Amp Purchase

Hi,

I just joined up to the Tube Freaks forum. I've been a long time viewer of the Electric Guitar Review website. I think it's one of the best around.

I'm fairly new to the whole guitar world, I'm in my mid 40s and been playing for about 3 years now. It's become my obsession. It's like finding that missing piece in your life that you wished you had discovered when you were 12.

Because I started so late in life I want to cram in as much as I can so my next purchase is a good electric guitar amp. I had emailed Cary a few weeks back asking his advice and I thought I'd throw it out to the masses to see what others thought.

My original plan was to get a good Solid State amp with some built in effects and when my playing got a little better, assuming it does, I would look at getting a better tube amp down the road. The guy I take lessons from is a firm believer in getting good quality from the start and you'll be better off in the long run, which I tend to agree with and have tried to follow that in all my purchases. Having read Cary's review of the Swart Atomic Space Tone, it's got me thinking to take the dive into the tube world and get something great that'll satisfy me for a long time.

Anyways, if anyone feels like chiming in on what they've done regarding this I'd be interested in other opinions.

Thanks,
gbone

See the "Epiphone Blues Custom 30" thread listed below...The Epiphone amp seems to be getting good reviews, and at $500 is a fraction of the cost of most boutique tube amps. May be a good first step into tube amps without breaking the bank.

Also, modeling amps by Vox and Line 6 seem to be well thought of and offer a variety of amp and effect models at a very affordable price. Check the "Modeling Amps" thread for more info.

Regarding tube amps, I can't speak from personal experience because I've only played through older, solid state amps -- but I can tell you that solid state amps generally require multiple stomp boxes in order to get good tones.

All in all, I still think the best advice is to go to a local guitar shop, especially one that offers a private room where you can test-drive amps, and play through several of them until you find the one your ears like the best.

Good luck!
Tom

My opinion would be to get a mid to high end modeling amp (Line6, Vox, or even Fender Cyber Twin)....then when your ears can truly hear the difference, and you get a sense of what you like.... get a good tube amp to create your signature "tone."

Plenty of people I know play in professional situations with modeling amps and sound great. You also may not need many effects if you get a higher end modeling amp (with a floorboard).

You can get a decent solid state modeling amp off eBay and not be so concerned about the condition of the tubes, etc.... and since they depreciate in value as newer models are released, you can probably save lots of money.

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gbone, I'm in the same boat as you, 46 years old and picked up the guitar about 3 years ago. First is you need to know what genre you want to play and that will help narrow down the field, I like 80's metal and blues style (Robin Trower) music so I have a marshall amp (one of my amps anyway But if SRV and stuff like that you might be better off getting a Fender. go to all the stores and play all the amps you want, don't be shy, as your going to be spending pleant of money. Another thing you can do is take someone who knows amps to help. If the store dosen't have a money back guarantee
I'd go else ware because I've played plenty of amps at stores and they sound great but when I get them home they just don't sound right, so I bow'em up and back to the store they go. Last thing is buy a nice tube amp, thats where the tone is, most companies try to sound like Fender and Marshall TUBE AMPS, I've never seen someone actually try to sound solid state.

Here's my post from another thread:

Well, I made my purchase - the Valvetronix AD30VT. As I've mentioned elsewhere in the forum, this amp is amazing. Right now, on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being horrible and 10 being perfect, I'd give the amp a 9.5. Frankly, the only thing I don't like about it is the auto wah effect. Definitely lacking in the character of a true wah pedal. Fortunately I own a Vox wah pedal, so no big problem.

Everything else about the amp is fantastic. I've never even opened the owner's manual and won't need to do so until I get ready to save my own pre-sets. The amp is so easy to use it's crazy. And the tones just blow me away. When I get a chance I'll choose one of Adaptable's recommendations and record some sound bytes.

I've tried the amp with several of my guitars. So far it has me convinced that P-90s are the best pickups ever created. My Les Paul doublecut sounds outrageous with the Marshall models.

I paid $230 for this amp. What a great value! I think Vox is leaving money on the table...if I had paid $350 for this amp I'd still be totally satisfied. Not that I'm complaining

By the way, I noticed that Fender now has an amp targeted at this product segment: http://www.fender.com/products/searc...tno=2318500000. Doesn't seem like there's been much fanfare around this amp. Has anyone given one a test drive?

If you're looking for a great amp for home use & even small gigs, and you want tube warmth with modeling flexibility, I absolutely recommend a Vox.

most companies try to sound like Fender and Marshall TUBE AMPS, I've never seen someone actually try to sound solid state
great. this sentence is good
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Http://www.kldguitar.com

The thing is, a good tube amp doesn't just sound good, it responds to your touch a certain way as well. In other words, it FEELS good. If you cannot afford to buy a new Fender, Vox, Orange, Mesa or some such, a used amp is a good bet. It's also a good thing to get advice from either a repair tech in your neighborhood or more experienced players if you know any.

It's hard to beat Fender for reliability, tone and feel. The Fender Deluxe Reverb is the most recorded amp in history, for good reason. If you need more balls, a Twin Reverb (both in blackface reissue or well-used silver face) will handle pretty much anything you want to do. The Deluxe is loud enough to play with a decent drummer, and you can turn it up to 5 or 6 and not deafen the crowd. The Twin is a brute, but very clean if that's where your style goes. The best kept secret is JBL D130 and K130 speakers. These are guitar 15" speakers that are the ones Stevie Ray played through (Ry Cooder now uses these exclusively, and they are my personal faves as well). They have more high end and more low end than 12s, and are VERY fat. Also kind of heavy, but one must make sacrifices for the sake of badass tone....

Peace,
'bug

Just started playing again and I chose a vox valvetronic 50w. Couldn't be happier. I have had tons of amps through the years. This amp was cheap, is small, and has a bunch of great tones.