What Amp Should I buy

[Goldenone 3]

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

[djroge1 51]

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.

[neilpanda 120]

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

[SG FAN 58]

Marshall Class 5, it's just 5 watts, but it's LOUD. It's a great amp for overdriven blues.

[Goldenone 3]

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.

[Tim Plains 235]

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.

[Goldenone 3]

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.

[neilpanda 120]

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

[djroge1 51]

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.

[Tim Plains 235]

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.

[bsmiley 0]

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?

[Californiaman 302]

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.

[Tim Plains 235]

^ 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.

[gsgbass 164]

Welcome aboard. You'll get a lot of good advice from the 6 stringers here. Have fun man!

[Andre S 18]

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

[Andy R 336]

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

[canon_mutant 13]

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.

[2standards 0]

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.

[Andre S 18]

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.

[ChanMan 274]

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!

 

 

[craigh 20]

Don't forget the Vox Night Train. I get great tones from it with all my guitars.

 

Craig

[jaxson50 411]

Get one of each!

[damian 1,581]

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.......

[chase1410 31]

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

[Silverbursted 2]

Laney makes a great little amp too. I have the VC 15 and love it.