Question:
Hello everyone, I'm new here. I was wondering if someone could suggest a few amps that I could look into. I'm looking for a good tube amp with lower wattage (say, 20-50 watts) that has a good amount of gain. I have a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe right now that I *hate*. The cleans are good, but the overdrive channels are useless, which leaves me depending on a Behringer V-amp2 for any sort of dirty sound. I'm wondering if there are any companies out there that maybe aren't carried in the regular catalogs that might fit the bill.
I'm looking at a THD Univalve, but am worried that if I ever played any real gigs besides just Sunday morning worship, that it wouldn't cut through. I loved the sound clips on their website, though, and tonally its very similar to what I want. I also saw the Soldano Astroverb, which looks cool, but I am usually not a huge fan of the Soldano overdrive sound. A used Boogie maybe? I'm not familiar with what they've made so I don't know if they have anything that would fit the bill.
I don't really have a strict budget, but I don't think I'd want to pay more than $1500 for the amp and cab.
Thanks for any replies!
Answer:
have you thought about just using a pedal to get the gain you want and replacing the stock Fender speaker with something that'll handle an OD'd sound better
Answer:
Well, I run the amp through a 1x12 cab with a Celestion Greenback, either alone or as an extention. It DOES improve the sound of the amp, but it's really just a bad sounding amp. As far as the whole pedal thing.... yes. I've done that, and I'm sick of it. I have easily $500 worth of different distortion pedals, and I'd rather just get the sound I want from the amp. I have a Real Tube overdrive, Akai Shred-o-Matic, Ibanez Tubescreamer, Boss DS-1, Fuzz Face, Fulltone Fat Boost (which IS really cool), and many others collecting dust. I like the sound of the V-amp better than all of the pedals I have, but it's not dynamic enough, On top of that, I don't like the sound of the power-amp of the Fender. When cranked, it just gets kinda harsh, and there isn't much added warmth like you'd expect. I had an Epiphone Special for a short time, and when the master was cranked, even with the preamp low, it had wonderful sustain and was very dynamic. Overall I didn't like the sound of the amp, so I returned it, but it got very warm when turned up, and the Hot Rod doesn't do that.
Thank you for your reply
Answer:
something like a Mesa F-30 might do it for you.
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I'd second the Mesa suggestion. I play through a Mesa Studio .22, which was basically the F-30 of its day.
Nate
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at least look at a carvin V3, i'm not sure that's the tyoe of tone you're after, but worth looking at.
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I like the boogie, i use a mark IV. though right now i would kill for a vox or dr z or bad cat.
Answer:
Originally Posted by guitargeek6298 Hello everyone, I'm new here. I was wondering if someone could suggest a few amps that I could look into. I'm looking for a good tube amp with lower wattage (say, 20-50 watts) that has a good amount of gain. I have a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe right now that I *hate*. The cleans are good, but the overdrive channels are useless, which leaves me depending on a Behringer V-amp2 for any sort of dirty sound. I'm wondering if there are any companies out there that maybe aren't carried in the regular catalogs that might fit the bill.
I'm looking at a THD Univalve, but am worried that if I ever played any real gigs besides just Sunday morning worship, that it wouldn't cut through. I loved the sound clips on their website, though, and tonally its very similar to what I want. I also saw the Soldano Astroverb, which looks cool, but I am usually not a huge fan of the Soldano overdrive sound. A used Boogie maybe? I'm not familiar with what they've made so I don't know if they have anything that would fit the bill.
I don't really have a strict budget, but I don't think I'd want to pay more than $1500 for the amp and cab.
Thanks for any replies!
I recently bought a Mesa F-30, it took me a while of tweaking it to find my tone but once i got it, it sounds amazing. its got seperate EQ and reverb controls on both channels. i use it mainly for rock/pop but it can get a great hard rock / metal tone too, but i wouldnt use it for hardcore or beyond.
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yeah all you need is a distortion pedal and your amp will be a monster .
Answer:
Thanks for the replies everyone! I looked at the F-30 online, and it DOES look like something I would be interested in. I'll have to check it out at Guitar Center the next time I go. How does it sound at lower levels (like, church appropriate).
I looked at the V3 online, and while I love its features and price, I just didn't like any of the sound clips. I know that it would sound different in person, but I think it's more "metal" than what I'm looking for (although I do like to get heavy now and again). Plus I think my worship leader would freak out if I came to practice with a 100 watt halfstack! If I hear some good low gain and mid gain sounds from it, I might be inclined to try it.
Answer:
the f-30 is extremely loud. i think it sounds louder than other 50w tube amps ive played. when i use it at church i might have the volume between 2-3 maybe a little lower. im thinking of getting an attenuator because its so loud. the reverb on it is amazing. the only downside to the amp is the countour boost. i was hoping it would have a gain boost, the countour just kind of adds highs and mids. i kind of like the clean sound of the F-50 a little more. the 50 uses 6L6 instead of 84's. i was looking into a mesa nomad recently, but i havent found any that i can test out first. they look the same as the f-30 but they have 3 channels and they have like 2 different modes of drive on each drive channel.
Answer:
Originally Posted by guitargeek6298 Thanks for the replies everyone! I looked at the F-30 online, and it DOES look like something I would be interested in. I'll have to check it out at Guitar Center the next time I go. How does it sound at lower levels (like, church appropriate).
I looked at the V3 online, and while I love its features and price, I just didn't like any of the sound clips. I know that it would sound different in person, but I think it's more "metal" than what I'm looking for (although I do like to get heavy now and again). Plus I think my worship leader would freak out if I came to practice with a 100 watt halfstack! If I hear some good low gain and mid gain sounds from it, I might be inclined to try it.
Ummm.. A v3 can be hooked up to a 2x12 cab, no nessisarily made by Carvin. Also, at the NAMM show Carvin just came out with a v3 2x12 combo. Have you heard any of the clean and blues-type clips of the v3? They are incredible! I seriously encourage you to check it out more.
Answer:
Originally Posted by Building429_Boy Ummm.. A v3 can be hooked up to a 2x12 cab, no nessisarily made by Carvin. Also, at the NAMM show Carvin just came out with a v3 2x12 combo. Have you heard any of the clean and blues-type clips of the v3? They are incredible! I seriously encourage you to check it out more.
it also has a half power switch 50 or 100w
Answer:
Originally Posted by nick2282 it also has a half power switch 50 or 100w
Yep, all amps in the MTS and V3 series have a switch to turn off 2 of the powertubes, to go down to 50w. There is not much of a volume difference, but the tubes will saturate into a smooth OD, or distortion on lower volumes.
Answer:
Originally Posted by Building429_Boy Ummm.. A v3 can be hooked up to a 2x12 cab, no nessisarily made by Carvin. Also, at the NAMM show Carvin just came out with a v3 2x12 combo. Have you heard any of the clean and blues-type clips of the v3? They are incredible! I seriously encourage you to check it out more.
Yeah, I know it could be hooked up to a 2x12, and I know it has a half power switch, but it's bigger than what I already have. Right now with my Fender, I have the volume on 1 and a half for Sunday service. I was looking for something with lower wattage so I could crank it up a little more.
I've only heard the clips on their website, and the clean sounds were underwhelming to me. I didn't hear any bluesy kind of tones. The high-gain sounds were cool, though.