Goldenone 3 Posted December 23, 2010 Report Share Posted December 23, 2010 I am a newbe all the way, I started playing last June when I retired and noticed my son's cheepo Fender Squire rig sitting in the corner of our family room. I typed in how to play the blues and away I went. I purchased my Les Paul Standard used on ebay and I'm still using the cheepo Fender amp. I have been looking at combo amps. I will be playing the blues for the most part along with some 70s rock and would like some suggestions on what would be the best amp for me. I like used gear and someday hope to start hitting the local blues jams so I want something of quality with enough power to handle clubs. What would you suggest? Thanks, Dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
djroge1 51 Posted December 23, 2010 Report Share Posted December 23, 2010 It depends on your budget, but you sound like a good candidate for a Fender Blues Jr. It's a good little amp with plenty of power for small room blues jams. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
neilpanda 120 Posted December 23, 2010 Report Share Posted December 23, 2010 Welcome to the forums Dave! for the amps it all depends on the price you want. but I like the fender '65 deluxe reverb and I use my traynor custom valve 40 for playing blues, on stage and at home Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SG FAN 58 Posted December 23, 2010 Report Share Posted December 23, 2010 Marshall Class 5, it's just 5 watts, but it's LOUD. It's a great amp for overdriven blues. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Goldenone 3 Posted December 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2010 The price is a concern but not a major factor. I would rather wait to save a little more in order to get a great amp rather than spending money on something that I will not totally enjoy and will want to replace. That's why I bought a Gibson Les Paul, I know I can enjoy it for the rest of my life. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tim Plains 237 Posted December 23, 2010 Report Share Posted December 23, 2010 Definitely get a small tube amp. Just google "best small tube amp" and you'll be overwhelmed with choices. Small amps, I have a Vox AC4, Blackheart Little Giant, Fender Champ 600. They all sound great...except the 600; it's just OK. Blues Jrs are also great (have one of them, too) but a 15 watt tube amp is a lot of power. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Goldenone 3 Posted December 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2010 Does anyone have an opinion on the Fender Blues Deluxe? There is a clean, made in the USA, used one at my local music store for $450. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
neilpanda 120 Posted December 23, 2010 Report Share Posted December 23, 2010 Does anyone have an opinion on the Fender Blues Deluxe? There is a clean, made in the USA, used one at my local music store for $450. no but Ive played one and I really like the way they sound. if you like it, go ahead and buy it. then make some noise Quote Link to post Share on other sites
djroge1 51 Posted December 23, 2010 Report Share Posted December 23, 2010 I've only played thru one at a store. It has 40watts of power which is a lot of power. Here is the thing about tube amps (simplified version). They sound great when the tubes are pushed (volume turned up) to a certain point. The louder your amp (40 watts vs. 5watts) the louder it's going to be to find that "sweet spot" on the amp. Lets use an general setting of around 6 on the amp; think about how loud that is - try it out at the store on 6 or 7 and see what you think. However, you can get a nice distorted sound by turning up the pre-amp volume and a lot of people prefer that sound. Here is my point - a higher wattage tube amp will need to be louder to sound it's best. This is great when playing in a band and especially with a loud drummer and/or bassist. However, it's not so good at home unless your family is very understanding. That's why I suggested the Blues Jr. It can get loud but it's not crazy loud. When cranked it sounds great in a small room situation with drums and other guitars. I've used a 10watt amp I built in band situations and it was plenty loud except when we did songs by The Who or Led Zeppelin (loud drummer). Oh and $450 sounds like a pretty good price on that particular amp by the way. If you bought it and decided it's too loud you can probably get your money back. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tim Plains 237 Posted December 23, 2010 Report Share Posted December 23, 2010 I had a Blues Deluxe for a while. Great for blues (obviously) but I got rid of it for smaller amps. I think $450 is a good price. I bought and sold mine for $550 CDN. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bsmiley 0 Posted December 23, 2010 Report Share Posted December 23, 2010 Definitely get a small tube amp. Just google "best small tube amp" and you'll be overwhelmed with choices. Small amps, I have a Vox AC4, Blackheart Little Giant, Fender Champ 600. They all sound great...except the 600; it's just OK. Blues Jrs are also great (have one of them, too) but a 15 watt tube amp is a lot of power. I am in the same place with regards to needing an amp. I plugged into an AC4 last week and was fairly impressed, but heard some rumblings about longevity not being so good. Any feedback on it? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Californiaman 387 Posted December 23, 2010 Report Share Posted December 23, 2010 Any of the tube driven Fender Champs or the Blues Jr, the Gibson GA-5, Marshall Class 5 or the Mesa Boogie Transatlantic are good. The Peavy Classic is a good amp too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tim Plains 237 Posted December 23, 2010 Report Share Posted December 23, 2010 ^ I have the AC4 head/cab; had it for about a year now with zero issues. Before it, I went through three AC4 combos within a month before realizing they were complete junk (no offense to any owners). All three rattled like crazy. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MrNylon 172 Posted December 24, 2010 Report Share Posted December 24, 2010 Welcome aboard. You'll get a lot of good advice from the 6 stringers here. Have fun man! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andre S 19 Posted December 24, 2010 Report Share Posted December 24, 2010 Jet City JCA20 I have the Head. Champion 600 is a nice amp but not very versatile, only one knob, volume. Blackstar is another option Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andy R 336 Posted December 24, 2010 Report Share Posted December 24, 2010 Welcome and you will definitely not be short on opinions about things here. So for what it's worth here is my opinion. I think amps are harder to choose than a guitar to be honest. I think they take longer to get used to and take longer to find what you like and dislike about them. I love tube amps but they can be persnickety and sound different day to day even hour by hour. Tubes are constantly changing so tone is constantly changing. replace tubes and tone and gain changes, filter caps and other components drift or fail over time so once replaced tone is different again. Plug into an electrical circuit that is fluctuating and tone/gain will change. Use a different guitar cable can even change the tone. I know it sounds like I don't like them but that's actually what I do like about them. I would try out all kinds of amps big and small, tube and Solid state and find a place that you can return it within 30 days. Bring your guitar with you when your checking them out. If you find something you like take it home and play it ( a bunch) you might hear things you like or hear things you can't stand that you didn't notice before and once you do notice it, it will drive you crazy! The other thing is your ears are always changing so what sounds good one day might not sound the same the next.... Welcome to the chase for tone brother!!! Regards, Andy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
canon_mutant 13 Posted December 24, 2010 Report Share Posted December 24, 2010 They don't seem to get a lot of mileage around here except from me but do yourself a favor and at least go play an Egnater Rebel 30. They are not cheap but rather a mid-range price point. I had a Krank Rev Jr Pro before and they are actually a great little amp that despite their metal reputation you could dial in an awesome bluesy crunch on it. It lacked clean [Kleen in Krank jargon] channel headroom though so I sold it and got the Egnater after playing one. The Rebel 20 is great too but just a single channel amp. The 30 gives you separate channels with separate EQs and even separate reverbs that though digital are really quite good. Great for home but you could absolutely gig with it. From Clean to Blues to Classic Rock they can't be beat. Probably a little short for metal heads but they make pedals for that. The Renegade is even better and as I've stated on other threads their boutique amp the MOD50 is still the best amp I've played bar none. Bruce just does great things with amps IMO and it's quite amazing that you call tech support to ask a question and Bruce actually picks up the phone. Not always but he does. Now, that said, if I didn't own an Egnater, I would likely have gotten a Blackstar. I do like what they're doing as X-Purist Marshallers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
2standards 0 Posted December 24, 2010 Report Share Posted December 24, 2010 Jet City JCA20 I have the Head. Champion 600 is a nice amp but not very versatile, only one knob, volume. Blackstar is another option I agree with this post. I have a JCA20 Head and Cab and I love it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andre S 19 Posted December 24, 2010 Report Share Posted December 24, 2010 I agree with this post. I have a JCA20 Head and Cab and I love it. Yup, my second proper tube amp (the first being the champion 600), awesome sounds very versatile. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChanMan 289 Posted December 24, 2010 Report Share Posted December 24, 2010 Get the one that sounds best to your ear. That is the only way to do it. Andy has it right.... go play them. Take your guitar and see which one sounds best to you. Play a bunch of them. Big ones, small ones, fat ones and tall ones. I'm not telling you to do anything that I'm not doing.... I'm shopping amps too :) Mostly... enjoy the hunt! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
craigh 21 Posted December 24, 2010 Report Share Posted December 24, 2010 Don't forget the Vox Night Train. I get great tones from it with all my guitars. Craig Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jaxson50 669 Posted December 24, 2010 Report Share Posted December 24, 2010 Get one of each! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
damian 1,582 Posted December 24, 2010 Report Share Posted December 24, 2010 They don't seem to get a lot of mileage around here except from me but do yourself a favor and at least go play an Egnater Rebel 30. They are not cheap but rather a mid-range price point. I had a Krank Rev Jr Pro before and they are actually a great little amp that despite their metal reputation you could dial in an awesome bluesy crunch on it. It lacked clean [Kleen in Krank jargon] channel headroom though so I sold it and got the Egnater after playing one. The Rebel 20 is great too but just a single channel amp. The 30 gives you separate channels with separate EQs and even separate reverbs that though digital are really quite good. Great for home but you could absolutely gig with it. From Clean to Blues to Classic Rock they can't be beat. Probably a little short for metal heads but they make pedals for that. The Renegade is even better and as I've stated on other threads their boutique amp the MOD50 is still the best amp I've played bar none. Bruce just does great things with amps IMO and it's quite amazing that you call tech support to ask a question and Bruce actually picks up the phone. Not always but he does. Now, that said, if I didn't own an Egnater, I would likely have gotten a Blackstar. I do like what they're doing as X-Purist Marshallers. Three words; Egnater, Egnater, and Egnater.....Lots of amp choices..I own many amps...My favorites are Egnaters. RENAGADE, try one, you'll stop amp shopping....... Drive a Fulltone pedal in front or two like a Plimsoul, you' never stop playing....... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chase1410 31 Posted December 24, 2010 Report Share Posted December 24, 2010 Don't forget the Vox Night Train. I get great tones from it with all my guitars. Craig God do I love my Vox Night Train....Its a little box of monster tone...the dirty sounds you can crank out of it are phenomenal and the chimey cleans arent bad either!...+1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Silverbursted 3 Posted December 24, 2010 Report Share Posted December 24, 2010 Laney makes a great little amp too. I have the VC 15 and love it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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