TalismanRich Posted August 28, 2014 Posted August 28, 2014 The Classic 30 and the Delta Blues are great amps. Not boutique in any way, but good solid workingman amps. The clean channel can be very nice and clear, and you can use the gain channel to get about as dirty as anyone would want. The Classic 50 is somewhat of a beast by comparison. Larger, heavier and seemingly much louder than the 20 extra watts would suggest. I have no idea how plentiful they are in the UK. You can find them used in the US everywhere. What about Laney amps? I've heard the VC30 sounds pretty good. I would think that there would be a reasonable number of Marshall and Vox combos on the market in the UK.
bobmeyrick Posted August 28, 2014 Posted August 28, 2014 The Classic 30 and the Delta Blues are great amps. Not boutique in any way, but good solid workingman amps. The clean channel can be very nice and clear, and you can use the gain channel to get about as dirty as anyone would want. The Classic 50 is somewhat of a beast by comparison. Larger, heavier and seemingly much louder than the 20 extra watts would suggest. I have no idea how plentiful they are in the UK. You can find them used in the US everywhere. What about Laney amps? I've heard the VC30 sounds pretty good. I would think that there would be a reasonable number of Marshall and Vox combos on the market in the UK. Ah yes, I'd forgotten about Laney. Plenty of them around and the VC30 sells for less than £500 new, which is within Mark's budget. Peavey amps are pretty common in the UK. My Classic 30 sounded fine in a gig situation, and is ideal when there isn't the space (or I don't have the inclination!) to use the Ceriatone plus cab. As I said before, attaching a small fan stopped it from getting too hot.
mark555 Posted August 28, 2014 Author Posted August 28, 2014 I like the idea of a thirty watt amp, and the idea of a small fan is excellent, might get one anyway. I am wondering what benefit I would actually get from a more expensive amp, unless it was totally hand made on a stainless steel chasis which could be repaired really easily. I am really wary about flow soldered circuit boards. I have also seen some Marshall Valve amps made in China - could I stand the stigma? !!
TalismanRich Posted August 29, 2014 Posted August 29, 2014 Flow soldered circuit boards are not necessarily the problem. Example... the DSL401 had lots of issues and got a somewhat bad rep due to losing tubes and rectifiers. The root cause was running the tubes at too high of a bias and pulling too much current through the voltage regulator which then would overheat to the point of melting the solder joint. It would have failed if it was hand wired because of a design flaw. Later versions with a lower bias run more reliably, and many people add a heatsink to the rectifier bridge. Some have also added fans. Problem solved. There's no fan on my Classic30 and I've never had a failure. The only mod was a Toms Tube Tamer to keep the EL84s from rattling. ALso, some people put a mesh cover over the back to keep the tubes from being hit during transport. Anyway, good luck with your search. Let us know what you get.
bobmeyrick Posted August 29, 2014 Posted August 29, 2014 Also, some people put a mesh cover over the back to keep the tubes from being hit during transport. I put a strip of 1 1/2" aluminium across the back to protect the tubes - leaving them open just seems like an accident waiting to happen!
smokedtires Posted August 29, 2014 Posted August 29, 2014 I've been very pleased with the two Blackstar (HT5 & HT60 Stage) amps I have. No problems what so ever and I reallly enjoy the sound. I've seen where people were having problems with the TAD power tubes so I ordered Tung Sols before I received my HT60, to my suprise, it came with Rubys. Unfortunately I've read where others have had issues with their amps from many other manufactures too. I had a Fender Blues Jr that had to go to the repair shop in the past.
212Mavguy Posted August 30, 2014 Posted August 30, 2014 Take a long, serious look at Ceriatone, great value, build and reliability for anywhere. They can deliver exactly what you are looking for from their rather extensive lineup. I have had two of their amps custom built for me and I could not be happier, one was a 50w HRM, the other a 100w SSS, both top end, complicated to build amps, both sound amazing, and both have been very reliable.
mark555 Posted August 31, 2014 Author Posted August 31, 2014 Bob, I totally agree with you on protecting the back of an amplifier. I have had horrendous experience of flow soldered circuit boards with my red knob twin, I think every one here will know about those. Even when I get my present Fender amp repaired, I have decided to buy a second amp, one to use with humbucker loaded guitars and one to use with Strats and Tele's, which seems quite logical to me. I will definitely let you know what I get in the end, there have been a few mentioned in this thread which I really want to try out, but with my own guitars. I don't know why in particular, but I am curious about Hughes and Ketner.
212Mavguy Posted August 31, 2014 Posted August 31, 2014 I've had a Hughes & Kettner Tube 20 for several years. Nice feature set. Not one of my main squeezes, but great for backup or as a loaner. No demeaning meant, mine has NOS tubes and a NOS alnico 12 with a fat motor courtesy of fleabay. I'd sell it cheap in a heartbeat but the shipping costs wouldn't work for overseas. Their all out uncompromised guitar>cable>amp tone machine is called the Puretone. Thay've been making it for a long while, it's a classic. It is designed to be used in a manner similar to a Trainwreck circuit, the player relies on touch and use of the guitar volume knobs. Their main deal is dual or triple channel amps that can deal out some very aggressive distorted tones without the need for distortion pedals, big, powerful, complicated, and expensive. Kinda like Audi or Mercedes-Benz super cars. They also have more of a "Volkswagen" line of all solid state designs for less money.
bobmeyrick Posted August 31, 2014 Posted August 31, 2014 Just browsing on eBay I came across these. A Rivera M60 with a BIN of £550. A Mesa Boogie Mark III without a speaker with a BIN of £450. Add another £100 or so for a speaker.
mark555 Posted September 13, 2014 Author Posted September 13, 2014 Well, for now, here's the end of the story. Our lawn mower packed up and I had to buy a new one, so at £350 there was certainly no budget for a new amp, so I took the recommendation of the guitar tech I have recently met and had my Fender Hot Rod serviced. Three new pre amp vales have made a huge difference and gives me the time to get saving up for another amp. Not having to buy a new one may give me time to save up for something a bit better than I might have bought now.
mars_hall Posted September 21, 2014 Posted September 21, 2014 Heard an Italian amp at Guitar Center today and was very impressed with what was coming out of it. DV Mark series.
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