(Tube) Amp on a budget

Masta1m

Before you're overcome by my return to the forums and burst into tears of pure joy, I must confess I'm a bit lost as to the Amp I should get. Plays smalls clubs and venues, and does the whole Who, Zeppelin, Hendrix, Cream thing well. If it can handle TeH Kurdtzz, that's even better.

I await your response, oh wise Forum Elders.

..............So.....How does it work from here? Do I slaughter the chicken, or do I just give it to you guys?

HNB

I like goats.

I picked up a 60's Univox U45 of ebay for around $200. They are very cool.

spirograph

2 words...

JET CITY!

i got the jca20, n its a beast.

HNB

Another good amp is a VHT special 6. Very simple, but works well. Check youtube for clips. 😀

Masta1m

Right, no idea where I could get a goat in Florida. Though, I have been interested in those Univox's, but I'd like to know what you have to say about Peavey Classics.

spirograph

never heard on in the flesh, but the classic30 was a contender for my cash, it just lost out cos the jetcity appeared in my line of sight very reasonably priced. but the classic 30, n the classic 50 have got good reputations. i believe simon neil from biffy clyro uses the classic 50.

foxyloxy

Peaveys are great, Blackstar are great too. maybe a Vox night train or an orange Dual Terror.

polychorus100

try going to small guitar shops and try to get a deal, i got a fender deluxe tube amp for 650 in great condition just cause me and owner ended up being big cream fans and talked about it for an hour, he was nice enough to give me that for that.

Doug

Masta1m said: Right, no idea where I could get a goat in Florida. Though, I have been interested in those Univox's, but I'd like to know what you have to say about Peavey Classics.

Hi Mastalm,

I have a Peavey Classic 30 and I love it. Great range of tones, versatile. Simple controls but unlike some bigger, more sophisticated amps, it has separate Treble, Mid, Bass controls; with Reverb, Gain channel and of course a channel-switch pedal.

In my living room, Volume never gets above 3. Plenty of room for club gigs. Mic it for large venues.

It's not very big but it's kinda heavy. A strong person can lug it up or down stairs without much trouble.

Used you can find one for $200 to $300.

Hope this helps.

cobainjagstang123

I second Spirograph!! I have the JCA20H and it is freaking amazing!

brandonwinmill

Do yourself a favor and buy a mesa. Why settle? Borrow an amp, play a few gigs and buy the real deal. I have a mesa and you can get a used one on ebay for 5 or 6 hundred and it's over. You won't have to get another one. I've tried them all! If you want to be taken serious then you need decent equipment. Not top of the line, just good. You need a good guitar that is trustworthy and holds up and you need an amp that won't let you down and will let you shine through it. If you were closer to here i'd bring you one to try and that would end that. I even sang through mine last night and although my vocals suck, the sound quality was killer. I got that perfect amount of distortion on my voice, sorta like John Lennon used and Josh Homme also uses along with a million others. I love that light metallic sound that you hear on vocals sometimes and i have been chasing it and i found it. If all your pedals break and you have 2 things, guitar and amp, you can still pull it off with a mesa. One and done!

StevieK

Do you want an American amp sound (Blackface Fender) or British amp sound?

For American amp, I think the best choice on a budget is the Luker Tiger, plus it's all handwired! http://lukerllc.com/

brandonwinmill

No mesa fans? They do both. The song i'm doing right now will show the versatility of that amp. The last one that i just finished also sounds like i had a wall different amps and actually i used one. I used 10 different guitars though. That is the beauty. I used a Jag in open d for slide and some real clean rhythm. (i ended up not using the slide parts). I used a tele in standard tuning for some clean fills. I used both of my fat strats for some lead and a dirtier rhythm, also in standard. I used my Les Paul for the main riff in drop d with a good bit of distortion, mostly generated from only the amp and touch of big muff, but it didn't need the muff. Then i used my v in a drop c for the heavy chorus and man it was perfect! It was just crushing! For some of the sound effects and little noises that i always add i did use a whole lot of effects. The meat and potatoes was several different guitars through one old mesa amp. Some amps i have or have used make every guitar sound the same. Not the case with this one. You really hear the difference in different guitars and pickups and i really don't have a super trained ear. I hoped that someone else besides me was on board with the mesa suggestion. There were some real nice amps mentioned in this thread though. All great choices. I'm not familiar with Luker so i'll be checking that one out! Thanks

smallclone

mesa mark IIb combo from the 80's with 12 inch speaker

can get one for about 500 and they are beasts!!! loudests amps ever made!

badmotorfinger

$600.00? get a Peavey VTM 60 OR 120. It's essentially a Marshall JCM 800 clone. They rule big time.

p_man928

i have an epiphone valve jr head and cab and the combo amp. i love them got the head and cab from craigslist and the combo amp from a pawn shop. mods are popular on them but like you said its "budget"

HNB

I just picked up a Fender Twin (Ultralinear Sliver Face) for $500. Hard to beat that price. 😀

johnnykazz

HNB said:
I just picked up a Fender Twin (Ultralinear Sliver Face) for $500. Hard to beat that price. 😀

I just recently got the new VHT Special 12/20. I will post soundclips if you want. They are $599.99, right in your budget, and set up for extreme pedal versatility. I believe HNB owns the VHT Special 6, he can also tell you that they are great amps for the price tag.

HNB

Yup! My VHT special six is a nice amp. 😀

Masta1m

Ended up getting the Classic 30. Exactly what I wanted. The clean "channel" is that awesome spanky Tweed sound and the "drive channel" is pure Plexi bliss. Loud enough to a play a venue for sure. The reverb's a bit sterile though. Other than that it's my dream amp. Plus, a speaker out for my 2x12 with greenbacks. And an Effects loop for the Crybaby and Aqua-puss.