Home Practice Amp

[misc1600]

Another vote for the Vox Pathfinder.

[huggernaut]

Another vote for the Vox Pathfinder.

I can't believe how many people like this thing.

Is it really that good? Good with dirt pedals?

Solid state makes me nervous.

I've heard good things about the Laney Cubs too, but finding places to play them is always difficult here.

I have a Cub 12r (15w 1x12). It's a cool amp for the price. Has a >1w input. Voicing is vaguely reminiscent of a Marshall Plexi.

Pros: Half the price of a Blues Jr. Pretty decent clean as well as dirty (has a master volume and the preamp gain sounds pretty nice). Regular bass/mid/treble controls as well as a tone knob with a broad sweep which is nice since I switch between a Tele and LP ( LP = hard right, Tele = 9 o'clock). Has an FX loop bur I've never used it. Fairly usable reverb. Borderline usable in a band situation. Takes pedals pretty well.

Cons: Sound is a bit boxy (higher volume = more so). The speaker efficiency does not seem optimal. The distortion can be fizzy, more so w/ singlecoils. No standby switch.

Worth noting: The 12r and head version are EL84 designs. The 8 is one 6v6 and the 10 is two.

This sounds really nice, I like having a full eq to change it up based on guitars, etc. I'd like it to be REALLY good with pedals, but I'm not sure what my best bet is for that.

[kosta]

Might not be your thing exactly, but I see low wattage Harmony / Supro / Valco / Gretsch tube amps on NYC Craigslist all the time for good prices. I use a Matamp Minimat into a 1x8 cab in my apartment quite a bit. That little guy takes pedals like a champ but might not have enough clean headroom for ya. The tone is a bit dark too.

[madmax1012]

the pathfinder is just a good sounding, cheap solid state amp. mine takes pedals great and i sometimes use it in stereo with my ac15. i'm kinda surprised how much support it has too

[huggernaut]

Might not be your thing exactly, but I see low wattage Harmony / Supro / Valco / Gretsch tube amps on NYC Craigslist all the time for good prices. I use a Matamp Minimat into a 1x8 cab in my apartment quite a bit. That little guy takes pedals like a champ but might not have enough clean headroom for ya. The tone is a bit dark too.

How quickly do those vintage guys breakup? They might be a really good option, actually. Don't know much about them though.

[Noise...]

Alright dudes, I need a new amp for playing at home in my living room.

I tried the digital/modeling thing for home use (Fender Mustang III) and just wasn't happy with the way it sounded taking pedals, so it's getting flipped.

Obviously it needs to sound good with pedals. Really, I only need a good foundational clean tone, from there I can take care of everything else off the board.

I've heard great things about the VHT Special 6 Ultra, but my only concern would be clean headroom.

Anybody play one? Or have recommendations for other sweet little tube amps?

I had the same exact issue with the Mustangs. Great sounding amps, but terrible with pedals in front. Digital effects would be ok on it, but every overdrive or fuzz I stuck in front of mine sounded absolutely atrocious.

I've gone back to just using my Marshall half stack for everything, but I've heard really good things about the Vox Pathfinders for this exact sort of thing. I've even heard of people rocking stereo setups with them, because they're just so damn cheap. You might want to try one out.

[Chankgeez]

Might not be your thing exactly, but I see low wattage Harmony / Supro / Valco / Gretsch tube amps on NYC Craigslist all the time for good prices. I use a Matamp Minimat into a 1x8 cab in my apartment quite a bit. That little guy takes pedals like a champ but might not have enough clean headroom for ya. The tone is a bit dark too.

How quickly do those vintage guys breakup? They might be a really good option, actually. Don't know much about them though.

Some of those old vintage low power tube amps break up nicely and some of them don't. Unfortunately, you either have to know exactly what you're looking for or be able to play though 'em to test 'em out.

I have a few that break up pretty quickly. Supro Bantam, Airline 62-9022A and a late '50's Gibson Skylark (w/ the beige tolex).

They can be had cheaply if you look around. Don't ever buy a vintage amp from any of the guitar shops in NYC. The reason I bought the Airline was because I played through one at Ludlow Guitars. They were asking $500+ for it. Found the same amp for under $100 in a classifieds ad. It just takes a little effort. Sometimes CL isn't too bad. Look everywhere. Guitar shops in the middle of nowhere are sometimes goldmines when it comes to stuff like this.

[kosta]

Might not be your thing exactly, but I see low wattage Harmony / Supro / Valco / Gretsch tube amps on NYC Craigslist all the time for good prices. I use a Matamp Minimat into a 1x8 cab in my apartment quite a bit. That little guy takes pedals like a champ but might not have enough clean headroom for ya. The tone is a bit dark too.

How quickly do those vintage guys breakup? They might be a really good option, actually. Don't know much about them though.

Some of those old vintage low power tube amps break up nicely and some of them don't. Unfortunately, you either have to know exactly what you're looking for or be able to play though 'em to test 'em out.

I haven't played on that many of them, but what Chanks says sounds about right. And I definitely think it's a matter of taste and what your apartment can handle volume-wise. Those Silvertone Amp-In-Case cases might be a good option too. I keep seeing a guy out on Long Island post one (just the case, no guitar) for an ok price.

And yeah, I'm always creeping classifieds and guitar stores when I'm not in NY. Shops here are priced for pro's a lot of the time.

[huggernaut]

With all of the variables in the older/vintage amps, I wonder if I'd just be better off with a VHT special 6.

[kosta]

There is certainly something to be said for ease of use and ease of procurement. Me, I like weird stuff that's half broke usually.

[hclapp219]

With all of the variables in the older/vintage amps, I wonder if I'd just be better off with a VHT special 6.

There is something to be said for that. I had to get a good amount of work done on my vibro champ to get it into good work order (cap job, some re-soldering).

[theavondon]

No lie, pathfinder is actually quite nice.

[misc1600]

No lie, pathfinder is actually quite nice.

Yes, I love mine a lot.

[Chankgeez]

There is certainly something to be said for ease of use and ease of procurement. Me, I like weird stuff that's half broke usually.

Yeah, new stuff is definitely easier. Uh, all my stuff is half broke.

With all of the variables in the older/vintage amps, I wonder if I'd just be better off with a VHT special 6.

There is something to be said for that. I had to get a good amount of work done on my vibro champ to get it into good work order (cap job, some re-soldering).

Uh, yeah, all my tube amps currently need to be re-capped & re-tubed.

[kosta]

Cross posting from another thread - some of my at-home jammers:

As requested, the Gas Can 1x8 cab (jack in the breather valve...) Drum machines sound awesome through this because they rattle the can!


And because I love it, the RCA 400 1x15 combo amp (made from the tube PA system in an old 16mm film projector...)