Up to 5W valve amp recommendations?

pjf

Hi everyone, I don’t think I’ve posted in this subforum before but would be v. grateful for your wisdom 

I’m looking for a valve amp, home use only as I don’t gig. It’d be used in a little garden office / home studio type thing. I’ve searched on here and seen good things said about the Vox AC4 and zvex nano (seems very hard to find one of those now!). 

Just wondering what else might be out there. Budget isn’t unlimited of course but I’m not looking to scrimp either as it will be my only amp. Some of the Swart offerings sound good to my ears and my preference would definitely be to go with something more boutique-y than e.g. the Vox AC4. 

Opinions and experiences really welcome, thank you. 

Grumpyrocker

I'm super happy with my Blackstar HT5 MK2. Sounds lovely. Two channel, each with two voices. Nice reverb. Headphone out is one of the best I've heard on an amp. 

munckee

If you like clean sounds a silverface champ is a great home amp. 

skay

If you’ve got the cash then the Lazy J5 has the built-in attenuator and reverb as an option, plus add the 10” speaker to fill in the lows, making for a good all-rounder and more versatile than a straightforward Champ clone.

Never tried one personally, but Coda Music have one to demo before ordering.

pjf

Thanks. I do like clean. I mostly play a 335 but have a Parsons Areli with P90s and a tele. I don’t have any pedals but would like to get nice overdrive and fuzz pedals, so I’m not overly-fussed if recommended amps don’t have tons of effects and that. 

dazzajl

I had the AC4 head and cab version, the amp is fabulous but the the speaker in all versions a just dull, lifeless and plain nasty. Which is a real shame, it deserves better. 

My current small amp is the newish Vibro Champ Reverb and I love it. It’s definitely not going to work for everyone though and needs trying. 

Neckwringer

I've got a Vox AC4c1-12 for sale fitted with a 12"
Greenback and JJ tubes,lovely sounding with these upgrades.

Bork

Ibanez TSA amps are underrated and sneered at by gear snobs but sound pretty good to my ears and are extremely affordable.  If you're using them for home only, who cares what anyone else thinks?  The 15w head can switch to 5w.   I don't use the tube screamer circuit, they're just a pedal platform. 

There are also some point to point wired 5w Tweed clones on the market made from China.  Again the purists might sneer but they're made by the same company who ghost builds the Classic range for Peavey.   I think they're sold under the Juketone brand in the UK, under Parsons in Australia and LA Music Exchange sell them too under their own brand.   Well worth a look and great value considering the quality.

CFH

I've recently picked up an @EmprizeAmps Artisan that I'm really happy with. He does a bunch of low wattage designs. All handwired in York. 

dindude

I couldn’t get on with the AC4 - all upper midrange and not a lot else.

The new Vibro Champ Reverb is what I’m using and it’s great, sounds grown up in the sense that it has decent bottom end, takes pedals really nicely and is the prefect volume range for hone use. 

Well i sold my Carr Rambler a few weeks back and I don’t miss it at all (I’m a home only player) 

UnclePsychosis

5W seems like a fairly arbitrary number to restrict yourself to. 5W is still far too powerful to crank to distortion for 99% of home users. 

I think you should choose an amp based on sounds and features, not an arbitrary wattage. 

My home amp is a Princeton Reverb. I like it a lot. You could certainly do a lot worse if clean plus pedals is your thing. 

randerson

Suhr Corso is a useful piece of kit. Built in  attenuator too

pjf

Thanks very much for the comments. Really like the Suhr Corso but I’m also looking at the AK big trees (goes to @UnclePsychosis comment, with which I agree). Doesn’t need to be 5W and the AK is 2 or 2.5 I believe.

*Aaron*

I have a Tone King Gremlin head. I am playing it through a celestion A type speaker, which suits the amp well in my opinion.
It is 5w and has an ironman attenuator built in. Black face, tweed tones. Two channels, volume and tone control.
They are available in a combo as well. 
Really nice sounding amp, i don't really use pedals through it. 
They are not cheap though, you may be able to pick one up second hand. Worth trying out if your local store stocks them.

Rocker

Someone on this site is selling a Spark amp. I know nothing about this amp but it might be worth checking out. 

HAL9000

Take a squiz at Honeyboy Amps webbie for some 5w amp porn. Seem to be highly regarded in these parts.

daveyb27

Cornford Harlequinn all day long 

bazxkr

I have a Blackstar HT1R head and 1 x 12 cab - mini stack... it is great for home. Run a cheap rack FX unit through it & it sounds great at low volumes for home. I believe the combo equiv is even more compact but I not seen one in the flesh
Think #I paid £170 for a mint mini stack.... well happy

Seziertisch

Audio Kitchen Big Trees. 2.5 watts, doesn’t really do clean clean, but covers everything  from edge of break up to exploding amp sounds.

That said, it’s still probably too loud as an amp to use in the house, unless you have no neighbours and understanding co-habitants 

pjf

Seziertisch said:

Audio Kitchen Big Trees. 2.5 watts, doesn’t really do clean clean, but covers everything  from edge of break up to exploding amp sounds.

That said, it’s still probably too loud as an amp to use in the house, unless you have no neighbours and understanding co-habitants 

I think this will be the one for me tbh. Love the Andertons demo of it and I have a voucher for there burning a hole in my pocket. 

I did check out the other amps recommended in this thread, and was offered one at I think a very reasonable price, but the AK Big Trees just tips it for me. It also means I can spend more £££ on a Zilla cab or two... 

Swart space tones sound amazing too but really don’t like the aesthetics - silly reason I know but I’ll have to look at the thing at some point! The Big Trees will not be to everyone’s taste but I think it won’t look out of place in the home office. 

Emprize mini looks v cool as well, a bit like the zvex nano, but couldn’t find many reviews of it online. 

Thanks everyone

slowpilgrim

dindude said:

I couldn’t get on with the AC4 - all upper midrange and not a lot else.

The new Vibro Champ Reverb is what I’m using and it’s great, sounds grown up in the sense that it has decent bottom end, takes pedals really nicely and is the prefect volume range for hone use. 

Well i sold my Carr Rambler a few weeks back and I don’t miss it at all (I’m a home only player) 

I'm thinking of upgrading from my silverface vibro champ to the reissue for that built-in reverb and bigger speaker. Glad to hear some positive reviews here. Also considering the Mesa Express 5:25 which seems a lot more versatile, and can be had around the same price (if not cheaper).

Has anyone tried the small Mesas like the Express, Subway, 1x10 MkV?