Recommend me a small valve amp please...
Discussion
I'm after my first valve amp. Only want a small one for bedroom rockstar-dom.
This one comes quite highly rated, has anyone else got any recommendations please? Ideally no more than £300.
http://www.gak.co.uk/en/vox-ac4-c1-12-combo/100431...
TIA.
This one comes quite highly rated, has anyone else got any recommendations please? Ideally no more than £300.
http://www.gak.co.uk/en/vox-ac4-c1-12-combo/100431...
TIA.
Can't beat the Blackstar, but I would take a look at the HT1 as well as the HT5R. Can be had second hand for about £100 and sounds great at bedroom volumes. Same reverb as the HT5R, and will also drive a cab.
edit - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU--ptoCAts
edit - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU--ptoCAts
Edited by rsbmw on Monday 21st March 11:43
Bum Debris said:
With regards to the Blackstar (and please don't hate me) will I be able to recreate an Oasis type sound with that?
If you mean the sound Noel gets then it's not easy - he has a habit of chopping and changing. His main amp appears to be a Marshall JCM-900 with a 1960 cabinet, but he also uses quite a lot off effects pedals (compressor, overdrive, tube screamer, delay) - and a Les Paul guitar.When you're so specific about the sound you want to achieve is a valve amp the way to go?
I only ask as I've recently bought a Vox VT20X for playing at home. The software that comes with it allows you to very quickly load up great Oasis tone in seconds (Marshall 59 amp, boss delay, Ibanez tubescreamer) and is hugely tweakable. All for the princely sum of £149.
I only ask as I've recently bought a Vox VT20X for playing at home. The software that comes with it allows you to very quickly load up great Oasis tone in seconds (Marshall 59 amp, boss delay, Ibanez tubescreamer) and is hugely tweakable. All for the princely sum of £149.
SWoll said:
When you're so specific about the sound you want to achieve is a valve amp the way to go?
I only ask as I've recently bought a Vox VT20X for playing at home. The software that comes with it allows you to very quickly load up great Oasis tone in seconds (Marshall 59 amp, boss delay, Ibanez tubescreamer) and is hugely tweakable. All for the princely sum of £149.
I had a transistor amplifier a few years ago and it sounded rubbish. I did a bit of research on line last week and the general consensus is valve amps sound infinitely better. That's the main reason I was looking for a valve amp. I only ask as I've recently bought a Vox VT20X for playing at home. The software that comes with it allows you to very quickly load up great Oasis tone in seconds (Marshall 59 amp, boss delay, Ibanez tubescreamer) and is hugely tweakable. All for the princely sum of £149.
Bum Debris said:
I had a transistor amplifier a few years ago and it sounded rubbish. I did a bit of research on line last week and the general consensus is valve amps sound infinitely better. That's the main reason I was looking for a valve amp.
Valve amps sound different, not better. I've heard some solid-state amps that sound really good - the Roland JC-120 is one example. At the end of the day, buy something you like the sound of.
You can get some valve amps that only do one thing, but do it really well. Other valve amps do more things almost as well. But modern solid state (transistor) gear includes things like Kemper modelling amps at best part of £2k, so don't dismiss modelling out of hand.
That said, I love my valve amps. It's nice to know that I get the sound I want with all the knobs turned to 10...
That said, I love my valve amps. It's nice to know that I get the sound I want with all the knobs turned to 10...
Bum Debris said:
SWoll said:
When you're so specific about the sound you want to achieve is a valve amp the way to go?
I only ask as I've recently bought a Vox VT20X for playing at home. The software that comes with it allows you to very quickly load up great Oasis tone in seconds (Marshall 59 amp, boss delay, Ibanez tubescreamer) and is hugely tweakable. All for the princely sum of £149.
I had a transistor amplifier a few years ago and it sounded rubbish. I did a bit of research on line last week and the general consensus is valve amps sound infinitely better. That's the main reason I was looking for a valve amp. I only ask as I've recently bought a Vox VT20X for playing at home. The software that comes with it allows you to very quickly load up great Oasis tone in seconds (Marshall 59 amp, boss delay, Ibanez tubescreamer) and is hugely tweakable. All for the princely sum of £149.
I don't doubt that the real amps and pedals that the Vox models would sound better but on the other hand the cost of buying them all would be rather restrictive even for a simple setup like the Marshall, delay and tubescreamer.
As always, go and audition a few if you can and make your own mind up about whether the extra cost and reduced versatility of a tube amp are for you. I'm really pleased with my Vox having tried a lot of small amps, especially running it at bedroom levels.
Came in here to post the exact same question... 
Found the answers above v.helpful, and interested to see where the OP's thoughts have got to?
For me, I need something compact enough to sit in the lounge looking innocent for the sake of domestic bliss so...
I think it's going to be the Blackstar HT-1R, probably with a Maxon OD808 to give "foot-switchable" overdrive (AFAICS the HT1 can't use a foot switch) and that screamer sound.
Anyone got that or a v. similar setup?
Found the answers above v.helpful, and interested to see where the OP's thoughts have got to?
For me, I need something compact enough to sit in the lounge looking innocent for the sake of domestic bliss so...
I think it's going to be the Blackstar HT-1R, probably with a Maxon OD808 to give "foot-switchable" overdrive (AFAICS the HT1 can't use a foot switch) and that screamer sound.
Anyone got that or a v. similar setup?
Thought I'd report back... I went with the Blackstar HT-1R, and *very* happy with it.
I'm still learning what it can do but it does deliver a great range of classic sounds for such a small amp (with so few controls compared to the big boys). Lovely, crisp and clear tones when clean with a silky smooth but very punchy "crunch" coming in as you wind the gain up. The clarity, even when well into overdrive, really brings out the difference in tones from the various pickup combinations.
Well-built and nicely finished too, with a top quality feel to the buttons and switches (with the possible, very minor, exception of the "push-in" overdrive selector).
Find one to demo with your own guitar if you're after a very specific sound, but I love it. I've heard the little Vox too, and that sounds nice so just down to which you prefer...
I'm still learning what it can do but it does deliver a great range of classic sounds for such a small amp (with so few controls compared to the big boys). Lovely, crisp and clear tones when clean with a silky smooth but very punchy "crunch" coming in as you wind the gain up. The clarity, even when well into overdrive, really brings out the difference in tones from the various pickup combinations.
Well-built and nicely finished too, with a top quality feel to the buttons and switches (with the possible, very minor, exception of the "push-in" overdrive selector).
Find one to demo with your own guitar if you're after a very specific sound, but I love it. I've heard the little Vox too, and that sounds nice so just down to which you prefer...
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