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Hi there could u tell me if this a good quality 20w tube amp, is it fully tube?
Can you gig with it is it loud enough? I got a chance to play one in the store and it sounds awesome just wondering what it sounds like at gig levels? (i barely turned it up). Any reliablity issues with this amp?

Compared to mesa, marshall, laney etc is it a good buy?

Thanks Dills

Played one an loved it. Didn't have the funds, so I got a used Hamp;K Studio 84 (aka tube 20) Older cousin. Nice, clean, good dirty. 12ax7 on front, EL84 on the power. Nicely built (german)

Small gigs no problem. Plus it has the very good RED BOX DI balanced XLR out (to desk, with speaker simulator- - YAY

I trust their stuff

I have that amp.
As far as volume for gigs goes, the clean channel definitely struggles a bit if you are playing un-miked. You have to turn it pretty high and by that point it is definitely breaking up a bit. The lead channel is fine and plenty loud, even un-miked.

As far as sound goes, i adore the clean channel. It sounds good at bedroom volumes, and sounds like absolute bliss if you can get it up to at least 3.. I compared it to a hot rod deluxe, and genuinely prefer the Hamp;K. With the volume on around 7 you get a lovely breaking up sound, and with it on 10 a great classic rock sound thats not fuzzy but is very rich and dynamic. The reverb, though subtle, works well with it as well.
The lead channel is good for high gain stuff - lots of sustain and saturation, and a great heavy rock/metal sound.

The only disappointing thing about the amp is that it is not possible to get a good low gain/classic rock type sound at low (bedroom) volume. The lead channel is just too saturated and a touch fizzy (IMO), even with the gain on 2. If that amp had a lead channel with more range in gain level, it would be an incredible amp, and would be streets ahead of amps like the marshall dsl40 and peavey classic 30. As it is, i prefer the gain channels on the peavey and marshall because they have better low gain and crunch sounds, but the clean on the Hamp;K is definitely superior.

To answer your other questions, i dont know of any reliability issues. It is not amazingly well built and a bit of a pain as far as tube changing goes as you literally have to open the back and remove the chassis to change them - not good if you blow a tube at a gig.
Whether it is all tube i dont know. I would imagine the power amp section is all tube (two EL84s), but there are only two 12ax7s in it, which is quite uncommon, and it may be the case that the pre-amp section is only part tube, though I dont understand the ins and outs of amp circuits and nor do i want to - if it sounds good thats all that counts.

Thanks Zac great info, do you play any pedals in front of the clean or overdrive channels, im guessing if you used an overdrivei.e (boss sd1) to push the clean or lead channels youd be able to get a nice classic rock tone (low to mid gain).


Originally Posted by DillsThanks Zac great info, do you play any pedals in front of the clean or overdrive channels, im guessing if you used an overdrivei.e (boss sd1) to push the clean or lead channels youd be able to get a nice classic rock tone (low to mid gain).

I use an SD1 Boss into the clean channel, which browns up that superb clean channel very nicely. Mine also has a bit of that fizzy over-aggro thing happening in the lead channel. My Studio 84 (AKA Tube 20), is simply the older format of what was to be the Edition Tube. All tube.

The EQ takes getting used to. More mids, means less tops, and vice versa.

Also, with a tube swap, you can eliminate some of that lead/dirty aggro. But that clean channel is really all I use, cause if you hit it hard (level wise) with an OD pedal, it'll know it's been spoken to... bliss breakup

It deals very well with both single coils and buckers alike. Do go and play it again. Very responsive and sensitive to dynamics. It has voodoo qualities...

Agree with more-gear-than-skill - the right pedal in front of the clean channel does the trick. I use a hughes and kettner tube factor, and that gives every level of gain you can imagine from almost non-existent (but still adding extra valve warmth) to metal. Then i use the lead channel on the amp literally for lead playing only, for which it does a great job.
Can i ask what tubes you used to tame the lead channel?