Japhet Posted November 2, 2016 Posted November 2, 2016 Those little Hotone amps look like fun. Under £100 too.
Kiwi Posted November 2, 2016 Posted November 2, 2016 Ibanez tsa5, £90 from thomann and they have tube screamers built in. The blackstars look nice too, don't worry about the headroom when there are so many pedals out there which will do a great job.
Bass_Guardian Posted November 2, 2016 Author Posted November 2, 2016 [quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1478096165' post='3166714'] Ibanez tsa5, £90 from thomann and they have tube screamers built in. The blackstars look nice too, don't worry about the headroom when there are so many pedals out there which will do a great job. [/quote] Can't seem to find it on their website got any links?
Andyjr1515 Posted November 2, 2016 Posted November 2, 2016 I've got a Vox AC4. No frills, just gain, bass, treble and master vol but I am delighted. Will sonically do pretty much whatever I need a tube amp to do but at volumes from surprisingly loud to very quiet. You can plug an external speaker in too
roman_sub Posted November 3, 2016 Posted November 3, 2016 Laney LC15 would be worth a look imo, if you want cheap, or the Hughes & Kettner Tubemeister series if you want more options (which have a built-in attenuator / speaker simulator out).
EliasMooseblaster Posted November 3, 2016 Posted November 3, 2016 I can heartily recommend the Blackstar HT-1R for home practice. Even with just one watt, it goes louder than I could probably get away with at home, but not so loud that I can't run it reasonably hard and get a good spectrum of tones from clean to overdriven. The only thing that may put you off is the "baked-in" tone - a lot of people on here aren't fond of it, and it's controlled by a single tone/shape knob. Basically it gives you a mid-scoop at one end and a mid-hump at the other. (Personally I like the tone, so I'm happy with the limited EQ options.) It does also have jack outputs on the back for external speaker, headphone and line out (will have to check the latter), so you could always make it louder with a larger speaker cab and maybe an external power amp.
Dad3353 Posted November 20, 2016 Posted November 20, 2016 An old thread, but I'll mention it just the same... 'Cranked' volume can be controlled quite effectively by turning the cab face down on a carpeted floor. This'll tame even 4x12 cabs, but works very well for home combos, too, as long as heat dispersion isn't an issue. Valve warmth without the shattered windows. Best with sealed cabs; 'open-backs' could have a cushion over 'em. Just sayin'.
Jonnydoghouse Posted December 4, 2016 Posted December 4, 2016 (edited) [quote name='Bass_Guardian' timestamp='1473765040' post='3132858'] Honestly I would like break up at a fairly low level, nothing too loud but still have a decent clean thats not too quiet. Tall order I know! [/quote] Dunno if you're still looking, I'll weigh in with my choices though. Bugera 5w valve combo 8" speaker, nice digital 'verb and crucially a GAIN and MASTER VOLUME. Most tiny home valve amps don't have this luxury. Theres 1 pre amp valve and the output section is solid state.Overdrive is lovely, natural and creamy. If you wanted a metal sound, you may need to put a boost pedal in front. I've used this amp on big festival stages in a trio (no drums obvs) with a mic in front of it, the tone is so nice. 1 tone control giving a nice range. Also, the speaker is on a jack plug so you can run the amp through a bigger speaker cab which really opens it up. I used it through a 12, amazing blues tone. Small enough to use at home. Even if you have bought something already, these are so cheap it's worth a go! Edited December 4, 2016 by Jonnydoghouse
Skezza Posted December 27, 2016 Posted December 27, 2016 laney L5t best 5 watt valve amp out there with celestion greenback speaker will get one for £350 peavey bravo 20 watt valve amp from 1980 I have three all off ebay the most I have paid is £125 very loud so use attenuator laney LC15 or LC15r about £150 each
Cathode_Follower Posted February 16, 2017 Posted February 16, 2017 (edited) [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1473764922' post='3132857'] As is speaker break up. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any way to reproduce this at low volumes over than software modelling. I think the OP needs to identify what parts of the valve sound are important to him (pre-amp valves, power amp valves, speaker break up) and work from there. [/quote] Weber make some attenuators that are absolutely top-notch stuff with moving coil components that provide a proper inductive load that interacts with the output stage of an amp like an actual speaker, definitely worth looking into. [url="https://www.tedweber.com/gadgets/attenuators"]https://www.tedweber...ets/attenuators[/url] Of course you're still not actually driving your output speaker, but I guess if you push the attenuator you'll get a certain amount of that in the audible side of the output circuit. Edited February 16, 2017 by Cathode_Follower
wrinkleygit Posted March 3, 2017 Posted March 3, 2017 look out for a late model Marshall Class 5, early models had design flaws, check the rear panel, valves should be seen hanging down, also h'phone socket & low power switch, ideal for home use plus almost enough volume for small gigs & jams, mike b.
bassbiscuits Posted March 8, 2017 Posted March 8, 2017 (edited) If you're not desperate for it to be a valve amp, i can heartily recommend the Blackstar ID Core range. They have a really usable range of clean/dirty tones, multiple effects and sound absolutely staggering for the size/cost. And plenty loud enough. Also does headphones for quiet practise, and MP3/CD input to play along with stuff. Edited March 8, 2017 by bassbiscuits
kevin_lindsay Posted March 8, 2017 Posted March 8, 2017 I just bought one of these all valve heads via my local Facebook classified ads page. Mine is in the current metal "bird cage" format (so you can see the valves glowing while in use). Fantastic sounding piece of equipment. http://youtu.be/JueiW00ZC88
Bass_Guardian Posted March 16, 2017 Author Posted March 16, 2017 Thanks everyone for the options so far very close to maybe getting a Vox AC15 C1 for close to £350 fingers crossed
Bass_Guardian Posted March 16, 2017 Author Posted March 16, 2017 Pulled the trigger pick the amp up either tomorrow night or saturday morning
Bass_Guardian Posted March 17, 2017 Author Posted March 17, 2017 Now the owner of a Vox AC15 C1 boy it's alot louder than I thought it would be. It's in absolutely immaculate condition, the previous owner takes good care of his gear (cracking gear he's got too). Thanks everyone for the suggestions
JapanAxe Posted March 17, 2017 Posted March 17, 2017 [quote name='Bass_Guardian' timestamp='1489747131' post='3259377'] Now the owner of a Vox AC15 C1 boy it's alot louder than I thought it would be. It's in absolutely immaculate condition, the previous owner takes good care of his gear (cracking gear he's got too). Thanks everyone for the suggestions [/quote] Good choice, enjoy!
lonestar Posted November 7, 2017 Posted November 7, 2017 I've just got one of these https://youtu.be/cSh-jbBhbo8 It's the upgraded black Tolex one £369 Lovely
AidanB Posted December 6, 2017 Posted December 6, 2017 Orage Micro Dark. Lovely tone, can do really nice clean to slightly overdriven right up to insane distortion all at low volume OR you can crank it up and it is seriously loud. It has a proper effects loop so you can add reverb/delay etc. I think the matching cab is probably too small and boxy but I don't know cos I've never tried it. I had an old 2x12 and it sounded amazing.
converse320 Posted December 10, 2017 Posted December 10, 2017 On 12/6/2017 at 20:29, AidanB said: Orage Micro Dark. Lovely tone, can do really nice clean to slightly overdriven right up to insane distortion all at low volume OR you can crank it up and it is seriously loud. It has a proper effects loop so you can add reverb/delay etc. I think the matching cab is probably too small and boxy but I don't know cos I've never tried it. I had an old 2x12 and it sounded amazing. On 9/19/2016 at 13:22, fretmeister said: This. But I don't really get the problem with big valve amps for home practice, as long as the amp has a master volume. My daughter uses a Peavey Classic 50 head with a 4x12 cab in her small bedroom, and its fine - you can get a great lead tone with the gain cranked up, but still control the volume to bedroom levels. Its twin channel too, so very easy to use once its set up. It sounds way better than the Orange Micro that she started out with, but even that can run at high distortion and low volume,
converse320 Posted December 10, 2017 Posted December 10, 2017 Oops. I somehow seem to have edited Fretmeisters post instead of posting my comment. The second quote above was supposed to be my comment on AidanBs post
fretmeister Posted April 19, 2018 Posted April 19, 2018 Boss Katana. I love mine. Was completely surprised by it.
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