Advice please - small, light, amp. Has to be loud...

BigBearKris

Bandits weight the same as Hot Rod Dlx? That is a surprise for me too, as I remember Peavey as the lightest of my amps.

Georgie

If it gives the tone you like why don't you just buy a really good instrument mic mi that compliments it and just go through the desk??

impmann

Erm ok - I don't want derail this with a flame war about what constitutes light... but my *needs* are for an amp significantly lighter than the HRD. Hence why I bought the ZT...

For the record the ZT sounds ok at lower volumes - not exceptional but OK. Perhaps through a cab would be better sounding. Micing up at a rehearsal isn't going to happen as our vocal only PA used for this isn't really up to that. We rehearse currently in a mates unit normally used as a classic car body shop, so stuff needs to be small light and loud...

I think what is coming out of this is there *isn't* another, small, light, powerful, inexpensive grab-n-go amp - other than the ZT Club...

TheMarlin

How loud does it need to be? Home practice, drummer proof, or small gig loud?

impmann

As per the opening post - loud enough for rehearsing with the band (loud drummer), and as a backup amp for if the HRD goes pop at a gig.

jimmyguitar

Peavey Classic 30? Mine can be deafening, is light (could be even lighter with a neo speaker) and cheap!

jimmyguitar

Or an award session sessionette if you like SS.

EricTheWeary

Beexter;418942" said:

Roland Cube - 60 or 80XL. Very compact, plenty loud, lots of clean headroom, sound good and take pedals well. Both are now discontinued (they've updated the range) but are easy to find used. Both also have a line out to run straight into a PA if required - I've never needed to though and our drummer hits hard! Shouldn't need to spend more than £160 tops for the 80XL

The 80 xl is 35 lbs. I don't think you are going to get anything much lighter that's up to the job. Although those old gallien krueger combos ( the 250ml?) were small and loud. Bit hair metalz though.

markslade07

jimmyguitar said:

Peavey Classic 30? Mine can be deafening, is light (could be even lighter with a neo speaker) and cheap!

Was going to suggest the Classic 30 too...

jimmyguitar

markslade07 said:

jimmyguitar said:

Peavey Classic 30? Mine can be deafening, is light (could be even lighter with a neo speaker) and cheap!

Was going to suggest the Classic 30 too...

... and mine is for sale nudge nudge wink wink!
http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/26076/fs-peavey-classic-30-tweed-combo-1x12-240#latest

close2u

Peavey Vypyr 30 or 60

monquixote

I'd say cab for the zt is the answer

John_BlackWolf

Matrix VB800?

http://www.andertons.co.uk/guitar-amp-heads/pid33479/cid689/matrix-amplification-vb800-420w-guitar-amp-head.asp

Voxman

markslade07 said:

jimmyguitar said:

Peavey Classic 30? Mine can be deafening, is light (could be even lighter with a neo speaker) and cheap!

Was going to suggest the Classic 30 too...

Peavey Classic 30's are very nice 1x12 amps (had one but sold it) and very popular but unfortunately it means they are relatively expensive - new prices are about £579 but on Ebay there's a new one for £499; used you could still expect to pay around £300 & there's one on Ebay now at £295.  Although compact, these are heavy amps for their size at around 40lbs! However, they are a good sounding loud all-valve little amp and they have a nice clean and a good gain channel plus built in reverb (not sure...used to be spring but possibly now digital), extn cab out, and an FX loop.  If you buy new and register on line you get an extended 5yr warranty.

If you want all-valve and volume but you also want a compact, lighter amp, you have to balance the loud v. weight conundrum which means some compromise - e.g. generally speaking a 30w all-valve amp will be heavier than a 15w all-valve amp, and they will be heavier than equivalent volume modelling amps. So if price or weight are an issue you'll need to scale down on wattage. However, remember that a 30w valve amp is generally only around 3 decibels louder than a 15w all-valve amp assuming similar speaker sensitivity (typically 97-98db with stock speakers).

For a 1x12 all-valve amp that's not quite as loud as the Classic 30 but more portable I'd suggest the 15w Laney Cub 12R. New price is around £249, effects loop, digital reverb, kick stand, 8/16w extension cab out. Weight is around 25lbs and at around 15lbs lighter its much easier to carry but like the Peavey it can be plugged into an extension cab for a fuller sound (n.b. internal speaker is over-ridden) and if you register on line you get a free 5yr extended warranty.  I have one and have used it for band practice - it's very loud for its size (at 30w the Peavey is only about 3db louder) and unless you're drummer is crazy loud it should do the job nicely.  I've run it through a 4x12 Marshall cab and its then awesomely loud!  

Both amps sound great with external pedals. The key advantage of the Peavey Classic 30 is that it is 2-channel so you'll get more clean head room at louder volumes than the single channel Cub.   

On the modelling side, the Vox Valvetronix VT40+ is very loud for its size (I had one on loan), can be found new for as low as £150, feature packed with built in effects/amp models etc, but weighs only around 24lbs so its very easy to carry and it has a small footprint not dis-similar to the Peavey or Cub.  The Fender Mustang II v2 is similar in size, has built in amp models/effects, and is around £136 new, 40w, same weight as the Vox VT40+ at 24lbs.  If you want louder, the Fender Mustang IIIv2 is 100w and retail at around £227 new, weighing 36 lbs. The Valvetronix VT80+ can be found new from £229, weight 31lbs.  

But if you want to use external pedals I'd advise against going down the modelling route simply because generally speaking modelling amps don't 'like' distortion pedals and they have no 'bypass' tone of their own so you have to use an amp model. 

However, one final thought - I have a Marshall Valvestate Mk1 8080 that is 80w and is very loud - louder than any of the amps mentioned so far, sounds really, really good, works brilliantly with pedals, has an FX loop, is 2-channel (footswitchable) with a nice clean, spring reverb, and a very nice big Marshall crunch, plus a line-out, and a good quality Celestion G12-T75 speaker that works really well with the amp. It also has clean/crunch options on the clean channel, and OD1/OD2 in the gain channel. But although it's bigger than the Peavey or Cub, its surprisingly light because its SS (with an ECC83 in the pre-amp gain stage). And having a bigger cab, it has great sound projection. Don't let the SS tag put you off - it really is a great sounding amp that was Marshall's top selling amp of all time and was my main gigging amp for years and remains my go to back-up amp!  Built like a tank & incredibly reliable, these can be picked up on Ebay or Gumtree absurdly cheaply - & I mean like £50-100!! there are quite a few on Ebay now and I would have no hesitation in recommending one to you. But only go for the Mk1 8080 Valvestate 80v - not the later generation Valvestates, which don't sound anywhere near as good. 

Anyway, hope these thoughts are helpful.

 

ICBM

How heavy is a Blackstar ID60 1x12"?

The head weights next to nothing.

mart

ICBM said:

How heavy is a Blackstar ID60 1x12"?

The head weights next to nothing.

The only figure I can find online is Amazon saying it's 45lbs.

Am I right in thinking an SS combo ought to be much lighter than a "comparable" valve combo? Admittedly, I don't know why that should be - I'm not even sure what contributes most to the weight, other than the speaker and the cabinet itself.

ICBM

mart said:

The only figure I can find online is Amazon saying it's 45lbs.

That has to be nonsense. Does everything weigh 45lbs?! I don't believe a Bandit is as heavy as an HRD either (I'm fairly familiar with both), although I would agree that it's not half the weight or anything like that, it's probably only a bit lighter.

mart said:

Am I right in thinking an SS combo ought to be much lighter than a "comparable" valve combo? Admittedly, I don't know why that should be - I'm not even sure what contributes most to the weight, other than the speaker and the cabinet itself.

The biggest contributors to the weight are the cabinet, then the speaker(s), then the power transformer, then the output transformer, then the chassis.

A solid-state amp has the advantage in that it has no OT, but it's not a huge factor and since they often need to be much more powerful to produce the same volume, the PT might actually be as heavy or heavier.

Also, most solid-state amps are cheaper and use particle-board or MDF cabinets, which are heavier than ply or solid wood for the same strength. So the loudest vs lightest amp might actually be a medium-powered valve amp in a pine or thin ply cabinet rather than a higher-powered solid-state.

Given the usual brand reputation you might be surprised how light a Mesa Studio .22 is, and they're loud as hell.

I'm probably just underestimating the weights of all of these though, because *anything* is lighter than a Trem-o-verb . (With the possible exception of the Ampeg VT-22 and the Burman Pro 2000.)

meltedbuzzbox

I will join in the game of naming amps that are not light and small

Roland JC 120

Pretty much any mesa boogie

Fender Twin

Hiwatt SA212

Ashdown bass amp (why not?)

ICBM

meltedbuzzbox said:

Ashdown bass amp (why not?)

Because they're unreliable and over-rated, as well as heavy…

mart

ICBM said:

mart said:

The only figure I can find online is Amazon saying it's 45lbs.

That has to be nonsense. Does everything weigh 45lbs?! I don't believe a Bandit is as heavy as an HRD either (I'm fairly familiar with both), although I would agree that it's not half the weight or anything like that, it's probably only a bit lighter.

....

My mistake, Blackstar do have a weight for it hidden in the manual: 18kg, i.e., just under 40lbs. 

ICBM said:

The biggest contributors to the weight are ....

Given the usual brand reputation you might be surprised how light a Mesa Studio .22 is, and they're loud as hell.

....

Thanks - that's very informative.

But it does seem to suggest that most 1x12" combos are going to weigh similar amounts - hence everything coming in at around 40lbs. 

And that maybe the easiest way to get a lighter amp is to re-house something heavier into a better made cab (i.e., solid wood or ply).

By the way, a quick web search suggests the Mesa .22 weighs about .... wait for it .... just under 40lbs! Well, actually 36lbs, but it's pretty close.