Hey guys. I'm looking for a tube head or combo that gives a nice blues OD and can go abit thicker. A clean channel isn't a must-have. I'm considering:
Egnater Rebel 20 & 30
Peavey classic 30 head or 50 head(if I can find one)
Blackheart Handsome devil
Vox Ac30

Trying to get something in the ballpark of a Two-Rock-ish overdrive.
What else is out there for under 6-7 hundred? Also, Is there another way to go direct into a soundsystem other than the feature found on the Rebel 30? Thanks.

I just got a Fender Deluxe VM that's pretty versatile. Paid $699 for it, so it's at the high end of your range, but there's a lot of bang for the buck there.

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I run an Egnater Rebel 20. It's been bulletproof for the past six months so far. It's an amazing and extremely versatile amp. I run mine with two Egnater 112 cabs. It totally kills the HRDlx I had.

Take a look at the Vox Night Train and Marshall Haze too.

I played with the VM series both the Bandmaster and Deluxe when I was trying the Egnater. The Egnater sounded more "real" to me for lack of a better term. The VM's sounded too digital. I didn't like the effects or the reverb. But everybody's ears are different and YMMV.

The Egnater was actually built better too. Birch cabinets, thick double sided boards with plated through holes and the tube mix control is great too. So many tones in a small package. The Rebel 30 has a bit more features. I like simplicity myself.

Is your 20 watter enough to be heard over drums?

I just now noticed that. I didn't really know what my username should be so I made it after my strat. Sorry, I wouldn't have done it if I would've seen yours

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Yep. Over our very aggressive drummer. It actually cuts a mix way better than my HRDlx ever did and with only one cabinet. It can get quite deafening. I have no problem keeping up with a Deville and without pedals. The gain on the Egnater sounds amazing.

There's so many options. Just now got my 4x12 back to run my Windsor through. The moderate to heavy drive is fizzy and awful. Almost clean and low drive is the sweet spot. Now I'm considering using a Fulltone OCD or MI Audio Blues Pro (I like.) beefing up the Peavey for my main OD, and running my Fender Princeton Chorus as my clean channel through the P.A. using this sweet vintage DOD 270 A/B box to switch between the two.... Hard choice.

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Just went to Guitarcenter and Sam Ash yesterday and got to play the Egnater rebel 20 & 30, and the Vox nightrain. Even side by side through the same cab at GC! The Vox blew the rebel away. No comparison, and it will be my next amp purchase.

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Good choice,Vox amps are deadly,I have 2 and I love them.

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I found it the other way around. I got way more versatility from the Rebel including the Vox chime from the EL84's. It was close but still different.

I did like the Night Train. I still may pick one up. Just curious if you tried the Egnater cab? I tried the Vox through the Vox cab and the Egnater through the Egnater cab.

I unfortunately hate my VOX AD50VT! I am considering a Marshall JMD1 or thereabouts. I like the sounds of the Fender reverbs too though!

Ran both of them through a used Bogner cab.

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I bought an Egnater Rebel 20 and returned it for 3 reasons. 1) The wattage control merely reduces the available headroom in the power amp before it clips. It does not change the amp from 1 to 20 watts of power as I had hoped. So, you want max distortion, set the amp to 1W and crank up the preamp. 2) Found I missed a true 2 channel amp. 3) The effects loop was junk [on 2 different amps]. A known problem that perhaps they have fixed now.

So, though the Rebel produced nice enough sound, I exchanged it for a Krank Rev Jr Pro and love it for what it is - just my home and throw and go rig. Sound is all so subjective but I found it nearly as good clean as the Egnater and a lot better dirty. Known for metal amps, those knobs on Krank amps do work. You can dial in a really good bluesy crunch with the preamp on 1-2, full out classic rock growl at 4-5, and of course they are known for metal if you want to go past 5. I don't.

I also would buy a Blackstar HT-5 in a heartbeat but they weren't out yet.

All this said, The Egnater MOD50 is the best amp I have played on to date and I am looking at the new Egnater 65W head for a new giggable rig. It also has 18W mode so it could potentially replace my Krank for around the house if I decide to go there. Egnater makes good stuff. I just had issues with the Rebel that perhaps others will too.

In the world of watts, it is actually a watt. The watt control in not an attenuator and it's explained in the manual. A watt is still loud though. The early Rebels had problems with the loop but only with certain effects. It has been fixed. Mine had no problem and is dead quiet. The Krank amps are fun. A bit too much gain for me.