Tube AMP recommendations (vintage sound)

[markal]

The Laney Lionheart 5 Watt amp in head format, with whatever cab you prefer, is a wonderful beast. @Alex_C agrees! It's a studio in an amp.
The combo loses the studio side of things, but you get a superbly built 5 Watt combo with a ply cabinet, decent 12" speaker, and a sound that needs to be heard to appreciate it.
It has the sound that's in your head.

This. I have the combo, the L5t, and I love it. It can get into fender territory and you can get power tube breakup at somewhat reasonable volumes (it’ll be approaching 100 db, so still very loud). I use it clean at about 85 db most of the time. But it’s a lovely sound. And the head has additional features you may find useful.

A Princeton is also a good option but will be a bit louder still.

You might want to consider an attenuator.

 

[Dukex]

Vintage Sound Amps Vintage 15 (Princeton Reverb). They also make a 5-watt version.

 

[Vibroluxer]

I am sorry, I didnt mention this, I will use it at home only. So I guess I would like tube breakup at living room volumes, or maybe even a little louder wouldnt be a problem, as the neighbours havent complained till now lol.

Swart amps are very nice. I'd buy a used one. Do a little research on them, you'll only find great things about their amps.

 

[Mowgli]

I agree with Dukex above. If I were you I’d call up Rick Hayes at “Vintage Sound” amps, tell him what you are seeking and ask him to recommend 2 or 3 amp/speaker combinations.

One of the nicest warm jazz tones I ever heard was a Vintage Sound Princeton-type combo amp with a 15” Weber Chicago speaker (I don’t know if it was a alnico or ceramic magnet). I played a semi hollow body with humbuckers through it.

I’m not sure what kind of early break up you are looking for. Again, talk to Rick Hayes.

Good luck.

 

[flyinmech59]

I got a Peavey Delta Tube amp, made in the USA.

 

[schotter611]

It's probably been said here before, but no non-master vol. amp will give you warm tube tone with any sort of breakup at home. 1 Watt and less may do. So get something 5W or less and use an attenuator (Vox AC4HW or Fender Champ '68 custom...) or take the Master Volume road. Laneys indeed are great for that and can be more Fender-y than their cosmetics suggest (at least my VC15 is). And don't worry about the vintage 'un-correctness', you'll get a better warm vintage tone with breakup by tweaking MV and tone knobbies than by hoping your non Master amp will magically ring below ear-pounding levels.
I was in a similar boat, having owned actually no amp for many years; then (after a short stint with a Super Champ X2), got a PRRI. I wanted to like it so badly, but it was too much amp for home. And this will probably be the case with the even boutiquier versions of it, being it 15 or 5W...

 

[Kevin Wolfe]

It's probably been said here before, but no non-master vol. amp will give you warm tube tone with any sort of breakup at home. 1 Watt and less may do. So get something 5W or less and use an attenuator (Vox AC4HW or Fender Champ '68 custom...) or take the Master Volume road. Laneys indeed are great for that and can be more Fender-y than their cosmetics suggest (at least my VC15 is). And don't worry about the vintage 'un-correctness', you'll get a better warm vintage tone with breakup by tweaking MV and tone knobbies than by hoping your non Master amp will magically ring below ear-pounding levels.
I was in a similar boat, having owned actually no amp for many years; then (after a short stint with a Super Champ X2), got a PRRI. I wanted to like it so badly, but it was too much amp for home. And this will probably be the case with the even boutiquier versions of it, being it 15 or 5W...

That’s great advice.
That’s my primary reasoning behind the AC15c1. Since it’s gonna stay home more so than play out, the weight is a non factor. There’s so, so many sounds and tones in an amp like that. I love those Laney’s too, but for me, a used Vox was more attainable. And easier to sell the idea to my finance manager.

 

[somebodyelseuk]

Hello!

Though I've been playing guitar for more than 10 years, I only ever had one amp a solid state Roland Cube.

I would like to invest in a tube amp, and I was wondering if anybody could help me with a recommendation, as I am quite a noob when it comes about it.

What I do know is that I am looking for a warm, vintage voiced amp, that has a nice sweet break up tone, and also if possible analogue spring reverb. I am considering all options, vintage, new, original or clone, anything that would be less than 800 EUR, max 1000. I don't really care about the wattage, I would like to entertain all options.

Does anybody have any ideas?

Thank you very much!

Who's you're favourite guitarist? What does he use? Buy one of those.

Otherwise, based on your description, I could probably list 50+ amps.
A used Helix, should cover it.

 

[schotter611]

.....
That’s my primary reasoning behind the AC15c1....

Yeah, and I always found the preamp gain/breakup of the AC15 very useable.

 

[dougbgt6]

Another vote for the Blues Junior.

I also have a Pro Junior, smaller speaker than the Blues and it only has 2 nobs, volume and tone. I should move it on, but I like minimalism!

Doug

 

[El Tele Lobo]

Lot of great tube options mentioned here. I will add for the 5F1 Champ, if you can get one with a 12" ceramic speaker it really warms things up for jazz. I've had one for about 5 or 6 years and it's great...but has it's limitations.

I have one tele with fairly hot pickups (overwound Bootstrap A3 bridge and Cavalier Fat Lion King (A5) neck, 4-way switch) that sound great straight into the Champ for jazz. It has a pretty chunky roasted maple neck (1", full shoulder)...not sure how much if at all that affects the tone. My experience swapping necks has been a very fat, full neck will warm the tone up. My other teles (including a reverse Esquire with a Charlie Christian neck pickup) need to go through an EQ pedal to really sound good through the Champ. I can roll the tone back to warm them up, but they get woofy and lose clarity. EQ pedal helps but not the ideal solution.

So here's where I go off the ranch and play devil's advocate. Especially if you're looking for an amp to gig with. Bear in mind, I've played a variety of tube amps exclusively for 25+ years...

I recently bought the Henriksen Bud Six. I was VERY skeptical, especially given its small size and 6.5" speaker, but it REALLY delivers great jazz tone and precise tone-shaping capability. It is solid state, but sounds GREAT and has an onboard 5-band EQ, an input gain control (which I find helps with adding compression) and a presence control. There's even a defeatable tweeter if you want more control over the high end. I keep most things at 12 o'clock and turn the Low up to about 3 o'clock, but you can really scoop or boost mids or anything else as needed. It has a line out for an extension cabinet and a direct out for porting right into the house P.A. There's a whole second channel for vocals, a mic or a second instrument for duo situations with it's own dedicated controls/EQ stack. And it's super lightweight. Added bonus for me: it's made in USA...which not much is anymore. I don't mind import stuff, but try not to buy from China. DEFINITELY worth a look. They also have a Ten and Twelve version, but unless you're playing in bigger bands and/or need more stage volume without monitors, I don't know that they're necessary. They are pricy new, but you can get good deals on a used one now and then. I bought new b/c I wanted the warranty and wanted to support Peter and his business.

I've also played some Roland stuff that really impressed me...the JC series amps are great and I believe they're made in Japan still...not sure. But they are HEAVY. The Henriksen Bud Six is about 13 lbs and the Ten is around 18-20 lbs. I hate to say it, but I haven't switched my Tweed Champ clone on since "In Walked Bud."

 

[JeffBro]

A nice sounding, inexpensive tube amp is the Monoprice Stage Right 15; with 12AX7 preamp tubes and a pair of EL84 output tubes. It also has spring reverb.
The European version is badged Harley Benton from Thomann.

Monoprice has the 5W($112) and 15W($250) and 2-Channel Guitar Amp Head($270) on sale with coupon code

 

[Whatizitman]

Wangs has a cool 5 watt:

 

[2L man]

I have many self built amps which I use but about 90% time the loudspeakers I use are sweet and warm Jensen P10R-Fen and sweet but bit nasty P10R which has become my favotite lately. Their sensitivitys are low which allow amp driven harder but they color clean power as well more than other speakers. There are many P10R and few P10R-F Youtube reviews and for starters this has nice crunch.

I did test P6V alnico in the box it was sold closed and it did sound so promising that I will install it to solid small volume closed box. Small open back cabin will cancel low frequencies because of cabinet small size and I hope closed won't?

 

[darkwaters]

My vote would be a PRRI with a nice alnico 10” speaker (An Eminence 1028k would be my choice). Just finished playing through mine. Sweet vintage goodness. It will easily take you into Frisell/Lage territory.

 

[InstantCoffeeBlue]

Fender Pro Junior. Two knobs and killer tone; everything you need and nothing you don't.

 

[2L man]

Fender Pro Junior. Two knobs and killer tone; everything you need and nothing you don't.

 

[Michael Smith]

Someone earlier mentioned the Carvin Vintage 16. I own that amp (bought new in 2010) and it does have spring reverb, but I understand the later models went to digital reverb. Mine came with the Carvin (Eminence) GT12-8 100 Watt speaker. Way too much speaker for a 5/16 watt amp. I installed a Jensen C12Q 35 Watt, and it breaks up earlier at lower volume. It does have a master volume pot.

 

[Stencil]

G’day, Phil,
I would suggest that given your objectives, and your budget, you could do far worse than acquiring the 5 Watt Laney Lionheart. Laney launched the Lionheart series as a way into the boutique amp market and they truly are a thing of beauty, hand-assembled in the UK. The combo has a lovely UK-made Celestion Greenback that will really ring in the oversized pine cabinet with a spring reverb.
This amp can cover a lot of ground, from clean Fender to Zep 1 Coloursound+Supro sounds. I liked mine so much that I took it back to the shop the next day and traded it up to the 20 W version, explaining that I now wanted to gig with it.
The only two cons I see with this amp are that i) the FX loop is a little unorthodox and can take some getting used to and ii) Brexit and post-Covid inflation have driven prices up but I guess the same applies to the other major UK brands.
Looking forward to hearing what you end up with.
Cheers,
Dominique.

 

[Red Ryder]

Peavey Classic 20 or 30. Great sound and great price. Don't start too small because you're gonna want more.