Finally going for a decent tube amp...

KareemMonzer

Boromedic said:

@KareemMonzer did you look at any of the suggestions in the thread. Did you not like the look of the Rivera that was suggested? It covers all the bases you asked for and is half your budget. Also its very well built and better value than any equivalent Marshall or Mesa. Plus its near you in London (I think!). 

Honestly and its not just me who has suggested it, you will be extremely hard pushed to do any better. I have no skin in the game, I don't know the seller. I just thought I'd offer a suggestion. Can't see why you haven't jumped on it to be fair!

To be quite honest, I have listened to many of the suggestions on the thread. And although I haven't mentioned it in my previous comment, it's still in mind. THE THING IS, as much as I hate that I'm doing this, I feel like I've held the Rivera in the back of my mind simply because it's not a "major brand." It just gets to me... But hey, I've yet to try it, and I definitely won't buy anything before I do!

Kalimna

ICBM - id be interested to know why you list the 30th anniv in the 'bad' column. Is it tbe excess heat, general build quality or overly complex circuitry? I sold my combo version because it was too heavy (35kg for a 1x12) and cant comment on reliability as i didnt gig it. Loved the sound though

Cheers,
Adam

JerkMoans

My Rivera which other people kindly suggested in this thread has now been bagged.  There is however a slightly newer and slightly less wattified Rivera Clubster for sale on this board, also N London based, also at a bargain price: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/118136/

Boromedic

I hear ya, but in all seriousness Rivera is a premium brand in line with Mesa and above a Marshall (the current line more so). They are boutique amps and more importantly, easier for any tech to work on when they need a fettle (which they will as its a valve amp, although probably less so than other brands). ICBM on here commented about it and that dude has seen and fixed more amps than we've had hot dinners!! Paul Rivera used to be in charge of Fenders amp division before going it alone again, he knows his onions.

In all seriousness though, yes you should always try them before you splash your hard earned, but honestly that amp will be worth the trek. All you'll need is a footswitch which will be another 40 quid or so I'd think. Amp for life otherwise! Good luck though mate and keep us posted.

Boromedic

JerkMoans said:

My Rivera which other people kindly suggested in this thread has now been bagged.  There is however a slightly newer and slightly less wattified Rivera Clubster for sale on this board, also N London based, also at a bargain price: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/118136/

Oh well!! Glad you got the sale mate. Someone grabbed a bargain there

JerkMoans

Boromedic said:

Oh well!! Glad you got the sale mate. Someone grabbed a bargain there

Most kind.  I accepted a fairly lowball offer in the end as I just wanted to move the thing on: put some funds in the GAS tank.  Which I've immediately gone and blown.  You know how it goes

KareemMonzer

Boromedic said:

I hear ya, but in all seriousness Rivera is a premium brand in line with Mesa and above a Marshall (the current line more so). They are boutique amps and more importantly, easier for any tech to work on when they need a fettle (which they will as its a valve amp, although probably less so than other brands). ICBM on here commented about it and that dude has seen and fixed more amps than we've had hot dinners!! Paul Rivera used to be in charge of Fenders amp division before going it alone again, he knows his onions.

In all seriousness though, yes you should always try them before you splash your hard earned, but honestly that amp will be worth the trek. All you'll need is a footswitch which will be another 40 quid or so I'd think. Amp for life otherwise! Good luck though mate and keep us posted.

Thanks for the advice man, this thread, in general, has been really helpful! I've been looking at the Rivera website (not the most user-friendly) and couldn't really find any of the amps that are on sale here. Any particular model or series I should try?

Boromedic

JerkMoans said:

Boromedic said:

Oh well!! Glad you got the sale mate. Someone grabbed a bargain there

Most kind.  I accepted a fairly lowball offer in the end as I just wanted to move the thing on: put some funds in the GAS tank.  Which I've immediately gone and blown.  You know how it goes

Hahaha, only too well mate, only too well!

Boromedic

KareemMonzer said:

Boromedic said:

I hear ya, but in all seriousness Rivera is a premium brand in line with Mesa and above a Marshall (the current line more so). They are boutique amps and more importantly, easier for any tech to work on when they need a fettle (which they will as its a valve amp, although probably less so than other brands). ICBM on here commented about it and that dude has seen and fixed more amps than we've had hot dinners!! Paul Rivera used to be in charge of Fenders amp division before going it alone again, he knows his onions.

In all seriousness though, yes you should always try them before you splash your hard earned, but honestly that amp will be worth the trek. All you'll need is a footswitch which will be another 40 quid or so I'd think. Amp for life otherwise! Good luck though mate and keep us posted.

Thanks for the advice man, this thread, in general, has been really helpful! I've been looking at the Rivera website (not the most user-friendly) and couldn't really find any of the amps that are on sale here. Any particular model or series I should try?

No worries mate, that Clubster which JerkMoans mentioned above would be a good start. Most Riveras are very flexible with great cleans and awesome drive tones so pretty much all of them would be worth a look.

ICBM

Kalimna said:

ICBM - id be interested to know why you list the 30th anniv in the 'bad' column. Is it tbe excess heat, general build quality or overly complex circuitry? I sold my combo version because it was too heavy (35kg for a 1x12) and cant comment on reliability as i didnt gig it. Loved the sound though

That's exactly it - including that they sound great… when they work!

The head version is better because the circuitry is the other way up and spread out more, so it doesn't overheat as much and is easier to work on, but it's still not one of their best amps.

KareemMonzer

Hey guys, I've been doing some research and  I found a few pieces of information that have gotten me to think again. So apparently tube amps don't sound great unless they're "heated-up" or turned up to 7-10 (volume), and that an advantage of solid amps is that they have a consistent sound regardless of volume. Does this mean that if I want a tube amp, I should get something with very low wattage? Because I don't gig or anything, just plain-old home playing... 

Appreciate the help guys!

ICBM

KareemMonzer said:

Hey guys, I've been doing some research and  I found a few pieces of information that have gotten me to think again. So apparently tube amps don't sound great unless they're "heated-up" or turned up to 7-10 (volume), and that an advantage of solid amps is that they have a consistent sound regardless of volume.

Not true, either for all valve amps or all solid-state ones.

MartinB

A valve amp with a good master volume, or just a clean amp with pedals in front can be excellent at home volumes, and I'd still prefer that to most solid state amps I've tried.  

webrthomson

The Rivera amps are great - I've got a K-tre head and it's amazing.

In terms of shamless plug I've got a Mesa Boogie Studio 22+ listed on here - less than half you budget and it's a great little amp, weak point IMHO is the speaker, but a quick change of that to a V30 or Creamback and your in business. I always meant to do that but did not end up needing the amp for gigging!

http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/118447/fs-mesa-boogie-studio-22

andyoz

KareemMonzer said:

andyoz said:

Quoting your OP..."I mostly play Metallica, Iron Maiden and Guns N' Roses..."

I really think you'll have an itch that needs scratching until you own a (good) Marshall.

Hi there! what would you call and "good" Marshall?

Late 70's JMP 2204 (50w) is a bit of a sleeper. It's a big head though but if your not moving it hey it looks cool. JVM are nearly there but it seems the Joe Satriani head really nailed but that's only available in 100w so overkill (not writing off the regular JVM at all here)

With your budget you could buy a decent 2204 and use the change for a Katana (for the quick can't be arsed with valves home noodle)

KareemMonzer

Hey guys,

SO there has been some changes to my initial budget and requirements... Unfortunately, I won't be able to spend more than £700 on my next amp, and it'd have to be a retail price since I am moving from London to Dubai in a few months and I am planning on buying my amp from there (hardly any second-hand options). I was thinking that since I don't plan on gigging or anything like that it'd be for the best if I stick with a 15/20W combo but of high quality. 

My initial considerations were:

Fender Bassbreaker 15

Marshall DSL15c or even the 40c

Orange Rocker 15

Although the Mesa was by far the most impressive, I won't be able to afford it as my next amp, so it's off the table. I've tried the Orange Rocker 15 and it was almost perfect... I just wish it had better clean tones, because I really need that Fender-y style clean tone. The DSL15C was meh, I wouldnt say it had better gain than the rocker, but maybe a little better clean tone. Finally, I tried the Bassbreaker 15 and found that it was just "alright" with pretty much everything, but I guess i'd like something I little better with drive/gain. And it doesnt have same fender-y clean tones as say the Hot Rod Deluxe does. 

I should say that I have yet to try the Rivera amps that you guys have kindly recommended to me, but the issue is that I cant find anywhere to try them here in London (at least not in Denmark street), and there are no dealers in dubai.

I'd really appreciate more advice guys, I really appreciated all the input until now!

Cheers!

Boromedic

There are options here in the UAE, but its limited to Marshall, Blackstar, Mesa and PRS I think. The occasional other brand pops up but I've not seen an Orange here thus far. You can import but anything over 300usd attracts a 5% import charge and from Jan, 5% Vat as well. That being said if you import from the EU will pay something like 15% less minus the EU VAT, but shipping will be something like 100EUR from Thomann plus you need a PO Box usually.

As for second hand there are some decent trading groups on FB here and an app called Dubizzle you may have heard of which is similar to Gumtree. You get amps on here sometimes also. I'll send you a link to some for an example. Valve amps here could be a pain unless you live in a villa, most accomodation is apartments with masses of hard surfaces like tiles and marble so it amplifies the sound. Not to mention finding a decent tech, they must exist here but I imagine it would be a drama to get one fixed. I would stick to solid state and headphones if I was you tbh, especially as you don't plan on gigging here. Don't know if the Boss Katana is available here I'll have a look. Failing that a Helix or Amplifire might be a better choice maybe.

Boromedic

Found this on Dubizzle actually, although it will probably be sold by the time you arrive. Not uncommon here though:

Hi! I have found this ad on dubizzle. Have a look! http://tnydu.biz/Eabtc

Boromedic

Boss Distributor here:

http://www.adawliahuae.com/uae/boss-katana-guitar-amplifier-ktn-50

Bit overpriced compared to the UK but its economy of scale here. Approx £250 vs £190 in the UK. Maybe you could haggle perhaps. I'd go for this over valve if you're in an apartment personally. They also do the 100w for £100 more approx.