small but giggable amp question

mickie08 · Post by **mickie08** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 7:02 pm

OK. so I have been mostly out of the electric guitar world for awhile but will be getting back into it. I need a relatively small guitar amp with a direct out that I can use for smaller gigs stand alone or micd and I can use as a DI for certain casino gigs I do where no stage volume is allowed. I do have a Yamaha TH series as well as a peavey Vypyr and I can use the TH as a DI but the problem with that is it leaves me dependent on tone to the quality of the PA we are using and I do not always have control of that. That is why as much as I like the idea of using the little box as a DI, Sometimes it sounds like crap no matter what because the house PA sucks. I have a sans amp and a JOYO DI box as well and as much as they can sound awesome when dialed in right, I find that some time they just can not get dialed in because the speakers are crap, board sucks, etc. Using a real tube amp where I can at least control the initial sound is where I need to go to.

Looking for small >20 watts
ideally 1-2 channel
decent headroom (need more of a clean tone than a overdrive tone)
Plays well with various guitars
reasonable priced (definitely under $500 USD) but less would be better
new or used is fine.

Suggestions?

Freethenoise · Post by **Freethenoise** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 10:44 pm

Have a look about to see if you can find a Hiwatt T20.
Affordable EL84 driven amp that stays clean most of the way up the dial. Has reverb, a half power option and an overdrive channel too.

mickie08 · Post by **mickie08** » Sat Mar 28, 2015 12:34 am

Cool. Ill look around. Doe sit have Direct Out?

Mattsican · Post by **Mattsican** » Sat Mar 28, 2015 2:35 am

Peavey valve king micro. 20/10/1 watts, direct out, headphone out, verb, clean and dirty channels. All tube. I like mine a lot.

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Sat Mar 28, 2015 9:20 am

Why tube?

This sounds like exactly what Roland Cubes are for.

mickie08 · Post by **mickie08** » Sun Mar 29, 2015 1:34 am

I want it to be loud enough to use with a band, small and portable, but with a DI because some places I play require a DI.

Freethenoise · Post by **Freethenoise** » Sun Mar 29, 2015 9:48 am

mickie08 wrote:Cool. Ill look around. Doe sit have Direct Out?

It has a preamp out.

Bacchus makes a good point; a Roland Cube would suit you perfectly.

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Sun Mar 29, 2015 3:03 pm

I gigged with a Roland Cube (60? 40 maybe, can't quite remember but it wasn't the biggest of them) for ages. The clean tone is amazing, it takes pedals brilliantly, it sounds much, much bigger than it is (not just louder, but bigger. It sounds like a bigger amp and cab, although obviously it doesn't sound like a full stack or anything) and was plenty loud for practising with a drummer.

The smallish one I was using probably wouldn't have been loud enough to gig with, but it has DI out and any sound man was always delighted when I told them I was just using a Roland Cube as a monitor for myself and they could do what they wanted by way of micing or DI'ing it. I often got compliments on my tone from guitar snobs (who would gawk when I told them what I was using) and random punters alike.

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Sun Mar 29, 2015 5:02 pm

I'll support the Cube as a very convenient light combo with decent tone. They used to bring one to the Swan jam and I was always happy to use it.

Sloan · Post by **Sloan** » Sun Mar 29, 2015 9:33 pm

20w will prob not be clean enough with a band, higher the wattage the more headroom you have.

finboy · Post by **finboy** » Sun Mar 29, 2015 10:06 pm

Princeton non-reverb

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Sun Mar 29, 2015 10:32 pm

Tech21 Trademark 30.

Or 60 if you need a bit more headroom. They're not tube but have real spring reverb and great modelling options. Basically a sansamp with a power section and speaker.

Freethenoise · Post by **Freethenoise** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 7:01 am

Bacchus wrote:The smallish one I was using probably wouldn't have been loud enough to gig with, but it has DI out and any sound man was always delighted when I told them I was just using a Roland Cube as a monitor for myself and they could do what they wanted by way of micing or DI'ing it. I often got compliments on my tone from guitar snobs (who would gawk when I told them what I was using) and random punters alike.

'WHERE ARE YOUR TUBEZ?'

I've gigged a Cube 40 a fair few times when I was playing at the bar that was on my uni campus. I used to just plug straight in, use the 'Black Panel' and dial in just a tiny amount of gain and play the set.
Worked brilliantly.

mickie08 · Post by **mickie08** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 8:01 am

Sloan wrote:20w will prob not be clean enough with a band, higher the wattage the more headroom you have.

Gigged for a couple years with a tiny terror which was plenty loud. If it had a DI I would buy one of them.

As far as a cube Ill check them out. Had a blues cube at one point starting out but that was years ago. Do not remember being overly impressed but that could be my memory or that particular model

singlepup · Post by **singlepup** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 9:15 am

finboy wrote:Princeton non-reverb

I think the Princeton NR would be a great option if you want tubes. The non reverb version has much more headroom. Yet I wouldn't discount the Cube series either. So convenient...

sunshiner · Post by **sunshiner** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 5:05 pm

I'm thinking about such an amp myself. What about Bugera V22? According to reviews they used to have problems with quality some years ago, but modern issues are solid. And darn cheap.
Also there is the Infinium version of it. It is written that it is loud enough for small gigs.

Mattsican · Post by **Mattsican** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 5:34 pm

sunshiner wrote:I'm thinking about such an amp myself. What about Bugera V22? According to reviews they used to have problems with quality some years ago, but modern issues are solid. And darn cheap.
Also there is the Infinium version of it. It is written that it is loud enough for small gigs.

I had a V22 Awhile back. I loved it. The Cleans were great. The drive channel was a little "meh". I ended up selling it while in a pinch for cash. I sold it to a friend and he still uses it a lot and loves it. Never had any issues with it. It's plenty loud. It also can easily plug into an extension cab and the 1x12 bugera cabs for it are pretty cheap.

singlepup · Post by **singlepup** » Fri Apr 03, 2015 2:15 pm

sunshiner wrote:I'm thinking about such an amp myself.

yeah me too, actually. I would try a Bugera. I'm lucky in the sense that I only need cleans.

Concretebadger · Post by **Concretebadger** » Fri Apr 03, 2015 2:18 pm

What are the Cube amps like with headphones? I've tried a few amps over the years with headphone/D.I. outs, and they invariably sound like cack. Apart from my old DSL401, surprisingly. The small speaker worries me too, but otherwise I'm half tempted to get one myself.

sunshiner · Post by **sunshiner** » Fri Apr 03, 2015 5:32 pm

singlepup wrote:
sunshiner wrote:I'm thinking about such an amp myself.
yeah me too, actually. I would try a Bugera. I'm lucky in the sense that I only need cleans.

And me, maybe a little bit of overdrive to boost solos