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Post subject: Best Amps for Around $250.00?
Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2011 11:04 am
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Hi:

I've posted a couple of questions on this forum and have received some very solid advice. In the past, my questions revolved around my guitar. This question is about purchasing a new amp.

Of course, before I buy any amp I will try it out. However, I'm asking this question to help guide which retailer I should go to, to buy an amp. I have several major retailers in the area. Looking at what each retailer offers through their website, all of them offer different amp producers. Of course, all of them offer Fenders and Marshals but from there it varies.

My budget for this amp is $250.00. I'm looking for a non-tube combo amp. I currently own a Squire Bullet, but I'm saving for Fender Deluxe Strat--I think.

I typically play Blues, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin--I'm still a new player. I lean towards the clean setting, but I would like to have the option of some distortion--not necessarily heavy distortion. I currently own a Crate 15W amp which I bought used for $20.00. The Crate is a model no longer produced, but the beauty of this Crate is the clean setting is great. However, my Crate lacks distortion--very little distortion and only on the bridge setting of the Fender.

I have tried Marshal before, a small combo. I found the Marshal I played emphasized distortion too much. I'm not certain if this is the case for all Marshals.

Questions:
1. Is there a good amp for $250.00? If not, how much should I save for a decent amp?
2. I'm leaning towards the Orange Amps as I've read a lot of good things about them. Anyone have experience with them? I ask this because only one of the retailers carries Orange Amps.
3. I'm more concerned about features than wattage. Is there anything that I should look into with that in mind, my budget in mind, and the music I play in mind?
4. Should I still consider a Marshal?


Thank you for any and all responses!


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Post subject: Re: Best Amps for Around $250.00?
Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2011 12:12 pm
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There are tons of amazing Amps for around $250, here are a few thoughts...

Blues Jr's can sell used for around 275 or 300 and they are one of the most respected amps for practice or recording at any price.

As far as features though...
Fender Super Champ. Great Fender Champ clean tone, and on a separate channel you have 16 different digital amp voices. it's a tube driven amp with tons of great choices. For blues and funk, this is a fantastic amp.

The Fender Mustang series. I own the Mustang III. It is selling new on Buy.com for 269 right now. This thing is not a tube amp, but it has some great vintage sounds. You have a Champ Sound, deluxe reverb sound, Bassman as well as many other Fender sounds. You also have a Marshall stack sound too. it comes with a 100 factory presets, many of which are really cool sounding.

I am a fender fan but I have also heard a few people recently raving about the Roland Cube amps.

I have also owned a couple of Blackheart amps. They are no longer in production, but they have a really bold british sound with an amazing overdriven tone. I've seen a few used Handsome Devils pop up for the $250 range on Craigslist. Check on the youtube demos of these amps. They were a great value when they first came out and are still amazing.


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Post subject: Re: Best Amps for Around $250.00?
Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2011 12:42 pm
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I have a Fender Champion 30 DSP that I'm very happy with. Clean setting is awesome and has some nice distortion. If you can, get a footswitch with it to avoid needing to hit the little button to switch from clean to distortion.

I also bought my nephew a little Roland MicroCube, that for $125 gives you a lot of flexibility...i.e. battery or ac power, several types of distortion etc. Not an amp for gigging, but a great little "bedroom" amp.

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Post subject: Re: Best Amps for Around $250.00?
Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 12:16 pm
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for around 250 you can get a used tube combo that will do cleans and overdrive better than most solid state amps for that price. Look for used blues Jr's, Pro Jr's, or Super Champs.


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Post subject: Re: Best Amps for Around $250.00?
Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 9:11 am
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My main amp is my Blues Jr., and, as has been said here earlier, they can be had quite reasonably used. You won't outgrow that amp. I have a 65 watt Marshall Valvestate amp that I used to use for small club gigs. Still play it some, mainly with my Les Paul, but the Blues Jr. is my staple amp. Both my electric guitars sound great through it. Honestly, you can't go wrong if you get your hands on one of those! Get you a Boss Blues Driver pedal to go along with it and you can dial in just the amount of overdrive/distortion that you want. And the clean sound is great, when the Fat circuit is switched off.

For a "bedroom" amp, though, you gotta check out something like the Roland Street Cube. Runs on 6 AAA batteries, or on AC power (adapter is included). It features two channels -- one for vocal microphone or an acoustic guitar and a second, guitar-only channel. It has about a half-dozen different amp models, from acoustic, to a clean jazz amp, to a high-gain Mesa Boogie tone, and has several built-in effects, including chorus, flanger, delay/reverb, tremolo, and phaser. It has two stereo speakers and an aux input allow you to play along with CDs or your mp3 player. It's only 5 watts, but it is pretty loud cranked up. I bought one of them recently and it's sitting in my living room, where I play through it just about every day. It won't replace my Blues Jr, but it's a lot of fun to just fool around with and it's light enough to take anywhere, if you want to jam with friends.

I'd recommend that you get the Blues Jr. first, then save for a Street Cube later on.

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Post subject: Re: Best Amps for Around $250.00?
Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2011 8:53 am
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I'd like to offer you a couple of thoughts on your future purchases. You mentioned that you are also saving for a Deluxe Strat. My advice would be to put the majority of your money in the amp and think about an upgrade in guitar down the road. I realize that a Bullet Strat is entry level but in all honesty a Bullet will sound much better through a good tube amp than a high end guitar through a cheap amp. I hope this doesn't confuse you but I think it will pay off in the long run.


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Post subject: Re: Best Amps for Around $250.00?
Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2011 10:23 am
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l88vette wrote:
I'd like to offer you a couple of thoughts on your future purchases. You mentioned that you are also saving for a Deluxe Strat. My advice would be to put the majority of your money in the amp and think about an upgrade in guitar down the road. I realize that a Bullet Strat is entry level but in all honesty a Bullet will sound much better through a good tube amp than a high end guitar through a cheap amp. I hope this doesn't confuse you but I think it will pay off in the long run.


+1

Often a pickup upgrade and a good set-up are all that's required to turn a mediocre guitar into a comfortably-playing screamer. It's a little more difficult to mod a Frontman 15G to sound like a Super Reverb......

:lol:

Start with a good amp and build from there.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Best Amps for Around $250.00?
Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2011 6:21 am
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Retroverbial wrote:
l88vette wrote:
I'd like to offer you a couple of thoughts on your future purchases. You mentioned that you are also saving for a Deluxe Strat. My advice would be to put the majority of your money in the amp and think about an upgrade in guitar down the road. I realize that a Bullet Strat is entry level but in all honesty a Bullet will sound much better through a good tube amp than a high end guitar through a cheap amp. I hope this doesn't confuse you but I think it will pay off in the long run.


+1

Often a pickup upgrade and a good set-up are all that's required to turn a mediocre guitar into a comfortably-playing screamer. It's a little more difficult to mod a Frontman 15G to sound like a Super Reverb......

:lol:

Start with a good amp and build from there.

Arjay



+1

Squier makes some pretty decent guitars nowadays, similar to the Epiphone offshoot of Gibson. I've got an Epi Les Paul -- bought it in a pawn shop several years ago -- and it's been a great guitar. Any guitar can be easily modded and made to sound much better, as long as it's got good wood in it, so, as Arjay said, that's all it takes in most cases.

To me, it's about 50-50 -- half guitar and half amp, to get a decent sound. I recommended a Blues Jr. earlier, but I confess to being a bit prejudiced as far as that goes. The bottom line is that you CAN get a pretty good amplifier in the $250-$300 price range and there are many choices available. I would recommend a tube amp, because the sound is so much better than the solid state options, in my opinion. Take your guitar along, plug in, and try out a few amps before making up your mind. Experiment with different settings. Only YOU can know the sound you want, and realize when you get close to it. Once you have that, it may take only a couple of stompboxes to perfect your ideal sound. But play the AMP first, without the gadgets. That basic amp tone is what makes all the difference.

By all means consider buying used, as well as new. There are some great used amps around, with years of life left in them. You just have to look for them. Get the amp first. Then you'll already have half your problem licked and can save for your dream guitar.

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Post subject: Re: Best Amps for Around $250.00?
Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2011 8:22 am
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Not mentioned is the Fender Champ 600, low power, but good sounding no frills little tube amp.
And quite inexpensive.

Other option would be to look at some of the newish Fender Mustang modeling amps.
250$ would get you a Mustang II or Mustang III if you look around.

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Post subject: Re: Best Amps for Around $250.00?
Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2011 8:34 am
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Used Roland JC-50 or JC-77

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Post subject: Re: Best Amps for Around $250.00?
Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2011 5:10 am
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if that was my budget, theres no question i would get this amp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUmvmEGN5os

has a ton of features and the best amp of its kind out there IMO.
has a great tone for its size and can be loud if you need it to be.

here is a live demo of the same amp being mic'ed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSDFn9fw ... re=related

there is also the VT20 and the VT15. all these are pretty close to the
same amp with different wattages.

ok you mentioned that you wanted a non tube amp. is there any reason
why thats a requirement? just curious.

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Post subject: Re: Best Amps for Around $250.00?
Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2011 9:11 am
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Just my 2 cents, I've had a Roland Micro Cube for a while now, and it has done me good service. It is great for practicing, playing and is pretty good sound wise for such a compact / cheap setup. Great for playing in a block of flats. Also, when on a camping holiday with the boys everyone else round the campfire brings out their acoustic, then I get my Strat & Micro Cube out. Sorry, just a bit of one-upmanship - but really go to a wood and play guitar as loud as you want - it's fun!

RE: $250 amp - that's the kind of question I was thinking a couple of weeks ago (until bought / borrowed) new amp. To echo the other posters, I found out that guitars seem to come and go but amp choice is a bit more (cost & preference -wise) than I imagined.

Rik


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Post subject: Re: Best Amps for Around $250.00?
Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2011 9:27 am
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your right the micro cube is pretty cool. heck the cube isnt to shabby either for a SS amp.
for battery powered amps i love my pignose. of all the amps i have, (to many honestly)
i use my pig the most. the pig with my OCD and carbon copy in front, sweet tone.
had a chance to grab a original cube 30 back in january for $100. the guy had even recovered it in relic tweed. im still kicking myself for not grabbing it. :cry: big mistake for WayCool.

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Post subject: Re: Best Amps for Around $250.00?
Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 6:39 pm
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I agree with stratfreak it's hard to beat a Fender Blues Jr with a Boss Blues Driver on the front end. You can dial in just about any sound you are looking for.

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Post subject: Re: Best Amps for Around $250.00?
Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2011 11:00 am
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Check our this Roland Cube 40XL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5H6hk8y ... re=related

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