Help with Solid State Amp

[Ron Vermillion]

I'm not performing any more, and am recently downsizing some of the equipment to just be practice around the house level equipment.

I would appreciate you guys and gals input on the best under 40 lbs. combo guitar amp to get that is Solid State. I've had loads of tubes - just want to get a good solid state amp. 40-70 watts, 1 x 12"

In particular I am wondering about opinions re: Line 6 Spiders and Roland Cubes.

Your thoughts and ideas would be appreciated.

Ron V.

[strat a various]

Cubes are popular right now. A few friends use them for backup amps. No complaints from them. They seem reliable, if you like that tone. I'd get a used Peavey if I needed one.

[popthree]

if you cut your teeth on tube amps, you may not find happiness in a modeling amp... i own a roland microcube and a cube 60.. both sound pretty good. the microcube is in my sons room and i loaned the cube 60 to a buddy about 8 months ago and don't miss it.

i have a couple of smallish tube amps that i love and use a lot.. i also have an old randall solid state amp that i use frequently.

if it were me, i'd get a small tube amp, or maybe a vox pathfinder 15R

[Jakedog]

If you need lots of on-board junk, either of those would be a good choice for home hobby use. If you have outboard FX to use, and want an amp that sounds a little more like an amp, and acts pretty tube-ish, I would highly recommend a red-stripe studio pro 112.

Second choice would be a Carvin SX100 1X12.

I own the studio pro, and set up right, it'll out Deluxe most of the BF SF deluxes I've run across. It'll also do more modern clean sounds. I'm not a huge fan of the drive, but it is very useable, just not my first choice.

I own the 2X12 version of the Carvin as well, the SX200. One of the best amps I've ever played through for clean sounds period, tube or solid state. It's really hard to find anything better sounding for clean guitar. I also happen to love the drive channel on this one. The whole amp is extremely versatile, and while I wouldn't call the built in FX "studio quality" they are quite good. I use the delay and reverb on gigs all the time, very satisfactory.

You can't go wrong with either. And both can be had substantially cheaper than the line 6 or the Cube.

I also have a line 6 spider III 75 at the rehearsal space, and while it can be dialed to sound extremely cool for a variety of applications, it doesn't sound as much like real calssic amps to me as either my Peaveys, or my Carvin.

[boomboomba]

I smile every time I plug into the Fender Cyber Deluxe, 12" celestion, 65 watt. If you can find one I'm sure you'd enjoy it too. Never played through a 12" Roland cube but was very happy with the smaller models.

EDIT: 45 pounds, over your limit :(

[popthree]

nice thing about the Carvin suggested by JakeDog.. .. they are manufactured in San Diego.. that's kinda cool.. and rare.. especially at the price point they sell for..

[Dan German]

I had a Line 6 Spider. I tried to like it, and I got some good tones out of it, but it was ultimately unsatisfying. Once I got a Vox DA5 and found I liked it better than the Line 6, that was all she wrote. If it were me, I'd be looking at Voxes or Peaveys.

[Ron Vermillion]

Thanks guys. 45lbs is still OK, 50 would be pushing it.

I have an AMPEG ReverbRocket 100W 2 x 12 and it's a bit to big. I had it on eBay but it didn't break reserve. I'm going to buy sell swap trade it somehow. It's a great AMP just too darn big for the old man.

Ron V

[ac15]

By most accounts, if price is no object and you want a solid state amp that feels and sounds like tubes, is lightweight, and versatile, get a Pritchard Amp. I was this close to buying a "Sword of Satori" model I found on Craigs list that someone was selling (probably still is) for $1200. These amps normally cost 2k, but are supposedly "all that."

Never heard one though but may get one some day. I love my tube amps just like most of us here, but this amp has me very curious.

By the way, it weighs 35 pounds, is 60-90 watts with one 12" speaker, so it fits the weight requirement.

[atroy]

Fender Princeton Chorus. 2x10, 2 channels, fx loop, spring reverb, a beautiful stereo chorus, headphone jack, etc... and very cheap. 38 lbs.

In the solid state realm, it sounds pretty darn good.

[diffeecult]

Find an old Peavey Bandit 65. Those things sound great. Or if you want something newer with built in effects the Crate FlexWave FW65 sounds good and weighs around 40 pounds.

[unbridled]

Originally Posted by atroy

Fender Princeton Chorus. 2x10, 2 channels, fx loop, spring reverb, a beautiful stereo chorus, headphone jack, etc... and very cheap. 38 lbs.

In the solid state realm, it sounds pretty darn good.

Yep! There are more and more coming up for sale now from $120 - $250. They are great, clean sounding amps with great spring reverb and they take pedals really well. Small enough to pack, yet large enough for small gigs. I have one that I bought new that has just been a tank for me. I saw one on TalkBass just like it that I would have bought if I had the extra $200. Two of those would be great!

[07 road house]

Originally Posted by atroy

Fender Princeton Chorus. 2x10, 2 channels, fx loop, spring reverb, a beautiful stereo chorus, headphone jack, etc... and very cheap. 38 lbs.

In the solid state realm, it sounds pretty darn good.

Best solid state I have ever played. I have one and it is the best

[BB]

In addition to the above offerings, I'll throw my 2 cents worth in with the Roland Blues Cube 60 and the Tech 21 Trademark 60. The TM60 is lighter weight and has some great tones going for it. The BC-60 ( discontinued, but they do show up used quite often ) is a real sleeper of an amp.......except to those who know and love them......with KILLER tone and very useable features. The Peavey Bandits, Specials and Studio Pros offer great tones for cheeeep on the used market.

[bruce123]

Tech21 Trademark 60 is a great little SS amp

[HOBBSTER01]

Originally Posted by Ron Vermillion

Thanks guys. 45lbs is still OK, 50 would be pushing it.

I have an AMPEG ReverbRocket 100W 2 x 12 and it's a bit to big. I had it on eBay but it didn't break reserve. I'm going to buy sell swap trade it somehow. It's a great AMP just too darn big for the old man.

Ron V

PM sent.

[guitarman_nebr]

i use a Tech 21 Trademark 60......great sounding amp!! i put a compressor in front and a couple of drive pedals as well for different levels of drive.

really sounds and feels like a much bigger rig. sounds great for home and gig use.

oh yea, some of the best customer service in the business, Lloyd is super at Tech 21.

[Tony474]

Among a big bunch of amps I own a TM60 and two Blues Cube 60s, and it's true, they're both great amps. The point about Lloyd and his customer service at Tech 21 is a good one. As regards the Blues Cubes, even the 1 x 12 is a touch on the hefty side at about 45 lbs, but it's worth it if the sound suits you (and why wouldn't it?).

However, in this context I'll still cast my vote for the very excellent current Roland Cube 60, an example of which I'm gigging professionally at present in preference to all my many other amps.

[JohnSS]

Peavey Bandit, Trademark 60, or Hughes & Kettner Blue (discontinued) would be my choices for under 45 lbs with enough power, tone and versatility you might need.

[nosuch]

vox valvetronics and roland cubes are nice digital amps, just don't expect them to sound exactly like tube amps, don't believe the adds. then, for home practice that can be a blessing as IMHO it is not possible to make a tube amp sound really good on a bedroom level. some of the modellers can make you feel happy though, cause the sound is more like what you hear on records with all the processing going on after recording.
why do you think you need 40 watts and a 12" speaker for home use?
I used a friends valvetronics 30 watts with a 10" sometimes on sessions and it was just fine.

[nosuch]

oh, and the peavy vampires aren't bad either ...

[Ron Vermillion]

Thanks guys, re: "why do you think you need 40 watts and a 12" speaker for home use?" It would be for home practice and the occasional "small gig" or jam session use. Assuming there is a small gig or jam session out there somewhere. I need to get out more. :)

Ron

[markinlondon]

I'll chip in here for either the Trademark 60 or the Cube 60. I have both at the moment and have a hard time knowing which I prefer.

[jazztele]

alright, i'm gonna come out here and say it:

if you want a solid state amp to do what a tube amp does, prepare to be dissapointed.

if you want a solid state amp to do what solid state amps do best, there's lots of choices.

i find the "cleaner" models on the cube to be quite good, and the amp offers a lot of bang for the buck.

but again, if you're downsizing and not playing out, why not just get a small tube amp for home and leave the solid state stuff to what it does best?

[Will Chen]

In the solid state camp, I don't think you'll find anything which can match the price performance ratio of Peavey's Transtube stuff. Extremely affordable and sound great, very tube like response. However, the Bandit needs a bit of volume to sound it's best so you might consider one of their smaller (and lighter) combos. Here's my review of the Bandit.

The Tech 21 Trademark 60 is another fabulous amp and extremely lightweight yet still delivers more low end thump (if dialed in to) than many much larger amps. The higher gain channel doesn't have nearly the wide range of tones that are capable from Peavey's stuff as there is a fairly narrow sweet spot IMHO. Clean channel is really nice with an extremely wide range of possible tones.

Then there's the Fender Cyber Champ. A very good sounding amp which nails the Fender vibe combining solid state and digital technology in an innovative fashion (similar to the Peavey Vypyr line).

One often over looked solid state amp which sounds fantastic in my opinion is the V-Stack amps which First Act was blowing out a while back. A bit on the heavy side but man the British Chime setting (I believe that 's what it was called) sounded incredible.

I've also had a 30 watt Roland Blues Cube which had a fantastic clean channel but the dirtier tones lacked high end definition.

[Ben Furman]

The Rolands are fun, but I think you will tire of having a Cube as your main amp.

If you're looking for a relative bargain, I concur with Will Chen's recommendations.

I own a Pritchard and love it, but I understand the prices can be hard to swallow (even used). Also great are the old Pearce G1 and G2 amps, but finding those can be a challenge.

If you want onboard effects, there is an older-generation TransTube Peavey, called the Transformer, that is functionally similar to the new Vypyrs but built in the US. It's an analog amp with digital effects. (It also has deep editing capabilities via MIDI.) You can find these for around $250 with a footswitch. At 50W, the 1x12" model is loud enough for smaller gigs.

Check out John Fera's website: http://tform.home.comcast.net/~tform/

[oldmark]

I got an old Peavey Studio Pro 40 watt amp, very versatile, bulletproof, very good variety of sounds and louder than hell. You could play small clubs with it. It's pretty small, does not weigh a ton but very tough and there are lots of them around used for very little money.

I love Peavey amps, and this is a really great model.
Added: The older versions like my 1985 are US made in Missippi.
mark

[Faraldi]

Absolutely LOVE my Peavey Bandit 112 TransTube.





It's 80 watts but fine for the basement too. I've owned a lot of solid state amps and this is the absolute best I ever played by a huge margin. In fact, I prefer it over a few tube amps I've owned/played as well.