Amps for Baritone Guitar

[guitarhawk]

Hey guys! I came upon this forum after recently acquiring a PRS SE 277 semi hollow Baritone guitar. I got a great deal on it and am very pleased with it so far. However, it would appear that I now need another amp to fully enjoy this guitar. Due to a back injury I downsized to smaller amps which will work to some degree but require turning down the bass, volume and lightly playing the upper strings. I have a Fender Mustang I and Marshall MG15. Years ago I had a Fender Pro Reverb so I know the benefits of a tube amp. But my weight limit for lifting is no more than 30 pounds so the big amps are out. I do not play professionally and pretty much am a bedroom jammer. But I still want to be able to move the amp if necessary. From what I have found so far it sounds like an amp with two 12 inch speakers is the best scenario, but one 12 might work. Also, from what I have read, Bass Amps are not the way to go either. Again, the problem seems to be weight. I do not need an amp with a bunch of effects as I typically play through my pedal board. Basically, I am looking for something under 30 pounds that will sound good with my Baritone and pedal board. I should add that I do not typically play loud and don't play metal. I like to rock out sometimes, but for purposes of the baritone, I have been getting into ambient guitar lately and will be using it mostly for that style of music. I appreciate any help and suggestions from fellow Baritone players.

 

[WeFixFlats]

The first amp that came to mind was a Peavey Delta Blues Classic with the 15" speaker. All tube(30watts) with reverb/tremolo, but it weighs 50lbs.

 

[Mark Barton]

Hi, I also have a 277 and use it for ambient (as well as metal ;-)). I don’t have a particular recommendation but will pass on what I have found so far... So first I have an old Trace Elliot bass amp that has 15” speaker and horn with a preamp tube - it’s 500W and weighs as much as a small car so that doesn’t work for you! However, I mention it because it sounds epic - it has so much clarity and low end grunt and tight bass. So I would suggest not discounting the tiny class D bass heads to give you the basic amplification. As you use pedals these can probably probably provide all the drive that you may want. I also think a large speaker is important so certainly not smaller than 12” and I would recommend closed back. I also play through a 100w Archon Head with 2x12 cab and that is also perfect but quite heavy! Right now as I’m typing this I’m using an 18w 12” open back valve combo - it’s ok but not ideal. So in summary I would try to audition a few head / cab setups (much easier to keep weight down move around and give you choices). Closed back 12” or 2x12” if you can move it - maybe try a full range bass cab. A decent valve head with enough headroom to give you bottom end and clarity. Also do look at the bass amp option. Good luck and let us know what you find...

 

[Dusty Chalk]

I can't even think of any guitar amps that are under 30 lbs. The smallest I have is the Rivera Clubster, but that's closer to 40 lbs. I do have that tiny practice amp from Vox, but the speaker is only 8", I think. Maybe 6". I would look at the solid state offerings from Vox, that's your best bet. Or perhaps separate head and cab, and carry them separately when you do. Or get a headphone amp, like the Vox Clean amPlug. Or get one of the Vox amps with a headphone jack, or the Mesa/Boogie Cabclone. You can get full frequency response with headphones, including that bass.

 

[shinksma]

I would look to a separate head and cab. Get as heavy a cab as you can lift, so a PRS 1x12, at 33lbs, might be right at your limit. If that is still too heavy, look around. A H&K TM 1x12 is right at 30 lbs, and the 1x10 is about half that.

Unfortunately I don't see a single PRS amp head in the current line up that weights in at or less than 30 lbs. My Sweet 16 head is just under 30 lbs - according to the manual, it is 27.5 lbs.

So maybe a Sweet 16 amp and cab? I have one of those, and it has nice clean sound, and good low end to support a baritone (I have the 277 SH and the MM baritones).

If that is too much weight overall and you want it as a combo, you'll have to look for probably a 1x10 combo amp from someone. Looking around, for example, a Fender '65 Princeton Reverb 15-watt 1x10" is just over 30 lbs, and a Vox AC10C1 is 27 lbs.

Hmm, now I want to go play some baritone on my Sweet 16...but I'm stuck at work. Speaking of which, best get back to it...

 

[László]

PRS’ US speaker cabinets are pine. They’re very light (I had a PRS 112 in that weight range, but moved to a 212 later). Bogner’s Atma cab is 31 pounds.

There are any number of ‘lunchbox’ tube heads on the market that weigh less than 30 pounds. As an example, a 25 Watt Recto lunchbox from Mesa is 12 pounds. Bogner and others make similar heads.

This is a pretty easy problem to solve.

I use heavier amps and cabs, but made myself a very nice caster board to move them around my studio. It worked well for me after open-heart surgery. So that’s another option.

 

[Boogie]

If I understand correctly, you need more head room to keep the bass from fuzzing-out immediately, right? That means you need a bigger amp (power-wise). The amp head + cab is what I recommend, too, but the 30 lbs limit will be thought to meet. Do your tastes lean more vintage or modern? Either way, you can get a flight case for the head with big casters, place the head on top and you can wheel it around instead of lifting. Alternatives could include a Kemper and a powered monitor/wedge cab, which can be quite light.

 

[guitarhawk]

Thanks you all for the replies thus far. It is sounding like a head + cab may be the way to go. I should note that I am not hurrying on this as it might take some time depending on the costs involved. I guess that I should have said that money is a factor. The PRS amps would be the way to go if I had that kind of cash and could deal with the weight of them. I did see the 1x12 PRS cab that is within my limits. I am looking at all of your suggestions. I am also checking out used ones locally as that could help with the cash factor. No matter what, I want the ability to take my baritone with me and go check it out first. The Vox AC10C1 might be a viable option for a combo amp. I do not play real loud so this would allow me to crank the volume more. The Fender Super Champ X2 amp + cab is a possibility as far as weight is concerned. Both weight less than 30 pounds and are in my price range. Again, I appreciate the suggestions and am looking at them all. It might be a little while, but I will post what I end up getting when the time comes.

 

[László]

Thanks you all for the replies thus far. It is sounding like a head + cab may be the way to go. I should note that I am not hurrying on this as it might take some time depending on the costs involved. I guess that I should have said that money is a factor. The PRS amps would be the way to go if I had that kind of cash and could deal with the weight of them. I did see the 1x12 PRS cab that is within my limits. I am looking at all of your suggestions. I am also checking out used ones locally as that could help with the cash factor. No matter what, I want the ability to take my baritone with me and go check it out first. The Vox AC10C1 might be a viable option for a combo amp. I do not play real loud so this would allow me to crank the volume more. The Fender Super Champ X2 amp + cab is a possibility as far as weight is concerned. Both weight less than 30 pounds and are in my price range. Again, I appreciate the suggestions and am looking at them all. It might be a little while, but I will post what I end up getting when the time comes.

Sounds like you’re hatching a good plan! Best of luck finding what you need!

 

[elvis]

The Mini Rectifier is great for rock, has fantastic cleans, and handles my 7 string no problem.

 

[guitarhawk]

Just a follow up on my post. I been working a lot lately, but finally had a chance to take my guitar up to the local Guitar Center and try out some amps. I was most impressed with the Vox AC10C1 for size, sound and affordability. Weighing 27 lbs it is within my lifting capacity. I tried the AC4 with the 12 inch speaker but thought the AC10 with the 10 inch speaker sounded better. The AC4 had plenty of power and not sure what the sound difference was, but the AC10 to my ears sounded just a tad nicer. Anyway, saving my money and pretty sure it will be the AC10. Appreciate very much all the input received.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Excellent choice, didn't realize it was 27 lbs.