Best Lightweight, Gig-worthy 1X12 under $800 (new or used)?

[Hoodster]

In general I'm looking for a simple, light, toneful 1X12 tube combo for jams and small gigs, with a solid base clean tone for blues, classic rock, and alt-country. Preferred food groups lean toward Blackface and Vox.

Preferences:

40 lbs. or under
Reverb
Master (not a deal breaker)
Single channel (not a deal breaker)
Don't care how many tone controls
$800 is absolute max, including shipping

Amps tried and rejected for various reasons:

Hellhound
BJ
Carvin V16
DRRI
HRDLX
Rivera-era Fenders
PV C30
Vox AC-15CC
Tweed Champ and Deluxe clones

Amps still considering:

Ampeg Jet
Gibson Goldtone GA-15RV
Traynor YCV-20
Rivera Pubster/Clubster
PR clone w/12" (Allen, Gries, etc., but pushing budget)

Input on these and/or other choices MUCH appreciated.

[jjh37854]

tried a classic 30?

[FMA]

+1 Classic 30

[johnnylaw]

PV Classic 30 is well worth a look. Gibson GA-15RV is a personal fave.

[tjalla]

AC15CC - did you try it with the Celestion Blue? That speaker IMO is at least half the classic vox sound. There's a few mods to get the best out of the amp too, esp with a tele. See recent thread on amps page...

Rivera R30 (1x12, 30watter) is pretty cool too - I gigged with a pair of them for a while.

Trevor

[dangelico603]

I love my Jet. 30lbs, great cleans, good reverb and tremolo (if you're into that). If 15watts isn't enough they make the Super-Jet which is 50watts AB but slighty heavier. Plus you can still get them on Ebay for next to nothing!

Resident Ampeg lover,
Jason

[Chris S.]

The OP said he had tried and rejected the Peavey Classic 30 -- but he didn't say why.

But the really nice thing about the PV C30 is that if you have $800 to spend, you can get TWO of them used.

Then use the leftover cash (!!) to buy either a stereo chorus AND/or a stereo delay pedal. You'll NEVER find a single 1x12 amp that will sound anywhere near as good as 2 Peavey Classic 30's in

( ( ( < < < ---- S T E R E O --- > > > ) ) )

All IMO, of course. ;-) Hope it helps, CS :-)

[FMA]

May bad on the C-30 thing. Of the amps on your orginal list of rejects, though, are some that I like. The C-30, the AC15...So what do I know...

[klast]

A Laney VC30, perhaps? A bit like a Vox AC30, but yet with its own flavour.
I have one myself and it's ideal for the 60s rock covers and instrumentals I play.
Meets most of you requirements, too.

Also, I'm a bit curious why you didn't like the Vox AC15CC. Was it the all too splashy reverb?

Klas

[Jeffscreamedcorn]

Boogie F-30. It does have channel switching, but you don't have to use it (I usually don't).

[PhatTele]

SF Princeton Reverb w/a 12" speaker (they're out there...right now!)

[Telenator]

If you like the Rivera Pubster/Clubster and can handle just a wee bit more weight, it's hard to beat a Rivera Chubster 40. I has everything and can be had for about $700 used. They're bult tough, take a beating, sound terrific, and have plenty of clean headroom when you need it. The deeper combo cab gives a better, fuller open back sound than most and with two switchable channels, it covers alot of ground. It's my #1 gigging amp for everything from Van Morrison to Stone Temple Pilots!

The Pubster and Clubster are both great amps but they sit right on the far side of sounding a bit boxey like most small amps do. I bought a light hand truck and now carry all my gear around on it. No more heroics for this 'ol guy!

[WireLine]

If you can find one in good shape, a MusicMan RD50-112 is a real sleeper amp...lots of guys got hold of them and won't let go, though...they were the 1st production amps ever to actually use 2 discrete footswtichable channels IIRC...

Get one, drop an EV in it, and stand back...they are extremely loud and efficient amps with a killer sound - relatively light and easy to move as well...

Still kicking myself in the butt for selling mine.

[IronJoe]

Wow, you threw out a bunch of good amps.

I like the Ampeg Reverberocket 112. Nice tone, nice reverb. 45 lbs.


Someone around here came across a Kustom '36 Coupe they really liked. Similar controls as the Reverberocket, same weight.


Both of them are right around $700. Good luck. Let us know what you decide.

[KC]

I'm still a little baffled by the AC15 rejection -- I've got an AC30CC1 that would completely fill the bill except that it weighs too much. The 15 with a blue would seem to be exactly what you're after.

One more from the reject pile: the Blues Jr does exactly what you want it to, especially with the weber blue dog & JJ retubing.

But the Goldtone GA15 is a fun little amp, too, and worth a check. You might get way lucky & find a silverface DR or a non-verb deluxe in your price range, though I might be living in the past on that one. A Lil Dawg Deluxe and a Holy Grail pedal will fit just fine in your price range, and that rig weighs nothing. Jim can build that up to be a pretty good gig amp, too. That might be my choice if you want a fun, flexible amp. Good luck.

[Hoodster]

Wow, lots of good suggestions--keep 'em coming.

Those that were puzzled by the AC-15CC rejection were right on--it has pretty much everything I'm after, but I have a hard time with a 15-watt amp that weighs 47 pounds (especially when the Jet has pretty close to the same features at 30 lbs), and frankly I'm not wild about Vox cosmetics.

I like PV C30's too, but I don't really need the 4 power tubes and am looking for something a little less common. They should make a Classic 15 with one channel, 'verb, and 1 12", unlike the rather limited old C20 (which I have also owned and sold). I also like BJ's, but for the boxiness.

Bottom line is the LIGHTWEIGHT element is what makes this quest difficult--there are tons of good amps in this price range that are 45 pounds and up (many suggested by folks above).

[pickinpete]

I just bought a Peavey Classic 30 today! Nice amp, Not as heavy as I thought but I'm luvvvin it. It might be double case of honymoon cuz this is my first tube amp. But Im glad I did it.

Pickin Pete
www.billsbluegrass.com

[Sleph]

out of the ones you're still considering it would have to be the Rivera Pubster/Clubster.
I've owned the Ampeg and though it was made well and could sound good it was quite limited to how good it sounded depending on the volume.
IMO the Gibson & Traynor aren't in the same league as the Rivera.
I currently own a YCV-40 and gig with it occasionally but I don't think the smaller one would cut it.

The PV classic 30, as suggested by others would be worth a look .
Keep us posted on what you decide.

[toadman]

in the past 15 years i've only played through 2 amps at gigs AND rehearsal AND home practice. the first is a Randall RG-80 1x12 100 combo solid state but GREAT clean tone and a decent break up when pushed. when that started to show it's age(although it was still very reliable) i bought a Tubeworks 1x12 100W combo. i play both of them to this day and haven't really needed anything more OR less for any situation. they both are about the same size and weight and fit in the van easily when it's loaded up. AND i have NEVER paid more than $300 for an amp! pound for pound, dollar for dollar, mile for mile i can't imagine unloading either of these amps.

[frankthomson]

line 6 spyder II 75w

lite, cheep, good