In the Mood for a Lunchbox Amp

Dusty Chalk said:
Oh, okay, then I will butt out of this conversation, since I had a completely different mental image of a lunchbox amp.

I still think you should give 10" speakers a chance, though. They can sound really good.
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No, don't butt out. I didn't create the definition. I'm just saying, what appears to be the wider acceptance of what "lunchbox" amp means, is the amps I mentioned. I've seen posts at TGP where guys shared your thoughts, that a lunchbox amp was something smaller than these, but the wider acceptance of the term "seems" to be that Mini Rec, V25, Tweaker, and other amps that size are lunchbox amps. My V25 weighs 16lbs.

I want a head version of an Archon so that I can try it with my Mesa cabs with Mesa V30s, my PRS cab with V30s, and I'm especially excited to try one with some greenback flavored speakers. I tried the Archon combo and really liked it but am not a huge fan of the speaker it comes with... meaning it's even better than I heard with a speaker I like better.

Also, I "get" the PRS "thing" and I'm NOT asking for a small metal chassis 5 watt or 15 watt amp. If they did something with an SE in that line, that would be cool, but that is NOT what I"m after. I just want a 25 watt Archon head. Probably a moot point though, as I've waited for a while hoping for one, and am now actively pursuing a 50 watt head. Don't need the power, but it's the smallest Archon head available and I may some day want to slay dragons or something.
 
My patience wore out waiting for a 25 watt Archon head. I would have bought one the day it came out. I bought a 50w Archon head and I'm extremely satisfied with it.
 
Count me in on the Archon 25 head
I have been waiting for a while
At my count that 5 of us here that would buy
 
I think we are on to something here.

How's this for a preliminary checklist/wishlist? A small 25w PRS two channel amp head which can be connected to any size cabinet(s). A wood chassis like the Mark Five:25 because I'm not a fan of those rinky-dink sheet metal enclosures. A built in cab clone if you want to go direct in to a PA with no cabinet. A reverb dial. Mini-toggles for bright, boost or vintage tone modifications, effects loop and so on. But the best part, Archon and HXDA circuitry combined in the same amp so that you can have both amps in one. Or at least get as close as possible to having both amps in one small amp head. Which... now that I think about it... such an arrangement might actually be 3 amps in one if you consider the Archon to already be a combination of clean channel Dallas style tone plus a face melting high gain channel in one amp.
 
DreamTheaterRules said:
No, don't butt out. I didn't create the definition.
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Yeah, no, I didn't mean silence, per se, I just meant I will stop arguing with you about what I was arguing with you about. There's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting a Rivera Clubster/Vox AC15/Mesa Boogie Express/whathaveyou style amp out of Sewell, but I wouldn't call that lunchbox, nope, not me, you can call it that, but that's more like catering lunch for the entire office. I mean, Google "lunchbox guitar amp" -- you will find what I'm talking about more'n what you're talking about.

Oops, sorz, still arguing... :D

(Also, being a full-range player, I'm tempted to get one of Mesa Boogie's bass amps a try -- either the Subway or the Walkabout.)

Maybe you can call your category the pizza delivery amp.

And besides, PRS already have (or had) entries in that form factor. That's the other reason I was resistant to call it that -- wishing for something that already exists.
 
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Make it six, sort of. I would want a nice clean channel that I can get some breakup when pushed hard and would like a nice lead channel but do not need that much crunch. Can I back of on the gain stage with the archon 25?
 
This is why I bought the Custom 20. The perfect size and sound for me. I can wake the neighbors when needed but it is also wife friendly. It is a lot smaller than the SE20 that i had with a brighter sound.
 
I tried this with a mini rec/rectoverb 25...turns out that ordering an amp (especially a Mesa) unplayed and having a vision of what it is in your head and then it being completely different was kind of a bummer to me. I wanted a quieter amp than my roadster but still sound saturated and decent. That wasn't the rectoverb 25, ironically it was my 100w Archon!
 
I have found myself owning a Marshall 1x12 cabinet, a model 1912, which can handle 150 watts all by itself. The cabinet is much smaller than my bigest amps but it can handle them. But right now I don't have anything plugged into it. It would seem like a waste of resources to have a low wattage tiny amp on a tiny cabinet which can handle big amps. Does anyone make a 100w lunchbox amp?
 
When I think of a lunchbox amp, I think of a well constructed and well ventilated, uncovered metal head, 30 watts or less, compact enough to perch safely atop a 1x8 cab, some type of scaling or attenuation, with a compact footprint and a plastic suitcase handle or metal bar handle on top, a la many Vox and Orange offerings. This would let you run it into a small speaker for home practice but still have the oomph to drive a 2x12 or 4x12 for gigs.

Maybe in this case with a powdercoat bird pattern covering it, a push-pull 6v6 power section, a 3 to 5-tube modern preamp, power scaling, bakelite chicken head knobs for gain, presence, bass, treble, and volume, and offered with or without a reverb tank.
 
I have been toying around with getting a small portable head for an extra 1x12 cab I have. Is the Sweet16 head considered "lunchbox" -ish? There are a few available on the used market.

I think I'll open up a new thread with my queries, but thought I'd ask here first since this is an active discussion...
 
Does it matter? What matters -- IMHO -- is whether or not it meets your needs. I say, go for it!
 
Dusty Chalk said:
Does it matter? What matters -- IMHO -- is whether or not it meets your needs. I say, go for it!
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Well, the whole point of "lunch box" is that it is relatively small - at least, that is the criterion that generally drives me to that "classification". My 100W Archon head meets my needs tone-wise, but is not exactly small-gig portable.

A 25W or 12W head that is about 15 - 20 lbs max, <16" long, such as the Orange Dark Terror (to pick one pseudo-randomly) would fit the bill. But in a PRS, of course.

And I looked up the Specs for the Sweet 16, and it is bigger (and heavier) than what I would call a lunch-box amp a la the Dark terror.

Still, I might snag one if one comes up cheap and easy enough, eventually.
 
Better amps tend to have a lot of weight, due to speakers and transformers. I know Riveras and the higher end Mesa/Boogies are heavier for those reasons (I think their Express line are intentionally lighter). For example, the Clubster 25 with the 10 inch speaker only weighs a couple pounds less than the Clubster 45 with the 12 inch speaker.
 
No man should rock an amp that is not at least twice as long as his weenie.

Women instinctively know this.

Show up with a lunchbox amp, and you're in the same boat as guys who drive minivans.

"Don't you drive a minivan, Les?"

"Hey! Put a sock in it!"
 
Mmm...no, I don't think that's true. Women appreciate confidence. If you look like you're compensating, then they assume you are, and it doesn't matter whether you are or not.

Nothing reeks of confidence like driving a minivan.
 
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