Small valve amp. Opinions please.

[Twinfan]

You've got a girly drummer then  ;)

[badgermark]

You've got a girly drummer then  ;)

I wouldn't say that to his face... He is a hairy beast.

[Twinfan]

I'll say anything to anybody over the 'net   :lol:

[Canadian Steve]

You should really check out Swart amps range.  I've had their Space Tone 6V6 SE for about a year now and couldn't be happier!  It may be a little over your budget but is well worth considering.  I would only consider selling mine to get another model!  Check out the clips:  www.swartamps.com  8)

[Ted]

I've got an Epi Valve Junior head on the way and a Mercury Magnetics transformer upgrade - gonna be interesting to see how much I can squeeze out of this circuit.

 8)

HTH - Can you keep us in the loop about this, I'm most interested.

[Ted]

Last up - Marshall DSL 401.

Its really interesting to see what you thought about the Marshall.

I was set on buying one and then I tried it and it sounded very very fizzy and poor...

I used an LP too!

[sgmypod]

You should really check out Swart amps range.  I've had their Space Tone 6V6 SE for about a year now and couldn't be happier!  It may be a little over your budget but is well worth considering.  I would only consider selling mine to get another model!  Check out the clips:  www.swartamps.com  8)

..but where near the Uk stocks them....they do sound sweet though

[Scotty477]

Last up - Marshall DSL 401.

Its really interesting to see what you thought about the Marshall.

I was set on buying one and then I tried it and it sounded very very fizzy and poor...

I used an LP too!

I found it bright but not fizzy - well to my ears anyway.

I didn't get a chance to get my LP into the store today to see how Emeralds matched up with the DSL but I'm quite certain they have a warmer, darker and more punchy tone than the Burstbucker V's that the LP I was using yesterday had.

I'm assuming that will pull back some off the brightness that I hear - or fizzyness if you like  :D

The trick is just how far it's pulled back.

I'll keep you posted on that.


To Canadian Steve -

The Swart's sound nice but a little too Blues based, maybe? I'm certainly not knocking them though. If I was into purley Blues I'd be after one. The clips are excellent

[Canadian Steve]

..but where near the Uk stocks them....they do sound sweet though

I ordered mine direct from Michael Swart and had it modded for use in the UK.

To Canadian Steve -

The Swart's sound nice but a little too Blues based, maybe? I'm certainly not knocking them though. If I was into purley Blues I'd be after one. The clips are excellent

They are quite vintage sounding (if that makes sense!) but I don't mainly play blues myself - musical tastes being Sonic Youth, Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins, etc.  I sold a Traynor 50 watt 2 channel amp with loads of features and reverb for this little 5 watt 1 channel amp and I couldn't be happier.  For a bedroom/recording amp I would recommend going for an amp around 1-10 Watts.

[TomW]

Last up - Marshall DSL 401.

Its really interesting to see what you thought about the Marshall.

I was set on buying one and then I tried it and it sounded very very fizzy and poor...

I used an LP too!

I found it bright but not fizzy - well to my ears anyway.

I didn't get a chance to get my LP into the store today to see how Emeralds matched up with the DSL but I'm quite certain they have a warmer, darker and more punchy tone than the Burstbucker V's that the LP I was using yesterday had.

I'm assuming that will pull back some off the brightness that I hear - or fizzyness if you like  :D

The trick is just how far it's pulled back.

I'll keep you posted on that.


To Canadian Steve -

The Swart's sound nice but a little too Blues based, maybe? I'm certainly not knocking them though. If I was into purley Blues I'd be after one. The clips are excellent

The DSL's can sound really fizzy, however I recently changed the speakers in my DSL100 and it really solved this problem now they've broken in abit. It sounds great now, so I'd definately advise a change of speakers if you do decide to get a DSL.

[Henk]

A V30 would be the way for the DSL combo IMO.

[sgmypod]

Have decided to build my own(from a kit) a 6v6 5watt amp(head)

[Canadian Steve]

Have decided to build my own(from a kit) a 6v6 5watt amp(head)

Nice, where did you get the kit from?

[Scotty477]

Ok ... Here's the verdict.

I went to 2 stores this afternoon and tried out several amps with my Emerald LP.

The amps tried were in this order:

Marshall DSL401

The Emeralds took a good bit of the brightness off the tone and added depth and even more warmth. It was night and day compared to the Burstbucker V LP I used on Monday. The Classic Rock tone was fantastic but it struggled at the clean tone a bit.


Peavey Classic 30

Very authentic Clean and Bluesey tone. Very smooth and warm. A classic Rock tone could be produced by putting the gain to 10 (out of 12). This tone was warm with a subtle bite. The only problem with this amp was the boost channel. When selected it boosts almost everything ... bass, mid even reverb. Everything except top end - which it seems to miss out completely.

This causes the boost tone to sound fat and muffled, even at loud volume and would be unusable for me. I got the sales guy to have a look and he couldn't understand why the treble wasn't boosted along with everything else. I tried a second Classic 30 at the sales guy suggestion - with the same result. A shame, as this spoiled a good amp imho.


Peavey Valve King 112

Much the same as Monday. No matter what I did I couldn't dial in a tone that went anywhere near the top end. Don't get me wrong, the Clean was good and the crunch I did get was OK as well ... but because the amp won't produce a tone with a bit more top end, it was sounding a bit tired.

Again the sales guy had a look and even tried anothe LP ... with the same result. He tried putting treble full and no bass ... no effect. Perhaps the amp was faulty, I don't know. He didn't have another to test.

By this point I was getting pissed off  

The sales guy suggested that Vox would give me the same problem as the Valve King and then plugged me into a ...


Fender Hot Rod Deluxe 112

I mentioned that I had tried one before but found it too loud. He responded that he has one and records in the house with it .. and gigs with it. It could have been sales talk but I tend to believe him.

Anyway, he fired it up and dialed in a Classic Rock tone in the drive channel, set at just above house level.

The guitar instantly came alive, growling and crackling away when I played a few riffs. The tone was astonishing. Ultra clean but dirty at the same time - and almost organic and glassy :o The 6L6 valves clearly agreed with an LP fitted with Emerald pups.

This was far better than I remembered the previous HRDX 112 I played. The clean chan was simply stunning and the more drive channel could be fiddled with to produce awesome solo sounds - in all 3 settings on my LP.

Volume wasn't an issue. The sales guy got the volume down to lowish level - with almost no loss of tone that I could detect.

At £549 (Sound Control price) it was a tad over my budget but I'm sure I'll be able to get a lower price somewhere.

The only other amp I tried was an all tube Line 6 Bognor 112, which was very like my Roland Cube 30, to be honest. Not for me.

So there we have it. My search is at an end - I think  

I know I haven't tried half of the amps suggested in this thread but I probably won't be able to find some of those in Glasgow at any rate.

[viking]

You should really check out Swart amps range.  I've had their Space Tone 6V6 SE for about a year now and couldn't be happier!  It may be a little over your budget but is well worth considering.  I would only consider selling mine to get another model!  Check out the clips:  www.swartamps.com  8)

Woah!Congrats,Steve 8) .I love their sound.Fantastic amp but very expensive,i think.Would love to have one... :(