Members snowaie Posted July 9, 2010 Members Share Posted July 9, 2010 I need a good, small, GREAT clean sounding amp, not costing much. I can just put a dist. pedal in front of it to make it distroted. Would the Fender Super Champ XD work? Is the clean like the "Fender Cleans" that everyone talks about? I probably wouldn't use the other SS channel, but I realize it's tube, and in my budget. Or would I be better off to go get something used for a little more (fender princeton?). I don't need anything high-wattage because I hook up to the PA when we gig. Thanks in advance, Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jamdogg Posted July 9, 2010 Members Share Posted July 9, 2010 have you already dismissed vox and roland "cleans"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members docjeffrey Posted July 9, 2010 Members Share Posted July 9, 2010 See, everybody does this (including me!). I need a GREAT amp but I don't have a lot of money. GREAT tone costs $$. The good news is that you can get very good tone for fairly cheap. If you're gigging, check out the new Vox AC15 Custom or the AC30 Custom. You can always upgrade the speakers to Celestion Blues later. As is, these amps will get you into very good territory. Great tone is elusive as hell, and spending a fortune doesn't guarantee that the amp will improve YOUR tone. It may make it worse if you get an unforgiving amp like a Carr or Two Rock. Those things show off every nuance of your playing, and if you are sloppy, it's gonna magnify it big time. My best sounding amp is a Marshall 18 watt handwired 1974x, but they go for two grand. I like a little hair on my cleans, and the Marshall will do it with all kinds of beautiful harmonics. I would focus my search for an amp that has a simple circuit design with one or two great sounds instead of a lot of bells and whistles. Then you can add pedals to get more variety in your sounds. Any onboard digital models or effects are a no no, as far as I'm concerned. It builds in obsolescence; next year's model will have more accurate models and the latest chipset. It's more like buying a computer. A basic single channel amp with a couple of 6V6 or EL84 output valves is all you need. I'd also look for a plywood cab (instead of MDF or some synthetic wood substitute) and at least a 10" speaker. I prefer 1 x 12 combos, the lighter the better. If you're gigging, get something that is put together really well (Bugera's have had a shaky start in this respect). Check out the new Vox lineup, but understand that they haven't been tested by a lot of players around here yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members snowaie Posted July 9, 2010 Author Members Share Posted July 9, 2010 Thanks for posting guys. I just need a good cheapish tube amp with good cleans. I don't need any other channels. When I want distortion, I'll probably have a good (maybe tube dist. pedal), and just flick it on when I need it. Thanks, again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members snowaie Posted July 9, 2010 Author Members Share Posted July 9, 2010 A basic single channel amp with a couple of 6V6 or EL84 output valves is all you need. I'd also look for a plywood cab (instead of MDF or some synthetic wood substitute) and at least a 10" speaker. I prefer 1 x 12 combos, the lighter the better. If you're gigging, get something that is put together really well (Bugera's have had a shaky start in this respect).Check out the new Vox lineup, but understand that they haven't been tested by a lot of players around here yet. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members docjeffrey Posted July 9, 2010 Members Share Posted July 9, 2010 Any suggestions? I've been thinking about this ever since you posted this thread. A few years back, I had an Ampeg Jet, 15 watts with tube driven reverb and trem, made in the USA at the Crate factory (St. Louis Music). It had amazing bell like cleans. I think it was around the price of a Fender Pro Jr. at the time. The Fender Blues Jr. comes to mind. Really a sweet amp that loves OD pedals. I don't know how much they go for on the used market, but it would be easy to check. Some of the Crates made in the US were really sweet amps. I think that the 16 watter (Palomino?) was particularly nice in the cleans with quite a bit of headroom. I don't think that they are the same these days. But Blackheart (by Crate) has gained an excellent reputation for affordable tube amps with decent tone and they are well built according to the folks on this forum. I'll keep racking my brain. Good cleans present the biggest challenge for low to mid priced amp designers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members docjeffrey Posted July 9, 2010 Members Share Posted July 9, 2010 The Super Champ XD may be exactly what you need! They are hybrid amps so the digital thing isn't a big deal, plus, it IS a Fender, after all. Cleans sound pretty good to my ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybilly Posted July 9, 2010 Members Share Posted July 9, 2010 You might think this sounds ridiculous but the vox's pathfinder 15r sounds more tube like than anything under the 300 dollar mark. It has a remarkably big sound. It's very cheap too, better than any modeler. Try one, I dare you to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jamdogg Posted July 9, 2010 Members Share Posted July 9, 2010 the blues jr. is too boxy sounding IMHO. otherwise a great amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Misha Posted July 9, 2010 Members Share Posted July 9, 2010 -Peavey Classic 30 -Laney Cub 10 (but it's only 10 Watts...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members snowaie Posted July 9, 2010 Author Members Share Posted July 9, 2010 The Super Champ XD may be exactly what you need! They are hybrid amps so the digital thing isn't a big deal, plus, it IS a Fender, after all. Cleans sound pretty good to my ears. Thanks for the posts, jeffrey! I'm going to start researching a bit more, and thanks for all your thought and suggestions, man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stackabones Posted July 9, 2010 Members Share Posted July 9, 2010 Another for the Fender Super Champ XD. Wonderful little amp. Good for recording, too. It has that gorgeous clean Fender sound and the reverb is quite nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members snowaie Posted July 9, 2010 Author Members Share Posted July 9, 2010 You might think this sounds ridiculous but the vox's pathfinder 15r sounds more tube like than anything under the 300 dollar mark. It has a remarkably big sound.It's very cheap too, better than any modeler. Try one, I dare you to. I will, at my best-buy (it's actually a good best-buy, and I know the owner of the music department, etc . . .) Thanks, I'll get back to you guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members snowaie Posted July 9, 2010 Author Members Share Posted July 9, 2010 the blues jr. is too boxy sounding IMHO. otherwise a great amp.I'll try it out again, and see how I like it in my perspective, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members snowaie Posted July 9, 2010 Author Members Share Posted July 9, 2010 -Peavey Classic 30-Laney Cub 10 (but it's only 10 Watts...) Yeah, I've also been thinking about the Peavey Classic 30. I have a VK 212, except it has reliability issues, so I'm not sure if I dare go the Peavey route. As for the Laney, I'll see whatsup with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members snowaie Posted July 9, 2010 Author Members Share Posted July 9, 2010 Another for the Fender Super Champ XD. Wonderful little amp. Good for recording, too. It has that gorgeous clean Fender sound and the reverb is quite nice. Interesting. I'd love to try one, they've been on my mind for what I needed, for a while. Cheapish, and to my specs, as well. I'll go to GC soon to see how it plays. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members onelife Posted July 9, 2010 Members Share Posted July 9, 2010 How about the Fender Pro Jr. No frills tube amp with volume and tone controls and a couple of EL84s. I think they sound better than the Blues Jr. btw... docjeffrey check your PMs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jamdogg Posted July 9, 2010 Members Share Posted July 9, 2010 The Super Champ XD may be exactly what you need! They are hybrid amps so the digital thing isn't a big deal, plus, it IS a Fender, after all. Cleans sound pretty good to my ears. i sold my blues jr. nos due largely to reliability issues - and the SCXD only had one acceptable tone to me- the fender cleans. flipped that one too. with a $300 budget I would look at old, used single speaker roland JC/BC amps. i have recently seen a peavey classic 30 (on CL) for $300. those amps get alot of love. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jamdogg Posted July 9, 2010 Members Share Posted July 9, 2010 How about the Fender Pro Jr. No frills tube amp with volume and tone controls and a couple of EL84s. I think they sound better than the Blues Jr.btw... docjeffrey check your PMs $240 on cl....(for reference, not mine) http://nh.craigslist.org/msg/1834421297.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kramerguy Posted July 9, 2010 Members Share Posted July 9, 2010 frankly, the fender cleans are a little too sharp for my liking, I'd also suggest a vox 30w combo, and yes it's got a lot of garbage in it, but if you only want it for clean, it's got a wonderful clean channel. Same for the Marshall MG garbage, the dist channel is {censored}, but the cleans are quite nice for the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Misha Posted July 10, 2010 Members Share Posted July 10, 2010 I've had a Blues Jr and sold it because I hated its boxy sound... I tried one in a music shop a couple of weeks ago and still hated it... I chose my Laney Cub 10 over the Pro Jr. I think it sounds better and is cheaper. ABout Peavey amps... A representant told me at Archambault Musique in Montreal that they were no longer carrying Peavey amps because when a shop sells Peavey, they have to buy different series. They can't just carry the Classic series. He told me the Classic series were very good amps but other Peaveys were p.o.s. and they were stuck with these poor products for too long... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members benzem Posted July 10, 2010 Members Share Posted July 10, 2010 Blues junior Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mister natural Posted July 10, 2010 Members Share Posted July 10, 2010 Roland Cube 30x hava nice day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PunkKitty Posted July 10, 2010 Members Share Posted July 10, 2010 It's not a tube amp, but you might want to consider the ZT Lunchbox. I have one and it is a great clean amp that can get really dirty with distortion added. As far as I'm concerned, the ZT Lunchbox is what the old Polytone amps have evolved into. It weighs 9 pounds and pumps out 200w of very nice cleans. It costs about $260 brand new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaleH Posted July 10, 2010 Members Share Posted July 10, 2010 Super Champ XD has line out and speaker out. Laney Club 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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