Valve amp for home use

Sassafras

BigMonka said:

Are the little amps like Epiphone Valve Juniors any good? Or is a cheap valve amp a false economy?

I had an Epi Valve Junior that I ended up giving to my brother because it was just too loud for my little flat if you wanted to get it at the sweet spot where it's just breaking up.

strtdv

BigMonka said:

Are the little amps like Epiphone Valve Juniors any good? Or is a cheap valve amp a false economy?

You're probably better off with something with a little more control over the tone rather than just a volume knob.

Small doesn't need to mean lack of features. 

What sort of sound are you going for?

A used Laney Lionheart 5 watt combo would be my first choice without spending a fortune. You should be able to pick one up for £350.

Alternatively if you want a thicker, higher gain sound, a Minimat would be nice, and has a built in attenuator.

If you had a lot of money to spend I'd look at a Mesa Express 5:25.

A little more powerful at 12 watts, but a Fender Princeton is also a very lovely amp.

The thing with a decent used valve amp is that it sounds better, it tends to be more responsive to your playing, and it will hold its value pretty well too.

crunchman

The Fender Champion 600 is nice for clean sounds.  The 6 inch speaker isn't very efficient so it doesn't get over loud, but it doesn't like driven sounds very much.

The VHT Special 6 is better than the Valve Jr IMO.  I've owned both in head format.

hubobulous

....a Marshall SL5 which can be switched between 1 and 5 watts. Great sound, valve amp and I just happen to have one in the classifieds in good condition :-)

bingefeller

I had a Marshall JVM 1 Watt and, IMO, it was still too loud for the house.  It sounded good when cranked but I rarely did this. 

Chalky

@samzadgan - I was being sarcastic about those who play at max dynamic with max gain and max effects. It comes out as a wall of sound with zero nuance and feel. Avalve amp in that situation does not reveal its true glory IMHO.

Dave_Mc

BigMonka said

I see what your saying though about the psychological effect, but I like a bit of ritual in my life, whether it be making a proper coffee or shaving with a proper razor blade.

That's way too new-fangled, you should shave with this:

BigMonka

@Dave_Mc is that a fossilised turd?!

Dave_Mc

)

Nah I just went to wikipedia to look up a pic of a flint hand axe But now you mention it, it is a slightly unfortunate colour )

But seriously, though, that psychological thing hits me with valve amps too- if I want to play for a short while I normally don't bother turning them on, either.

And I agree with @strtdv when he says you probably want something with more control over the tone (and especially distortion) for lower volume playing, unless you're willing to use pedals.

Neckwringer

You need a Vox AC4 C1 with master volume....great tones at sensible volumes..............

samzadgan

hubobulous;578449" said:

....a Marshall SL5 which can be switched between 1 and 5 watts. Great sound, valve amp and I just happen to have one in the classifieds in good condition :-)

How do you rate that Marshall amp @hubobulous...im thinking of replacing my laney cub when i get to australia and these SL5's are an ok price...how do they do with pedals and hows the bottom end and low mids on it??

viz

Go for it. I have three 100 watt valve amps and I've never heard a tweet from my neighbours.

Sassafras

That's probably cos you can't hear them with that racket going on.

BigMonka

Sassafras said:

That's probably cos you can't hear them with that racket going on.

Reminds me of

"My neighbour was banging on my door at 3am this morning, can you believe that, 3am! Luckily for him I was still up playing my bagpipes"

hubobulous

samzadgan said:

hubobulous;578449" said:

....a Marshall SL5 which can be switched between 1 and 5 watts. Great sound, valve amp and I just happen to have one in the classifieds in good condition :-)

How do you rate that Marshall amp @hubobulous...im thinking of replacing my laney cub when i get to australia and these SL5's are an ok price...how do they do with pedals and hows the bottom end and low mids on it??

@samzadgan - I think it's a seriously great amp. If it wasn't for me using the Corso at home for noodling and direct recording I'd be keeping it.

It really does have a good variety of tones - the cleans are nice and it takes pedals well on both the clean and crunch channels. I had the pleasure of meeting @thorpyfx at the weekend and we put his new OD pedal through this amp. It was lovely on the clean channel and pushed the crunch nicely.

The tone controls are responsive, reverb is pretty good and it sounds bigger than it has a right to.

samzadgan

@hubobulous Thanks man...ill add that one to my list of amps to check out.