Which Solid State amp? Yamaha DG, Fender Princeton Chorus or anything else...

oneinoneout

I moved to Canada this year and ditched all my UK gear before I left. Hence I'm currently on a very minimalist rig of one guitar (a PRS CE24) and zero amps. 

Since being here I've found out there is zero second hand market for cheap gear and most stuff seems very optimistically priced- at home in London I could pick up a Peavey Bandit for under a hundred quid; here (if I could locate one) it would be triple that. I'm in a house with paper thin walls so a valve amp looks out of the question, and I won't be gigging for the foreseeable so just need something to tide me over until then. I'm also pretty strapped for cash as moving has cleaned me out pretty much. Hence I've decided on an older solid state amp rather than a newer modelling amp for the time being. I don't need loads of distortion and normally play cleaner/overdriven stuff. 

So I have a pretty narrow range of options I can actually find locally- an old Yamaha DG 100 (with the motorised knobs) and a Fender Princeton Chorus both available for about 120 quid. Anyone got any experience with these or similar? I'm getting a little bored only playing unplugged...
Cheers

ICBM

The Princeton Chorus is a good amp - great clean sound, usable (with care) overdrive, and takes pedals well - but of the two I would probably buy the Yamaha if they’re the same price, it’s worth more and is a more versatile amp overall, with better light-overdrive sounds. The reservation would be to make sure it’s all working properly - if it’s not it will be much harder to repair than the Fender.

jellybelly

If I were you  i'd go out and buy a Yamaha THR amp, new or used. Perfect 'home' amp. I know some Vox stuff gets good feedback too. If you were after something bigger then I would have automatically gone for a Bandit too, but if that's out of the price range you'd consider reasonable suggests anything decent would be! Interesting that the used market is so different over there!

longjaw

I would go for a Blackstar Fly with the extension cab - get someone in the UK to buy you one and ship it over to you if price/availability in Canada is a problem

danishbacon

Just picked up a DG80 and it’s quite impressive. 

oneinoneout

I used to have a THR. Decent home amps definitely.... I think I’m more inclined to get something I could later use for live stuff really. I was probably naive about this market, thought would be like London where pretty much any amp is ten a penny. As an indication someone wanted 600 dollars for a used Blues Junior, think they are 650 new here or thereabouts. I’d happily have a Katana (used to have a 100w) but again can’t find one. With the prospect of many days at home I want to get something pretty quick :-)

guitarmangler

Get the dg 2x12!!!

The Yamaha dg is my favourite amp of all time. I stopped using and sold my Mesa boogie amp after getting a dg80.  Under £200 is about right, but also it’s a steal. 

I still gig my dg80 weekly (well, at least, I used to. Thanks CV). And have been for about 18 years. 

I’ve got, or had most iterations of the dg. The amp head, the pre amp. Holdsworth used them which is why I got into them . Fantastic cleans, they take pedals really well. The gain channels are incredible . I use pretty much only lead i and clean ii channels. They have great reverb, and have a short slap back style delay and trem and chorus. 

They’ve got a low mid and high mid controls which makes it good to tweak . Also, the input is an A/D from Yamaha’s at the time top of the line digital mixing desk and is probably why it sounds so good and reacts so well with the volume control. There’s an xlr out which can have (or not if you choose) speaker emulation.
 Only major problems are the weight, my 1x12 weighs close to 5 stone. That 2x12 will weigh approximately the same weight as the moon. Also, the motorised knobs are pointless, and if changing channels quickly is your thing, you be disappointed as there’s a reasonable drop out when you switch. I leave mine on lead i most of the time and just control it all with my volume knob and a tubescreamer. But that’s mainly because I’m lazy.

PeachGuitarsRyan

The Yamaha DG100 is a great amp! Doyle Bramhall used one when he played with Roger Waters on the "In the Flesh" tour, if you get the footswitch it's a really versatile and usable amp. The effects maybe sound a little dated now but as a platform amp it's great. A old band mate of mine used one religiously for several years and it more than held it's own, I don't think it ever really got the respect it deserved! 

maltingsaudio

Another vote for the Yamaha here. Thing about the Princeton it’s one dimensional so you’ll either love it or hate it. The DG can sound completely different depending on models used. 

YellowLedBetterMan

I like the SS Princetons. So much so I'm half tempted to requisition the one I bought my brother as his first amp at some point. They are hella loud though, and the volume knob goes from silent at 0.5 to too loud to be within 10 yards of at a hair above 1.

I have never tried any of the Yamaha amps, new or old, but they make a lot of quality music gear so I can only assume they're quite good at amps too.

oneinoneout

Went for the Yamaha based on all the advice above.... for the princely sum of 130 GBP. 

Have to say I’m very impressed with it. The guy who sold it to me said he was using a Blues Junior instead... I’ve owned a BJ before and I wouldn’t have one again, and definitely not rather than the Yamaha which sounds hugely open in comparison. 

The drive/distortion channels are OK, it this thing shines at low/break up levels. Really awesome amp. 

It’s interesting how Fender have pulled support for the older Mustang amps recently, so these of school SS amps show their value as they really aren’t complicated and give a great sound. One drawback though is (as a pp said) it’s stupid heavy, but I can live with that....