soak or attenuator if needed, but would prefer not to. I also don't mind replacing tubes to adjust the sound if needed. My max budget for everything would be $800, but would prefer to keep it $600 or below. I also prefer new amps or recent mint condition used amps, so that limits my choices as I am not interested in older and/or well used amps. My current guitar is a 2013 Gibson Les Paul Traditional with stock pickups, so consider that when making a recommendation.
Options that would be nice, but are not required are...
Power scaling down to 5W or lower.
FX Loop.
2+ channels.
Footswitch or the input for one.
Built-in reverb.
Amps I am currently considering...
Marshall DSL15c - I love that classic Marshall tone but I am worried their cleans would not be good enough at a higher volume. While the DSL15c is more than enough power, for only $100 more I could step up to the DSL40c and that amp would likely last me a lifetime and have better cleans at a higher volume. However, even in Triode mode, it would still be 20W and probably too loud for home use, so would likely need a power-soak or attenuator to reduce the volume to an acceptable level, or maybe swap the pre-amp tubes with a lower gain factor model like the 5751's to reduce the overall volume. Worried that these options might impact the tone, so not sure about this.
Vox AC15 - great combo unit, probably has better cleans than the Marshall DSL15c, but doesn't have Pentode/Triode switch so has to be run at 15W all the time.
Vox Night Train G2 - great micro-head, but seems to be designed more for higher gain applications, so I question it's ability to do good cleans at high volume. No power scaling, so runs at 15W all the time. However, the old G1 version does have power scaling, so that is an option if I can find a good condition used one. Still worried about the G1's cleans.
Fender Blues Jr. III - great cleans, but might struggle on the harder stuff. Also no power-scaling, so runs at 15W all the time.
Blackstar HT Studio 20 - similar to the Vox Night Train, meaning I question it's clean sound at higher volume and no power-scaling.
Blackstar ID:60TVP - this is an interesting option. Would likely give me every sound I need and at all volume levels, plus can be connected to a PC so I can download patches to sound like certain bands. Problem is it's only a SS amp that emulates tubes, but I heard it does that well. Also pricey for a SS amp.
Egnater Rebel 20 - I like it's ability to switch between 2 different types of power tubes and also has the ability to power-scale from 20W down to 1W. Downside is I don't know much about it's tonal range and it's an older model, likely to be discontinued soon as it's big brother, the Rebel 30, already has been.
Egnater Tweaker 15 - a very popular amp that has a large tonal range and tons of tweaking options, plus it's one of the least expensive options here. Only downside is no power-scaling.
H&K TubeMeister 18 - more of an unknown to me and pricey for just a head, but has great power-scaling and is German made. Is it worth $100-$200 more than the other heads I have mentioned?
Orange Tiny Terror - known for great tones, but on the pricey side and the lack of options and controls like EQ worries me. I know it's known for that classic rock crunch, but how are it's cleans and higher gain sounds?
Dean Markley CD30 - unknown amp to me, but read it has good cleans and crunch, but might lack in higher gain sounds. Also no power-scaling. Only considering this option as my guitar tech can get me a new one very cheap.
Jet City JCA22H - another unknown to me, but they seem to get good reviews. Once again, 20W with no power-scaling.
Bugera V22 - a budget amp that gets good reviews, but not sure of it's tonal range. Does have the Pentode/Triode switch, so it will go down to 11W.
Laney IRT15H Ironheart - Laney is unknown to me, but has been getting great reviews as of late. I like that it is switchable between 15W and 1W and keeps the same tone, but I am worried this amp favors the higher gain sounds more, so I have to question it's clean sound.
As you can see, I have been doing a lot of Internet research on this subject, but without hearing most of these, it's hard to narrow my list down. So if anyone has any experience or opinions on any of these amps on how they would suit my needs, or can recommend a different amp, I am all ears!
Options that would be nice, but are not required are...
Power scaling down to 5W or lower.
FX Loop.
2+ channels.
Footswitch or the input for one.
Built-in reverb.
Amps I am currently considering...
Marshall DSL15c - I love that classic Marshall tone but I am worried their cleans would not be good enough at a higher volume. While the DSL15c is more than enough power, for only $100 more I could step up to the DSL40c and that amp would likely last me a lifetime and have better cleans at a higher volume. However, even in Triode mode, it would still be 20W and probably too loud for home use, so would likely need a power-soak or attenuator to reduce the volume to an acceptable level, or maybe swap the pre-amp tubes with a lower gain factor model like the 5751's to reduce the overall volume. Worried that these options might impact the tone, so not sure about this.
Vox AC15 - great combo unit, probably has better cleans than the Marshall DSL15c, but doesn't have Pentode/Triode switch so has to be run at 15W all the time.
Vox Night Train G2 - great micro-head, but seems to be designed more for higher gain applications, so I question it's ability to do good cleans at high volume. No power scaling, so runs at 15W all the time. However, the old G1 version does have power scaling, so that is an option if I can find a good condition used one. Still worried about the G1's cleans.
Fender Blues Jr. III - great cleans, but might struggle on the harder stuff. Also no power-scaling, so runs at 15W all the time.
Blackstar HT Studio 20 - similar to the Vox Night Train, meaning I question it's clean sound at higher volume and no power-scaling.
Blackstar ID:60TVP - this is an interesting option. Would likely give me every sound I need and at all volume levels, plus can be connected to a PC so I can download patches to sound like certain bands. Problem is it's only a SS amp that emulates tubes, but I heard it does that well. Also pricey for a SS amp.
Egnater Rebel 20 - I like it's ability to switch between 2 different types of power tubes and also has the ability to power-scale from 20W down to 1W. Downside is I don't know much about it's tonal range and it's an older model, likely to be discontinued soon as it's big brother, the Rebel 30, already has been.
Egnater Tweaker 15 - a very popular amp that has a large tonal range and tons of tweaking options, plus it's one of the least expensive options here. Only downside is no power-scaling.
H&K TubeMeister 18 - more of an unknown to me and pricey for just a head, but has great power-scaling and is German made. Is it worth $100-$200 more than the other heads I have mentioned?
Orange Tiny Terror - known for great tones, but on the pricey side and the lack of options and controls like EQ worries me. I know it's known for that classic rock crunch, but how are it's cleans and higher gain sounds?
Dean Markley CD30 - unknown amp to me, but read it has good cleans and crunch, but might lack in higher gain sounds. Also no power-scaling. Only considering this option as my guitar tech can get me a new one very cheap.
Jet City JCA22H - another unknown to me, but they seem to get good reviews. Once again, 20W with no power-scaling.
Bugera V22 - a budget amp that gets good reviews, but not sure of it's tonal range. Does have the Pentode/Triode switch, so it will go down to 11W.
Laney IRT15H Ironheart - Laney is unknown to me, but has been getting great reviews as of late. I like that it is switchable between 15W and 1W and keeps the same tone, but I am worried this amp favors the higher gain sounds more, so I have to question it's clean sound.
As you can see, I have been doing a lot of Internet research on this subject, but without hearing most of these, it's hard to narrow my list down. So if anyone has any experience or opinions on any of these amps on how they would suit my needs, or can recommend a different amp, I am all ears!
