Low wattage tube amp heaven?

[MAXIFUNK]

OK, so the time has come to finally bite the bullet on a low wattage amp (in the 15 to 20 watt range).

I love the Fender supersonic 22 I have one on loan to me currently but not in the price range I am willing to spend right now. I like the vox Night Train but I think its over priced. Marshall Class 5 test drove it but did not like it but will have to try it again to make sure.The Mesa TA-15 or TA-30 love those too but price issues once again. Besides I have other gas needs more pressing than a high price amp. LOL Like more guitars and basses. LOL

So, it narrows it downs to
Jet City 20 watt combo $299.00 USD,
Egnater Tweeker Head $399.00 USD
Bugera V22 Combo $349.00 USD
Ibanez TSA15H Tube Screamer 15W Tube Guitar Amp Head $299.00 USD

I know there are separate threads here about this amps but I just wanted to get various opinions all in way place. Plus maybe your personal opinions have changed since that time.

Thanks in advance for your comments! So, what say you fellow fretters.

[Spudman]

All good choices.

After more than a year with the Bugera V22 I can say that I'm very happy I bought it. I've gigged a lot with it and never had any problems. In fact, I was just watching some video tonight of last year at this time and was really surprised at how good the amph sounded. Lately I've been playing at the house and at gigs with it in triode mode. It has lower output in this mode. I'm pretty happy with that sound too compared to all of last year in the pentode mode. They both are nice but I get a little more of a hot sound with it cranked in the triode mode. The stock speaker is quite good as well and a Hot Rod Deluxe cover will fit perfectly and is cheap. It takes pedals well, has a variety of tones and looks great. I'd say it's a good amp that can satisfy at home and you can take it out and make money with it just as well.

[Tig]

This likely won't help, but if/when I buy another amp to put next to my Tweaker, I consider the Jet City 20 and Bugera V22 to be at the top of the list. The Jet City for excellent rawkin' bliss, and the Bugera for it's wide sweet spot. I'll have to play them both again.
(I told ya' it wouldn't help!)

[NWBasser]

What sounds are you looking for Maxi?

I'd add the Blackstar HT-20 to that list too.

[bcdon]

The Marshall Class 5 is really nice but it gets really loud, really easy.

[Duffy]

I own an Egnater Tweaker and from my experience it is a totally awesome amp head. I play it thru a one by twelve speaker cab and other times thru a four by twelve cab.

The Tweaker is extremely well designed in its lay out and great range of controls.

The sounds you can easily get out of this amp are very diverse and exquisite. There are also innumerable additional sounds you can get out of the amp if you work harder to pull them out.

It has a range of sounds from clean to ultra high gain.

I hope they come out with the fourty watt version soon because I want to get one. Also they are planning on coming out with a KT88 version of this that I might consider.

A professional guitar player that I know quite well has very high regard for this amp. A quite a few people have been very surprised after playing one of these.

You can connect four, eight, or sixteen ohm speaker cabinets to it.

Also, it has a very professional look, very pleasing to look at.

Another really nice small amp is the Fender Super Champ XD, although you did not mention it as one you are focusing on. It is definitely worth looking at, in my obviously subjective opinion.

I hope my feedback on the Tweaker is useful to you. It's a great amp head; and also comes in a combo.

[MAXIFUNK]

What sounds are you looking for Maxi?

I'd add the Blackstar HT-20 to that list too.

NWB from good over drive tones to nice distortion tones to crunch, texas blues, modern blues, 70's&80's rock & Funk, 80's style metal but it is the least of my concern since pedals can take care of that. I just put the Vox ice 9 and Satchurator on hold at my favorite local gas retailer. A good clean channel would be nice but does not have to be great since I have that covered with my Deville in spades.

I have read great things about BlackStar but have also heard they build in their effects to create OD/Distortion its not true Tube OD/Distortion not sure how true it is but something I'll have to vet out.

Spudman I keep hearing great things about that amp but every time I go to check one out its never in stock.

Duffy, I have yet to hear a one person say a bad thing about the amp or combo. I just wonder what the street price for the 40 watt head is going to be. But once again every time I go to check it out its never in stock.

I heard a Marshall Haze today and it was way better than I expected.

This is harder than buying a car or house or guitar UGH!!

[Jimi75]

20 Watts are still hellish loud when you dime the amph. Maxi do you buy the amp for live playing purpose or for home practice?
I'd say that 7,5 Watt are sufficient for live gigging in small clubs as long as you attach a 4x12 cabinet. Then you get the full amp sound.

[Duffy]

Jimi,

I keep my Tweaker head almost always plugged into my 4 x 12 Epiphone So. Cal cabinet. It produces a very pleasing sound with plenty of thump.

This is an awesome amp head that can be coupled with almost any cabinet, or even plugged into the speaker or speakers of an existing amp by splicing in a female quarter inch plug into the speaker wire that comes from the power amp section of the combo to the speaker. Just be sure to keep the slave amp/speaker "turned off" when you use the slave amp's speaker as a cabinet for the Tweaker. Hey it is an improvization and could even make use of the odd inoperable amp that might be laying around somewhere.

[MAXIFUNK]

20 Watts are still hellish loud when you dime the amph. Maxi do you buy the amp for live playing purpose or for home practice?
I'd say that 7,5 Watt are sufficient for live gigging in small clubs as long as you attach a 4x12 cabinet. Then you get the full amp sound.

Honestly this one will be for home use 95% of the time and jamming with friends or with my band mates when we get back to it this spring.
Heck I'm the bass player in the band so it would be for just jamming with the guys when I use it out of the house.
The only reason I would even look at the 40 watt head because it has more options.

[NWBasser]

NWB from good over drive tones to nice distortion tones to crunch, texas blues, modern blues, 70's&80's rock & Funk, 80's style metal but it is the least of my concern since pedals can take care of that. I just put the Vox ice 9 and Satchurator on hold at my favorite local gas retailer. A good clean channel would be nice but does not have to be great since I have that covered with my Deville in spades.



Sounds like the Tweaker would fit the bill perfectly!

[Weshunter]

i've got an Egnater Rebel 20 on the way right now. I'm currently using a Deluxe VM, so i'll be coming from the same sort of place you are, and i'll report back and let you know how it is.

[MAXIFUNK]

i've got an Egnater Rebel 20 on the way right now. I'm currently using a Deluxe VM, so i'll be coming from the same sort of place you are, and i'll report back and let you know how it is.

It will be great to hear you review for sure.

[kiteman]

If you use pedals then you probably want an amp without onboard FXs. Maybe get an amp that offers dual wattages for loud playing and not loud playing. This is why I bought a Blackheart Handsome Devil (half stack) which is 15/7 watts and no onboard FXs. I sold my Bogner Alchemist 112 combo because it was overkill and I haven't used it much though it is 40/20 watts.

[MAXIFUNK]

Well looking on youtube and searching the web for reviews. The clean channel of the Ibanez TSA15H Tube Screamer 15W Tube Amp Head has the best clean tone of any of the low wattage amps I've heard on line. The VHT special 6 ultra also seems to be creeping to the top of the list just not sure how much head room it has but it seems to be very sweet. The search continues....................

[Duffy]

Have you tried out one of the new Vox AC15c1 combo amps? These have a Celestion Greenback speaker and both channels are very clear and take on a very nice tone when cranked, without pedals.

I like to use this amp with a strat or tele because it has a great sound. Humbuckers sound super great with it as well. You can get a variety of clear tones with the use of the tone cut knob, which is separate from the eq. The tremolo and reverb are nice too.

From my point of view it is a real good amp. I like to use it without pedals with a real nice guitar, relatively speaking; and sometimes combine it with an overdrive and a reverb pedal in line to the input. But just plugging in a good guitar straight up and cranking the amp to natural overdrive produces a very satisfying sound that will put a smile on your face.

[duhvoodooman]

Well looking on youtube and searching the web for reviews. The clean channel of the Ibanez TSA15H Tube Screamer 15W Tube Amp Head has the best clean tone of any of the low wattage amps I've heard on line. The VHT special 6 ultra also seems to be creeping to the top of the list just not sure how much head room it has but it seems to be very sweet. The search continues....................Just be a little careful about basing too much of your choice on what you hear online. The quality of the recording can vary so greatly, and there are numerous other factors affecting how an amp "sounds" in a clip. The best way remains to play through it yourself....

[NWBasser]

Well looking on youtube and searching the web for reviews. The clean channel of the Ibanez TSA15H Tube Screamer 15W Tube Amp Head has the best clean tone of any of the low wattage amps I've heard on line. The VHT special 6 ultra also seems to be creeping to the top of the list just not sure how much head room it has but it seems to be very sweet. The search continues....................

I've messed around on the Ibanez TS and it does indeed sound very nice. The clean tone was very sweet and rich. The built-in tube screamer is a pretty neat approach and does a great classic rock tone. However, keep in mind that the bass control had very little effect on the sound. Treble worked fine.

The VHT looks quite interesting.

[Jipes]

I own a litlle Laney LC-15 (El 84) for now 4 years and still love it very much:not heavy, cut through the mix very well, easy to tweak and crunch, the bass is decent on this little 12' speaker