jfb
Plank Owner
I would second this perspective as well as the amp choices.
Suggestions for a "beginner" amp needed
- Thread starter desertrat
- Start date
I would second this perspective as well as the amp choices.
ViperDoc
Plugged In.
AZGiant
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I'd like to have some suggestions for an amp for my Studio 10 Strat. Not sure if it makes a difference as to what pickups are on it, but I could list them. It's my first electric, and a general novice, too. It's not like money is no object - - because it isAlso, I'm not sure what instrument is needed to adjust bias on guitar amps, so that would be nice to know (as I'm sure some folks will suggest tubes). I'm kind of an audiophile, but many tubed amps in HiFi only require a screwdriver, as meters are often standard.
Might be just me but cannot go wrong with a Blackstar. Though really it depends on the music you like to play.
RedGuitars
Thread killer
Fender Deluxe Vintage Modified. They have a large V logo lower right. Like a regular Deluxe but with an added gain knob and digital effects. Effects aside it’s a Fender 6L6 tube amp with gain. Way underrated and very affordable on the used market. There is also a Bandmaster head version. I went with the Deluxe for an affordable grab and go combo.
markd21
New Member
I just started teaching guitar again. I went and tested a bunch of "affordable and inspiring" amps last weekend. I bought a Katana 100 1x12. That's the amp for my students. However, I played it for several hours and never exhausted the inspiring tones.
For reference, I have Bad Cat and Rivera tube amps. I also have and rely on a Helix. The Katana hung right there with them. VERY impressive amp.
For reference, I have Bad Cat and Rivera tube amps. I also have and rely on a Helix. The Katana hung right there with them. VERY impressive amp.
Guitpicky
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I think I was in a similar situation when I got my first electric guitar and amp 3 years ago. I'm into classic rock and blues so I wanted a tube amp. I'm also only rocking my living room so anything over 15 watts is a complete waste of money, space, and eardrums. The last requirement was a great clean channel. I wanted a combo amp for the grab and go convenience factor.
The best "affordable" options were in the $600-$800 range new, with available models from all the well known brands. In general Fender had the best cleans but limited options on other features like scalable wattage. I didn't find the Marshall cleans to be all that clean and Vox was kind of in the middle.
After trying a bunch I went with an Orange Rocker 15 combo. It has two channels, one of them being the most pristine clean channel out of every small amp I tried... it's like glass. The other huge plus was scalable wattage that actually sounds decent at bedroom levels. Fifteen tube watts in a living room is enough to break windows.
It's three years on now and I haven't found anything better for MY purposes. I could go all boutique or hand wired, blah, blah, blah, but I honestly don't hear enough of an improvement to justify the extra cost. With guitars I find a lot more appreciable difference between $800 and $5000.
Amps are still a utility item for me, where guitars are more like functional art. I'm not denying that amps could be as well, they just aren't for me. I get a lot more enjoyment out of my $800 amp and $1500 pedal board than I would owning a $2300 amp. I honestly can't hear "hand wiring" and I have pretty good hearing.
Good luck finding what you want
The best "affordable" options were in the $600-$800 range new, with available models from all the well known brands. In general Fender had the best cleans but limited options on other features like scalable wattage. I didn't find the Marshall cleans to be all that clean and Vox was kind of in the middle.
After trying a bunch I went with an Orange Rocker 15 combo. It has two channels, one of them being the most pristine clean channel out of every small amp I tried... it's like glass. The other huge plus was scalable wattage that actually sounds decent at bedroom levels. Fifteen tube watts in a living room is enough to break windows.
It's three years on now and I haven't found anything better for MY purposes. I could go all boutique or hand wired, blah, blah, blah, but I honestly don't hear enough of an improvement to justify the extra cost. With guitars I find a lot more appreciable difference between $800 and $5000.
Amps are still a utility item for me, where guitars are more like functional art. I'm not denying that amps could be as well, they just aren't for me. I get a lot more enjoyment out of my $800 amp and $1500 pedal board than I would owning a $2300 amp. I honestly can't hear "hand wiring" and I have pretty good hearing.
Good luck finding what you want
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justjoshin
New Member
Katana are some great SS amps for sure. I have played on the 50 watt combo many times and really liked it.
Guitpicky
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I checked out the Modified you mentioned - very interesting, and it does a lot. A couple of used prices I saw were just shy of $400. Is that about right, or should I look around some more? Seems like there is a lot of competition out there at that kind of money?
That's a very helpful perspective you've provided. Thanks for the input.I think I was in a similar situation when I got my first electric guitar and amp 3 years ago. I'm into classic rock and blues so I wanted a tube amp. I'm also only rocking my living room so anything over 15 watts is a complete waste of money, space, and eardrums. The last requirement was a great clean channel. I also wanted a combo amp for the grab and go convenience factor.
The best "affordable" options were in the $600-$800 range new, with available models from all the well known brands. In general Fender had the best cleans but limited options on other features like scalable wattage. I didn't find the Marshall cleans to be all that clean and Vox was kind of in the middle.
After trying a bunch I went with an Orange Rocker 15 combo. It has two channels, one of them being the most pristine clean channel out of every small amp I tried... it's like glass. The other huge plus was scalable wattage that actually sounds decent at bedroom levels. Fifteen tube watts in a living room is enough to break windows.
It's three years on now and I haven't found anything better for MY purposes. I could go all boutique or hand wired, blah, blah, blah, but I honestly don't hear enough of an improvement to justify the extra cost. With guitars I find a lot more appreciable difference between $800 and $5000.
Amps are still a utility item for me, where guitars are more like functional art. I'm not denying that amps could be as well, they just aren't for me. I get a lot more enjoyment out of my $800 amp and $1500 pedal board than I would owning a $2300 amp. I honestly can't hear "hand wiring" and I have pretty good hearing.
Good luck finding what you want
grausch
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- Sep 19, 2016
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I have a Orange Rocker 15 too. Upgraded the speaker to a Celestine G10N-40 which smoothed out its sound a bit. Great amp just got better (for me at least).I think I was in a similar situation when I got my first electric guitar and amp 3 years ago. I'm into classic rock and blues so I wanted a tube amp. I'm also only rocking my living room so anything over 15 watts is a complete waste of money, space, and eardrums. The last requirement was a great clean channel. I wanted a combo amp for the grab and go convenience factor.
The best "affordable" options were in the $600-$800 range new, with available models from all the well known brands. In general Fender had the best cleans but limited options on other features like scalable wattage. I didn't find the Marshall cleans to be all that clean and Vox was kind of in the middle.
After trying a bunch I went with an Orange Rocker 15 combo. It has two channels, one of them being the most pristine clean channel out of every small amp I tried... it's like glass. The other huge plus was scalable wattage that actually sounds decent at bedroom levels. Fifteen tube watts in a living room is enough to break windows.
It's three years on now and I haven't found anything better for MY purposes. I could go all boutique or hand wired, blah, blah, blah, but I honestly don't hear enough of an improvement to justify the extra cost. With guitars I find a lot more appreciable difference between $800 and $5000.
Amps are still a utility item for me, where guitars are more like functional art. I'm not denying that amps could be as well, they just aren't for me. I get a lot more enjoyment out of my $800 amp and $1500 pedal board than I would owning a $2300 amp. I honestly can't hear "hand wiring" and I have pretty good hearing.
Good luck finding what you want
shinksma
What? I get a title?
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Well, this is sort of in the wrong subforum (perhaps more accurately placed in the Amps subforum), but I'll chime in regardless:
I started out playing a cheap guitar that happened to be set up pretty good, into lousy (I mean super lousy) amps, because I didn't understand that a good tube amp would make a world of difference. The 80s was not a good decade to buy small cheap SS amps. "Oh, it will be good enough for me. I can't play all that well anyway. It doesn't need to be very loud. The other guitarists I know get great tone because of their talent, not equipment. I can't afford a Marshall stack, and everything else is a compromise, right?"
Eventually I figured out that I should spend at least a bit of cash on a good amp, and bought a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, because it was the only tube amp under $1000 in my local shops that sounded good, with a really nice clean channel. And the dirty channel was classic Neil Young dirt, to my ears.
I played that for maybe two decades before I decided that I needed a PRS amp to go with my PRS guitars, and I picked up a 100W Archon head + cab. Whoa baby!
So...moral of my story is spend a bit more than you think you should if it gets you to that "next level" of amp. I wish I had. Shoulda woulda coulda...
That being said, the Katana is something that has been on my radar as a good all-round amp, and if I needed to pick up an all-in-one modeling-with-tons-of-effects amp I think I would grab that.
I don't need a modeling amp, and I have a bajillion pedals.
If you truly want a Fender-ish tube amp, the Sonzera sounds like a nice choice in the PRS line up.
I started out playing a cheap guitar that happened to be set up pretty good, into lousy (I mean super lousy) amps, because I didn't understand that a good tube amp would make a world of difference. The 80s was not a good decade to buy small cheap SS amps. "Oh, it will be good enough for me. I can't play all that well anyway. It doesn't need to be very loud. The other guitarists I know get great tone because of their talent, not equipment. I can't afford a Marshall stack, and everything else is a compromise, right?"
Eventually I figured out that I should spend at least a bit of cash on a good amp, and bought a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, because it was the only tube amp under $1000 in my local shops that sounded good, with a really nice clean channel. And the dirty channel was classic Neil Young dirt, to my ears.
I played that for maybe two decades before I decided that I needed a PRS amp to go with my PRS guitars, and I picked up a 100W Archon head + cab. Whoa baby!
So...moral of my story is spend a bit more than you think you should if it gets you to that "next level" of amp. I wish I had. Shoulda woulda coulda...
That being said, the Katana is something that has been on my radar as a good all-round amp, and if I needed to pick up an all-in-one modeling-with-tons-of-effects amp I think I would grab that.
I don't need a modeling amp, and I have a bajillion pedals.
If you truly want a Fender-ish tube amp, the Sonzera sounds like a nice choice in the PRS line up.
CandidPicker
Tone Matters. Use It Well.
Some have suggested Fender Vintage Modified...these might cost more upfront...is size or weight a constraint? A used Blues Deluxe Reissue might fetch $400, depending on condition, whereas something 1x 6V6-tube 15W powered might be considerably less.
Do you need reverb? If no, the Egnater 15 or 20W 1x12 or head/cab series might be the thing for you. Egnater's are good amps, and can be found relatively inexpensively used. Check out YouTube to confirm. This is your best source for comparison without being able to visit stores yourself.
OKAY! Another amp to check out. Nice! I like to play a variety of music, actually. If I was able/good enough, I'd play JJ Cale stuff all the time, haha.
You've given me some excellent background - similar to my own situation, for sure. I like what you got to say. I'm going to post the guitar pics and its pickups, and so on. Hopefully I'll get a little feedback. Apparently, the choice of the pickups installed on this piece is very unique, interesting. And the color/finish is outa this world. 50's Nitro Cobalt Blue with black/dark grain fill...just beautiful (by Stike)...
Guitpicky
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They've gotten some flak over the Voice of the World speakers but they are in fact rebranded Celestion Vintages. They went with 10" because of the higher sensitivity and dynamic range. All things considered I think it was a good design decision for the niche the amp is supposed to fill
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justjoshin
New Member
Blackstar HT-1RH MkII Is one I am wanting to try. I have a Bugera G5 head that I really like right now, also.
grausch
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They've gotten some flak over the Voice of the World speakers but they are in fact rebranded Celestron Vintages. They went with 10" because of the higher sensitivity and dynamic range. All things considered I think it was a good design decision for the niche the amp is supposed to fill
It is a good amp stock, the amp just sounded a bit ragged to me when I was in crunch territory. I also wanted a lower sensitivity speaker so that I could push the amp a bit more before the neighbors complained. The speaker swap did get rid of that slightly ragged sound, but I don’t really notice that much of a volume drop. Cranking it at home in 15 watt mode is still way too loud for me, never mind the neighbors.
