cheap, small, versatile

[Rhust]

ok, I'm looking to add a small amp to go with my big, vintage tube amp.. but I don't want to spend much... it's just for practice in a bedroom or garage...

I want it portable, so I can take it over to my buddy's house.

I don't want to pack a lot of effects or hook up a whole chain to get 30 minutes of low volume practice. so something versatile maybe with a built in effects, but if it doesn't not a huge deal... the main thing is that it can do clean, and varying degrees of dirty(I usually play with at least little dirt)

I play mostly classic rock and 70/80s metal/punk...

the amps I've looked at that interest me so far:

orange crush pix 12 (CR12L) the CR20LDX looks great, but 20 W might be a bit more than I want... if it sounds good at low volume though, I might go for it
this guy on paper seems like a great deal... I've seen them on ebay well under 100...

vox pathfinder 10 9106 - might also think about the older ad30vt or ad15vt, but the new 20vt didn't sound great at low volumes to me... but really, in guitar center with every kid trying out 100w line6 amps, how could I tell what anything at low volumes would be... the da5 also crossed my mind

vypyr 15 peavey... I played one of these and it seemed ok for the price... but the controls seemed confusing and gimmicky

fender vibrochamp xd

roland micro cube or cube15 - they had these at GC today, but they were set up where you couldn't really plug into them and tell much about them... I had an old roland ministack (4-5" speakers in a SS combo amp) and it was ok...

these offer good versatility, but I don't like the line6 amps that sound all digital... it just sounds wrong to me... the vypyr might have had that quality a little, too, but not as bad.


here's where I am at, I have a BIG sounding tube amp, that I can't turn up past '2', maybe 3 if the wife isn't home... at 4, shit's falling off the walls. I HAVE to run OD/Distortion pedals to get any dirt, and that set-up/tear down time is annoying... cats and dogs chew on cables so I can't just leave everything plugged in like I used to... so I want something small, unobtrusive, that I can plug a guitar into, practice, get some decent sound out of, plug in headphones if needed. effects/modelling is a nice perk, a subtle reverb would be great but not the most important thing... OD and clean both from the amp IS a must though...

portability is also a nice perk, so I can toss it in the car and carry it over to a friends house... something that is a CHORE with my current head/cab

small wattage, 15-20 max.
something as small as 1 or 5 might even be enough but a lot of these tiny ones like the CR3 3 watt orange get tiny speakers and no speaker out to plug into a cab...

more interested in a combo amp than another head, my buddy doesn't have a cab to plug into... but a speaker out would be nice for when I'm at home and can plug into my cab when the wifey isn't home...

my current amp sounds great, but no tube amp really is getting fired up at "2" ... it's just too big for an 11x11 space or a 20x20 garage.

so. which of these have you used? what other sub $100-150 amp is a MUST try? (used is fine, cheaper is better) under 100 is ideal.

 

[rjwilson37]

Get a Mustang III, it is light has a lot of bells and whistles which makes it very versatile, has great effects built in, the amp models sound really good once you get past the base presets and make your own. The Mustang I is too boxy as a lot of the 8" speaker amps sound small and boxy and the tone has a hard time making to your ears without sounding small and fizzy. The Mustang II has a 12" speaker, but you can't get to all the setting on the amps interface, so you have to use the fuse software to get to everything and you can only save up to 24 presets. Yes, 100w is more than you need, but the extra features, the open back with a Celestion speaker and being able to get to all the amps settings easily to adjust or setup a preset makes it worth it. I play my Mustang III at low volumes and higher volumes and it sounds pretty darn good.

 

[redcoats1976]

i have the vibrochamp...recommend it highly.its just what you seem to be looking for.

 

[Rhust]

a mustang 3 is heavy, 5-10 times the wattage I want(double what I have now), and over $300... the 2 would even be more than I want to spend...

the vibrochamp is a strong contender in the race...

 

[redcoats1976]

a mustang 3 is heavy, 5-10 times the wattage I want(double what I have now), and over $300... the 2 would even be more than I want to spend...

the vibrochamp is a strong contender in the race...

if you play one you will buy it.last i heard sam ash had em for $149...

 

[Rhust]

not the first to tell me that

there isn't a sam ash here though, and Guitar center doesn't carry them in store...

my buddy brought up a good point today... eventhough I don't want to HAVE to tote effects around... modelling amps tend to mot like pedals when you DO want to use them... is this still true? can the vibro take a pedal like a wah, chorus, or distortion ok? or does it make it sound like poop?

that makes the pathfinder and the orange (esp. the orange) sound appealing...

the orange has effects, but doesn't model. and being a solid state, it can be tossed in the back seat easier than a tube hybrid... true? the pathfinder is a no-frills SS

 

[rjwilson37]

I don't like most of the effects on the Vibrochamp/or Superchamp, it has an ok sound, but it just did not hit any remote sweet spot for me to want it. I was looking at the Superchamp XD even, not so much the smaller brother, and it just did not make the cut.

 

[hoosiervolunteer]

I had the Orange. It sounded OK at best to me.

I had the Valvetronix+. It has the best built in effects. It sounded worse than the Orange to me.

I have the Superchamp XD. It's a good sounding amp to me. The tone comes from the DSP and not the tubes. It sounds good a lower volumes. The effects are passable, but not flexible. I'm selling mine. It's a good modeling amp, but I don't really feel like it's worth the money I spent on it. You can get just as close to what you want at half the price.

I have a Roland Cube. I keep it to go "crazy gain" at a lower volume. For a straight up clean tone, it is really good. The effects are OK, but go from a little to a lot. Meaning it's hard to find a good happy medium to their level. The headphone jack is helpful and I run my ipod into it to use as an external speaker in the man cave. It sounds better than the Orange or Vox. It does like pedals better than any of the others.

Never owned a Mustang, but have played around with one quite a bit. They sounded great and were very flexible. The fuse software really opens up things for this amp. Good effects and good tone.

If I were looking for something in this range again, I would go with something in the Mustang or the Cube. Just pick what you like of those 2!

Sorry for the long post. Hope it helps!

 

[se7775]

not to mention if you roam the fender forums you will hear much talk of the dreaded "fizz" with the mustang amps. I was considering one...

 

[68_Mustang]

Peavey Vypyr 30. The controls aren't as bad as you think. You can also get the Sanpera footswitch to allow the use of presets. I use a peavey vypyr 15 as my main practice amp. I really dig the sound it puts out.

 

[ed1996]

I recommend a vox valvetronix. They can go from jazz to blues to classic rock to metal at a turn of a knob.

 

[Rhust]

I got a vypyr 15 off ebay for less than $40+ shipping so about $40 off the new price... now it just needs to get here

 

[Fuelish]

cheap, small, versatile......... reminds of of the same line of thought about bicycle parts .... strong, light, affordable.....basically the solution is....pick two

 

[Rhust]

we used to tell people that when building cars... fast, cheap, reliable: pick 2

however, there are a lot of sub-$200 amps that I think are great for practice... amp modeling has come a long way, I could have given up amp modelling for more power, but at my age, I don't need huge wattage for playing around...

 

[old mark]

Peavey Bandit. Get an older US made version used, and stop worrying.
Great, versatile, loud, great sounds at lo volume levels, easy to use, built like a dump truck - thousands are on the road for generations. Great reverb.
And used Bandits are dirt cheap.


hard to beat them.

mark

 

[jeffjr464]

im using a vox pathfinder 10, great little amp, i wouldn't hesitate to buy one again, little sucker can really kick out gain or do cleans really well, overdrive channel is kinda fun too

 

[Rhust]

I was really torn on the pathfinder, but ended up getting a good deal on the vypyr, so I went that route... once it gets here, if I hate it, I'll sell it locally and buy a pathfinder

 

[2120southmichigan]

VOX AC4...? Distorts quick, not much clean...