Small/Medium gigging amp, opinions/recommendations for those who use them

[hcsterg]

Hi @Stefan87,

In your list :



The only ones I know are the AC15 and AC30...

I did not found the AC15 terrible, but it was the 1st RI generation, and I suppose that they improved since.

As for the AC30, they are not what I would call precisely a small/medium gigging amp, just by the size and the weight !

Returning to your list, I would consider the DR ToneMaster and the Roland Blues Cube in the "recent amp category" for their features and lightweight. That said, it's purely personal and I never tested one ! But I should...

For gigging and reharsal, I use 15-25WRMS tube amps such as my late 70s SF PR and DR, and my DIY productions, all in combo form and fitted with a 10" or 12" speaker.

As you can see on the (awfully poor quality) following pictures from July 2018, I use a 1x12" 25W combo installed on a slanted amp stand beside me :

I had way enough power to play Santana's Soul Sacrifice (we were in a Latino-Funk era ) and any other of our tunes, the amp staying clean, or at worse reaching the onset of "sweet spot", but I'm even not sure...

Our band is not really a small one , and is rather loud in itself by its composition (though our keyboardist was missing that day unfortunately ) :

All this to say that already a 15-20W amp should be convenient for you for gigging in any venue, IMHO...

A+!

 

[Waxhead]

View attachment 158791 View attachment 158792 View attachment 158793 RED*BEAR. Amazing PTP sleeper Tube amp. If ya can find one. $400sh. Can crunch like a Marshall and articulate Bassman cleans when ya open master and operate with pre..
effects loop. 50wt. Made in Russia for Gibson by Novik.
Circa 98”

Hey Slick - not in Australia you can't.
You'd never find one of those here and if we did it would be more like $4000 here

 

[Stefan87]

So I had a looked more into the quilters last night and watched a few videos on youtube (not the best way to judge as we all know but never the less) and man they are impressive, @oneforsorrow the link you sent me sounded amazing, the P90's and the player sounded so good.

@slickfaster that looks like a solid amp but I wouldn't have any luck finding them here and importing would cost too much but I appreciate you showing it.

@hcsterg that is a very decent band situation and if you use what you do there then that's a good enough reason for me not to want anything bigger

@Trash Kidd Thanks for the reply Nigel, that is really helpful and was kinda thinking that's what it would be like, yeah the blues jr gets a lot of love elsewhere and was considering that too, I just though for a bit extra the fact you can go direct to PA/sound deck would be a good thing, but will keep an eye out if I get a good deal on a tweed one.

 

[Waxhead]

Ok so i think i've narrowed it down to the Deluxe Reverb, still liking the mesa TA, and the quilter seeing as a few recomend them and im not against non tube amps.

Am a marshall fan but got that covered, any other recommendations are welcome.

Are you prepared to pay $1250 (or close) in Australia for a new Deluxe Reverb TM ?
https://www.bettermusic.com.au/fender-tonemaster-deluxe-reverb
Possible you could get a cheaper used one.

You'll get a 1 channel SS amp that will only go to very light overdrive when you crank it.
You'll need a big pedal board to play typical Aussie classic pup rock styles.
It doesn't do what I call crunch unassisted at all - go test one yourself Stefan

 

[Stefan87]

Are you prepared to pay $1250 (or close) in Australia for a new Deluxe Reverb TM ?
https://www.bettermusic.com.au/fender-tonemaster-deluxe-reverb
Possible you could get a cheaper used one.

You'll get a 1 channel SS amp that will only go to very light overdrive when you crank it.
You'll need a big pedal board to play typical Aussie classic pup rock styles.
It doesn't do what I call crunch unassisted at all - go test one yourself Stefan

Yes will go try one out, they have them at my local shop.
And yeah you know what types of songs I'm talking about.
Really interested in the quilters now, have found a dealer but they are 1hr north of me but that's ok, I don't mind driving.

 

[Sid Nitzerglobin]

If you're down to use pedals for heavier dirt most of the time, a tube DRRI. Aside from the '74 Vibrolux Reverb that's taken its place a modded '65 DRRI has likely been the most flexible, best sounding, fairly affordable pedal platform I've used & if you're not needing crystal clean headroom it keeps up w/ some pretty loud drummers. You might want some PA reinforcement &/or an extra cab if you wind up using it in a large populated room though.

If you want to plug mostly straight in, for me the AC30CCH I had could stand on its own (w/ a small clean boost for the heavier dirt w/ lower output guitars) for most anything I'd want to do w/ it (and that includes some fairly aggressive heavy sounding dirt). It had a nice sounding verb & trem as well & it was easier to lug it & the matching 2x12 than any AC30 combo I've had to move.

 

[capnhiho]

I was really lucky to grab a Quilter 101 Mini a couple of years ago as a Musician’s Friend Stupid Deal of the Day for $180!!
I figured I’d have a “lifeboat” amp for the price of a pedal but, paired with a lightweight 1x12 cab has become my preferred gig and practice rig. The 101 Mini has an effects loop which allows me to use the same pedalboard with either of my amp heads and cabs.

Check them out!

 

[pmac11]

The Tone Master can do it all!!!
One of great things about this amp is the built in attenuator on the back.. So when on a lower setting dial your volume to about 7 & it breaks up nicely, full up you’ve got full on crunch! I’ve found with the attenuator at just the 12w position it’s plenty loud enough to be heard un mic’d over a loud Rock’n’Roll drummer!
If you want to use the higher settings Your’ll find volume dialled in to 3 or 4 is very loud but clean... Stick an overdrive pedal in front for some dirt & sounds great!

There doesn’t seem to be a lot of love for Fender Blues Juniors on this forum..
I have the Tweed III with the Jensen speaker version & I love it! This little amp will never be sold!
It takes pedals great & you get a lovely overdriven sound without pedals... just whack the volume up to about 8 or more & lower the Master volume. If you want even more dirt push the Fat switch in...
Again this amp is incredibly loud for it's rated 15w.. I’ve gigged mine loads..
So IMO you have two awesome amps here..

I played thru my friend's Blues Junior once during a jam night. Nice little amp.

 

[nickurso]

It’s hard to beat a deluxe reverb. Do you use pedals? My only issue with the deluxe would be getting a little bit of a driven sound at low volume without a pedal.

 

[Stefan87]

It’s hard to beat a deluxe reverb. Do you use pedals? My only issue with the deluxe would be getting a little bit of a driven sound at low volume without a pedal.

Hey Nick, yes they seem to be one of the most popular amps out there, most of the people I see doing market/day small gigs and no I have no problem with pedals.

 

[Tony65x55]

Hey Stefan, that's a pretty decent list you have and if you're OK with pedals many of them would work well.

I owned many of these amps so let me run down the list if you're OK with that.

1. Deluxe Reverb Tonemaster: Absolutely excellent amp with a decent feature set. Beautiful Fender Cleans, decent reverb and tremolo, very good attenuator and a world-class DI. It can do a solid grind with the volume up and the attenuator down but for serious dirt, you will need pedals. However, like a painting, the quality of the paint is only as good as the canvas you put it on. Fenders are usually a quality canvas and the Tonemaster is really sweet. Pedals sound really good through it.

2. Fender Bass Breaker 30: I thought it sounded good - very Voxy. But like a Vox I found it pretty heavy. Decent amp overall.

3. Marshall DSL40CR: I thought it sounded very solid-state - tons of grind but I thought it sounded like the grind was all make-up and not enough pretty face. Lots of folks like them but I'm not one of them.

4. Vox AC15 / AC30: I love 'em. These amps have been around a long time and like the Deluxe Reverb, there's a reason. Beautiful open airy cleans, decent reverb and with the master volumes you can get some decent drive. They take pedals well. My only complaint was the weight. The AC15 - which can just keep up with a medium-loud drummer weighs 48 lbs. the AC30 - which is an iconic stage combo amp, weighs as much as the rear axle off of a pickup truck. I got around that issue with an AC30 head. It is much more manageable but then you move the speaker separately of course. These are really great amps.

5. Mesa TA15/TA30: I have little experience with these two as in my area, they seem pretty scarce. Waxhead has a way better understanding of these amps and everything I hear from them sounds good. In general, I have owned four MB amps and the quality is excellent. I find they have a sound unique to MB and they are probably best appreciated by those who enjoy that unique sound. However, if you try one and love it, you can rest assured it is well made and you are unlikely to experience problems.

6. Roland Blues Cube: I am a HUGE fan of the Roland Cubes - the old ones, that is. These were made back in the 80s when Roland wasn't trying to make an amp that sounded like something else, they were just trying to make a great-sounding amp. They succeeded. For several years, an old orange Roland cube was my only amp and I did a lot of session work with it and a zillion gigs without any problems ever.

The Blues Cubes are not from that generation. I have owned one but honestly, it was brief. I found it had a choked-off high end and wasn't open and airy in the highs. I returned it without regrets.

7. Peavey Bandit: Some folks like them.

8. Egnaters: I have owned three Egnaters and found them to be excellent amps. They were very versatile and could make many sounds that were 8/10 on the "good" scale. I gigged with them for quite a while and they were a delight to move and performed well. I guess I moved away from them because they were a solid 8 and I was looking for 10s, but I liked them a lot and would use them again. There are lots of reports of unreliability but honestly, I never experienced a bit of it. They always worked perfectly for me and were very reasonably priced.

9. Traynor: I don't know if you can get them in Aus but they are excellent. Great sound and dependability second to none. The can be a little heavy - but only a little.

I hope this is helpful to you, Stefan. This is only my two cents but I currently own 54 amps and I have owned many others, so it is based upon my experience. There are lots of other good amps out there at all price ranges.

PS: Don't forget the Princeton Reverbs too!

 

[Stefan87]

Hey @Tony65x55, Thanks a lot for your info, very helpful I did think about the Princeton but they are still a bit up there price wise on the used market down here so the DRTM wins in the Fender camp so far, I love the Vox sound but have a JCM800 head with a 2x12 cab and trying to avoid using something that size as a main amp so would probably pass on the AC30 head for the same reason.

The Egnaters are actually well priced down here so if I could get one for a good price I'd be happy with 8/10 as if I can get in the ball park for most situations tone wise that will do me, but now narrowed it down to the DRTM, TA15/30 and really want to try the quilters now, the DI on the DR and Quilter is really appealing to me as it would be a good feature to have.

 

[new6659]

The Tone Master can do it all!!!
One of great things about this amp is the built in attenuator on the back.. So when on a lower setting dial your volume to about 7 & it breaks up nicely, full up you’ve got full on crunch! I’ve found with the attenuator at just the 12w position it’s plenty loud enough to be heard un mic’d over a loud Rock’n’Roll drummer!
If you want to use the higher settings Your’ll find volume dialled in to 3 or 4 is very loud but clean... Stick an overdrive pedal in front for some dirt & sounds great!

There doesn’t seem to be a lot of love for Fender Blues Juniors on this forum..
I have the Tweed III with the Jensen speaker version & I love it! This little amp will never be sold!
It takes pedals great & you get a lovely overdriven sound without pedals... just whack the volume up to about 8 or more & lower the Master volume. If you want even more dirt push the Fat switch in...
Again this amp is incredibly loud for it's rated 15w.. I’ve gigged mine loads..
So IMO you have two awesome amps here..

I'll echo what @Trash Kidd says about the Fender Blues Jr. It's a great little amp, sounds tremendous and can be more than loud enough in most situations. It is surprising we don't see more mention of them here. Also, what about the Fender Super-Sonic? Twenty-two watts and two channels patterned after a Deluxe Reverb.

 

[Stefan87]

I'll echo what @Trash Kidd says about the Fender Blues Jr. It's a great little amp, sounds tremendous and can be more than loud enough in most situations. It is surprising we don't see more mention of them here. Also, what about the Fender Super-Sonic? Twenty-two watts and two channels patterned after a Deluxe Reverb.

Yeah a friend of mine has a blues jr so I might see if I can borrow it for a weekend and see how it sounds. I just had a look there are a few of those for sale used in my price range.

 

[Stefan87]

Just had a thought, anyone gig with a boss katana 100? there are a heap of those things around for cheap.

 

[Steveee]

Keep it cheap and simple- Boss Katana 50. I've done heaps of gigs with this amp after buying it just as a cheap grab and go rehearsal amp then realising what a great piece of kit it is. No need to fork out dollars on Deluxe Reverbs, Blues juniors etc.

 

[SLICKFASTER]

ouch... apologies..I shoulda read op more carefully..

 

[Waxhead]

ouch... apologies..I shoulda read op more carefully..

no worries slick

The market down here is very different to US - basically add x2 or x3 to every US price for guitar gear here.
Plus the music scene is different to0.

When Stefan refers to "aussie pub rock" music he's referring to your typical bar band but the music played here is much heavier and higher gain than in a US bar. To do aussie pup rock music you need med to high gain amps/pedals. The light overdrive on a Fender or Vox AC is nowhere near enough here

And to find country/western music here you gotta travel a few hours inland to a small town pup or club. In my small city of Newcastle I've never seen nor heard of a country/western band anywhere here in the 20 years I've lived here. Not being a country fan myself I'm real happy about that

 

[Tony65x55]

The Egnaters are actually well priced down here so if I could get one for a good price I'd be happy with 8/10 as if I can get in the ball park for most situations tone wise that will do me, but now narrowed it down to the DRTM, TA15/30 and really want to try the quilters now, the DI on the DR and Quilter is really appealing to me as it would be a good feature to have.

Quilters are good amps. I have an Aviator 8 and a Mini 101 reverb in the collection and I like them. I use the Mini 101 reverb as my emergency amp when I'm gigging. In it's tiny little case is a six foot cable with alligator clips to clip it onto a speaker when the tube amps have a crisis. The Aviator 8 I mostly use for acoustic guitar. Like I say, good amps - a 8/10 again. The other solid state amps I mentioned, the Tonemaster and the old orange Roland Cube, are better IMHO.

I'm going to be acquiring a new Quilter Aviator Cub next week. It might be the best yet.

 

[Hammerhead]

This new Quilter looks like a game changer

https://www.quilterlabs.com/index.php/product/aviator-cub