Can I have a 'proper' amp at home, please?

ICBM

slacker said:

1 it sounds horrible 2 it breaks down 3 when broken during a gig the sound man gave me a gorrila keyboard amp 4 and it sounded better.

My experience is probably unique which is why i suggested that the op try some amps. Just because people here like said amps it doesn't follow that the op will

Was that more than once? If not, it sounds very strongly like it wasn't working properly in the first place.

There used to be a fairly common fault with them which made them sound quiet and distorted in a bad way. I can't think of any other way one could sound worse than a Gorilla keyboard amp. (And I'm not a snob about things like that, I've played through a Behringer keyboard amp and it sounded fine with a Mesa V1 pedal into it.)

Voxman

Laney Super Cub 12R. All valve, compact, portable, looks nice, 2 EL84s, 3x 12AX7s.  Perfect for blues and classic rock and is what I play. Really good quality digital reverb, full EQ, 8/16 ohm extension cab out, serial fx loop, gain boost for higher gain ( perfect for classic rock). Good quality speaker. Single channel simplicity, wonderful cleans, classic rock gain.  Most importantly for home use, it has a 1w and 15w input that lets you crank the amp and push the valves at comfortable home volumes too. Even has a built in kick stand to tilt the amp a bit for better sound projection. 

I have the original (without the gain boost sadly) and I love it.  Plenty loud enough for rehearsals and club gigs. Put it through a 4x12 cab and you would not believe it!!  You'd swear you were through a Marshall Plexi!  Which isnt surprising it sounds very Marshally as, per @ICBM, it's based on a Marshall circuit.  Plus it's brilliant with pedals.

5yr warranty if you register it online (I can personally attest to excellent Laney customer support in and out of warranty...they offer a brilliant fixed fee out of warranty service for £49 Inc pick up and delivery).  

And it's way within budget...in fact it's not much more than half your budget.. £399 from Andertons, maybe a little less elsewhere. Trust me, this is a LOT of amp and features for the money and will put a smile on your face every time you plug in!! 

Check it out on the Laney site, YouTube, reviews, etc. You'd be hard pushed to find a bad word about it, or to find something better that meets all your needs, at this price.  

HAL9000

dazzajl said:

... a 2x12 combo that creates its own gravity well...

Ah so that’s it. I just assumed that AC30s came Araldited to the floor ;-)

BlueStrat

Laney Ironheart or Engl Rockmaster have 1w settings; I think some of the Victory amps do that too.

Mesa Express 5w setting is glorious and you should get one used in your budget

z4driver

Hi all, Thanks very much for all your replies. Your suggestions have given a lot to think about and listen to but a least I know that I can have a 'proper' amp.

@noisepolluter No objection to using pedals. I've got a ProCo Rat which I was given many years ago.

On the kit front, does anyone have experience of Vyse amp kits?

Cheers Lee

P.S. The stuff below is for my use:

Pedals for distortion

Multiple vols in series, low 10" v high 12", >8", 5-15W

Hot Rod Deluxe and the Blues Deluxe Reissue + pot mod or atten

Dr. Watson Lion Tamer

AC30

2nd hand Cornell Romany

Princeton

60W Laney Ironheart

Blackstar HT 20R MKII

Tonemaster

Princeton 65 reissue

Tone King Falcon Grande Turquoise

suhr corso

Laney Super Cub 12R

Laney Ironheart or Engl Rockmaster, Mesa Express 5w

Marshall

Blackstar Studio 10 EL34

Orange Rocker 15

Ampmaker kits - N5X (5W), Marshall 1974 (18W)

Fender Vibro Champ 5

Swap the pre amp valves. eg 12ay7 or 12at7 will reduce gain and volume compared to a 12ax

50w Orange Rockerverb

Laney Lionheart 5

Hrdlx with a lion tamer, Blackstar ht5 mini stack, Cornford Harly mk1

Marshall SC20, 2525, DSL

Modulus amps

Rift

dazzajl

No experience of the Vyse kits but I’ve just got my second Vyse amp and I’ve had dealings with Barry there. 

His knowledge and experience in all things Valve related are second to none. His designs are brilliant and deliver at the highest level. He’s friendly, incredibly helpful and a joy to talk with. 

John_A

z4driver said:

Hi all,

 I'm mainly interested in playing blues and some classic rock. 

I know there have been loads of suggestions above, but to me this suggests a Marshall, or Marshall style amp.  That's only my opinion though!

Yes you can use a valve amp at home, even a big valve amp and it can sound great, but it has to be the one that suits you

UnclePsychosis

So, what amp would suit you is a very specific question but let me answer some of your questions more generally.

Valve amps are absolutely possible at home. I have Princeton Reverb reissue which is a 12W, non-master volume valve amp. It's capable of being far too loud for the house, but it also sounds great at what I call home practice volume. Bear in mind I do use pedals to overdrive it, getting amp distortion out of a PRRI at home isnt really feasible. 

That said, you do need to think about what "home volume" means for you specifically. Is it "if someone in the next room can hear me that's too loud" or is it "my other half wants to watch TV whilst I noodle in the corner" or is it "I only play during the day, I live in a detached house, so long as the windows don't rattle I can pretty much do what I want".

FWIW, like you I made do with relatively cheap practice amps for years. Buying a "proper" amp was absolutely worth it and has completely unlocked a lot more enjoyment for me. 

z4driver

I would be in the "wife in the next room watching TV" camp

HAL9000

Another suggestion...

Blackstar Studio 10 EL34. I’ve got the Studio 10 6L6 which is a cracking little amp and goes loud enough for jam nights and small venues. I suspect the 6L6 version wouldn’t be ‘classic rock’ enough for your requirements, but the EL34 may possibly fit the bill.

sergio

Have you considered the Orange Rocker 15? Can be switched down to 0.5W, has a clean and a dirt channel and a good fx loop. Also, it's very orange You can find them second hand for £300.

HAL9000

sergio said:

Have you considered the Orange Rocker 15? Can be switched down to 0.5W, has a clean and a dirt channel and a good fx loop. Also, it's very orange You can find them second hand for £300.

Good call. Hadn’t thought of that but the ‘headroom to bedroom’ feature should make it eminently suitable.

thermionic

If you’re interested in building one yourself, I’ve built two Ampmaker kits - an N5X (5W) and their take on a Marshall 1974 (18W). Both have voltage scaling on the power amp valves so you can get natural valve overdrive at home volumes.

De_Batz

That Cornell Romany you've put on your list would be my choice. Mine was excellent and i regret selling it. Not too touchy on the volume, great at low volumes and I took mine to gigs and rehearsals on the bus! 

Esker

I would get a used Princeton 

noisepolluter

z4driver said:

@noisepolluter No objection to using pedals. I've got a ProCo Rat which I was given many years ago.

Hi Lee, my main crunch pedal I use with the Princeton is a T-Rex Mudhoney which is based on a Rat, and it works very well with the amp’s clean sound, so you should get similarly good results with a clean valve amp. 

SPECTRUM001

Hi Lee - reading this thread with interest, as I have been in a similar dilemma for the last couple of years.

I have a Vox AV15, which is a great and capable amp for the home, albeit doesn’t quite have the warm chime I crave - hence I would like to find a valve alternative.

It looks a bit over-priced, but the forthcoming Fender Vibro Champ 5 watt may be of interest to you. 

I didn’t know about the Cornell Romany - which could be just the ticket with its power switching (if I understand that correctly).

ICBM

SPECTRUM001 said:

I have a Vox AV15, which is a great and capable amp for the home, albeit doesn’t quite have the warm chime I crave - hence I would like to find a valve alternative.

It may be worth looking for a better speaker for it - unfortunately there isn’t a huge amount of choice in 8” speakers, but Weber and WGS both do Alnico ones.

A while ago I had an AD30VT I put a Weber Alnico 10” in, which sounded great.

Zoolooter

Try and get something that you can swap the pre amp valves. For example a 12ay7 or 12at7 will reduce gain and volume compared to a 12ax7, making it more home friendly.

DrJazzTap

The blues deluxe is a cracking amp, regret selling mine. 
Logically yes a valve amp is over the top for home use. And a THR makes more sense etc..........however its not quite the same.
I have a blackstar fly which is a great little sofa amp and I have a 50w Orange Rockerverb. I tend to always use the orange because it just sounds better. I don't play at deafening volume (slightly above the sound of of an unplugged electric guitar).