Solid State Amp Recommendations Please

[wangdangdoodle]

I love the sound of tube amps more than anything, but recantly decided I don't want one over 20 watts due to unreliability, lack of clean head room, and weight. It must have the following:

1) Lots Clean head room
2) Light as possible
3) Simplicity
4) Equivalence in volume to a 40 tube amp

I mainly play Jazz and Blues but I can't really have a polytone or something because I do gigs playing anything from rock to folk, not really metal.

The Tech 21's seem really great amps, but they are a little hard to get hold off and mabye a little expensive? Your suggested's are very appreciated.

[dconeill]

Here's two:

Peavey Bandit - (redstripe, don't know about newer) - sounds good, very controllable, not expensive, takes pedals well, versatile. Sounds good with ES335, Heritage Sweet 16, Fat Tele.

Evans - Evans 80, and presumably others in the Evans line, sound good, much better than Polytone IMO I've always hated Polytones), lightweight, takes pedals well. Better at clean, but acceptable with the right pedals. For some reason mine doesn't sound all that good with an ES335, sounds OK to good with a Heritage Sweet 16, sounds very good with a Fat Tele.

Word of advice: don't cheap out. Cheap isn't worth the price.

[wangdangdoodle]

Thanks! Polytone's are cool, but I agree they can be a bit too boomy and thuddy.

If it helps I mainly play Tele's and archtops...

[mattio]

+ 1 for the bandit. The new generation sounds great and it´s not going to break the bank.

[neocaster]

We were talking last week about the Crate Power Block. 120w, tiny, light, and some use as a back-up bass amp (vote of confidence for clean.) They fetch around $130 used and there are plenty moving around the secondary market.

[Faraldi]

Originally Posted by neocaster

We were talking last week about the Crate Power Block. 120w, tiny, light, and some use as a back-up bass amp (vote of confidence for clean.) They fetch around $130 used and there are plenty moving around the secondary market.

I find myself amazed that I agree with a Flyers fan. However, for a cheap, lightweight brick of big clean power, +1 on the powerblock.

For a combo, the Bandit 112TT is my choice.

Fantastic into the front with clean and lead channels and awesome as a power amp for a modeling setup like my RP500.

NJ Devils rule!

[Robert H.]

I have been playing Fender tube amps for decades (SFPR, SFTwin and 62 Bandmaster) but recently bought a Roland Cube 60 on Craig's list. The clean Jazz Chorus channel, with a touch of reverb, is excellent. It's about the weight of my PR and sounds great for Jazz (my preference). Someone said, on a different thread, that it doesn't measure up to the Roland JC120, which it may not---but that amp is a beast. this is a great value (under $200) and forces you to really play, like a Tele, it picks up exactly what you put out.

[JohnnyCrash]

I rarely pull my Power Block out of the closet (mine too is a backup), but it even had decent dirty tones for being SS, lightweight, and inexpensive. Clean, loud, and small.

[cotecj]

+1 on the Bandit. The older the better, with a Scorpion speaker is the best.

[Tim Armstrong]

Vox all the way! My brother gigs an AD30vt (current version is called a VT30), and it's quite wonderful.

Tim

[roadrider502]

I was playing through a VOX AD15 today primarily in the high gain settings and it was real nice using a 335. I'm sure the 30 and 50 are even better.

I just sold a cube 60. I could never get the sound I wanted out of it. IMO it's a better match for humbuckers (where it sounded fantastic) rather than single coils. Just my take and my experience.

Today I purchased a Blues Jr and found what I've been searching for in the tone department. This little thing is amazing right out of the box for blues and classic rock.

[Robert H.]

Originally Posted by roadrider502

I was playing through a VOX AD15 today primarily in the high gain settings and it was real nice using a 335. I'm sure the 30 and 50 are even better.

I just sold a cube 60. I could never get the sound I wanted out of it. IMO it's a better match for humbuckers (where it sounded fantastic) rather than single coils. Just my take and my experience.

Today I purchased a Blues Jr and found what I've been searching for in the tone department. This little thing is amazing right out of the box for blues and classic rock.

Taste is a funny creature---I generally play humbuckers through the cube 60 but also like the single coils. But I couldn't unload a Blues Jr fast enough when I bought one a few years ago. Too thin and biting for my taste---so I went with a '75 SFPR which is great with a Tele to my ears...

[Togman]

Another user of the Roland Cube here. I have been using the Cube 30 for the last 3 years with my '68 Tele.

[TG]

Cube60 fan here.

Not the Cube80x, though. The EQ behaviour is insane and it doesn't give you the plug in and play simplicity I get with the Cube60.

If you see a Cube60 give it a go. You'll know quick enough if it's 'you'. They are being discontinued (stupidly) too so there are deals to be had.

[Tele-phone man]

From the criteria you put forth, I would keep looking for a deal on a Trademark 60 (the Trademark 30 won't be powerfull enough). It seems to fit your needs. I've owned one, and they are very nice, and easy to move around.

My next suggestion would be a Peavey Bandit. The smallest and lightest version is the Bandit 65, but the later versions had better lead channels. All can be had for next to nothing, and there are literally thousands out there for sale at any given moment. Excellent build and reliability.

[JayFreddy]

Originally Posted by wangdangdoodle

I love the sound of tube amps more than anything, but recantly decided I don't want one over 20 watts due to unreliability, lack of clean head room, and weight. It must have the following:

1) Lots Clean head room
2) Light as possible
3) Simplicity
4) Equivalence in volume to a 40 tube amp

I mainly play Jazz and Blues but I can't really have a polytone or something because I do gigs playing anything from rock to folk, not really metal.

The Tech 21's seem really great amps, but they are a little hard to get hold off and mabye a little expensive? Your suggested's are very appreciated.

Since you didn't say anything about price being an issue, my first suggestion is the Fender Jazzmaster Ultralite.

The downside to that amp is that, besides being pricey, it essentially requires the matching Fender cab in order to get the best quality tone, and those are expensive too, if and when you can even find them... Looks like they have been discontinued, so maybe you can find a deal. Head and cab together are about 25 lbs total.

The Cube 60 is another good option. Weighs only 32 lbs. Not quite as much headroom as the Jazzmaster Ultralite, but it's loud enough for most real world situations. If price were a consideration, then the Cube60 would be my first suggestion.

The Bandit is another good option, but the new ones weigh about 40 lbs., the old ones are even heavier.

I used to own a Tech 21 TM60. I liked it enough to buy one, but after about a year, the sound seemed to get stale to my ears, almost like a tube amp with stale power tubes. Other people would still compliment the tone, but it just wasn't doing it for me anymore. I don't think the tone changed, I think my ears just got tired of the sound, YMMV. The TM60 weighs about 40 lbs., so it's not exactly lightweight either.

Originally Posted by Tele-phone man

My next suggestion would be a Peavey Bandit. The smallest and lightest version is the Bandit 65, but the later versions had better lead channels.

Not true, the newest Bandit is significantly lighter than the Bandit 65, and it has more power too. The Bandit 65, with it's Scorpion speaker, weighed over 50 lbs. The new ones are about 40 lbs, and push 80 watts instead of 65. In fact, the new ones are designed to deliver 100 watts at 4 ohms, so you get 100 watts when driving the internal 8 ohm speaker along with an external 8 ohm cab (speaker jacks are wired in parallel...)

[wildschwein]

Peavey Bandits are all a great choice. Slightly smaller and lighter, but sharing similar electronics to the Bandit, is the Transtube Studio Pro 112 which is 65w but plenty loud enough for gigging. Sounds more like 100w. Nice cleans and good lower gain dirt sounds - will do just about any style pretty well but especially Blues, Country and Classic Rock stuff. The Epiphone Triggerman 60DSP combo is also a great SS amp and the clean channel is magnificent for Jazz, Rockabilly and Blues - a tube screamer or similar od in front sounds great too and opens up a lot of great Rock sounds. The dirt channel can do fuzz pretty well. The built in FX really sound awesome - reverb is independent of the flange/chorus/delay settings. I loved mine so much I went and got the 100w head version as well.

[Steve G]

As a fellow UK tele picker Id say PV/T21 or cube would all be good. The trademark 60 (tech21) goes for about £200 second hand, theres a cube on for £120 right now and the peaveys are less than a ton.
Ive used and like them all but for its versatility Id go for the cube. Some of the tech 21's seem to have some reliability issues, less likely to be a problem with the other two. They do just have the edge for tonal quality though IMO.

[TG]

Originally Posted by JayFreddy

I used to own a Tech 21 TM60. I liked it enough to buy one, but after about a year, the sound seemed to get stale to my ears, almost like a tube amp with stale power tubes. Other people would still compliment the tone, but it just wasn't doing it for me anymore. I don't think the tone changed, I think my ears just got tired of the sound, YMMV. The TM60 weighs about 40 lbs., so it's not exactly lightweight either.

I had the Trademark10 for a while and the same thing happened. People said I sounded good but to my ears it was dull and lifeless. It didn't make me want to play. I was never so glad when it developed a fault and I was able to take it back and swap it for my Blues Junior.

I've also tried one of the recent Peavey tranny amps. Not the Bandit, the next one down. Sitting home it was nice enough, but if I tried to use it with a band anywhere it was thin and empty. I couldn't just plug in to the clean channel with no effects and play comfortably at a jam or a gig, and want to keep playing...which is my litmus test for any amp.
With a decent tube amp you can do that, but the only solid state amp I've ever found that's been that way has been my Cube60. Find a cleanish blackface setting, plug one end of a lead into my guitar and the other end into the amp and off I go. Whole gigs.

[BB]

Originally Posted by TG

Sitting home it was nice enough, but if I tried to use it with a band anywhere it was thin and empty.

This is where the truth lies if you're gigging. Many amps (tube or solid state) sound great playing at home, but get lost in the mix in a gig situation. The Roland Blues Cube amps (in my experience, ymmv) shine in this situation. I've gigged next to Marshall tube amps, Fender Tube amps, Traynor Tube amps, et cet and the Blues Cube has not only held it's own, but in many cases (to my ears and others in the crowd) surpassed what was coming from the other end of the stage.

[Will Chen]

Based on your statements, there's only 2 which immediately come to mind and those are the Peavey Bandit 112 or Tech 21 Trademark 60. Both have very good clean headroom with the Bandit having more as it's a louder amp. The Bandit is around 42 pounds while the TM60 is just over 35 pounds in a smaller enclosure. The TM60 has a huge low end if you want it while the Bandit is voiced a bit tighter in the lows. Conversely the Bandit has an extended high end to the point of being just a touch harsh with certain guitars and cranked highs while the TM60 cuts out the very high end of the spectrum, not dark by any means but just doesn't have the same "cut" or perhaps might be described as "warmer". I've gigged both and anyone having issues being heard or cutting through didn't have them dialed in. Both are dual channel but the TM60 has a shared master eq. Both also offer footswitchable boost. Both also offer an effects loop and the TM60's is also footswitchable.

[dmgcaster]

Originally Posted by dconeill

Word of advice: don't cheap out. Cheap isn't worth the price.

Truer words were never spoken.

Some Folks will tell you that there is no such creature as a boutique SS amp. For them, the only amps worth those kind o' bones are ones built by reclusive, morbidly obese eccentrics who behave like the soup **** from Jerry Seinfield, "You called before it was done?! No Amp for you!...and I'm keeping the deposit...Cretin!" Then they can Twitter each other in the know, "He's such a genious!"

I own a Pritchard Sword of Satori 1/15 TB.

http://www.pritchardamps.com/pritchardamps.htm

All Erics amp's are named after bladed implements, not because he has some sword and sorcery fetish but, because it is the nature of all of his amps to "Slice" through the mix and NEVER be lost or absorbed but to Cut right through.

-David
Hey! The word for the WWII National Socialist Party has been zapped! What P.C. tripe! What gives, huh?

[jefrs]

As you're in the UK, try to find a s/h Sessionette.

Imo better than the Bandit and the other PV Valvestates e.g. Express.

Or you might find a s/h Peterson jazz amp e.g. http://www.justgreatguitars.com/prod...amp-P120G.aspx

[Ben Furman]

Originally Posted by JayFreddy

I used to own a Tech 21 TM60. I liked it enough to buy one, but after about a year, the sound seemed to get stale to my ears, almost like a tube amp with stale power tubes. Other people would still compliment the tone, but it just wasn't doing it for me anymore. I don't think the tone changed, I think my ears just got tired of the sound, YMMV.

Your experience exactly parallels my own. The Tech 21 gear definitely has a signature sound. For that reason, I would recommend a Peavey Bandit, Transformer, or Vypyr if price is a consideration.

As for weight, the TM60 is actually only 32 lbs. That is lighter than my Pritchard, which is 35 lbs. (but more compact). The Peaveys are physically larger and can be a bit heavier, but I still think of them as grab-and-go.

[nosuch]

Originally Posted by jefrs

As you're in the UK, try to find a s/h Sessionette.

+1

[jkingma]

The Roland Cube 30s and 60s are great amps.

[Tony474]

Among others I own a Roland Cube 60, a Tech 21 Trademark 60 and not one but two Roland Blues Cube BC-60s, 1 x 12 and 3 x 10. Love 'em all. I've also owned no fewer than six Sessionettes over the years as well as a couple of Peavey SS amps. But for your purposes I'd recommend the recently-discontinued Cube 60 above all the others, hands down, no question. These days it's very seldom indeed that I gig with anything else.

[nickrom]

Does anyone like the Princeton Chorus? I have not had a chance to try one, but the specs look good. I have been thinking about getting one because of the clean tones, the 2 10's, the front panel effects loop and the $225 US price average. It seems like a decent option on the solid state side.

[tdu]

Originally Posted by Tony474

Among others I own a Roland Cube 60, a Tech 21 Trademark 60 and not one but two Roland Blues Cube BC-60s, 1 x 12 and 3 x 10. Love 'em all. I've also owned no fewer than six Sessionettes over the years as well as a couple of Peavey SS amps. But for your purposes I'd recommend the recently-discontinued Cube 60 above all the others, hands down, no question. These days it's very seldom indeed that I gig with anything else.

Ya I recently got a used Cube 60 and it's fantastic. Light, loud, and sounds great.

[Big Tony]

+ 1 for the Crate Powerblock head

+ 1 for the latest model of the Peavey Bandit combo amp

/ Tony

[JohnS]

I am the voice crying in the wilderness for the venerable Fender M-80. 35#, Great clean channel, 69 watts. Ignore the distortion channel and you have a nice portable jazz amp for cheap. I paid $40 for mine.

[JohnSS]

Big Peavey Bandit fan here. I also use a transtube Blazer for small church gigs and recording sessions. I also use a Behringer GX110, Yamaha G30112 for regular guitar and an Epiphone EP800R for lap steel. My tube amp is a Music Man HD210, but I save that for large outdoor gigs since 130 watts is overkill for most of my playing requirements.

I don't find tube amps to be superior to SS amps, just different. I can get the sounds that I want out of either, depending upon what works for the song in question. I have a number of stompboxes that I also use: hardwire Valve Distortion, dano Cool Cat OD and FAB OD, BBE Mind Bender, Soul Vibe, Delta Lab DD-1, Boss DM-2, DOD FX50 OD. and a Cry Baby.

If you like the analog modeling of Tech 21 amps but they are out of your price range, Behringer's GMX amps have a clone of that circuit with more power amp and clean headroom w/Jensen speakers, but less articulation than the Trademark amps.

[MondoGuitar]

Fender Princeton chorus if you're on a budget. Redknob California made if possible. (<$300)

Or a Mesa Maverick if you have a bit of dough. I toured briefly with a Garth Brooks tribute using one, awesome little combo amp with the ability to switch between tube and SS. I got more compliments on my distorted tone from that amp than any SS I've ever used and the cleans are magic.

I teach through a Laney LV200 -- and it sounds downright amazing at times, but it's one of those amps that is really dependent on the guitar, i.e. with some guitars it's downright amazing (best JB rhythm sound I could find in a small combo for my Seymour-laden Lado) and with some guitars it sounds cheap.

The Fender Princeton has a knack of making all guitars sound good. It's what my students play through and they're constantly mentioning how great the stereo 10"s sound. (stereo effects send) And they're very reliable.

Also the Fender Princeton has the best sounding line out I've ever heard in a small combo amp. Plug it in and you get a usable recorded sound. I was surprised at that. (the blackknobs not so much) All in all, for $200 my current redknob (one original owner, never used) was the best value I've ever gotten on any amp, tube or SS.

The Fender DSPs are hit and miss, but can also be a very decent budget amp.

+1 on Roland Cube 60. Workhorse supreme. Great clean sounds. Not my bag for dirty but no worse than the Princeton. Happy pickin'. :)

[keithcc]

Originally Posted by dmgcaster

Truer words were never spoken.

Some Folks will tell you that there is no such creature as a boutique SS amp. For them, the only amps worth those kind o' bones are ones built by reclusive, morbidly obese eccentrics who behave like the soup **** from Jerry Seinfield, "You called before it was done?! No Amp for you!...and I'm keeping the deposit...Cretin!" Then they can Twitter each other in the know, "He's such a genious!"

I own a Pritchard Sword of Satori 1/15 TB.

http://www.pritchardamps.com/pritchardamps.htm

All Erics amp's are named after bladed implements, not because he has some sword and sorcery fetish but, because it is the nature of all of his amps to "Slice" through the mix and NEVER be lost or absorbed but to Cut right through.

The NSDAP would have been, as Albert Goldman said of the H-man's likely rection to the Stones, "gassed out of their kugel" to learn that seventy years later and half a world away they were still famous.

The same with Dumbbell.

At any rate, my favorite solid state amp is not a regular guitar amp but the old Altec amp made for drive ins and emergency paging systems. It runs off ragular 120 VAC, but also 24 volt battery (two motorcycle batts in series) and supplies 24 volts DC to trickle charge them for when the juice runs out. They are cheap, and easy to fix.

You use them for guitar by building a small pre, which if solid state can run off the 24 volt trickle supply, or using a factory built pre like the Alembic F-2B. They are 19" wide and three or four RU high.

They have an output transformer just like a tube amp, except for the ratio. They overload like a tube amp, pretty much.

They go for cheap, very cheap. They tend to get junked from old buildings because no one wants them.

They are easy to fix as long as the transformers are good and the power transformer can be cheaply replaced by a common battery charger unit as the voltage is the same. The opt is peculiar but never seems to go bad. Always replace the large filter caps, they are not terrifically expensive.

A few of these are 70 or 100 volt output only, most have regular and constant voltage taps. Check to make sure yours has the regular outputs.

Also, keep in mind that a Champ or similar makes a great pre for these, you use a resistor for a speaker load and come off the output using a voltage divider to give the right voltage out. These do not like having the front end overdriven, you get nice output distortion at just over the rated power. You might want to rig a muffin fan to keep the little bugger cool.

These come in several models in various output ratings. The early ones are the cool Altec green, later ones black and a few have red panels. These are from New York City certified fire systems and were sold through a third party.

[realtrisonic]

I like the Roland C60 for around the house and as a grab n go.
I use single coils and usually don't go further than the C60's BF, Tweed or AC30 "models" (I know they are not models).
I grew up on valve amps and love them dearly but if I'm carrying the amp myself the C60 is nice and lightweight. It can get loud if you want it to but to me it doesn't sound as loud as a BF Pro Reverb for example.
Trust this helps.

Best, Pete.

[longbow]

BC30 or BC60. Made by Roland. Excellent solid state amps. thanks

[JayFreddy]

Originally Posted by keithcc

...At any rate, my favorite solid state amp is not a regular guitar amp but the old Altec amp made for drive ins and emergency paging systems. It runs off ragular 120 VAC, but also 24 volt battery (two motorcycle batts in series) and supplies 24 volts DC to trickle charge them for when the juice runs out. They are cheap, and easy to fix.

You use them for guitar by building a small pre, which if solid state can run off the 24 volt trickle supply, or using a factory built pre like the Alembic F-2B. They are 19" wide and three or four RU high.

They have an output transformer just like a tube amp, except for the ratio. They overload like a tube amp, pretty much.

They go for cheap, very cheap. They tend to get junked from old buildings because no one wants them.

They are easy to fix as long as the transformers are good and the power transformer can be cheaply replaced by a common battery charger unit as the voltage is the same. The opt is peculiar but never seems to go bad. Always replace the large filter caps, they are not terrifically expensive.

A few of these are 70 or 100 volt output only, most have regular and constant voltage taps. Check to make sure yours has the regular outputs.

Also, keep in mind that a Champ or similar makes a great pre for these, you use a resistor for a speaker load and come off the output using a voltage divider to give the right voltage out. These do not like having the front end overdriven, you get nice output distortion at just over the rated power. You might want to rig a muffin fan to keep the little bugger cool.

These come in several models in various output ratings. The early ones are the cool Altec green, later ones black and a few have red panels. These are from New York City certified fire systems and were sold through a third party.

Great post, good info! Now I've got another treasure to look for on my dumpster diving excursions! Seriously, that sounds like it would make a killer busking amp, with the battery power and all.

Originally Posted by JohnS

I am the voice crying in the wilderness for the venerable Fender M-80. 35#, Great clean channel, 69 watts. Ignore the distortion channel and you have a nice portable jazz amp for cheap. I paid $40 for mine.

I had a couple of these in the early 90's. One was the combo like in your pic, the other was a rack mounted version. The combo fried an op-amp IC chip and my local amp guru/repair guy at the time told me it wasn't worth fixing. I used the rack unit as a practice amp for my pedal steel, and it did have a nice clean tone. I used it mostly with headphones, but it sounded pretty good through through a 212 cab too. I sold it for cheap to a friend, I think he still has it. The trick to getting a usable distortion sound as I remember it was to roll back the contour control all the way. That and roll back the presence a bit, and give it more gain. I thought the amp's distortion sounded decent with humbuckers.

[JohnS]

The distortion is not bad, but not great. The clean channel is where it shines.

[sprokett]

Originally Posted by MondoGuitar

Fender Princeton chorus if you're on a budget. Redknob California made if possible. (<$300)

+1 definitely pre DSP though

[midcitysaint]

Fender's FM212 is a pretty decent solid state and bullet proof. The cleans are good, don't expect deluxe reverb good, but good.

Also the I second (or third) the Roland Cube. Their JC120 model is worth the price alone, but they also have a decent OD and I think the acoustic simulator with an actual acoustic electric is pretty cool.

The Trademarks by Tech21 are superb, if you can find one and afford it, I'd strongly recommend going that route. The cleans are spanky to warm, reverb is pretty good and the OD and distortions are pretty nice.

Don't overlook the Vox Valvetronix, they have a pretty good clean, excellent AC15 model, boutique overdrive is worth the price of admission but also a big clean sound in the bassman model and a spanky clean sound in the boutique clean sound. Of course I have the older Valvetronix, I can't say much on the newer ones.