5watt tube amps

dunkman

i'm going to get one.

only ones i know of are

Fender Champion 600 (retro look)
Epiphone Valve Jr
Harley Benton GA5

anyone own one or heard these amps.


The Harley Benton IS the epiphone valve jr but it has an Tone switch on it as well.

http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_ga5.htm has them at the ridiculous price of £66 ($120) and i've heard them on Youtube... sound pretty nice actually...

All Those Yesterdays

Champ 600, just needs to have a external speaker jack added to go to something other then the little speaker that comes with it. There are mods out there for it, and it has a 6v6 power tube in it, which handles pedals better.

Valve Junior, (I own one, and it's modded). Head version is worth looking at, I run my through a 2x12 avatar cabinet. sounds descent out of the box, sounds 10,000 times better with some simple mods.

I have no experience with the last one.

dunkman

All Those Yesterdays wrote:

Champ 600, just needs to have a external speaker jack added to go to something other then the little speaker that comes with it. There are mods out there for it, and it has a 6v6 power tube in it, which handles pedals better.

Valve Junior, (I own one, and it's modded). Head version is worth looking at, I run my through a 2x12 avatar cabinet. sounds descent out of the box, sounds 10,000 times better with some simple mods.

I have no experience with the last one.

thanks amigo

i just want it for room practice... i thought about the epiphone head and cab but it would just be too loud.

in terms of modding... replace valves and speakers? is that what i should be researching... i've had about 4 or 5 different solid-state amps and i've yet to find one i liked (Orange Crush was the best).. i've heard all 3 of the above amps on youtube and they have a nice warmthness to their sound.

i just wondered how they were in 'real life' whether they break up and sound dirty at any point?

are valves and speakers easy to fit?

harmless_little_f***

dunkman wrote:

warmthness

dunkman

harmless_little_f*** wrote:

i was going to use warmthatude

samquigley

Well, someone's gonna chime in and tell you to get an Orange Tiny Terror, Bad Cat MiniCat or a Dr. Z eventually, so it might as well be me. But, if the prices in Scotland are anything like they are here in Australia, it'll be a waste of time.

All Those Yesterdays

biffhardon wrote:

Well, someone's gonna chime in and tell you to get an Orange Tiny Terror, Bad Cat MiniCat or a Dr. Z eventually, so it might as well be me. But, if the prices in Scotland are anything like they are here in Australia, it'll be a waste of time.

Those are all fantastic amps, but it appears this person is looking for a cost effective low wattage practice amp.

I love the Tiny Terror, just flat out killer. You'd be suprised how close the Mini Z's circuit is to the Valve Junior.

All Those Yesterdays

dunkman wrote:

thanks amigo

i just want it for room practice... i thought about the epiphone head and cab but it would just be too loud.

in terms of modding... replace valves and speakers? is that what i should be researching... i've had about 4 or 5 different solid-state amps and i've yet to find one i liked (Orange Crush was the best).. i've heard all 3 of the above amps on youtube and they have a nice warmthness to their sound.

i just wondered how they were in 'real life' whether they break up and sound dirty at any point?

are valves and speakers easy to fit?

As for the juniors these days, the latest edition of them has a lot of the usual mods already included, including the input resistor. You might be extremely happy with one. I've done other mods, and haven't followed the "usual circuit changes" because they aren't me.

Tubes help out a lot, I've just done other circuit modificaitons. There's a post on here about the changes a few of us did and what they did to the tone.

The Champ 600 is really cool, sound even better playing thru a weber anlico speaker.

These will all be warm and have nice break up, for the most part.

mccreadyisgod

There's always the old silverface Fender Champ, Bronco, and Vibro Champ amps. They're 6 watt combo amps, so they're right in the neighborhood. They're still pretty affordable, but they're slowly going up in price, so they're not only a great amp, but something of a minor investment as well. So long as it's pre-80's, it's worth it. There's also the Fender Musicmaster Bass amp, an early all-tube practice bass amp that works amazingly well as a guitar amp (the same way the old Bassman amps work great for guitar). A speaker swap can make those things sound awesome. They're 12 watts thru a 12" speaker, so they're a bit bigger, but they're pretty affordable right now. Just in case a "vintage" amp is more your style.

Pacomc79

http://www.reevesamps.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=45

+ power scaling = awesome.

samquigley

Pacomc79 wrote:

http://www.reevesamps.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=45

+ power scaling = awesome.

+ about a thousand bucks postage
_____________________________

< awesome.

_____________________________

Pacomc79

biffhardon wrote:

+ about a thousand bucks postage
_____________________________

< awesome.

_____________________________

true, true. Matamp makes a few wee ones you wouldn't have to ship though.

http://www.matamp.co.uk/minimat.htm

samquigley

Mmm, nice. I always forget about Matamp. Also, being in the UK, you might be lucky enough to pick up an Orange AD5 second-hand.

dunkman

thanks for info guys... i justed wanted something around the 5w region and more of a combo set-up than head and cab.

i plumped for the HarleyBenton GA5 (£66 or $129!!!!!!)

and its fucking gorgeous!!!.. i've spent more more than that on shitty solid state things with 20 effects all of which i didnt like.

this is a 5w valve amp (my first tube amp!!!!).. its so well built as well... Its actually the same as the Epi Valve Jr Combo but with an added Tone knob... made in same factory, same spec and everything!!!.. i put my OD pedal in front of it and it sounds so warm i could sleep in it.

my wife has taken it off me to wrap it for Xmas but i had 2 nights on it before she removed it.

so if people in Europe are after true valve tube sound... honestly look one of these up on youtube and then buy it... its £66!!!!

DriftingByTheStorm

My Valve Jr. head just crapped out last week.

:(

Dead tubes?

I just came back, having used it earlier that day, to plug in after work ... NOTHING...

switched over to the Bumbox and got sound... back to the Valve Jr. and got nothing.

::sniff::

I actualy prefered it to the Bumbox for two reasons.

1. although it had less (ok NO) tone knobs, it had a better underlying sound and i just added pedals if i wanted more of anything (in fact, the bumbox doesnt realy take pedals well at all).

2. Louder. [I think 1\2W or 1W is actualy TOO soft ... i hate to say it, but at some point you just lose the essence of that guitar "sound" ... no punch, lousy bass, treble that doesnt scream ... and a nearly constant volume level that just doesn't do much for nuance in style.] The Valve Pro is just a great base for sound ... its perfect by NO means ... i never liked it that much until i started going back to the bumbox ... and now that i have no valve pro ... i REALY miss it ...

Pacomc79

DriftingByTheStorm wrote:

My Valve Jr. head just crapped out last week.

:(

Dead tubes?

I just came back, having used it earlier that day, to plug in after work ... NOTHING...

switched over to the Bumbox and got sound... back to the Valve Jr. and got nothing.

::sniff::

I actualy prefered it to the Bumbox for two reasons.

1. although it had less (ok NO) tone knobs, it had a better underlying sound and i just added pedals if i wanted more of anything (in fact, the bumbox doesnt realy take pedals well at all).

2. Louder. [I think 1\2W or 1W is actualy TOO soft ... i hate to say it, but at some point you just lose the essence of that guitar "sound" ... no punch, lousy bass, treble that doesnt scream ... and a nearly constant volume level that just doesn't do much for nuance in style.] The Valve Pro is just a great base for sound ... its perfect by NO means ... i never liked it that much until i started going back to the bumbox ... and now that i have no valve pro ... i REALY miss it ...

check the fuse first, but yeah, it's probably the tubes and more specifically the EL84's. http://www.thetubestore.com http://www.kcanostubes.com http://www.tubedepot.com

kigcat

ANyone know much or had any experience of that Harley Benton GA5 preferably the head version which Thomann have for sale? Seriously considering one. Will it work with my marshall 4x12 cab?

dunkman

kigcat wrote:

ANyone know much or had any experience of that Harley Benton GA5 preferably the head version which Thomann have for sale? Seriously considering one. Will it work with my marshall 4x12 cab?

i've just got the combo and its lush... i've seen clips of the head version on youtube and it will work with that cab.