General Music Chat

Hey guys, it is the apprentice again with a question for you professionals. I am going to right now buy a cheap priced amp just to practice and jam with, however, in about 4-6 months I would like to have a better one so I can use it on a stage. I was thinking a half-stack would do just fine, so, my question to you: What is a very good half-stack that can be bought at a reasonable price?

Any advice I would appreciate.

Thanks guys, peace out, GuitarAnatomy.

Guitaranatomy,
May I suggest that you make an offer to Paleopete for his good old Fender Super Reverb Amp.I had one that served me well for more decades then I like to remember.I bought it from my !4 year old guitar player who foolishly "traded up"for apeice of crap transistorized Vox Berkely 2. I paid for "The Super"By washing dishes at a local diner and by gigging at the infamous "Mount Airy Lodge". It powered my "Farfiza Combo Compact" and some years later a bitchin' Honer Clavinet C.
In truth,my young friend,if you're serious about this music thing,invest in good equiptment "up front".You may get a chance to audition or even "fill in"at a gig with a good band.You don't want to show up with "duff gear".

Peavey makes a 30 watt tube combo amp(1 speaker). I would recomend something like that to start. It would be big enough to gig with. A smaller amp will go a long ways in your development. A nice half stack is a couple of thousand dollars. Get a nice tube based combo to start with.

Just my 2 cents

Heres one 60 watt tube

http://ultimate-guitar.com/reviews/guit ... index.html

This site has reviews on a lot of amps.

HowlinJ, thanks for the advice. I do not have the money right now to make offers, lol. I am just seeing where to go with this. Also, I would not know this, I have never played on a Fender amp, but how do they fair with heavy metal? For some reason that amp always struck me as a blues amp, just looking at it that is, lol.

jw123, thank you too for the advice. Peavey amplifiers are not bad looking, I have never tried one out, if I go to the guitar store today I will. I am looking into a 30 watt amplifier, but being that it is a solid state it could hurt the sound once turned up. As where a tube amp can handle high octaves, I doubt this one could.

GA, the Ultra is a tube amp 2 (6L6s). Im not sure about the price but Im sure it is reasonable. The problem in a music store is that they ussually wont let you turn an amp up and you dont really get an idea for an amps true colors until you open it up. SS amps sound good at low volumes but get thin to me the louder you crank them.

One of the bands I used to play in got a new guitarist after I left, he had one of those solid state Marshall half stacks. I used to go back and sit in with them and I took my little Mesa Subway Rocket (20 watts tube). I sat it on a chair beside his half stack and he laughed at me, By the end of the night he was freaking out twisting tone contols and volume. My little tube amp made his rig look like a little puppy.

You can probably find a nice little tube combo for between 350-500 dollars. It would take you a long way.

GA,

First off "I" would not buy anything new. Alot of people go and spend big money to look the part, find out they can't play or that it actually takes work and then trade their mint condition equipment in for next to nothing.

So, look around long and hard. I picked my Marshall JCM 800 100 watt channel switching which is one of the best Marshalls ever made for $300, because the guy who traded it in thought there was something wrong with it because it kept blowing fuses. Since I had done a little reading I knew that if you keep blowing the mains fuse that is almost always a bad output valve. I replaced the output valves and got a smokin amp for $350. I then looked around and picked up a 4x12 1960A cab in mint condition for $200. So I have a smokin 100watt half stack for $550. Check EBAY and you will see that amp goes for over $1000. If you have listened to my tunes or checked out my profile you have seen and heard it.

Next. My Gibson Les Paul Custom I picked up for $500 out the door. It's a $2000 guitar and was only two years old at the time I bought it. I am sure the guy who sold it to me got fired because that was to low no matter how you slice it. I checked the serial number and it is a 85 and I bought it in 87 in mint condition. It has since seen alot of action and needs to be refurbished. Oh goodnes if that guitar could talk.

So be diligent and patient and you will find a great buy. Your a smart kid. Do your research so you know what your buying going in and you will come out with a great deal.

As far as stage amps IMO anyting over 50watts is over kill. So a 50watt half stack is more then you will need. Combo amps are nice because they all one piece and easy to schlep around however, I don't know if the chicks dig a guy who plays a combo as much as a stack.

Lastly I wouldn't play a solid state amp if you paid me.

ON the combo amp thing. The dude who came in the band I was in for a short time recently had a little 30 watt Boogie combo. This thing shredded. I wasn't cranking my Marshall but it was plenty for practice. I had my Marshall on two and he said he had his Boogie on two or and the two amps blended beautifully together.

I can tell you guys this. That would be my next little practice/studio/performance amp if I buy one.

Wegman, thank you very much. Your comments were very helpful to me. I keep wondering do I go for a used amp or a new one and you answered my question. So I guess I can go for a used one then that is pretty good. However, it might be more of a gift from my mother to me for christmas, she told me to pick out a good priced guitar and amplifier and she would get me that. So, me who pays bills with his money and has no money to spend on the side, jumped at that opportunity. So now I am looking for something in a good price range.

I wanted her to get this 30 watt solid state amp from Line 6, a Spider III. At first I wanted the 75 watt, but dropped it because it is a $300 amp and I figure I could get something better than that at that price, plus it is a bit too expensive. So the 30 watt was $200, figured that would be better. It is a combo amp, has a bunch of effects in it, which I love the sound of (I have played this amp). So yeah, I have been confused. Is the 30 watts enough, is it no good because it is a small solid state, all these nice questions, lol.

So, I talked to this guy who I am going to jam with when I get some new gear. He said he has a half stack and if I want to go on stage get a half stack. Now I want a half stack, but they are fairly expensive. So I figured I would get a cheaper amp now, mess with it for while I am just jamming, and then save money up to buy a better one that is a half stack. That way if I ever go to play on stage (When I am good enough) I can rely on my halfstack as opposed to a small solid state.

Sorry if everything is a bit jumbled, it is just perplexing the whole thing for me. I am going over it carefully. If I had saved up a couple of bucks (If my bills were not so high) I would just buy a Marshall Half Stack, or go pick up that Line 6 HD150 Head/Half stack for $650.

I will try and find some more used stuff, thanks for the advice man.

jw123, thanks also man for the advice, I will keep it mind. Like I said, everything is just a bit confusing with this, I am no amp expert -- that is why I am asking so many questions to different people.

Peace out guys, GuitarAnatomy.

I am not a fan of built in effects. The reason being you are paying for something you can't change. You can buy a stomp box to do what you want. If you get tired of it you trade or sell it for something else. IMO get the best amp you can and worry about effects later.

GA,
Sounds like you're getting some good free advice from some VERY good guitar players.This in itself makes you a richer man then you were before.I have abandoned useing any amps a long time ago! "How can this be?"you may ask.I play synthisizers.It all gos straight into the sound system . A "Super Reverb"is not an ideal keyboard amp,but I got mine cheap and it served me well for many years.
By the way,my mom bought me my first organ for Christmas a very long time ago. It was'nt that awsome red Vox Continentel like the one my "hero"Alen Price was rippin' up in "The Animals".Rather it was a much cheaper Sears Silvertone "home organ",one she could barely afford.No matter,it sent me "on my way"to a life of rockin'.
Merry Christmas!... and if your mother sees fit to bestow on her beloved son a new amp,you may find it will serve you just fine.Once again,it's the "listenin" and the "playen"that's most important.ROCK ON!

You are now "Forgivin"

May I suggest that you make an offer to Paleopete for his good old Fender Super Reverb Amp

Are you crazy?? Absolutely looney tunes??? I'll sell my MOTHER before I'll part with my Super Reverb!

OK I'm all better now...

Amps are pretty much a matter of personal preference, but I'll stay away from solid state, thank you. I've played them, large and small, 6 to 130 watts, tube and solid state, combo, half and full stack. And really my only requirement is TUBES. I don't like a master volume type, but can get by with it. Right now my current rig is the Super Reverb, 45 watt straight tube 4x10 combo, and the Peavey MX with a 1967 Kustom 2x12 cabinet, seriously considering a 4x12 cab so it will move more air, maybe get a little better bass response. It did great until I put it onstage beside the super Reverb, now it sounds thin. I might look into a minor modification too, for a bit more bass.

For your purposes, I'd say stick with something around 30-50 watts, tubes and inexpensive. The Peavey Classic 30 is a great amp, I've heard several onstage and they sound really good. I've also played a few, nice amps.

Definitely check out used amps, I rarely even look at new ones any more. If you haunt pawn shops for a while you'll run across a deal here and there, my MX came from a resale shop in Houston, $65 and $120 to repair it. That's under $200 for a 130 watt amp that's been doing a great job onstage for 15 years. The Kustom cabinet cost me $40, $100 for two reconed 12" Emminence speakers from a reconing shop, somebody never picked them up, so for well under $500 I got a teriffic amp and cab, the amp by itself would cost $500 or more new. A 130 watt tube amp now would run about $1000 or so new. I've put that MX and 2x12 cab in some huge clubs too, outdoor gigs, jam sessions, you name it, it's handled it. I wouldn't be afraid to set it up in the Astrodome.

The Super Reverb was given to me by a relative after her husband passed away, as payment for 3 hours working on her computer and it cost me around $30 to replace all the capacitors and most of the resistors in it to get it working right again. (It would play great for 10-15 minutes then the volume would drop like a power tube had been pulled) One local shop has a couple of silver face Super Reverbs around the same age range, 1973, for $1200 or so...I think I got a good deal...A blackface Super would run closer to $2000...and I've seen vintage Fenders go for well over that. I saw a Traynor 1x12 tube combo in a local pawn shop for just under $300 a few weeks ago. Can't beat that...

Any tube amp should work for metal, just run the right stomp box through it. My MX has its own distortion channel, I never use it, my Ibanez SD 9 Sonic Distortion pedal sounds so much better...I use the Super Reverb cranked to 10 for straight amp raunch n' roll, the MX for really really clean, and usually run it with the distortion pedal when I want distortion, and a Marshall Bluesbreaker overdrive pedal through the Super Reverb if I want really raunchy. Swap the SD 9 for something like the DOD American Metal stomp box and it would work fine for metal. The SD 9 is not quite the pedal for a metal sound. Don't let any one tell you metal requires a certain brand of amp, that's crap too. I can get a good sound out of any tube amp, put the right pedal in front of it and it WILL sound good for metal. That includes a good 1x12 combo. My MX with a 1x12 cab did well enough with the SD 9 a metal band in Houston wanted to hire me...I wonder what they would have thought if I'd actually had a good metal style distortion pedal...I was playing clean leads half the time too, just to see if it would work...They loved it. Same for another metal band in San Antonio, I had the Kustom cab then, same SD 9 pedal.

I don't like built in effects either, or digital multi effects boards, the older analog stomp boxes just seem to sound better, and controlling them onstage is easier. I can dial in the basic sound I want before I ever plug in, then tweak the volume level during the first song or two and I don't have to touch anything the rest of the night except the footswitch. About the only built in effect I've ever liked is the chorus built into a lot of amps like the Peavey Chorus 400. If that was a tube amp I'd be looking for one...

Don't pay any attention to anyone who says you "have to have" a half stack to play onstage, if that's true why was Martin Barre of Jethro Tull playing a 2x12 combo (Twin Reverb I think) when I saw them in Houston years ago? Why is Van Wilks now using a Peavey Classic 50? Why was almost every amp in the Eric Clapton Crossroads show a 2x12 tube combo, even ZZ Top? Why were both Stephen Stills and Neil Young using 2x12 combos when I saw them? (Neil Young had a Peavey Classic 50 I'm pretty sure) I can keep dropping names all day...

That's a load of crap. I've played through 1x12 combos a lot more than my current rig or half stacks, and on the other end I've played through a couple of Marshalls and a Peavey Butcher full stack, 120 watt BEAST of an amp, I loved it. My little 1x12 solid state amp at the time did pretty well too, but the Butcher got me hooked on tube amps and I've never owned a solid state again except for a RMS practice amp a friend gave me because it didn't work. I fixed it, and use it occasionally but normally I play my Fender Champ for a practice amp and run my pedal board through it if I want effects. Usually just guitar and amp though.

Take your time, check pawn shops and newspaper want ads, but I would avoid buying an amp online you can't hear first. You want the amp that sounds good to YOU...I always look in back, if I don't see tubes I move on...if I see tubes, then I listen to it.

Great advice from everyone but I'll throw another one your way. Don't forget garage sales and big rummage sales. Sometimes you can find some great deals. My favorite combo when playing the blues is a 1972 Fender Princeton Reverb and matching cream colored 1972 Fender Strat that I picked up at a garage sale at a price that would make some people cry. Good Luck!

GA,
Sounds like you're getting some good free advice from some VERY good guitar players.This in itself makes you a richer man then you were before.I have abandoned useing any amps a long time ago! "How can this be?"you may ask.I play synthisizers.It all gos straight into the sound system . A "Super Reverb"is not an ideal keyboard amp,but I got mine cheap and it served me well for many years.
By the way,my mom bought me my first organ for Christmas a very long time ago. It was'nt that awsome red Vox Continentel like the one my "hero"Alen Price was rippin' up in "The Animals".Rather it was a much cheaper Sears Silvertone "home organ",one she could barely afford.No matter,it sent me "on my way"to a life of rockin'.
Merry Christmas!... and if your mother sees fit to bestow on her beloved son a new amp,you may find it will serve you just fine.Once again,it's the "listenin" and the "playen"that's most important.ROCK ON!

You are now "Forgivin"

Are you crazy?? Absolutely looney tunes??? I'll sell my MOTHER before I'll part with my Super Reverb!

Lmao! Well, considering he would sell his mother first, I guess that is off the list. *Head shake* Lol.

First off, I just want to thank all of you who have replied. It took me quite a while to get through all of that, and I must say those comments were very helpful. Well, see, here is the thing, my mother wants to spend about $160 on an amplifier. Since that is the case I am now just looking for a new solid state like the Line 6 Spider 3 or just a cheap half-stack or something. However, I will take all of advice you guys gave me and check out a bunch of those shops even after I get this amp. I will just buy it myself when I have money saved up. That way, I can get whatever I want.

At any rate, last night I went to SamAsh. May I say I would like to be soldered to the floor and never leave that place. I played the guitar I would die to have, the M1000 ESP. Okay, I was certainly not used to it, the guitar was out of tune, the sale agent had to tune it. Then it just did not sound right anyhow and the Marshall I was playing through was an MG50DFX (It was something like that) and confused me. You have got to understand I have only played through a tiny amp that has barely any controls on it. The Marshall was aggravating me with all of the different tonal changes. Now I would not mind getting used to that if I owned it, but when I am just trying a guitar out it is a pain in the ass. So anyhow, I played the guitar and it was so-so. I could not make it work right for the life of me and my hands were not used to the neck. Finally, I found an ESP F-50, it was fine for me. The neck was a bit thicker than I am used to, but I liked the look of the guitar and the sound. So I was fine with that, and I am going back to that store and yelling at the Marshall Combo Amp... Lmao. Just kidding.

So it was fascinating. Right now I am examining amplifiers online. See, here is another tiny problem. I am not allowed to go with her when she buys this, it is a Christmas present. I can pick it out and she will try and get what I ask for, and even if I know it is still considered a surprise to her. Which is hard because I cannot try everything out, another thing is that the guy helping us had a bit of a strange attitude to him. Life sucks... Lol.

I was glad to hear what you said Paleopete about not needing some half-stack to do stuff on stage. I am going to try and hunt down a tube amplifier, I have heard everyone say they are best. It will probably take me a bit of time, but when I find one I will save up for it. I guess I will be saving up for that while I say up for my Firebird.

So whether it be a pawn shop or a garage sale, I will look into it.

Once more thank you all very much for taking the time out to help me.

Peace out, GuitarAnatomy.

Guitaranatomy, the Line 6 Spider is a good little amp. I have one that I use when giving lessons. As a matter of fact if you check out my video of the King Of The Blues Contest 2005 you'll see that the Line 6 was the amp that I chose to use for the contest and I had my pick of any amp in the store.