Amp suggestions, Any ideas?

[Stu]

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

[sgmypod]

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

[tomjackson]

Laney VC15, only 14KG

[hunter]

Egnater Tweaker, kills them all.


Orange Thunder 30 is also REALLY nice and light.

[HTH AMPS]

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.

[Telerocker]

Orange Thunder 30 is a winner for tone and portability.

[tomjackson]

Orange Thunder 30 head is 15kg, the combo is heavier than the vox at 24kg.

[Telerocker]

That's why I prefer heads and cabs.

[Stu]

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.

[Telerocker]

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?

[Stu]

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.

[Telerocker]

You can't go (very) wrong with it and when you don't like it (anymore), it's easy to sell.

[ElectricTurkey4369]

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

[tomjackson]

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.

[Stu]

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.