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Topic: tube amp recommendations |
Kristina Jacobsen
From:
Illinois, USA
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Posted 1 Jun 2007 5:51 pm |
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Hi All,
What do you recommend as a good tube amplifier in the $300-400 range? Doesn't need to be vintage, just needs to sound good and be loud enough to use for gigs.
Also, is $350 for a Peavey Classic 30, 12" speakers and EL 84s a good deal?
thankyou much,
Kristina |
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Chris Walke
From:
St Charles, IL
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Posted 1 Jun 2007 6:49 pm
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Hello, fellow Illinoisian -
Fender Blues Jr.
15 watts, 12" speaker, spring reverb, vol & gain controls, 3 band eq. Not too heavy. |
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Jason Dumont
From:
Bristol, Connecticut, USA
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Posted 1 Jun 2007 6:54 pm
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I'm with Chris. I think those amps are terrific.
Those little suckers can get loud. |
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Lynn Oliver
From:
Redmond, Washington USA * R.I.P.
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Posted 1 Jun 2007 6:54 pm Re: tube amp recommendations
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| Kristina Jacobsen wrote: |
| Also, is $350 for a Peavey Classic 30, 12" speakers and EL 84s a good deal? |
If it is in good shape that could be an excellent deal. Street price is close to $600 for a new one. |
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Mark Vinbury
From:
N. Kingstown, Rhode Island, USA
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Posted 1 Jun 2007 8:23 pm
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I'm with Chris and Jason.
If I'm not mistaken the Classic 30 is a "class A" circuit amp and to me, they seem to have a lower distortion threshold and less clean headroom than the Fenders.
Depending on the sound your looking for this may or may not be desireable for playing steel.
I'd be leaning more toward the Fender as a better all around amp. |
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Lynn Oliver
From:
Redmond, Washington USA * R.I.P.
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Posted 1 Jun 2007 8:43 pm
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A search through the archives will turn up a lot of discussion on both of these amps.
By reputation the Classic 30 is one of the better pc board (as opposed to point to point wired) designs around, but at 30W it is also pretty loud.
You might also look at an Epiphone Valve Jr.
Or leap into kit building. |
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Bill Creller
From:
Saginaw, Michigan, USA (deceased)
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Posted 1 Jun 2007 11:37 pm
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Take your guitar to a local music store, and try everything in the place. It may give you an idea of what to look for in a used amp. You wont likely find a later model amp that doesn't use a PCB...printed crap board. Some hold up good, some are troublesome. I'm working on one right now, a Peavey "Delta Blues 210". It's not tech friendly.
, but has an excellent cab 
I doubt if the Classic 30 is a class A circuit. The output transformer would weigh as much as a car battery if it was.
Regards BILL |
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Roman Sonnleitner
From:
Vienna, Austria
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Posted 2 Jun 2007 1:32 am
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The Classic 30 is definitely not Class A (there are very few amps on the market that are, usually only single ended ones, many that claim to be, like the Vox AC30, aren't either...).
But Class A doesn't really say a lot about the tone, anyway - and the Peavey is a great amp! |
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David Doggett
From:
Bawl'mer, MD (formerly of MS, Nawluns, Gnashville, Knocksville, Lost Angeles, Bahsten. and Philly)
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Posted 2 Jun 2007 9:08 am
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I like the Peavey Delta Blues with the 15" speaker much better than the Classic 30. It's very similar to the Classic 30, but with a bigger speaker and cabinet. For the same 30 watts it has a much fuller tone.
For inexpensive small amps, the Vox Valvetonix series put out a wide variety of clean and dirty sounds, and have some useful effects. |
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Kristina Jacobsen
From:
Illinois, USA
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Posted 2 Jun 2007 9:33 am one more thing
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thank you all. I think the next step is indeed to head to a music store and try all these ones out. I forgot to mention that this is specifically for my 6-string Oahu lap steel.
best,
kristina |
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Chris Walke
From:
St Charles, IL
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Posted 2 Jun 2007 11:17 am
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Oh, we should mention that there are many folks here who like the Fender Pro Jr - 15watts, 10" speaker, vol & tone, that's it. Nice & simple.
Or for the very budget conscious - the Roland MicroCube gets rave reviews.
Depends on the application - practice amp vs gigging amp. The Fenders mentioned would work well for both. The Peavey would be pretty loud for practice, unless you like to practice loud. |
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Fred Kinbom
From:
Berlin, Germany, via Stockholm, Sweden.
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Kevin Ruddell
From:
Toledo Ohio USA
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Posted 3 Jun 2007 4:58 am
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The Classic 30 is a time proven winner from Peavey.....for electric guitar . It has a high mid tone that is not the best for Steel Guitar ; for my ears anyway. I gave my Classic 30 to my oldest son and he really enjoys playing his Tele through it .
Look on eBay for a used TubeWorks amp , they are readily available , sound good for steel made in the USA and sound great , especially the Provalve 60 model with two 6L6 Tubes |
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Rockne Riddlebarger
From:
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
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Posted 3 Jun 2007 8:55 am
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| Hi! I agree with David about the Peavey Delta Blues model amp. I picked one up for a little under $300 used and have been using it with all of my lap steels and it always sounds GREAT! I have used tube amps with 12" speakers for years as steel amps but the 15 provides a deeper, wider range of tones. I have played through all of the previously mentioned amps and they all work fine with steels, just remember that amps are as individualistic as guitars, and are not always alike, even if they are the same make and model. Be sure to try out an amp with one or more of the guitars that you will be using it with. good hunting and good picking...Rockne |
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Bill Creller
From:
Saginaw, Michigan, USA (deceased)
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Posted 3 Jun 2007 4:55 pm
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That's right about that they really aren't all alike Not only that, certain amps like certain guitars, or vice-versa.
Some steels sound good in most any amp, but there are others that are "amp-sensitive" |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 3 Jun 2007 9:00 pm
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| Fender Vibro-Champ. |
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Lynn Oliver
From:
Redmond, Washington USA * R.I.P.
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Posted 3 Jun 2007 10:30 pm
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| Kevin Ruddell wrote: |
| The Classic 30 ...has a high mid tone that is not the best for Steel Guitar... |
From reading the forum I understand that pedal steel players tend to look for a certain type of sound and favor amps that are voiced for steel guitar. OTOH it generally seems that non-pedal people are looking for something much closer to what the typical guitar player might use, especially the various tube amps.
So Kevin, are you talking about pedal or non-pedal here? Can you elaborate? |
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Kevin Ruddell
From:
Toledo Ohio USA
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Posted 4 Jun 2007 2:19 am
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Lynn ;
I have non pedal steels , a Fender Dual 8, Georgeboard S-8 and Blattenberger . Through a Mesa Boogie or Tubeworks amp they all sound great right away , but with the Classic 30 they all have an upper mid sound that is tiring on the ears , especially on the top strings. I just couldn't dial it out . A Telecaster sounds great through the Classic 30 but not my steels. I tried the 30's effects loop with other preamps and power amps and that upper mid tone is present in both areas of the 30. It may be a different result with other pedal or lap steel guitars. I never used anything other than the clean channel on the Peavey. |
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Bob Bowman
From:
Staffordshire, England
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Posted 4 Jun 2007 5:50 am Amps
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I use a Mk11 Boogie with an Altec 12" speaker and it sounds great with all my electrics, solids/semi acoustic guitars and lap steels. There is a switchable graphic EQ as well but the amp is so flexible I never use it. Crtically for steel, Boogies have a LOT  of loud clean headroom but don't need to run loud to sound good. It also does distortion par excellence. Best amp I ever had.
Biggest problems
1. compact, but weighs 10 tons (at least)
2. refuses to make acoustic pickups sound right, very much voiced for electrics.
Try one out
Cheers Bob |
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Drew Howard
From:
48854
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Posted 4 Jun 2007 6:03 am ditto
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Fender Blues Jr.
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Brad Bechtel
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 4 Jun 2007 7:26 am
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Moved to Electronics from Steel Without Pedals.
_________________
Brad’s Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars |
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