garyelcrrt1281733995 Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 I may be prejudiced, but any of the Valvetronix series, or the VJH/cab or the Blackheart combo or head/cab will do you pretty well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 I have a Line 6 Spider III 75 for sale on consignment at a local music shop right now. My Roland Cube 60 has become my home practice amp since I bought the Vox AD50VT 2x12. The Vox, IMHO, is the best gigging amp I have found for the money. The more I play it, the more I like it. It wins hand down over the other two I mentioned above. The Cube 60 has a couple of features that I like. There's a tuner out jack, although it doesn't cut the sound so that you can tune silently. And, there's a line out jack as well as a headphone jack. The line out jack doesn't cut the speakers like some amps (line 6) that have a line out/headphone jack, so you can line out to the PA or a recorder and still have speakers operating. The Dyna Amp model is pretty much where I stay on the Cube. Like the video shows, you can back off and get clean or dig in and crunch. It also drives a 4x12 cab really well. Other than 400 pre-programmed sounds that I didn't use, the Line 6 didn't have much going for it. It lacked the punch I was looking for and was a little awkward to program on stage if you needed to change something. I guess it sounded a little too digital and nothing I did made it sound anywhere near the Vox or Roland. The Vox has the best models. I use the Tweed 4x10 mostly for lead and the Black 2x12 for clean. With a little drive, the Tweed model can do a really good, believable blues lead with a tube sound at the break-up point. If you back off the guitar volume a quarter turn, it gets nice and clean. If I need heavy crunch, I flip over to UK Metal and back off the volume and I'm ready to play in "Born to be Wild" style or do a little Skynyrd... and it will definitely sound like Skynyrd with the Pearly Gates pups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
layboomo Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 I have a Line 6 Spider III 75 for sale on consignment at a local music shop right now. My Roland Cube 60 has become my home practice amp since I bought the Vox AD50VT 2x12. The Vox' date=' IMHO, is the best gigging amp I have found for the money. The more I play it, the more I like it. It wins hand down over the other two I mentioned above. The Cube 60 has a couple of features that I like. There's a tuner out jack, although it doesn't cut the sound so that you can tune silently. And, there's a line out jack as well as a headphone jack. The line out jack doesn't cut the speakers like some amps (line 6) that have a line out/headphone jack, so you can line out to the PA or a recorder and still have speakers operating. The Dyna Amp model is pretty much where I stay on the Cube. Like the video shows, you can back off and get clean or dig in and crunch. It also drives a 4x12 cab really well. Other than 400 pre-programmed sounds that I didn't use, the Line 6 didn't have much going for it. It lacked the punch I was looking for and was a little awkward to program on stage if you needed to change something. I guess it sounded a little too digital and nothing I did made it sound anywhere near the Vox or Roland. The Vox has the best models. I use the Tweed 4x10 mostly for lead and the Black 2x12 for clean. With a little drive, the Tweed model can do a really good, believable blues lead with a tube sound at the break-up point. If you back off the guitar volume a quarter turn, it gets nice and clean. If I need heavy crunch, I flip over to UK Metal and back off the volume and I'm ready to play in "Born to be Wild" style or do a little Skynyrd... and it will definitely sound like Skynyrd with the Pearly Gates pups. [/quote'] Yeah I can see that point....I think the vox does have the best lead tone of them all....I just think the roland has the edge on flexibility....and I like the way the effects are old school style instead of having to step thru patches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 layboomo said: Yeah I can see that point....I think the vox does have the best lead tone of them all....I just think the roland has the edge on flexibility....and I like the way the effects are old school style instead of having to step thru patches. ---- The Roland Cube 60 is an amazing amp in a small box. No one can believe all that good sound is coming from that little amp. When I was thinking about buying one, the guitar teacher at a local music store that sold them told me he had tried various amps on gigs, since he was able to borrow them overnight, and the Cube was the one he stuck with. He walked into the gig and his bandmates snickered when he set it down on stage. After the first set, the other two guitar players (who have Marshall Half Stacks) came over and said, "Man, what the heck is that amp? It sounds great." They were thinking about how they were lugging around their Marshalls and this guy comes in with this little dinky box and produces some amazing sounds. I tried it, liked it, and bought it. And, I rate it as second best to my AD50VT 2x12. The hybrid tube power amp in the Vox just adds that sparkle that I have never heard from another tube amp. It really is like playing an all tube amp. And, I have owned several tube amps in my time. That said, I still have mucho respect for the Cube 60. If you want kick-butt sound and power in a small box, check it out. I put wheels on my Vox...didn't need them on the Cube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostindesert Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 Fender Blues Junior 15 watt TUBE amp is as loud as 30 watts transistor/digital and better sounding. Even Epiphone make small tube amps now. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokestack Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 Looks like you'll be going for the Vox then. Quite right too. They have one advantage over all the similary specced and priced competition. They sound and almost feel like a good tube amp...with all the advantages of the onboard technology as a bonus. Hard to go wrong. Short of a high quality [and probably less versatile] tube amplifier the Vox amps are very hard to beat ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yosoybay Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 Gary, that Vox halfstack you've got there is what I've been planning on upgrading to next time I get an amp - How's that been working for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baker Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 The Valvetronix is great, that's what I use. Models on it are incredibly better then the Line 6's. and ust sounds better. I also suggest either the Valve Junior or Blackheart half stacks, both are quiet enough for bedroom playing, and I know for sure the Blackheart can be played with a drummer (Not sure about the Valve Junior). My 2 cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebb Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 hi all, new here. I too am in a similar situation, about to make the jump from solid state to tube (or semi-tube). I have a 50W 1X12 now and need the same volume ballpark for a tube amp. Would the AD30VT do this or would i need the AD50VT? the other option i am looking at is a crate V33-212 and i was wondering about its sound because it's pretty new and there isn't many reveiws on it. Also possibly a laney VC30-212. I play mostly clean or crunchy and the vox's amp modeling and effects are of little intrest to me, I'll build a pedal collection anyway. Any other recommendations are very welcome. This is all in the future, however, as I just blew the bank on an ebony dot, due friday! thanks in advance, the opinions of ye learned peoples matters a lot to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyelcrrt1281733995 Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 Gary' date=' that Vox halfstack you've got there is what I've been planning on upgrading to next time I get an amp - How's that been working for you?[/quote'] the Vox is the amp I use to impress myself with really good tone and presence because it is most definitely impressive. Plus, its so easy to dial in a tone that fits each guitar and its kind of music, then store it in memory. The Blackheart is...personal...like I have to work harder to get the tone I want -- and, I REALLY have to think farther ahead. Thing is, every tone the Vox makes is impressive because the Vox makes it impressive. With the Blackheart, its not what I want a lot of (OK, most of) the time. But when I get everything right, then I'm impressive, not the amp. And besides, its worst tone is something people would have killed to get their hands on during the years (late 60's and early 70's, at least in terms of today's $$) with the sounds I like best. Yeah, yeah, the big guys had those great AC30's and Marshall stacks and blackface Fenders were original issue. But kids like me...I had a Sears something that was, I think an 12AX7 and a pair of EL84's with an 8" speaker -- so it was probably more powerful than the Blackheart, but it was broke half the time and popped and hissed so badly the rest of the time it was almost unusable at any volume over 3 unless you zeroed the tone knob and who wanted to sound like those old jazz farts anyway. Even country/western had better guitar tone than THAT! One of the tubes was badly microphonic, and my Dad wouldn't let me buy a replacement as long as the one I had worked. But this ain't then, and these ain't those amps either. I hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wkturn2008 Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 I love my Blackheart and it is very loud for a 5w/3w tube amp. It's the best $300 I've ever spent. For a little more money $535 the Orange Tiny Terror is totally killer. Best tone without pedals I've ever heard. I have tried the modeling digital thing and it is vastly overrated. Real Class A tube amps kill modelers. Both my amps have EL84s and 12ax7s. 2 each for the Tiny Terror and 1 each for the Little Giant. I've owned a Spider and played on many modeling amps. They sound great in the store or on headphones, they suck live in my humble opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlagJones Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 Did a search and found this thread. Seems like lots of people love their Vox Valvetronics. Got some quick questions. For a simple practice/bedroom amp 15W should be more than enough, right? No need to go to 30W unless you are going to do some small gigs? How about the regular Valvetronics line vs the Valvetronics XL? Is there going to be any difference between the AD15VT with 15W and an 8' speaker vs the AD15VT-XL that has 15W and a 10'speaker? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biff Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 In my experience even a 2W battery powered combo is too loud for the bedroom when dialed to 10... 5W tube amp with a 8" speaker is nice and loud enough for practice with a drummer and the rest of the band. Don't know about those hybrids, I'm interested in that 30W Vox too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwhi2001 Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 I tried a Vox and it was amazingly versatile, but not that easy to switch between settings when gigging. The footswitch was an expensive optional extra and was fairly limited in terms of ability to move between settings without umpteen stomps. Great for home / recording, ok for gigging if you are happy with a limited number of settings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesstringer Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 IMO, the Vox is the best choice talked about but it is pricier that the rest. I don't like the Marshalls, or the Line 6. Its's hard to beat the Rolands and I agree that the Peavey transtubes are great. Peavey are priced reasonably and are almot indestructable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlagJones Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 As much love as there is for the Roland. Does it beat a tube amp in the same price range? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlagJones Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 Just an opinion...but I have played all of em so it's based on experience...the Roland cube is the most versatile of them all hands down. The vox is a close second IMHO and either the roland or the vox is the way to go. I would stay away from the valve special...that DSP is noisy and cheap sounding to me....and for pure tube tone the valve jr is hard to beat. layboomo, can you elaborate a little on the versatility of the Roland? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RotcanX Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 The Roland Cube 30 has always been an industry leader in the 30-watt amp class and the newest 30X model takes that to the next level. Just the Dyna-Amp setting alone is worth the price of admission and now you even get a 'better than nothing' rudimentary tuner built in. Another word on the Cubes... the return rate on them is .2% which is a phenomenal quality achievement, and something to keep in mind... the best amp of all is the one that's not sitting in some repair shop. About the only amp I like better than the Cube 30X is.. two of them, in stereo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byrds1965 Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 I would go to a store that has both the Vox and the Roland and pick a guitar as close to yours as possible and play them both. I had a Vox AD120 combo when they first came out and brought it back in the first 30. I thought it sounded flat. I have the Roland cube30 the older one with out the tuner and really like that for home pratice. I think the fender tones are the best thing on the amp. The vox tone not too good. As a point of reference I own a vintage black face twin, black face dual showman, laney vc30, fender blues deluxe, heavy modded vox cambridge 30 twin, vox pathfinder mini stack and a peavey bandit112. My bandmate has an AC30. I was not impressed with the Vox digital series but mine was a really early one before they had out all these newer models. I have known my bandmate for years and I brought my AD120 to pratice to compare it direct to his AC30 and there was no comparison. It was loud but on the AC30 top boost selection just flat no matter how I messed with it. No nice tube sag or sparkle to it. If they had the AC30CCs out then I would have gotten that instead. I have not heard the newer vox modeling amps and have stayed away after returning mine. The group here says the new ones sound good so check them out. I own the Roland a friend who manages a store forced me to try out because he knows I do a lot of home recording and was so impressed I bought it. As I said does the fender tones extremely well. The vox not too good, too fast to breakup and not enough clean. The Roland programmers really got the sounds right and it reacts pretty much like a tube amp does. If I was looking again today I would check out the fender super champXD which is a real tube front end then the modeling after. I'm afraid to try one, more GAS. If you can check out the Roland, Vox and the Fender I mentioned and see what you like. All should be good bedroom pratice/recording amps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 I've used the Vox and the Spider III. I've spent more time with the Line 6, and was really impressed with the effects. The Vox I've only spent a few minutes with, but really liked the tone. I only played it clean, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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