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Boss Katana 50 vs Orange Crush 35RT for home use/band practice/small gigs?


diajkeene

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I am a freshman in high school, not a pro musician. I might play small school events (open mics) and small venues in the near future. I play mostly blues, classic rock and some modern rock. I use a drive pedal and a delay pedal for my tone, but not very expensive ones (Digitech/Joyo brands). Which of these would you recommend? If not one of these, what other amp (capping out at $275) would you recommend?

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So long as you mic into a PA, you'll be fine with the Orange Crush.But a lot of Small Venues don't have a decent PA, so IMO, you're going to want something a little larger. With that budget, you can find a 120W Peavey Vypyr 2x12 or Fender Champion 100w, either of which are more than capable gigging amps.

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I have an Orange 35LDX, the precursor to the one you mention, and I also have a Roland Cube 80, which is sort of a forerunner of the Boss Katana series. (Roland and Boss brand names are under the same company).

 

The Orange amps have a bit of "their own thing" to the sound. I find that my Orange has surprisingly beautiful clean tones with very deep digital reverb, but I prefer using an OD pedal for drive to get a "classic rock" over-driven tone. The over drive sound on the Orange is a bit more metal/crunchy/fizzy than I like, but it does take pedals well.

I got my Roland Cube on a blowout deal, cost me $220 after a rebate. I bought that one after I already had the Orange because the Orange had a limited amount of bass handling capability before it would get to sounding too woofy and I'd have to reduce the bass and/or output level. The Boss Cube 80 can take pedals that add bass to a higher output level than the Orange before hitting flubby distortions. It's more capable of jamming with a band without being mic'd.

 

Right now I'm using the Cube 80 just like a power engine in my man-cave. I run my own OD, boost, reverb, delay and Sans Amp Character Series pedals into it and the bigger 12" on the Cube does a better job of handling the full warm tone of my Tech 21 "Blonde".

 

So take my comments with a big grain of salt since the Orange model you mention has been improved over my LDX and the Katana models are a bit more budget based than the Roland Cubes (plus it's an open back instead of a closed back design), but I do think the bigger speaker and power of the BOSS might give you a bit more headroom. And then again, there'd be certain "as is" qualities I'd probably also prefer on the Orange, like the aforementioned clean tones. So do try to get out there and compare the two yourself.

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Just starting out on a budget I'd recommend used. Peavey gear is plentiful and cheap and their tube amps don't sound bad. Another option might be a Vox ValveTronix amp, a modelling amp like the Katana. I have a Roland Cube 80XL like Gas Man's and I like it. You can find them used too; that's how I bought mine. Finally, folks who own the Kustom Quad 100DFX like it and you can find them used for $150 or so. Plenty loud and it has an XLR out if you need more.

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Look at a used Fender pro Jr or Blues Jr. they can be had at you price. The Pro Jr is 1x10 15 watts 20 lb and loud enough for gigs Blues Jr is a bit heavier but 1x12 15 watts and reverb. Tube amps will be much louder that SS amps will be.

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. . . Tube amps will be much louder that SS amps will be.

Quite simply, Bull. That's a myth. A tube amp can go louder for a given Wattage as long as you don't care about super cleans. Tube amps and SS amps clip differently once they reach max. output. A SS amp that's clipping sounds terrible; a tube amp that's clipping will sound better but it's still clipping. Let's also take price into consideration. A $300 tube amp will not be "much louder" than a $300 SS amp. A new $300 tube amp will be maybe 5 Watts or so with usable output up to maybe 10 Watts. A new $300 SS amp will run maybe 50 Watts with usable output a bit beyond that, say 55 Watts. All else being equal (which it rarely is), 55 Watts is louder than 10 Watts.

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Depends on when you stop measuring volume. If you stop just short of power tube distortion, maybe, they're close. It's the headroom of a tube amp that makes it louder, when in actuality, it's the amount of Usable watts that are really what defines the difference. A 20w tube amp has enough usable wattage + headroom to generally compete with a 60w SS. Nobody wants to hear Solid State clipping. The only thing that is truly the same is the voltage.

This is also the reason most High Gain SS heads are running 300watts, but can only just compete with a 100 or 120watt tube head - 6505/Pitbull/Powerball vs Warhead, Line 6 HD147, Kustom K Series, etc.. Now hybrid, that's a whole other beast, much more capable of keeping up, watt for watt.

Now that I read your post again, it looks like a lot of your comparison is price point. No onene can argue with that, lol! As many manufacturers as are out there, you would think the price point of a tube amp would be somewhat more competitive.

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Quite simply, Bull. That's a myth. A tube amp can go louder for a given Wattage as long as you don't care about super cleans. Tube amps and SS amps clip differently once they reach max. output. A SS amp that's clipping sounds terrible; a tube amp that's clipping will sound better but it's still clipping. Let's also take price into consideration. A $300 tube amp will not be "much louder" than a $300 SS amp. A new $300 tube amp will be maybe 5 Watts or so with usable output up to maybe 10 Watts. A new $300 SS amp will run maybe 50 Watts with usable output a bit beyond that, say 55 Watts. All else being equal (which it rarely is), 55 Watts is louder than 10 Watts.

 

I raise you a load of bull and call your bluff. ;)

 

Valve amps are louder than solid state amps.

I think a lot of that comes from the fact that the norm for valve amps is to measure the output in watt rms, which is totally clean to to the ear (I think around 5% harmonic distortion max, which sounds clean).

 

Trust me, my 15w Orange AD15 can rattle the windows in my house in a way my old 40w H&K ss amp couldn't dream of. And my AD15 fully overdriven and maxed out probably puts out around 25w.

 

I agree though, most ss amp have unpleasant clipping (and risk blowing their speakers) when pushed to their limits. But they're still less loud.

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A 15 watt tube amp will be louder than a 15 watt SS amp.

Which isn't what we're talking about. The OP wants an amp under $275. Find me, say, an AD15 like Les Paul Lover's for $250 and we'll talk. Multiply that by 3 and you might have something. A tube amp that the OP can actually buy won't do the "rattle the windows" thing. FWIW, if he wants that "tube amp" cachet a used Peavey Valve King will probably come in under $275.

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Just trying to give him options. He already has his pedals so why not a Good tube amp that he'll be able to use for a long time. A used tube amp usually hold their value . The options I gave him I've seen on Cragslist for his $$$. He might have to wait till something shows up at his price or deal with the seller.

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For that price' date=' he could probably pick up a Peavey Windsor Head, and with just a little more, an Avatar 4x12. Awesome setup, tube, plenty of power and as close as you're getting to JCM800 territory under $1500+[/quote']

I can't tell if you're joking but "that price" is $275. A Windsor head and an Avatar cab for "a little more" than $275? The OP would be lucky to find the head for that.

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Sure, the Orange AD15 is probably more expensive one your side of the pond, here mine cost me £275.

 

But I wasn't recommending it here, just using it to discuss the valve vs SS wattage side discussion.

 

For around $275, I would have valve options around here, mainly from Laney or a Vox AC15 (2nd hand, not new)

 

I'm Sure in the states you could get a blues junior or peavey classic for this sort of cash.

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Really? Well, I'll give you the Avatar anyway, cheapest I could find was Bugera on short notice, but I see 4x12s on CL pretty regularly for under $200. So... For under $100 more than his budget, he could be well in Tube amp heaven with a JCM800 clone 👍

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I remember trying one. Those were pretty cheap new, and I must say it's one of the few amps I couldn't wait to switch off.

It was plugged in the Windsor cab though, so that may have played a big part - one should never underestimate the importance of speakers.

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Not sure about the Windsor cab, but with Celestions the Windsor is a fairly remarkable 'miracle' of a budget tube head. Only issue, single channel, but if you're like me, you don't use more than one live anyway. Now, the Peavey I couldn't stand - the Wiggy. Looked like it should be Awesome! But....Wasn't.

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I checked and found an AD15 that went for $850 used here in the US on Reverb.com. I don't know if that's anything like an average price but it's not cheap. I do understand your point but then the Orange and H&K you mentioned aren't entirely comparable.

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Really? Well' date=' I'll give you the Avatar anyway, cheapest I could find was Bugera on short notice, but I see 4x12s on CL pretty regularly for under $200. So... For under $100 more than his budget, he could be well in Tube amp heaven with a JCM800 clone 👍[/quote']

I checked eBay for the Windsor head and couldn't find anything near $275. One was $500 for just the head and there were two more for $500 or so with a 4X12 cab. I'm glad to hear they can be found cheaper than that. Still, pardon my ignorance but when did $100 become ''a little more'' than $275? I could see $285, maybe even $300 but when you start pushing $400 that's different. If I'm spending someone else's money I'm going to respect his/her budget.

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In the ground scheme, when you're looking at making a major gear purchase that can define aggravation on stage vs pleasant experience, to me, that's priceless, and I would be doing a disservice if I didn't make the suggestion.

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In the ''grand scheme'' for a professional musician sure. We're talking about a 15 year old high school freshman looking to play ''small venues'' and open mikes, possibly a school talent show. As for ''aggravation on stage,'' lugging a 100 Watt head and a 4X12 cab to an open mike sounds somewhat aggravating to me. A small to medium combo--tube or SS--will do the OP fine and cost 'way less than $400.

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