# best single channel amp for the price



## telemaster1987 (Oct 23, 2010)

I think I'm getting tired of combos. Right now I have a Fender Hot Rod Deville 410. Its loud enough, but I'm not completely satisfied with the clean or dirt channels. I have some nice pedals that I use so I'm thinking of trading up to a nice single channel amp. I play almost all music styles, but mostly rock/classic rock...and in a cover band. I play a Gibson les paul classic and a modded Tele. Must be tube, i love tubes. I was thinking a nice VOX AC30? any feedback is much appreciated.


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## sivs (Aug 5, 2009)

"best" is a very subjective thing. For the price... what price? Some guys here are fender guys, some marshall, some vox, and some something else. Find something you love and call it your best. 

My 2 cents... the AC30 is a great amp. I played one for a few years... just ended up going to something not quite as loud or heavy! I love the vox stuff though, great amps.


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## Nork (Mar 27, 2010)

in the vox vibe - the AC4 is doin' some amazing things. i'm a fan of my tiny terror...or an AC15 would do me. but there are lots!


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## telemaster1987 (Oct 23, 2010)

i'm well aware it is very subjective, just looking for anybody's opinion on quality, reliability and such.


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## WCGill (Mar 27, 2009)

An AC30 and a Tele are a very nice combination. The Les Paul won't be quite as compatible.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

I play a Les Paul and an Esquire through a JTM45 doing classic rock covers ranging from Tom Petty & John Mellencamp to Pearl Jam & Buckcherry. The JTM easily handles all of these. Brilliant amp!


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## WCGill (Mar 27, 2009)

Hey sivs,
I have a Vox-type build at Lucky Star. Go give it a whirl and see what you think.


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

Nork said:


> in the vox vibe - the AC4 is doin' some amazing things. i'm a fan of my tiny terror...or an AC15 would do me. but there are lots!


Ya I am a pretty avid supported of the Tiny Terror. I absolutely love mine. But, is also depends on what you are going for. The Tiny Terror definitely favours on the verge of breakup to full on crunch tones. Not a lot of clean tones going on.


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## holyman (Dec 22, 2009)

My favorite single channel amp so far is the Suhr Badger 18. Stunning chimey cleans to gritty Marshall distortions as well as power scaling so it sounds really really good at low volumes. Mine has speaker outputs for 4, 8, and 16 ohm cabinets so I can play it through anything. Its small, light, and its a Suhr so the build quality is outstanding. 

You can pick up a used one for under $1200 or so. You would be hard pressed to find a better amp for the price. Or for any price for that matter. 

There are some great Youtube vids of this amp in action. I bought mine purely on the basis of those vids and was not dissapointed.


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## Andy (Sep 23, 2007)

I don't think you can go wrong with a Marshall 1987, or a similar clone to it. I'm sure Wild Bill could work his magic on an old Traynor or such to get you that sound for a very reasonable price.


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## krelk (Nov 6, 2010)

bang for buck? 
Egnater Tweaker.....not sure of reliability, though......I am slightly paranoid of new affordable (cheaper) amps that are manufactured in (?) some place (?).........
Traynor DarkHorse is cool too......

Lower wattage might be an issue depending on your needs - i tried the tweaker and it can get REAL loud.......I dug the Traynor's nice tube tone as well...

Just some thoughts


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## Baconator (Feb 25, 2006)

Another Tiny Terror fan here. I will say that as much as I had believed that there wasn't much going on with clean tones, I have found that if you crank the volume and just use enough gain to bring up the volume you can get some nice tones. However, I still think the best feature of the Tine Terror is it's full-on crunch tones - so much fun!

I'm also currently waiting on the delivery of a Dr. Z Carmen Ghia. I've been reading up on that amp for years and it is consistently mentioned as one of the best bang for the buck amplifiers out there. Hopefully I'll be able to confirm this soon .


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## bolero (Oct 11, 2006)

I'd get an old traynor bassmaster...underpriced for what they are, built like a tank & will do everything you need...use it unfettered for headroom, and kick a pedal for distortion


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## thehoj (May 12, 2009)

EDIT:.. Just realized this was for single channel amp.
In which case I change my suggestion to Orange AD30R .
Great mid-range growl.


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## tubetwang (Dec 18, 2007)

at 600$ each with Pau Amarillo Cab, N.O.S. Power Tubes, V.V.R. attenuators, N.O.S Pacific Output Transformer, 4,8,16 ohm outputs...my Ceriatone Trainwreck Liverpool and Express are hard to beat tonewise...

The Liverpool is AC30 on growth hormones!

The Express is Plexi on steroids!!


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## drift_boat (Feb 2, 2006)

You should try a VVT X-40 model. Great warm cleans and very harmonic rich od. Fantastic master vol.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I just bought a Dr Z Maz 38 2 X 10 for $1100. USD.

Sounds great to me with either humbuckers or singles.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

For me...Les paul R9 into a JMP 78...and SONIC BOOM...we play modern rock to Frampton, Zepplin and lots of stuff in between..


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## Guest (Nov 13, 2010)

The Mayfly that bluehugh just put up for sale would be one of my top contenders for this category.


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## Nork (Mar 27, 2010)

^^^if i had the cash to spend, i woulda already bought that one. i'm between an ac15 and a tiny terror. both great single channel amps for a good price.


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