Indie/Alternative Valve Amp

darthed1981

Hi All,

Even as a fan of the Boss Katana, I find myself increasingly drawn to the idea of a valve amp, with a master volume that sounds reasonable at home volumes, that can take pedals well and give me the tones of the 90s indie greats, like Blur, Oasis, Suede, as well as handle some other tones for fun, a bit heavier, rolled back neck pickup tones for slashy lead, etc...

The Katana is great but I'd like ot know what my options are, I look at things like the Vox AC15C1 and the Orange Rocker at times, I tried a couple of AC4s and a Blackstar HT1 and didn't really like them.  I did like the Blackstar HT5 a bit, but maybe need some more oomph than a 1-5W job...

Also feel playing through a valve amp would help me work more on the attack and consistency of my playing, either that or use a compressor pedal!

Any thoughts?

RandallFlagg

Orange Rocker 32?

BintyTwanger77

Well Graham Coxon used Marshall heads, Bernard Butler used Vox AC30s and Noel Gallagher used Orange amps, so you're definitely already in the right area. If you didn't have to take your dirt from the amp, BF Fenders with Rats are also an indie/alternative staple.

DartmoorHedgehog

RandallFlagg said:

Orange Rocker 32?

My Rocker 30's dirty channel volume is extremely sensitive at the low end, making it quite annoying to set up for home playing.  Goes from nothing to too loud in a barely visible turn of the knob, a bit like what people say about some Fenders (so I usually use a Blackstar Core 10 for home playing). 

Once it's set at the right volume it sounds good though - it's just a pain in the arse.

Hopefully the new R32s are better with their switchable power rating.

uncledick

Can't go far wrong with an AC15 for Indie stuff.  A bit fussy with od pedals compared to some amps but wonderfully intuitive to use.  I can go straight to mine between songs, twiddle the knobs and know what it's going to sound like.  

Winny_Pooh

ac15 or even a hor rod deluxe with too many pedals in front.

brooom

If you're going for a vox type amp, here goes a shameless plug, as I'm scaling down my amps, I'm thinking about having a really great vox type amp I currently own for sale over here.

It's a Magic amps X-brit, built with NOS parts, it's like a great AC30, but only 15 watts, picture are not mine, but I'm sure it's ok:

brooom

However if this is too much I've always like the handwired vox series. They were quite neat sounding amps.

darthed1981

Thanks @broom but I'd probably buy new.

Which speaker to look for in an AC15?

brooom

I'd go with a celestion blue.

Musicman20

Orange Rocker 32 or the Terror Rocker....(through a 2x12 minimum)...

Marshall Origin when they land...

Fender with pedals (Hod Rod or 68 Reverb)...

Vox AC15...

I'd love a Rocker 32 or Terror Rocker and the new neo vertical 2x12.

Plectrum

darthed1981 said:
I did like the Blackstar HT5 a bit, but maybe need some more oomph than a 1-5W job...

Also feel playing through a valve amp would help me work more on the attack and consistency of my playing, either that or use a compressor pedal!

Any thoughts?

Are you gigging with it? If not then I can't understand why you'd need anything even as loud as a 5-watt valve amp. Even then, @Danny1969 gigs with an HT5 so I don't see why you'd struggle?

TBH if you can't get a decent sound through a Katana I don't think a valve amp would help. Spending less time ogling gear and more time playing might though

darthed1981

Plectrum said:

TBH if you can't get a decent sound through a Katana I don't think a valve amp would help. Spending less time ogling gear and more time playing might though

Oh I do like the Katana, and probably won't buy anything, but it does help to have things to shoot for.

As for the second point, if you insist on bringing logic into it...

impmann

Avoid the Blackstars if you want an authentic Britpop/Indie/Alternative sound... sorry, not a fan.  Only the Artisan 15 or 30 come close for me.

AC30 was the darling of 'the movement' back in the day  - most of the first Oasis album was recorded using a WEM Dominator in conjunction with the AC30 that lived at Sawmills Studios (the Orange rig arrived during the tour for that album and was used for the second one - along with a ton of other stuff... the Roland RE201 arrived around that time too), Suede's first album was ALL Vox AC30 (the Boogie came later) and as has been said Graham Coxon used a Marshall (but not in the way most use a Marshall).

To my mind, the AC30 comes closest to nailing all that... however, for home use, its pretty hopeless if you want *that* sound. Loud is not the word and they do weigh the same as a small hatchback.

darthed1981

impmann said:

To my mind, the AC30 comes closest to nailing all that... however, for home use, its pretty hopeless if you want *that* sound. Loud is not the word and they do weigh the same as a small hatchback.

Yeah I tried to pick one up in PMT on Saturday, they are unbelievably heavy.  I'm pretty much set on anything apart from an AC30 being not quite there...

I do sort of like the idea of being able to blow out my windows with an amp, but as you say, the neighbours a couple of streets over might have something to say about it!

impmann

Perhaps consider a head and cab (Bernie used one a lot - his original AC30 went pop, so he bought a second that was a H&C, and I'm told it was a bass model). They are still hefty (even just the head) but don't quite require a forklift.

meltedbuzzbox

I think any amp will do the job personally.
Graham coxons sound comes more from him and the way he plays. The same with Bernard Butler etc etc

I'd find an amp you like the sound of and work on your playing. There is so much choice now days, it would be daft to limit yourself to a few set amps because x or y plays said amp.

Danny1969

Plectrum said:

darthed1981 said:
I did like the Blackstar HT5 a bit, but maybe need some more oomph than a 1-5W job...

Also feel playing through a valve amp would help me work more on the attack and consistency of my playing, either that or use a compressor pedal!

Any thoughts?

Are you gigging with it? If not then I can't understand why you'd need anything even as loud as a 5-watt valve amp. Even then, @Danny1969 gigs with an HT5 so I don't see why you'd struggle?

TBH if you can't get a decent sound through a Katana I don't think a valve amp would help. Spending less time ogling gear and more time playing might though

Indeed the HT5 is very loud for indoors. Almost any amp is really as even 1 watt through a guitar speaker is louder than most people would play their stereos 

Personally for indie I would go for the Vox AC15 or a Hot Rod plus a couple of pedals. There's a certain magic between the AC15 and certain pedals, a kind of nonlinear response to certain notes when using a fair bit of drive from a pedal ....maybe @ICBM knows why ? I borrowed one for a Britpop gig and really liked it. The HRD is a good all rounder though and what I use now for Britpop \ Indie rather than the Marshall and Blackstar I use for classic rock gigs 

A Lion Tamer in the loop of the HRD and any other amp with a loop like the Vox AC30 etc makes setting low home volumes easy but with a gentle prod on the master volume it is possible to set most amps low enough if your careful