Small blues valve amp on a budget

[MDV]

No, not for me  :lol:

Unsuprisingly I'm not to up on small blues combos

Recommendations wanted for another guy for a small valve amp for blues to rock.

He wants something smooth and ungritty, that'll let a strat sing somewhat. Hes looking at Epi stuff at the moment. How are they? What else is there.

He says he wants to spend £300 and in a perfect world it would have 3 chanels (clean, OD, lead) so obviously he's living in dreamy weamy land at that price, but what could do two out of 3 well and respond favourably to a boost or OD? For arguments sake we'll entertain stuff up to 600 or so, in the hopes that he can find it second hand perhaps.

Before anyone says it, I already recommended a VHT CL :twisted: and, more realistically, suggested he look at matamp and martamp :P

[Spitfire]

laney VC series valve combos...

[MDV]

Forgot about them. Been a while since I played one, but thats not a bad call.

[MDV]

hes specifically looking at the Epi Blues Custom 30 at the moment

[Twinfan]

The new Blackstar 5w thing?  Would give clean and gain for under £300...

[mikey5]

Orange TT

[Will]

Orange TT

3 Channels + £300 budget ;)

Second hand Laney Lionheart?

[HTH AMPS]

a Blackheart 5w (or 15w) combo could be had at that budget plus an MI Audio Crunchbox.

[mikeluke]

Only 2 channels but you'd get a used Peavey Classic 30 for that price - ideal for bluesy stuff

[dave_mc]

hes specifically looking at the Epi Blues Custom 30 at the moment

i preferred the laney vc, but he might prefer the epi. i know that before sound control went bust, they were selling their grainger versions of the blues custom for £200...

laney lionheart might be worth considering too... is it for gigging?

i'm not too well up on blues either, i should add. :lol:

[mikey5]

Seems like a lot to ask for that price. Especially for Valve. Laney Lion Heart is a good Idea though. If he got a two channeled overdrive distortion he could just use that and a one channel amp.

[JustBecos]

Only 2 channels but you'd get a used Peavey Classic 30 for that price - ideal for bluesy stuff

+1

I just got the head version secondhand perfect condition for £200 and a slightly beat up marshall 1960 4x12 cab with V30's for another £220, it's great for bluesy stuff.

I really need a hotplate now though :oops:

You would need about £400 for a new combo version but would be able to get a secondhand one for less

[TheDev01dOne]

Laney TT50 Combo? There's someone on the MusicRadar forums selling one for around the £300 mark.. I have the head (payed more than that aswell) and it's a brilliant amp, great for blues and everything that I ever use it for. 3channels like you want, clean, crunch and lead, switchable master volumes etc. Loads of features..

If that's too fancy/too much power, I agree with everyone else and say Laney VC15 or 30.. Great value amps aswell.

Go used too, you'll get a lot more value for money.. Credit crunch means if you have the cash to spend you can get great gear used at lower prices than usual.

[MDV]

He's looking at the laneys now, and I seconded the blackeheart to him

Cheers fellas, keep them coming by all means.

[Ratrod]

The Peavey Classic 30 is great.

But...........

The Fender Blues Deluxe. I tried that one with a Tele. It gave me a smile from ear to ear. It works great with any Fender guitar, and (semi) hollow body guitars. It also handles pedals really well such as Tube Screamers and Blues Drivers. Plus you get a built in reverb to die for.