Which low wattage tube amp?

[essguitarman]

Even though it's not tube, I'm seriously considering the ZT Lunchbox. Just checked it out yesterday and it was really cool.

 

[Sin Nombre]

Even though it's not tube, I'm seriously considering the ZT Lunchbox. Just checked it out yesterday and it was really cool.

At 200 watts it's not exactly low wattage either.

 

[essguitarman]

True, but it's very cool. I just said low watts because I need a physically small amp, and this one's tiny!

 

[sFLsniper]

No one has mentioned the Blackstar HT-5 in this thread. How does it compare with the others. Would it complement or mimic either my Blues Jr. or VJr?

I've been drooling to get a nice tube Marshall and I believe the Blackstar HT-5 with fill that void! Great clips on youtube...

 

[Jammers5]

No one has mentioned the Blackstar HT-5 in this thread. How does it compare with the others. Would it complement or mimic either my Blues Jr. or VJr?

I played through a Blackstar HT-5 while in Vegas on business. I must say I was really impressed with that amp. The gain in that little amp was incredible, yet when you dialed the gain back it sounded excellent for that "classic rock" sound. If shipping wouldn't have costed me an arm and leg I would have bought it. I don't think I would compare it to a Blues Jr or a VJr though, a different beast.

Bottom line, you will need to go out and try the amps, and see what turns your crank. Try and buy at a store that has a good return policy, and try the amp at home to see if it's to your liking. I find amps sound completely different to me in the store - maybe it's because I don't feel comfortable playing loud in the stores. To be honest, I wasn't sold on the Dark Horse in the store, but because Long & McQuade has such a great return policy, I bought it knowing I could return it if I didn't like it. Once I tested it out at home and compared it to the others I have, I was able to dial it in to get the tone I wanted from it.

you can't go wrong with any of the tube amps in the low wattage area, IMHO. None of them "suck" they are tube amps after all! Have fun shopping!

J5

 

[Jammers5]

I've been drooling to get a nice tube Marshall and I believe the Blackstar HT-5 with fill that void! Great clips on youtube...

Yeah that one and the Blackheart Little Giant. I have mine modded with the Bitmo Triple Bypass and that sounds great too.

Although the Blackstar HT-5 is one sweet amp!

J5

 

[carydad]

I own these:

Marshall Class 5-one sound, but a good one! Needs to be loud to sound best. When loud-it's a marshall.

Mesa Boogie Transatlantic-Just got it-freaking amazing. 5W is enough at home, 25 is enough with the band-2 channels-2 totally different tones. I love this amp. Heard a rumor about a TA-30-hope so. Could use an effects loop is the only complaint I have heard from others-not a problem for me.

Orange Tiny Terror-Have it. One sound, and needed better tubes. Sounds good, but again-one sound. My least favorite of this group

Egnater 20-I'd give the edge to this guy over the orange. A little more to it and more tones, but again-one sound until you go tweak knobs, but at least you can tweak the knobs.

The TA-15 is more expensive, but considering that each side is like a different amp-to me it is like any of the above/only better, it might be worth checking out. I took the TT and the Eggy to a jam and used an A/B box..it was okay. WIth the TA, you don't need to.

 

[Grand Pappy]

Try to scrape up an extra $100 and try to find a used Mesa 5:25 Express combo. I've had one for about 8 months and little bastard amazes me every time I plug in. 5 watts for home use and 25 watts for practice & gigging. Killer cleans and very nice reverb. Blues, Crunch and Burn modes, too. Super versatile.
I got mine for $700 on Ebay and it was only 1 year old.
That Mesa TA-15 looks really interesting, but I allready have the 5:25 and I can't justify the cost right now.

 

[essguitarman]

Try to scrape up an extra $100 and try to find a used Mesa 5:25 Express combo. I've had one for about 8 months and little bastard amazes me every time I plug in. 5 watts for home use and 25 watts for practice & gigging. Killer cleans and very nice reverb. Blues, Crunch and Burn modes, too. Super versatile.
I got mine for $700 on Ebay and it was only 1 year old.
That Mesa TA-15 looks really interesting, but I allready have the 5:25 and I can't justify the cost right now.

I checked one of those out the other day. I can se why people like them; they're very cool little amps, but I really not my kind of thing.