Favourite Valve Amp

PAL

In no particular order.  Rift PR-35. DR Z Ma18JR Combo ( Studio Cab ) Fender 68 Custom Princeton Reverb with R34 Mod &
 running at UK 240volts.
 For lower end of things Boss Katana 100 Gen 3 1x12 Combo & Laney Lionheart Foundry 60watt Combo (LF60) both really good
 amps.

BluesyDave

My latest squeeze.  Carr Sportsman 1x12.  Does everything I want.

p90fool

HAL9000 said:

Just to throw a spaniel in the works… My most recent amp purchase is a solid-state Award-Session 5E3-Extra. Still in the honeymoon period but certainly better bang for buck and more responsive than a number of valve amps I’ve played.

Mine too, and I love it. I put an attenuator in the back of it and it does a sparkly clean to a full on tweed meltdown, all with a natural squishiness most cheap valve amps can't do. 

TheMarlin

Original thread is on bargain cheap amps, not Carr, Rift, or Dr Z. 

JD50

Vox AC15 can be had for cheap 2nd hand

fretmeister

JCM800.

But they sound like shit unless the power stage is wound up. All thin and spikey and horrible.
And when the power is wound up they are quite astonishingly loud.

I would have another one if I had both the room for it, and the money for a Fryette Powerstation to tame the damn thing for sensible volume levels with proper tone.

fretmeister

Rowby1 said:

Egnater Tweaker 15

Bought mine 13 years ago, gigged regularly ever since. 

I know they had a bit of a “smokey” reputation but mines been faultless. 

I’m of the firm opinion that if you can’t get a good sound out of one you’re doing something wrong. 

I paid £270 for it. 

What happened to Egnater?

A mate had a Tweaker15 as well and it sounded very nice.

Hootsmon

Rectoverb 25 an encyclopedia of tweed tone and all things Fender....and that's just the clean channel

stickyfiddle

Best I've owned - Carr Bel Ray

Favourite I've played but not owned because they weigh a million heavy weights and cost a fortune and are loud and aeroplanes - 60s AC30

Best "reasonably priced" but still fancy - Cornell Romany 12

Best bargain - Laney VC15 with a G10 Greenback installed. That little thing absolutely rocked 

ryanverbena

I was fully expecting to see the Bartel amps get a lot of mention, they have dominated the discussion on here for the past couple of years. I still haven’t played one myself.

randella

It's probably dependent on what people like as a tone. Those into the tweed Fender thing probably aren't going to be too mithered about a 5150, however cheap.

That said... If it's a Marshall sound you're after, the new DSLs have to be hard to beat. They're great sounding amps even before you look at the eminently reasonable price tags.

In terms of the practicality mentioned in the OP, it'd be good if they made the DSL40 as a head so you had the choice. The 20 doesn't have the Crunch mode (worth the price of entry on its own) and not everyone wants to lug about a hairy-chest 100 watter.

randella

ryanverbena said:

I was fully expecting to see the Bartel amps get a lot of mention, they have dominated the discussion on here for the past couple of years. I still haven’t played one myself.

The cheapest one at Coda is the business end of four grand for a 12W 1x12". I hear they're wonderful things, but might be losing out a smidge on the 'bang for buck' the OP mentioned

FastEddie

There is a reason i still have my Cornell Romany which I bought brand new in 2003.
Many have come and gone but the Romany is the constant.

Rowby1

fretmeister said:

Rowby1 said:

Egnater Tweaker 15

Bought mine 13 years ago, gigged regularly ever since. 

I know they had a bit of a “smokey” reputation but mines been faultless. 

I’m of the firm opinion that if you can’t get a good sound out of one you’re doing something wrong. 

I paid £270 for it. 

What happened to Egnater?

A mate had a Tweaker15 as well and it sounded very nice.

Think they’re out of business. Shame as they made some great amps. Bruce Egnater is still around (he’s quite active on social media). 

mani

THD Univalve - used initially as a low cost valve tester due to its auto biasing nature during lockdown.  Decided I’d give this amp a chance and bought a random pine cab and the heaviest speaker I could find (F70).  The valves are random, but premium quality Telefunken, Mullard, RCA etc.  Superb quality of sound from this small head, rich and 3D sounding, get’s a lot of interest whenever I take it out.  Excellent for recording as line-out is full pre & power tube, just need a cab m+ or iR plugin.  Build quality is second to none.

Haych

For sonic goodness my top two would be a Fender Super Reverb and a Fender Bassman, both wonderful sounding amps.

For a much more portable package I'd choose the Fender 68 Custom Deluxe Reverb.

RiftAmps

Jazzy_Jake said:

Best bang for the buck impractical amp has to be a 70s Twin Reverb - you can get one for under 800 quid if you shop around on eBay. They actually work well as a home amp at low volumes and obviously get very loud too. Easy to repair, epic reverb and trem.

+1 on this, or a Carlsbro 50 Top

sweepy

Two Rock CSR, try one you’ll see what the fuss is all about 

OilCityPickups

I'm going to sing the praises of - to me - one of the best sounding 'live' amps I've ever played for 'Americana'. The Peavey 30w Classic. Probably not the best if you record more than play with a band ... but this thing just flatters the hell out of your playing on a stage, it just seems to work on stage in the way I haven't found in an amp since my old JTM45 many years ago. 
Mine is modified with a Celestion Cream Back - but even with the stock speaker it really does the business. Rockabilly, blues, country, straight down the line rock - does it all. Not two million different sounds - just two channels with a couple of truly excellent ones. It's also light for a valve amp and takes pedals like a champ.

Down sides ... it get's hot enough to poach eggs ... the boost feature is pointless and the chromed face plate is impossible to see under stage lighting (get a little goose neck). 

Pisses all over the Laney LC30 I used to have.  

PS ... I prefer the look of the older ones that didn't have the 'pregnant Peavey' bump for the name plate ... but at £300 or so second hand ... insane value. 

snowblind

DR103 obviously. In terms of "bang per buck" when I consider what I paid for it it probably wins that fight as well since it offers more bang than just about anything on the planet amp-wise. I think one of its best characteristics is just how flexible it can be. It does low volumes surprisingly well if you need it but then cruises up to structural damage levels with no fuss whatsoever.
Downsides? Not exactly portable and sometimes you need to relearn what your pedals can do. They way it handles high inputs is different from most other amps so what would send most stuff into screaming overdrive just makes it a bit louder. The lack of compression can reveal a lot of detail that might otherwise get lost so it can be a bit unforgiving but for the most part it is just a lovely, lovely thing.