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Post subject: Lower Watt Amps.. Getting rid of my 120W Head
Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 3:10 pm
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Been playing for years but far from a master. Mostly with friends and at home (house). I've got a 5150 half stack that I've used for years but I've never been able to really drive it b/c it is so freaking loud (was a compulsive buy when I got my first job and tought it would make me EVH :-)). So I've been out of playing for a few years and really taking a passion to it again. Last thing I got was a Line 6 XDLive and it's nice but WAY too much for what I want to do.. all those settings and buttons.. pass! I want to get something simple with tubes, because you can't go backwards (don't really like the POD sounds). I was thinking of something 40 watts or lower. I plan to still mostly play at home in the basement (decent sized) and out with my friends, so thinking a combo that I can add a cab to later down the road to bring out the sound. I know there is so much out there now in the lower watt range that I'm just not sure what to do. I've played several and all sound good. I know I want something that will grow with me and posibly be the last amp I buy for a long time (right!). I would like 2 channels, fx loop, nice reverb, be able to really warm up the tubes w/o killing my ears, good clean and nice bottom end and headroom. I like to play just about everything from blues to classic rock to heavy rock (not really a metal guy though). Here are some of the models I'm looking at and maybe you guys could give some feedback. Or if I should look at other options. I'd like to keep it at around $600 but may go up more if I can get the holy grail ($1000 would really be pushing it). I play an American Strat and LP Studio.

I've been putting my YouTube time in too..

BlacBlack star HT-5
BlacBlack star HT-20
BlacBlack star HT-40
Egnater Rebel 30
Fender Super Champ XD
Peavy Classic 30

Thanks,
Hawk


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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 4:37 pm
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First, Welcome to the forum!
I have an Egnater Rebel 20 with two 112 cabs. It's only a single channel amp though, but I love this thing. I've had it going on 9 months and I've been absolutely thrilled with the tone and reliability. It has been totally rock solid. A word of caution though, the watts dial is not an attenuator on either the 20 or 30. What it does is lower the db's and headroom It's not quite the same as an attenuator and one watt is still pretty loud. It's a nice touch and can get from clean to screaming levels at reasonable levels. The tube mix knob adds a ton of versatility to the amp too. Like I said, I only needed a single channel amp and prefer the natural reverb of the room so reverb really isn't that important to me. I've been playing over 40 years and the Egnater amps are the only thing that seems fresh as far as designs go. If I need more dirt, I use a BYOC Bluebreaker clone that I built and modified or just a clean boost that I put together.

That said, the Peavey Classic 30 is a great amp and built in the USA. I don't really care for the SCXD at all and I don't recommend the HRD series because of all the reliability issues I and many others have had with the HRDlx.

If you look around, you could probably find a used DRRI for around $600 but you'd need pedals for heavy distortion.
40 watts is really overkill for a lot of situations. I have a SF 76 Twin that stays at home now. 20 watts is about all I need. On the Rebel 20 as well as the 30 there is a volume bump at around 12:00 on the tube mix dial when both the 6V6 and EL84 power tubes are running together equally. Bruce Egnater calls it the sweet spot.

Good luck on your quest.


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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 5:51 pm
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Hawk45,
Welcome to the Forum. There are a lot of great tube amps out there so I would suggest heading to your nearest music store and start sampling what is out there in your price range, and pick the one you like the best. 63supro gave you some great advice. I recently went through what you are going through now. I have a 150 watt Line 6 Spider IV half stack and it's way to big to haul around. Early on I found that I liked the sound of a Fender tube amp, so my search was narrowed to Fender. I found that theTwin Reverb way too loud and it was quite heavy to haul around, and I don't need 85 watts of tube power. After playing all the other Fender tube amps at $1,300 or less I selected the 65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue. For my taste this is a great amp. I also purchased a Fender Deluxe 1x12 closed back celestial speaker cabinet. The amp really did not need any extra speakers but it was just something I wanted. The DRRI is 22 watts and is all tube including the reverb and vibrato. Many on the Forum like the Princeton which has 15 watts of power. My second choice was the Blues Deluxe Reissue. I really like the look of the tweed amp covering, but like the sound of the DRRI better. Happy hunting. Keep us posted.
Kenny V


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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 6:48 pm
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Hawk 45,welcome to the forum.I 2nd the deluxe reverb .I bought one last year and it is a great amp.22 watts of tonal bliss.Can be played at home or gigged.Supro has the rebel 20 and seems to have had good results from it.Others rave about it too.The classic 30 is a great amp if you are on a budget.It depends on what you are looking for.i like the "bloom" of the 6v6s myself and great sounding reverb when I need it.The egnater will give you the best of both worlds .One thing to consider is we think we need more power than we really do.Good luck.


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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 7:03 pm
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No FX loop, but try ther new Vox AC15C1. It has a Greenback 12" in it - sounds very nice and you can get quite a bit if headroom. I've had mine for a couple of weeks and she really sounds nice. Waiting on my Tim OD pedal.

I also recently purchased a DigiDesign (AVID) Eleven a Rack. I've been using it live for about a month. This is really one of the best modelers around. I know lots of people in this forum are all about the tubes, and I too am a big fan, but the Eleven Rack gives me so much versatility and great tones with a big choice of stompboxes. I can dial up a Plexi, AC30, Soldano, Blackface or Mesa and get some great tone. Very impressive..don't think of anything LINE6 when you think of the Eleven Rack. It blows LINE6 away.

Good luck in your quest, and do try the new AC15C1 w/Greenback.

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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 8:43 pm
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budglo wrote:
One thing to consider is we think we need more power than we really do.Good luck.


Amen to that, Budglo!

I sometimes drag one or more of these little chingaleros to a smaller-venue gig from time to time......

Image

The blonde DRRI used in conjunction with my '65 PR sounds especially tasty.

Arjay


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Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 4:15 am
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Retroverbial wrote:
budglo wrote:
One thing to consider is we think we need more power than we really do.Good luck.


Amen to that, Budglo!

I sometimes drag one or more of these little chingaleros to a smaller-venue gig from time to time......

Image

The blonde DRRI used in conjunction with my '65 PR sounds especially tasty.

Arjay
Dang, Arjay! :shock: Nice low powered collection.I really like the look of the blonde amps.I personally cant say enough about the deluxe reverb amp.Its probably the most versitile of the blackfaces.I have went thru quite a few before I found this gem with supros recomendation.Its my main gigging amp ,my 59 bassman ri sits in the closet.I dont really play the venues anymore to really open the bassman up,and I find it pretty silly to play something that size and not be able to push it.The drri is the perfect answer.And I really like the tone of the 6v6s.And I can usually play it at the amps sweet spot.


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Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 4:43 am
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I recently sold my ginormous 65 trri, 85 watts and 70lbs was simply way to much for me. So I opted for the 57 champ (I know, I know - 1k 5 watt practice amp), I did get it on sale. Anyway......
There are some great choices out there, I also like the 65 princeton reissue and the drri - I'd say take your time do some research and if you can play through any of them - that's the way to go.

keep us posted.

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Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 5:59 am
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Looks like your list has a number of great candidates.

If you're in a store looking at the Peavey Classic 30, check out the Delta Blues also...more bottom end. At 50#, it is a bit on the heavy side. The Peavey website has sound bytes of both the classic 30 and Delta Blues for an initial impression. I currently own neither, but am considering one of these two. (Must buy the footswitch separately.)

I like the size and clean of the DRRI, but don't care for the features. It is a two channel amp, but in the old school sense. It's really two clean channels with no channel switching, so an A/B switch wouldn't get you channel switching (to a "drive" channel) in the more modern sense....you'd need to run pedals.

I like my Blues Deluxe Reissue except that the "drive" channel doesn't have enough grit to suit me at reasonable sound levels (40 watts)....still need a pedal.

I have to agree with the current trend toward 20-30 watts for tube amps, but haven't found the "perfect" one yet for my 'picky' tastes along the lines of both tone and features. Then again, looking is part of the fun!

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Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 8:29 am
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I am with Supro63 on the HRD amps but I do have an SCXD that I love and use for gigs. But he is corrrect about the the Egnater amps. Egnator just came out with the Tweaker as well. I have not heard one yet but if they are consistant with the Rebel series, it will sound great. Also you may want to look at Traynor amps as well. They have several all tube amps that sound great as well and you could probably pick one up used for a good price. I have played a VHT Special 6 that emulates a Marshall fairly well. They are handwired tube amps but are made in China. That is not an issye for me but some prefer to buy American made. Good luck, the fun is in the hunt!


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Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 8:46 pm
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Thanks for all the feedback guys. I'm going to try to make some time this weekend to GC and play some more amps.. I'm sure the one is out there.. and I really don't mind using a pedal or two either.. but I don't want a whole board. And I have no clue on what pedals are good either.. ugh.. but I must say it sure if fun to go play with the gear.


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Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 9:03 pm
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jgauker wrote:
I am with Supro63 on the HRD amps but I do have an SCXD that I love and use for gigs. But he is corrrect about the the Egnater amps. Egnator just came out with the Tweaker as well. I have not heard one yet but if they are consistant with the Rebel series, it will sound great. Also you may want to look at Traynor amps as well. They have several all tube amps that sound great as well and you could probably pick one up used for a good price. I have played a VHT Special 6 that emulates a Marshall fairly well. They are handwired tube amps but are made in China. That is not an issye for me but some prefer to buy American made. Good luck, the fun is in the hunt!


I just tried the Tweaker last weekend well I have to say is wow. It's different than the Rebel. Sounds a little more Brit to me, but the EQ tweaks are great.
I'm thinking about getting the head and a 2 head amp switcher from Weber.
https://taweber.powweb.com/store/2head.htm

I already have two Egnater cabinets, but the Tweaker cab is open backed. Traynor makes some nice sounding amps too, well worth a look.

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Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 6:06 pm
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I really like the Blackstar's. Great great great amps. Why not keep the EVH, but the Blackstar HT5 and run it into the EVH's cab at home. The HT5's what £250? You'll have a amp for home and one for gigging.

I run my Vibrochamp XD into a 4x12 at home. Great sound even though it doesnt even tickle the speakers let alone push em.

As far as youtube demo's go, I'd forget judging anything by that. Go to a load of places and try the amps, hear em for yourself and make your own mind up.

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Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 6:36 pm
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[quote="nikininja"] Why not keep the EVH, but the Blackstar HT5 and run it into the EVH's cab at home. quote]

I probably will.... the it does have great tone and it was my first real amp.. little sentimental I guess.


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Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 6:59 pm
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no doubt Hawk, you know of Peavey's near indestructable status.

I reckon you could nuke their amps and they'd still work. I gotta say, I dont like the Peavey gain sound, their amps get full marks from me non the less though. Purely because of their durability.

I use 100watters for gigging and rehearsall. I got a 5watt for in the house, it's pretty much the ideal wattage for home. The Egnater with its volume freeze control thingy may suit you better tonewise, though you will pay for it. I suggested the Blackstar purely because of its high quality sound at a very good price. It pretty much outclasses anything else in that pricerange.

Personaly for a home amp, as long as it makes a noise I'm happy. All I ever do at home is record riffs and song ideas. I dont need to sound great for that.

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