The site of the metal stage shows of the day with multiple rows of full stacks behind the band only fueled the fire. While the full stack may still have a place in the guitar world a trend towards the compact tube amplifier has surfaced and there are quite a few choices.
I haven’t played all of these amps but I thought I would do a little round up of what’s out there for the guitarists who are looking for a big sound without the back breaking weight of a full stack. Here’s a roundup of some great entries in the 30 watt or less all tube amps.
Vox night train
- Channels: 1
- Tubes:2 12ax7 2 el84
- Output: 15 watts
- loop: no
- Reverb: no
- street Price: $500
- Head only
Orange Tiny Terror
Channels: 1
- Tubes:2 12ax7 2 el84
- Output: 15 watts
- loop: no
- Reverb: no
- Head or Combo
- street Price: $600 head $900 combo
Orange Dual Terror
Channels: 2
Tubes: 4 12ax7 4 el84
Output: 30 watts
loop: no
Reverb: no
Head Only
street Price:head $900
Epiphone Valve Jr.
Channels: 1
Tubes: 1 12ax7 1 el84
Output: 5 watts
loop: no
Reverb: no
Head or combo
street Price:head $129 combo $159
Fender Pro Jr.
Channels: 1
Tubes: 2 12ax7 2 el84
Output: 15 watts
loop: no
Reverb: no
combo only
street Price: $399
Fender Blues Jr.
Channels: 1 (with Fat switch)
Tubes: 3 12ax7 2 el84
Output: 15 watts
loop: no
Reverb: Yes
combo only
street Price: $599
Channels: 1
Tubes: 1 12ax7 1 el84
Output: 5 watts
loop: no
Reverb: no
Head only
street Price:head $199
Channels: 2
Tubes: 3 ecc83 2 6v6
Output: 15 watts
loop: no
Reverb: yes
Head Only
street Price:head $599
Channels: 2
Tubes: 1 12ax7 1 12bh7
Output: 5 watts
loop: yes
Reverb: no
Head or combo
street Price:head $399 Combo $499
Channels: 1
Tubes: 3 12ax7 2 6v6 2 el84
Output: 20 watts
loop: yes
Reverb: no
Head only
street Price:head $599
Channels: 2
Tubes: 3 12ax7 2 6v6 2 el84
Output: 30 watts
loop: yes
Reverb: yes
Head or combo
street Price:head $799 1x12 combo $899
Mesa Express 5:25
Channels: 2
Tubes: 5 12ax7 2 el84
Output: 25 watts
loop: yes
Reverb: yes
Head or combo
street Price:head $1099 1x12 combo $1229
Mesa Transatlantic
Channels: 2
Tubes: 4 12ax7 2 el84
Output: 25 watts
loop: no
Reverb: no
Head only
street Price: $900 (unconfirmed)
1 comment:
Great post. I had a great lunchtime last week testing out the Vox, the Tiny Terror and the Blackstar HT-5. Of the three the Blackstar impressed me most - although the Vox looks superb in the flesh. If you're interested in these might also be worth checking out the Bugera V5, which offers amazing value for money.
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