Thoughts on this list of amps - Edit: deluxe vs deville

samzadgan

Edit: So, after a bit of thought i've decided that i might sell my orange cr120 head, keep the marshall and matamp and run the stereo through 1 cab...this mean i have 1 stereo setup and then i would buy a combo as my second setup...so instead of having a smaller budget, i wouldnt mind getting something proper...so looking at the fender amps...the Deluxe and Deville seem like good options...i will obviously be playing these, but are there anything in particular that distinguishes these amps from each other?

the fender amp will be used for more low dirt and ambient style music...so my normal requirements of low end and beef are not necessary, but i would still like a great clean full sound that i can build on. on board dirt would be cool, as long as its not thin and fizzy.


ignore the stuff below...
Mid watt combo, with 12 inch speaker...good with pedals...all around $500aud...im leaning towards blackstar or VHT...would live a fender deluxe, but they way over the budget...

Blackstar HT 40/60
VHT Classic 18
Ampeg gvt 15
Jet City 22
Hiwatt T20
Laney cub 12R

Remember this is the aussie market, and there aint much variety...so dont go suggesting amps that probably arent available or way overpriced there.

samzadgan

Actually...a question @icbm...i know blackstar ht5 has all valve but has some funny ss output...do you know if that applies to the higher watt range?

ThePrettyDamned

Out of those, the Jet City or the vht would be my pick.

I don't think the blackstar amps have a solid state output, it's just an unusual valve I the 5 watt ones. The bigger ones have a similar hybrid preamp I'd imagine, but it sounds good.

They don't take all pedals well, though - ask @bucket as he had hands on experience.

octatonic

Fender Blues Jnr.

They are a staple in Oz, loads of them about, non-crazy money.

Peavy Classic 30.

Maynehead

The other guitarist in my band uses a Blackstar HT 40. It does sound great, a massive mid heavy room filling sound that somehow is capable of drowning out the sound of every amp I've used including a Mesa Dual Rectifier.

However, whenever he puts a boost pedal through it it just sounds like ass... like the worst farty sound ever. Something to consider before you buy.

GuyBoden

samzadgan said:

Mid watt combo, with 12 inch speaker...good with pedals...all around $500aud...im leaning towards blackstar or VHT...would live a fender deluxe, but they way over the budget...

Blackstar HT 40/60
VHT Classic 18
Ampeg gvt 15
Jet City 22
Hiwatt T20
Laney cub 12R

Remember this is the aussie market, and there aint much variety...so dont go suggesting amps that probably arent available or way overpriced there.

Don't you have Aussie Amp builders building Fender Deluxe type amps.

Here:
http://www.guitargear.net.au/discussion/index.php?topic=2009.0

samzadgan

good shout on the blues junior...i thought they were 10" speakers...but blues has 12" and EL84's...thats interesting.

re Blackstar...yeah now i remember it was a pre-amp hybrid, and yes I use to have a HT5, and it didnt take pedals well at all. Which is why im a little weary of the HT60 too.

Jet City is cool as i've had them before...but something about paying double the price doesnt sit right with me...its still a great amp...

VHT as i've read a little more this morning, is more VOX voiced, so could be interesting.

octatonic

samzadgan said:

good shout on the blues junior...i thought they were 10" speakers...but blues has 12" and EL84's...thats interesting.

Pro Jnr is 10".

Blues is 12".

They are loud-ish- depending on your musical style you might need to mic up or use an extension cab to get over a loud drummer.

samzadgan

octatonic said:

samzadgan said:

good shout on the blues junior...i thought they were 10" speakers...but blues has 12" and EL84's...thats interesting.

Pro Jnr is 10".

Blues is 12".

They are loud-ish- depending on your musical style you might need to mic up or use an extension cab to get over a loud drummer.

volume is fine...it will be a home use amp, and maybe jam with my brother on guitar...it seems a little more expensive than my budget, but given how different it is to my other Marshall/matamp, it would be worth it. Plus i read they take pedals really well...which is perfect for me...and the fat switch is right my alley!

Bucket

ThePrettyDamned said:

I don't think the blackstar amps have a solid state output, it's just an unusual valve I the 5 watt ones. The bigger ones have a similar hybrid preamp I'd imagine, but it sounds good.

They don't take all pedals well, though - ask @bucket as he had hands on experience.

Indeed - they seem fine with most pedals but they don't like fuzzes. Can get a bit gnarly if you're stacking two overdrives as well.

The amps themselves sound great though, and I've had no issues with mine at all except that. I'm actually still selling the HT Club 40 for £350 or thereabouts, if anyone's interested?

octatonic

samzadgan said:

octatonic said:

samzadgan said:

good shout on the blues junior...i thought they were 10" speakers...but blues has 12" and EL84's...thats interesting.

Pro Jnr is 10".

Blues is 12".

They are loud-ish- depending on your musical style you might need to mic up or use an extension cab to get over a loud drummer.

volume is fine...it will be a home use amp, and maybe jam with my brother on guitar...it seems a little more expensive than my budget, but given how different it is to my other Marshall/matamp, it would be worth it. Plus i read they take pedals really well...which is perfect for me...and the fat switch is right my alley!

Yes this is an accurate description.

I'm considering buying one back at the moment.

I still use my CAA in the living room with all my pedals and it takes up loads of space.

The BJ* is more than enough when paired with a couple of dirt pedals.

*steady on.

Richardj

I saw a friend of mine gig a couple of weeks ago with a BJ mic'd into the PA. It sounded epic, way better than I expected as on it's own in a room I had found the BJ's sound a bit 'meh'.

samzadgan

octatonic said:

samzadgan said:

octatonic said:

samzadgan said:

good shout on the blues junior...i thought they were 10" speakers...but blues has 12" and EL84's...thats interesting.

Pro Jnr is 10".

Blues is 12".

They are loud-ish- depending on your musical style you might need to mic up or use an extension cab to get over a loud drummer.

volume is fine...it will be a home use amp, and maybe jam with my brother on guitar...it seems a little more expensive than my budget, but given how different it is to my other Marshall/matamp, it would be worth it. Plus i read they take pedals really well...which is perfect for me...and the fat switch is right my alley!

Yes this is an accurate description.

I'm considering buying one back at the moment.

I still use my CAA in the living room with all my pedals and it takes up loads of space.

The BJ* is more than enough when paired with a couple of dirt pedals.

*steady on.

Dont type in Fender BJ into google...

i'll still use my marshall and matamp half stacks when i get back...but it will be about a month and a half before i have an amp...so i need something to fill that void...plus, i'm not taking back my laney cub which i used at night times when i didnt want to fire up the beasts...so this will seem to do the trick.

just listened to some demo's...its sound very fendery, which i like, but am i right in saying that it has bit more mid range as well? or is knowing it has EL84 impacting my hearing??

Richardj

It does have a slightly 'thinner' sound, but it is still very nice. It is regarded as a modern classic for a good reason. I'm quite tempted my self for those times I can't be bothered to fire up the Twin.

ThePrettyDamned

samzadgan;579664" said:

octatonic said:



samzadgan said:






octatonic said:



samzadgan said:

good shout on the blues junior...i thought they were 10" speakers...but blues has 12" and EL84's...thats interesting.



Pro Jnr is 10".Blues is 12".

They are loud-ish- depending on your musical style you might need to mic up or use an extension cab to get over a loud drummer.










volume is fine...it will be a home use amp, and maybe jam with my brother on guitar...it seems a little more expensive than my budget, but given how different it is to my other Marshall/matamp, it would be worth it. Plus i read they take pedals really well...which is perfect for me...and the fat switch is right my alley!










Yes this is an accurate description.I'm considering buying one back at the moment.I still use my CAA in the living room with all my pedals and it takes up loads of space.The BJ* is more than enough when paired with a couple of dirt pedals.

*steady on.





Dont type in Fender BJ into google...



i'll still use my marshall and matamp half stacks when i get back...but it will be about a month and a half before i have an amp...so i need something to fill that void...plus, i'm not taking back my laney cub which i used at night times when i didnt want to fire up the beasts...so this will seem to do the trick.



just listened to some demo's...its sound very fendery, which i like, but am i right in saying that it has bit more mid range as well? or is knowing it has EL84 impacting my hearing??

Actually I didn't find the blues junior did sound typically fendery. Not sure if it's the output valves the or the circuit as a whole...

I'm known for not liking them at all though, they don't have a good bass or a "big" sound at any volume. I reckon they be ace for dirty blues slide maybe?

I suspect you'd be disappointed with the lack of "hugeness" in the sound, knowing your tastes.

Conversely, I do quite like the pro junior. Sounds better in every way to my ears, more fendery, lets bass come through despite the small speaker, and quite characterful. If you're going for one, I'd think you'd prefer the pro Junior.

Also, I've not tried the latest revision of blues junior - so this could all be complete rubbish now!

A hot rod deluxe could also work for you, if you fancy that sort of flavour.

samzadgan

i was looking at the deluxe but its way out of my price range...this isnt going to be number 1 or number 2...so i dont want to spend that much more.

ill check out the pro. I've always been off 10's because i find that they usually dont have the breadth of 12's in the low end. But i will try them out...i found a shop in sydney that stocks the whole range...so i think on my first day, after saying hello to family i will head there and try out all 3...i say i have a budget, but we'll see!

octatonic

It is true the BJ doesn't have the sound of a Deluxe or even a Princeton- it is its own thing and it does it pretty well.

Also the build quality isn't up there with the best but there is an active modding commuting and it is a reasonable platform for it.

It does have a decent sound though, takes pedals well and I like its personality- I'm talking about the V1 and V2 models.

I don't know anything about V3 but I can't imagine it is massively different.

They do fit into most peoples budget more than they fit into their tonal-jizz-desire paradigm.

They are better than just 'worthy' though, imho.

57Deluxe

Peavey Delta Blues 1x15

ICBM

samzadgan said:

Actually...a question @icbm...i know blackstar ht5 has all valve but has some funny ss output...do you know if that applies to the higher watt range?

Yes, all the HTs are hybrids - but more complex than the typical hybrid like a Marshall Valvestate which has a valve in the preamp to add a bit of 'valveness', and all the rest is solid state.

In the HT-5, there are valves in both the preamp and the power amp, and also solid-state stages in both. In the preamp the valve isused in the main distortion stage and is boosted by solid-state stages; in the power amp the output section itself is valve, and the phase inverter is solid state.

I'm not 100% sure what the second preamp valve in the larger HTs does - I don't have a schematic for them. It must be either another stage in the preamp, or the phase inverter - but they still must be hybrids overall since that's not enough valves to do the whole thing.

Don't let that make the decision for you - go by the sound. I'm not a huge fan of the Blackstar sound, but it's *not* because the HTs are hybrids - some of my favourite sounds of all use solid-state distortion and valve amps, and I actually like a lot of hybrid amps too.

samzadgan

Thanks man...you know im not a valve snob...but i do remember the HT5 didnt take pedals as well as the orange rocker 30...in fact until i got the orange i thought dirt pedals were shit, because of the ht5...then someone (i think you) explained there was ss stuff in there that didnt react to dirt pedals like a normal valve amp.

The think i like about the HT is the EL34's and most likely i wouldnt feed any dirt pedals into it anyway, and just plug in a zoom g3 for all my mod and delay needs.

But the VHT and Fender are more my bag as they are single channel pedal platforms.

ThePrettyDamned

Actually, would an orange rocker 30 be an option? I have no idea what the aussie market is like, but that's a class amp.