Very light weight amps with good clean tone

[TelecasterSam]

A friend with back problems is searching for a very light weight amp for clean country playing. He is looking at the $150-$500 range. He plays living room jams to small auditorium size gigs. Any ideas I could pass along to him would be much appreciated. Thanks

[jimbach]

The first amp that popped to mind was the Peavey Bandit. Solid state, good clean tone, 80 watts into a single 12". Lists for ~$300. At 40 lbs I would consider it light, but that still might be too heavy for your friend.

[dconeill]

Whatever amp your friend gets, he/she should get an airline luggage cart to help carry the thing. There's room for the amp and a duffel or effects board as well.

[Jakedog]

Bandit springs immediately to mind. GREAT amp for country and such, and the new ones are only about 40 pounds, the older ones will give you a hernia though...

Another suggestion- Peavey Transtube Studio Pro 112. I have the Red stripe version and LOVE it. US made, 65 watts, 1X12, sounds killer, and it's only like 26 or 27 pounds. On the vintage setting, you can get almost dead nuts blackface cleans. The bandit is a little louder, and has a few more features, but if he is mostly home jamming with friends and such I think the studio pro 112 would be plenty, I even gig with mine.

I paid somewhere between $100 and $150 for mine used in excellent condition. I'd do it again tomorrow. Great little amp.

[Hoodster]

Define very light-weight.

For a gigging amp, to me that would mean under 40 lbs., in which case most of your options are SS. Is that ok, or do you want tubes? For SS there are lots of options. I'd get a Roland Cube 60.

If you want tubes, a head and cab is great option. The Vox Night Train is a tidy package and would be nice with a light 1x12 cab with a loud, efficient speaker.

[tjalla]

If you get lucky with one used, I'd recommend the Reverend Kingsnake. 60w, tubes, excellent cleans on the US (blackface-ish) setting, lighter than a Pro Jr (neodymium speaker). Has a 20w setting for smaller rooms. I had a line on one, wish I'd jumped on it.

Its predecessor the Hellhound isn't band either @ 40w, though heavier with a ceramic speaker.

[imwjl]

PRRI comes to mind. It's not as light as some but easier to carry than my Deluxe and you get 100 score on 1-10 scale for rating luscious dripping wet clean tone. It will top the budget mentioned here but it stopped AAS.

[Faraldi]

+1 on the new Peavey Bandit 112TT

Got mine recently and it's incredibly light, compared to other combos I've had.

Fantastic clean tone and very usable lead channel.

The TransTube technology is simply amazing in both tone and feel. There's actually slight compression and beautiful warmth. Plus, that clean channel has three voicings, one of which is a "vintage" voice which might be perfect for country.

[Goluphi]

This little guy is very loud and extremely light:

http://www.lunchboxamp.com/

Loud enough to play over an average drummer. May need to mic for gigs.

[Chicago Slim]

I'm in the same boat, as your friend. I use:

Kustom '36 Coupe, with an Eminience Lil' Texas (neodymium) speaker - 40lbs.

Peavey Studio Pro red stripe, with a Celestion Senty 80 - 35 lbs.

Orange Crush 30R, with the MFD back removed - 20 lbs.

All three have line outs, or could be MIC'ed.

[Billm]

I tried the lunchbox. Not impressed. Limited tonal range, as you would expect from such a small speaker. The "reverb" wasn't reverb.

The Fender Princeton 65 or Deluxe 112 (solid state) have great clean channel tone, could use a better speaker. Both are very inexpensive on the used market.

I also like the larger Roland Cubes or the Tech21 Trademark 60.

For tubes, Princeton Reverb.

[ES347]

Other obvious option (I have back problems as well) is a head/cab set up. Get any one of a couple gazillion heads and a 1x12 cab with a neo speaker.

[TG]

How about a Kustom Defender?

[RomanS]

Originally Posted by TG

How about a Kustom Defender?

You beat me to it - as lightweight as a 50W 1x12" tube amp can be, great Fender-ish clean tone, inexpensive - just perfect!

[Pepi]

check out one of the old Blue Vox Valvetronix AD60VTX amps. Sweet Blackface sound.

[jedi]

Fender Deluxe Reverb RI

[Jack Knife]

Originally Posted by Jakedog

Another suggestion- Peavey Transtube Studio Pro 112. I have the Red stripe version and LOVE it. US made, 65 watts, 1X12, sounds killer, and it's only like 26 or 27 pounds. On the vintage setting, you can get almost dead nuts blackface cleans. The bandit is a little louder, and has a few more features, but if he is mostly home jamming with friends and such I think the studio pro 112 would be plenty, I even gig with mine.

My exact experiences with this amp as well. It's plenty loud to gig with too, IMO.

[Ben Harmless]

DRRI is a good thought. The Peavey amps have come a long way - they used to be about a pound-a-watt.

The Peavey Classic 30 might also be a contender. It used to be the unofficial workhorse amp of the TDPRI. It can cover a lot of bases. Should be well within the price range - especially used.

The Fender Blues Junior shouldn't be overlooked either. I've had guitarists wreck my mix in 1000-seat rooms with Blues Juniors. Small, powerful, and toneful. It's probably what I'd go for in the same situation. Probably a similar price to the Classic 30 used.

[strat a various]

Polytone

[Tim Armstrong]

Vox VT30 is a great-sounding, very easy to carry, quite giggable amp.

Tim

[tazzboy]

Vox Night Train.

[mfguitar]

I had a Behringer Blue Devil that sounded great and weighed practicaly nothing, I wish I had that one back, and the studio pro, and the deluxe, and...

[garytelecastor]

Originally Posted by Hoodster

Define very light-weight.

For a gigging amp, to me that would mean under 40 lbs., in which case most of your options are SS. Is that ok, or do you want tubes? For SS there are lots of options. I'd get a Roland Cube 60.

Great amp, used it for years. I would probably go with the Cube 80. More clean headroom.

[JayFreddy]

+1 on the Cube 60. Great clean tones. 32 lbs. Every bit as loud as a 40 lb Peavey Bandit.

I own two Cube 60's and two Peavey Revolutions... The Revolution is basically a Bandit with a beefed up EQ section. I have back problems too, and the extra 8 lbs of the Peavey is noticeable to me, especially the next day.

Fortunately, for me it's not a compromise. For clean tones, I like the Cube 60 better. For overdrive and distortion, I like the Bandit.

If your friend is wanting clean tones only, he will love the Cube 60. The Cube 80 bumps the weight up to 35 lbs, but it's still lighter than the Peavey, and in my opinion, will sound better for clean tones.

[91xlntS-3]

Lots of love here for the Blues Jr! I've got a bad back myself and have been gigging my Blues Jr. for nearly 3 years. Has never let me down and has the tone I've been looking for. Maybe 28 lbs and is all stock. For larger rooms/clubs I just stick a mic in front of it.

I've also got the Kustom '36 Coupe, but it's way heavier than the BJr and with 6L6's doesn't give me the same "snappy" tone.

As far as a SS amp, a Fender Princeton 112+ or Deluxe 112+ would be great choices also, as would the Peavey Studio Pro or Express 112.

[TG]

I had a Cube60 for years and I got a Cube80 last month. 2 days ago I went back to the Cube60.
Cube80 has some very good sounds, but it has a really weird EQ section that made it impossible to make quick adjustments or to go quickly from one model to another. I gigged it a few times and at volume it sounds a bit harsh and ragged. And it's clean I wanted too.

So I'll stick to the Cube60 for home noodling and a few smallish live situations. Simpler to use and a bit lighter too.

I've ordered a ZT Lunchbox though. It'll be cool to have something that small and light for some situations, although I'm not expecting sonic bliss from it.
But I've read a few reviews where people have used it as a head thru a cab and found it a very good clean sound, so maybe...

[xjazzy]

Originally Posted by jedi

Fender Deluxe Reverb RI

I don't think a 20Kg amp is light!!!
Ok, it's lighter than a Twin but I still think it's too heavy.

The Roland Cube 60 may be the choice.

[TeleFunking]

Surprised that nobody has mentioned the amazing SCXD!

Light weight, tiny package, cheap and AWESOME Blackface clean tones!

[jkingma]

Originally Posted by TeleFunking

Surprised that nobody has mentioned the amazing SCXD!

Light weight, tiny package, cheap and AWESOME Blackface clean tones!

Well, that's what I was gonna say...

[musicalmartin]

Originally Posted by ES347

Other obvious option (I have back problems as well) is a head/cab set up. Get any one of a couple gazillion heads and a 1x12 cab with a neo speaker.

this is the route I chose for similar reasons .I can also plug it into huge cabs at studios etc

[Warm Gums]

I'm suprised at how light my Ampeg Jet is for a 15 or so watt 1x12 combo is is a feather. (I'm discussing the NJ made original..I have no experence with the various RI's) resonably loud.. You would probaly need to mike it for the larger gigs,it has pretty good head room (original designed for jazz players) but is a little dark compared to a brown or BF deluxe. I find running a eq pedal is a easy fix for this. If you need 'verb you will need a pedal, & the trem is great but not footswitchable ;-( How ever it sounds incredible, & has avoided the $ hype that surrounds the big names.. even with a major service/retube you should be able to get in to a lifetime of handwired goodness for @ $500-600....

[wildschwein]

I'd also say the Peavey Studio Pro 112 Transtube is a good option. It's light enough (I've walked several kilometers with both of mine in my hand on a few occasions) - also easily loud enough for gigging. I guess you could get it even a little lighter by putting a Neo speaker in it - although the stock Blue Marvel is quite light weight.

[Hoodster]

Anyone else wondering what happened to the OP?

[TelecasterSam]

Thanks for all the ideas. I'll pass them along. I think he is looking for 20-30 pounders. As we get older, lighter is important!