vindibona1 |
12-16-2017 12:33 PM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by roylor4
(Post 5569482)
Fender Blues Jr. - Beautiful cleans. Tons of power, more than you'll ever need for most gigs and certainly at home.
Vox AC10C1 - Same qualities as the Junior, but more British flavor.
Blackstar HT5R - Beautiful cleans and a pretty good distortion channel at more manageable levels. Most 5 watters don't have any clean headroom - this amp does.
The Fender Champion series have a really nice clean tone. SS, but doesn't sound overly digital. I have a Fender Frontman 25R I just picked up for $40 and I'm thrilled with the cleans. I played through the Champion stuff last weekend and the 40 may deliver what you want. A LOT of volume for a SS amp, great clean channel and the ability to switch to other modeling options on a 2nd channel.
The Super Champ X2 is a step up from the Champion stuff IMO, but not by as much as you would think and at more than 2x the price.
There is a lot of options at your price point. Good luck and take your time. Beware of "dark " sounding tube amps. No way to add sparkle without putting a pedal or modeler in front.
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Some really good suggestions here.
If you go with the Blues Jr, buy the Tweed version, not the black Tolex. Major difference in sound. Also, the Blues Jr's "proper" way of setting is counter-intuitive. Crank the master and dial in the loudness with the Volume knob. You'll notice it does not say "gain", but most people errantly use the volume for gain. Distortion is best achieved with a pedal/pedals.
Super Champ X2 isn't a bad suggestion, but overpriced, IMO. I had a SuperChamp XD for two days and returned it. There was nothing that my Roland Cube 40 couldn't sound like. So, for around $300 you can get a discontinued Roland Cube 80 which has a built in attenuator for low volumes and is powerful enough to gig with, and light enough to transport easily.
Another amp series that hasn't been mentioned is the Boss Katana series. I'm not impressed by the lower end models, but the more expensive ones are really good and are largely the reason that Roland discontinued the regular Cubes and is letting Boss (same company) cover that end of things.
And yeah, a lot of guys like the Vox sound. I'm not familiar with the specific models, but they have a good reputation.
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