Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Stu on November 30, 2010, 07:03:48 PM
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Hi,
Sorry for a detailed question but I've had enough of trawling forums and thought it would be worth getting some opinions.
I currently use a Vox AC15H1tv which is one of the chinese hand-wired models. I really like the sound of the amp but even though its not an AC30 I still find it a pain to cart around due to the weight. The other restriction I find is that I can't always set it to where it starts to break up if I'm limited by the volume I can play at. Even if I have it on the 7 watt setting it has to be cranked quite loud before breakup.
I'm now on the hunt for a light weight amp either a combo or head and cab which either has a lower power setting whilst still having enough headroom for larger gigs or a 2 channel amp where I can set 1 channel to clean and the other to crunch making use of pre amp distortion.
So far the contenders are:
Vox Night Train
Egnater Rebel 20
Koch Studio tone
Koch Classic Se
Mesa Transatlantic
Mesa Express
Does any one have any experience with any of these or any other amps that may be suitable?
Would any of them compare favorably with the tone from my AC15 whilst being lighter and allowing driven sounds at lower volumes?
Thanks for any input.
Stu
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Never got to try night train first was broke, second went pop when turned on.
The studio tone great amp too much control for me. Would have said more open sounding than the ac15
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Laney VC15, only 14KG
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Egnater Tweaker, kills them all.
Orange Thunder 30 is also REALLY nice and light.
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how about getting a master volume fitted to the amp - you'll be able to balance it with the channel volume to get the right amount of breakup for whatever venue you play then.
job done.
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Orange Thunder 30 is a winner for tone and portability.
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Orange Thunder 30 head is 15kg, the combo is heavier than the vox at 24kg.
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That's why I prefer heads and cabs.
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Thanks for your replies,
My amp weighs approx 22KG so I'm either looking for a lighter combo or a head + Cab of similar weight or less. The ones I listed seem to fit into that category but I want to make sure I haven't left any options out.
It would also be good to narrow down the choice so I can go and compare a few.
Tone wise amps like the transatlantic appear to cover a range of basis but not sure if it's a jack of all trades master of none. I like the depth and harmonics of my Vox and its a really good base for pedals.
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The Koch Studiotone and the Mesa Express look like the most versatile of the amps mentioned. I doubt if they will be lighter then the Vox. Quality(components) comes with weight. Koch and Mesa are quite loud too. I had the Koch for a while, but to my ears the tone (modern, kind of sterile) is nowhere near the Orange Thunder 30. What about a Laney VC15?
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I hadn't considered the Laney but will definitely add it to the list. It seems to get great reviews and is ridiculously cheap compared to most of my other options.
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You can't go (very) wrong with it and when you don't like it (anymore), it's easy to sell.
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Egnater Tweaker, kills them all.
Orange Thunder 30 is also REALLY nice and light.
I love Egnater amps! Great sounding amps at decent price. The renegade is a really cool amp.
I like how you can blend EL34s and 6L6s
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Thanks for your replies,
My amp weighs approx 22KG so I'm either looking for a lighter combo or a head + Cab of similar weight or less. The ones I listed seem to fit into that category but I want to make sure I haven't left any options out.
It would also be good to narrow down the choice so I can go and compare a few.
Tone wise amps like the transatlantic appear to cover a range of basis but not sure if it's a jack of all trades master of none. I like the depth and harmonics of my Vox and its a really good base for pedals.
Most combos will end up too heavy by the time you get to 30W but the Egnater Rebel 30 is only 15kg. I've not tried it but it gets good reviews and is light.
You would be fine weight wise with most 15-30w heads and a 1x12 so there are quite a few options with head and cabs.
An MJW Mondiale would be another good option, it has an EF86 preamp valve like a Vox and sounds excellent.
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I went into PMT in Bristol today and briefly tried out the Mesa Express 5 25 1x10. I was really impressed with the tonal variety from the 2 channels and the addition of reverb was really welcome compared to my vox. I was using the 5w setting which allowed me to crank the amp to a point where it had good dynamics and slight breakup on the clean channel. It still has a decent weight but is definitely lighter and smaller than my Vox which would make it easier to lug around.
The only negative are the price (Around £1300) and I also noticed a fair amount of background noise when the volume is set past 10/11 o'clock on either channel.
Anyone had any experience with this amp?
The renegade 30 also seems to have similar features so worth me looking into.
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Yes, consider the Rebel 30 too. A decent amp. Not totally my amp (I favour the Renegade), but lots of options for this price.
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I've found what looks to be one of the most light weight options. A Mesa Transatlantic (5.5kg) with a vox night train cab (11kg). Having not tried either I will try and play one soon (anyone know anywhere good in central London as I'm going there this weekend?). I'm guessing the vox cab being rated at 30 watts will be alright for the 25 watt Transatlantic?
Or will the vox cab not do the Mesa justice?
Other light option is the Koch studio tone (15kg) but the lack of a low power setting might be frustrating when I want to crank the amp at home.
Thanks for all your help, I'm slowly narrowing my options :)
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The Vox is horrible IMO.
I don't know the others on that list.
I love the Hughes&Kettner Puretone though. Great amp.
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I've found what looks to be one of the most light weight options. A Mesa Transatlantic (5.5kg) with a vox night train cab (11kg). Having not tried either I will try and play one soon (anyone know anywhere good in central London as I'm going there this weekend?). I'm guessing the vox cab being rated at 30 watts will be alright for the 25 watt Transatlantic?
Or will the vox cab not do the Mesa justice?
Other light option is the Koch studio tone (15kg) but the lack of a low power setting might be frustrating when I want to crank the amp at home.
Thanks for all your help, I'm slowly narrowing my options :)
I really like the TA, but I believe the cab /speaker mesa designed this amp around is the C-90...the one I saw was sitting atop a Lonestar 1x12, which comes with a C-90
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Yeh I looked at the Mesa cabs but I was interested in the Vox as it is lighter than the Mesa TA-15 cab and a lot cheaper - Obviously if it wouldn't do the amp justice then it would be a false economy but just wondered if any one had tried one as it's got a Greenback I thought I might be half decent.
Cheers
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The TA is not the most versatile of the bunch mentioned.
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Yeh I guess the TA appeals as it has a channel based on a Vox tone and I really like the sound of my current Vox but would benefit form a foot switchable 2nd channel and the light weight and portability of the TA. Out of all the options it seems to give me more tonal variations than my current setup whilst being a lot lighter so it's just a matter of finding a good sounding light cab. I'll see if I can play a few of the amps mentioned this weekend as ultimately its hard to tell without actually playing them.
Really appreciate all your input
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I'm off to try out some amps tomorrow and just need some help narrowing down which ones to try.
The shop has the Mesa Ta-15, Orange Tiny Terror and Dual Terror, Vox Night Train and Hayden Mofo.
I'm interested in these as they are small and lightweight but won't really have time to try them all. Anyone tried any of these and if so are any not worth considering?
Cheers
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I liked my tiny terror, had a dual terror that didn't last a practice, as said before never been able to find a working night train to try....mofo took instant dislike to the sound..and the looks
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Just to add to this.
You could shave another 2kg off by using a neodymium speaker.
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Well I tried the TA-15 and really liked. It was easy to get a range of great tones and it's light weight and well built.
I've seen a new range of cabs by DV Mark (Mark Bass) and the 1x12 weighs something like 7/8kg so I'm definately gonna try that as a speaker option. Just put my Vox on eBay so hopefully I'll be able to look at buying soon.