Power amp or cheap valve amp for modeller

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thecolourboxthecolourbox Frets: 9654
I'm planning a bit of a clear out, and to potentially join the modelling set up club with my Digitech GSP1101 having recorded with it a bit recently and it sounded decent. Notwithstanding the need for a control switch thing for the Digitech unit, my thoughts are also turning towards what to use to amplify it should I need to play in public.

So for the £150-£200 mark (or even less!), what is the collective opinion, wisdom and thoughts of the Fretboard as to what would be the better option for a power amp into the Supro 16ohm 75 watt cabinet I already have. I've listed some thoughts of mine already after each one but these may not be correct...

1u rack solid state power amp, such as the Harley benton one or the Marshall 8008.
Would be lighter, could fit in a 2u rack (or 3u if I wanted something else in there like a mixer) with the GSP
Has ability to be stereo if ever I need that.
They tend to be above the power rating of my speaker cab so I'd have to be very careful, also need to consider 16ohm speaker as some amps I looked at for it halved or even quartered in power for 16ohms.

Cheap valve amp with FX loop, such as a Jet City 20w head.
Not sure whether valve power stage would work better with the digital modelling. Also I tend to use more Fender flavoured amps so not sure the power valves would work with it.
Could also be used as a normal amp for a simpler set up if needs be.

I'd be selling my Princeton (which has never worked for my use case, too loud for home and not loud enough for live), a few pedals, and hopefully a few other things but I don't want to spend the full proceeds on a replacement, hence the £200 upper limit. I don't think I can get a decent enough FRFR for the money I'd have reserved (would jump to £300 then as I could sell the cabinet)

Penny for your thoughts :) Cheers
Please note my communication is not very good, so please be patient with me
soundcloud.com/thecolourbox-1
youtube.com/@TheColourboxMusic
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Comments

  • ecc83ecc83 Frets: 1589

    It is a general principle (but NOT caste in stone) that once 'modelled' you amplify the signal as cleanly as possible so you might consider a stage monitor or active PA cab?  Or, an acoustic guitar amplifier? Double duty?

    The extra cost, weight and fragility of a valve amp seem unwarranted to me.

    Dave.


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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71950
    My stuck-record reply to this sort of thing...

    Look for an old solid-state PA mixer amp in the 100-200W range. They're not expensive - typically under £100, or even less if they don't have XLR mic inputs which makes them almost useless for PA nowadays - not that large or heavy usually, have basic EQ and usually reverb so are more flexible than a plain power amp, and into 16 ohms will normally deliver around a third of the rated power into 4 ohms, so ideal for a 75W driver. They are also usually very reliable, and a useful piece of get-out-of-jail kit for a large number of different situations.

    Carlsbro, Laney, Peavey and many other budget/semi-pro brands made them, they aren't rare, although a Cash Generator-type shop is a more likely place to find them than a music shop these days.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • thecolourboxthecolourbox Frets: 9654
    edited June 2018

    Do you mean the type of thing that look like this?

    https://goo.gl/images/6MCyCp

    Please note my communication is not very good, so please be patient with me
    soundcloud.com/thecolourbox-1
    youtube.com/@TheColourboxMusic
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  • John_AJohn_A Frets: 3775
    Probably more like this


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  • John_AJohn_A Frets: 3775

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  • John_AJohn_A Frets: 3775

    John_A said:
    Probably more like this


    Well that didn't work ;)
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71950

    Do you mean the type of thing that look like this?

    https://goo.gl/images/6MCyCp

    Yes, exactly. That one has XLRs, but most from the late 70s and 80s didn't - they only really became fully standard on budget kit in the 90s. The ones without typically sell for around £50, give or take a bit - XLR ones more like £100. If you have the choice and cheapest possible cost is not the most important factor I would actually try to get one with XLRs, since then it can double as a PA amp too :). (Possibly handy in an emergency...)

    Most of them have some sort of preamp out/power amp in jacks too, so you can actually use them as a standalone power amp if you don't want the channel EQ etc.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • thecolourboxthecolourbox Frets: 9654

    Thanks @icbm I think those are only about £100 new aren't they? I know Maplin is more or less history but I'm sure they used to sell those for about that much. Probably not a bad idea then, thank you.

    @austrianjohn doesn't seem to want to work for you! 

    Please note my communication is not very good, so please be patient with me
    soundcloud.com/thecolourbox-1
    youtube.com/@TheColourboxMusic
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  • AustrianJohnAustrianJohn Frets: 1666

    @austrianjohn doesn't seem to want to work for you! 

    Wrong John I think, @John_A isn’t me.
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  • John_AJohn_A Frets: 3775
    Yes it's me, can't seem to post pics from my iPad :)
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  • thecolourboxthecolourbox Frets: 9654
    Sorry yes I'm blind as a bat
    Please note my communication is not very good, so please be patient with me
    soundcloud.com/thecolourbox-1
    youtube.com/@TheColourboxMusic
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71950
    Without seeing inside it I would be slightly wary of that new one - the advantage of the old ones is that they use old-school discrete power transistors and (usuallly) big heatsinks, which makes them very reliable. A modern version may use an IC power module, which could make it potentially less robust.

    Although to be honest, for about £100 it isn’t really a big gamble anyway...

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • sweepysweepy Frets: 4158
    I used to use an old TOA keyboard combo, indeed I still have one, heavy as hell though 
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  • On that sort of budget I’d go cheap solid state. You can actually find super cheap stereo amps not specific to guitar for £50-£100 used that’ll give you loads of volume.

    Something like Jet City will sound great up to a point but run out of clean headroom at band volume.

    All that being said I’d up my budget and get a Seymour Duncan powerstage or if you want Valve a used Peavey Classic or similar.
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  • gearaddictgearaddict Frets: 894
    I'm wondering the same sort of thing myself...I tried the Harley Benton GPA400 and found it quite boxy sounding. The EHX 44 Magnum actually sounds a lot better and is a bit cheaper. People say they are not super reliable though. Mine has been fine so far. The best sounds I get are from running into the fx return of my valve amp. It just warms things up and gives it less of a hard solid-state feel. Valve power amps are pretty expensive though and it is probably cheaper to just buy a whole guitar amp and only use the power section, which feels a bit wasteful.

    Mooer are bringing out a small valve power amp which looks cool - not sure what it will cost though.

    At the moment, I haven't found a compelling reason to replace the 44 Magnum. Does the job, sounds good and is plenty loud.
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  • sweepysweepy Frets: 4158
    Cheaper to buy a s/h Marshall 20/20 tbh
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  • gearaddictgearaddict Frets: 894
    Yeah - too expensive.
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  • thecolourboxthecolourbox Frets: 9654
    edited June 2018
    Thanks guys for the input, think I shall keep my eyes open either for something suitable as a plain power amp or just for any suitable sounding and sized normal guitar amp up to £200 as on reflection it looks like going the way of the gsp1101 will get pricey with the foot controller, but we shall see.

    Cheers for the inputs
    Please note my communication is not very good, so please be patient with me
    soundcloud.com/thecolourbox-1
    youtube.com/@TheColourboxMusic
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  • TTBZTTBZ Frets: 2873
    The Alto FRFRs are about £200 I think? Seem to get good reviews.
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