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I have a versatile guitar now i need a versatile tube amp


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Hey guys, My modded sherry is the most versatile guitar ever, in my opinion i just played a bruce springsteen set with my band it sounded great and then we played some dylan its works with everything, but my amp isnt as versatile. Im using a fender stage 212 or something its not the best i really want to get a new one i have about 600 bucks saved up can you guys reccommend anything? i kinda want to do tubes but im afaid i dont know much about them but im willing to learn. i hear alot of good things about the vox ac15 i was thinking about that . i kinda want to stay away from halfstacks since i dont have much room. what do you guys think?

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Blues Jr. Good intro to tubes. Has a good warm clean, nice overdrive without getting too loud. $300 to 350 used, if you don't like it shouldn't be too hard to sell. The new ones have gotten pretty pricey though. For $600 you could get a nice used Hot Rod Deluxe but they are pretty loud unless you only play clean. I don't have experience with the AC15, more of a British sound of course. Depends on what kind of music you want to play. But even Edge of U2 who does his concerts with an AC30 has a Blues Jr.

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Fender "Blue Junir" (15 Watts, all Tube), Fender Hot Rod (or "Blues) Deluxe (40 Watts, all tube) Hot Rod Deville 4X10 or 2X12, Vox AC-15...not an early version (bad transformers)...but the later ones are fine. All within your price range...if only USED.

The Blues Junior, you can get new, for that. But, the others, will (most likely) need to be USED (but not abused), to meet that price. If you're patient, you might find a Fender Deluxe Reverb (Used), for that, or maybe 700+. That is an Excellent amp, for all kinds of music!

 

Good hunting...

 

CB

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Questions you need to ask. What and where am I playing? How loud is my drummer? etc.

 

I have the AC15 and have played the Blues Jr. I won't knock the BJ, some love it and some don't. (Which is the same for the AC15) To me the Vox is more diverse in its tone and a bit louder which I think is in part due to the cab being a bit larger. The BJ sounded a bit boxy to me and I just liked the cleans on the Vox better. The OD/distortion on the two amps seem different to me and you owe it to yourself to play both these amps and others before you make a move. For your price range you could check out what others have said in addition to the Peavey Classic 30 or Peavey Delta Blues, the Egnater Rebel used, an old Ampeg, Traynor, etc.

 

I picked up my AC15 used for 400 and only had to replace the reverb tank which ran me 30 total. Some people will buy a used BJ for 350 and spend another 300 on mods...some people enjoy modding amps but that's just not my idea of fun.

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I wouldn't really call any specific tube amp all that "versatile" on its own. If you want a tube amp, probably the best way to make it versatile is to get a large enough amp that you can play clean or mostly clean with it at stage volume, and pedal it up to get your versatility. If you rely upon the amp for overdrive/distortion, you'll really only get the one general tone that your specific amp can produce.

 

The only way to really have versatility with a tube amp would be to either get one of the new Bogner Line 6 amps, or use more than one amp. Otherwise, you may be best off opting for a modeling amp of some sort, if versatility is a must.

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Like anything, amp choice is about what you want it to do and how much you can spend. Assuming you are going to get a tube amp, and I think you probably should, you will not grasp the various nuances of different tube amps until you have been able to spend time playing one. I'm not disputing anything else said on this thread but I still think getting a fairly simple popular amp like the Blues Jr. used would good for getting you into tubes. If you don't like it or in time decide you want something different, you can sell it for what you paid for it and get something else. If you travel to your gigs you might appreciate the smallness of the Jr. compared to some of the bigger ones mentioned.

 

As far as the Craig's List Jr., I wouldn't ordinarily suggest buying an amp without trying it in a store first. But if you're in kind of a hurry maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea. If you're willing to wait and listen to some amps first, then do that, there will be more Jr.s and other amps coming along if your market there is not too small.

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Check out this guy, Mathias Arp. The amp is SS, but he uses a different guitar on each of 7 or 8 videos, all different styles of music. The Vypyr amp is available in a tube version, 60 or 120, with the same modeling front end. I know I seem to be pushing this amp, but I think everyone needs to hear it to believe it. His amp samples are mic'ed into the console board and his playing is superb. Check out the sidebar for more.

 

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