practice amps

[theguy77]

alright so there are always the prominent obvious choices when it comes to those higher end show-going all-tube amps. but what about practice amps? something volume-manageable (30 watts or under) and price manageable ($300 or under). what are your favorites and why? what sorts of tones can you pull out of them and/or what genres can they fit, and just how close to professional do they sound?

im actually looking to get a new one because i dont need two marshall amps, and ive tired of the MG30DFX since ive found you can get a lot more for the price. i was thinking of grabbing the fender super champ XD. there are 4 tubes in it, and it boasts fender's legendary clean channel, and a selection 16 different amp voices and 16 different effects. it's 15 watts and you get all that for 300 bucks. it even comes with a speaker line out so it could function as a head. seems like a quality practice amp that would be a lot of fun.

i was also eyeing the orange crush 30R, easily one of the best if not the best solid state amp on the market, which sounds very impressively like orange's higher end tube amps. i have a friend who wants the marshall AVT20X, a hybrid with only one preamp tube. i have the 50 watt half stack and i find that even though its mostly solid state it does sound pretty professional, and with a very punchy, dynamic sound with some breakup -- characteristics which solid states tend to lack repulsively. it also has direct input and a speaker line-out. there's also vox's valvetronix, its a hybrid which, correct me if im wrong but i think its an analog modeling amp.

opinions on these? any other practice amps you want to bring into contention?

[Siren Silently]

Now you're seeing the light! Vox Valvetronix and Roland Cubes should be on top of anybody's list for affordable practice amps.

[patrickhowell]

You should look at getting an Epiphone Valve Junior, Crate Blackheart, or another similar 5w all-tube amp.

[Siren Silently]

Those are great amps, especially for the price. The problem is, you can't push too many tones out of em.

[patrickhowell]

Those are great amps, especially for the price. The problem is, you can't push too many tones out of em.

Sure you can, it just takes a little modification...

[theguy77]

not a fan of modification. why buy an amp you're gonna need pedals for to make it sound the way you want?

[patrickhowell]

not a fan of modification. why buy an amp you're gonna need pedals for to make it sound the way you want?

What pedals ? I'm talking about rewiring the amp, but a stock VJ is already going to sound better than any solid-state amp like what you're talking about.

[The Boathouse]

I mean, fuck, you throw some decent tubes in one of those little guys and you'll be ready to rip. My blackheart sounds so ill without pedals, I almost hate using them. And I wouldn't if it didn't respond to them so well.

[theguy77]

What pedals ? I'm talking about rewiring the amp, but a stock VJ is already going to sound better than any solid-state amp like what you're talking about.

what about that fender with 4 tubes in it? it's not ALL tube but come on, haha.

i dont like how the VJ only has a volume control you get one tone out of it and thats it. and i really dislike the blackheart's voice.

[patrickhowell]

what about that fender with 4 tubes in it? it's not ALL tube but come on, haha.

i dont like how the VJ only has a volume control you get one tone out of it and thats it. and i really dislike the blackheart's voice.

my Valve Junior has 2 inputs and 4 knobs on it so far

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3015/2550734428_dd6696ed87_o.jpg

[shes.a.ghost]

fender blues junior is pretty dope.

[patrickhowell]

what about that fender with 4 tubes in it? it's not ALL tube but come on, haha.

It's a modeling preamp with an all-tube power amp with 3 tubes: One 12ax7 for the phase inverter and two 6v6 power tubes. It sounds pretty good from the clips I've found, and it's pretty cool how you can switch the preamp voicing to different models, but it's just that: It's a modeling amp. It's cool to have all those voices in one preamp, but they won't sound as good as the real deal. The tube power section helps a lot, though.

I'm actually doing something similar with my VJ. As soon as the rest of the parts come in, I'm adding a switch to re-voice the preamp on the fly from Tweed to Blackface to Marshall to Mesa to Vox settings with different capacitor values.

[theguy77]

my Valve Junior has 2 inputs and 4 knobs on it so far

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3015/2550734428_dd6696ed87_o.jpg

It's a modeling preamp with an all-tube power amp with 3 tubes: One 12ax7 for the phase inverter and two 6v6 power tubes. It sounds pretty good from the clips I've found, and it's pretty cool how you can switch the preamp voicing to different models, but it's just that: It's a modeling amp. It's cool to have all those voices in one preamp, but they won't sound as good as the real deal. The tube power section helps a lot, though.

I'm actually doing something similar with my VJ. As soon as the rest of the parts come in, I'm adding a switch to re-voice the preamp on the fly from Tweed to Blackface to Marshall to Mesa to Vox settings with different capacitor values.

yeah see my problem is im no mechanical expert i wouldnt know how to mod my amp in either of these ways.

[patrickhowell]

yeah see my problem is im no mechanical expert i wouldnt know how to mod my amp in either of these ways.

So far I have:

1) Hi and Lo impedance inputs, kind of like the #1 and #2 inputs on classic fender amps
2) Channel Volume knob
3) Tweed-style Tone control knob
4) Master Volume knob
5) Presence control knob

Also, I've upgraded a lot of the components in the amplifier such as the speaker (Weber AlNiCo Signature 8s), Tubes (JJ ECC81 12AT7 & JJ EL84), filter capacitors, and input jacks.

I've been learning as I go with the whole thing. It's really fun though. I've got a friend who's been helping me out with a lot of it. I got the schematics for all the mods at sewatt.com (http://sewatt.com)