Help with Amp Selection

[Tunes]

Hey all,

Just recieved a nice Guild P90, but I got no amp !!! I have taken a look locally - hoping to find something cheap. So far the cheapest seems to be ....

Peavy Blazer 158 (40 watts) - $50

There is also a couple CUBE amps available (Cube 20X) - $129

A Marshall MG10CD "Practice Amp" is also available new for $99.

The Fender amps that are available seem to start around $300 - $400. A Fender Champ 12 Combo is available for $350.

Which, if any of these is acceptable to play at home. I don't expect to gig with this.

 

[coastie99]

Hey all,

Just recieved a nice Guild P90, but I got no amp !!! I have taken a look locally - hoping to find something cheap. So far the cheapest seems to be ....

Peavy Blazer 158 (40 watts) - $50

There is also a couple CUBE amps available (Cube 20X) - $129

A Marshall MG10CD "Practice Amp" is also available new for $99.

The Fender amps that are available seem to start around $300 - $400. A Fender Champ 12 Combo is available for $350.

Which, if any of these is acceptable to play at home. I don't expect to gig with this.

I'm guessing that the Champ is the only valve amp among that lot ......... so that would be my choice, a long-lived, well-regarded ( and copied ) design. You might also consider a Silvertone 1482 if you like that "brown" 6V6 sound. Around the same price range on Ebay.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzK8rKQbW6A

Valve amps. are lotsa fun. And a great antidote for GAS. Trouble is you'll likely end up with AAS, which I've found to be far more insidious than GAS !! And, if you decide that you wanna get grease on your hands, metaphorically speaking, it's a wild ride !! Hugely satisfying though !

Good luck.

 

[Default]

Champ 12 is a high gain, shred type amp with reverb and a cd(rca jack) in. I had one, louder than the classic Champ at @ 8 watts. Headphone jack, IIRC. The "12" refers to the speaker, not the wattage. Pull-boost on one or more of the control. Might have had a line out. A fun amp, I wish I still had one.
Manual here

 

[sfIII]

I recommend contacting this builder, tell him you want a 6v6 amp for $350..

 

[kostask]

There is the available as new, Fender Champ(ion) 600, which is also all tube (has a solid state rectifier). Its a pretty small amp, with an 6 inch speaker, probably about 5 watts, with a 12AX7 preamp, and 6V6 output tube. Sweetwater is showing them at $149.95, Musician't Friend shows them at $149.99, as does Sam Ash. I can't say what your local dealer would sell them for, as I live in Canada, and the prices here don't necessarily correlate to what stuff sells for in the US. I recommend that you skip the Fender amp cover, and get a padded one from a third party (I like the ones from Le Cover).

The amp is pretty simple, so experimentation to get your idea sound would not be a difficult. Want to lower the gain? Change the 12AX7 to a 12AU7, 12AT7, or 5751. Want higher gain? Find a higher gain 12AX7. Want a better sound? Change the 6V6 to a NOS Vintage RCA blackplate, or a new Tung Sol, or whatever strikes your fancy. It has an external speaker out jack, so you could drive larger speakers if you wish. All of the above is over and above the modifications cottage industry that has sprung up around this amp (see Mercury Magnetics' web page for an example).

An alternative is the Epiphone Valve Juniors, either the Combo (~199.99), or head (~139.99, but you will need a speaker cabinet). Both of them are approximately the same power level as the Champ 600 (Combo has an 8" speaker, both Epiphones have EL84/6BQ5 output tube, vs. the 6V6 of the Fender Champ 600). They too have a huge cottage industry for modifications/improvements.

Both the Fender Champ and the Epiphone Amplifiers only have a volume control; no effects, no tone controls, no reverb.

Kostas

 

[Walter Broes]

Playing a $100 guitar through a $1000 tube amp is a lot more fun than the other way around - don't get the cheap solidstate ones!

If you're on a very tight budget, the current production Vox AC4 is a cool little amp for the money IMO.

 

[MrBoZiffer]

^ this is good advice. To me, a good amp will make a crappy guitar sound decent, but a crappy amp will make a great guitar sound crappy.

A nice simple tube amp really can't be beat. Something with 6V6 power tubes and 12AX7 preamp tubes. They'e simple and readily available if you need to replace them. If you need to save up for a little while to buy a tube amp, I would do it. It'll be worth the wait. You might find a good deal on Craigslist. In the meantime, you might be able to borrow something.

The Vox AC4 and Fender Champ 600 are good suggestions. If you're a little more adventurous, then you could probably find a 70's Fender Champ or Vibro Champ for about the same price.

Good luck!

 

[Default]

A comment on the AC4. It's output switchable so you can run it at 1/2 a watt. Perfect for not annoying any SO's.

 

[jmac]

If you go to fender's website you can download a pdf of all of their amps (or just view it online). The "Frontman" series and a good selection of amps from small practice amps all the way up to a 2 x 12 110 Watt model.

But reading all the other comments I'm thinking more about switching from solid state (I have a Fender Princeton 112) to a comparable tube amp. I gig in a band so I need enough power to play out, but at the same time because I gig, I don't want to have to lug around a heavy amp. It's a conundrum.

 

[dapmdave]

Before you buy, check out a Fender Blues Jr. These are nice little 1-12 tube amps with master volume and reverb. Around here they go for $200 - $250 used. Since Fender has made them for many years, they are plentiful.

Dave

 

[Tunes]

Looks like Fender is the way to go - thanks for the responses. Blues Jr. or a Champ, something with tubes, master volume, tone and possibly reverb controls, and costing at least $250 (e.g. avoid really cheap amps - NFG).

Thanks.

P.S. I am in Ontario, so somewhat limited choice in used amps, and costly to ship across the border. I get hit with 15% sales tax at a minimum on incoming goods.

 

[12stringer]

Looks like Fender is the way to go - thanks for the responses. Blues Jr. or a Champ, something with tubes, master volume, tone and possibly reverb controls, and costing at least $250 (e.g. avoid really cheap amps - NFG).

Thanks.

P.S. I am in Ontario, so somewhat limited choice in used amps, and costly to ship across the border. I get hit with 15% sales tax at a minimum on incoming goods.

Hey tunes here is a youtube posting of a Fender Blues Jr http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hi-7tBnYcU

I will keep an eye out for ya since I am in Ontario too.
Best of luck on the hunt. :wink:
Randy

 

[kostask]

Tunes:

As you are on the Canadian side of the border (I didn't notice), you might want to take a look at a used Traynor tube amp, like a YGM3 (2 X EL84/6BQ5 output tubes). They are usually readily available in Canada, and while not trying to start a war here, in many ways are build better than Fenders (much bigger transformers, more rugged cabinet design). The more modern ones, used, like YCV20/YCV40 are also really good amplifiers (also all tube). A local pawn shop has a YCV40 in Blue Tolex for $429 righ now, and I'ms sure they can be talked down some. There are also the smaller Garnet brand amplifiers (Gnome, etc.) that sound quite good which do also show up in Canada more often than they do in the US.

The early Traynors were built in Toronto; I think the current ones are as well, but not sure. The Garnets were made in Winnipeg. Traynor is associated with the Long & McQuade music store chain.

You're going to get hit with taxes anyway, no matter what amp you buy, on either side of the border. Thing to look out for when bringing things over the border is the brokerage fees from Fed-Ex, and UPS.

Kostas

 

[FNG]

I'm not an amp guru like lots of folks around here, but make sure you get something to fit where you will play it. Gonna just play it in your music room? Lots of even really small amps really get too loud before you start to drive them. Just make sure you don't get too much amp, which is pretty easy to do.

 

[Default]

+1 on the Garnets! If BTO used them, that's good enough for me!

 

[Default]

You're going to get hit with taxes anyway, no matter what amp you buy, on either side of the border. Thing to look out for when bringing things over the border is the brokerage fees from Fed-Ex, and UPS.

Kostas

One way to avoid brokerage fees is to ship via USPS. Because of the agreement between them and CanadaPost, you won't pay a brokerage fee.

That being said, being able to play it before you buy it is a good thing.

Here's a cheapie!

http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/drh/msg/1412237702.html

 

[dapmdave]

Looks like Fender is the way to go - thanks for the responses. Blues Jr. or a Champ, something with tubes, master volume, tone and possibly reverb controls, and costing at least $250 (e.g. avoid really cheap amps - NFG).

Thanks.

P.S. I am in Ontario, so somewhat limited choice in used amps, and costly to ship across the border. I get hit with 15% sales tax at a minimum on incoming goods.

Hey tunes here is a youtube posting of a Fender Blues Jr http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hi-7tBnYcU

I will keep an eye out for ya since I am in Ontario too.
Best of luck on the hunt. :wink:
Randy

There are several flavors of the Blues Jr. Here's a demo of two of them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG-fGrbH ... re=related

Dave

 

[Tunes]

Holy smokes - Garnets and Traynors - you guys are taking me back to high school dances in the gym times!! I played in a band briefly back in the teen years (LONG time ago) - and these where the amps to have back then. Good to hear they're still kickin'.

That is just hilarious - flashback times for sure - whoa ... :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Default]

That demo was pretty good though. It really pointed out the inferior speaker in the stock blues junior.
Good argument for ordering a Weber speaker.

 

[Tunes]

Looking at this Fender Super Champ XD at Musicians Friend. Any issues ....?


http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/prod ... 83075#used