I want a new Tube amp

[Franz Zlabinger]

Hi Gretsch friends

With g5622t I use a Blackstar ht20r- MK2, nice sounding amp if it works with no trouble. My unit seems to bold on a Monday and is not reliable. So I think about to replace it. I like to play Blues, Blues rock and so on but no high gain stuff. Want a amp between 10 and 20 watt. What's you guys opinion about, what would you recommend??
Regards
Franz

 

[cielski]

Fender Deluxe Reverb (22 watts) or Princeton Reverb (15 watts) take pedals well.
Vox AC 15 or AC10---easiest to find for you.
Marshall certainly will have something in your range.

 

[hcsterg]

@Franz Zlabinger,

Fender Princeton Reverb - Silverface, as far as possible, over the RI.

Not cheap, probably in need of some servicing, but once done : reliable, dependable, undestructible, fully repairable and offering an unrivalled sound.
Takes ideally any pedal of any kind, truly versatile amplifier.
Built for a lifetime, it's a true investiment.

I would not part with mine, for sure !

But it's me, OK ?

A+!

 

[Pine Apple Slim]

Honestly, as much as I love tube amps, if you don’t have a good tech in your pocket I wouldn’t bother, esp an old one. I just had my old 71‘ Bassman head in for a tune up after about 5 yrs ago when it was gone thru and recapped. He resoldered some joints, tightened up the tube sockets, checked the bias, and generally went thru the whole thing. Cost me$90 in labor, and he’s an old guy in a small town who works cheap by todays big city prices.Keeping a vintage tube amp running requires a financial commitment and a good affordable and trustworthy technician at your disposal. With todays moldeling or even solid state analog technology you’d probably be better off with something like a Quilter, solid state Orange, or one of the great multi processors that are now available.

 

[Emergence]

I don’t know that I’ve changed my mind about tube amps. I love mine, a Mesa Boogie Express 5:25, but it’s 12 or 15 years old now. And it’s MIA. I think that if I had to buy an amp today, I’d maybe go for a Tone Master Deluxe. I like the power scaling and the weight reduction. I’m not a fan of MIC but I don’t think anything like it is MIA.

 

[Neal]

@Franz Zlabinger,

Fender Princeton Reverb - Silverface, as far as possible, over the RI.

Not cheap, probably in need of some servicing, but once done : reliable, dependable, undestructible, fully repairable and offering an unrivalled sound.
Takes ideally any pedal of any kind, truly versatile amplifier.
Built for a lifetime, it's a true investiment.

I would not part with mine, for sure !

But it's me, OK ?

A+!

This, exactly. If you are looking for a life-time amp, you can’t do much better in that wattage range than a Silverface Princeton Reverb. Mine has been through so many trials and tribulations that it has lost all of its tolex. But it just keeps working and sounding great.

 

[Bob Perrone]

Fender Blues Junior. 15 Watts of great tube power - pristine cleans and when driven provides nice growl. Nice reverb and foot switch included to up the gain when needed.
Loud for a small amp too - you can gig with this. About $800 - a real steal for some great tone.

 

[Franz Zlabinger]

Honestly, as much as I love tube amps, if you don’t have a good tech in your pocket I wouldn’t bother, esp an old one. I just had my old 71‘ Bassman head in for a tune up after about 5 yrs ago when it was gone thru and recapped. He resoldered some joints, tightened up the tube sockets, checked the bias, and generally went thru the whole thing. Cost me$90 in labor, and he’s an old guy in a small town who works cheap by todays big city prices.Keeping a vintage tube amp running requires a financial commitment and a good affordable and trustworthy technician at your disposal. With todays moldeling or even solid state analog technology you’d probably be better off with something like a Quilter, solid state Orange, or one of the great multi processors that are now available.

You are right, but I absolut dislike solid state amps, don't like how they sound. Have a modeler unit, nux mg30 but only because it's a cheap why to learn about pedals. For the future I want to go as analog as possible.

 

[thunder58]

With g5622t I use a Blackstar ht20r- MK2, nice sounding amp if it works with no trouble. My unit seems to bold on a Monday and is not reliable

I'm surprised to hear that the BlackStar is not reliable . When I saw the title of this thread , BlackStar came to mind

 

[Franz Zlabinger]

What you think guys about Supro Amulet?
Watched some videos and fall more and more in love.

 

[Franz Zlabinger]

I'm surprised to hear that the BlackStar is not reliable . When I saw the title of this thread , BlackStar came to mind

The support just tries to figure out what is the issue. If turns out that only the tubes are faulty, then happy days. New tubes , bias , done. But there is the possibility to be a fault on the board , this would be a real issue at this amp. That's what I mean if I say as analog as possible, things are just easier to fix.

 

[rake_ether]

Honestly, as much as I love tube amps, if you don’t have a good tech in your pocket I wouldn’t bother, esp an old one. I just had my old 71‘ Bassman head in for a tune up after about 5 yrs ago when it was gone thru and recapped. He resoldered some joints, tightened up the tube sockets, checked the bias, and generally went thru the whole thing. Cost me$90 in labor, and he’s an old guy in a small town who works cheap by todays big city prices.Keeping a vintage tube amp running requires a financial commitment and a good affordable and trustworthy technician at your disposal. With todays moldeling or even solid state analog technology you’d probably be better off with something like a Quilter, solid state Orange, or one of the great multi processors that are now available.

I have to reluctantly agree. I currently own 4 amps, 2 tube and 2 solid state. While I love my tube amps (one is a very fine Winfield) I worry about future repairs as my town only has one tech and the well regarded one down the road in Atlanta has closed shop indefinitely.

 

[Henry]

All I can say is I love my Tone King Imperial MKII. There are so many options, I suggest narrowing by budget and any specific needs (gigging, quiet, etc.).

 

[Trash Kidd]

Another vote for the Fender Blues Junior here.
Crystal clean & also breaks up nicely & won’t break the bank!
I gigged mine for years before reluctantly selling it to raise some funds that were needed at the time.

 

[Pine Apple Slim]

You are right, but I absolut dislike solid state amps, don't like how they sound. Have a modeler unit, nux mg30 but only because it's a cheap why to learn about pedals. For the future I want to go as analog as possible.

Understand. I own
Carr Rambler, custom made amp kinda Deluxe Reverb "ish", but 6L6s instead of 6V6s, so a little more headroom on tap.. 1-12", 15 or 30w, world class tremolo and reverb.
Crate USA Vintage Club 2110R, from the early 90s, little 20w EL84 class A single channel 1-10" combo.
late 70s Peavey Artist 240. 110w, 1-12", reverb tank, 6L6s. What can I say, its a tank, blow the doors off any honky tonk.
71' Silverface Bassman 50w head. Home made 1-15" cab w/ Weber California 15". Big clean Fender tonz.
The advantage of older tube amps-classic sound and FEEL, can last several lifetimes if maintained, esp if old style thru hole large component construction . But as I mentioned maintaining them is the downside.
I agree with the Fender folks. Look for a decent Princeton or Deluxe Reverb and be done with it. Blues Jrs are fine too just a different character(EL84s) and less expensive.
Or a Vox or Marshall if thats your preference, that might be easier and cheaper on your side of the pond, IDK.
I would love to try out an AC15 w/Alnico Blue or that little Marshall Silver Jubilee combo. Or that little 20w Plexi head and a couple of Greenbacks would be pretty sweet too.

 

[hcsterg]

What you think guys about Supro Amulet?
Watched some videos and fall more and more in love.

What I can say about SUPRO RI is that they have a sound of they own - nothing to do with a classic Fender and it's great polyvalency, it's another world...

In my local music shop, I tested the Royal , the Saturn... Unconvincing : just bass, no treble. Not for me. Too bad : they are cool looking... And then my pal Frankie, the boss of my local music shop called me about a little 1605R "Reverb 1964" (RI) model he entered. I tested it and yes, this one sounded good, not Fender at all, OK ? But not muddy-bassy like its bigger brothers, just dirty-Soul-Funk. It's now at home, no regrets ! But it's only a 5-watters - a loud one though :

It was a brand new 2nd hand, still under warranty, that the original owner traded in for a quite battered... Silverface Fender Deluxe Reverb !

Moreover, it is a well built amp - by modern standards - I mean, not like a Marshall JVM/DSL or Peavey Classic XX :

That said, I never saw a SUPRO Amulet yet, but it seems an interesting amp, as is also the Supro Blues and Delta King that I could hear played by customers in my local music shop.



A+!

 

[Justingrind82]

I love the way Gretsch and Vox sound together. I also have an Orange Tiny Terror I like but they’re discontinued.

 

[Ricochet]

Maybe look at Matamp or Cornell. Not more expensive than the big & illustrious PCB names, boutique sounds, and infinitely better servicable than the Supro.

 

[Julio Iguana]

Another Blues Jr vote but also Laney makes a few lower powered tube amps that also are great for blues. Good luck finding one you like.

 

[MrWookiee]

I like my Supro Blues King 15W/12" very much but I don't gig so your mileage may vary.