Small practicing valve amp

Yep, like 70s muscle cars, the best performing vintage amps seem to have been thrown together the cheapest sometimes. Zep I and II were supposedly recorded on a 15-20 watt Supro that Page cobbled a 12" speaker into, Neil Young tours with like a dozen tweed Deluxes because sometimes they explode, the Beatles had all kinds of issues with their Vox amps. We are so spoiled nowadays with everything being so plug and play and reliable.

Just realized this thread is going in like two places now, I think the moderator moved the OP to General Discussion.
 
That Corso does sound awesome on the demos. I would go try one crosstown, but I fear my gas would get the better of me, lol.
 
That Corso does sound awesome on the demos. I would go try one crosstown, but I fear my gas would get the better of me, lol.

Ha!

I tried one, it's nice. But 5 watts...not something I'll make money with, so not gonna sink a grand into it.
 
That's the way I felt about the Corso...until I played one...

I played one! Thought it was killer for a 5 watt amp. Would look cool in any studio.

But...nah. Too rich for my blood for the wattage. Did you buy one?
 
I was one of the MANY MANY that were lined up, cash in hand, to get one after the Pete Thorn demo. 6 months later the amp still wasn't out, and the buzz had completely died. When it finally came out, it sold, but I'm telling you, they missed probably half of the sales they could have had if they had it out 30 days after that demo. There was MAJOR buzz at TGP and there are a lot of people there. TONS of guys saying "that is my next amp. No questions, I'm buying one."

Months before it came out, I gave up and bought the TA15. Several great 5 watt voices and a lot more. Now, as good as it is, I have my Mini Recto or Mark V 25, and have lost all interest in a Corso.

I do have a need for a small combo. If I do buy one, it will be a Gries 5 or an Allen. But I probably will just use one of the Mesas with a 8" speaker/cab instead.
 
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Ha!

I tried one, it's nice. But 5 watts...not something I'll make money with, so not gonna sink a grand into it.
Ah, well, there's a significant factor that doesn't, and will likely never, affect me: I make a tiny amount of money playing out. And maybe, once we get our CD put together, we'll make a tiny bit more selling copies of that.

My guitar and other instrument playing is a serious hobby that can't realistically replace my regular job. And I'm OK with that. But as a result, I can indulge myself on occasion and buy something completely not related to "return on investment", if you will.

But I don't think I would ever spend $1000 on a 5W amp either, though, TBH.
 
It's funny how we, as musicians, determine what we will or won't spend on various pieces of gear. I was ready to buy one, had the cash in hand, after Pete's demo of the Corso, but since have gotten several other amps that I know suit me better, do more, have more power, etc. I've seen used Mesa Mini Recs sell as low as $600 and they are $1000 new. Mark V25 is $1300 so at least soon you'll be able to find a used one for a grand. So now, I'm with you guys.... "I won't spend $1000 on a 5 watt amp." Yet, guys who say that will spend over $2K on a 25 watter (Two Rock and several others in this power range are over $2K and (cough) guys here have owned them, as an example. And, I've heard the same thing about THAT amp. "I'll never spend over $2K on 25 watts." Yet, some have and love them.

I was very close twice to buying a Fryette Power Station, and honestly only held off because of the waiting list. But... $599 was as much as I was willing to pay. The new V2 is out and it's $699 and suddenly, I'm not interested. I just have it in my mind that $750 ish with tax is too much. We have an idea what a particular product is worth in our minds, and that's the limit of what we'll pay no matter how good it is.

That, plus it's not that much more costly to build a bigger amp... So we know we get get more "watts per dollar" pretty easily.
 
It's funny how we, as musicians, determine what we will or won't spend on various pieces of gear. I was ready to buy one, had the cash in hand, after Pete's demo of the Corso, but since have gotten several other amps that I know suit me better, do more, have more power, etc. I've seen used Mesa Mini Recs sell as low as $600 and they are $1000 new. Mark V25 is $1300 so at least soon you'll be able to find a used one for a grand. So now, I'm with you guys.... "I won't spend $1000 on a 5 watt amp."

I use bigger amps to record; I like big amps because I like the way they drive the speaker; when I record, it's usually because there's a purchase order for my services involved; and I buy the amps to do the work I do; I do the work because making a living beats poverty.

So there's always a practical thing I think about when shopping for amps.

That's why I thought $1000 for a 5 Watt amp was too rich for my blood. It had nothing to do with dollars for watts. If I could use a 5 Watt amp in my work, I'd buy one.

I've spent over $5000 for a 50 Watt Two-Rock more than once. Because I used them to make money, which made them good investments.

An amp I can't use in my work is not a good investment.

For me, it's not a hobby.

If it was a hobby, I'd probably still be the cheapest sumbitch on the planet, as I was before my studio ad music days, and I'd probably still be playing a used whatever amp was around, and my old hand-me-down SG Special. I'd know nothing about "Tone" and wouldn't care what I played.

The thing that got me into playing PRS was that I could justify it via my work. And honestly, it didn't even come up as an issue until a client told me my tone sucked on a few early sessions 26 years ago.
 
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Ok here goes, try a Boss Katana 50 for $199.00. I play my Hollowbody II through a Polytone Mini Brute and Carr Rambler but wanted something lighter. On a whim I tried one of these, bought it and love it. 24 lbs, cheap and great tone.

My two cents.
 
Ok here goes, try a Boss Katana 50 for $199.00. I play my Hollowbody II through a Polytone Mini Brute and Carr Rambler but wanted something lighter. On a whim I tried one of these, bought it and love it. 24 lbs, cheap and great tone.

My two cents.
I heard the 100w in person yesterday. I was very impressed and on my drive home I realized for the price this a no brainer. I would have bought a 50w there but they were out and on a long waiting list. So I found one online and should be here in a couple days. Congrats on yours! They are so popular now it's hard to even find one.
 
You will be happy that you got the 100. The 50 needs an upgraded speaker to get the best out of it.

And yes, they are getting hard to find. This will be a successful line for Roland. Priced may go up?
 
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