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Post subject: Re: Small Travel/Practice Amp ?
Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 10:14 am
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Before I'd go with Bugera, I'd go with the VHT Special 6. It's hand wired and under 2 bills.
http://www.vhtamp.com/avsp16.html

A buddy of mine bought one and I must say I really liked it. They have a head version too.

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Post subject: Re: Small Travel/Practice Amp ?
Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 10:16 am
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[quote="63supro"]Before I'd go with Bugera, I'd go with the VHT Special 6. It's hand wired and under 2 bills. Bugera/Beringher isn't know for quality or reliability. I'd go Pignose before Bugera too. I had a Bugera let the magic smoke out right on the showroom floor. LOL
http://www.vhtamp.com/avsp16.html

A buddy of mine bought one and I must say I really liked it. They have a head version too.[/quote

Man I meant to edit, I hate when I do that. :lol:

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Post subject: Re: Small Travel/Practice Amp ?
Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 12:20 pm
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Take a look at just what a Pignose could do for you too! (in a few years...!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1Axg7bJiek


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Post subject: Re: Small Travel/Practice Amp ?
Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2011 9:01 pm
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I'm baaaaaack !!

I'm tweak-fiddling the setup on my just-bought Camper-special G-400 Epiphone, and I've been watching eBay for the spawn of you guys' suggestions, in anticipation of the fast approaching "out there in de woods" season.

I'm seeing a boatload of MicroCube amps on eBay; quite a few Cube15xx models, and a bunch of 15w Frontmans. (Frontmen?) That Cube-30 looks awesome, but they are quite rare on eBay, and a new one is 'waaay outside my price bracket.

At this point it's looking like the A-List is the 20w Cube (usable modeling, unlike the metal/more-metal digital modeling on the smaller Cubes), and the Frontman 25R (decent, basic amp, good price point, no annoying "modeling" to mess with!).

But something always comes up . . .

In this case, two things:
> I was talking to "my" guy at GC, and he got going on the insane ruggedness (so claimed) of the Fender Mustang I, and the "best yet" modeling that comes in the amp: maybe 24 versions of Classic & Vintage sounds, including many simulations of historic Fender amps (and maybe 3 variations of simulated Fender spring reverb) and a slue of other historic amp sounds. He says that in reaction to Fender's market losses to their "practice amp" competition because of the competitors' supposedly greater toughness, and their overload of the digital modeling-stuff that's so popular with the entry-level ("practice amp") youngsters, Fender decided to take the competition head-on. The new Fender Mustang line was the result.

At least that's "my guy's" story -- and I'm sure he's at least in part parroting whatever dog & pony show the Fender Rep spun for the GC staff.

I haven't played one yet (maybe tomorrow?), but the "pitch" is that the Mustang's digital modeling method is "the next greatest thing," at least one iteration more "faithful" than whatever the competition is using. The claim is that the Mustang I's Clean is easily as good as the Frontman's, and that the 24 basic "sounds" in the built-in modeling are well enough done that an experienced tube amp veteran can live with them with only the occasional eye-roll. (Yeah, there's also that whole laptop-link programming thing ... but I'll hope to stand well away from that sort of addictive time eater.)

So what's your take on the $99 Mustang I, vis a vis the Frontman 25R and the Cube20XL?


> The second dilemma is lots more daunting.

Let's say I find a Champ 600 in good shape on eBay for, oh, $105 or so (delivered) . . . Do I follow my ear and jump on it, deftly dodging all that {Modeling-this/ EFX-that / Oh-wow-there's-yet-another-almost-real-sound} digital amp stuff, and just kick back to a good ol' fashioned one-knob, player-driven tube amp?

If so, is the Champ 600 "tough" enough to withstand life in a mid-sized travel trailer, with variable heat/dust/humidity/etc. ?

I haven't found a Champ 600 to test drive; eBay purchases are what they are. Are we kidding ourselves about that 6" speaker? Sure, a Good 6" is arguably much preferable to a Forgettable 10" speaker (as some have called the Frontman25R's 10") ... but then that's the same talking point that got me through college, in a slightly different area of endeavor . . l. :roll:

... and while we're at it: sometimes the best playing magic happens down past midnight, when a speaker-silencing "headphone out" jack is worth the price of the amp. Is it reasonably possible on the Champ 600 to wire in a speaker-disconnect jack for headphones, give or take some sort of load resistor to keep the amp's output section happy?


So there it is:
Do I stick with the down-priced last year's Cube models, go with the simple Frontman 25R ... jump on the Mustang's Latest/Greatest ...

... or do I just shout "Analog Rules!!" and duke it down to the bidding deadline for that lil' Champ 600?

Bob

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Post subject: Re: Small Travel/Practice Amp ?
Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2011 11:23 pm
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you buy a pignose and solve your problems.

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Post subject: Re: Small Travel/Practice Amp ?
Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 3:41 am
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Location: Birmingham UK
Look at the all tube Vox AC4TV mini.

No fripperies, modelling or even reverb. 4 watts, 6.5" speaker and built in attentuator to take you down to one watt or even 1/10 of one watt for late night noodling. Class A, premium transformer additional 16ohm speaker output. Thing of beauty. Much more rugged than the Champ 600 (which I found to be fragile frankly) and it has an overdriven sound that is genuinely useable. Unlike the 600, which sounds like an exploding chainsaw when you crank it out of it's clean tone comfort zone. Weighs in at 6 kilos.

I have the std AC4TV with 10" Celestion speaker and it's a fantastic amp. Mine has well over 100 hours on it with no complaints. I even record with it.

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Post subject: Re: Small Travel/Practice Amp ?
Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 12:19 pm
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Thanks. I take that (in part) as a warning about the Champ 600. As with all gear, "fussiness" matters, and tho' I don't plan to be gigging the backwoods bars (I'd say "backwoods biker bars" -- if just for the alliteration -- but them ain't bikers, them's accountants in their pirate costumes, riding their overpriced 2-wheeled cars ... 8) ), but mobility and weather are certainly concerns . . .

Funny you should mention the little Valvetronix amps. I've noticed that the "AC-" Vox models are pretty pricey, even on eBay. Apparently the "VT" models are 'waay inferior, since the few that do come up used don't much seem to tempt buyers to bid them up.

Bob

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Post subject: Re: Small Travel/Practice Amp ?
Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 8:41 pm
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Aspiring Musician
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Hi again Bob, If it's true what your GC rep said about the Mustang, regarding ruggedness, it might be worth checking out, esp. if you're looking for lots of variations on Fender clean tones, &/or if you like effects. There seems to be lots of possibilities there. But this could be important in the long run, if you prefer to just plug & play w/say only a reverb, & not lots of twiddling w/computer interfacing & dsp stuff, or if you'd prefer an analog sound, ss or tube, you'll want to look elsewhere. IMO even the high end dsp stuff still sounds like dsp. I don't mind it too much, but there is a difference. cheers


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Post subject: Re: Small Travel/Practice Amp ?
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 1:46 pm
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OK: Time to post a close to this Topic, and -- so far -- a happy ending.

Thanks for all your help! I certainly learned a lot about this slice of the guitar/amp world, and your info was all very helpful.

This past weekend (Sat. & yesterday) was amp road-test weekend.
After lots of consideration and head-scratching
(which spawned thoughts like "hey, about a hunnert bucks -- no big deal" and "better a local one you've actually played, or a new one at full MSRP, than one from 2000 miles away that could be irremediably broke . . ."),
I stopped by a friend's house and spent a while talking music and noodling around on his Blues Jr. and his "back-up" Frontman 25R.

Talked him out of the 25R, gave him $65 bucks, done deal. He's an electronics engineer; despite a dog and a 2 yr old son, his house & stuff is cleaner than an operating room. The amp is less than a year old, looks and sounds flawless, might as well be new. It's a tad larger (physically) than I'd hoped for, but that's the price of a larger speaker. The "used" price eased the choice, since at "street" $99+tax new at GC, it would have been competing with various Vox & Cube amps on the local used market (as well as on eBay), which would have dropped me back in the New<vs>Used, "Features"<vs>"Sound" // etc., whirlpool.

At this point it seems to be the best choice for me. For better or worse, I'm understanding that the circuitry is all solid-state (BIG plus for the camper/travel aspect), but that it is an analog circuit design, with more of a WYSIWYG sound that the digitally-reproduced sounds of the "modeling" amps. I do know that the tone of the 25R sounds lots more "real" than that of the competing all-digital modeling-style amps.

Say what you will about the rather proletarian oem speaker in the 25R: it's still a 10" speaker, not a 5-6-8" one, and sounds quite decent as it is. From what I'm hearing, if I decide to convert the 25R to a really nice small-gig amp, it will really sing with any one of several 10" upgrade speakers; the Eminence Ragin' Cajun seems to be the awsome cheap fix of choice.
((imho you can "upgrade" a 10" or 12" speaker; with 5"-6"-8" speakers you mostly just "replace".)

Kudos, too, for the two footswitchable channels (lacking in the Pignose and most of the smallest tube amps). That lets me work out songs & sounds with [rhythm/lead] & [clean/other] patterns in travel-practice settings -- lets me go beyond "just" guitar practice, by broadening that practice into the realm of music and musicianship.

So I'm a happy camper -- literally -- for now.
Thanks again, all.

Bob

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Last edited by bobwords on Mon Apr 11, 2011 5:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: Small Travel/Practice Amp ?
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 2:28 pm
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$65......deal/steal of the day.

Rawk on!

8)

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Small Travel/Practice Amp ?
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 7:35 pm
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Aspiring Musician
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I don't have any first hand knowledge of the 25r, but I've been curious about it for awhile. It sounds fairly good on some youtube vids that I've heard. $65 for a like new one sounds like a good deal. I hope to hear from you in another thread letting us know what you think of its sound & build quality after you've used it for awhile. Good luck Bob


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Post subject: Re: Small Travel/Practice Amp ?
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 11:37 pm
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welllll ... I did already start another Thread (on this same Forum channel) about the possibility of modifying the spring reverb. It sounds good, given the size of the speaker, etc., but only the lowest 1/3rd of the range is usable, musically. Past maybe 4, it's so reverbybibibibibibibibeeeeeeeeeyayayayayayaMmMmMmMmMmmm that it's best used to attract bees, or as backup for a cheap scary movie.

I still am delighted with the amp (yeah, well -- 24 hours? :roll: ).

And my dog's giving me that ol'
"Awww, crap! Not another amp, ¿eh?" look . . .
(da'gum Canadian dog, y'know? Go figger!)
That alone is usually a good sign that the amp is pleased with its new home, and vice versa.

Bob

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