# Best small/practice tube amps?



## canadiangeordie (Jan 10, 2009)

Hey all

Looking to grab a small tube amp for home practice only, the wife goes to the gym most nights for an hour and ive now got an opportunity to finally get something worth cranking up! Currently have a small Peavey Bandit, and would be looking for something to accomodate mainly Metal-fused playing.

Rough prices would be appreciated also. thanks.


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## CDWaterloo (Jul 18, 2008)

Definetly Fender Blues jr (made in US version). I recently sold one (in a very good condition) for $350. Then, bought a used Fender Champ 600 for $140. not even close. feeling very regretfully..


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## EL34POWER (Jan 16, 2007)

I went with a Peavey Delta bleus 2x10. 750.00 canadian taxes in.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Randall RM20. Lots of tube preamp modules to choose from to suit your style.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Where are you now? England or Canada? This is from a British amp company. Five watts, tube, 1X10. US price is $399.00. I've seen higher end Blackstar amps at L&M in Toronto. http://www.blackstaramps.co.uk/products/ht-5/index.html


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

word on the street/online community is that the HT-5 gets some damn good metal tones .

But peavey bandits are known for putting out good metal tone at home - turn that up?


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## Archer (Aug 29, 2006)

You sure you need tubes for home practice? A trumpet blaring is about equal to 5 watts....even a 5 watt amp is SUPER loud for a practice amp.


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## canadiangeordie (Jan 10, 2009)

Hey
After a little thought, maybe i'd be better off selling the Randall i have and putting that money towards a new main amp-a 5150 or Krank for example. Our lead players' Valveking is eating me alive when we jam.

Anyone have any experience with those Blackstars? And can you pick JCM800's up for reasonable cash second hand these days? I moved from England 2 years agp to Ontario.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

I'd also suggest the Blues Jr., but it's not a metal amp, so you'd need a pedal or two to get the sound you want. 

However, as Archer pointed out, 5 watts is plenty loud, and the BJ is 15. Maybe check out the Vox AC4? I haven't heard anything about it, but it's a Vox and it's in the AC family, how bad could it be?


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Archer said:


> You sure you need tubes for home practice? A trumpet blaring is about equal to 5 watts....even a 5 watt amp is SUPER loud for a practice amp.


Thats a neat way to express the correlation of watts to sound volume. Thanks, I'm going to use that when I talk to beginners about gear! Of course, it gets harder to explain when we get into the law of diminishing returns (eg a 10 watt amp isnt twice as loud as a 5).

Its a shame that electronics companies have used amp wattages as a way of positioning their products as better (like the race for horsepower), when in most cases its all overkill or unusable to the average consumer. Yet when in doubt, most people will just pick th eone with the most "POWER"


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## Bevo (Nov 24, 2006)

You never said how much you want to spend or if you need a combo or head..

Was at L&M the other day and they had a JCM900 head with a switch on the back that goes 50 watt or 25 watt..is a 50 watt head $900.00.
Would of loved to try it out but was in a hurry and it was not plugged in.

A used 5150 2-12 combo was on Crailgslist for around $600 the other day. That would get your metal on and your band mates would be trying to keep up to you!
Peaveys are great and the best thing about them at home is they sound decent at lower volumes. 5505 and 6505's would be amazing and are around used mostly in heads.

Cheap loud home rig, Blackheart 3/5 watt head, 2-12 and a great pedal.
Head is around $220 last I seen, used cab $200+ pedal you probably have. 

Bev


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## fishin' musician (Jun 19, 2008)

My Laney LC15 is a wonderful little tube amp that I found used for less than $300. Its pair of EL84's give it a nice "Marshallesque" vibe. The 10" H/H speaker is crap but plug it into an extension cab and you'll stomp all over your buddy's Valveking.


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## wintle (Mar 25, 2008)

I'd second the Blackheart if you're looking for more Britishy tones. Takes to pedals really well also if you need more dirt/gain/whathaveyou. Cheap for what it is.

Cheers


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## rev156 (Mar 2, 2008)

+1 on the Blackheart. I run with pedals and it's great!
Cheers,


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## fishin' musician (Jun 19, 2008)

fishin' musician said:


> My Laney LC15 is a wonderful little tube amp that I found used for less than $300. Its pair of EL84's give it a nice "Marshallesque" vibe. The 10" H/H speaker is crap but plug it into an extension cab and you'll stomp all over your buddy's Valveking.


Here's one now: http://guitarscanada.com/Board/showthread.php?t=22842 
Laney now outfits this amp with a Celestion speaker. How can you go wrong?


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

just because it says "celestion" doesn't make it good


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## icronic (Jul 31, 2006)

> Originally Posted by Archer View Post
> You sure you need tubes for home practice? A trumpet blaring is about equal to 5 watts....even a 5 watt amp is SUPER loud for a practice amp.





Diablo said:


> Its a shame that electronics companies have used amp wattages as a way of positioning their products as better (like the race for horsepower), when in most cases its all overkill or unusable to the average consumer. Yet when in doubt, most people will just pick the one with the most "POWER"


Many guitar players seem unaware of the fact that tube amps still sound good at low volumes, and that cranking one is not always appropriate.

I have a 120 watt amp in my bedroom. As far as guitar amps go, I really don't think you can get much higher than that. Is it super loud for a practice amp? No. Is it louder than a blaring trumpet? Sure, if I crank it, but that's why it has a volume knob, so I don't have to. It's 120 watts, it's not too loud for practicing, and it still manages to sound fantastic. 

The main consideration is really the type of music played. A metal guy is really not going to want a 5 watt amp, or even a 10 watt amp for bedroom practice. The reason pretty much all Metal guitarists use 100 watt amps has nothing to do with the volume, but the fact that they've got more headroom. Metal and Modern rock more about front end gain than tube overdrive. While Classic Rock and Blues and what not is about having a cranked amp. 

In this case, I'd say look for a used Mesa F-Series amp. 30-50 watts if I recall correctly. The Express might also work, but you might need some kind of OD pedal in front of it.


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

fishin' musician said:


> My Laney LC15 is a wonderful little tube amp that I found used for less than $300. Its pair of EL84's give it a nice "Marshallesque" vibe. The 10" H/H speaker is crap but plug it into an extension cab and you'll stomp all over your buddy's Valveking.


...there's a guy on craigslist trying to sell a 15r - if only i was flush right now!

-dh


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## libtech (May 27, 2008)

I really like orange's tiny terror for a practice amp!


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