Blues 30 Review

[250Keith]

OK here we go, First off I'm not a Amp freak, I go and listen to bands every weekend, small to large venues, thay all use PA systems, except for some small outdoor gigs, This amp In my option is awesome it has so many tones to dial in, It is a 30watt A/B amp that can be switched to 15watt class A, it has 5 12AX7A pre amp tubes 2 5881 Power tubes and 1 5AR4 rectifier tube and 2 12inch lady luck speakers, from what I understand is that the all the tubes are old soviet mig tubes (bullet proof):D

I got the amp yesterday at 10:00 in the morning and I have 8hrs on it, I love this amp, some have said that it's bright and the bass is flabby, too me it can be bright but not bad! thats whats the tone noob is for I think, In the owners manual it has some amp suggestions, Clean Blues, Clean Jazz, Texas Heat, Thunder from down under, and Clasic Crunch.

This amp has two channels 1/2 and the basic three band EQ but it has a Independent/ interactive EQ Selector, channel 2 the over drive channel it's got a Mid control for more fine tuning.

OK I like the 15watt side of this amp because, too me it's a smooth creamy old school tube amp, on the 30 watt side it's seams aggressive with the my picking and on the bright side in the OD channel, but it's all good, I think this amp can cut through mix at any venue.

My bad monkey works very well with this amp, all and all I like this amp alot, if any of you have any questions let her rip.

This has been from a old newbe that has a hard time with typing, I hope this helps alittle about this amp, IMHO for the money and the sound and the looks this amp cant be beat.
Keith.

[Big K]

sounds like a satisfied customer....I have considered an upgrade to one of the higher end Epi's since my Jr has been more than expected...

[stingx]

Is this the amp?

http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/pics/products/regular/8/3/9/432839.jpg

I saw these in various stores and though they looked amazing. I've heard good things about the Lady Luck speakers in them too. Never given this unit a test drive though. Looks like a really good combo to gig with. Good luck with your new amp and play the hell outta it!

[250Keith]

Is this the amp?

http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/pics/products/regular/8/3/9/432839.jpg

I saw these in various stores and though they looked amazing. I've heard good things about the Lady Luck speakers in them too. Never given this unit a test drive though. Looks like a really good combo to gig with. Good luck with your new amp and play the hell outta it!


Thats the one, It realy is a good amp for the money, I like the tone alot I'm just playing with all the tones write now, the OD channel is alittle bright right now but my Ibaniez is too though, I've had some good advice about tubes for this amp and I will buy these tubes but I'm going to play alot of hours on this amp first, (brake in the speakers) and go from there.
Keith.

[Big K]

sounds like a kick-a$$ machine, congrat's!

[250Keith]

It's your turn Big K To get one, I realy do like it alot:DR
pull the trigger!

[stingx]

I remember reading in some other forums about the first batch being quite noisy. Do you find this to be the case?

[250Keith]

Not at all, there is a fan but you can barely hear it, mine runs cool,
I play it in a 10 by 12 room, Ive had it on all day.
Keith.

[Big K]

just spent 4 days in Vegas, need a month or so to recuperate the fundage...

[250Keith]

Hey Big K my old man just came and spent the weekend with me I just called him and he's in vagas! I hav'int seen him in over ten years! he lives in reno go figure, if you get a chance try out this amp, it is a nice amp.
Keith.

[Bloozcat]

I remember reading in some other forums about the first batch being quite noisy. Do you find this to be the case?

I have one of the first ones that came out, and it's never been noisy. To the contrary, it's very quiet. The only issue I've had with the amps tone, is that the OD channel is quite bright. A tube change has rectified that to a large degree - at least to the point where the spikey treble has been tamed. The EQ controls on the amp are somewhat counter intuituive. To dial in some desired tones on the OD channel for example, you may have to turn the treble and the mid down to about 1-2, and turn the bass up to 8-10. The EQ controls are very interactive.

The Eminence Lady Luck speakers are well suited to this amp. They are very transparent, and don't color the tone much at all. They are similar to the Ledgend 125 speakers, but with a slightly larger voice coil, 1kHz more top end response, but a little less efficient with a 1.1dB lower SPL. All new speakers take a little while to break in, and these Lady Lucks are no different. But, they do seem to break in faster than many other speakers I've played through.

I was kind of hoping that the Gurus on some of the amp building/modding sites would turn their expertise to the circuit in this amp. Even with all the interest in the Epi Valve Jr., so far there's been no apparent interest in this amp.

This is a very good amp out of the box, and it has even greater potential if modded. After all, how many 2X12 all tube amps are there out there - with a tube rectifier - that sell for $500.00 -$550.00?

[stingx]

Thanks, Bloozcat. I plan to stop at a music shop some time this week and devote some playing time to one.

[duhvoodooman]

I'd love to try one of these puppies out, too. I've been looking for one in my local GC now for months, and they've yet to have one on the floor....

[stingx]

I'd love to try one of these puppies out, too. I've been looking for one in my local GC now for months, and they've yet to have one on the floor....

They don't last long on the floor. That's the problem.

[250Keith]

Thanks Bloozcat, for your input, its hard for me to get my wording to sound write, your right on the mark about the EQ being very interactive with tone on this amp, and the speakers work very well with this amp. I'm still messing around with all the tones on this amp, right now I'm on the 15watt side and on the clean channel with the bad monkeys gain turned down for more of a boost with some crunch.
Note: I'm playing a Ibanez GAX70 I set it up my self #10 Daddario XL.

[Bloozcat]

Thanks Bloozcat, for your input, its hard for me to get my wording to sound write, your right on the mark about the EQ being very interactive with tone on this amp, and the speakers work very well with this amp. I'm still messing around with all the tones on this amp, right now I'm on the 15watt side and on the clean channel with the bad monkeys gain turned down for more of a boost with some crunch.
Note: I'm playing a Ibanez GAX70 I set it up my self #10 Daddario XL.

I've just had a little more time to play around with mine than you have Keith...:D

[Leonidas]

Very cool reviews guys. Thanks a lot. I've been looking at some all-tube amps in this price range and this one seems to have a LOT to offer for the price. Next time I get up to GC i'm going to look around and see if they have any out.