Long time acoustic player who has just got back to the electric. I currently play thru' a Roland Cube 20 with a Korg AX3000g effects board & an early 90's Jap made Fender Squier.Finding the cube is struggling a little with the dynamics of the effects board & so I'm looking to trade up to something around the 50 watt range. Can anyone recommend a good VALUE combo..Probably looking at £100 max second hand though maybe be able to go a little higher.
These tend to go for around 80 quid or so, and for a little 1X12 they will take the roof off your house.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-deluxe-85-amplifier-/190561052547?pt=UK_MusicalInstr_Amplifiers_RL&hash=item2c5e52e783#ht_500wt_1156
There seems to be quite a few little tube amps for less than £200, but tube amps need to be pushed quite hard to get the best out of them.
I usually use a Peavey combo in the house. Check ebay!!
D28boy, could you tell us what you are trying to achieve?
Is it for home use, or with a band?
Can you give us a bit more detail on the problems you are having?
Reason I ask is because I believe that the Roland Cube 20 and the AK3000 are both decent bits of kit.
Like, are you trying to run the Roland "dry" and add all the effects from the Korg? Is it clean sounds or overdriven sounds that are giving the most problems? What sounds are you after?
SB
i know it's not strictly a valve amp,but take a look at the vox valvetronix + amps
here's a demo of the vt40+.i think they sound great (when i have the funds i would like to buy a vt+ amp myself)
Slightly over your budget, but the Epiphone Valve Junior has a lovely tone (if you like that kind of thing) (MusicRadar [url= http://www.musicradar.com/gear/all/amplification/instrument-amps/guitar-combo-amps/valve-junior-combo-17048/review ]link[/url])
@racefaceec90 - Chappers could make a box of shite sound good! So the vid don't count! 😉
I'd second the Epi, it's a bit more. secondhand you can get them from around the 60 quid mark. If you stick the tweaky bitmod kit in as well, then it's a stunning amp for the money and will probably cost about 120 ish.
I've got about thirty amps,including electronic modelling amps lying about the studio and I almost always end up using the tweaky Epi, just cos it's so convenient, versatile and sounds great. There isn't really anything else at that sort of price range I'd bother with.
I'm really out of date now but my Vox AD60 has been absolutely superb... I ended up selling off most of my pedals after I got the floorboard for it too. The cheaper/more basic models were a wee bit kneecapped though with only having the basic floorboard available.
Course there might be better options now.
Thanx for the help evryone.
Stratobiker- I'm using the amp to playback mp3 backing tracks whilst I play along to them. AS you say I think the cube is a good little amp but I think it's struggling to handle both jobs at the same time at a volume I'm happy with. I do set the amp up neutral & let the board add all the effects .The sound is generally very good but the bass end seems to overload quite easily. I'm really looking at something with a litlle more power just so that I can get a cleaner result. Current thinking is a Peavey Envoy 110 for the guitar & perhaps continue to use the cube to play the mp3 backing tracks.Does that sound sensible?
in that case mackie SRM150
not a guitar amp but does exactly what you need it too
D28boy - right, got it.
Trouble is that the guitar amps are disigned/optimised to handle guitar sounds/frequencies, so putting a full band backing track as well as a guitar (if that's what you are doing) is always going to be a comprimise. I don't think you are going to find a guitar combo that handles bass frequencies very well.
IMHO - for performing, I think you'd be better off getting a small PA that can handle full range then using the cabinet emulation of your Korg. I do something like this at the moment for small bar gigs. Let me know if you want more detail.