Question:
I'm looking to get my son an amp for his birthday, upper limit about $200. He needs something to practice on that has enough output to play with other people, though not really a gig amp. A big factor is portability (under 30 lbs). 2 channels would be nice, especially with a foot pedal to switch. Reverb would also be a good addition. While he currently has no effects pedals, onboard effects aren't a major factor. His guitar is a squire fat strat.
My son has been playing electric for a year now and is progressing well. He is interested in getting good clean sounds and a more classic overdrive, no Nu Metal or shred.
Any suggestions?
Answer:
You are probably going to want to go with a small tube amp, good for overdrive and clean sounds.
Fender Blues Jr.
Fender Pro Jr.
And also, my friend has an Orange Crush 15, and he loves the clean and the smooth overdrive.
Orange Crush 30R
Also, for price. You are probably going to have to pay $300+ for good amps. Search on eBay as well for great deals. It's crazy what the price differences are on eBay and new.
Answer:
You can get a Pro Jr. for $200...maybe even a Blues Jr. if you're lucky.
Neither of those are really two channel amps. the Blues Jr. does have a "FAT" Switch which is like a clean boost switch, it thickens the signal a bit, but doesn't necessarily = overdrive.
Answer:
I would second the blues jr. You might find a used one for 200-300 if you look hard enough. While it doesn't have 2 channels, the fat switch is nice, not to mention with that fat strat, if he cranked the gain he would get a great classic rock tone and it should clean up nicely by rolling the volume back. Also, it's plenty loud enough to play with others
Answer:
I would suggust one of the epiphone valve amps. There is one around $200 I think, and those are really good I hear.
Answer:
Check out Fenders Frontmen.
Answer:
Originally Posted by frozen_flame Check out Fenders Frontmen. yes...if you have a $100 budget, and no ability to save up, the Fender Frontman can get you by for a little while
Answer:
Originally Posted by thesteve yes...if you have a $100 budget, and no ability to save up, the Fender Frontman can get you by for a little while
I saw an epiphone valve junior for 119.99 at guitar center when I was in Georgia. For the price, I think it was the best value I have seen. Its one channel, but a one channel I could live with.
Answer:
Look at one of the Roland Cubes . I had a 60 and it was a nice rig . In particular the "blackface " setting was NICE and seemed "real " as was the rec setting for full on metal !!
Answer:
Originally Posted by thesteve yes...if you have a $100 budget, and no ability to save up, the Fender Frontman can get you by for a little while
Let me stress the "little" part. Roland Cubes are better.
Answer:
Originally Posted by jamforchrist123 I would suggust one of the epiphone valve amps. There is one around $200 I think, and those are really good I hear.
You have a vox valvetronix AD-30? The AD-15 is about $180 and within my price range. I'm surprised you didn't recommend that.
Answer:
Originally Posted by thesteve yes...if you have a $100 budget, and no ability to save up, the Fender Frontman can get you by for a little while
Actually, I am willing to spend up to $200. My son tried the Fender Frontman 25 and liked it. He also tried the Vox AD-15. Unfortunately, the person helping demo the Vox had it very loud and kept turning up the gain so that it sounded too distorted for what we were looking for. When I took over the knobs, we were a lot happier. One good feature on the Vox is a noise gate, since he gets significant hum from his Squire.
I see that Fender has a DSP version of the FM-25 that also models amps for about $200. Do you know anything about this one? I didn't see a noise reduction switch on the Fender specs, but I think my son would like a Fender.
Thanks for your help.
Answer:
not a huge fan of the DSPs, owned a smaller practice amp for sometime, and it just sounded cold and harsh. and in the same boat, i think that the frontman line will leave you feeling the same way. the vox VT series will leave you feeling better over the solid state fenders as time progresses. i think jamforchrist reccommended the epi valves because they're tube amps and have been getting some positive hype around here lately. also...if they are as good as im hearing, 120$ is a steal. noise reduction is good to have, but dont let it convince you into dropping money on an something that isnt worth the amp itself. not ripping on the vox, but dont run around trying to find an amp with built in noise reduction, let the amp sell itself first, and if its got NR, then thats +1 for you.
Answer:
Originally Posted by wwjdnow You have a vox valvetronix AD-30? The AD-15 is about $180 and within my price range. I'm surprised you didn't recommend that. the reason he didn't mention it is probably because last i heard he was trying to replace it because it wasn't cutting it.
Answer:
I still say, I like this one a lot.
http://www.americanmusical.com/item-...-brand-87.html
its a one channel, not high gain at all, in fact, Id reccomend a pedal for pretty much any distortion with it. (Ibanez tubescreamer maybe?).