Hughes and Kettner Tubemeister 18

[Ian Price]

Anyone tried/heard these yet:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9Q5H5NnNp8

They look and sound pretty good to me - mainly because I like blue lights. It probably sounds as good as it does as Thomas Blug is not bad at all.

[Telerocker]

I had a Statesman Quad 40 and that one sounded very good, especially the drivechannel. Cleans were ok. Way too loud for my coverband, but great amp to rock out. This Tubemeister sounds great. I dig all the options. Should be a nice tool for recording.

[Ian Price]

Yeah - that's what I was thinking. The power scaling looks like a useful feature, especially for people like me who are mainly bedroom hobbyists.

I might, might, be back in the market for an amp in the next few months and this one is interesting me quite a bit. BAsically it looks like I may be getting a pay rise and Jane has also sort of semi approved for me to buy something. MJW is on top of my list but the silent recording/headphone out of this is definitely selling point - not sure if Martin does that on his amps (but would be great if he did)

[Telerocker]

The crunchy tones are convincing with a strat. I had the same with the Statesman. Think it sounded best with singlecoils and P90's. Yes, the powerscaling ideal for homepractice and -recording. I'm curious about the pricetag.

(Thomas Blug is a great stratplayer. His Vintage Signature-strat sounds fantastic and it's here under 500 euro).

[Philly Q]

Certainly a nice sounding (and looking) little amp!

[Ian Price]

I think so too Philly. Price appears to be reasonable at around £499 for the head.

[tomjackson]

They do look nice.  You could almost hand it on a butchers wall to attract the flies with those lights!

Handy features with the silent recording.

[Frank]

Sounds like those little "cream machine" half racks H&K did years ago.

The guy's playing is ... ok I suppose. Maybe I was expecting better from someone who labels all his youtube videos THOMAS BLUG - STRAT KING!!!1!

[Ian Price]

I thought his playing was a little off in parts of the vid. I can't really criticise though!

I'm really torn between this and potentially an MJW. Need to sort money out first though but am kind of talking myself into buying a head and cab rather than a combo.

[tomjackson]

I've definitely seen him play better but if your recorded as much as THOMAS BLUG - STRAT KING!!!1! then the cameras will catch you playing off now and again.

With regards to the amp, what MJW would you be thinking about Ian?

I'm really enjoying my Roadstar 36 but usually use my Princeton at home, just becuase I can get away with having it downstairs.  But the Roadstar sounds good at low volume.

[WezV]

I'm really torn between this and potentially an MJW. Need to sort money out first though but am kind of talking myself into buying a head and cab rather than a combo.

seen this
http://www.musicradar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=82006

[Ian Price]

Not sure what MJW I'd be looking for. Potentially a cub or Roadstar, it would really only be used for home stuff and the occasional bit if recording. Just how loud would a 1 watt cub be? Could it be cranked at a reasonable volume? Think the H&K is slightly in the lead at the moment due to the silent option.

Wez, cheers for that link. Probably about a month too early for me though :-(

[tomjackson]

The cub was TV loud as I remember.  Sounded really good though.  Depends what speaker you play it through but it has a MV so you can easily get cranked sounds at a whisper.

That Bantam looks ace though. With power scaling I'd definitely get that over the H&K, especially as it is full all valve and hand wired rather than SS boosted like H&K....

[Ian Price]

Indeed the bantam does look ace but will probably go before I can get the final nod from Jane. I'd definitely look at having a 1x12 for any head I go for. I might (just might) be able to stretch to something a bit pricier in the MJW range so will keep my options open for a while.

I do like the Blackstar HT1R but I think the speaker is probably a little small for me.

Finally, yes I am a donut for selling the Deluxe. At the time I couldn't really justify keeping it but in hindsight could have done, bloody pay-rises.

[WezV]

well i sold of my matamp recently and the way i justified it was with the other things i could try when i had a bit more money coming in.trying to not regret these decisions, it does allow for more GAS at the end of the day

noticed the H&K and it went on the list as i like things that glow and i must admit i like seeing the tubes :)

but that MJW bantam ticks a lot of boxes for me.  I absolutely loved matt's(now MDV's???) 18w roadster.  that in a smaller format with red tolex and power scaling would be perfect!  but alas, its probably a month too soon for me as well

I think i will probably go with an ampmaker double 6 kit when i do decide to get something new, or his 18 watter if i can implement some power scaling

currently playing through a champ clone i built about 5 years ago.  Its fine, possibly enough.  Infact, i never liked it when i first built it and was playing it through an 8" speaker... as soon as i got the matamp and proper speakers i hooked up the champ and realised it was actually better than i expected with the right speakers... but its still a one sound only kind of thing