# What’s your pick for best ‘value’ amp?



## Dan Caldwell (Feb 26, 2017)

Just wondering what amps people think are best value? Not thinking least expensive but more tone to dollar ratio. Subjective of course as everyone has different ideas of good tone.

My Picks

1. fender Pro Jr - 
2. Peavey Classic 30
3. Supro Dual Tone

I lean towards blues rock crunch tones myself.....


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

After trying many I ended up with a Vox AC10 in a trade. It won't be going anywhere.


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## white buffalo (Jan 31, 2016)

Fender Bassbreaker 15, hands down.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

latest iterations of boss and fender 50W digital amps.


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## Grab n Go (May 1, 2013)

Are we talking used?

First: Vintage Traynors. Although the price has been steadily increasing, you still get a lot of kick ass amp for the money. 

Second: Non-vintage Traynors, like the YCV series. Solid workhorses.

Third: Boss Katana series. Easily the most versatile, affordable amp right now. They can hang at a gig and also be perfectly suited for home.


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## GeorgeMich (Jun 6, 2013)

Fender Super Champ XD. Had one for years and was a phenomenal practice amp. Sold it for the price of a pedal foolishly.


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## jimmythegeek (Apr 17, 2012)

Teal stripe solid state PEAVEY. The cleans are immaculate, the EQ is oh so tweakable and the reverb is lush without being overwhelming. The Fender Hotrods used to be super affordable on the used market a d I once bought a 4X10 DeVille over a 65DRRI without losing any sleep. The Vox AC-10 punches way above its weight too. My slightly odd pick would be the Marshall MG series. Sure, the effects kinda suck but as an affordable way to get a taste for that Marshall goodness I really can't think of anything that comes close (apart from the Origin series but that's a pretty significant price jump for toe dippers).


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## jimmythegeek (Apr 17, 2012)

GeorgeMich said:


> Fender Super Champ XD. Had one for years and was a phenomenal practice amp. Sold it for the price of a pedal foolishly.


I had the Vibro Champ version of that. If it had a 10" speaker I'd probably still own it. Marvellous cleans and more convincing high gain tones than you should be able to coax out of a single 6V6 amp with an 8" speaker.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

Out of what I've tried, my YGL1 is a good bang for the buck.


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## 5732 (Jul 30, 2009)

Traynor YGL1. 3 voicings, good speaker, easy tube changes, made in canada, rugged build, sounds great. Easy to find used in $400-$500 range


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## SteveS (Apr 25, 2006)

I could be very happy with a Marshall DSL 50 or 100. 
Used they're cheap as dirt. I think I paid $800 for my 2001 100 watt. 4 different modes, albeit not all foot switchable, reverb, and a good effects loop. The green channel is great by itself or as a pedal platform, while my favorite is the red channel with the gain down and volume up. That works for me.
Sounds decent at low volume too.
That would be my pick.


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## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

If I lost my Stephenson & my Garnet, I would simply replace them with the Traynor YGL-2. 

Every time I try one it's -- "yeah, this will do". 

As far as ownership goes, I never tire of the portabiltiy and performance of the Roland Blues Cube. Not the most versatile, but a solid workhorse. And so manageable for gigs (well, "visits" now).


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## John123 (Jul 22, 2020)

I'd go with a vintage Traynor YGM series. You can still find these with the original tubes!! Quick once over at the tech's, swap the spk to a Cannabis Rex and you've got yourself an awesome sounding amp.


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

Cheap transistor has to be Peavey Bandit. Free to $50 if dead, maybe $150 working as is, maybe $200 serviced. Ignore the people asking $250 for these, another will show up cheaper. 
Easy to clean and repair. I've had 3 of them still have 1.

Good value tube amps, I only personally know about Traynor YGM3, and the YCV20WR. Both are very good in my opinion.

But there are so many choices out there in the tube world, used, and with "new" tubes amps now being made since the 90s, there's 25 years of used modern production amps out there. Ive seen boutique combos from the 90s going for $1000ish, that were double that when new.
But even vintage, a 70s Twin Reverb can be found for around $1k.


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

mud_guy said:


> Traynor YGL1. 3 voicings, good speaker, easy tube changes, made in canada, rugged build, sounds great. Easy to find used in $400-$500 range


And it's small! And it has a master volume.
I saw one next to a YGM3 reissue and the YGM3 is huge in comparison. It really is a big combo...I think a 15" speaker could fit in it but it's already pretty heavy even with the original flt-weight speaker.


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## pipestone62 (Nov 14, 2013)

Traynor YCS head or combos
Marshall JMD1 head or combos
Peavey Classic 20,30,50 combos ( older version ones )

stupid cheap for what you get


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

white buffalo said:


> Fender Bassbreaker 15, hands down.


This is a very good amp, would be my second choice (I have the 30R)


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## bzrkrage (Mar 20, 2011)

Ok. Used: In a tube amp, as above have said, a used Traynor vintage or newer. Hands down.

Solidstate: Peavey Bandit (cheap) Boss Katana range (mid price) Roland JC Series (can find a deal)....

But, in my case, the Fender HotRod series can be found at AMAZING prices for a great pedal platform the is a back line staple.
Garage sales anywhere from (IME) $120. (Yes there’s a story....)


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

From your 3 picks, I've had all of them at the same time. But I'll go with the Peavey Classic 30. I have one for 15 years now. I've gigged with it for a bit. Is now primarily my backup amp. Never ever had issues with it. Has good cleans, reverb is fine and very pedal friendly. It will also hang with a loud drummer. You probably could get one for < $400 used.


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## Kerry Brown (Mar 31, 2014)

Not a lot of love for the Fender Blues Jr. I've never owned one but I've played through many. Quite a few friends own them. They are reliable and relatively cheap. My choice would be a Pro Jr because I've owned a couple and the tone suits my playing. The reason I'd pick a Blues Jr is it has a very similar tome and it has more variety. The Pro Jr basically has one usable tone. The Blues Jr. has several.


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## YaReMi (Mar 9, 2006)

white buffalo said:


> Fender Bassbreaker 15, hands down.


Absolutely!
Also, Traynor YCV20WR.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Evh 5150 III lunchbox


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## jimmythegeek (Apr 17, 2012)

tomee2 said:


> Cheap transistor has to be Peavey Bandit. Free to $50 if dead, maybe $150 working as is, maybe $200 serviced. Ignore the people asking $250 for these, another will show up cheaper.
> Easy to clean and repair. I've had 3 of them still have 1.
> 
> Good value tube amps, I only personally know about Traynor YGM3, and the YCV20WR. Both are very good in my opinion.
> ...


Beware the transistors though. I had one go on a SC210 and by the time I had it tracked down (one of the power ones that have been obsolete for ages) and factored in labor from a tech (I'm useless) it would have been more than I paid for the amp. When it worked though, it was awesome.


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

jimmythegeek said:


> Beware the transistors though. I had one go on a SC210 and by the time I had it tracked down (one of the power ones that have been obsolete for ages) and factored in labor from a tech (I'm useless) it would have been more than I paid for the amp. When it worked though, it was awesome.


Absolutely. If changing a fuse, cleaning the pots and switches, resetting all the cable plugs, and cleaning the TRS jacks doesn't get it working, they're not worth repairing. Yet.


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

KapnKrunch said:


> If I lost my Stephenson & my Garnet, I would simply replace them with the Traynor YGL-2.
> 
> Every time I try one it's -- "yeah, this will do".
> 
> As far as ownership goes, I never tire of the portabiltiy and performance of the Roland Blues Cube. Not the most versatile, but a solid workhorse. And so manageable for gigs (well, "visits" now).


The Roland Cubes especially for clean tones are hard to beat. Peavey Classic 30 is another sleeper.


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

jimmythegeek said:


> The Fender Hotrods used to be super affordable on the used market a d I once bought a 4X10 DeVille over a 65DRRI without losing any sleep.


Got my Hot Rod over 10yrs ago, so they were (by me research at the time) the absolute best bang for buck (for what I was looking for). They have jumped in price for new & used though. Not sure it would still be in consideration for what Fender is asking now. Which is hard to say, cause I love this amp! I guess that means I can never, ever sell it!


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## Dan Caldwell (Feb 26, 2017)

What about thoughts on things like a Kemper? While not inexpensive it could be argued that they are great value considering the options and tones they can get.


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## jimmythegeek (Apr 17, 2012)

SWLABR said:


> Got my Hot Rod over 10yrs ago, so they were (by me research at the time) the absolute best bang for buck (for what I was looking for). They have jumped in price for new & used though. Not sure it would still be in consideration for what Fender is asking now. Which is hard to say, cause I love this amp! I guess that means I can never, ever sell it!


I paid $600 6 or 7 years ago. I only sold it because it was too much power for where we were moving. I've kept my eyea open for another one but now they cost as much (or near enough) as the DRRI did at the time.


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

jimmythegeek said:


> I paid $600 6 or 7 years ago. I only sold it because it was too much power for where we were moving. I've kept my eyea open for another one but now they cost as much (or near enough) as the DRRI did at the time.


I paid about that much.


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

It's not hard to find a Fender Red Knob Twin for $500 bucks or less. Buy a JHS Little Black Amp box to plug into the effects loop ($57.00 new, usually about $40 used) and you've got an amp that can do anything you'd ever want.


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## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

Okay Player said:


> It's not hard to find a Fender Red Knob Twin for $500 bucks or less. Buy a JHS Little Black Amp box to plug into the effects loop ($57.00 new, usually about $40 used) and you've got an amp that can do anything you'd ever want.


I guess it would have to be a series effects loop eh?


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

KapnKrunch said:


> I guess it would have to be a series effects loop eh?


Why is that?

Edit: Yes, correct.


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## Grab n Go (May 1, 2013)

Dan Caldwell said:


> What about thoughts on things like a Kemper? While not inexpensive it could be argued that they are great value considering the options and tones they can get.


I think that's a fair point. With the right setup, a Kemper (or any good modeller) can be a versatile and satisfying rig; it gives access to sounds that would be difficult or expensive to acquire.

These things also tend to depreciate as time goes on and technology improves, so presumably, they would be an even better deal in the future. (Although in almost 10 years, the Kemper hasn't decreased price-wise at all and the early models still take the latest firmware updates.)


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## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

Okay Player said:


> Why is that?
> 
> Edit: Yes, correct.


Lol. May as well post this link for others? Decent idea you have there. 



serial vs parallel effects loop - Google Search


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

KapnKrunch said:


> Lol. May as well post this link for others? Decent idea you have there.
> 
> 
> 
> serial vs parallel effects loop - Google Search


Truthfully I hadn't given it much thought. I had heard it was a good option for people wanting to tame the volume of the Fender Hot Rod series amps and when I acquired my Red Knob and saw that it had an an effects loop I bought one without considering what type of effects loop the amp might have.


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

Most effects loops are serial - parallel loops are reasonably uncommon.


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## jimmythegeek (Apr 17, 2012)

Okay Player said:


> Truthfully I hadn't given it much thought. I had heard it was a good option for people wanting to tame the volume of the Fender Hot Rod series amps and when I acquired my Red Knob and saw that it had an an effects loop I bought one without considering what type of effects loop the amp might have.


I remember the taper of the volume pot being the issue for me. It went something like this:
0 off
1 rather loud indeed
2 this may not be good for my hearing
3 farmers within a 25km radius report strange and erratic behaviour in their livestock.
Apparently later iterations fixed this somewhat...


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## Ronan Crozier (Aug 20, 2019)

Without a doubt I would give the best value amp award to the Fender Bassbreaker 007. You can get them relatively inexpensively when they come up on the used market and they are absolutely amazing amps with a lot of different sounds. Plus you can get that plexi tone at bedroom volumes with the volume and gain knobs.


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## bzrkrage (Mar 20, 2011)

well. "tone for $$$'s"?

You throw in Kemper. I see your IR's and raise you....
Dumble ODS


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

jimmythegeek said:


> I remember the taper of the volume pot being the issue for me. It went something like this:
> 0 off
> 1 rather loud indeed
> 2 this may not be good for my hearing
> ...


That was the appeal of the JHS Black Box. It's effectively a master volume. So you can run the amp at whatever amp volume and then adjust the actual output volume to taste.


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## MetalTele79 (Jul 20, 2020)

The Blackheart Little Giant is a great sounding tube amp that can be found very cheap. I sold one earlier this year for $200.


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## slag banal (May 4, 2020)

For value: I use my Yammy THR 10C more hours per dollar, than any other of my dozen or so amps.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

I think the Pro Jr is a good amp for what I do and it's relatively cheap although I like my 57 Champ Reissue a lot more and it was about twice the price of the Jr. Mostly I'm playing a LP Jr. or a Tele and no pedals.


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## Waldo97 (Jul 4, 2020)

Dan Caldwell said:


> What about thoughts on things like a Kemper? While not inexpensive it could be argued that they are great value considering the options and tones they can get.


That's tricky. If "not inexpensive" gets included, why not include the Deluxe Reverb on the grounds that it's an iconic amp and _really hard_ to make sound bad.


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## Markus 1 (Feb 1, 2019)

Grab n Go said:


> Are we talking used?
> 
> First: Vintage Traynors. Although the price has been steadily increasing, you still get a lot of kick ass amp for the money.
> 
> ...



Agree on the Traynors, old and new
My fav is a YGL MK3 or a YBA4 with a 15 inch speaker
Instead of the Katana , I like a Yamaha THR 10


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

Another vote for value = Traynor. For me, a YCV50. Applies equally to used Traynor bass amps, I had a 200 watter SS combo 15” that was perfect for basement jamming. I let that thing go for a song, and think I could easily replace it cheaply.


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## Dan Caldwell (Feb 26, 2017)

Waldo97 said:


> That's tricky. If "not inexpensive" gets included, why not include the Deluxe Reverb on the grounds that it's an iconic amp and _really hard_ to make sound bad.


Agreed! I’m actually surprised more midhigher priced amps aren’t being discussed. I meant value as most worth the price ( not best for lowest price) Which is why my supro made my list.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

If you include the Deluxe Reverb, I would recommend that. That's my gigging amp right now.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

Traynor fan here as well.


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## Markus 1 (Feb 1, 2019)

I think the lack of blues junior love is a result of vintage hardwired Traynor availability


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

Best bang for the buck in the long run? I would contended a modeler, especially an older one that has depreciated to the bottom. Like an Eleven Rack or a first gen Axe, maybe some of the early L6 stuff. 

You can have a new amp every day for months, if not years, but it takes investment/time to get the most out of them (long and sometimes steep learning curve). And for the most part, all the fx are included with the amp. The new, high end modelers would also fulfill the need, but the price of entry may exceed the point of diminishing returns.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

Man this thread just really drives home how new guitarists have it so good these days!

Grab a MIM Fender Strat/Tele or an Epiphone Les Paul Standard a Boss Katana and you are laughing for under $1000.


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

keto said:


> Another vote for value = Traynor. For me, a YCV50. Applies equally to used Traynor bass amps, I had a 200 watter SS combo 15” that was perfect for basement jamming. I let that thing go for a song, and think I could easily replace it cheaply.


Yup - YCV50, followed by the YCV40. I'd buy those all day long.


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## Markus 1 (Feb 1, 2019)

I have a YCV 80, 50, and two 20s.
2 YGM3's, and a hand built ygm2 clone with a "hot" switch that drops the tone stack
Hard to beat
I am clearly an addict


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