IanHenry Posted October 11, 2019 Author Share Posted October 11, 2019 5 minutes ago, badbluesplayer said: Be prepared to be a little disappointed in those amps vs. a Blues Junior. In the tube world, weight equals volume. Fifteen watts is kind of a rule of thumb for playing at band volume. I have a Tweedle Dee Deluxe and a Princeton Reverb, both about 15 watts, and they struggle to play at band volume with any headroom at all. Warranty service for British amps is prolly pretty good over there. It's not very good here in the States. Us guys in the States - I recommend staying away from any brand in the KorgUSA fold. That includes Blackstar and Vox. Marshalls are pretty bad quality wise. Any amp under about $500.00 is going to eventually get thrown away because it's not worth fixing. Everybody who leaves my shop disappointed has a cheap amp that's not worth fixing. I don't do warranty work but I do occasionally get amps that the local warranty guys can't fix. I have a Blackstar here that's under warranty that the Service Center couldn't diagnose and the shop won't let the guy do their work any more. Korg won't send me any schematics, so it's like a freaking Kafka novel trying to work with them. No returned calls, no nothing. Just don't go cheap just because you want something small. 👍 Thanks for that, it's always good getting some info from someone working on the front line. I'm quite tempted by the Cornell because a) it sounds pretty good on the YouTube review b) I know where I can go to test one (but they only have the one and apparently there's a long waiting list for stock) and c) because it's hand wired here in the UK. Needless to say the Cornell is the most expensive amp of the batch. I was quite interested seeing on their site that Gary Moore used one of their amps because listening to the sound sample I'd thought that was a very Gary sound even though it was played on a Strat like instrument, although I'm sure Gary must have had an army of amps at his disposal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted October 11, 2019 Share Posted October 11, 2019 I bought a blackstar dual ht pedal, the power supply croaked... it took forever and a kings ransom to replace it. me and blackstar are no longer friends.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted October 11, 2019 Share Posted October 11, 2019 51 minutes ago, IanHenry said: I'd thought that was a very Gary sound even though it was played on a Strat like instrument, although I'm sure Gary must have had an army of amps at his disposal. well, in all fairness Ian, Gary could have plugged a guitar in to a loaf of bread, and he'd still sound like Gary Moore.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bill Posted October 11, 2019 Share Posted October 11, 2019 14 minutes ago, kidblast said: Gary could have plugged a guitar in to a loaf of bread, and he'd still sound like Gary Moore.. I trying to decide if that statement was a complement... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted October 11, 2019 Share Posted October 11, 2019 5 minutes ago, Big Bill said: I trying to decide if that statement was a complement... plug into a loaf of bread dude and see how you're sounding #compliment.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted October 11, 2019 Share Posted October 11, 2019 2 hours ago, Big Bill said: Its safe to say he uses them for percussion! (Dad Joke) these once belonged to Maxwell, and use they ta be silver.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted October 11, 2019 Share Posted October 11, 2019 (edited) 9 hours ago, badbluesplayer said: Be prepared to be a little disappointed in those amps vs. a Blues Junior. In the tube world, weight equals volume. Fifteen watts is kind of a rule of thumb for playing at band volume. I have a Tweedle Dee Deluxe and a Princeton Reverb, both about 15 watts, and they struggle to play at band volume with any headroom at all. Warranty service for British amps is prolly pretty good over there. It's not very good here in the States. Us guys in the States - I recommend staying away from any brand in the KorgUSA fold. That includes Blackstar and Vox. Marshalls are pretty bad quality wise. Any amp under about $500.00 is going to eventually get thrown away because it's not worth fixing. Everybody who leaves my shop disappointed has a cheap amp that's not worth fixing. I don't do warranty work but I do occasionally get amps that the local warranty guys can't fix. I have a Blackstar here that's under warranty that the Service Center couldn't diagnose and the shop won't let the guy do their work any more. Korg won't send me any schematics, so it's like a freaking Kafka novel trying to work with them. No returned calls, no nothing. Just don't go cheap just because you want something small. 👍 My Vox's and Marshall's down time for repairs was always kind of inconvenient. Had a lot better luck with my Ampeg's and Fender's, just needed to have plenty of spare 6L6's and 6550's around to keep them running.. Sometimes I would put the head on backwards so I watch the tubes arching while I was playing... My Early Peavey's were tough as nails but just didn't have the smooth tube sound.. Any way .... Sometimes its a good idea to have different size amps for venues, like bedrooms to garage to pub.. Higher power amps don't always work well in the bedroom, too much temptation to turn them up to where they start to resonate and sound good, then everyone in the house hates you.. My 90w Deluxe, below 1, is almost too much for my home. So for minimum I start with one of my Micro Cubes.. Edited October 12, 2019 by mihcmac 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted October 12, 2019 Share Posted October 12, 2019 (edited) Knock on wood, but neither of my Vox Amps have ever broke down & they are used almost every day or night... Wish I could say the same for my Fenders.. Both my Twin & DRRI have had break downs & the Closest Fender Autorized Repair Center was a 2 hour drive & the Amps were their a couple weeks... Very in convenient... My Princeton has had no break downs.. All are out of Warranty. Luckily now there is a great Amp Tech locally.. He works on all Amps & is Fender Authorized... Down time for my last Twin repair was a couple days... I'm sure it would be about the same for my Vox's & Marshall.. Edited October 12, 2019 by Larsongs 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanHenry Posted October 12, 2019 Author Share Posted October 12, 2019 Technical question here, maybe one for BadBluesPlayer. The Cornell has a single 12AX7 for it's pre-amp and the Vox has two, so what's the advantage if any to having two tubes, if any? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted October 12, 2019 Share Posted October 12, 2019 (edited) A 12AX7 is a power tube, 2 of them would indicate 2 X more power. A Fender Twin used 12AX7's for pre-amp and 6L6's for main power.. Edited October 13, 2019 by mihcmac 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted October 13, 2019 Share Posted October 13, 2019 On 10/11/2019 at 6:21 AM, kidblast said: so, Murph, nice shot of your music room but it has left me wondering a bit.. . what would the hammers be used for??? LOL! Attitude adjusting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHTom Posted October 14, 2019 Share Posted October 14, 2019 I have a Laney Cub 12 and am very happy with it. I would also recommend the Blackstar HT5 NHTom 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 Yeah, Korg USA just contacted me this morning to reinforce how bad their support is. They're like "We won't send you any info unless you become an authorized service center. Do you want an application?" I'm thinking "Do you guys want an application to become a reputable amp manufacturer, lol?" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 16 hours ago, NHTom said: I would also recommend the Blackstar HT5 Blackstar stuff sounds good, until it breaks. IME, very hard to get support for their products and replacement parts can be crazy expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaxson50 Posted October 16, 2019 Share Posted October 16, 2019 Fender Champ 600 is my pick, one knob and two inputs....what could I screw up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted October 16, 2019 Share Posted October 16, 2019 Go old or stay home. Or if new, buy American from small builders. Don't you make a practice amp badbluesplayer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted October 16, 2019 Share Posted October 16, 2019 52 minutes ago, Murph said: Go old or stay home. Or if new, buy American from small builders. Don't you make a practice amp badbluesplayer? Always good advice if you're in the states, however Ian is "across the pond"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted October 16, 2019 Share Posted October 16, 2019 (edited) I think if you can find a local amp repair guy and find out what he can fix or get parts for. Note that "get parts" usually means it will be down for a while.. My last Marshall was made in Mexico.. If you buy an amp with complex circuits, it could take a while to fix.. Old style amps, similar to Fenders, were not very complex relying on tubes to do most of the work, just need a few spares.. I would call the Blues Jr below, low tech simplicity at its best.. 🙂 Image from the web... Edited October 17, 2019 by mihcmac 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanHenry Posted October 17, 2019 Author Share Posted October 17, 2019 I decided to buy the Cornell Traveller 5, it's a great little amp with a huge variation of sounds available, I really like it (of course this is still the honeymoon period!). It's hand built at Southend on Sea here in the UK, so I'm figuring it's a bit like cars, if it's hand built it can always be hand re-built. In the end it was a close run thing between the Cornell and a Fender Pro Junior ltd. Thanks you everyone for all your helpful suggestions and insight's it is very much appreciated. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle fester Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 Wow, a twist ending! Hope it works out, nice that it's built relatively local. If you get an inckling, I'd look forward to a review after you get a little time under your belt. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 Good choice! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted November 2, 2019 Share Posted November 2, 2019 (edited) My Champ (Rightclick & unmute if you need to) - Edited November 2, 2019 by badbluesplayer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 Looks about the same vintage as mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 3 hours ago, Murph said: Looks about the same vintage as mine. '76. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 Has anyone investigated the new digital Fender Tone Master amps? Supposedly Fenders new pricey flag ship? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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