Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Stevepage on April 24, 2010, 05:56:40 PM
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So I've got my JVM up for sale and I'm looking into what I could get.
I've got a small list of what I've been considering so far
Cornford Roadhouse
Fender Hot Rod Deluxe
Mesa DC
Laney VC30
Mesa F30 or 50
I'm looking for something with a big warm clean tone, that's loud enough to be heard well in a band situation, can take distortion and modulation effects well and not cost me an arm and a leg.
I've tried a Mesa F30 before and I quite liked that. Today I tried out a Blackstar Artisan 15 combo, sounds very very nice but is 15 watts going to be loud enough? even if it is all valve?
At the moment I'm leaning towards getting a used Laney combo and a few good pedals, but would like to know your suggestions.
Must add that I'm not playing much 'brootz' any more I'm starting to play more blues and rock. Matt Schofields tone is a good reference for tone as well as Andy Timmons.
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The Fender HRDs can be unreliable and the gain channel is awful. Like a cheap gain pedal. The clean is OK-ish though.
Of those, I'd plump for a Mesa or Laney - funds dependent of course!
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^ agreed. or maybe the cornford- if it sounds like the cornfords I've tried (i've only tried the handwired ones), it should do timmons well.
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^ agreed. or maybe the cornford- if it sounds like the cornfords I've tried (i've only tried the handwired ones), it should do timmons well.
Same, I used to own a Harlequin, but never had the chance with a roadhouse, but had heard good things.
Marshall didn't sell on Ebay again :(
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Borrowed a supersonic today....what a great amp fender cleans(2 of them) and drive that goes from mild crunch to whatever you like
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Another vote against the Hot Rod Deluxe, I had one and the clean was nice (although a bit stiff) but awful gain channels.
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I don't really see the point as the Marshall JVM slays all of the listed amps...
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I loved my old VC30, did great cleans and a nice gritty blues tone. My local rehearsal place has a 2x12 version which is, for a want of a better word, Mega :D
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Another vote against the Hot Rod Deluxe, I had one and the clean was nice (although a bit stiff) but awful gain channels.
I had a Hot Rod Deville. Nice-ish cleans but not enough sparkle. Gain channel was terrible - I only used it once. The reliability also wasn't great - the PCB developed a hairline crack that resulted in intermittent crackle.
I'm watching this thread with interest as I'm on the lookout for a cheapish valve amp. The VC30 is on my list of affordables!
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Borrowed a supersonic today....what a great amp fender cleans(2 of them) and drive that goes from mild crunch to whatever you like
I played a supersonic in a local guitar store a few weeks ago. Very nice indeed but i have heard that they are not the most reliable.
Also, is it just me but are most Fender amps insanely loud? The taper of volume on the Deville 212 that I once owned was ridiculous.
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How about A Koch Twintone?
http://www.koch-amps.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=92&Itemid=16
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I don't really see the point as the Marshall JVM slays all of the listed amps...
It's a great amp but I'm also downsizing, it's a pain lugging around a huge and heavy half stack.
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I've had 2 VC30's, both were great. You can't beat them for the money, they are simple plug-and-play amps.
I had the 2x10 but I've also tried the 2x12. The latter was a lot cleaner but I liked the easier crunch and portability of the 2x10.
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I used to own a VC50, which weighed a tonne. Didn't sound that great either, I think some one messed with the preamp :?
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i picked the 2x10 VC30 over the 1x12 in the shop, sounded fuller and tighter... the 2x12 is a different beast though
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There are tons of good little amps out there. Are you looking for head/box or rather - as your choices suggest - a combo?
Do you want a two channel amp or a single channel one?
I dig the small Laney LC15 and LC30, but they are both single channel.
I also love the Lionheart series, which this board seems not to favor very much.
I also thought about replacing my own Krank Rev Jr with a more British MJW amp, but since I play a lot in D standard the small power amps just can't give enough definition on low tunings.
I personally think that all the MESA stuff is severely overpriced in the UK. And if Guitarist continues to give them incredible reviews, I stand by my opinion that MESA is worth their price only in US $, not in Europe.
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Has anyone got any experience of the Laney VC15? I'm assuming they are similar to the VC30.
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yeah supersonic even though was a 1x12 is very, very loud
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Fender always seem to put silly tapers on their volume controls - like at 2 its loud. Its easy to mod but they could stagger things abit!
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I also have a VC30 - mine is a 2x10. Very usable amp and can be quite warm. Easy to get a tone out of though.I do sometimes wish it would do the great Fender cleans but otherwise a great all rounder.
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Has anyone got any experience of the Laney VC15? I'm assuming they are similar to the VC30.
Yes, pretty similar. The VC15's are nice too, very light and portable. Well made with a plywood cab. Nice cleans crunch and drive. Reverb is just OK.
I've just bought one for my small practise amp, I wanted something grab-and-go for smaller drummerless gigs and jammin' at mates. The Jensen Speaker can't give out enough to keep up with a loud drummer. You would need an extension cab for that. Also note that as the valves are directly behind the speaker you can't really upgrade it unless you can find something as shallow (about 90mm). That said the low efficiency is helpful to me in most situations.
For full band gigs I'll be ordering an MJW Roadstar as soon as I can but I'm glad I've got the Laney, it's so nice to just rush out the house carrying only a guitar on your back and a 14kg Combo.
Mine is in Ols English White.
Might be worth having a look at the new 15w cubs as well, they have an attenuated 1w output as well.
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I also had an LC15R at one stage for about 2 days which I took back. The VC15 is far better made. The LC15's cab seemed flimsy and lightweight and couldn't handle the 10 inch speaker at gigher volumes. The VC15 is fine at full volume.
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I personally think that all the MESA stuff is severely overpriced in the UK. And if Guitarist continues to give them incredible reviews, I stand by my opinion that MESA is worth their price only in US $, not in Europe.
+ infinity. Guitarist must have shares in mesa (most of the big brands, to be honest).
even in the states there are plenty of people (on forums) who complain that mesas are way too dear! :lol:
regarding the laneys: I didn't much like the lc15 i tried. VC15 is better (somewhat subjective, but that's my opinion), but I also thought that the vc30 was noticeably better than the vc15.
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I've gotten pretty good results with my newly aquired JCM900 1 x 12 by setting A with the gain max'd for a nice crunch and then channel B (high gain channel) with the volume max'd and just bring the gain up to keep thiongs as clean as possible. It works well enough and takes pedals real well.... ok it's not Fender cleans but it was an absolute bargain in such a solid yet compact package.
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I prefer the VC15 much more than the LC15. LC15 sounds like your typical boxy little amp.
VC15 is not the lower powered version of VC30 by the way. It's class AB not A and supposed to have much more gain than the VC30, although I can't say for sure because I've not played a VC30. It has enough gain to play hard rock/classic metal stuff.
The main reason (other than tone) I got mine was portability. It's light enough I can carry it with one hand, my pedalboard in the other hand and the guitar on my back. Just gigged mine last night to a crowd of about 100 people and people didnt have problem hearing me.
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That's useful to know - cheers! I'm also having a think about the AC15. It's about £100 more expensive, not sure if that is good value or not. Perhaps I should try one out.
Apologies for the slight thread hijack!
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That's useful to know - cheers! I'm also having a think about the AC15. It's about £100 more expensive, not sure if that is good value or not. Perhaps I should try one out.
Apologies for the slight thread hijack!
Which AC15 are you after? The custom classic was a fizzy mess on anything above clean sound. Reverb on it is useless. Not sure if the new one is any better. AC15 is quite picky about pedals too. It's actually about twice the size of VC15. I hated it, but ymmv. I do hear good things about the handwired version, but they're very pricey.
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^ yeah, the ac15cc i tried was horrible too. it was second-hand, so maybe the valves were dodgy, but i've heard several other people have the same opinion I have, so...
i thought the vc15 sounded fairly similar to the vc30. ages since i tried both, though.
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I've had quite a few of those Chinese-made AC30s in for repair - I doubt the AC15 is any better. Overall, the construction isn't too bad, they just skimped on some things like the screen resistors which tend to burn out.
Also, if they don't have the alnico blue Celestion in them, they sound bloody awful - especially with those Neo-magnet Celestions.
How about an old Wem 15w combo? - you'll pick one up for less than £300 all day.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WEM-Dominator-Bass-MK-1-amp_W0QQitemZ320521564163QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_MusicalInstr_Amplifiers_RL?hash=item4aa092f003#ht_500wt_1182
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I'd not really bothered looking into WEM before you posted that link. After a quick look up on youtube I'm pretty impressed! Are they any good played clean - the clips I watched were all pretty gainy and compressed.
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I'd not really bothered looking into WEM before you posted that link. After a quick look up on youtube I'm pretty impressed! Are they any good played clean - the clips I watched were all pretty gainy and compressed.
Yep, they will stay clean up to around 1/2 volume (ish), then get more overdriven as you turn them up. Being just a 15w amp, they get right in the sweet-spot at band/gigging volumes. Don't be put off by a 15" speaker either, they sound great (I've had a few of those WEMs here with the 15" speaker).
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I had fun owning my WEM but I found it to be pretty dull and lifeless until it was wound up. It basicaly did one sound really well, which was bluesbreaker-ish Beano-ish grind at reasonable volume levels (i.e. pub gig levels).
The cleans were okay, mid-heavy british cleans, definitely no Fender Sparkle (not that you'd buy a WEM for that!)
The VC15 I've just got is like a quieter (as in noise levels) more Versatile WEM, half the weight with much better cleans. At full whack the WEM was a bit louder and it did it's own trick better than the Laney but the Laney does several other the WEM can't do.
Glad I've owned a Dominator but as my only amp it left me a bit limited. Too loud to sound good at home and not enough headroom for any sort of cleans with a loud drummer.
However, I'll always remember it for a gig I was playing 'All You Love' at with my 335 - Full Volume, Killer Tone!
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for more versatility, how about an Egnator head, £260 from ebay (US) or £365 from Thomann (Germany)...
http://www.thomann.de/gb/egnater_tweaker_head.htm
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Egnater-Tweaker-15W-Tube-Guitar-Amp-Head_W0QQitemZ140400691645QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item20b08889bd#ht_5357wt_939
btw, they have a voltage selector switch, so you're fine to import from the US. Suppose it all depends on how much shipping and import duty work out whether it'll be cheaper than getting one direct from Thomann (free shipping with Thomann to the UK).
the ebay link above has some clips showing what the Tweaker can do - think it's got enough versatility for pretty much anyone.
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or just buy this Selmer Zodiac combo, just because they're too cool for words...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-Selmer-Zodiac-Twin-Thirty-Truvoice-amplifier_W0QQitemZ260584992284QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_MusicalInstr_Amplifiers_RL?hash=item3cac136e1c#ht_5829wt_1165
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nice
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Do you want a two channel amp or a single channel one?
I dig the small Laney LC15 and LC30, but they are both single channel.
Not quite, the LC15 is single channel, the LC30 and 50 are twin channel, each with their own eq and drive on the 2nd channel. The VC15 and 30 are single channel and have a shared eq but with a switchable drive & level control
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Borrowed a supersonic today....what a great amp fender cleans(2 of them) and drive that goes from mild crunch to whatever you like
Supersonic and Prosonic are both great - worth it for the clean sound alone
But so LOUD it's unreal
Suggestion - try a bassman or bassman clone
Peavey classic 50 or Traynor are worth a look
Egnater Rebel 30 or Renegade if money stretches that far
or a 20watt Randall
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Randall-RM20-Combo-Amp-Plexi-Preamp-Module_W0QQitemZ290429145718QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_MusicalInstr_Amplifiers_RL?hash=item439eed1276 (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Randall-RM20-Combo-Amp-Plexi-Preamp-Module_W0QQitemZ290429145718QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_MusicalInstr_Amplifiers_RL?hash=item439eed1276)