New amp opinion/advice - Darkglass, Blackstar or Orange

[BassAdder60]

I would look at the Aguilar Tone Hanmer amps as they are USA built and very reliable

Prices have recently dropped a bit too making them a good buy

 

They sound amazing but compared to the LBT I would say a warmer tone, definitely a vintage tube kind of tone. 
 

Ashdown RM500 is also a popular choice and sounds lovely 

[NancyJohnson]

I've had an AO900 for a while, pre-pandemic.  Took an age to bond with it - at one point I just wanted to get shot of it I was so unhappy - when I got the Euro-X about two months ago, I spent about an hour at home just tweaking things in an effort to get a usable tone out of it.  It's really not a unit that does incredible tone out of the box.  I run it through a pair of DG 1x12s with the tweeter set about half way.

 

Definitely an Alpha guy, it really doesn't need much gain/distortion to achieve a pretty good/gnarly Geddy/dUg tone, anything else can be dialled in from the bass.  

[markbunney]

4 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

I've had an AO900 for a while, pre-pandemic.  Took an age to bond with it - at one point I just wanted to get shot of it I was so unhappy - when I got the Euro-X about two months ago, I spent about an hour at home just tweaking things in an effort to get a usable tone out of it.  It's really not a unit that does incredible tone out of the box.  I run it through a pair of DG 1x12s with the tweeter set about half way.

 

Definitely an Alpha guy, it really doesn't need much gain/distortion to achieve a pretty good/gnarly Geddy/dUg tone, anything else can be dialled in from the bass.  

Thanks, I am disappointed as I really loved the sound of the distortion on this.

 

I might try another AO500 when back in stock, or maybe even an AO900. I was looking at the AO900 but it was significantly more than the AO500 and I couldn’t really justify it 

[Raslee]

The Blackstar Unity 700 is a great versatile amp - I’ve got one that I’ve had from new but thinking of selling as I seem to have accrued 6 amps now - recently bought an old Eden so something has to go, so thinking this and a TC BH550 for the chop.  Have to say though the Blackstar is a brilliant piece of kit, lovely clean tones amongst the heavier ones too.