Like my Vox AD50VT, but lighter....and better?

RustySpanner

Hiya. 

Have owned the above amp since they first came out and I've been very happy with it. 
I tend to use the the Fender, Vox and early Marshall models, never really use the higher gain 'American' sims. 

I do use the built in effects, but also have a few pedals (Big Muff, Boss SD1 and a cheap Behringer Tremolo) which are usually left hooked up to my little Fender Champ 600 which lives downstairs in our living room. 

The Vox has enough volume to keep up with our tame drummer, but I'm finding it hard to lug about these days due to back issues and it doesn't really sound that great when cranked -  it tends to disappear a bit, no matter how I set it up.

It's superb at home/garage volumes due to the built in power attenuator and I use the headphone output a lot. 

I have the footswitch, which gives me three channels, two presets and the amp itself. 

Sooooo.....I'd love to replace it with something lighter.

Happy to sacrifice multiple amp models as long as I could get a nice clean and a decent crunch tone at all volumes.

I could sacrifice the effects too, but good pedals cost and I'm ok with built in ones, as long as they're decent and adjustable. 

So:
Nice tones at home and small gig volume.
Lighter than the Vox.
Two or three channels would be nice.
Headphone output. 
Nice clean and crunchy tones - no real need for massively high gain stuff. 
Effects would be a money saving bonus. 
I'd like to try an effects loop too. 

Any ideas?

No prejudice about valve/solid state or brands. 

I've tried: 
Katana 100  1*12 which was delightful, but weighs almost as much as the Vox. Sounded amazing though. 

I've also tried an Orange Crush Pro 60, less versatile but a cracking crunch tone. Too heavy, again. 

A Laney Cub head, Harley Benton Celestion loaded cab plus a nice reverb and delay pedal appeals, but I'd lose the headphone output. 

Budget is £500 plus whatever I'd get for the Vox.

I tend to keep stuff, so reliability is important, trade in value not so much. 

Guitars are a Japanese Paisley Tele, a Squier  Custom Tele II with P90's and a pre Trev Wilkinson branded SG. 

Moon on a stick?

ThePrettyDamned

Given the weight requirement, I'd look at something like the yamaha thr100.

Or a small valve head and cab - like a jet city and a 1x12 with a neo speaker. 

ICBM

You could get one of the new Barefaced cabs for a ridiculously low price at the moment, if you're quick.

For a head to go with it, the Yamaha THR100 sounds great and is very light.

Quilter also do a range of lightweight, powerful amps - some of them really tiny. I haven't tried one personally but they have a very good reputation.

HAL9000

Katana 50 weighs about 3Kg less than the 100 and is still well capable of keeping up with a domesticated drummer.

olafgarten

Katana head and one of those Barefaced cabs would work as well. 

noisepolluter

HAL9000 said:

Katana 50 weighs about 3Kg less than the 100 and is still well capable of keeping up with a domesticated drummer.

Do you find you need to change the presence setting often? I’m 99% set on ordering a 50 - easy portability is a big factor and I certainly don’t foresee needing the additional volume of the 100. I’ll probably get the 4-way bright onion preset switch so hopefully won’t need to adjust presence on the fly?

HAL9000

noisepolluter said:

HAL9000 said:

Katana 50 weighs about 3Kg less than the 100 and is still well capable of keeping up with a domesticated drummer.

Do you find you need to change the presence setting often? I’m 99% set on ordering a 50 - easy portability is a big factor and I certainly don’t foresee needing the additional volume of the 100. I’ll probably get the 4-way bright onion preset switch so hopefully won’t need to adjust presence on the fly?

Although the 50 and 100 are very similar amps, there are a handful of differences. One is that the 50 lacks the ‘presence’ control.

Other differences are...

The 50 has four ‘stores’. The 100 has eight. Not an issue for me as I tend not to use them.
The 50 doesn’t have an effects loop.
The 50 doesn’t have a line-out.
The footswitch connections are different (might be worth reading up about this before spending out on a Bright Onion).

Hope that helps.

noisepolluter

HAL9000 said:

noisepolluter said:

HAL9000 said:

Katana 50 weighs about 3Kg less than the 100 and is still well capable of keeping up with a domesticated drummer.

Do you find you need to change the presence setting often? I’m 99% set on ordering a 50 - easy portability is a big factor and I certainly don’t foresee needing the additional volume of the 100. I’ll probably get the 4-way bright onion preset switch so hopefully won’t need to adjust presence on the fly?

Although the 50 and 100 are very similar amps, there are a handful of differences. One is that the 50 lacks the ‘presence’ control.

Other differences are...

The 50 has four ‘stores’. The 100 has eight. Not an issue for me as I tend not to use them.
The 50 doesn’t have an effects loop.
The 50 doesn’t have a line-out.
The footswitch connections are different (might be worth reading up about this before spending out on a Bright Onion).

Hope that helps.

Thanks! I understand the presence is only adjustable on the 50 via the tone studio. Presumably it’s a set-once-and-forget thing?

I’ve looked into the bright onion 4x footswitch and it does say it’s compatible with the 50 so that’s sorted.

The other differences (fx loop etc) aren’t things that are important for my situation. 

HAL9000

noisepolluter said:

HAL9000 said:

noisepolluter said:

HAL9000 said:

Katana 50 weighs about 3Kg less than the 100 and is still well capable of keeping up with a domesticated drummer.

Do you find you need to change the presence setting often? I’m 99% set on ordering a 50 - easy portability is a big factor and I certainly don’t foresee needing the additional volume of the 100. I’ll probably get the 4-way bright onion preset switch so hopefully won’t need to adjust presence on the fly?

Although the 50 and 100 are very similar amps, there are a handful of differences. One is that the 50 lacks the ‘presence’ control.

Other differences are...

The 50 has four ‘stores’. The 100 has eight. Not an issue for me as I tend not to use them.
The 50 doesn’t have an effects loop.
The 50 doesn’t have a line-out.
The footswitch connections are different (might be worth reading up about this before spending out on a Bright Onion).

Hope that helps.

Thanks! I understand the presence is only adjustable on the 50 via the tone studio. Presumably it’s a set-once-and-forget thing?

I’ve looked into the bright onion 4x footswitch and it does say it’s compatible with the 50 so that’s sorted.

The other differences (fx loop etc) aren’t things that are important for my situation. 

Sorry, never used the Tone Studio; my preference is for plug'n'play and few options. The Katana is perfectly usable without hooking it up to a PC. My understanding, though, is that Tone Studio is easy to use and will gives plenty of useful options, but you won't be able to adjust them on the fly.

RustySpanner

Thanks for the responses folks, much appreciated.
I'm off to do a bit of shopping later, will let you know how it goes.

RustySpanner

Hiya.

Just a quick update.

Finally got to visit PMT in Salford and after trying lots of alternatives I ended up with an Orange Crush 35RT. 

I liked the versatility of the Katanas but much preferred the  tone of the Orange. Just found the Katanas a bit bland, very competent but not very exciting, didn't sound as transparent as the old Vox.
Nice and intuitive though.


The Crush 35 sounded remarkably similar to the 60, is loud enough for my needs and is much lighter than the old Vox.
Lovely tones on both channels, lots of harmonics, nice with pedals, seems to be very well built. 

Very disappointed with the Marshall DSL20, sounded very thin. Mind you it had just been unboxed so might have benefitted from breaking in. 

The Blackstar alternatives (from the Core range) were nice at lower volumes but not so pleasant when cranked. 

I'm very happy with the Orange.

Thanks again.