Quote:
Originally Posted by appar111
I'd be using Esquires w/ single coild with this amp, so perhaps the Peavey wouldn't be the best choice. I had also heard they're not the most durable amps on the planet (certainly not as bombproof as a Boogie or the Rivera).
Rivera is leading the pack right now, if I discount the fact that I can get the Boogie for $475. Next behind the Rivera is the Richter 5E3.
If I do sporadic gigging, a small amp won't need mic'ing for smaller clubs, and anything I get up & play w/ my friends cover band at bigger gigs would be mic'ed anyway.
So either the Rivera or the Richter would work. I'll have to read up more on the Pubster to see how the 10" speaker handles things at gig volume. My Pro Jr which also has a 10" speaker did fine at the last gig and that was w/ a low wattage alnico speaker in it, so the Rivera should hold up & cut through fine).
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Between the Richter/Rivera it boils down to:
Rivera is a known item with known service, reliability and customer service. If you like the tones, you can't go wrong. I have found that Rivera amplifiers seem to have quite a range on the tone controls, so sometimes a little care is needed to find your tone (I read somewhere that some famous botique manufacturers limited tone control "strength" so guitarists would'n just go to the end of travel and find a tone that did not suit
Rivera does not seem to subscribe to that; he will give you more than enough control).
Richter is botique (and probably has the advantages and disadvantages of small production from a single builder). You probably will be fine, but future support is a bit of an unknown from the manufacturer. Of course, 5E3, only three controls, and one tone knob has its advantages as well. With less to fiddle with, you can concentrate on your guitar and your technique more.
With either, you will probably be able to find techs that will help you after the warranty runs out. Really, you will probably be fine with either of these. Most likely, it comes down to tone and $. Of course, I would say purchase what you can afford. Usually, when I cheap out, I end up going back at some point and purchasing what I rejected in the first place as too expensive.
On volume, I have an 15-20 watt Victoria (depending on which document you want to believe) with 2x10" speakers. It is plenty loud for most small giging situations. I have used at church, and been told to turn down below 3. And that is even when we have real drums and a reasonably loud drummer. I have a valve Jr that I run through and Avatar 2x12" cabinet that can pretty much keep up with the Victoria volume wise. So, 25 W through a 1x10 should be fine for most applications, and in the future you need more volume you could get an extension cabinet and have more efficiency for your 25W if you don't want to mike.