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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.)
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
A while ago I had an AD30VT I put a Weber Alnico 10” in, which sounded great.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
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).