Being locked at home for over one month now.

Only good side, lot's of time to play music!

Problem is that all my amps are in a studio in the very East side of Milan at 15 Km from where I live.

Before trying a late night jailbreak I was considering other options.

Do you have any suggestions for a small guitar amp that:

- doesn't cost a fortune

- can be ordered from a web store

- delivers a sufficiently decent clean sound

- is NOT a modeling amp

Thank you!

C

Ya can't go wrong with a Pignose mate! (Don't know if they're available on the internet though)

Quote
MadMax
Ya can't go wrong with a Pignose mate! (Don't know if they're available on the internet though)

Thank you!

A friend had one of those, and it wasn't bad at all.

In any case, not available in our main web stores

C

Has anyone ever tried one of these?

[shop.fender.com]

C

Quote
liddas
Has anyone ever tried one of these?

[shop.fender.com]

C

If your budget can stretch a little further, I recommend the modified '68 silverface series. I auditioned the Twin, Vibrolux, Deluxe and Princeton and they all sounded great...

[shop.fender.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-04-06 14:00 by mikehat.

Quote
mikehat

Quote
liddas
Has anyone ever tried one of these?

[shop.fender.com]

C

If your budget can stretch a little further, I recommend the modified '68 silverface series. I auditioned the Twin, Vibrolux, Deluxe and Princeton and they all sounded great...

[shop.fender.com]

"Slighly" over budget!


C

You might want to look into used amps. If you're into Fender, I suggest checking out the older Fender Bullet Reverb or Frontman amps. I have the Bullet Reverb. It's solid state, but a great practice amp, has a distortion channel and you can plug headphones into it so as not to wake up the family. A friend has a Frontman and likes it. Both of us have had these amps for forever, which is why I suggest the used market. You can probably find good used amps on reverb.com or guitarcenter.com

How about the Orange Micro Terror & matching miniture cab.

Crazy cheap price and takes up barely any room at all...

[orangeamps.com]

Ever consider one of these gadgets? they are cheap and let you play without bothering family or neighbors?

[www.amazon.com]

There are a ton of choices and prices

[www.amazon.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-04-06 21:46 by oldschool.

The Roland Cube amp is cheap and has plenty of settings for a small amp. Good for sitting on the sofa beside you while watching TV and playing.

Quote
MadMax
Ya can't go wrong with a Pignose mate! (Don't know if they're available on the internet though)

Aren't those super dirty? Liddas is looking for a "sufficiently decent clean sound".



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-04-06 22:41 by Koen.

Small apartment, I'm sorry, a tube amp wont do. Even down to 1 watt, they're loud.

Go with the mustang or katana. Solid state and headphones are your best option. IMHO.

I know you don't want a modeling amp, but how about Vox Mini5 Rhythm. I don't have a personal experience with it (I have the Vox AC15 and I love it), but Brian May uses it during his own isolation and he seems to be pretty happy with it. He shows it here at 7:05
[www.youtube.com]

Quote
liddas
Has anyone ever tried one of these?

[shop.fender.com]

C

I have this one, good little practice amp!

Fender Champion 20

From your description the perfect amp would be the Marshall Mini Jubilee 2525C ( it is pricey , but it has the features that you are looking for )

Quote
dmay
You might want to look into used amps. If you're into Fender, I suggest checking out the older Fender Bullet Reverb or Frontman amps. I have the Bullet Reverb. It's solid state, but a great practice amp, has a distortion channel and you can plug headphones into it so as not to wake up the family. A friend has a Frontman and likes it. Both of us have had these amps for forever, which is why I suggest the used market. You can probably find good used amps on reverb.com or guitarcenter.com

Thank you!

The Frontman is one of the amps I was looking at.

Used market is quite on its knees due to the virus restrictions. Only a few big online stores are fully operational.

I'm based it Italy, so have to see what is available here. For these things shipping cost from the states + customs are x3 times the cost of the amp!

C

you can try thomann.de (https://www.thomann.de/it/index.html), they offer a lot of models instantly available, and have good prices.The Laney CUB 8 at € 139 might be something (I don't know the amp). Or, if you like the VOX-sound, look at the VOX AC4, different models under € 400.

rock on, in theese hard times ...

resotele

Vox AC4. You can even use it for gigs when you attach a 2x12 cabinet.

I love the actual version of the Fender Blues Junior IV. Different from all other versions , 12“Celestion and it works great even in an appartment . Smooth sounding , crunch ... , just great . Works fine with pedals . So for adjusting the volume , you can do it with a pedal anyway . Sadly no headphone jack .

Cheers , Tom

Try a Strum Buddy







Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-04-07 22:16 by More Hot Rocks.

It's not cheap,
but this looks like a fun-gadget...

[www.youtube.com]

[www.youtube.com]

Quote
electricmud
I love the actual version of the Fender Blues Junior IV. Different from all other versions , 12“Celestion and it works great even in an appartment . Smooth sounding , crunch ... , just great . Works fine with pedals . So for adjusting the volume , you can do it with a pedal anyway .

...or your guitar's volume knob!

Big fan of the Blues Junior as well, although mine needs new tubes at the moment.

I also have a Super Champ X2, which technically has modeling (voicings), but it also has tubes. In addition to that it has a ton of onboard effects–some better than others–and a line out. I pretty much leave it on one voicing and it's been my main solo practice amp for the last few years.

With smaller amps IMO Fenders are the best.
The new Orange are good too. ( as small as a 4" speaker)
And Music Man makes a great tiny practice amp that runs on batteries w/o being total distortion like many of the small amps. (Marshall)

The best smaller amp I ever had was the Fender Sidekick 35W. I do not know why they discontinued making them. Maybe the Champ took over that corner. I used that amp for many years on the road as main amp. They are still out there to find used.

Curious - why not a mod amp? Is it a matter of principle?

I like this one [youtu.be]

Quote
Palace Revolution 2000

Curious - why not a mod amp? Is it a matter of principle?

No, it is not a matter of principle.

No doubt mod amps will be the future.

They can even sound great.

Yet, for someone like me who grew up with old style tube or transistor, they just don't give the same experience. Not even close.

Even the crappiest transistor amp gives me more satisfaction.

It's like photography. I like both, digital and analog. But even if the end result can be somehow similar, no digital camera can provide the same experience of shooting that an analog camera, with all its limitations, provides.

C

I guess it may be described as a modelling amp but the Blackstar id core series sound fantastic. The stereo on them is amazing you seriously think there’s another cabinet on the other side of the room. Really good built in fx. I know it’s probably not what you’re looking for but may be worth considering.

Quote
ErwinH
It's not cheap,
but this looks like a fun-gadget...

[www.youtube.com]

[www.youtube.com]

Yes - I've heard good things about these. Very tempted to pick up a pair myself. And the fact that you can play along with streaming music from Spotify etc is also a big plus I think.

As an aside - it's amazing to think that as the technology progresses it's quite conceivable that there will be a completely immersive VR type experience available at some point where you'll be able to actually jam with with friends, strangers or your favourite musicians, in the studio or on stage. Maybe there already is and I'm completely out of touch?!!

Blackstar makes some small, affordable, versatile and great sounding amps. Check'm out.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-04-10 15:17 by TheflyingDutchman.

A Fender Champ is perfect, really - they don't get loud. Expensive but awesome. They only have 3 knobs - Volume, Treble, Bass.