What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these days?

[Mr 9finger]

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

I just don't like the fact that Bugera are blatantly stealing designs from other companies. I mean for chrissakes, they hardly even rename them. I don't support Bugera as a company and I don't like that other people see no problem supporting them. If you save up a bit more money, you can get a much nicer amp and have a clear conscience.

It's not really any different than Jim Marshall fiddling with the Fender Bassman or Randall Smith tinkering w/ an SLO to get to the Dual Rectifier. This stuff has been going on in this industry since day 1. I get some of the cold feeling towards Bugera due to their lack of quality in the past and even get that people dislike them for copying some semi modern designs that other amp makers are still doing. Fact is though, IIRC from my college classes, those amps have to be a certain percentage different before they can even offer it in the states. I was actually hoping they would have been able to push the Magician through since it's a Mk IV clone. Mesa doesn't make them anymore.

I've got some of the Behringer effects pedals that mimic some of the old Boss designs, and other than being made out of plastic, they sound alright. Probably not the toughest around, but I don't jump up and down on my pedals either.

 

[Rockstar216]

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

I would say in that price range Blackstar amps and Orange amps. I own a Blkstr HT 40 Combo and it's great for what I do and comes with dirt and verb onboard which is always a plus for me. But the amp that I really want is made by a guy named Landry (Landry Amplification) but they cost about the same price as a Bogner.

 

[IM4Tone]

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

I just don't like the fact that Bugera are blatantly stealing designs from other companies. I mean for chrissakes, they hardly even rename them. I don't support Bugera as a company and I don't like that other people see no problem supporting them. If you save up a bit more money, you can get a much nicer amp and have a clear conscience.

I no longer have a Bugera (V22) not because it's a copy, but because it was the worst amp I've ever owned!

It's not really any different than Jim Marshall fiddling with the Fender Bassman or Randall Smith tinkering w/ an SLO to get to the Dual Rectifier. This stuff has been going on in this industry since day 1......................

Add to that Leo took original amplifier circuitry from RCA before Marshall took it from Leo. If patents aren't violated, it's OK with me.

If I could afford it, I'd probably get a SS Twin head and just run it on 25 watts all the time. For the places I play, 22 watts just makes more sense, and is easier on the wallet!

Not to mention easier on your back!

 

[Matt42]

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

It's not really any different than Jim Marshall fiddling with the Fender Bassman or Randall Smith tinkering w/ an SLO to get to the Dual Rectifier. This stuff has been going on in this industry since day 1. I get some of the cold feeling towards Bugera due to their lack of quality in the past and even get that people dislike them for copying some semi modern designs that other amp makers are still doing. Fact is though, IIRC from my college classes, those amps have to be a certain percentage different before they can even offer it in the states. I was actually hoping they would have been able to push the Magician through since it's a Mk IV clone. Mesa doesn't make them anymore.

It's called R & D, "Rip off & Duplicate!"

 

[Mr 9finger]

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

It's called R & D, "Rip off & Duplicate!"

HaHa! I've never heard that before.

 

[everdrone]

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

Hovercraft amps.

There's an Andromeda or a Falcon in my not-so-distant future. Those amps look awesome, and it seems like a hell of a deal for the build quality. Where else can you get a hand built, 2 channel head with reverb, switchable tonestack and voicing, and effects loop for under $1K?

after getting my Orange Thunderverb 50, the last thing in the world that I need is another amp.

But ya, if I was not gonna save up for a Matamp or another Orange, I would be looking at Hovercraft; Hovercraft has gotta be loud as hell, but it would perform the way I want it to. Most say that vintage amps will work forever but I figure they will die on me and a few other poor blokes that buy up the lemons on ebay

 

[Matt42]

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

HaHa! I've never heard that before.

I used to work for a store that made their own line of performance outdoor clothing (jackets, fleece, etc), and whenever we got a new shipment of stuff from another company, the lady who designed all the clothes would use that line.

 

[richard parker]

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

There are a few remaining Cornford Roadhouse combos/heads for sale at one shop in the UK. For a mid-priced amp there is NOTHING that comes close.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

There's so much good stuff for so stupidly cheap right now that it's not even worth picking one as the "best."

Jet City? Egnater? Fender? Marshall? Orange? Blackstar? Boogie? They've all got something for every sound in almost every price range.

It used to be, amp shopping was like going to a bar full of nasty women and hoping to find a supermodel. Now it's like being on 'the Bachelor.'

 

[James Rock]

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

I am going to say Frenzel Amps http://www.frenzeltubeamps.com/ I am a big fan of my amp especially for the price and it worked perfectly fine after flying off the roof of a car (a few dents but solid construction which is more then I can say for some amps under $1000). He takes classic designs and changes them a bit which is nice (obviously not for purists). And I like supporting small guys without the boutique price tag, because a lot of his amps are cheaper then heaps of big name made in asia amps (nothing against that I think something are built well in asia but shouldnt be the same price as american, European or Australian made stuff .

 

[Monsta-Tone]

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

The 2 amps on my list are a bit more, but can be had in that range if they are slightly used.

Express Plus 5:50 combo
PRS H Combo

My son has an Orange Dark Terror that makes as much distortion as my Rivera. It's the coolest 3 knob amp I have ever seen.

I think I look at amps differently than most people. I have to look inside it before I will own it. If it's poorly laid out or looks like a mother to fix, I just don't want it.

 

[Powdered Toast Man]

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

Let's keep it in the range of "mid-priced" here as the OP put it, $500-$1000. Several of the amps listed are pushing over the $1000 price range which really starts moving into a different level of amp. I mean, a Fender Twin as a "mid-level" amp? The only way they fit in this price range is if you hunt around for a used one. New those suckers are close to $1500.

Funny, no one has mentioned Peavey or Traynor yet. The Peavey Classic Series are quietly regarded as some of the best value workhorse amps around. Also American made and compete right in the Fender Hot Rod series territory. Guys I've spoken to who actually use them on a regular basis love them.

Traynor also makes some excellent workhorse combos that are priced right around the same range. On the used market, the YCV series are a ridiculous value. Their warranty alone should speak to the quality and the fact that they stand behind their products - 5 years and the first 2 years carry an "even if you break it" guarantee. They're also Canadian made. My buddy has a YCV20 that he picked up used for under $300 like 4 years ago. He gigs with it almost exclusively now and it has never once given so much as a hiccup in terms of problems. I see YCV40's going used for around $400 on a regular basis.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

Traynor also makes some excellent workhorse combos that are priced right around the same range. On the used market, the YCV series are a ridiculous value. Their warranty alone should speak to the quality and the fact that they stand behind their products - 5 years and the first 2 years carry an "even if you break it" guarantee. They're also Canadian made. My buddy has a YCV20 that he picked up used for under $300 like 4 years ago. He gigs with it almost exclusively now and it has never once given so much as a hiccup in terms of problems. I see YCV40's going used for around $400 on a regular basis.

I haven't tried the new Traynors, but the old ones are great – some of my favorite all-time amps for the money. I feel like a fool for selling my '73 YGM-3 (basically a Deluxe Reverb clone).

 

[Powdered Toast Man]

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

I haven't tried the new Traynors, but the old ones are great – some of my favorite all-time amps for the money. I feel like a fool for selling my '73 YGM-3 (basically a Deluxe Reverb clone).

This episode of How It's Made was shot at the Traynor factory.

 

[some_dude]

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these days?

The best $1000 amp is a used $2000 amp.

 

[briggleman]

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

There's so much good stuff for so stupidly cheap right now that it's not even worth picking one as the "best."

Jet City? Egnater? Fender? Marshall? Orange? Blackstar? Boogie? They've all got something for every sound in almost every price range.

It used to be, amp shopping was like going to a bar full of nasty women and hoping to find a supermodel. Now it's like being on 'the Bachelor.'

Agree, 100% with the above. My personal choice falls to Blackstar (many offerings for under a $1,000) or Mesa in the Express line (just a little over the $1K mark you set). The Blackstar has the ability to let you alter the voicing and can really be set to grind with the best of them. Mesa is just sweet to my ears. I have the Mesa Express 5:25 1x12 and I am still in love after 3 years of small club gigs and bedroom playing. OH, yea, try this, run a Mesa Throttle body pedal into a Mesa Express or Lonestar.....OMG!

Brad

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

Agree, 100% with the above. My personal choice falls to Blackstar (many offerings for under a $1,000) or Mesa in the Express line (just a little over the $1K mark you set). The Blackstar has the ability to let you alter the voicing and can really be set to grind with the best of them. Mesa is just sweet to my ears. I have the Mesa Express 5:25 1x12 and I am still in love after 3 years of small club gigs and bedroom playing. OH, yea, try this, run a Mesa Throttle body pedal into a Mesa Express or Lonestar.....OMG!

Brad

Not long ago, I shopped for a smallish 20-40W combo (channel-switching preferred) for nearly a year. From the beginning, the Express 5:25 (which I tried in the actual Boogie shop – bless them for having a huge chunk of their product line in stock) was clearly the right amp for what I wanted. But I didn't want to spend that much, so I kept looking.

Some things were "good," like Egnaters, Blackstars, and reissue Fenders. I even liked the Haze 40's tone. But, short of the RI Fenders, very few of the tones from these amps were "great" to me. And those that did have great sounds would pretty much just get that one great sound. Plus they had shared E.Q. 99 percent of the time, and all seemed to have quality/durablity that would be compromised by a good, healthy fart being cut in the room. (The Fenders seemed the most solid, but even they felt kind of chintzy to me.)

Finally, I got fed up. The long search period had actually increased my budget, so I custom ordered the Mesa. I ordered the old 5:25, but unknown to me, it happened to be right before the Plus was announced. I never heard about the Plus until I opened the box and saw one in there! Good on them for giving me the Plus; it's upgrades are quite significant, yet it gives up nothing that the "Non-Plus" model had.

My only regret is that I did not wait a few weeks longer before buying. If I had, I would have seen the Plus line come out, and I would have got the 5:50 Plus instead, just for its 25W class A mode. I'd also have ended up with 6L6's, which probably would have been better, as my EL84's keep shorting.

Anyhow, I'm with you on the 5:25. Not only incredible sounding, but versatile as all get out. At $1,300 new, and under $750 used), it's the amp that showed me just how bad the sub-$1,000 amp field is (in general).

 

[Mr 9finger]

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

Well, my question was a plural one. I wasn't asking which amp was the best one out of the lot. Since the market is basically flooded with mid priced/low wattage amps out there now, there have got to be some that are a cut above the rest. Just to get some discussion going mainly.

I've got a Mini Rectifier and a 5:25 Express+ on my shopping list.

 

[TSE]

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

I just don't like the fact that Bugera are blatantly stealing designs from other companies. I mean for chrissakes, they hardly even rename them. I don't support Bugera as a company and I don't like that other people see no problem supporting them. If you save up a bit more money, you can get a much nicer amp and have a clear conscience.

Thank you.

 

[TSE]

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

Re: What do you guys think the best current production "Mid Priced" amps are these da

It's not really any different than Jim Marshall fiddling with the Fender Bassman or Randall Smith tinkering w/ an SLO to get to the Dual Rectifier. This stuff has been going on in this industry since day 1.

Those guys actually did something different with the Fender and Marshall designs thus propelling the industry forward and offering a broader selection for guitar players. Bugera is just directly ripping amp companies off and mass marketing to make money from someone else's ideas. Which it's why myself and others dislike the company business ethic. And the fact that they sell products with shoddy workmanship. If you were a touring guitarist would you bring your 5150s or your 6260s?