Well I'm just about 2 years into playing guitar and it's time for a new amp. Not that I need a new amp it's just that with some skill and a bit of an ear for what I like being developed I think it's time to step up from my Spider III 15W. I'm wondering if there are any good sites or threads on here that can help educate me as to what direction I should be heading into. I have a good handle on what I like out of a guitar but amps are a whole different world. I'm looking for something in the 30W range and was leaning towards the new GDEC since it is along the same lines as the Spider series but I'm not sure if I want to go the amp modeling, bells and whistles route or maybe go the tube amp route or a solid state single channel with a couple of pedals to give me what I want. Ideally I'd like to pick a direction and then study and test a handful of what I want and make the decision in the next few months. Any direction would be awesome. I imagine this thread will be a bit redundant for most but I'm just trying to educate myself as best as I can.

Honestly, the best thing to do is to take your guitar to somewhere like GC (or any store that has a broad spectrum of amps) and run your stick thru them. Start with some tube amps, then if your not convinced that tube is the way to go, try some SS amps. Most effects on amps are digital and sound really fake, not always, but most times. So dont let those be a HUGE determining factor.

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"I started out with nothing, and still have most of it"

Try a bunch. Fender, Ampeg, Egnater, Mesa, tube, solid state, modeling amps, non modeling amps, single channel, multi channel and run them through their paces.

Like this forum the best way to pick up info would be an amp forum…I spend a lot of time on a few of them, great learning tool as this forum is….there are so many variables when picking an amp it would be stupid for me or anyone else on here to tell you what to get. Depends what you want to spend , what kind of music you play, specific tone you’re looking for, tube or not, and so on…. Early on in my playing an amp made all the difference but as I progress I sound the like me on whatever amp I play but with tonal differences. I can tell you what I dig about an amp but it may not be what your looking for. In fact have 6 different amps that all sound quite different………….any idea what kind of amp your thinking about?....what type of music do you play? And so on…. That may help us at least steer you in a direction. After that your ears will have to be the judge………..
Here are some links to other forums, you don’t necessarily have to register as there is good info to read if you don’t want to post…

http://forum.orangeamps.com/

http://www.carvinguitars.com/bbs/viewfo ... 22064c9a0f

http://www.marshallforum.com/

http://www.marshallampforum.com/forum/

http://forum.grailtone.com/

http://www.monkeylord.co.uk/forum/

http://www.fender.com/community/forums/ ... m.php?f=13

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(80’s Hair Metal) = A snapshot in time before Grunge ruined Rock & Roll forever!!!!

Here's one
www.rigtalk.com

i have to say its getting pretty hard today to walk into a store and have a productive shopping session. i guess mainly because businesses are turning to the internet for online shopping, in order to cut inventory costs.
i remember when i was hunting awhile back, i had several amp models in mind, but only found a few on any store floor. call me traditional, but HC reviews and youtube aren't enough for me to buy into something like this. i need to physically try it out. for the money, i want to be sure i'm getting the right thing.

the only answer would be the used market in certain shops, but even that can be rough, and its harder to find a used amp in the low budget bracket than you'd think.

i cant help but to wonder if i might be using a different amp right now had things been different. i was looking at the Crate Palomino, Peavey Windsor, Fender Pro Jr, and some others that i forget. needless to say i am very happy with the result, which most probably guess is the Pro Jr. but still, you never know...

This is good info everyone. Amps seem to be an even more personal thing than a guitar from my reading. I'm looking for a 30Wish amp that I'm going to primarily use for blues and classic rock. I love a nice crunch on an amp. I'm going to start off by trying a few tube amps in some shops and see first of all if that is even a consideration. To me I need something to be pretty great to justify a big price difference. Thanks for the insight and the links!

You want 30watt Tube or solid state? There's a difference between them!

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

Still going to determine which way to go on that. I hear so much about tubes that I'm compelled to try them before I buy anything else. I'm just going to spend some time reading up and then trying a few at various shops to see what I like and then go from there.

If you're looking for crunch, Classic Rock and Blues I'd look at The Marshall Haze, Egnater Rebel 20 or 30, Orange Tiny Terror and the Vox Night Train. If you want clean go with a Fender. I'm real vocal when it comes to not recommending the Hot Rod Series. The DRRI, Bassman and SRRI are really sweet amps. The Twin Is way too clean on it's own. You'll only get crunch with pedals. My Twin now stays at home and I gig with my Egnater and two 112 cabs.

for blues and classic hits, I would recommend a fender, so you will be able to play clean if needed. you can always add pedals to shape your tone. I found I like to play clean more as I get older, kinda makes me try harder to improve my chops, as I feel pedals help to make me sound better than I really am, what I'm probably tryin' to say is enhance my tone/sound. , anyway its a nice option to be able to play clean and add pedals when you want.

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2012 American Vintage Telecaster 1958
09 Fender american deluxe strat.
97 Gibson les paul special P90's double-cut
65 Princeton reverb re-issue
2010 Guild Gad-F40e

Hoeycow man! Just wanted you to know I feel your dilemma. I've played electric for about 2 yrs now and had the amp I started with, a Fender GDEC Jr. Nice amp, but kind of like you said, I guess I outgrew it. Don't know your price range, mine was around $300. My son started drumming, so I needed some volume to be heard over him. I tried some tube amps, was leaning strongly toward the SuperChamp XD, but wasn't sure if it would have enought power. The sales clerk steered me towards a new, "leftover" Vox AD50VT-XL. I bought it last Thursday and I am pleased with it so far. It's a modeling amp that definitely leans to the rock/metal end of the spectrum. If I could've afforded a BIG $ tube amp I may have pursued it, but this Vox more than meets my needs for the forseeable future. Good luck in your quest! Just remember only you know what you really want and need.

If you are going for blues, metal, or just amazing tone, get a tube. Don't be fooled and get a 40 watt though, thinking, "Oh, I want something a bit louder"; it's not a bit louder, compared to a 15 watt, it's about 9 to 10x louder. When you get a tube amp, especially class a, you should multiply the knowledge of how loud your amp is in solid state by about three times to convert it to tube volume, unless it's got a far amount of solid state stuff in it.

Personally, I want to try out a super champ. Doesn't sound like a bad amp.

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"Speak the truth, and speak it ever,
cost it what it will
for he who hides the wrong he did
did the wrong thing still."
-Miss Uel

Thanks guys! This information is what I wanted. I'm looking in the $300-$500 range. Although if I find a lower priced alternative that's fine too but that's the range I'm prepared to be in. I want something ideally that I fall in love with and keep forever. Something that really hits that magic sound that we all have in our heads. There's already been some cool suggestions that fall into that category and I'm lucky enough to be in Edmonton where we have a pretty good supply of music stores and selection. I'm not buying something that I can't try out.

There's a lot of confusion here.
A 40 watt amp isn't 9 or ten times louder than a 15 watt amp. It's not even twice as loud. Tube amps are voltage devices, solid state amps are current devices. The wattage in tubes amp is perceived to be louder because a tube amp is more efficient and breaks up more gradually than a solid state amp. A 30 watt Class "A" amp will sound louder than a 30 watt Class "AB" amp because The tube is ready to amplify the signal at all times. The signal is instantaneously amplified because the tube does not have to "wake up" from a less than full operational state as in an class AB amp.

Actually a tube amp is made of tubes and "solid state stuff" and an amp with a solid state rectifier will sound louder and tighter than a tube rectifier amp.

There's lots of information and books on tube amps. It's really interesting stuff. If you ever get a chance, try building an amp either solid state or tube or your own stomp boxes. I built a tiny 1 watt SS amp that I can actually drive my two 112 Egnater cabs with. It's pretty loud and sounds cool. I also just built a Build Your Own Clone British Blues Overdrive pedal that sounds great. It's easy to build stomp boxes and even etch and drill your own boards.