Which would you choose?

[Radioboy950]

How about this...Mrs Radioboy says I can buy myself an amph for my 50th birthday.
So, I shall. I'm already set on the lower wattage gear . I'm looking for something to gig with...blues/rock/funky stuff.
With about $1000 to spend, I'd like a channel switcher that sounds good right out of the box.
I've pretty much narrowed it down to two combos:
Egnater Renegade 112
Blackstar HT, Solo or Stage
Any experience with either?
I am strongly leaning toward the Egnater for its nice cleans and marshally crunch, tweak ability, and the two different power tube sets from which to choose. Egnater also uses a private label Classic Lead 80 speaker, with a slight low end tweak to give a fuller sound in smaller cabs. I prefer this over the Seventy-80 loaded in the Blackstar.

[marnold]

That new Mesa Mini-Rectifier that bcdon got would definitely pique my interest, other than that wiring issue. http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php/19335-NAD!-Mesa-Boogie-Mini-Rectifier-Review

[bcdon]

That new Mesa Mini-Rectifier that bcdon got would definitely pique my interest, other than that wiring issue. http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php/19335-NAD!-Mesa-Boogie-Mini-Rectifier-Review

I was just about to suggest the Mini Rectifier. It is far more than a metal amp. As for the wiring, it was just a fluke that I have not seen anyone else talk about. These things happen, it took 5 minutes to fix, and there was never any danger thanks to the fuse being an integral part of the design.

[Eric]

Dunno, but it seems like you've done your research. I'm just here to follow the action.

[FrankenFretter]

What about the H & K Tubemeister? I've heard good things. My Blackstar HT5 is a great amph, but if you're looking to gig with it, you'd probably want to use the emulated speaker out, or mike it. Then again, I've never had mine up above 2 or so, so maybe it would be loud enough for a small venue. Depends on how enthusiastic your drummer is. If I had that much to spend, I'd probably be looking at the Mini Recto that Don has. Mesa Boogie goodness!

[NWBasser]

What about the H & K Tubemeister? I've heard good things. My Blackstar HT5 is a great amph, but if you're looking to gig with it, you'd probably want to use the emulated speaker out, or mike it. Then again, I've never had mine up above 2 or so, so maybe it would be loud enough for a small venue. Depends on how enthusiastic your drummer is. If I had that much to spend, I'd probably be looking at the Mini Recto that Don has. Mesa Boogie goodness!

Since he said that he's set for low-wattage, I think he's looking for something a bit bigger like the HT-40 or similar (right??).

For that sort of diversity and channel-switching, I'd take a close look at the Egnator Tweaker 40 although the HT-40 would be quite nice too.

[Radioboy950]

Yeah, just to clarify guys...it would be in the 40-50watt range.
The Renegade comes in at a whopping 65watts, but also has an 18watt switch.
I like the EL34/6L6 tube-selector feature, plus independant EQ for each channel, assignable FX and reverb, and footswitchable boost.
Preferably a combo format (for grab-n-go, toss in the backseat convenience).
Heck, did I just talk myself into the Renegade ....:)

[Tig]

Egnater will do clean really well and a nice crunch, too.

Personally, I'd like to have a Fender for clean and crunch, and a Mesa Mini Rectifier for crunch to molten.

[Duffy]

I would suggest absolutely checiing out a Blackstar Club 40 combo, hands on, before buying the Egnator. I personally think the Club 40 is an awesome amp. It is totally up to you, but I would not recommend rolling with preconceived, untested, ideas about what you are going to be getting. I also read, whether it is true or not, that with the Egnator with the two tube types that you do not get full power out of it unless you have both type power tubes working at the same time. If you select just one tube type, supposedly, you do not get the full power. This seems to make possible sense. I would definitely verify it.

Good luck in finding the right one for you.

I have played the Club 40 and the Stage 60 combo's and I think that they are at least as tweakable as my Tweaker 15 was, and I liked the sound a lot better, personally. Blackstar was supposedly formed by amp designers that used to work for Marshall. The range of sounds that the Blackstar Club and Stage amps have is amazing and the high gain sounds are super smooth and awesome sounding, and you can change the channel's voicing and tweak the tone a lot with buttons and the INF knob. I don't personally think that the Egnators have anything on the Blackstars, but this is just my opinion and people get "very" opinionated about their amp preferences.

[jilaw50]

I highly recommend the Egnater Renegade. Mine has now become my main gigging amp ( relegating my Fender Blues deluxe to small gigs or jams) and it is a GREAT amp. My only suggestion is to go with the "head" version for flexibility, and the inexpensive (used) Ampeg 4x12 I use it with makes a great rolling "cart" to move it all around. The Renegade with a "promotional" discount from an online retailer together with a used 4x12 cabinet can be done on your $1000 budget, I did it. For me "sound quality" is more important than "easy to carry" and a half-stack is not as bad as some make out to transport and handle.

I play blues and classic rock. Here is a recent video with the Egnater Renegade:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHbbcM-txO0&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

www.mikeimbasciani.com
__________________________________________________ _____________________________


’04 Fender Custom Shop ’56 Stratocaster Relic RI 50th Anniv. Aztec Gold
'10 Fender American Select Mahogany HSS Strat
'07 Fender Custom Shop Vintage Heavy Relic HB Telecaster
'03 Gibson ES-345 RI
’08 Gibson Les Paul R-7 Historic Series 1957 RI VOS Gold Top
’96 Schecter California Custom Hellcat
’10 Squier Classic Vibe 60’s Stratocaster (Fender CS ’69 /Candy Apple Red)
’10 Squier Telecaster w/Bigsby (Fender CS Texas Specials/Candy Apple Red)
’09 Squier Stratocaster HSS Standard (Pearly Gates HB/SSL-1/SSL-1/Silver Sparkle)
’02 Squier Bullet HHH (S. Duncan: Little ‘59/Duckbucker/JB Jr. /LockingTuners)
’10 Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar HH (Fiesta Red)
Breedlove AD25/SR Plus Acoustic

Yamaha S90XS Keyboard

Amps: Bogner Shiva 80W. EL34 w/Rvb + Peavey VK 412; Egnater Renegade 65W. + Ampeg 4x12; Fender Blues Deluxe RI; Fender 40th Anniversary ’65 Twin Reverb RI; Peavey Delta Blues 115; Roland Cube-60; Roland KC-150; Marshall AS-50R

[FrankenFretter]

Since he said that he's set for low-wattage, I think he's looking for something a bit bigger like the HT-40 or similar (right??).

For that sort of diversity and channel-switching, I'd take a close look at the Egnator Tweaker 40 although the HT-40 would be quite nice too.


Oops. I read that as "I'm set on low wattage". My bad.

[Tig]

Awesome playing, Mike!
Your video speaks well of the Egnater, too.


http://youtu.be/rHbbcM-txO0

[bcdon]

Awesome playing, Mike!
Your video speaks well of the Egnater, too.


http://youtu.be/rHbbcM-txO0

Great playing and vocals! :dude

[Duffy]

Nice.

[Duffy]

Another nice one. Good luck dude. We need you around here. Hang in there man.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhZTInT-YM0&feature=autoplay&list=ULF5RLPY_j08I&lf=mfu_in_ order&playnext=2

[Radioboy950]

Haven't pulled the trigger yet, but I think the Blackstar Club 40 may have the edge at the moment. Blackstar has always intrigued me. Cleans sound good to me, but I don't care for the clips of the guys who have it all gained up like a fizzy buzz saw. Finally found some bluesy overdrive sounds.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD-lW2LJR5M

[jilaw50]

Thanks guys for the kind words. Duffy, in the video you posted I was actually using my Bogner Shiva 80W head, which is 3X the cost of the Egnater Renegade, so out of the price range of the original poster here.

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _______


’04 Fender Custom Shop ’56 Stratocaster Relic RI 50th Anniv. Aztec Gold
'10 Fender American Select Mahogany HSS Strat
'07 Fender Custom Shop Vintage Heavy Relic HB Telecaster
'03 Gibson ES-345 RI
’08 Gibson Les Paul R-7 Historic Series 1957 RI VOS Gold Top
’94 Gretsch 6120SSU Brian Setzer Signature
’96 Schecter California Custom Hellcat
’10 Squier Classic Vibe 60’s Stratocaster (Fender CS ’69 /Candy Apple Red)
’10 Squier Telecaster w/Bigsby (Fender CS Texas Specials/Candy Apple Red)
’09 Squier Stratocaster HSS Standard (Pearly Gates HB/SSL-1/SSL-1/Silver Sparkle)
’02 Squier Bullet HHH (S. Duncan: Little ‘59/Duckbucker/JB Jr. /LockingTuners)
’10 Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar HH (Fiesta Red)
Breedlove AD25/SR Plus Acoustic

Yamaha S90XS Keyboard

Amps: Bogner Shiva 80W. EL34 w/Rvb + Peavey VK 412; Egnater Renegade 65W. + Ampeg 4x12; Fender Blues Deluxe RI; Fender 40th Anniversary ’65 Twin Reverb RI; Peavey Delta Blues 115; Roland Cube-60; Roland KC-150; Marshall AS-50R

[NWBasser]

Awesome playing, Mike!
Your video speaks well of the Egnater, too.


http://youtu.be/rHbbcM-txO0

Oooh boy, that sounds really good!

I love the fingerpicking tone. The phrasing and rhythm really stand out from most of the blues players I've heard.:applause