I'm looking for a nice sounding low-"wattage" electric guitar amplifier, preferably full tube.
Since my old one is dirt cheap and sounds like crap, I rarely play electric guitar at all any more, what makes my skill deteriorate, which makes it sound worse, which makes me play even less... A vicious circle of playing only acoustic.
To remedy that, I'm looking for an amp that sounds awesome, regardless of volume. I'm not a fan of digital effects and those low end solid state Marshall amps that come with a metric fuckton of digital effects are not for me.
The question is, can you get any decent distortion going while playing on low volumes? I also like a clean, slightly reverberating sound.
My guitars are a Fender 60's strat and an Ibanez rocking an EMG 81 Humbucker.
Have you tried using your PC for that? I've been using Guitar Rig for a while, and while it's obviously not the same as a 'real' amp, the latest versions sound really well, definitely better than the cheapo SS amps. I have a tube amp I adore, but for quiet practice and working on new material, I use my computer almost exclusively.
On August 25 2012 06:36 Sethronu wrote: Have you tried using your PC for that? I've been using Guitar Rig for a while, and while it's obviously not the same as a 'real' amp, the latest versions sound really well, definitely better than the cheapo SS amps. I have a tube amp I adore, but for quiet practice and working on new material, I use my computer almost exclusively.
This is valid, too. Have you looked into some of the devices Line6 makes? The GuitarPOD, the UX1, the UX2... Gives you multiple effects, you can output that to a speaker and that's that.
Go tube, 100%. They're heavier, more fragile, and more expensive, but they sound better, no doubt.
I would recommend fender Blues Jr, or its little brother the Pro Jr. If you have a bigger budget, Fender princeton is also great.
Blues Jr. is 15 watts, and about 3-400 bucks. Pro Jr. is a little less.
It sounds great at any volume, and you can get OD at low volume too. It has a master volume, and a gain, so if you crank the gain, and put the master volume low, voila! Brown-sound Robben Fordesque OD at bedroom levels.
I use a Peavey Vypyr Tube 60, and I have an EMG 81 too (at least in my bridge, neck is 85). It's solid at low volume (like slightly above conversation levels), and really screams if you want to let it open up. It might be a little "digital" for your tastes, since there's a fair bit of modeling and pre-amp bullshit going on, but you can turn most of that off.
Heavy distortion does kind of peter out at lower volumes, but I'm kind of guessing that if you're playing a classic strat, you aren't trying to play death metal anyway, and you can still get really sweet OD/mild distortion at low volumes for rock and blues.
On August 25 2012 08:47 Elsid wrote: How much are you looking to spend?
Not more than ~500 €, unless there's a really good deal.
Thanks for the suggestions so far!
Hmm, I probably should've asked more questions. So what kind of music do you play/are you interested in playing? Do you have any interest in playing in a band? How far do you want to take your music?
So far I'm thinking the vypyr recommended above isn't too bad. It's sorta hard to recommend amps with such low wattage cos I haven't played too many of low wattage sorry. Personally I use one of these http://www.thomann.de/gb/peavey_valve_king_112_gitarrencombo.htm , it's not a bad amp. It does however sorta lose some of its definition at higher volumes (the stock speakers aren't amazing) however it sounds pretty solid at lower volumes, I do however think it really shines at mid volumes.
If there are any guitar shops near you it might benefit you to go in and try out some of the smaller amps to get a better idea of what you want.
I'm playing mostly classic rock, some blues and funk-rock, some Metallica, some clean stuff.
I don't play in a band, but there's a dedicated music cellar I sometimes jam in, with huge amp stacks, drums and all that good jazz, so the amp I'm looking for is only for home practice.
I've stumbled across this hidden gem, and the reviews are overwhelmingly positive:
On August 25 2012 23:35 kafkaesque wrote: I'm playing mostly classic rock, some blues and funk-rock, some Metallica, some clean stuff.
I don't play in a band, but there's a dedicated music cellar I sometimes jam in, with huge amp stacks, drums and all that good jazz, so the amp I'm looking for is only for home practice.
I've stumbled across this hidden gem, and the reviews are overwhelmingly positive:
EPT
