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#1
06-27-2015, 08:35 PM
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Favorite Tube Amp....On A Budget?
I just dabble at home with the electric guitar, but I want to upgrade amps to tube over solid state and don't want to break the bank with a Fender Twin.
I have an American Strat and Tele and blues is the dominant style. What would you recommend that I test drive next time I am at GC? 
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#2
06-27-2015, 08:51 PM
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Fender Blues Jr
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jf45ir Free DIY Acoustic Guitar IR Generator .wav file, 30 seconds, pickup left, mic right, open position strumming best...send to direct email below I'll send you 100/0, 75/25, 50/50 & 0/100 IR/Bypass IRs IR Demo, read the description too: https://youtu.be/SELEE4yugjE My duo's website and my email... [email protected] Jon Fields
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#4
06-27-2015, 09:05 PM
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You should realize that tube amps can be a lot more prone to little quirks and problems, not to mention the cost of "good" tubes... with that in mind, you really don't want to try to buy too cheaply, as the ultimate cost will end up being much higher in the long run...
Check out the VHT Special 6 amps... a lot of interesting and useful features (no reverb though) with only one input/channel... VHT also makes one that has reverb and a bit more power (20 watts?)... the Speciall 6 will run you around $400 new, while the one with reverb and more power is around $700. They sound great, get plenty loud (even the little 6 watt one!) and have some delicious overdriven tones... If you can find one of the Peavy Classic amps from the 80's/90's (the tweed ones), they are FANTASTIC amps that never really caught on for some reason... The smaller one, the Classic 30, is a pretty good twin of the iconic Fender Deluxe Reverb amp. I have seen those Peavy amps for as little as $250; almost bought it, even though I have my '73 Deluxe Reverb already!
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"Home is where I hang my hat, but home is so much more than that. Home is where the ones and the things I hold dear are near... And I always find my way back home." "Home" (working title) J.S, Sherman
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#6
06-27-2015, 09:58 PM
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all of them. take your guitar and play thru blackstar, fender, vox....everything. that way you get an idea of what you like and what you can afford.
play music!
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2014 Martin 00015M 2009 Martin 0015M 2008 Martin HD28 2007 Martin 000-18GE 2006 Taylor 712 2006 Fender Parlor GDP100 1978 Fender F65 1968 Gibson B25-12N Various Electrics
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#9
06-27-2015, 11:18 PM
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Hi gc…
Love my Fender Blues Jr.
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Baby #1.1 Baby #1.2 Baby #02 Baby #03 Baby #04 Baby #05 Larry's songs... …Just because you've argued someone into silence doesn't mean you have convinced them…
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#11
06-27-2015, 11:55 PM
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Can't get it at GC any more - they discontinued their relationship with the parent company - but I'd strongly recommend you suss out a Bugera V22 even if you have to buy it sight unseen on approval, and consider it the best $400 or so you'll ever spend on an amp of any kind; I've had mine since 2010 and it's my go-to for anything from practice (the triode/pentode switch lets you power down to bedroom levels) to a 700-seat house. I've got a few easy DIY mods in mine - an Eminence Swamp Thang speaker and a set of Soviet-era mil-spec tubes with a mild rebias - and I understand the new Infinium models are even better than the first-generation amps: upgraded speaker and automatic biasing (so replacing tubes is a plug-and-play proposition) give you a boutique-quality tone machine (styling is reminiscent of both Egnater and Bad Cat) at solid-state practice-amp prices. FWIW I'd strongly recommend a full tube swap as soon as you get the opportunity/cash - while it sounds fine as it is the POS $1.29 Chinese-made tubes are the weak link, and a full set of new little tone bottles will give you all the tone/volume you're likely to need for anything short of a stadium gig. Here's a few links:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/V22InfiCombo http://www.thetubestore.com/Tubes/12...ies-7025-12AX7 http://www.thetubestore.com/Tubes/Pr...9-Premium-EL84 Good luck... 
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#12
06-28-2015, 12:09 AM
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I have never visited a GC in my life so I cannot help you with that part.
But. I bought a $99 Kustom class-A head. A Defender 5H. I believe they are a bit pricier now, this was a pre-order special. I hated it, but then I put about $50 (probably more like $80 to everyone else) into it by pulling the two chinese tubes and installing JJs and pulling the two coupling caps and installing cheapo paper-in-oil ones from AllParts. Plug that sucker into any old speaker you have laying around and you have a blues machine. One knob, no fiddling. Cheapo joy. Please understand that I love my Dr Z Maz-8 way-more, but that is whole different world. So is my old tweed Deluxe (same tweaks). The Kustom is my loaner (so is the Deluxe) and the people who use 'em thank me for the fun.
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-donh- *everything* is a tone control
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#13
06-28-2015, 01:07 AM
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Quote:
Last edited by Steel and wood; 06-28-2015 at 01:17 AM.
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#14
06-28-2015, 01:28 AM
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I have an egnater tube amp that sounds great and is very versatile. You don't mention whether you want channel switching and or other features.
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Music: http://mfassett.com Taylor 710 sunburst Epiphone ef-500m ...a few electrics
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#15
06-28-2015, 06:50 AM
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Quote:
-- What's your approximate price range? Do you mind buying used? -- Do you use effects pedals already? Or would you consider onboard effects? thanks
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