Small tube amp 15-30w advice

[matteo]

Hey guys. I'm looking for a small tube amp for gigging and come up with a short list. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with any of them. My drummer plays pretty loud so I'm thinking around 30 watts should be enough. We play Rhcp thru to guns n roses, and that's about as heavy as it gets. 2 channels foot switchable is preferable as is a power soak for bedroom practice. A combo would be nice for transport reasons. Here's the list:


Marshall dsl 401 - 40w is good, no power soak though. Also have overheating problems???

Orange dual terror OR thunder 30 or rocker 30?all seem very Similar in spec and sound? No soak but sound awesome!

Engl gigmaster 30- switchable to 5and 1 watt, comes in combo form. Can't find as much info on these though. Sound great.

And of course the black star 20 or 40w. Sound great but no power soak.

Also the Hughes and kettener tubemeister 18w. Sound friggin amazing and switchable to 1 w but the combo only has a 10"inch speaker? 18w loud enough for small Giggs?

Any advice welcomed!!

[Telerocker]

Dual Terror is great for what you want.
The Line6 DT 25 is not bad either, less character then the Oranges, but quite versatile and convincing tones.

Btw, 18 watts is usually enough for small gigs, but it depends whether the is amp is miked trough the pa. At small gigs I use sometimes a Blues Junior thru a 2x12cab (for more bass/mids). The drivesound comes from an Emma Reezafratzitz, the solosound from a Suhr Riot-pedal. Works very well.

[Brow]

I used the DSL401 combo for a few years whilst at college and really didn't like it. I always found it to be a very bland and 'flat' sounding amp. Not bad per-se just nothing great.

I used to gig with an Orange AD30 and a 1x12 cab and that held up fine for gigging. Of the newer Oranges I've tried I really like the TH30 head I used through a greenback loaded 4x12.

I've not tried anything similar to the Blackstars, Engl or H & k (apart from their Switchblade combo; which I hated) so can't comment on any of those.

[hunter]

From the ones mentioned Id go with the TH30 or the Rocker30. I like my time based FX in the loop, hence Id take the TH30 as the Rocker30 doesn`t have one.

However, if I may add to the list, I would actually go with the Egnater Tweaker 40. Awesome "little" amp!!

[Telerocker]

From the ones mentioned Id go with the TH30 or the Rocker30. I like my time based FX in the loop, hence Id take the TH30 as the Rocker30 doesn`t have one.

However, if I may add to the list, I would actually go with the Egnater Tweaker 40. Awesome "little" amp!!

Good call, I forgot about Egnater. I would take the Orange and Egnater over the Engl Gigmaster, which I don't find too impressive.

[matteo]

Thanks for the input. It seems opinion favours the orange!! I do really like the crunch. No opinions on the h&k or black stars yet? But I like he idea of something different. I'm going  check out the egnater videos as well.

[Dmoney]

Egnater stuff is well built. the DSL401 does indeed have a notorious problem with part of its filament supply breaking. its a common fault.

[hunter]

Thanks for the input. It seems opinion favours the orange!! I do really like the crunch. No opinions on the h&k or black stars yet? But I like he idea of something different. I'm going  check out the egnater videos as well.

It's always a matter of taste. But to me H&K amps sound flat, Blackstars have brittle highs and no body, get lost in the mix, and Engls have great highgain compressed sound, and sterile cleans, no usable crunch IMO.

As said, this is very personal perception.

So Orange or Egnater for me. Egnater in fact. The renegade is also very nice, but then you're entering 50W+ and there are MANY nice amps in that range. 5150III Mini for example. Marshall JVM ain't too shabby either.

[richard]

My gigging amp is a Cornford Roadhouse 30w 1 x 12 combo. Single channel with footswitchable boost. My basic setting is a crunch sound (think Won't get Fooled Again) which cleans up well from the guitar and I use the boost for a bit more volume and as much more gain as I want. It's big for a combo and sounds huge. I tried one of the 30w Oranges at a jam and it sounded very small and boxy. Available from Andertons for £599.

[hunter]

My gigging amp is a Cornford Roadhouse 30w 1 x 12 combo. Single channel with footswitchable boost. My basic setting is a crunch sound (think Won't get Fooled Again) which cleans up well from the guitar and I use the boost for a bit more volume and as much more gain as I want. It's big for a combo and sounds huge. I tried one of the 30w Oranges at a jam and it sounded very small and boxy. Available from Andertons for £599.

Good call, Cornfords rule!!!

[Twinfan]

From the ones you've listed, I'd go for the Dual terror.  The master volumes are pretty good (no soak necessary) and 36w is plenty for a pub gig.  I have the head as a rehearsal/backup amp and it's a great piece of kit.

I know you fancy a combo, but because the TT head is such a good size I'd go for head/cab if you can.

[d1dsj]

I have 2 small amps that sound great, a Cornford Hurricane which really does sounds fantastic even though it's only a single channel amp and I just got another Tiny Terror. The Terror hasn't got the clarity and note definition of the Hurricane but it's a great little amp. The Hurricane has the advantage of an effects loop which is great, and my mate recorded a couple of tracks out of the return which sounded really good. The Hurricane can be set up fairly clean and then kick some pedals in or just use the gain on the amp, it's one of the best drive sounds I've ever heard. However, all said and done, I would check out the Dual Terror and the Roadhouse. I've heard both live and they both sound great and I'm going to get a Dual Terror myself in the not too distant future.

[horsehead]

I know SGmypod (Marc) use to have an orange AD30 I believe & loved it, sounded great in the mix

[keith]

I gig Orange dual Terror +2x12 through PA really pleased with it. Had Blackstar HT60 which I liked but moved on as the Orange is way better

[sgmypod]

the rocker 30 was a great amp, will say i replaced with MJW orion which is even better