Live Sound & Production

[scharris_99]

I am a small 1 man sound company and until now I have no backline gear. However, in the last year I have run into guitarists with amp problems twice and am thinking about carrying a small guitar amp as a spare for bands. I'm thinking something like a $99 Fender Frontman 25r. It's definitely not something that I would expect a band to be happy about, but their other option is to DI the guitar and rely on a stage monitor to hear themselves. In the 2 instances one guy went the DI route, the other guy use an acoustic guitar for everything rather than switching to a solidbody for the songs he had planned to use it. Is a Frontman 25r better than nothingor a waste of my money & pack space? Any suggestions on something else cheap & small. I don't play so I would be a terrible judge of testing a used amp and I kind of like the idea of getting the little Fender in red and no one will confuse it as being their own.

[Telecruiser]

Something in me says that you are responsible for your gear and the band should be responsible for theirs. Just me.

[scharris_99]

I should add that I only expect someone to use the clean channel as all bands I support run pedal effects. The guy that ran through a DI sounded fine through the PA. I don't understand why people use expensive tube amps when no one really hears their amp through all the effects.

[scharris_99]

Something in me says that you are responsible for your gear and the band should be responsible for theirs. Just me.

I completely agree, but for very short money I can be a bigger hero than normal to them.

[twostone]

Sometimes I have to bust out my Sansamp Bass DI because bassist has a bad DI on their amp. Maybe a amp sim pedal would be more ideal then lugging around a guitar amp that you might use once or twice in a years worth of gigging.

[Art Flood]

Sometimes I have to bust out my Sansamp Bass DI because bassist has a bad DI on their amp. Maybe a amp sim pedal would be more ideal then lugging around a guitar amp that you might use once or twice in a years worth of gigging.

This sounds like a great option provided you have enough monitors and monitor mixes to give the guitarist an individual mix.

[agedhorse]

I haven't been asked for a backup guitar amp in over 30 years...

[sirfun]

Is a Frontman 25r better than nothingor a waste of my money & pack space?

Yes

not a bad idea..but

[tlbonehead]

Vox Valvetronix.

[W. M. Hellinger]

I'll suggest a Fender Blues JR. That's what I have... and it gets used a lot as a back-up guitar amp. Everybody who's needed to use it seems happy with it, especially considering the alternative (acoustic electric guitar).

[RoadRanger]

I'll suggest a Fender Blues JR. That's what I have... and it gets used a lot as a back-up guitar amp. Everybody who's needed to use it seems happy with it, especially considering the alternative (acoustic electric guitar).

Awesome amp - but over $500 , the OP was looking for something around $100.

[scarecrowbob]

Awesome amp - but over $500 , the OP was looking for something around $100.

Personally, that amp would be my recommendation as well. It's a solid piece and doesn't get too loud. There have been times when working at certain places where I wished I had a Jr around just so I could tell the guy that he needs to shut his Twin or Super or whatever off and stop deafening the customers. But yah, you're right, it is a lot more than a cheap solid state amp. I advise against it: anything short of something like the Jr. and (totally just an opinion) you might as well go DI.

[B. Adams]

I have a Roland Cube 30. You can find them for about $100 used. They sound decent, get pretty loud, and have decent effects built in. And they're durable. It would be a fine backup amp, so I'd recommend that. Personally, I wouldn't provide a guitar amp to bands. If their stuff doesn't work, it's not your fault. If you do buy a $100 amp, and someone needs it, I'd say charge them $25 to use it with no exceptions. At the current rate, you'll have your amp paid for in 2 years. Or maybe not, as the band will have an amp magically appear from somewhere the second they hear something is going to cost them money...

[W. M. Hellinger]

Awesome amp - but over $500 , the OP was looking for something around $100.

Well... ok... I'll suggest the OP take a dump in his left hand, and another in his right hand, rub the two together... and well... there you have it... plug the cord in where-ever it fits.

sorry... I missed the $100 pipedream performance suitable thing... otherwise I'd have blown by this thread. To me, a $500 performance grade backline amp that likely has a 20+ year life expectancy and similar history and is slightly bigger than a Fender Champ but kicks ass and sounds good doing it... probably cost effective.

[RoadRanger]

BTW a guitarist in one of the bands I work with bought one of those and it totally fixed his "too loud" crappy tone. He had a Hotrod Deluxe before that, he never could get that to stay at a reasonable volume. As I said, the Blues Jr is an awesome amp :love: .

[W. M. Hellinger]

As I said, the Blues Jr is an awesome amp :love: .

I completely agree... best bang for the buck for the OP's application, even if the FBJr costs more than a hundred dolla dump.

[tlbonehead]

The Blues Jr is one of the worst sounding amps I've ever played thru. If I knew that was my backup option I would NEVER forget to bring a backup!! Plenty loud, however, as are most 15-20 watt tube amps.

[Shaster]

I'll suggest a Fender Blues JR. That's what I have... and it gets used a lot as a back-up guitar amp. Everybody who's needed to use it seems happy with it, especially considering the alternative (acoustic electric guitar).

That would be my suggestion as well. I've got one and it's pretty versatile. I see them at many house gigs around town. And one of the roots/blues tone monster guitarists around town has a couple - one modded and one unmodded that he uses for small gigs; sounds great. I just used a Blues Jr. last weekend, and a guitarist I respect very much kept raving about my tone - had to go into the "aw shucks" mode. But if the OP is thinking of a Frontman or others around that price point, I would just forget it and look for some kind of direct product instead.

[loco_p_man]

The Blues Jr is one of the worst sounding amps I've ever played thru. If I knew that was my backup option I would NEVER forget to bring a backup!! Plenty loud, however, as are most 15-20 watt tube amps.

The Blues Jr seems to divide opinion, as you can tell. Our lead guitarist refuses to play through one; I happen to enjoy the tone.....but if you want something that is cheap, does the job and will let you get by, I would go with the Roland Cube, as suggested by Mr Adams. I played through one at a festival on Sunday, and it was fine - nothing like the tone on my Orange Rocker, but no real problem.

[J.]

I think the Peavey Classic 30 is a far superior alternative to the Fender Blues Junior. It's a direct competitor (same features, size, and price range), but a better all-around amp. They can be had fairly reasonably on the used market as well. Fender's current crop of inexpensive solid state amps have been plagued by a lot of reliability issues if the reports are correct. I would steer clear of them for now. If your budget is low (~$100 or so), scour the locals and craigslist for a used Peavey Bandit. They're plentiful, very reliable, and cheap. Peavey made them for years and years. They sound... well, like a Peavey Bandit. The newer transtube ones were better, and I believe they even made a modeling version of it for awhile before coming out with the Vypyr series. If you're going to supply a guitar amp for guitards without working gear, they shouldn't expect it to be anywhere near top-of-the-line. They should be darn greatful you have anything, even if it's just an overdrive pedal and a direct box.