Good clean solid state amp???

[teleprompted]

Looking for advice choosing a decent ss amp. Something in the 50w range with lots of clean headroom. I have a variety of pedals for overdriven tones. Willing to spend +- $500. Currently playing through a Vox valvetronix 15w amp that I've had for several years. All opinions/experiences welcomed, thanks.

 

[Lunchie]

Why not just upgrade to a VT40 or VT80? They really are great amps! I have a 30 myself and love it? Although they do have a tube or two in them do they not. Guess I should know

Fender Mustang II is about half of your budget and then you can buy a nice used tele to go with it. 40 watt, unthinkable amount of possibilities if you set it up with FUSE and they sound pretty good.

That is pretty much the limit of my solid state knowledge.

 

[teleprompted]

Ya I have thought of sticking with Vox. My ad15 has some nice cleans on the tweed or black 2x12 setting and handles the pedals pretty well. I too don't quite understand the whole tube/ss hybrid thing going on with these amps, but mine has always sounded pretty good to my inexperienced ear. Stick to what you know may be a good principle to apply here. I'll check out some videos on the mustang. Any experiences with a Roland amp? I've read that they're pretty clean.

 

[Bro Brett]

I have a Peavey Nashville 400 and Nashville 112 that I've used for pedal steel. The 112 is 80 watts, very clean, can be bought used under $400 dollars sometimes. I've used the 112 for guitar on occasions and even though I have to set the EQ sorta radically it's punchy and a little bit warm.

 

[Stubee]

Peavey Bandit 65 etc. Probably many newer SS amps I'm not up on, too.

Not sure why it must be SS but if you want sinus-clearing clean at insane top volume get a MusicMan RD50-112 or HD130-212 etc.

They are in yer budget, sturdy, power section tube but SS pre-amp. LOUD and C-L-E-A-N.

 

[teleprompted]

Are there any all tube amps out there in my price range? I figured most are expensive and I could probably get a nice ss amp for the price of a not so good tube amp. What are my options as far as tube amps within a $500 budget?

 

[mozzarate54]

I think the fender frontman 212 has some great clean tones for a solid state amp. The distortion is a bit weak but it can handle a great pedal

 

[gypsyseven]

Why don't you get one of the bigger Vox Valvetronix amps?
I would also try to find one of those old 70's/80's Yamaha GA combos.

 

[Dave_O]

Peavey Bandit.

 

[Wyzsard]

Looking for advice choosing a decent ss amp. Something in the 50w range with lots of clean headroom. I have a variety of pedals for overdriven tones. Willing to spend +- $500. Currently playing through a Vox valvetronix 15w amp that I've had for several years. All opinions/experiences welcomed, thanks.

If you just want clean/transparent ss power and get all your tonal variation from pedals, the Tech 21 Power Engine fits the bill. Built in the USA as well.

(link removed)

 

[ctte2112]

I've never used one but I know B.B. King likes the solid state Gibsons.

 

[andrenighthound]

I would recommend a ZT lunchbox combo, w/ ext speaker cab for a little over 400. Works great with pedals.

 

[A.B.Negative]

I would recommend a ZT lunchbox combo, w/ ext speaker cab for a little over 400. Works great with pedals.

+1

 

[Lunchie]

Are there any all tube amps out there in my price range? I figured most are expensive and I could probably get a nice ss amp for the price of a not so good tube amp. What are my options as far as tube amps within a $500 budget?

oh yea... As long as you are willing to buy used...

Fender Blues Deluxe is $450-$500 used all day long. 40 Watts, great warm tone, nice dirt channel but the reverb is meh though.

Fender Hot Rod Deluxe I believe is in the $400-$450 range. 40 Watts, Better reverb then the Blues Deluxe but not all that familiar with the dirt channel. Maybe get a used Deville 60 Watt for $500.00.

You might be able to find a Used Egnator Tweaker 40 Combo for $500.00. I'm not all that familiar with this exact model but I played through a used Egnator Tweaker 15 mini stack and it was fantastic. Somebody beat me to it though and I didnt end up with it, but I ended up with my Blues Deluxe instead, so its all good. In my area used Egnator stuff is pretty rare...

You should be able to find a Peavy Classic 50 for $500.00 as well. I had one for yeeeaaarssss that I bought dirt cheap. It mostly sat around collecting dust, never really bonded with it, but a lot of people swear by them. It was not bad, just not my cup of tea.

 

[Burlington Dave]

fender mustang III. It does it all. Only $300

 

[bender-freak]

The cleanest amp in my arsenal is my ZT "Club" amp. Paid less than $500 for it couple years ago. Weight is 21 pounds and it is clean enough to shave your whiskers and loud enough to peel paint and kill small birds and bugs. I got it mainly for the weight factor. It takes pedals very well; I only use volume pedal, comp, and delay.

 

[teleprompted]

Thanks for all the great suggestions everyone. Didn't know I had quite this many options. This forum is awesome. I've got some homework to do

 

[rokdog49]

+1 for the Tech 21. Our lead guitarist uses one and I can't get over how good it sounds...real tubey.

 

[Tony474]

Tech 21 Trademark 60 fits your description perfectly. Great build quality, made in USA (if that's important to you - or, actually, even if it isn't...) and the company has a very good reputation for customer service should it ever be needed. The TM60 comes in 1 x 12, 2 x 12 and 4 x 10 versions - mine's the 1 x 12 and it's one of my two favourite amps of the very many I possess.

That said, the Fender Frontman 212R offers terrific bang for your buck and, though I'm not their greatest fan, the Peavey Bandits and Specials are plentiful, capable and inexpensive.

Despite claims to the contrary, I counsel you not on any account to consider the ZT Lunchbox in this specific context. With or without an extension cabinet, my experience is that its clean headroom is so severely restricted as to render it comprehensively blown away by a modest Roland Cube 20X. Neat novelty but overall frankly an almost complete waste of my money.

 

[LGOberean]

Are there any all tube amps out there in my price range? I figured most are expensive and I could probably get a nice ss amp for the price of a not so good tube amp. What are my options as far as tube amps within a $500 budget?

Hmmm, 50 watt tube amps that do cleans well in the $500 range? That's a small category, for new ones, anyway. With those parameters, you're looking at used. The Peavey Classic 50 has been mentioned, and I like its clean channel fine, but I wouldn't say that it has lots of clean headroom.

For 50 watts or more, and a well built, reliable amp with lots of clean headroom, I agree with others in recommending a Peavey Bandit, whether used or new. Early 80s vintage would be 50 watts, followed in short order by a 65 and a 75, and 80 watts from that point forward. Still in production after all these years (although Chinese made since around 2004). New will run you $350, used should be significantly cheaper. A Bandit has a lot of what I perceive as depth, fullness to the tone. And yes, lots of clean headroom.