looking for a small, reasonably priced tube amp

[DangerousR6]

Blackstar HT-5

Blackstar I gets my vote, I don't have the HT 5 but I do have the HT60 and if the HT 5 is 1/12th as good as the 60 then it's a bad ass amp...

 

[dmraco]

love the blackstars...Sam Ash and Guitar Center both carry them

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Carvin, made in America.....just sayin'.

 

[Cletus]

Carvin, made in America.....just sayin'.

Isn't that usually code for "not as good as from somewhere else"?  :laughing7: :laughing7:

 

[Cagey]

Carvin, made in America.....just sayin'.

Isn't that usually code for "not as good as from somewhere else"?  :laughing7: :laughing7:

Not at all. But it is a pretty good indication that it's going to be substantially more expensive than anywhere else. Although, exceptions exist. Carvin's stuff, for instance, has a good price:value ratio.

 

[swarfrat]

Carvin's stuff, for instance, has a good price:value ratio.

Especially used - if you can find it.

 

[kboman]

Carvin's stuff, for instance, has a good price:value ratio.

Especially used - if you can find it.

Not in Sweden I can't By the way, the only "Made in..." that could possibly sway me in any direction end with "Sweden", "Denmark" or "Germany" (edit: and "Japan").

I'm sure the Blackstars are fine for what they do, but as I said above - I don't like the voicing of them. Maybe if I used single coil pickups? I also don't need high gain capability from my amp.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Carvin, made in America.....just sayin'.

Isn't that usually code for "not as good as from somewhere else"?  :laughing7: :laughing7:

Not always, but it's a damn rare thing these days.  I know you're down under and I think Kbobman may be in Europe, but Made in USA for me is always a selling point and an automatic leg up in any comparison.  Manufacturing jobs here are becoming non-existent.  Any purchases I've made haven't kept factories from closing, but I like to think I help.  But none of that matters, because if it were crap I wouldn't keep buying it.  My whole rig (minus a lot of the stuff used to make it) is American made.  Warmoth parts instruments, Carvin Amps, and Avatar cabs. 

 

[kboman]

Not always, but it's a damn rare thing these days.  I know you're down under and I think Kbobman may be in Europe, but Made in USA for me is always a selling point and an automatic leg up in any comparison.  Manufacturing jobs here are becoming non-existent.  Any purchases I've made haven't kept factories from closing, but I like to think I help.  But none of that matters, because if it were crap I wouldn't keep buying it.  My whole rig (minus a lot of the stuff used to make it) is American made.  Warmoth parts instruments, Carvin Amps, and Avatar cabs. 

"Kbobman"! :toothy12: I'm changing my nick right now!

But yeah, I'm from Sweden. I think it's a generally healthy thing to source what you can locally - I'm not a free trade cultist. But that shouldn't keep you from buying things from far away just because they are from far away, it should come down to a combination of cost/quality/ethics.

 

[m4rk0]

I think K-Bob should get one of those old Hagstrom amps.. are there any swedish (or nordic/scandinavian) amp builders around these days?

 

[kboman]

Sweden: Elmwood, Mad Professor and Lehnert are the high profile ones. Also an amp whiz called Folkesson who works on everyone's Marshall.
Denmark: Skrydstrup to begin with, I'm sure there are others. Norway/Finland, no idea but probably a few there as well.

Hagström amps are hard as ¤#%&/ to find and I'm pretty set on an AC15 now anyway...

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

"Kbobman"! :toothy12: I'm changing my nick right now!

Honestly, your username always makes me think of this anyway.  The Cowboy hat didn't help any either.  :icon_jokercolor:

 

[DangerousR6]

"Kbobman"! :toothy12: I'm changing my nick right now!

Honestly, your username always makes me think of this anyway.  The Cowboy hat didn't help any either.  :icon_jokercolor:

I always think of  SSSSSShishhh-kbob.... :laughing11:

 

[kboman]

All right, another saturday and another amp tested. The Bugera V22 is not for me, it doesn't have that top end sparkle of the ac15 or the Blues Jr. I actually got to compare the BJr and the V22 and there was no contest. Subtler reverb, but that's all.

So I have to do a side-by-side with the BJr and the AC15 and see if I can choose... Maybe both, in stereo!

 

[Jusatele]

So I have to do a side-by-side with the BJr and the AC15 and see if I can choose... Maybe both, in stereo!

that would be a hard one to pick between
I love my Vox, the tone from it is just my style and it  is one of the sweetest amps I have ever owned, I bought the Blues Jr for a few reasons, Size was the biggest. I mean it met all the tone and sound matters I had,it has a ton of aftermarket support, and it is priced right, But if I would not already own a Vox, I do not know how I would have gone.
Bottom line, I need them both, the Vox and the Fender.

 

[Superlizard]

All right, another saturday and another amp tested. The Bugera V22 is not for me, it doesn't have that top end sparkle of the ac15 or the Blues Jr. I actually got to compare the BJr and the V22 and there was no contest. Subtler reverb, but that's all.

So I have to do a side-by-side with the BJr and the AC15 and see if I can choose... Maybe both, in stereo!

If'n ya want "top-end sparkle" I recommend an amp that uses EL84s (a la legendary Vox amps).

 

[kboman]

I'm really leaning towards the AC15 still. It has both decent tremolo and reverb so I don't have to spend money on that right away. I'll get the B.Jr later and do a stereo out from whatever delay/reverb pedals I end up with.

Important pedals for what I do right now would be an OD (currently leaning toward the Carl Martin DC Drive), a volume pedal (probably Ernie Ball VP jr) and a delay pedal (Nova Repeater or similar -  I want tape delay mode and tap tempo). Later it's on to fuzz, modulation and reverb.

I also want to upgrade my guitar, get another one and start building Warmoths. Not to mention actually use all this stuff! Sheesh...

 

[jay4321]

I like the V22 for what it is, and the price was dirt cheap. It's holding up well and very usable, at least until I get a bigger place.

That said if the AC15 is an option it's definitely a better amp.

 

[Sanscardinality]

You should try the Fender Princeton Reverb Reissue - especially if you are going to get dirty with pedals and want lush, articulate cleans. It blows the blues junior, blackstar, etc. away on clean tones and the reverb and tremolo are gorgeous. I don't know if it's just tubist puritanism, but the tube rectifier does seem to make a difference. I use a Blackstar DIST pedal for dirty tones, but for amazing cleans the PRRI is the best sounding amp I've ever heard. If you plug it into a 4x12 cabinet, it'll get plenty loud too...

My $.02 anyway.

- Josh

 

[Cagey]

[...] the Fender Princeton Reverb Reissue - especially if you are going to get dirty with pedals and want lush, articulate cleans. It blows the blues junior, blackstar, etc. away on clean tones and the reverb and tremolo are gorgeous. I don't know if it's just tubist puritanism, but the tube rectifier does seem to make a difference.

Fenders are tough to beat for clean tones. They're the standard by which all others are judged. Some sound better, many sound worse, but you can't argue with Fender cleans. They're essentially copies of reference circuits designed by tube manufacturers, and if anybody knows how those babies should work their best, those guys do.

However, the whole "tube rectifier" thing should be renamed the "rube rectifier", to more accurately reflect its audience. How that part has gained such mythical proportions as to its effect on tone is a mystery for the ages. It sure sells amps, though. Some companies even offer multiple tube rectification circuits, so as to attain the "most badass" designation in amp folklore amongst long-haired, spandex-wearing teen-age and twenty-something rock star wannabes who don't even know what a rectifier is or does.

To be clear, I'm not saying they don't have an effect. But, when and how is widely misunderstood.

Tube rectifiers as applied in guitar amps are often current limiters, because the power supply generally isn't designed to deliver as much current as the amplifier section(s) may ask for. It costs too much money and makes possible a signal fidelity that isn't often required or even expected. As a result, if the amplifier asks for more current than is available, the voltage sags. This has an effect on the output which mainly manifests itself in the form of a frequency-dependent compression.

The thing to remember is that this only happens when the amp is near or at full-tilt boogie. You have to be asking for more current than the power supply can deliver due to rectifier tube current limiting. Anything less, and the effect is non-existent. Also, whether the effect is present or not, you're still running a highly inefficient part that's adding cost, weight, maintenance and an easy failure point to a piece of gear that already doesn't need much of an excuse to fail.

You could just as easily install a low-resistance high-wattage resistor in series with the supply and get the same effect without the cost, weight, or short MTBF. But, that wouldn't sound as good on the cut sheet, so the marketing weenies won't hear of it.