Low wattage tube amps, Discuss.

fuzzbrew

I apologise in advance for how long this post is, I thought i should cover all bases.

I'm Going travelling during the summer but when i get back I am saving to buy some new music equipment. I Will be looking to buy a low wattage tube amp, among other things. (I am also going to get one of those Yamaha THR 10 amps. They seem kind of cool for a little jam amp even though they are digital and go totally against my usual all tube/ all analog nature!). I plan on having these 2 little amps for bringing around to a couple of mates gafs for grab and go sort of amps for quiet jams with just a couple of guitars, so it won't really have to compete with a drummer but it would be an added bonus if it could.. My budget is at the VERY MOST 300 quid ( i could spend more but i am not going to) so it will depend a lot on the used market at the time. The amps i have seen in this style & price range:

Bugera v5
Marshall class 5(used)
Vox AC4
Blackstar HT-5 (used)
Ampeg GVT 5
VHT special 6
Laney cub
Vox lil' night train
and a few others that i can't think of off the top of my head.

There is also those DIY amp kits, but I would have to pay some one more experienced to build it for me as i wouldn't have a clue.

Basically just want opinions on quality of amps based on sound, build quality and reliability. Mad features aren't a must on the amp as i use pedals and have an idea to build a grab & go pedal board using miniature pedals like the Memory Toy by EHX & the Pickel vibe by love pedal. Think i will start a thread about that so keep your eyes peeled!

I use a Peavey classic 30 with a 1970s celestion Blackback g12 and high quality tubes (can't remember brand) at the moment. Ideally looking for an amp that will be close to that sound. It has got a sort of american fender clean tone but when it starts to break up or you use the gain channel it has something inherently British midrange-y about it. That's probably got somthing to do with the EL84 power amp and the celestion black back. I use pedals for extra grit on top of the amps clean and dirty channels. I Will probably do the same for my low watt amp so being able to both American cleans and British grit sounds like my amp is not a must. Will probably get an MI audio crunch box or maybe even the old reliable DS-1 for the British crunch!

Anyway, i have gone on a bit much. So like i said, Low Wattage tube amps, discuss:

_ciaran_

http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2056572722/1/#post77511224

fuzzbrew

_ciaran_ wrote: »

http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2056572722/1/#post77511224

Thanks man, but i am looking for opinions based on my preferences/budget, specifically.

Ravelleman

I'd probably go for the Class 5 - they're very solidly built, were apparently made in the UK and have a good range of sounds. I've fiddled around with a couple of the others you mention in your post and found them to have differing levels of quality.

The Blackstar's pots, for example, felt very cheap.

The Laney Cub is meant to be very good and excellent for modding but seems to have relatively limited controls.

I'm not sure if any of the amps have an effects loop. That might make a difference to you. Their respective weights would also be worth comparing.

In the end I went for a Laney Lionheart 5w amp, which is low in power but enormous in size.

fuzzbrew

Ravelleman wrote: »

I'd probably go for the Class 5 - they're very solidly built, were apparently made in the UK and have a good range of sounds. I've fiddled around with a couple of the others you mention in your post and found them to have differing levels of quality.

The Blackstar's pots, for example, felt very cheap.

The Laney Cub is meant to be very good and excellent for modding but seems to have relatively limited controls.

I'm not sure if any of the amps have an effects loop. That might make a difference to you. Their respective weights would also be worth comparing.

In the end I went for a Laney Lionheart 5w amp, which is low in power but enormous in size.

I read your previous thread a few times before over the past year or 2 while researching this stuff. That Lionheart seems like a great amp but i think it is well out of what i am going to spend. I am leaning towards the class 5 myself at the moment but it all depends if there is a used one on adverts when i go to make the purchase, remember, they are 500-600 new. I have another thread going about grab & go effects board, would love if you could chime in on that subject matter too?

fuzzbrew

Ravelleman wrote: »

I'd probably go for the Class 5 - they're very solidly built, were apparently made in the UK and have a good range of sounds. I've fiddled around with a couple of the others you mention in your post and found them to have differing levels of quality.

The Blackstar's pots, for example, felt very cheap.

The Laney Cub is meant to be very good and excellent for modding but seems to have relatively limited controls.

I'm not sure if any of the amps have an effects loop. That might make a difference to you. Their respective weights would also be worth comparing.

In the end I went for a Laney Lionheart 5w amp, which is low in power but enormous in size.

That's suprising to hear about the Blackstar, i usually hear nothing but good things about them. Always thought it was too good to be true. I am sure they are good but nothing is unanimously brilliant. As weird as this sounds i am actually glad to hear a criticism about them... refreshing

hidinginthebush

I have a lil night train at the moment and have owned an epiphone valve Jr in the past. Both were very great amps, though the valve Jr would be closer to what you're after.

One thing to note is that if you want pure tube overdrive, 5w is still pretty loud. Another thing is that these combos usually come with 8 or 10 inch speakers, and sound very boxy and flat as a result. I got a 1x12 cab with the lil nighttrain head an to be honest I couldn't be happier. I left the band I was in so don't need the full 50W to play at home. The lil nt is great, has plenty of overdrive on tap. If you've any questions on it just ask.

The valve Jr was great, I spent a ton of time putting mods into it before killing it. Bit its quite vintage, fizzy sort of tone, like a bluesbreakers / very early Clapton sort of tone. Great fun to work with, but you're always left wanting more if you want anything heavier.

wild turkey

Ive owned the following

Valve junior , Really liked it & worked great with multi-effects

Vox Lil Nightrain, found that without reverb or effects loop it didnt suit my needs but a good little head

Blackstar ht1 r , nice little head but very little clean headroom, If you like your cleans with a bit of breakup its perfect

Blackstar Ht5, same as Vox no reverb so the gain channel was useless to me . The ht5r would solve this problem

Vht special 6, Ive put in an Emimence Ramrod & made a huge difference over the vht speaker, beautiful cleans but a little boxy with distortion but still very nice, I run it in stereo with my Bugera V 22 & they compliment each other very well
If I had to buy again I would get the special 6 ultra head & 12" cab
I bought this to mod it as its a handwired turret board so well see how that works out over time
but as it is I'm very happy with it

Bugera V22, I'll add this because it knocks down to 11 w & is close in price
Beautiful cleans , takes pedals very well , all in all a lovely amp & very similar to the Peavey Classic 30
Im very happy with this amp

fuzzbrew

wild turkey wrote: »

Ive owned the following

Valve junior , Really liked it & worked great with multi-effects

Vox Lil Nightrain, found that without reverb or effects loop it didnt suit my needs but a good little head

Blackstar ht1 r , nice little head but very little clean headroom, If you like your cleans with a bit of breakup its perfect

Blackstar Ht5, same as Vox no reverb so the gain channel was useless to me . The ht5r would solve this problem

Vht special 6, Ive put in an Emimence Ramrod & made a huge difference over the vht speaker, beautiful cleans but a little boxy with distortion but still very nice, I run it in stereo with my Bugera V 22 & they compliment each other very well
If I had to buy again I would get the special 6 ultra head & 12" cab
I bought this to mod it as its a handwired turret board so well see how that works out over time
but as it is I'm very happy with it

Bugera V22, I'll add this because it knocks down to 11 w & is close in price
Beautiful cleans , takes pedals very well , all in all a lovely amp & very similar to the Peavey Classic 30
Im very happy with this amp

thanks man, good detail on a few amps there. I was considering the v22. It's under 300 quid for 22 tube watt amp, which quite a few people say they sound quite good. The only thing is they say they have reliaiblity issues on forums i have read. It might be a bit big too, i was looking for something i could carry around quite easy as i don't drive.

fuzzbrew

hidinginthebush wrote: »

I have a lil night train at the moment and have owned an epiphone valve Jr in the past. Both were very great amps, though the valve Jr would be closer to what you're after.

One thing to note is that if you want pure tube overdrive, 5w is still pretty loud. Another thing is that these combos usually come with 8 or 10 inch speakers, and sound very boxy and flat as a result. I got a 1x12 cab with the lil nighttrain head an to be honest I couldn't be happier. I left the band I was in so don't need the full 50W to play at home. The lil nt is great, has plenty of overdrive on tap. If you've any questions on it just ask.

The valve Jr was great, I spent a ton of time putting mods into it before killing it. Bit its quite vintage, fizzy sort of tone, like a bluesbreakers / very early Clapton sort of tone. Great fun to work with, but you're always left wanting more if you want anything heavier.

I use pedals anyway man so if i can get even a small amount of break up out of what ever amp i choose i'll be happy.

wild turkey

fuzzbrew wrote: »

thanks man, good detail on a few amps there. I was considering the v22. It's under 300 quid for 22 tube watt amp, which quite a few people say they sound quite good. The only thing is they say they have reliaiblity issues on forums i have read. It might be a bit big too, i was looking for something i could carry around quite easy as i don't drive.

I've had no problems at all with mine in the year Ive had it.
Most of the issues have been ironed out in the last few years

It is fairly heavy alright I had to put casters on mine & eventually got the VHT special 6 for practice, jamming etc

Out of the list above I would rate
V22 first & special 6 with speaker upgrade 2nd followed by HT5 3rd

fuzzbrew

wild turkey wrote: »

I've had no problems at all with mine in the year Ive had it.
Most of the issues have been ironed out in the last few years

It is fairly heavy alright I had to put casters on mine & eventually got the VHT special 6 for practice, jamming etc

Out of the list above I would rate
V22 first & special 6 with speaker upgrade 2nd followed by HT5 3rd

thinkin' i like the idea of the special 6 as it is ptp as opposed to pcb. throw in a differentspeaker and i'm laughin.

fuzzbrew

wild turkey wrote: »

I've had no problems at all with mine in the year Ive had it.
Most of the issues have been ironed out in the last few years

It is fairly heavy alright I had to put casters on mine & eventually got the VHT special 6 for practice, jamming etc

Out of the list above I would rate
V22 first & special 6 with speaker upgrade 2nd followed by HT5 3rd

BALLS! they don't sell it on thomann anymore. Any suggestions as to where i might get a special 6?

wild turkey

http://www.thomann.de/ie/bugera_v22.htm

http://www.thomann.de/ie/vht_tube_guitar_combos.html

fuzzbrew

wild turkey wrote: »

http://www.thomann.de/ie/bugera_v22.htm

http://www.thomann.de/ie/vht_tube_guitar_combos.html

hmm, when i searched for it on Thomann i got one of those no longer in the product range screens! cheers man, think i will go for the VHT special 6 ultra. I am going to look into the mods you can do to it also. speaker, tubes and caps and resistor changes over time. Any experience with these?

fuzzbrew

It just dawned on me that the VHT special 6 ultra is a 12" speaker, probably a bit heavy to be lugging around. I realise the VHT special 6 standard is a 10" speaker is, might still be a bit heavy and I think I would feel i was robbing myself a little if i didn't get the Special 6 ultra. I am starting to lean more towards the Bugera V5 again, for that price you can't complain really. Going to research a speaker swap in it. Does any one know of a good after market 8" speaker by Celestion, Eminence, Jensen or one of the other brands?

topcatcbr

fuzzbrew wrote: »

It just dawned on me that the VHT special 6 ultra is a 12" speaker, probably a bit heavy to be lugging around. I realise the VHT special 6 standard is a 10" speaker is, might still be a bit heavy and I think I would feel i was robbing myself a little if i didn't get the Special 6 ultra. I am starting to lean more towards the Bugera V5 again, for that price you can't complain really. Going to research a speaker swap in it. Does any one know of a good after market 8" speaker by Celestion, Eminence, Jensen or one of the other brands?

From what I have read about the speaker in the v22. Those who have spent a lot "improving" upgradeing hove found little or no sound improvement worthy of the investment on the original speaker. That's to say the speaker is good enough.

I'm not sure about the one in the v5

Halloween Jack

Just a heads up on Blackstar, i have an ht1r. I loved it, despite not being able to get a useable clean tone unless through a cab, because it had a great range of distorted tones at low volume.

However, after c. 18 months it began to crackle quite a lot then about two months later it just died. If you look at their forums it seems a regular occurence. I believe the root cause is cheap circuit boards made in china or something. Havent managed to get it fixed yet, but dissapointing seeing as i bought it new and only got 18 months out of it.

fuzzbrew

Halloween Jack wrote: »

Just a heads up on Blackstar, i have an ht1r. I loved it, despite not being able to get a useable clean tone unless through a cab, because it had a great range of distorted tones at low volume.

However, after c. 18 months it began to crackle quite a lot then about two months later it just died. If you look at their forums it seems a regular occurence. I believe the root cause is cheap circuit boards made in china or something. Havent managed to get it fixed yet, but dissapointing seeing as i bought it new and only got 18 months out of it.

cheers for the word of warning pal. Will be avoiding that particular model so. 2 bad comments about Blackstar now..... Good to hear. It's not that I have anything against blackstar or anything, it's just after months and months of reading nothing but good about them, & every time you open a guitar mag these days they are just plastered with Blackstar endorsements, we are starting to see that maybe, just maybe, they aren't exactly all they are cracked out to be.

fuzzbrew

topcatcbr wrote: »

From what I have read about the speaker in the v22. Those who have spent a lot "improving" upgradeing hove found little or no sound improvement worthy of the investment on the original speaker. That's to say the speaker is good enough.

I'm not sure about the one in the v5

Yes, it appears that way. Still, i can't help but wonder what a V5 with that 8" celestion and a couple of after market tubes would sound like.

Ravelleman

H&K Tubemeister 5w combo would be worth checking out, although slightly over budget.

quicklickpaddy

Bit late to the party but I thought I'd add my two cents, for whatever it's worth.

I have a Ht-5 at the moment and I'll be swapping that for the AC4 (the blue, top boost version). I picked the HT-5 for versatility and to be fair, it more than delivers for that. Now I've decided I don't want the versatility because I don't use it - I'd be happier with the (arguably) more straight up, crisp "tubey" tone from the AC4.

The Blackstar is a great amp though. I think it's gotten all those rave reviews because of the amount of tricks it can do (emulated output, ISF tone knob etc.) and it sounds great for a whole bunch of genres. The clean channel sounds quite flat (especially with the lack of reverb) but it makes for a nice, mellow jazz tone, should you want it. Just a touch of gain on the drive channel livens it up a lot. Very usable and easy to dial in your tone to how you like it.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that something like the AC4 does one thing and does it well, but the HT-5 does a lot more to a surprisingly good standard considering the price.

From what you've said about the tone you'd like to achieve in comparison to the Peavey (American/British tone, EL84's) and the point that you'd rather use pedals to sculpt your tone, I think the Blackstar seems to suit your needs the most, plus with the emulated output you can emulate a 4x12 straight into a PA if you want to keep up with drummers. If you'd rather pass on that, the Marshall Class 5 should serve you well; a more "honest" tone if that makes any sense.

Fingers Mcginty

Little Lanilei. I've been using it for the last year or so. Great little amp.

alphabeat

better off with a roland cube for what you are on about ( travelling etc )

ive tried many small tube amps for recording ,
blackstar ht1 is good with a big cab attached for grindy / heavy stuff

ht5 is good with a big cab for cleans - but overdrive gets too fiizzy

ive not heard or recorded a small amp that was any good so far , unless a big cab was attached and it still LOUD


now i just use a modded digitech 1101 amp sim with user cabs installed - its fantastic .

fuzzbrew

thanks lads, all opinions and words are appreciated. I don't expect to be making the purchase for a few months so plenty of time to think about it, so i hope to keep this thread going a while and getting as much info as possible

Podge_Sandwich

Can't believe that nobody has mentioned the fender super champ xd. You can get them on adverts.ie for anywhere between 150 and 250 euro and its literally got it all. Sublime tubey fender cleans. Press a button and you have 16 amp models. I HATE DIGITAL myself but some of the options are surprisingly good and tubey. Takes to pedals really well. Sounds good at bedroom levels. Looks slick. Lightweight. Can be hooked up to any cab pref a 4x12 for glorious clean or overdriven tones. The effects are all usable and analog sounding. The reverb is really impressive and the vibrato is decent.

Ive tried a vox ac4tv and a fender champion 600 and the super champ blows them out of the water. That yamaha thr10 is pretty **** btw. Tried it and was v disappointed

fuzzbrew

Podge_Sandwich wrote: »

Can't believe that nobody has mentioned the fender super champ xd. You can get them on adverts.ie for anywhere between 150 and 250 euro and its literally got it all. Sublime tubey fender cleans. Press a button and you have 16 amp models. I HATE DIGITAL myself but some of the options are surprisingly good and tubey. Takes to pedals really well. Sounds good at bedroom levels. Looks slick. Lightweight. Can be hooked up to any cab pref a 4x12 for glorious clean or overdriven tones. The effects are all usable and analog sounding. The reverb is really impressive and the vibrato is decent.

Ive tried a vox ac4tv and a fender champion 600 and the super champ blows them out of the water. That yamaha thr10 is pretty **** btw. Tried it and was v disappointed[/QU

I am going to try the Yamaha THR10 before i buy it, to make sure i am happy with it., but I appreciate your word of warning. All the videos i have seen i thought it seemed good for what it is.

il gatto

I bought a Blackstar HT-1r a couple of months ago. I love it. It's lots loud enough for home use. Wouldn't keep up with a drummer but to just jam along with other guitars/bass it should be enough.
It's so small that I bring from room to room and bring it in the car. Feels very solid. I went for the r as I like a bit of reverb with cleans and I didn't want to bother with pedals. Just plug and play. The cleans can feel a little flat with humbuckers but sparkle nicely with single coils. Breakup and overdriven sounds are epic, not just considering the size. Epic, full stop. Everything from Tom Petty, through Led Zeppelin, G'n'R to metal.
You can't switch on the boost with a footswitch so ye olde technique of rolling off the volume or "setting the volumes" on a Les Paul becomes required learning.
Otherwise, can't fault it.