What about one of the little Blackheart combos?
They've got a 5-watter, or a 15-watter that has a pentode/triode selector.
Hello all! I'm currently playing through a fender deluxe and I really love how it sounds. I really want to downgrade the power a little bit though because I rarely play in a venue that lets me turn up the amp where I like it. I know about the fender blues junior, but I'm looking for other suggestions that would stay in a reasonable price range. I figure I can probably sell my deluxe for around 500 since its in great shape and I can't put down too much more on the new amp.
What about one of the little Blackheart combos?
They've got a 5-watter, or a 15-watter that has a pentode/triode selector.
Originally Posted by Radioboy950
+1. I'm eyeballing the 5 watter.
Mack GEM - www.mackamps.com
The Law of Gravity is nonsense. No such law exists. If I think I float, and you think I float, then it happens.
Master Guitar Academy - I also teach via SKYPE.
The GEMs are nice, but they are double the price of his current amp, aren't they?
I have a Blackheart Little Giant. What would the TS like to know about it?
If you want great Fender tones in a small package, save for a Princeton reissue. Seriously.
Now, when you say "Deluxe" is that a Hot Rod?
Electric: Fat strat > Korg PB > TS7 > DS1 > DD-20 > Cube 60 (Fender model)
Acoustic: Guitar > microphone > audience
It's currently $547.00 - he said he expects to get around $500 for his current amp. Where's the "double"?Originally Posted by Commodore 64
The Law of Gravity is nonsense. No such law exists. If I think I float, and you think I float, then it happens.
Master Guitar Academy - I also teach via SKYPE.
How about the Pro Junior? Lots of people think it sounds better than the Blues Junior, and it can get seriously loud.
Guitars: Jimmie Vaughan Strat, 2001 Affinity Squier Strat with 70's Japanese pickups, Affinity Squier Tele
Amps: Fender Pro Junior w/ Ragin' Cajun speaker, Peavey Delta Blues 115
Pedals: Ibanez TS9DX w/ Humphrey mod, Dunlop Crybaby Wah, Dano PB&J Delay, Arion Tubulator w/Indyguitarist mod, Boss CS-3, Dano Fish and Chips EQ, Boss CH-1, Dano TunaMelt Tremolo, Boss RV-3, Boss DS-1
Strings: Darco 10's
Website: www.bluesrow.com
I'll cast another vote for the BH. I have the BH that I picked up for $100 used. I converted my Vox AD30VT so it can also be used as a cab. I love the BH.
Mark
* Loud is good, good is better!
I have a Blues Jr tweed with a OT up grade and I'd trade it straight across for that Mack,because I'm more of a home player who want's to learn to record and that Mack fits the ticket every way.So I say buck up get the Mack and treat yourself to a amph with good tone that you can crank up at home.Guess you know what amph I'll buy next.Sumi
Guitars,Warmoth Tele,90's Fender Strat Plus/Fender CV 50's Tele/Parker p-36/Fretlight/Custom Strat(Fender body/warmoth Clapton neck,tonerider pups)Larrivee L03 mahogany acoustic
Amphs/66 Super Reverb/60's Bandmaster head and 2/12 cab/Blues jr//epi valve jr/supro super/ ZT lunchbox/Mahaffay Little Laneilei 3350/Pignose g40v
Pedals/Voods Rodent/MXR carbon copy/Duncan Pickup booster/Ts9/Rat/ts10/Line 6 tone port uk2
Line 6 M13
The blackheart seems like an interesting choice. I like the price tag for sure, but I've read some reviews on it and some say that it breaks up too early. The gem also looks (and sounds) like a good choice. I guess it depends how much money I can throw out there.
The Jet City 20w heads are slowly becoming more available. I just got one, and it sounds fantastic. $299, and you can tweak the gain and volume controls to get either a clean or a great overdriven sound.
You might check 'em out, they're unreal for the price.
Guitars
Wilburn Versatare, '52 FrankenTele(Fender licensed parts), Fender USA Roadhouse Strat, Fender USA Standard B-bender Telecaster, Agile AL 3000 w/ WCR pickups, Ibanez MIJ V300 Acoustic, Squier Precision Bass,
Amps
Ceriatone Overtone Special, Musicman 212 Sixty-Five, Fender Blues Jr., Peavey Classic 30, Fender Super Reverb, Traynor YCV-40 WR Anniversary w/ matching 1x12 ext. cab, Epiphone SoCal 50w head w/ matching 4x12 cab (Lady Luck speakers), Avatar 2x12 semi-open back cab w/ Celestion speakers
Pedals
Digitech Bad Monkey, Digitech Jamman, DVM's ZYS, Goodrich volume pedal
His current Fender amp is a combo. The GEM head may be $547US, but the combo is $927US. Not quite, but close to double.Originally Posted by Robert
^^
AXES: Fender '81 The STRAT, '12 Standard Tele, '78 Musicmaster Bass, '13 CN-240SCE Thinline; Rickenbacker '82 360-12BWB; Epiphone '05 Casino, '08 John Lennon EJ-160E; Guild '70 D-40NT; Ovation '99 Celebrity CS-257; Yamaha '96 FG411CE-12; Washburn '05 M6SW Mando, '08 Oscar Schmidt OU250Bell Uke; Johnson '96 JR-200-SB Squareneck Reso; Hofner '07 Icon B-Bass; Ibanez '12 AR-325. AMPS: Tech 21 Trademark 10; Peavey ValveKing Royal 8; Fender Acoustonic 90, Passport Mini, Mini Tonemaster; Marshall MS-2 Micro Stack; Behringer BX-108 Thunderbird; Tom Scholz Rockman. PEDALS/FX: Boss ME-50; Yamaha EMP100; Stage DE-1; Samson C-Com 16 L.R. Baggs ParaAcoustic D.I; MXR EQ-10.
I made the trip to the closes guitar center (~2 hours) today and experimented with some different amps. I grabbed a tele similar to mine and went to town.
Fender Blues Junior - This guy sounded surprisingly sterile and really all around crappy. I a/b'd it with the hr deluxe right next to it and there's just no comparison. That one's definitely out of the picture.
Vox AC4TV - I really liked the warmth of this amp, but it was really muddy in the mids no matter how i changed the tone controls on the amp and the guitar. The tubes were going bad too oddly enough so it was buzzing a bit. I did like the flexibly of power controls though.
Bugera V5 - This one was pretty good for the price, but it just doesn't have the warmth and sparkle I want. It also had a tube going bad which didn't help.
Blackstar HT5H - It didn't take long to turn this one off. Very sterile sounding. Pretty much didn't even sound like a tube amp.
Epiphone Valve Junior - Man was this a surprise. The only drawback for me is that it has extremely limited controls. (only a volume knob) Aside from that it was simply gorgeous. I didn't really need a tone knob b/c it was very warm and almost there with the sparkle. I didn't think it was really in the running before, but this experience definitely changed my mind. Any further input from owners of the valve junior would be much appreciated. Do you feel like you get the tonal flexibility you need?
I'm still looking to demo a blackheart because it looks like a great option and what I've heard of them sounds great. I look forward to getting any other opinions on these as well.
All in all it was a good outing. Narrowing the possibilities til i find "The One"!
Glad you got a chance to try some out. I agree w/ you on the Epi. I have an older version, which I changed the OT on, and did a few mods from the old 18w.com site. It kicks a$$, and I think most of the new V.Jr.'s have addressed the issues that were shortcomings on the originals.
I don't suppose you got to try out a JetCity20H 20watt head?
May be more watts than you want, but for $299 they are a slammin' little amph, and the tone/presence controls really offer some shaping options.
No effects built in, just a clean EL84 based signal path, but nice IMO.
Guitars
Wilburn Versatare, '52 FrankenTele(Fender licensed parts), Fender USA Roadhouse Strat, Fender USA Standard B-bender Telecaster, Agile AL 3000 w/ WCR pickups, Ibanez MIJ V300 Acoustic, Squier Precision Bass,
Amps
Ceriatone Overtone Special, Musicman 212 Sixty-Five, Fender Blues Jr., Peavey Classic 30, Fender Super Reverb, Traynor YCV-40 WR Anniversary w/ matching 1x12 ext. cab, Epiphone SoCal 50w head w/ matching 4x12 cab (Lady Luck speakers), Avatar 2x12 semi-open back cab w/ Celestion speakers
Pedals
Digitech Bad Monkey, Digitech Jamman, DVM's ZYS, Goodrich volume pedal
Wow, you made the best of your long trip to GC!Originally Posted by vroomery
I've had my Epi Valve Jr head & 1x12 cab for about 8 months now. Bought it used from Craig'sList. The previous owner had someone add a tone pot mod, which is one of the things it needed from my experience trying them before.
I upgraded the tubes with JJ's, and added a BitMo attenuator plate kit on the back for bedroom use, as this lil' guy can get loud, but not quite loud enough for unmiked gigging. I might get the Tweaky kit for some extra flexibility, but otherwise, I really love this amp. I can get rich, sustained tones that are really pleasing to my ears, and a very expressive, touch sensitive feel from it.
As is, the tonal flexibility is good for the limited control available. I still feel like I could improve it a little more, however. It likes most pedals I've run through it, and I can use the attenuator to route the signal to my Peavey Vypyr for effects (I'll hopefully replace the Vypyr with a VOX Tonelab ST soon).
Out of the box it is a good little amp, but needs tone control, IMO. For those who like to mod, it is like a canvas awaiting their brush and paints!
Guitar: Gibson SG Standard Natural Burst, Squier CV 50's Tele, Hell Guitars No. 2, Squier CV 50's Strat, Reverend Club King 290, Taylor 522e 12-Fret mahogany,
Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Bass Short Scale
Amp: Fender Super Champ X2 Head, Egnater Tweaker 15, Fender Mustang I, Acoustic B20 1x12 bass amp
Pedal: Budda Budwah wah, Wampler Ego Compressor, Electro-Harmonix Soul Food, Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive, Wampler Velvet Fuzz, Seven Sisters Eve Tremolo, TC Electronics Gravy Tri Chorus & Vibrato, Catalinbread Echorec, TC Electronic Alter Ego 2 Delay, Hardwire Supernatural Ambient Verb, MXR Carbon Copy, Catalinbread RAH, Big Muff Pi with Tone Wicker, BYOC Mouse 2.0 Distortion, BYOC Boost/OD-2
Oldguy - I didn't get a chance to play the JetCity. I was looking for it but didn't see it for some reason.
Tig - I looked at the BitMo site you referenced. That may have just convinced me to get this amp. From the reviews and the options of kits, it looks like a great deal. All I really want from the amp is a volume knob, reverb, and simple tone knob. All of which is offered through the B-verb mod, Brat mod (tone). The tweaky mod sounds like it would help too in adding tonal diversity and depth. $370 for the modded head and 12" cab sounds like an amazing deal to me.
Originally Posted by vroomery
You do need to do that because I am ultimately happy with my Little Giant head. If you have good listening conditions I think you'll like it especially for the price (got a cabinet?).
I've got mine running into a high wattage 1x12 Eminence cab and it sounds great. For variety I can switch it over to a 1x12 vintage Celestion too. They both sound good but I like the cleaner Emi speaker best.
I haven't tried mine at a jam or totally cranked. I just don't need to. It's my office recording/practice amph and I really like how it sounds. It absolutely loves every dirt pedal I throw at it.
"No Tele For you." - The Tele Nazi
Ha! Tele-ish now inbound.