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Post subject: Re: If you only had $300-$400 to spend, what amp?
Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2014 10:12 pm
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Tom, a quality new amp at $300-400 will be a hard nut to crack. I'd lean towards a '70's Band Master or Bassman head in good working order and a decent 1X12 cab. Sometimes, you'll see a Fender 30 or 70 combo at that price, and that would be a great amp. Good Hunting !! JMHO, Art

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Post subject: Re: If you only had $300-$400 to spend, what amp?
Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2014 11:55 pm
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Used Fender Blues Dlx Reissue or Peavey Delta Blues. Your budget may be a little tight, however.....probably more like $500, but you might get lucky.

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Post subject: Re: If you only had $300-$400 to spend, what amp?
Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2014 10:32 am
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I'm beginning to think that I'm just out of luck if I am looking for a good tube amp, at $300-400. The amps I know would be good, are way more than that (like a Fender Twin for example). I may can find a used one somewhere, but I've had bad luck with used equipment, especially used equipment I've ordered from Guitar Center or other online outlets. I will just keep on looking.

Thanks to everyone for the input.


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Post subject: Re: If you only had $300-$400 to spend, what amp?
Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2014 11:18 am
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$300 -$400 is not a lot of money for a good tubes amp .

You write about Fender Twin wich is a powerefull amp you don't kneed .

Between $300 and Twin reverb you have some good choice .

Be carrefull some good deal looking amp may need to see a tech for a tune-up wich could cost $75 to $200.

Remember , better is the amp better you guitar ( any kind ) will sound .

Better do not mean powerfull


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Post subject: Re: If you only had $300-$400 to spend, what amp?
Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2014 4:43 pm
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My advice is use what you have to get by until you can double your budget. $600 -$800 will get you a much better amp and won't leave you saying, "I wish I would have.........."


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Post subject: Re: If you only had $300-$400 to spend, what amp?
Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2014 5:16 pm
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thomasVatkinson53 wrote:
I'm beginning to think that I'm just out of luck if I am looking for a good tube amp, at $300-400. The amps I know would be good, are way more than that (like a Fender Twin for example). I may can find a used one somewhere, but I've had bad luck with used equipment, especially used equipment I've ordered from Guitar Center or other online outlets. I will just keep on looking.

Thanks to everyone for the input.


Your budget of course gives you limits regarding tube amps.
BUT, don't despair, there are plenty of used tube amps that sell in that range.
Since you don't have many music stores in your area then check out guitar center online in the used section.
Put in your dollar amount and see what comes up.

The great thing about buying from them is that you can return any item you bought online to a local GC. This gives you a chance to try out some amps at home, and if you don't like one take it back to the local store.
Shipping cost is pretty nominal with GC and sometimes it's even free.
You get 30 days to try it out and return it.
If you want to try something out for longer, then get the extended warranty and then you'll have 60 days to return.
If you decide to keep an map and you don't want the extended warranty all you do is call the warranty company and they will give you a refund.
The warranties are also prorated for monetary refund.

Regarding what tube amp to get, of course a used lower wattage Fender will give you great clean tones and with a good distortion pedal you can easily get some really cool Metal tones. The Boss Metal Core, not "Metal Zone", pedal isn't the best all around distortion pedal, but it'll give you some brutal high gain and it's pretty decent for Metal.
Easily found for $40-$50 used. GC has like 10 used one's from $40 to $50.
With a Fender you get pretty decent and consistent build quality that has proven to last over the years.

A new low cost tube amp that gets great reviews by it's owners are Bugera's.
They get a lot of guff from non Bugera players, but they are actually very decent amps for low money. A number of years ago when they first started making amps there were issues, but over the past 3-5 years they put out nice amps for low money.
And the tones are really nice.
If you want a more classic clean amp with some crunch ability the V22 and V55 combo's are great. They do a very nice clean tone and have some cool distortion, not Metal level, but still cool.
V22 (22 watts 1x12) new is only $380 from Sweetwater music w/free shipping.
The V55 (55 watts 1x12) new is $450.
The BC30 is a 30 watt 2x12 all tube combo that's designed to be sound very vintage.
It's a class A amp and has a built in choice of tube rectifiers, a single 5AR4 or two 5V4 tubes. And it has a half power mode for 15 watts.
Lot of amp for the money at only $450
GC has a used one for $325 and has free shipping.
They are well within your price range bought used.
GC online has a Bugera BC30, 30 watt 2x12 combo for $325 and shipping is free.

If you want a low cost tube amp that will cover good clean, crunch, and high gain metal the Bugera 333XL-212 INFINIUM - 120-watt, 2 x 12" Combo Guitar Amplifier
3-channel 120-watt All-tube Combo Guitar Amplifier with 2 x 12" Speakers, Reverb, FX Loop, Variable Impedance, EQ, Lead Channel Noise Gate, Footswitch, Power Damping, and INFINIUM Tube Life Multiplier
It's a LOT of amp for the money.
New it's $500 from Sweetwater.

I've played most of these amps and they really do sound good, and the low cost is a bonus. I had their 6262 head, it's a very Metal amp and a near replica of Peavey's
$1200 6565+ head. The 6262 is a fraction of that cost, but it's not built as solid as the Peavey.
There is a 2x12 6262 combo on GC used and it's only $300 and one for $380.


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Post subject: Re: If you only had $300-$400 to spend, what amp?
Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2014 6:51 pm
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Used Peavey Classic 30 or Delta Blues 30. Rock solid great sounding amps. I would also recommend Jet City and VHT.
You can play any gig with a 20 or 30 watt amp that has efficient speakers. I use a 5e3 clone that's only around 18 watts. I'm going to build a Marshall 18 watt clone this winter. I had a 76 Twin for over 30 years and it was serious overkill for most gigs.

None of the Fender Hot tRod series really rang my chimes. I had a HRdlx for a while. It was nothing but a headache YMMV

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Post subject: Re: If you only had $300-$400 to spend, what amp?
Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2014 1:33 am
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Save yourself the grief and stay away from the Bugera V22. (Personal experience speaking here.)
Save up 'til you can spend $500 to $600 on a quality used amp.

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Post subject: Re: If you only had $300-$400 to spend, what amp?
Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2014 11:07 am
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IM4Tone wrote:
Save yourself the grief and stay away from the Bugera V22. (Personal experience speaking here.)
Save up 'til you can spend $500 to $600 on a quality used amp.


+1 I let the magic smoke out of one on the showroom floor. The sales guy was miffed about it. :lol: Glad I didn't take one home. $600 can get you a used DRRI, a clone kit, close to a Twin, Plenty of Peavey amps you name it.

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