$1000 amp suggestions?

[ToobNoob]

Oh, I know I'm walking on thin ice even suggesting to buy a stock amp (please don't hurt me! ), but I don't know any builders in my area (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, btw - and please let me know if you know any builders within 100 miles of here). I have $1000 (approx. $870 in U.S. funds) to spend on an amp. Want that nice, creamy, singing sustain, just for home (and home studio) use. Not doing live gigs, so don't need a lot of watts. I realize beggars can't be choosers, so I may be dreaming re: expectations. Any suggestions for a stock amp or the best one that can be modded? Or even an amp kit that some builder around here can assemble? (ten thumbs here, hopeless at sodering) Might be able to go up to $1200 ($1040 U.S.) but no more. This newb would sure appreciate any advice. Thanks.

[Colossal]

Oh, I know I'm walking on thin ice even suggesting to buy a stock amp (please don't hurt me! ), but I don't know any builders in my area (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, btw - and please let me know if you know any builders within 100 miles of here). I have $1000 (approx. $870 in U.S. funds) to spend on an amp. Want that nice, creamy, singing sustain, just for home (and home studio) use. Not doing live gigs, so don't need a lot of watts. I realize beggars can't be choosers, so I may be dreaming re: expectations. Any suggestions for a stock amp or the best one that can be modded? Or even an amp kit that some builder around here can assemble? (ten thumbs here, hopeless at sodering) Might be able to go up to $1200 ($1040 U.S.) but no more. This newb would sure appreciate any advice. Thanks.

Hey ToobNoob,

By your post I'm presuming you are not really up for building your own amp? Ten thumbs is still ten digits ?! If you are a bedroom jammer and excessive volume is a concern there are a number of low wattage amps that can be readily built for well less than your budget that will meet your criteria. 1-5W in a bedrrom is still quite loud. To get a feel for some of these designs, check out AX84.com. This is a DIY community that is bent on exploring the limits of amp building and getting the most tone out of even the smallest tube. There is also the SEwatt.com group (which stands for Single Ended - a class of tube operation) which got its start by modifying the Epiphone Valve Junior, a simple single-ended 5W EL84 based amp. Some wonderful and suprising things have been done with that amp. If building is out of the question for you personally, I'm sure someone here could build you an amp (myself included). There are some extremely talented people here. Alternatively, looking to a commercial solution, you could look into the Blackheart amps (single-ended and low wattage), Epiphone Valve Junior, and Blackstar amps, all of which are quite reasonable and are looking to bridge the gap between roaring tube giants and those with limited needs and perhaps budgets. You also might look at an Egnater Rebel 20 which is certainly in your budget range and offers quite a bit of tonal flexibility. You also need enough money left over for a decent speaker and cabinet! The speaker is easily a large part of the tone equation and should not be overlooked.

Establishing what you want and need is important since a lifetime can (and is often) spent chasing tone. And you will be parting with your cash either way so you want to be happy with the result. Since you are looking for singing sustain, perhaps you might help narrow this down further by suggesting a type of music or artists that you particularly enjoy. For instance, in the Dumble camp, many fellows here are after the Larry Carlton/Robbin Ford tone. Or if you are into Van Halen, Zepplin, and the classics perhaps a Marshall tone is for you. However, getting these kinds of tone requires that you either get an original amp, build a clone, or mod an existing amp, etc all of which have varying degrees of cost. Volume can be a real challenge since you often need a fair amount to develop the singing quality. Much effort has been invested in trying to get sustain without volume.

You might also consider going with a very clean amp and using pedals to develop your distortion tone. Using a compressor and an overdrive such as a Tube Screamer or distortion pedal will get you into that territory. Tone is very subjective and while the people here are not pretentious, the question of what tone you want and how you achieve it can be very challenging and subjective to answer and subject to great debat.

So, long story longer, maybe you can post a bit more on the type of tone you would like to get etc and it can be narrowed down a bit further. Singing sustain is a broad description and could be applied to a Dumble amp, a Trainwreck, a Boogie or Marshall. You can easily build a low wattage amp from a kit for $250-500 US. It will not be one of the aforementioned amps however, just be aware of that. Someone here could also build you something that will easily sound far better that what you could buy commercially. You can also save some cash by shrewd buying on ebay or tracking down good deals and building some things yourself, like a speaker cabinet.

Just some thoughts...good luck!

[Andy Le Blanc]

Get an all tube beater, 25 to 50 watt at the local pawn shop or music store,
$350 to $750. Spend the rest on some basic tools. Start at it, have fun.

[M Fowler]

ToobNoob,

Do you ever take the occasional shopping trips from Winnipeg to Grand Forks, ND or Fargo, ND? I know many do from your area. If so you can come visit me in Fargo-Moorhead area and try out some different amps. Also in this area is Jana and Benoit two other Ampgarage builders. I can't speak for them but they are very friendly people.

You need to narrow down your choice somewhat on that amp you want.

Mark

[ToobNoob]

Thanks, Colossal, Andy and M for your fine suggestions. Yeah, tackling a build will always be the dream, but besides my 10 thumbs is a brain that matches (i.e. - just don't have the head for schematics). I did a little online research and the only guy I found locally is:

http://www.tone-lizard.com/

Don't know if he's retired or not. But his website seems to indicate that he sure knows his stuff (it's all Greek to me ). His website also says that he only works sporadically, if that. So, I may just take a road trip someday down to N.D. and check out the amp scene.

Thanks to all for your posts.

[Andy Le Blanc]

Don't worry about the thumbs, after a while its like putting together legos,
a trained chimpanzee could do it. The tough part is gathering the informational
resources so that you understand what your building, Its some of the most
fundamental forms of "electronics". The guitar and amp, form a simple
electro-mechanical waveform generator, its controlled tone formation.
Its a primitive synth. Start small , make a simple gain stage, listen to a cd or a dvd thru it.
Hear what happens when you change the parts, the shape of the gain stage.
you can start cheap and the longer your at it, the more complex the projects become.

The one thing that I find the forum lacks, is that in the forum files there
should be a basic tube electronics file with informational resources and
small projects for those who want to begin.

You shouldn't feel like you have to throw money at it.

[Mach Schnell]

You could get a nice vintage traynor rig in that price range.

[dano-rator]

You could get a nice vintage traynor rig in that price range.

Or a Garnet! Lots of nifty stuff there. Either should be pretty readily available, and you can fly your "hometown colors".
Both w/ hand wired components so you can learn to tweak, but don't be surprised if you're in love right out of the gate.

Dan

[tonestack]

May I be a heretic and suggest solid-state? I own several tube amps, but the amp that gets used the most at home is a Tech 21 Trademark 30. The Trademark 30 is a very nice amp for home-friendly use.

Here's a Trademark 30 sound sample from Tech 21's website: http://www.tech21nyc.com/products/sound ... ark_30.mp3

All tube amps have a sweet spot, which, for better or worse, is usually not at a home-friendly volume. While the preamp can be cranked up and the power amp turned down on high-gain tube amps, doing so results in buzzy tone. The number one advantage of a tube amp cannot be utilized in a home environment; namely, the ability of a cranked power stage to momentarily change operating class and produce more power (the reason why a tube amp gets louder when one steps on it and plays aggressively). It is this ability that allows a tube amp to cut through the mix when needed.

[Structo]

Yeah it depends what he's after.
But a decent tube amp with a decent master volume can sound quite good at lower volumes.

I like my D'Lite or Dumble ODS in this regard.
It can have very decent bedroom level tones without cracking the plaster.

Just had a friend send me a link to the ZT Lunchbox amp.

200 watts (why?) and a 6.5" built in speaker.
http://www.ztamplifiers.com/products/lunchbox.html

I think you could find a very good small amp for $1000 or less.
Doesn't have to be a new amp does it?

[Buschman]

Every guitar player should have an 18 watt Marshall clone or a 5e3 tweed Deluxe clone at home. Both are loud for bedroom use but stout enough to play small gigs with. Both are readily available already handbuilt or in kit form. The other option would be a Blackface Deluxe or Princeton reverb. My fav is the 18 watt Marshall.

[Structo]

I have to agree that the 18 watter is a tasty amp.

But it has to be pretty loud before you get the sweetness of the overdrive.

One could always add a PPIMV, sacrilege I know but it can work.

Or even better the VVR power scaling mod.

I really want to try one of those.

[M Fowler]

Speaking of PCB construction those new Diamond amps out of Texas that had Blankenship merge with look and hear very impressive.

Mark

[CaseyJones]

Winnipeg = Garnet. Plenty of cool choices among Garnets.

Anything else would be just wrong.

[selloutrr]

could you help us so we can help you....

what sort of style of music do you play?
where will you be playing?
do you been a speaker cabinet?
if you have a cabinet what do you have?
what kind of guitar do you play single coil or humbucker?

seriously i could give you a 100 amps for under a grand that dont suck
if you aren't sure about any of the above questions look for an ampeg VT22 or VT40
both are a combo version of a V4 head (not a V4B!!!) the 22 has dual 12" altecs (417?) and the 40 is a 4x10 version like a bassman.
both are loud and F*^ and offer both clean and over driven tones aswell as the famous ampeg reverb.
The V4 can easily be purchased for under $700 so you could pick up a nice set of new tubes and still have $$ left over.