What amps are good for blues?

[ChrisPBacon]

Hey guys, I know this is a pretty dumb or ignorant question, but I don’t know near as much about Amps as I do guitars (and we all know there’s plenty more to learn on that no matter where we are). The point is I’m looking for an Amp that is nice and clean and I was thinking in the 40-60 watt range. I was wondering if you guys know of any good amps that I can adjust the wattage, that are clean, and have nice reverb. I was taking a look at Blues Jr and Blues Deville and they are good but I have no clue if there are any models that allow for adjusting. I don’t have a real preference of tubes vs solid state and I would probably get whatever is cheaper honestly. If you guys could point my google search in the right direction that would be awesome! Keep Rocking you guys!

 

[stratamania]

How much do you want to budget for this?

 

[spe111]

This is obviously purely opinion and you should listen/play through a bunch of amps, but if you're looking for the best clean sound buy whatever Fender reissue amp (princeton reverb, deluxe reverb, super reverb, twin reverb) fits your budget.

 

[mayfly]

i'd go with a deluxe reverb; used if you can find it. the various other fender 'blues' amps colour the sound too much IMHO.

It's 'only' 22 watts, but the Deluxe is easily loud enough to gig with. It has a great 'amp to weight' ratio.

 

[bagman67]

If cost is an issue, the Hotrod Deluxe is available everywhere for a couple hundred less than the Deluxe Reverb.  You get amp distortion at a lower volume than with the Deluxe Reverb, and with a more aggressive, gain-y character, but the clean channel has plenty of headroom and takes pedals pretty well.

 

[spe111]

I agree with everything said about the hot rod deluxe, but I would also add that vs a blackface reissue there's definitely a compromise on clean tone.

 

[bagman67]

True, it ain't where the Blackface is on cleans, but still decent at the price.

 

[ChrisPBacon]

All good advice so far guys, I might check out the blackface amps, but what do you guys think of the blues jr?

 

[mayfly]

I'm personally not a fan of the blues Jr.  It needs a bunch of mods to get it half decent, and the tube sockets are PCB mounted and eventually fail.  The fix is pretty easy, but still...

 

[Seamas]

If cost is an issue, the Hotrod Deluxe is available everywhere for a couple hundred less than the Deluxe Reverb.  You get amp distortion at a lower volume than with the Deluxe Reverb, and with a more aggressive, gain-y character, but the clean channel has plenty of headroom and takes pedals pretty well.

This is the amp I own.
Mine is one of the older models, one knock on it was the drive channel not being all that pleasant (apparently newer ones have corrected it reasonably well).
I now just use the clean channel and have been messing with pedals for dirt which has been very satisfying.
an overdrive set more as a boost is pretty nice.
It is plenty loud, and the linear pot used for the volume makes the transition from bedroom to LOUD at about 2.

I had my linear taper pot changed to an audio taper pot.

 

[spe111]

I think the blues jr is a pretty good amp for the price but it really could use a speaker upgrade. By the time you bought a better speaker you could get a used Princeton or deluxe reverb. It's also not as pure "fender" clean as those two amps, but like others said about the hot rod deluxe, it's still pretty good.

Just to expand more on the blackface stuff, I really like having the middle adjustment in addition to the bass and treble. The middle is fixed on the Princeton and Deluxe, which I think works for most people. So that leaves me with the super reverb, which has 4x10" speakers. I prefer 12's, so I got Weber to build a super reverb clone with two 12's. Twin reverbs are also a good option, but you're really talking about a lot of volume and power at that point.

I think the Vibrolux is mostly the same as a Super, but with two 10's instead of four, but I could be wrong about that. 

 

[Rick]

voc ac 30 but it violates my weight requirements.

I know the folks here have very high standards, but for me, really, whatever is at hand will work.

 

[bagman67]

I know the folks here have very high standards, but for me, really, whatever is at hand will work.

The old blues dudes played whatever was at hand at a price they could afford, so... yeah, Montgomery Ward amps and guitars, son!

 

[Rick]

If I had to pick something, and I was starting out, either a 40 W fender champ or a katana.

 

[Cagey]

Speaking of old dudes... we often didn't "pick" amps as much as we took advantage of targets of opportunity  :icon_biggrin:

That said, the Katana series from Boss is a helluva lotta amp at the cost.