New amp shopping

[vinnie1971]

New amp shopping

Well I took a lunch break to look a a music store near where I work. Out of stock of the FBJr, not a Vox stockist.
Ignoring my list and budget he took me to a Blackstar Artist 15 112. It was nice but not the vintage tone I was after. Then I tried the Laney Cub12, I liked the tones a lot more than the blackstar but it was not as loud even though it's a 15 watt 112 as well - I guess magic happens in the bigger cabinet - only one channel is an issue that would be a pain in the ass as I switch from clean to gain.
Then again ignoring my budget the guy plugs me into the Roland Blues Cube Stage 60 watt 112 and sets it to 0.5 watts. Then lets me play. Then set to 15 watts and let me play. I was blown away. Then he showed me the sticker - solid state valve tone. I would never have known it was solid state. It's blew the the others away. But it's over budget so holding out to try the AV30 at store near home .



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[ehdwuld]

Re: New amp shopping

I have a 30 watt Cube
It sounds great at home
But with a drummer it doesn't have the headroom to compete

The 60 watt on the other hand
If it sounds good to you why don't you shop for a used one
They are pricey new
But a bargain used

 

[vinnie1971]

Re: New amp shopping

I have a 30 watt Cube
It sounds great at home
But with a drummer it doesn't have the headroom to compete

The 60 watt on the other hand
If it sounds good to you why don't you shop for a used one
They are pricey new
But a bargain used

Thanks for the heads up. I am also hoping to try out the Vox AV60. 30 watts would be no good for gigging. Luckily the rehearsal studio where we practice have 100watt plus stacks.


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[IM4Tone]

Re: New amp shopping

Thanks for the heads up. I am also hoping to try out the Vox AV60. 30 watts would be no good for gigging. Luckily the rehearsal studio where we practice have 100watt plus stacks.

I'm not so sure about that. :dunno:

 

[vinnie1971]

Re: New amp shopping

I'm not so sure about that. :dunno:

Not sure what you mean. Do you think 30 watts of hybrid amp will be enough for gigging? I bet the AV 30 is going to put out the same volume as a 15 watt all tube amp. When I was gigging a lot I used a carlsbro stingray super - basically a solid state copy of a fender twin, think Fender champion 100 with only blackface voice. To not get drowned out by the drummer, master volume was set at 6 and clean/gain channels volume set above 5. Same with rehearsal.


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[IM4Tone]

Re: New amp shopping

Not sure what you mean. Do you think 30 watts of hybrid amp will be enough for gigging? I bet the AV 30 is going to put out the same volume as a 15 watt all tube amp. When I was gigging a lot I used a carlsbro stingray super - basically a solid state copy of a fender twin, think Fender champion 100 with only blackface voice. To not get drowned out by the drummer, master volume was set at 6 and clean/gain channels volume set above 5. Same with rehearsal.


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Just saying that there are so many factors involved that it's far from certain....especially for Blues (which you've stated as your preference). Wattage is only one factor. From a pragmatic standpoint, if an extra $100 and 12# is unimportant, by all means go for the AV60.

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Re: New amp shopping

I am considering Blackstar, HT-5. The brand doesn't seem to be popular in this forum, as does Laney.

 

[vinnie1971]

Re: New amp shopping

I am considering Blackstar, HT-5. The brand doesn't seem to be popular in this forum, as does Laney.

I tried the blackstar artist 15. It's a good amp but a bit modern sounding for me.

I liked the Laney Cub 12R but it only has one channel.




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[vinnie1971]

New amp shopping

Just saying that there are so many factors involved that it's far from certain....especially for Blues (which you've stated as your preference). Wattage is only one factor. From a pragmatic standpoint, if an extra $100 and 12# is unimportant, by all means go for the AV60.

I got to try them all out. My budget has now grown - as luck would have it. ( a real stroke if luck as it happens depending on how you view it, I took laundrette to a laundrette for a service wash. They had a fire - clothes were burned but insurance paid out ... as this was some months ago I don't miss those shirts now .... )
So it's now stretching to Fender Blues Junior, Fender Bass Breaker, Roland Blues Cube, Vox AV60 or Laney VC 30 I think. Any other suggestions?
Require clean headroom, vintage tube tone, blues, country, classic rock. Ideally switchable clean channels circa £500 to £550 ... tops ( although willing to go the extra shilling on the Roland)


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[guitfiddle]

Re: New amp shopping

Laney VC-30 Fits the tone, function, and price requirements.

 

[vinnie1971]

Re: New amp shopping

Laney VC-30 Fits the tone, function, and price requirements.

Thanks for the recommendation. I am thinking the Blues Cube stage does too, albeit with Roland tube emulation. The Bugera V22 does but there's none to try in any stores and it's not something I want to buy and then have to return if it doesn't hit the spot although the YouTube demos make it sound awesome as does that Laney VC 30.


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[IM4Tone]

Re: New amp shopping

..................The Bugera V22 does but there's none to try in any stores and it's not something I want to buy and then have to return if it doesn't hit the spot although the YouTube demos make it sound awesome..............
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At it's introduction, I was impressed by YouTube demos of the V22 as well, and I bought one. Problem was that in demos, the whole EQ/voicing can be changed between playing the clean and the 'drive' portions and to me, doing that is no good if you want to be able to footswitch between channels during a song. And the 'drive' channel was always fizzy, even changing the eq for it. Tried different tubes, re-biasing, and speakers (which I found the stock speaker to be quite decent). Never got the amp to be even marginal for my taste, so beware.

 

[vinnie1971]

New amp shopping

At it's introduction, I was impressed by YouTube demos of the V22 as well, and I bought one. Problem was that in demos, the whole EQ/voicing can be changed between playing the clean and the 'drive' portions and to me, doing that is no good if you want to be able to footswitch between channels during a song. And the 'drive' channel was always fizzy, even changing the eq for it. Tried different tubes, re-biasing, and speakers (which I found the stock speaker to be quite decent). Never got the amp to be even marginal for my taste, so beware.

Thanks for the tip. That's not coming across on the demos and I would switch between clean and drive channel mid song.


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[Aceman]

Re: New amp shopping

First of all - being a proper tube amp is irrelevant. DOES IT SOUND GOOD? Tubes ≠ Good. Plenty of crappy (and expensive) tube amps out there.

More importantly, DOES IT DO THE JOB YOU NEED?

Of all the amps you mentioned, short of a crap-ton of pedals and live amp futzing (fail), the Vox is the only one that will cover your range etc. without hassle. If I'm experimenting, melding, fusing and all of that...I say flexibility is your #1 requirement. And your final 20% of user-tone? No one in the audience knows or cares except a bunch of uptight guitarists. If you are playing to impress them, fine. Then I say the Hughes and Kettner is your ONLY choice. The rest suck. If you want to get gigs...sound cool, sound good.

The Vox is a fine amp. If I didn't go Roland for smallish practice stuff, that would have been my next choice.

Eff the tone geeks - they don't hire the bands, and they mostly sit around home tweaking their ultra-uber-amazeballs tone until they die, broke, giggles, dissatisfied, and alone.

 

[vinnie1971]

Re: New amp shopping

First of all - being a proper tube amp is irrelevant. DOES IT SOUND GOOD? Tubes ≠ Good. Plenty of crappy (and expensive) tube amps out there.

More importantly, DOES IT DO THE JOB YOU NEED?

Of all the amps you mentioned, short of a crap-ton of pedals and live amp futzing (fail), the Vox is the only one that will cover your range etc. without hassle. If I'm experimenting, melding, fusing and all of that...I say flexibility is your #1 requirement. And your final 20% of user-tone? No one in the audience knows or cares except a bunch of uptight guitarists. If you are playing to impress them, fine. Then I say the Hughes and Kettner is your ONLY choice. The rest suck. If you want to get gigs...sound cool, sound good.

The Vox is a fine amp. If I didn't go Roland for smallish practice stuff, that would have been my next choice.

Eff the tone geeks - they don't hire the bands, and they mostly sit around home tweaking their ultra-uber-amazeballs tone until they die, broke, giggles, dissatisfied, and alone.

Yep, I am very impressed by the demos of the Vox - and while I like tube amps the Roland tube emulation impressed me when I tried it out.


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[guitfiddle]

Re: New amp shopping

Thanks for the recommendation. I am thinking the Blues Cube stage does too, albeit with Roland tube emulation. The Bugera V22 does but there's none to try in any stores and it's not something I want to buy and then have to return if it doesn't hit the spot although the YouTube demos make it sound awesome as does that Laney VC 30.


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I've played the Bugera before, and it gets the tones, for sure. Reliability and rattling are the two biggest concerns, but they sound fine.

 

[vinnie1971]

New amp shopping

I've played the Bugera before, and it gets the tones, for sure. Reliability and rattling are the two biggest concerns, but they sound fine.

Thanks for that. The demos make it sound really good (well only by the guys who recorded well and can actually play!) so good to hear from an owners and players.


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[Clint 55]

Re: New amp shopping

I have the Bugera V55 and it's pretty darn good. It's like a budget Delux Reverb. Has good Fender like cleans. The only shortcoming is the highs aren't as perfect as a delux or twin reverb. You also have to turn it up a bit to get a good tone with single coils. Overall, I'm impressed. It's plenty of amp for me.

 

[vinnie1971]

Re: New amp shopping

I have the Bugera V55 and it's pretty darn good. It's like a budget Delux Reverb. Has good Fender like cleans. The only shortcoming is the highs aren't as perfect as a delux or twin reverb. You also have to turn it up a bit to get a good tone with single coils. Overall, I'm impressed. It's plenty of amp for me.

Thanks Clint. If I can get to try one I am sure I'd love it. Love the price !


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[Clint 55]

Re: New amp shopping

You're welcome. It's one of the good deals out there. It's a nice enough amp to connect a 1, 2, or 4 x 12 cab as well.