Small Valve Amp Question

[NotSoEasy]

Hi Guys, Having trawled through a years worth of threads, I appreciate there's a lot of threads on a similar topic so I apologies for an overlap, but I do have a few extra questions that I don't think have been answered and I could use the advice of you kind people  :)

Anyways, I'm moving to a small flat where I will have a room slightly larger than would would normally be termed a box  room. Therefore I would like to buy a valve amp that will sound good at bedroom levels and doesn't take too much space. My budget is around £200 but I could stretch to £250 if there was something really worth it... I generally like playing on clean as well as classic rock tones. I never really venture into metal territory. I have a Gibson LP Standard Faded, which will soon be wearing Bare Knuckles, and a Schecter Corsair...

On this budget I guess the main contenders are the Epiphone Valve Junior (Combo or Stack), Peavey Valveking Royal 8, Blackheart  BH5-112 and the Fender Champ 600... Please fell free to mention some I may have missed!

I also see that the Tiny Terror is hugely popular on these boards but that fact you'd have to buy a cab on top kinda puts out it my budget which is a bugger...

I went to my local Sound Control (now Reverb) and they didn't have any of these amps to try which was annoying!! Therefore your opinions would come in really handy.

I can see the Epi Valve Juniors are very popular on here and sound great from what I've heard on youtube. However, the fact that everyone says they need loads of mods kinda scares me because I'm not very technical and don't really know what to do!! Do these sound decent out of the box, or do they HAVE to be modded to get decent sounds?

Also, a lack of a master volume could be a problem as it gets quite loud when the gain goes up.

The lack of a master volume is also a problem with the blackheart, but if anyone has one of these, I'd be curious to hear you opinions.

The advantage of the Peavey is that is does have a master volume, has anyone played on one of these and if so, what are they like? I've seen quite so-so opinions on here in past threads...

The Fender Champ 600 gets raving reviews for cleans but I've seen a few people post that it gets a bit dodgey when in overdrive. Anyone know if this would sound good with a pedal such as a crunchbox?

Thanks for you help

NotSoEasy  :)

[hunter]

I know it's not what you're asking, but I am always when I play one at low volume overwhelmed by the tones in the Roland Cube. Don't think any tube amp will open its real benefits in a small room at low volume.

On the other hand I gotta tell you that my Bogner Shiva sounds great at low volume too, but its not smoothed out like it is when turned up.

[kellar]

What about the new Orange 5 watt valve?

[Vlad89]

There's also a new Tiny Terror combo.

[HTH AMPS]

In it's stock form, the Valve Junior isn't all that and needs to be way louder than bedroom volume before it overdrives.

However, it does sound great with pedals - I use mine in the bedroom with a Crunchbox and it sounds very nice indeed.

I'm getting rid of mine as I'm moving home and am selling pretty much everything that isn't part of my gigging rig.

[NotSoEasy]

Thanks guys,

Although a cube is a great shout, I've already had one previously and would fancy trying something new...

I checked out the Orange AD5, it looks cool but I think its just that little bit too pricey...

I've never heard of a Bognor Shiva, will check it out though, thanks!!

Does a Valve Junior definitely have to be modded?? If so how easy is that to do? and how much extra would it cost?

I'm planning on getting a crunchbox so I suppose the master volume thing won't be a problem should I do so..

Thanks again :)

[tomjackson]

The Laney VC15 sounds great at home volumes, has a master volume (which is excellent) and reverb and is about £220.  It also has enough oomph for small gigs.

The valve junior is not a patch on it, I've owned both.  The VJ only sounds good cranked IMO and when it is, it's certainly not home volume and 5W valve is pretty loud. Unfortunately 5W and an 8 inch speaker is not loud enough for band situations so it ends up an in-between amp for me.  An option would be a RAT hot rodded VJ of ebay with master volume and triode/pentode switch.

The champ 600 sounds okay, it has nice cleans but farts when pushed and sounds awful.  By the time you have upgraded the speaker and valves your near the VC15 price anyway.

Trust me, the VC15 is the way forward! 

Or you could wait for the TT combo but it's double the price and has no reverb.....

[indysmith]

Wow thanks guys for the shout-out about the new AD-5. I think i might need one of those for uni!

[NotSoEasy]

The Laney VC15 sounds great at home volumes, has a master volume (which is excellent) and reverb and is about £220.  It also has enough oomph for small gigs.

Trust me, the VC15 is the way forward! 

Or you could wait for the TT combo but it's double the price and has no reverb.....

Unfortunately the TT combo is a bit too pricey for me at this moment in time..

I've actually read up quite a bit on the VC15 and it does get great reviews in terms of sound... However, a lot of people complain that the transformer is too small (or something, I'm not very technical) and that has to be replaced after a year or so which costs quite a bit itself... Would this be the case if its just for home use, is something that happens due to playing loudly at gigs etc? Is this a prolem you ever came across with it??

Many Thanks

[tomjackson]

Not a problem that I have had on any Laney amp but some people do seem to have problems with some of their amps.  I don't think it would be a major problem though as they come with a 5 year warrenty I believe.

you would be just as likely to have problems with any other amp in the price bracket

[froglord]

Another two you might like to consider are the Fender Super Champ XD and the Peavey Windsor Studio, both of which look like terrific value for money.

[dave_mc]

The Laney VC15 sounds great at home volumes, has a master volume (which is excellent) and reverb and is about £220.  It also has enough oomph for small gigs.

The valve junior is not a patch on it, I've owned both.  The VJ only sounds good cranked IMO and when it is, it's certainly not home volume and 5W valve is pretty loud.

The champ 600 sounds okay, it has nice cleans but farts when pushed and sounds awful.  By the time you have upgraded the speaker and valves your near the VC15 price anyway.

Trust me, the VC15 is the way forward! 

agreed on all points there- the champion is nice, but isn't terribly versatile at all (even compared to the VJ, which isn't terribly versatile either- granted some of that is my bias towards overdrive over cleans).

VJ is nice, but sounds best between about 10 and 2 o'clock (depending on pickups) which is very loud for home use.

vc 15 is my pick too.

Another thing is, epiphone seem to be releasing some new valve amps- the valve senior (18 watt, master volume, 6v6s) and a hot rod valve junior.

No idea when they'll be released over here, but they may be worth waiting for, if only to try. sweetw@ter's website (in the usa) has them, i think they're being released in the next week or two over there.

EDIT: if the peavey windsor studio has even been released yet, it may be worth a look, but word on the street is that it's cr@p (i haven't tried it- and it certainly does have the feeling of "too good to be true" for the money). :) Oh, and as frog says, the fender super/vibro champ would be worth a look too.

[NotSoEasy]

Cheers guys, a few more suggestions to look into there then, but at the moment I'm seriously tempted by the Laney VC15...

Does anyone know much about the Epi Valve Special Combo as it seems to have the advantage of a master volume control as well as equaliser knobs and effects and stuff? I haven't seen it mentioned on here before? Has anybody played one of these??

[MartinS]

Check out the modded amps from Andy Dokken on eBay.

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/merchant/andydokken