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Amps that is....I know there are some folks here who are experienced with this stuff.

My MESA is just way too loud for my new place. So I'm looking into some small 20 watt or tube head/combos. I *could* go 30 if absolutely need be, but I'd prefer 15 watts or so.

I have not played ANY of them basically..cept for soldanos/VHT's however those were big 100 watt affairs.

A couple that have really caught my eye/ear (from soundclips) are the Badcat Hotcat 15 and Fargen Mini-plex. I'm not above getting one of the new Marshall Handwired 18 watters or whatever since prices are somewhat similar.

My sounds needs are basically a good clean that will break up if need be, and a goodly amount of 80's type hard rock gain...roughly the same amount of gain as 70's Marshall or 800 series. I know the Badcat will do it. the Fargen will too.

My budget is roughly 2K... possibly could go $2500 with the the sale of some of my other gear. I'd prefer to stay right around 2K tho.

Can anyone make some suggestions? or tell me about the models I've mentioned? I'm not really concerned about brand names. Jes want the tone/gain and the lower power. If Rivera , Vox (those new CCs?) or VHT or Soldano, or whomever has something, I'd like to hear about those too please.

Thanx

Also I should mention if any of the modding companies like Splawn, Voodoo, Jeff Seal, etc. can make something like this, I'd def be interested in those too.

Guitar Player really liked the Budda Superdrive 18 they reviewed last month. Supposedly a really great amp, and I believe it's actually less that your target $2K.

Other than that, all 18 Watters rock. See my take on it at the link in my signature.

I've never been able to take the term quot;boutique ampsquot; seriously. Every time I hear it, all I can think of is John Cleese playing the moronic soccer star answering every question about the day's match, quot;I'm opening a boutique, Brian.quot;


Originally Posted by JeffBAmps that is....I know there are some folks here who are experienced with this stuff.

My MESA is just way too loud for my new place. So I'm looking into some small 20 watt or tube head/combos. I *could* go 30 if absolutely need be, but I'd prefer 15 watts or so.

I have not played ANY of them basically..cept for soldanos/VHT's however those were big 100 watt affairs.

A couple that have really caught my eye/ear (from soundclips) are the Badcat Hotcat 15 and Fargen Mini-plex. I'm not above getting one of the new Marshall Handwired 18 watters or whatever since prices are somewhat similar.

My sounds needs are basically a good clean that will break up if need be, and a goodly amount of 80's type hard rock gain...roughly the same amount of gain as 70's Marshall or 800 series. I know the Badcat will do it. the Fargen will too.

My budget is roughly 2K... possibly could go $2500 with the the sale of some of my other gear. I'd prefer to stay right around 2K tho.

Can anyone make some suggestions? or tell me about the models I've mentioned? I'm not really concerned about brand names. Jes want the tone/gain and the lower power. If Rivera , Vox (those new CCs?) or VHT or Soldano, or whomever has something, I'd like to hear about those too please.

Thanx

THD Univalve ($800?)is 15 watts max, but that really isn't that much lower in volume than a 50watt amp. Fab makes a 5 watt amp ($400?). Get one of those 2 amps and put a Weber 25watt mini mass inline with the speaker and you'll be grinnin BTW I have a univalve and it rocks

Budda or Rivera.
(notice the order I placed them in, Jeff. For me to put anything before a Rivera, you must check it out)

Cornford Hurricane.


Originally Posted by moog1000Cornford Hurricane.

Blech.

Budda, Rivera, Bogner (EL84 30w version), Marshall 18w or similar clone. I still think some of the best money dollar for dollar is getting something modded by Jeff Seal, Trace at Voodo, or Scott at Splawn. Each do a little different twist, and I talked to each one of them before deciding to go with Jeff Seal.

The advantage to modding is you can work with the tech to get the voicing like you want it, to your taste. It's tailored towards you. You can start with a lot of (relatively) inexpensive stock tube amps as a platform and go from there.

Disadvantage...resale should you change your mind on the amp down the road. The cool thing about my Jeff Seal modded amp is that he just completely removed the old circuit board and installed his own circuitry. Should I ever choose to do so, I could simply unsolder his board and install the old one, taking it back to bone stock.

Just my $.02


Originally Posted by TwilightOdysseyBlech.

Was that supposed to be 'belch'?


Originally Posted by moog1000Was that supposed to be 'belch'?

LOL!

Moog is slightly confused...

First off, the real cork sniffers spell it quot;booteekquot;.
Secondly, I think you might be better served with an attenuator or an amp with a better master volume than you would with a lower volume amp. When you get under about 30W, you don't have much clean headroom at all. Go to 15W and there's a good chance that you won't have usable cleans at band volume.
If you're playing at home with little opportunity to play with others, I'd seriously suggest you keep the big bucks in your pocket and just get a Tech21 or a modeling amp. Either one will sound better at quot;bedroom volumequot; than most any tube amp.
Another consideration is what's available at those power levels. AFA power sections go, you're probably looking at EL84s, 6V6s, or cathode biased EL34s. If you run an amp with different power tubes than you're used to, you might not care for the character of the amp.
IMO, The Gear Page is one of the better places to talk booteek gear. My involvement there has certainly cost me a fair chunk o' change.

Thanx everyone for all the advice..I'm gonna check some out...the buddas, etc.

This amp will be for bedroom playing 99% of the time with an occasional jam with some buddies.

and someday Ben...I hope to get down there and throw out my best on wrathchild, phantom of the opera, and Icarus ..lifes been hectic tho..work..my son. BTW Ben, whats Rivera have under 30 watts? anything?

I've got a ? into trace to see if they can make a low wattage V-plex.
and also thought about getting a low cost tuber like a blues Jr. and having it modded/rebuilt.

I do know I've had it with modelers for the most part. They just aren't quot;rightquot;. I can get some great tones w/ the Vox stuff for sure tho at low volumes. I know what I like to hear and feel, and prefer tubes, so I guess I am a tube quot;snobquot; after all The modelers don't have the touch dynamics I prefer and they sound like a recording of a good tube amp..instead of a good tube amp.

I might look into the MESA Lonestar Special in a head w/ a 1 or 2x12. I can drop that from 30 to 5 watts. I'm just not quite sure it will do the hard rock gain tones I like. Will need some tweaking before I can say.

Really this is something I plan on keeping for a VERY long time if I spend the dough..jes like my new Les Paul. So I would like to get something exceptional.

Short answer is no, Jeff, which is why I put the Budda up there first ...


Originally Posted by JeffB
I might look into the MESA Lonestar Special in a head w/ a 1 or 2x12. I can drop that from 30 to 5 watts. I'm just not quite sure it will do the hard rock gain tones I like.

I was going to suggest that very amp. It would stand to reason that if you already own a Boogie and know that you like it, another of their amps might suit you, too. I haven't had a chance to lay my hands on one of those amps so please give us a review if you check one out.

Happy hunting!
Rob

The THD Flexi is a very good bet.


Originally Posted by TwilightOdysseyShort answer is no, Jeff, which is why I put the Budda up there first ...

Yeah..thats what I thought. I didn't really care for the 25 watters they have...perhaps with a Voodoo mod and an extra gain stage..and run into a 1x12..they have enough gain, but it's not nearly as smooth/tight as the high end Riveras..

sigh...but thanx for the info


Originally Posted by HamerPlyrI was going to suggest that very amp. It would stand to reason that if you already own a Boogie and know that you like it, another of their amps might suit you, too. I haven't had a chance to lay my hands on one of those amps so please give us a review if you check one out.

Happy hunting!
Rob

I've played it actually..though at a full 30 watts. It's a SWEET amp if you are looking for a quot;heavy bluesquot; amp.. fender and vox-like like cleans to to SRV-ish sounds. I never did get around to trying the higher gain sounds, cos the low-medium gain tones were too hard to stop playing with I will have to check it out further.


Originally Posted by RidThe THD Flexi is a very good bet.

Rid, isnt that a high wattage amp tho? 50 or so?

I'd like to stay under 20 and then if I HAVE to attenuate at least I won't squash the tone too bad by having to bringing the amp quot;downquot; really low with it.

Thanks for the input..BTW..jes gotta say it..your clips rock man. Wish I had 1/10 your talent

Another vote for a THD univalve - has the attenuator built in - with thier yellow jacket socket plugged in (one EL84) I think you get about 3 watts - screams at low volumes. The Bivalve and Flexi are other options, I've owned both a Univalve and a Bivlave and liked the Uni best but that's my tastes. I've played through a flexi and was very impressed - lots of options and channel switching (the Uni's and Bivalves are single channel only).

The flexi can be used with a variety of octal based power tubes (EL34's, 6L6's, 6V6's, KT88's, 6550's, etc.) in any configuration (mix a 6V6 with an EL34), there's a half power switch on the front of the amp that lowers the plate voltage, with EL34's you get 50 watts at full power and about 20 watts at half power. Still plenty loud - but the amp has a unique master volume set up so you can get the crunch at lower volumes, it also has a boost/drive footswitchable circuit with it's own eq section.