So I was looking at a Bugera V5 but I'm finding mixed reviews. My brother has a 22 that I like but I don't want to spend that much. What's a good amp for 199 or less? Tubed is good and I really like the fender sound, been listening to blues lately.
find a fender champion 600. It is little, sounds great and can be found @$100.
For $200 smackers, check out the a Yamaha THR amp. I want one badly. Not tube, but may be better. I am serious.
The Fender Pro Jr is a stellar sounding little combo. You might be able to find one used on CL in that ballpark. Mine has NFB disconnected and it rocks!
There are a lot of mods online for the 600 if you feel like tinkering. I tweaked mine quite a bit. Step 1, replace the speaker and speaker cloth. Weber has a little speaker that fits fine. Check this out
http://www.300guitars.com/articles/hot-rodding-the-new-fender-champion-600/ (http://www.300guitars.com/articles/hot-rodding-the-new-fender-champion-600/)
If you don't go too crazy on the iron, you could probably build a head for that much, anyway. I think I spent about $200-ish on my 18watt build.
I used THIS (http://www.guitaramplifierpcbs.com/liteiib.html) circuit board.
Wouldn't be much good without a cab, I guess, so I'm not much help ;D
I'm a peavey guy. I loved my valve king 212. They make a 50 watt 112 version. I have a peavey prowler right now. Sounds good I also had a fender pro jr but I use a lot of distortion so didn't fit the bill for me, however the clean is beautiful on those.
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Quote from: jimilee on February 24, 2014, 12:59:34 AM
So I was looking at a Bugera V5 but I'm finding mixed reviews. My brother has a 22 that I like but I don't want to spend that much. What's a good amp for 199 or less? Tubed is good and I really like the fender sound, been listening to blues lately.
What Fender sound you after? Tweed, Blackface, etc. Very different worlds that might help you narrow down some choices
I like the tweed sound
Quote from: jimilee on February 24, 2014, 02:18:19 AM
I like the tweed sound
Alright sounds like a perfect opportunity to build yourself a KILLER little amp. Maybe a bit more than $200 but so worth it.
Fender F51 Champ
Tons of kits out there and a great first amp to build (assuming you have not built before)
Quote from: pryde on February 24, 2014, 03:15:18 AM
Quote from: jimilee on February 24, 2014, 02:18:19 AM
I like the tweed sound
Alright sounds like a perfect opportunity to build yourself a KILLER little amp. Maybe a bit more than $200 but so worth it.
Fender F51 Champ
Tons of kits out there and a great first amp to build (assuming you have not built before)
I have not, challenge accepted.
Quote from: jimilee on February 24, 2014, 03:15:58 AM
Quote from: pryde on February 24, 2014, 03:15:18 AM
Quote from: jimilee on February 24, 2014, 02:18:19 AM
I like the tweed sound
Alright sounds like a perfect opportunity to build yourself a KILLER little amp. Maybe a bit more than $200 but so worth it.
Fender F51 Champ
Tons of kits out there and a great first amp to build (assuming you have not built before)
I have not, challenge accepted.
You're going to love it. I did a 5E3 tweed deluxe scratch build that is my pride and joy. If you want to keep the budget tight, you could try a Baby Will. I've done a couple of them as conversions from Epi Valve Jrs and they sound great. They are a simplified Marshall 18 watt lite IIb and they're PCB based and cheap!
http://www.guitaramplifierpcbs.com/liteiib.html
Cool. The budget part is because I'm a bassist and will probably never be a rhythm guitar player in a band. Is hate to spend a lot but I want something that sounds good, a sub 200 tubed amps don't seem to be good quality.
Quote from: jimilee on February 24, 2014, 04:17:56 AM
Cool. The budget part is because I'm a bassist and will probably never be a rhythm guitar player in a band. Is hate to spend a lot but I want something that sounds good, a sub 200 tubed amps don't seem to be good quality.
The Baby Will is fully tube except SS rectifier. It's a rock machine. I put VVRs in them too so I can get them cranked at reasonable volume. I put one on my tweed too. Works perfect!
Looks good. Do they sell cabs also or just the pcb? I haven't looked too much at it just yet.
Quote from: jimilee on February 24, 2014, 04:23:20 AM
Looks good. Do they sell cabs also or just the pcb? I haven't looked too much at it just yet.
Just the PCBs but there are detailed instructions and a good BOM. If you can pick up a VJ donor you have a cab, chassis, and power trafo already supplied. I've bought like new VJ's for under $80 on CL. You can't buy a cab and trafo that cheap. Then you can have fun retolexing and making your own face plate if you want. It's a great way to learn if you haven't done it before.
Here are the two I did. The white/black one is mine and the silver one I did for a good friend. I flipped the cabs and modified the front baffles and retolexed them. Controls are voltage, tone, volume. No bad settings and they take pedals great.
(Sorry I don't have the photo bucket thing figured out yet. I'll get there)
Oh wow, those look great!
Quote from: slimtriggers on February 24, 2014, 01:40:19 AM
If you don't go too crazy on the iron, you could probably build a head for that much, anyway. I think I spent about $200-ish on my 18watt build.
I used THIS (http://www.guitaramplifierpcbs.com/liteiib.html) circuit board.
Wouldn't be much good without a cab, I guess, so I'm not much help ;D
Wow, slimtriggers, I didn't realize that I made the same recommendation and posted the same link as you. DOH!! Sorry.
Hey Jimilee.
Here's another option: http://www.boothillamps.com/5F1_Kits.php (http://www.boothillamps.com/5F1_Kits.php). I heard a lot of good things about this kit supplier when I was researching a first amp build (no affiliation whatsoever). He was good at Q&A during my research and was even one of the guys that helped me troubleshoot the start-up of my Weber Maggie kit when I posted to the TDPRI Shock Bros. forum http://www.tdpri.com/forum/shock-brothers-diy-amps/ (http://www.tdpri.com/forum/shock-brothers-diy-amps/). You'd still need a cab, speaker and tubes, but if you find a donor unit, then you may be set. If not, then he can supply those too.
Good luck, enjoy. Bruce.
Just to muddy the waters a little, I would lean towards a hand wired, i.e. turret or stripboard construction rather than pcb for an amp, if for no other reason than the ease of repair and/or modification. I think most amp techs would agree. Plus, I found it a lot of fun building my 5E3 Tweed Deluxe based amp. Boot Hill Amps http://www.boothillamps.com/5F1_Kits.php (http://www.boothillamps.com/5F1_Kits.php)puts together a nice kit at very reasonable cost. There are many others to choose from. I used Triode Electronics. It's nice to get away from stuffing boards for a change. In fact, I'm convincing myself I need to build one of these http://www.allenamps.com/brownsugar.php (http://www.allenamps.com/brownsugar.php). Arggh!
I have a Valve Jr that i'm very happy with, no modes yet, - play it every day but a little dark compared to a Fender. I'd recommend the head - easier to mod and has 4,8,16 Ohm taps to run any cab you can get your hands on.
I'm also a fan of the little giant:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifiers-effects/blackheart-bh5h-little-giant-5w-120v-tube-guitar-amp-head (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifiers-effects/blackheart-bh5h-little-giant-5w-120v-tube-guitar-amp-head)
But I'd recommend you save up and keep an eye on CL for a Fender Blues Jr. They usually go for $350, but can be gotten for $250-300 if you get a good deal. Well worth the money - loud (but not too loud) and clean so your pedals really come through.
Quote from: brucer on February 24, 2014, 05:09:12 AM
Hey Jimilee.
Here's another option: http://www.boothillamps.com/5F1_Kits.php (http://www.boothillamps.com/5F1_Kits.php). I heard a lot of good things about this kit supplier when I was researching a first amp build (no affiliation whatsoever). He was good at Q&A during my research and was even one of the guys that helped me troubleshoot the start-up of my Weber Maggie kit when I posted to the TDPRI Shock Bros. forum http://www.tdpri.com/forum/shock-brothers-diy-amps/ (http://www.tdpri.com/forum/shock-brothers-diy-amps/). You'd still need a cab, speaker and tubes, but if you find a donor unit, then you may be set. If not, then he can supply those too.
Good luck, enjoy. Bruce.
Yes Dave at Boothill Amps is a good guy to do business with. Give him a call and he will get you rolling if you want to do an F51.
Quote from: miter53 on February 24, 2014, 05:10:20 AM
Just to muddy the waters a little, I would lean towards a hand wired, i.e. turret or stripboard construction rather than pcb for an amp, if for no other reason than the ease of repair and/or modification. I think most amp techs would agree. Plus, I found it a lot of fun building my 5E3 Tweed Deluxe based amp. Boot Hill Amps http://www.boothillamps.com/5F1_Kits.php (http://www.boothillamps.com/5F1_Kits.php)puts together a nice kit at very reasonable cost. There are many others to choose from. I used Triode Electronics. It's nice to get away from stuffing boards for a change. In fact, I'm convincing myself I need to build one of these http://www.allenamps.com/brownsugar.php (http://www.allenamps.com/brownsugar.php). Arggh!
Dave(allenamps.com) is about 20 min and has had his hands in 3 of my amps. He's a tad on the expensive side, but overall worth every penny.
*edit - update which Dave.
You used to be able to by old Harmony amps for cheap. I found one with the 5e3 tube set (5y3, 12ax7 2 6V6) and rebuilt it to the 5e3 schematic.
Great amp now, light weight, loud and it sings with its original Jensen speaker.
Andrew.
Quote from: gjcamann on February 24, 2014, 12:56:31 PM
I have a Valve Jr that i'm very happy with, no modes yet, - play it every day but a little dark compared to a Fender. I'd recommend the head - easier to mod and has 4,8,16 Ohm taps to run any cab you can get your hands on.
I'm also a fan of the little giant:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifiers-effects/blackheart-bh5h-little-giant-5w-120v-tube-guitar-amp-head (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifiers-effects/blackheart-bh5h-little-giant-5w-120v-tube-guitar-amp-head)
But I'd recommend you save up and keep an eye on CL for a Fender Blues Jr. They usually go for $350, but can be gotten for $250-300 if you get a good deal. Well worth the money - loud (but not too loud) and clean so your pedals really come through.
I love my Blues Jr. Toanz for dayz and I haven't found a pedal yet it doesn't sound great with.
+1 on the Blackheart stuff if you don't go the DIY route. You can typically pick them up used very cheap. I picked up the Handsome Devil (the 15/7 W unit with 3 band tonestack, presence control, fx loop, and 4/8/16 Ohm outputs) head for $99 used. Stock tubes are crap and fizzy, but retubed with a set of JJs and it sounds pretty sweet.
If you're willing to splurge a bit more, you can pick up a new H&K Tubemeister 5W head for something like $250 now.
I have an Egnater I love.
My biggest suggestion is not to go with an 8" speaker if you play live ever. It just isn't big enough to create enough of the proper frequencies. Go with a 12" if you can.
That said, my Vibro Champ with an 8" speaker is my favourite thing to record with in the whole world.
Jacob
Didn't I read something about reboxing a Pro Jr with a 12" from Mojotone? For just that reason? Gearmandude maybe?
I just picked up amp egnater tweaker for 265, too good of a deal to pass up.
That is an awesome head for the price.
What ever you do... don't match it with a 2x12 cabinet ;)
Hey hey hey, I see what you're doing....I already been looking at them. I have a 1x10 right now I can use, if I don't like the way it sounds, that will be next. Did you get your wah running? Sounds awesome with a terrible torroid inductor from how Gagan. I change q1 to stock though, it has more wah
Quote from: jimilee on February 24, 2014, 09:14:05 PM
Hey hey hey, I see what you're doing....I already been looking at them. I have a 1x10 right now I can use, if I don't like the way it sounds, that will be next. Did you get your wah running? Sounds awesome with a terrible torroid inductor from how Gagan. I change q1 to stock though, it has more wah
I'm not quite done playing with my Weener(Wah) yet. I do think I know exactly how it's gonna go now. Need to drill the enclosure this weekend to add the Rotary, power, the extra jack, and the led. I have the purple devil and Joe's pot for mine. Not gonna get it finished this week.
I just got an AC4c1bl that I like - 10" speaker, sounds nice and voxy.
1st generation Fender Super Champ XD (used) or Marshall class 5. I own the first and will never part with it. Its loud enough to gig as well.
I would say the best value tube amps are chassis, radios, pa amps on ebay. A little bit of fixing/mods and they sound better than some of the mass produced budget amps. FYI ampeg guitar amps are way underrated. I've got a Gemini ii chassis for ~$200 and it does the Deluxe reverb thing
Good call on the Tweaker. Be kind to it, cuz they're a bitch to fix (tight quarters and a lot o' stuff crammed in there). The Epi VJr and Blackhearts were good cuz you can tweak them pretty easy and there's a ton of info out there. One of the ones that flies under the radar is the Laney Cub. I'm a Night Train (15w version) freak and you can find those for cheap from time to time. This will go over like a fart in a spacesuit but the Peavey Vipre series can be had on the cheap too and depending on your opinion of modeling amps it's capable of some cool sounds.
Quote from: gordo on February 25, 2014, 03:33:43 AM
Good call on the Tweaker. Be kind to it, cuz they're a bitch to fix (tight quarters and a lot o' stuff crammed in there). The Epi VJr and Blackhearts were good cuz you can tweak them pretty easy and there's a ton of info out there. One of the ones that flies under the radar is the Laney Cub. I'm a Night Train (15w version) freak and you can find those for cheap from time to time. This will go over like a fart in a spacesuit but the Peavey Vipre series can be had on the cheap too and depending on your opinion of modeling amps it's capable of some cool sounds.
Even if I decide it's not my gig, I can turn it, or give one of you mugs a deal. As for the modeling amp, I was looking for that strat tube amp sound, I just dig it for what I'm wanting to do. Don't get me wrong, I have a schecter diamond series with hum buckers too. Looking to play some blues and learn to play some blues in guitar.
After years of playing a twin, I got myself a small Vibro Champ XD and I love it.
Not for gigging but great for recording. It was cheap too.
Quote from: jimilee on February 25, 2014, 03:42:28 AM
Don't get me wrong, I have a schecter diamond series with hum buckers too. Looking to play some blues and learn to play some blues in guitar.
Jimi - that thing has volume knobs. HB's rolled back through tubes sound
AAHHH-MAAAAAY-ZINNNNG
Then when you need to you can roll the knob up, get some hair on it, dig in and get some STANK.
If you ever decide to build a tweed, I have a Classic Tone OT with 8 ohm secondary I'm willing to let go of. I was going to use it in my 5E3 but decided I wanted to get the one with 4, 8, 16 ohm taps so I never used it. It's USA built to vintage specs.