Can you recommend a good tube amp?

Gear
#1

I’m an intermediate level player. I play electric guitar in my living room + bedroom at low to mid volumes.

I play mostly rock and metal, so I need distortion even at very low volumes — this is important! However, a good clean tone would be appreciated too.

I haven’t used foot pedals a lot but would be good if this includes a pedal to switch between clean and distorted sounds.

I play a Les Paul studio. I’ve observed that solid state amps sound a little noisy (perhaps it’s the electric interference in my home), which is why I’m looking at tube amps.

I don’t understand a lot about the relationship between watts and tone, but from what I’ve read so far, it seems that 5 – 40 W is the right range that will give me that crunch at low volumes.

Budget: Under $700

Thanks!

#2

Probably many others here with more knowledge, but here is my 2 cent’s worth;
I wouldn’t worry too much about a specific wattage range, (even a 5 watt can be super loud at home) and just go with an amp you like the sound of. Main reason being is that if you are mainly dealing with distorted tones, the preamp gain is where you are getting the tone from.
That being said, don’t blackstar do a 5 watt head or combo? Might not be a bad place to start I think that was sub £500 uk. Or lunchbox heads like the PRS MT15 might be fun.

What sort of tones you looking for? What players/bands?

2 Likes
#3

Thanks for replying. I (try to) play Rush, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Queensryche, Dream Theater, Deep Purple, etc.

So far, the Marshall DSL 5-watt and 1-watt combos (https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/DSL5CR--marshall-dsl5cr-5-watt-1x10-inch-tube-combo and https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/DSL1CR--marshall-dsl1cr-1-watt-1x8-inch-tube-combo-amp) look good for $550 and $400 respectively. Both have great reviews.

#4

Just a thought but if I was spending $700 on an amp I would try and get one that I could use at home or in a band.
I understand you are just playing at home at the moment but in the future you might join a band or want to jam with someone and need something beefier at short notice.

Of course having an amp at home that has great tone at low volumes doesn’t necessarily mean it will have the same great tone at high volumes with the same settings and pedals, but if you get a 100w combo or something at least you could play around with it at home and have it ready if the occasion arose for you to jam with some mates.

#5

When it comes to current production low wattage tube amps, the Marshall DSL line is definitely a contender. Peavey also makes some good low watt offerings, and if you can swing it, the Mesa line of mini amps (Mark V / Recto) also get good reviews.

That being said, even low wattage amps don’t sound great at “low” volumes (whisper level, quiet talking). In my experience, you’re gonna have to have them loud enough to hear a room or two away, through walls. If volume is a concern, I’d definitely look at other options.

1 Like
#6

Thanks for the input. Which other options would you look at for a good crunchy tone at low volume?

#7

Short answer might be a low wattage Marshall DSL combo, or a 1x12 cabinet paired with a low wattage Marshall DSL head (or EVH, or Orange, or whatever). If you want more gain, add a Tubescreamer or equivalent. Blackstar combo is probably another good option.

At around three times your budget, you’d be able to look at pairing a 1x12 or 2x12 cabinet of your liking with a Marshall SC20H (like a lower powered JCM800) or a Mesa/Boogie Mark Five 25.

But even there, as others have said, a tube amp at lowish volumes may not give you quite the sound you’re hoping for.

So, as a first step you may want to take a harder look at some of the popular modeling amps before pulling the trigger on a tube amp. This will also give you the versatility of having classic 80s Marshall type gain and heavier more “modern” gain in one amp, and let you get close to the sounds you want at low volume. Usual suspects in the price range you’re looking at are the families of Boss Katana, Yamaha THR, and Fender Mustang.

#8

I should have payed closer attention to this part. If interference is an issue, the problem is much more likely to be EM sources affecting the guitar’s pickups or electronics cavity rather than the amp. Faulty or poorly shielded cables are another potential issue. Also might be worth using an inexpensive electrical outlet tester to check whether the outlet you use is wired and grounded correctly.

2 Likes
#9

I used to swear by Peavey. I haven’t had a bad experience, but a local music store guy claimed that Peavey’s warranty and service have gone to crap in recent years, supposedly something to do with changes after Hartley stepped away from day-to-day operations of the company.

1 Like
#10

@Frylock I’m hearing musings of the same from Mesa after the Gibson acquisition…

#11

You’re better off with a 50/100 watt amp with a good master volume than a 5 watt amp that needs to be cranked to sound good.

For a while I had the Victory Kraken head which you could run at 50, 25 or 1 watt and all you got out of the 1 watt setting was that it was still loud, it just now sounded awful.

Having said that everyone has said good things about the MT15 as mentioned above - I think it has a lot of the specs of a 50 watt amp (i.e. transformer) just running at 15.

edit: If ss amps are noisy I’m not sure tubes will help with that

1 Like
#12

I was worried about this, I tried to pull the trigger on a JP2C shortly after the acquisition, but Mesa can’t ship to the UK until they have sorted out certification after EU/brexit shite!

#13

Currently playing through the Kraken and I tend to agree. I like the sound of the 1-watt single ended for some stuff, but it has to be cranked, which defeats the point lol. I’m gonna grab a Captor X and see if I can get by without a cab.

#14

Which solid state amp did you try that was noisy?
If you want good tones at bedroom level, you may want to look into a small modeling amp. Most brands from Fender to Boss to Yamaha make them. The tones won’t be as good as a tube amp, in my opinion, but having the ability to get whisper quiet heavily distorted tones is a factor you may want to consider. I use a small Fender modeling amp at night when the kids are asleep and my tube amp during the day.

#15

@PickingApprentice I can only imagine outside the US how hard it got to get a JP2C, and now (from what I’ve seen) the used market is all over the place.

#16

@superstrings coincidentally, as I was looking for a way to improve my bass tone, I started looking at the darkglass element (cab sim + headphone amp). They IMO don’t advertise it well but it also does guitar sims, so you could pair it with a guitar pedal / preamp (I was looking at the origin effects hot rod). You’re looking at like $250 for the darkglass and $400 for the origin effects (both new).

#17

My current “noisy” SS amp is a Spider IV 75 75W 1x12 Guitar Combo Amp.

#18

I use a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier.

It sounds awesome, built like a tank, probably will outlast me.

:metal: :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

#19

I have the Trem-o-verb head and it is like a caricature of the tube-amps-not-sounding-good-at-low-volume thing, it is just absolutely appalling on the gain channels when turned down

on the other hand I also have a Mark V and that can sound good at all volumes (though not ‘the same’)

#20

be careful the 6505 mini is really nice but Peavy’s QC since they moved production to Vietnam is known to be atrocious. Every time I go into the local music store there is at least one DOA Peavy product.