low-watt amps

Drew Howard · Post by **Drew Howard** » 3 Mar 2007 11:29 am

I have a couple of Fender tube amps, a '63 Bassman and a '70's SF Twin, these being bigger amps that "run clean". I need a smaller low-watt combo amp for my Stringmaster and Tele, something that doesn't have the power and headroom of my other amps. Considerations for new amps are:

Fender Deluxe Reverb RI 22w
Fender Blues Jr. 15w

I would love to find something that's older and not Fender, like a Silvertone, Gibson, etc.

Anyway, what do you use/recommend?

thanks,
Drew

Gary Lynch · Post by **Gary Lynch** » 3 Mar 2007 11:58 am

Tone is in the head of the beholder. Those older small amps break up easy and have that funky sound.

You know that Fender Champs and Vibro Champs are still really inexpensive. Some folks think that after 1965 - 66 everything changed. On most of Fenders amps it did but the innards of the Champs and Vibro Champs were so simple they remained the same. While they may not have Black Faces, they sound the same to me and I have a number of them. Anyway they are real dependable. Check eBay and there are always a heap of the 1970's for sale.

John Bushouse · Post by **John Bushouse** » 3 Mar 2007 12:32 pm

I've got a 5 watt Gibson Les Paul Jr. amp that I really like - nice tone, only one knob (a volume knob that also turns on the amp). I bought it new from Gryphon in 2004 or so.

Michael Papenburg · Post by **Michael Papenburg** » 3 Mar 2007 2:31 pm

I've got a 1962 Epiphone Pathfinder 15 watt combo that sounds pretty cool. It's got a 12" Jensen C12R, 2 6v6s, awesome reverb, and excellent power tube tremolo. It's the same circuit as a Gibson Falcon. The tone is somewhere between tweed & blackface. It has a nice clean tone and only starts to break up as you get to the very top of the volume range. It's around the same volume as a Princeton reverb. Either model would be great if you don't need a lot of volume or headroom.

Terry VunCannon · Post by **Terry VunCannon** » 3 Mar 2007 2:51 pm

Hey Drew...Check out the song that pops up on http://www.myspace.com/terryvuncannon , the lap steel on "Preachers & Thieves" is played on a Fender Blues JR. I use the JR. or my Princeton Reverb(18 watts) for lap steel most of the time....Terry V.

Dave Little · Post by **Dave Little** » 3 Mar 2007 2:52 pm

Take a look at the THD Univalve @ 15 watts.
http://www.thdelectronics.com/products/univalve.htm
Edited to say: I reread your post and see you're looking for a combo. The univalve is a head only. Sorry - "My bad".
Dave Little

Dennis Schell · Post by **Dennis Schell** » 3 Mar 2007 3:25 pm

My daughter plays her strat through one of the little 15W Fender amps, a "Frontman 15G" and it's a ballsy lil' sucker! As "hot" to my ear as an old Roland "Cube 60" that I used to own...I think the "15W" Fenders are a great little amp...

Dennis

I use an old tube Fender "VibroChamp" for a home practice amp. It has a nice warm sound, but not as much gain as the lil' Frontman. I just wish it had reverb....

Peter Jacobs · Post by **Peter Jacobs** » 3 Mar 2007 3:32 pm

I use a Blues Jr -- it's small, light and reliable and it has a great tone for overdriven stuff -- even when it's clean, it isn't pristine. And it can get loud enough for gigs without straining.

Mike D · Post by **Mike D** » 3 Mar 2007 3:58 pm

I love my Blues Jr but another (and very inexpensive) small tube amp is the Epiphone Valve Jr. 8-watt, single 8" combo or available as a head unit. Just a voume control, no reverb or tone. The head is $99 and the combo can be had for $130ish. great, funky/dirty tone and can put out some pretty decent volume.

Gary Lynch · Post by **Gary Lynch** » 3 Mar 2007 5:26 pm

If you folks have not played your lap steel through a Honeytone by Danelectro, it's a trip. It sounds like a 1930's recording. Something Tom Waits would lay a mic close to and record it. Way funky but retro cool distortorama also..

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 4 Mar 2007 7:16 am

I have an Epiphone Valve Junior head ($99). This is a 5 watt, class A tube amp. I use a Peavey 12" extension cabinet along with it and help it out with a Boss RV-3. The combination is great for lap steel. They also make a combo amp that sells for $139.

Craig Stenseth · Post by **Craig Stenseth** » 4 Mar 2007 7:24 am

I played through one of these at the local music store, it looks like everyone's making a small tube amp now.

http://www.orangeamps.com/tinyterror/

Lee Gillespie · Post by **Lee Gillespie** » 4 Mar 2007 8:43 am

I had a 98 fender 112 that I tried everything to get a decent sound, in desperation just before playing a gig in Grand Junction, Co. I went to a local music store and plugged into a Roland 30. Took it to the job and needless to say it went home with me. Being realistic.... no it cant compare to my Pevey session 500 or my Randell 500..but... easy to carry and has a great sound for a little amp. While in the store I tried the Roland 60...Naaaaa.... I think the 30 sounded so much better. Lee

Bill Creller · Post by **Bill Creller** » 5 Mar 2007 5:11 am

The Roland's are all solid-state aren't they?? Porbably makes them lighter if they are.

Gary Lynch · Post by **Gary Lynch** » 5 Mar 2007 5:57 am

I have one. Yes they are solid-state. It has performed well. You can buy them used for a little over $100 these days . Roland just came out with an upograded Cube 30. My older model works well and can't imagine wearing it out anytime soon.

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 5 Mar 2007 9:44 am

Check out the smaller members of the Vox Valvetonix series. These remarkably small lightweight amps have a variety of clean (amazing headroom) and dirty sounds and some basic effects. They have some quality and reliability issues, but at those prices, you can buy two and keep a spare.

Dave Zielinski · Post by **Dave Zielinski** » 5 Mar 2007 12:26 pm

Although I love my homebuilt and vintage amps,

the Fender Pro Junior is a hot little amp! Twin EL84s, volume and tone.

10" speaker. nice and small, light weight.

Good luck in your search!

Bill Creller · Post by **Bill Creller** » 5 Mar 2007 3:37 pm

I LOVE TUBES!!

Todd Weger · Post by **Todd Weger** » 5 Mar 2007 3:56 pm

...I agree. But, if you want an very inexpensive SS amp that really does SOUND and FEEL great, the VOX Pathfinder 15R is a nice little amp. The reverb sux, IMO, but if you like tones that aren't 100% clean (IOW, there's more of a subtle tube distortion 'warmth' going on), these are grea little amps. I'm quite impressed with what they've done with these.

That said though, I still want a pure class A, all-tube circuit amp at some point. I really like the Swarth amps, but I just can't find $800!

T

Jeff Au Hoy · Post by **Jeff Au Hoy** » 6 Mar 2007 12:46 am

Just curious... why specifically class A (rather than class AB)? The two just designate operating class. They aren't a mark of quality.

Todd Weger · Post by **Todd Weger** » 6 Mar 2007 6:09 am

Jeff Au Hoy wrote:Just curious... why specifically class A (rather than class AB)? The two just designate operating class. They aren't a mark of quality.

Jeff -- good question. This guy makes an arguement that there's no difference sonically, as long as the AB amp is biased to run 'hotter.' I don't know much on this subject, so he may be totally correct.

http://www.psg.com/~dlamkins/Articles/c ... p?cat=amps

Personally, I've always felt that a very simple class A circuit amp sounds smoother and harmonically richer, at least to my ears, but maybe that's because I was just playing through some really great amps with great components, etc. Personally, for me, if an amp gives me the sound I want to hear, I like it and don't really care too much what it is, and... if it doesn't cost me too many clams, I like it MORE!

Gary Lynch · Post by **Gary Lynch** » 6 Mar 2007 6:21 am

Even checked Doug Stalters's products? He builds many styles and has for years. Spend a few minutes surfing his site for a treat.

http://www.vintone.com/products.html

Brian LeBlanc · Post by **Brian LeBlanc** » 6 Mar 2007 1:59 pm

... I just paid $300 !

...for a 71'

Loni Specter · Post by **Loni Specter** » 6 Mar 2007 2:47 pm

Mark Sampson's (Matchless) new company, STAR. I have a "Nova" model 1x10" combo, the size of a Champ. I think it's 8 watts hand made all tube. It's got a very wide palette of tones and breaks up sweatly. You can also send it to a larger cab for more bottom end.
www.staramplifiers.com

Mark Butcher · Post by **Mark Butcher** » 7 Mar 2007 12:01 pm

It seems to me that we all think that old stuff is the best. I love the mojo but most old stuff was badly designed and put together without quality control. Think of any car made before 1980, it needed maintenance.

I have recently bought my son a Line Six Spider 120Watt combo for half the price of a 15watt Fender Blues Jr (here in the UK) It sounds great even at bedroom volume and it can be LOUD too, and you get four channels, tap delay, reverb, effects, tuner.

I use a Micro Cube for my lap steel and it sounds great too.

But I guess this is not what you want to hear!

Mark

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