Solid state Combo amp?

BloodEagle

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good solid state Combo which does good cleans, takes pedals well, sounds 'big' and preferably has 1 or 2 12" speakers. I'm not bothered about built in effects but I'm not bothered if they are their either. I not bothered about it having a gain or od channel. Current contenders include a Blackstar id60 or a Roland jc40. Any other ideas? 

ICBM

Peavey Bandit or Special
Orange Crush 60 or 120
Fender Champion 100

vasselmeyer

If you're looking at combos then the Peavey Bandit or  Award-Session Blues Baby.

If you want a very small but powerful head then the Quliter or DV Mark heads are less than 5kg and will work with pretty much any cab.

BRISTOL86

To jump on the bandwagon (without trying to derail the thread) I'm also looking for a SS amp which will give great cleans at home use volumes. 

Had a recommendation for a Blues Cube Hot - any experience here of that amp? Thanks. 

BloodEagle

Some very helpful info here, thankyou gents 

EricTheWeary

BloodEagle said:

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good solid state Combo which does good cleans, takes pedals well, sounds 'big' and preferably has 1 or 2 12" speakers. I'm not bothered about built in effects but I'm not bothered if they are their either. I not bothered about it having a gain or od channel. Current contenders include a Blackstar id60 or a Roland jc40. Any other ideas? 

The Blackstar and the Roland seem weirdly at odds with each other. The DV Mark Jazz combos might be a viable alternative to the Roland and there's a new 2x12. 

I was using a Bandit last night. I'm not sure they sound 'big' and they take a bit of dialling in ( just too many knobs and switches) but when you have it's possible to set up a great base tone that's very happy with pedals. 

darthed1981

Boss Katana!  Great all-rounder, not pure "solid state" but not really a "modelling" amp - well worth an audition I love mine

simonk

Quilter head plus a lightweight cab. Herein happiness lies.

midlifecrisis

 i s. econd the boss katana. i wasnt bothered about having onboard effects but they actually work quite well.

57Deluxe

Session BluesBaby...

JayGee

I third the Katana. Genuinely good sounding amp for a stupidly low price. I've owned mine for about a month, done a couple of gigs and several rehearsals and I'm still looking for the catch...

Sassafras

I like the Tech 21 Trademark combos but then I've never tried a Katana.

Danny1969

I use a Fender Champion 110 for a lot of gigs, tiny amp that sounds great. Needs mic;ing for bigger gigs mind

mellowsun

The JC40 has a decent sound stage with its 2x10 speakers although lacks a bit on the bottom end.

It takes pedals really well and it has a stereo fx loop which is pretty rare (ping pong delay sounds brilliant).

It's pricier than the alternatives but it's built like a tank

rlw

Vox AV60 should be worth a try, or the AV30 with a 10" speaker.

Legionreturns

If you're coming to the jam you're welcome to try out my Katana100 1x12. I have to footswitch for it and additional pedals. Huge sound for the price!

Voxman

Marshall Valvestate - I have the 8080 1x12 '80v' - the most popular Marshall amp ever made.  Proper 2 channel, footswitchable amp with a master volume, a proper spring reverb, clean/crunch and OD1/OD2 channel, contour control (effectively a versatile EQ circuit) series fx loop with loop level switch, line-out, Celestion G12T75 speaker (this may vary).  Cracking little amp (also comes as a 2x12), good cleans, nice Marshall crunch, and great with MFX or conventional pedals.

LooseMoose

Katanas are good amps but if you wanted something simpler and beefier then the Orange CR120 is where it's at in my opinion!

ICBM

Voxman said:

contour control (effectively a versatile EQ circuit)

It's basically a mid shift/scoop control - at Marshall they called it the "old guy/young guy knob" apparently .

Voxman said:

Celestion G12T75 speaker (this may vary).

The 'Marshall Gold Back' Eminence is more common, I think - but the G12T-75 sounds better.

I've always thought that if they'd made them with a ply cabinet, standard Marshall styling and slightly better build quality - basically a circuit update of the JCM800 solid state series - they would have made a genuinely great amp. It would have been more expensive and probably sold less well though...

ellwood

Tech 21 Trademark 60, every time. I have one in Hinckley if you want to try one

mani

ellwood said:

Tech 21 Trademark 60, every time. I have one in Hinckley if you want to try one

A great amp - excellent cleans