Small valve amps. Caution; guitar related content

[leftybassman392]

7 minutes ago, Monkey Steve said:

Whether or not it would have been better handled by a different attenuator is moot (as explained above) so perhaps it's simply something that you'll have to test when you try the amps out - cut the output and see if you like the sound

I'll get to find out today. Going over to my local musical instrument emporium later to try some things out. I'll be taking the Strat and the 335 (I don't have a Les Paul), which should give me a pretty good idea what I'm getting. The 4-stage attenuator on the Cornell seems to be a standard feature that they have on several other models in the range, so with luck it'll have been properly thought through rather than just bunged onto the amp for giggles. At the asking price I'd certainly hope so.

[leftybassman392]

Well I tried the Cornell, and TBH I was a bit underwhelmed. I'm sure there's a really good amp in there somewhere, but I didn't find it despite about an hour of tinkering. I'm still not completely sure what the attenuation is doing (the shop told me they thought it was purely resistive but it seemed to be doing something else as well), but whatever it is I couldn't get on with it. The small speaker wasn't helping either  - I had to lean the amp back against the wall before I could hear it properly.

I also tried the new Blues Junior IV and, frankly, I rather liked it. At 15W it's really too much on its own, but it was just much easier to dial in a sound I liked even with the O/P side rolled right back.

Unfortunately there wasn't time to try out any of the Blackstars (and in the event I wound up doing most of the testing with the Strat as I'd forgotten to change the knackered old strings I had on the 335), but I have the option to go back and give them a go at a later date if I want to. We'll see...

Edited November 13, 2019 by leftybassman392

[skankdelvar]

1 minute ago, leftybassman392 said:

Well I tried the Cornell, and TBH I was a bit underwhelmed.

[leftybassman392]

4 hours ago, skankdelvar said:

I'm not overly worried about it. It was a bit disappointing, but I'm quite prepared to believe at least some of it was my failure to extract the best from it. I watched a couple of YouTube reviews, and the reviewers seem able to make it sound very nice, both on clean and drive settings. That said, the power attenuation technology is definitely doing something odd. There's a phrase in the owner's 'manual' (which is actually a few sheets of A4 stapled together) on how it works:

Quote:

OUTPUT SWITCH

This switch alters the output power: Position A= 5 Watts,

position B=1.5 Watts, position C=1/4 Watt position D=1/20 Watt

Note that, unless the volume is adjusted above the power

selected, you will not notice any change in output level.

(My emphasis)

Sounds more like a limiter to me.

 

Edited November 13, 2019 by leftybassman392

[skankdelvar]

1 hour ago, leftybassman392 said:

I'm quite prepared to believe at least some of it was my failure to extract the best from it.

So not really a plug in and play, fire and forget amp, then? 

The Rivera was bit like that. Needed endless tweaking. A load of different sounds but none of them 'the sound'

[Dan Dare]

15 hours ago, leftybassman392 said:

Well I tried the Cornell, and TBH I was a bit underwhelmed. I'm sure there's a really good amp in there somewhere, but I didn't find it despite about an hour of tinkering. I'm still not completely sure what the attenuation is doing (the shop told me they thought it was purely resistive but it seemed to be doing something else as well), but whatever it is I couldn't get on with it. The small speaker wasn't helping either  - I had to lean the amp back against the wall before I could hear it properly.

I also tried the new Blues Junior IV and, frankly, I rather liked it. At 15W it's really too much on its own, but it was just much easier to dial in a sound I liked even with the O/P side rolled right back.

Unfortunately there wasn't time to try out any of the Blackstars (and in the event I wound up doing most of the testing with the Strat as I'd forgotten to change the knackered old strings I had on the 335), but I have the option to go back and give them a go at a later date if I want to. We'll see...

I had an idea you might feel that way. Cornford amps were definitely not yer average run of the mill offerings. I think I'm right in saying that the designer is now involved with Victory. Their amps are  over your stated budget, but would be worth a look if you do decide to push the boat out a bit. If you like the Junior, you can replace the first preamp valve to tame it and give more clean headroom before it goes into breakup. I used a lower output Phillips ECC83 (which I got from Watford Valves), which does the job nicely.

[Monkey Steve]

complete thread hijack, but I once had a few pints with Paul Cornford's son - he plays guitar in Chris Slade's band (when Slade's not in AC/DC) as does a mate of mine.

Once it had been explained to me that he was the son of the amp manufacturer, I expressed surprise that he was playing through a very high end amp that wasn't a Cornford (I think a Diezel, but I may be misremembering).  He told me that it originated from his dad's workshop where they are used as reference models to see how Cornford's compare, and in the past he's always been able to borrow one if he had a gig.  However, because of the ongoing flimsy finances of the company (which have since become terminal), whenever finances were circling the drain, he'd get the nod from his dad to come down and liberate all the amps to keep them out of the clutches of the creditors, to then be made available when the new Cornford amp company rises like a phoenix from the flames.  Basically he had a room full of top end amps at home that he hadn't paid for, the swine

[Beer of the Bass]

19 hours ago, leftybassman392 said:

Well I tried the Cornell, and TBH I was a bit underwhelmed. I'm sure there's a really good amp in there somewhere, but I didn't find it despite about an hour of tinkering. I'm still not completely sure what the attenuation is doing (the shop told me they thought it was purely resistive but it seemed to be doing something else as well), but whatever it is I couldn't get on with it. The small speaker wasn't helping either  - I had to lean the amp back against the wall before I could hear it properly.

I also tried the new Blues Junior IV and, frankly, I rather liked it. At 15W it's really too much on its own, but it was just much easier to dial in a sound I liked even with the O/P side rolled right back.

Unfortunately there wasn't time to try out any of the Blackstars (and in the event I wound up doing most of the testing with the Strat as I'd forgotten to change the knackered old strings I had on the 335), but I have the option to go back and give them a go at a later date if I want to. We'll see...

I haven't heard the newest version, but I quite like the Blues Juniors at low volume.  They get sort of boxy if you're pushing them for volume (maybe the tiny cab?), but otherwise they seem like useful amps.

[therealting]

Not sure if you’ve already bought an amp, but I have a suggestion that - in my opinion - is both unbelievably inexpensive and sounds absolutely incredible even at home volumes.

The Boss Katana. I have the 100w 1x12” version. Now I know, I know, it’s not a valve amp, and it’s a modeller... but in my opinion for the application you are after, it’s just about unbeatable.

As a bit of background, my main instrument is guitar and I do it for a living. I still own a small but very nice collection of valve amps that includes my prized THDs (a Univalve and a Flexi), a VHT (the superb Pittbull Super 30), etc. The one thing that convinced me to ditch them for live gigging use was buying a Kemper six years ago when my Mesa F30 (probably my favourite amp I’ve ever owned, gorgeous clean channel) got stolen. The Kemper gets me extremely close for gig situations and weighs diddly squat.

The Boss Katana is virtually as good, IMO. Tweaks just like a normal amp, and the sound AND feel are both extremely good. Bonus is that it has some very good effects too (I pretty much only use the delay and reverb). Most of my pro guitarist mates who’ve tried mine can’t believe how satisfying it is to play.

I paid £200 including the very good footswitch. 80% of the time I use the crunch model set to break up when I dig in and be chimey when I don’t. It’s the most inspiring amp I’ve ever had for home use. 

[leftybassman392]

@therealting Thanks for the thought (and I have no doubt that the Katana is every bit as good as you say), but although I haven't finally decided yet I now have a pretty good idea where this is going to wind up.

After around 50 years of playing more guitars than I care to think about through more amps than I can shake a stick at (including some really rather good kit from the likes of Line6), I've decided to keep it as simple as possible - valves, manual tone shaping, no more watts than I actually need, and no digital interfaces.

At some point I'll either sell (preferred) or trade the Cornford - on which I'm now taking sensible offers by the way - and put the proceeds towards one of two (or possibly three) models. Whichever one I choose, it will almost certainly have a Fender badge on the front.

[Stub Mandrel]

12 hours ago, leftybassman392 said:

@therealting Thanks for the thought (and I have no doubt that the Katana is every bit as good as you say), but although I haven't finally decided yet I now have a pretty good idea where this is going to wind up.

After around 50 years of playing more guitars than I care to think about through more amps than I can shake a stick at (including some really rather good kit from the likes of Line6), I've decided to keep it as simple as possible - valves, manual tone shaping, no more watts than I actually need, and no digital interfaces.

At some point I'll either sell (preferred) or trade the Cornford - on which I'm now taking sensible offers by the way - and put the proceeds towards one of two (or possibly three) models. Whichever one I choose, it will almost certainly have a Fender badge on the front.

My brother picked up an original series Fender DeVille as an exchange for an LP Junior  he was selling for £400.

It's a bit big for what you want, but surprisingly light and sounds great.

[leftybassman392]

4 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

My brother picked up an original series Fender DeVille as an exchange for an LP Junior  he was selling for £400.

It's a bit big for what you want, but surprisingly light and sounds great.

Yeah, great amp but just much too big for my needs unfortunately.

[Elfrasho]

I know it's not quite what you're looking at, but i've recently purchased a Hotone purple haze micro amp. 5w valve. It sounds outstanding, and I hooked it up to a 4x10 at a rehearsal unit and it goes pretty loud!  

 

£40 second hand. could splurge £150 on a nice small cab and it would be an awesome set up.

[lemmywinks]

Friend of mine recently picked up a Blackstar HT5RH Blonde amp setup from Guitar Guitar, sold out now but it was £299:
https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/191122351430008--blackstar-ht-5rh-blonde-package-with-1x12-cabinet?fbclid=IwAR0ArX4hyydWmAtKlVjptKmYbZJfYFr6juAuEBj6aCApH2x0-PTBot62QMU

They do it in a combo version too, a step up from the HT1 for not much more money (difference was £30 when he bought it).

 

He absolutely loves it and says it's the nicest amp he's had for home use (he doesn't gig at the moment) and also has the advantage of looking pretty neat so no complaints from the wife. The one GG were selling is the MkI and contrary to the description it doesn't have the 0.5w/5w switch.

Edited December 6, 2019 by lemmywinks

[leftybassman392]

Update:

The decision has been made to commit to a Blues Junior IV. More power than I really need, but hey!

As you may... Ahem... recall, the plan was to sell the Cornford to fund the purchase at the local outlet of a certain UK music megastore chain.

However, recent events have caused me to rethink some of the details. I'm still buying the BJ, but the trade-in offer from said megastore was pretty miserly and their asking price for the BJ is frankly a bit steep, which always made that route something of a second-best option even with a degree of negotiation. However, and despite my best efforts (not to mention a substantial drop in the asking price), the Cornford remains unsold (although in fairness I have what I believe is a properly serious expression of interest).

In the absence of a confirmed sale, I had been planning to withdraw it on Monday and go with the second option just to get it done (so to speak). However, in the aftermath of a recent major national event that we don't need to discuss any further here, the Pound has shot up in value (relatively speaking of course) against the Euro, so that the same Blues Junior is now trading from a certain well-known online retailer of German origin at under £500, making over £70 cheaper than the local asking price. This is a fact I cannot ignore since - among other things - I now have the flexibility to be more, er, flexible in regard to what I will accept for the Cornford. Discussions with Mrs. LBM over to how to proceed are now underway in full earnest, and I am hopeful of a positive outcome.

 

[skankdelvar]

22 minutes ago, leftybassman392 said:

Update:

The decision has been made ... Discussions with Mrs. LBM over to how to proceed are now underway in full earnest, and I am hopeful of a positive outcome.

On behalf of a grateful membership I welcome this communiqué and wish you the greatest of joy in your purchase while observing that recent events have gifted you not one BJ but two.

Edited December 15, 2019 by skankdelvar