Pedal board amp choice. Help!

floeighty2

Dear All,

After shifting nearly all my gear and streamlining everything down to just one guitar I am now on a quest for an amp.  My thoughts about going down the pedalboard route is a) headphone outs seem to be common and having a little one and time during the daylight hours limited, this has become pretty necessary b) cost. I’ve got a
Nice Zilla cab and don’t want to see it go to waste, so either a pre amp in to power amp option or an all on one like a Blackstar Amped for example c) sounds good

My search has sprung up a few contenders, but some have very mixed reviews.  The Two Notes Revolt seems a nice, use friendly choice but the reviews are wild each way.  The Strymon Iridium also ticks a lot of boxes.  

However, I’m sure I’m missing something very obvious and very good! Or should I give up on this idea and just get Fender Tonemaster Deluxe Reverb?  Budget around £600 but ideally less.  All suggestions and help gratefully received.  I’ll also mention I don’t play live anymore so no need for super high power, but would like headroom so I can make use of a few pedals. 

Thanks! 

pt22

I enjoyed my Victory The Copper Amp Pedal. Ticks all the boxes if you buy used. 

floeighty2

pt22 said:

I enjoyed my Victory The Copper Amp Pedal. Ticks all the boxes if you buy used. 

Does it have a headphone out? Just had a look at the one Andertons are selling off and couldn’t see it? 

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

Bit of an old school choice perhaps given all the high tech stuff that's come out in recent years, but the BluGuitar Amp1 still seems to hold up well. Should be able to find a used one under budget.

floeighty2

Dontgiveupyourdayjob said:

Bit of an old school choice perhaps given all the high tech stuff that's come out in recent years, but the BluGuitar Amp1 still seems to hold up well. Should be able to find a used one under budget.

More than happy with old school, I’ll have a look at the Amp1 and remember thinking a while ago that second hand they seemed very expensive, but if it’s worth it I’ll definitely consider it! 

pt22

floeighty2 said:

pt22 said:

I enjoyed my Victory The Copper Amp Pedal. Ticks all the boxes if you buy used. 

Does it have a headphone out? Just had a look at the one Andertons are selling off and couldn’t see it? 

It does, and the Two Notes DynIRs are applied to that output. Takes pedal well. It’s a neat solution. I sometimes regret moving to a more complicated hybrid pedalboard/modeller/tube amp setup, but stereo through headphones is just too good to give up. 

I wish the milkman stereo had stereo headphone out and stereo fx loop. 

floeighty2

pt22 said:

floeighty2 said:

pt22 said:

I enjoyed my Victory The Copper Amp Pedal. Ticks all the boxes if you buy used. 

Does it have a headphone out? Just had a look at the one Andertons are selling off and couldn’t see it? 

It does, and the Two Notes DynIRs are applied to that output. Takes pedal well. It’s a neat solution. I sometimes regret moving to a more complicated hybrid pedalboard/modeller/tube amp setup, but stereo through headphones is just too good to give up. 

I wish the milkman stereo had stereo headphone out and stereo fx loop. 

Ah, I was looking at a different version which has nowhere near the same outputs. Will go and check it out!

pt22

floeighty2 said:

pt22 said:

floeighty2 said:

pt22 said:

I enjoyed my Victory The Copper Amp Pedal. Ticks all the boxes if you buy used. 

Does it have a headphone out? Just had a look at the one Andertons are selling off and couldn’t see it? 

It does, and the Two Notes DynIRs are applied to that output. Takes pedal well. It’s a neat solution. I sometimes regret moving to a more complicated hybrid pedalboard/modeller/tube amp setup, but stereo through headphones is just too good to give up. 

I wish the milkman stereo had stereo headphone out and stereo fx loop. 

Ah, I was looking at a different version which has nowhere near the same outputs. Will go and check it out!

Here’s a clean-ish one 
https://reverb.com/item/76277535-victory-amps-v4-the-duchess-180-watt-hybrid-guitar-amp-pedal-2021-cream?utm_source=rev-ios-app&utm_medium=ios-share&utm_campaign=listing&utm_content=76277535

Here’s high gain 
https://reverb.com/item/80743905-victory-amps-v4-the-kraken-2-channel-180-watt-hybrid-guitar-amp-pedal?utm_source=rev-ios-app&utm_medium=ios-share&utm_campaign=listing&utm_content=80743905

Here’s the one I had. 

https://reverb.com/item/82668358-victory-amps-v4-the-copper-2-channel-180-watt-hybrid-guitar-amp-pedal-2023-brown-copper?utm_source=rev-ios-app&utm_medium=ios-share&utm_campaign=listing&utm_content=82668358

floeighty2

@pt22 thanks so much. My only wonder is considering the valves and the power is it ever going to sound ok at bedroom levels? Looks like it could be a contender though! 

strtdv

Laney Lionheart loudpedal would be worth a look at £400

ICBM

strtdv said:

Laney Lionheart loudpedal would be worth a look at £400

If you don't need reverb and IRs the basic version is much cheaper - under £200 new.

It does seem to have a problem with causing noise when actually mounted on a pedalboard though, if that matters. Not an issue when it's slightly further away.

If you want something that can sit on the cab rather than the pedalboard, Orange Pedal Baby. It's 100W but will play very quietly if you want it to.

pt22

floeighty2 said:

@pt22 thanks so much. My only wonder is considering the valves and the power is it ever going to sound ok at bedroom levels? Looks like it could be a contender though! 

That’s half the point of the solid state power section in these types of pedal amps. Theoretically you could pin the gain, get the preamp tube working, yet have the master at 1 for bedroom levels. 

I’m a bedroom player, so it was perfect for me. 

floeighty2

ICBM said:

strtdv said:

Laney Lionheart loudpedal would be worth a look at £400

If you don't need reverb and IRs the basic version is much cheaper - under £200 new.

It does seem to have a problem with causing noise when actually mounted on a pedalboard though, if that matters. Not an issue when it's slightly further away.

If you want something that can sit on the cab rather than the pedalboard, Orange Pedal Baby. It's 100W but will play very quietly if you want it to.

Orange Pedal Baby is another I’ve considered, looks pretty solid, just need to figure out a preamp too

gatheredinsong

If the speaker in your cab has sufficient power handling, the Milkman Amp 100 here at £575 could be a good option: https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/266084/

floeighty2

@gatheredinsong yeah I’ve seen that and it’s in my mind, but I have a feeling my cab is only rated 70w. Not that I’ll ever dime it

ElectricXII

floeighty2 said:

ICBM said:

strtdv said:

Laney Lionheart loudpedal would be worth a look at £400

If you don't need reverb and IRs the basic version is much cheaper - under £200 new.

It does seem to have a problem with causing noise when actually mounted on a pedalboard though, if that matters. Not an issue when it's slightly further away.

If you want something that can sit on the cab rather than the pedalboard, Orange Pedal Baby. It's 100W but will play very quietly if you want it to.

Orange Pedal Baby is another I’ve considered, looks pretty solid, just need to figure out a preamp too

My backup to my gigging valve combos is an Orange Terror Stamp. I had to use it in anger last Saturday when my AC15 crapped out.  It sounded surprisingly good to my old ears. 

gatheredinsong

floeighty2 said:

@gatheredinsong yeah I’ve seen that and it’s in my mind, but I have a feeling my cab is only rated 70w. Not that I’ll ever dime it

I've used mine with a drummer, bassist and another guitarist in a hall and didn't need to dime it. You could perhaps email Tim Marcus for his thougths if it appeals. 

ICBM

floeighty2 said:

@gatheredinsong yeah I’ve seen that and it’s in my mind, but I have a feeling my cab is only rated 70w. Not that I’ll ever dime it

What impedance is it? If it’s higher than the amp’s output impedance then the power output will be reduced. With a solid-state amp it’s safe to do that even if the amp is 4 ohms minimum and the cab is 16 ohms - with a valve amp that’s not such a good idea, but it probably isn’t going to do any harm unless you’re overdriving the power amp, which at home volume you won’t be.

Even if you’re matching the impedance correctly, home volumes are so far below 70W that it’s no risk to the speaker anyway - typical loud home volume is a few watts. The speaker will only be working at a fraction of its rating, so completely safe.

floeighty2

@ICBM thanks for that, I really appreciate it. I’m a bit black white and when I see stuff like that.  The cab is 8 ohms for reference. 

Emiel

The Bluguitar Amp1 Mercury is fantastic, it has a Fender Blackface style clean channel, a Plexi vintage channel, JCM800 classic and a modern channel (Soldano like). It sounds like a proper amp because it is one! Check out the many comparison videos. I have a Marshall Plexi clone and I hate to say it but the Amp1 sounds just as good, it really does. And the other channels sound great too.

Wazmeister

Boss IR2.

A game changer.