#31
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#32
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Blackheart makes nice stuff. I had a Little Giant for awhile, and with a speaker change and good tubes, it was a nice little amp. That is a 1 watt amp! Best for recording purposes, not live playing. Minimal to NO clean headroom. Fot that price you could get a used Fender Blues Jr. which is a 15 watt, Class AB amp which will be much more versatile. I use an upgraded Blues Jr. as my backup amp, and I think it sounds quite nice.
Last edited by terrapin; 11-20-2013 at 06:13 PM. |
#33
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Man I sure am clueless about all this......its been so long since I played with amps i feel like a guitar noob. lol
I am going to have to go back through this thread and get all of the recomendations. Here is what I have so far.... - Bugera V5 - Bugera V22 - Voc AC15 - Vox Pathfinder 15R - Fender Pawn Shop Excelsior - Fender Super Champ XD - Fenders 70's silver face Vibro Champ - Fender Blues Jr. - Lab Series L5 -
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"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot Last edited by LewisBrookshire; 11-20-2013 at 06:33 PM. |
#34
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My vote:
Fender Blues Jr. or Vox AC15c1 I still don't think a Class A amp with wattage as small as 5 watts is going to satisfy you for long. |
#35
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What does "Class A" mean?
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"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot |
#36
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Basically any one power tube amp is Class A. It means the tube is always on. With a Class AB amp with 2 or more power tubes one tube shuts down briefly while the other is at work. That is VERY oversimplified. Class AB amps as a rule have more clean headroom and a smoother kindo f distortion when the power tubes do break up (clip).
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#37
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Vox AC15 ($599 street price new, and they hold their resale value so I wouldn't trust one in the $300 range; great for rock and some blues, but they don't do jazz well) Fender silverface Vibro Champ (sounds good, but it's a 5-6 watter with no direct-out capability - the headroom thing - and they not only hold their value but 35 years after the last ones left Fullerton they're considered "vintage," so it's another one I wouldn't trust in the $300 range) Fender Super Champ XD/X2 (price/power are right, but do you really need/will you really use all the onboard digital effects) Fender Blues Junior ($529 street price new but does it all, there's plenty of older used ones available for $300-350, and lots of players swear by them; thing is, the V22 also does it all for $150-200 less, with the added perks of a separate OD channel, a switchable 22W pentode mode for Deluxe-type tone/power, and pre out/power in jacks for a volume pedal, high-level effects, or going direct-to-house/recording) Not ruling out the Lab Series L5 - it's one of the very few products Gibson released under Norlin that was any good (TMK Bob Moog had a major hand in its design), and thanks to the Norlin connection they're real sleepers in the market - but you're dealing with an honest 100 watts here, in a Twin Reverb-sized amp (think loud with a capital L-O-U-D), so not necessarily the most practical choice for a primarily-acoustic worship band. I suspect that wasn't what you were looking for in the beginning, but if you're OK with the weight/power it'll give you the tone (B.B. King used them for many years); you might want to invest in an A/B box, though (it's an old-style, non-switching two-channel amp), if you want modern dual-channel capability... |
#38
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Vox AC15c1's for sale on TGP Very often for about $300. From my observations the AC15C1 is the most often seen amp for Worship music these days. GREAT amp for the $. Blues Jr's. with speaker upgrades about $350. I will stick with those two recommendations.
Last edited by terrapin; 11-20-2013 at 10:15 PM. |
#39
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I am basing my prices on used gear. I know everyone has been saying dont buy used but I buy everything used, lol. Craigslist, ebay and online forums is where I buy most all of my music gear soooo.....
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"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot |
#40
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Why would anyone buy new when it is such a buyer's market for great used gear? Waste of money in spite of warranties. Check the local Craigslist and go see it in person. Guitar Center almost gives away used lower end amps these days with a limited warranty. Other than my custom AC15 I have not bought new gear in years. |
#41
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Man there are wayy too many options out there!!! I feel overwhelmed looking through Gc's used gear list.
So there are quite a few different Vox models.....is it just the AC15c1 that is a great amp or does vox just make great amps in general? Does line6 make a good product? Are there any other vintage amps i should be looking at? I apologize for all the probably stupid and most assuredly redundant questions here. I do appreciate you patience and help.
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"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot |
#42
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Of the lower priced Vox amps, the AC15C1 is the one that gets consistently good reviews. The Vox Night Train 15 watt also gets good reviews, but it was discontinued but can be found used. Usually in a head form. They also make a hybrid amp-line with tube preamp and solid state power section with built in digital effects (ValveTronix), but I find them pretty sterile sounding.
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#43
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The Peavey Vyper series of solid state modeling amps just got a nice review in the latest Guitar Player magazine...
Supposedly it can be used for acoustic or electric guitar as well as bass. I use a Roland Cube 30x at home because I can get a nice saturated distortion at low volumes, which can be difficult with a tube amp. |
#44
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Here is a link from The Gear Page with folks comparing their experiences with the Bugera V22 and the Fender Blues Jr. As Steve says, alot of folks really like the Bugera, but also note some continue to have significant problems with the amp. I would also check out the Amp Emporium at The Gear Page. Alot of good deals their. I have been buying stuff off this forum for years now with NO bad experiences that did not involve shipping issues.
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/sho....php?t=1349839 |
#45
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That said - and speaking as the owner of a Flextone Plus that I've used maybe a dozen times since purchase in 1999 (and not at all in the last 6-7 years) - if you're looking for good used amps on the cheap (forget "vintage" with your stated budget) there's some well-built older solid-state stuff at most of the chain stores; Peavey Bandit 65 and Special 130 1X12" combos routinely sell in the mid-$100's (2x12's like the Renown and Special Chorus for $175-225), Yamaha G50/G100 combos in a variety of speaker configurations for $150-250, and the Fender Stage series for $125-200, just to name some that I've seen. One of the GC's I visit semi-regularly had a first-run Randall Commander 2x12" 120W combo that got marked down to $149 before they were able to unload it, and I picked up a near-mint Ibanez Tone Blaster 50R 1x12" combo to use as a rehearsal beater (or to play places I wouldn't dare take my Bugera or Super RI ) for $49 last July 4th: world's lousiest reverb (a 2-spring unit the size of a cigarette pack, snapped into the main chassis with a Molex connector ) but the OD channel is old-school TS9 Tube Screamer, and I got a whole amp for less than half the price of the stompbox. I'm generally not a fan of used equipment for a variety of reasons (and I still stand by my initial suggestions in terms of new amps) but if you want to explore the used market I say go for it - nevertheless, caveat emptor... |