Bigmuff

I'm looking for a smaller, lighter rig for practice and smaller gigs (which is what I typically play anyway), but with cleans that stay clean enough to use over a drummer, while hammering away at full chords.

I have a Peavey Classic 50 combo, which I love to death but it can be too loud and too heavy. It's an older one and has no effects loop, which sometimes bugs me. I have a Marshall DSL 50 with an old Avatar 4x12 which is even heavier and louder. I have a Traynor YCS50 that I really don't like too much and will sell pretty soon. I had a Fender Blues Jr, but it broke up too soon and couldn't do hard rock for crap.

I've tried an Egnater Rebel 30, which I also felt broke up too soon. I'd like to try a Jet City, but nobody carries them, and I understand they also don't do loud-ish cleans too well. There's an Orange Rocker 30 for sale at a local shop for $900, which seems like a pretty good price, but I dunno if I can justify it - Orange's are just so overpriced. I'm curious about the new H&K Tubemeisters but I can't find one to try.

Is there actually such a thing as a low wattage, 2 channel tube amp that will do what I'm looking for? Nice loud cleans and moderately heavy distortion without being a pita to move around?

I know this has been asked before, so forgive the redundancy.

Marshall Amps

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Stringjunkie

DSL 15 is supposedly coming out soon.

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diesect20022000

VOX night Train and Orange Tiny Terror.

set the tone/EQ to taste, DIME the volume and use the gain knob as a volume. very touch sensitive and blooms well. you will need a tung sol in V1 and a JJ in V2 with JJ EL84's to help with that though. and the "gain (when used as a volume this way) sounds best and feels best imo at 10 oclock and noon.

Ricochet

There's a contradictory statement in "low wattage, nice loud cleans". You're looking at compromising one or the other. That said, I think my DSL401 is a nice compromise.

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JAC

Get yourself a Vibro Champ.

chuckelator

Jet city JA20. single channel, 20w gets reasonably loud, light on the back and wallet. Cleans sound great.

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SonVolt

Why not get a Peavey Classic 30? It's small, loud and has an effects loop and you already know you love the tone.

pedecamp

Try Blackstar amps like the HT Studio 20. Clean channel is like Fender clean and dirty channel is like a hotrodded Marshall. Has loop too. And not expensive.

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DSL50

Darth Federer

My Tubemeister is one of my favorite amps for clean. It has a separate clean channel with gain knob that adds some very slight crunch when cranked. They are hard to find though. I think H&K is having a hard to keeping up with demand for them. My local GC just got one in a couple weeks ago and it was gone in 24 hours. There are multiple reasons it beat out the YJM-100 for best new head at NAMM. Of the amps I own I only like the JTM cleans better. Let us know what you decide on.

poeman33

DSL 50 certainly...just get a 2x12 instead of a 4x12. It has great cleans at low or high volume.

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acidvoodoo

The Bogner Alchemist is pretty awesome, has great cleans, runs either 40 or 20 watts.

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diesect20022000

another one is the Bogner Alchemist just make sure you get a revision C. they can do fender,hiwatt,german and brit lead tones very well you just have to learn how to use the mini dip switches accordingly. very good cleans though and 40/20 watt power. in fact the clean and lead being BOTH so good and useable is why i love the amp because i mix shred,pop,classical and metalcore so i need both worlds for what i do. i even throw some jazz on my solos and chordings (and VERY much on my dual guitar interplay. the way i weave my riffs is USUALY jazz influenced and thusly throws people off when they listen to some of my tunes lol)
and is why i chose this amp.

diesect20022000

ha just saw this man lol yeah once dialed in it can be an amazing amp. it's a sleeper for sure. kills me how underrated these amps are. they sit pretty well with my dual Framus stack and not much else imo has touched them and i've owned LOTS of high end amps.

Bigmuff

Lots of good suggestions. Thanks folks.

There's a guy selling a Peavey C30 on my local Craigslist that I'm gonna check out.

In the meantime, my local GC had a use Jet City JCA20 mini-stack. I couldn't resist - they're so inexpensive - so I brought it home. You know, to 'borrow' it, thanks to GC's nice return policy. And you know what? I really like it! No clean channel, but rolling the volume off on my P90 guitar worked quite well. I used it at band practice and it easily did the trick. The lack of an fx loop is a drag. I'm too lazy to constantly reconfigure my board for amps with and without a loop, and delay sounds like poop if run before distortion.

The JCA22 would address both of my greivances, but I can't find one, much less used. Do you know if the second channel on the JCA22 is clean-ish enough, and is the fx loop compatible with typical pedals? I have read that a lot of Soldano loops don't play well with instrument level fx, which I'm pretty sure is all I've got.

HeHasTheJazzHands

Line 6 DT25. It may have an infamous brand name, but its a very versatile and really nice sounding mini head.


And yes, its all-analog. :P

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Bigmuff

The DSL does surprisingly well at low volumes, but I feel it's significantly better at higher volumes. I've tried running it through a 2x12 (well, actually, just the speakers on my Peavey Classic 50 combo), but it wasn't really all that quieter.

I've been considering an attenuator, but those can be very expensive and I know f all about them.

acidvoodoo

Ha thats funny you posted the same...totally agree man, its a great amp! I just got a Catalinbread RAH and it sounds f'n amazing through the clean channel with the crunch switch on and some reverb...unreal tones

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RiverRatt

Go read the thread about the Egnater Tweaker 15 head. I bought a JCA20 head and loved it, but it sounded just like the DSL50 I already had. I took it back to GC before the return period expired and got the Tweaker. believe me when I say it will do every bit of the Marshall goodness that the JCA20 does, plus it can do a decent Vox, Mesa, and Fender. I firmly believe that it is the best 15 watt amp out there if you want good tones and versatility. There are amps that do one sound better, but there are none that do all sounds better.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by MartyStrat54 That's what I like about you Alan...you got it bad. You're a tube-aholic.

diesect20022000

my two links are sweep 16 and recertified that are using the lead of the amp and at 20 watts low volume

yeah i agree! i thought it was funny as well. there's so much tone in this thing man it really amazes me that people blew them off. clean,crunch,liqued lead, high gain searing metal....all there just the flick of the dip switches

GuitarBuilder

Egnater Tweaker 15...

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Tommy Boy

Mesa Boogie TA-30 combo. Sweet cleans with switchable power options from 15 to 40 watts. Vert portable; loud (and quiet) enough for just about any gig. Pricey ($1800+) is the only catch. Still, a great, versatile amp that's perfect for the cleaner stuff we do.

jvm210guy

I've been gigging a Tiny Terror for maybe 2 months and I gotta say it's not an amp for cleans. In every gigging situation I've been in so far I've had to just about max out my gain knob to get a usable volume. I mean there is plenty volume there, but cleans are not crystal clear. Also note that in order to get those cleans I had to use my guitar volume knobs, so if you can't do that while playing you'll effectively have NO clean tones at all.

I suggest an ac30, yes Vox AC30. Although i love my Tiny Terror and recommend it, the AC30 will be my next amp. Particularly because I want an amp with tight cleans, and I need it to do effects well (also need an amp that is small/portable). I'm just about done with half stacks....

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Georgiatec

Marshall Haze 15 (head only). Great cleans and a good o/d...can sound a bit Darth Vader (on the Dark Side )...but is easily remedied with a child's play mod to bridge a resistor. Great loop, and front end takes pedals really well and should be cheap as chips. I have the 40 watt combo version. If I can't be bothered lugging my 100w head and 4 x 12, or space is tight it's my "go to" amp. Prefer it to my DSL401, though that too will tick all your boxes.

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RiverRatt

The AC30 is a good recommendation. If you're on a limited budget, the AC15C1 is an affordable and more portable solution that has great cleans itself.

If you want to goose your amp a little without completely sacrificing your cleans, an Xotic EP Booster is great for wringing out that last bit of volume out of a tube amp. You aren't going to get pristine cleans from a 15-watt amp, but if you like the warm, snappy, and sort of gainy cleans that a good tube amp is capable of, the EP Booster is a great pedal!

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Quote:

Originally Posted by MartyStrat54 That's what I like about you Alan...you got it bad. You're a tube-aholic.

langmurf

An easy way to get higher clean headroom is to throw a 12AT7 into the PI position... I've tried it in my amps, including a Class 5, and it absolutely works.

I'm not an engineer... but here's an article from a guy many consider to be an amp guru, Myles Rose. Enjoy!

http://www.guitaramplifierblueprinti...seinverter.pdf

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scat7s

if you need cleans in a portable package, and of course, you NEED valves, why not go for the benchmark in cleans, and pick up a fender...

deluxe reverb 1x12.

im also a tweaker owner, the 15w is a great amp head. versatile, small, and reasonable price, and just as loud as a fender deluxe, but no tube reverb

i dont know if its been mentioned yet, but if you find an amp you like the character of, but find it breaks up too soon, try some combination of lower gain preamp tubes in V1 or V2 positions. 12at7 or even a 12au7 if you need crystal cleans at max volumes.

oops, its right in the post above me, but thats refering to the phase inverter which will usually be V3, which is another option worth exploring.

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johnfv

Another vote for the Tweaker. I love the JCA20H but would never describe it as clean. Here is a clean Tweaker clip:
From Russia with Love

EDIT: this mix is better (a little reverb added in the mix): http://johnviehweg.com/wordpress/wp-...weakerVERB.mp3

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Bigmuff

Because I know you were all dying with anticipation to see how this story ends, I thought I'd let you know I picked up a used Peavey Classic 30. It's an older one with no tube tamer/cage, but I got it for a very good price. Later I picked up a Tom's tube tamer off Ebay, and it does the trick.

For the type of music I'm playing, I can honestly say I've never been as pleased with an amp as I have with this one. It's the perfect volume, clean or distorted, takes pedals well, and really stands out in the mix without being shrill. It's one-hand portable, and I get to brag about it actually being made in the USA. 30 watts gives me just enough headroom, and still enough low end oomph to chug out some palm muted power chords. With an extension cab, it's even better.

And they lived happily ever after.

diesect20022000

I'm always curious as to the how the gas threads end honestly. asperger's i guess.

Steve P

Congrats and enjoy the new amp