I'll check those out! Also worth noting I don't NEED anything with built in effects. I have a basic pedalboard with a distortion, chorus, delay, looper, and tuner. EDIT: Looks like those Supros are a little out of my price range. Look cool though.
I have a Supro Delta King and love it. There's a 5 watt and 15 watt. I have the 5, it sounds great and has some cool features like a boost/distortion circuit. Harmony has a few amps that look pretty cool and come with attenuators. They are supposed to be quite good, but I haven't tried one.
I mainly play around with riffs, usually with a decent amount of distortion. Anything from Coheed, Balance and Composure, to more metal-like stuff in drop D. Balance and Composure's tone on the Separation album is basically what I try to achieve anytime I'm messing with effects.
those are super cool sounds i’d def look at AC15/30 as mentioned. It’s a classic, just keep the cut and treble back. the AC4 is also worth a look. The model that looks like a 15/30 is just enough for jamming, but it’s not gonna be a wall of sound check out Marshall’s newer budget tube lines. I’ve had a few, all under $500… The 1W dsl is cool, a little too small for jamming The 20W DSL is a great amp, but you’re livin in high gain land, it doesn’t clean up too well The Origin 20 is worth a look. It has a really usable breakup, and takes gain pedals well. Downsides are a boxy 10” speaker and depending on your surroundings, maybe too loud. It’s switchable to 1W but it needs to be turned up to 4.5+ to bloom, and even on 1W that’s really loud. It’s not usable in an apartment Balance And Composure used Marshalls and Orange. Orange makes a variety of quality budget amps…I’d personally look elsewhere, they’re an unweildy beast. I think they’d be A LOT less popular if they weren’t a cool color Blackstar makes cool amps, but theyre a pain to repair, maybe a not a concern at home. I had a 5W I liked I haven’t played the Amazon Basics amp, but it seems like a good amp for like $300, especially for a bedroom shredder. The brand is Monoprice Used Laney Cub is a cool Vox alternative There’s so much out there, I’m surely forgetting things
For what it’s worth, I own a great Vox, Marshalls, a vintage Mesa…prolly things I’m forgetting, and 99.9% of the time at home I’m goin ham on a Helix. It’s the most fun purchase I’ve made. It was $600 used in mint condish
honestly same - i have the hx stomp and its perfect at home. just throw some headphones on, plug it into a computer if you want to record or play along to songs/backing tracks, and get basically whatever tone you want immediately. i ideally would use that live, but haven't worked out the tones exactly how i want them yet.
Ugh, I get decision paralysis on stuff like this, and I think my biggest thing is use case. I think I can't decide if I want something that takes my pedal board well, like the Vox ac15, or something with built in effects that could be fun like the Boss Katana 50 or 100, or a fun desktop amp that's easy to use like the Yamaha THR30ii. I'm thinking I might choose two, and go for a better deal. I did order a used Yamaha thr30ii on Guitar Center that was mislabeled as a thr10ii for $400, but I'm already wondering if A) they'll actually send the one in the picture since it wasn't what the description said, or B) I'll wish I got something bigger. That Vox AC15 in my area is $400, those retail for $800... Does the Vox sound good at low volume?
honestly think it depends - if you want to push it to the edge of a natural crunch/breakup, it'll be too loud. if you want to play clean as a pedal platform you may be ok. i've lived in apartments my whole guitar playing life, so i've never felt like i could really get the most out of my combo amps at home. i much prefer a desktop amp at home with a headphone jack
I think I'm just gonna wait for that Yamaha to come in and see how that plays out. I'm lucky that my dad plays too and has some bigger amps I can try out or borrow in a pinch. Desktop amps like the Boss Katana Air and the Yamaha STR series seem to have come a long way in the last 5 years or so.
invest in a good attenuator and get the vox imo (I am biased here bc I am a full blown vox stan but nevertheless)
yes - to do it you may have to cut your speaker wire in the AC15 as i think the speaker cable is hard wired to the speaker. you also have some considerations about whether or not you want the attenuated signal to go to the speaker in your amp, or get plugged into an external speaker (if you wire up correctly you should be able to do either, as well as play the amp directly without the attenuator connected). with the attenuator reducing power, you may find that your amp's speaker isn't getting enough juice to sound exactly the same at loud volumes. definitely a valid option, will require some work to get it right - or bring it to a shop and they can do it for you. also, it's a good idea to be very careful when opening up the back of those things. some parts store very high voltage and can be quite dangerous. i don't know enough to feel comfortable playing around with it.
I have the yamaha thrii and i think it sounds good for home. I like having the option to play backing tracks via bluetooth to practice to. I sold my tube amp (bassbreaker 007) and got a quilter superblock us + a cab for home use. Solid state amp that you can run at 25w or 1w plus has an effects loop and headphones out. 1w option works well for me.
So I got that Yamaha thr30ii wireless in the mail from Guitar Center... speaker doesn't work at all, haha. I returned it and will probably be getting a new one after that experience. I do feel good about that amp for my current needs though. Plenty loud, people rave about how it sounds compared to other desktop amps, a capable app to tweak further, bluetooth speaker to play along with/just listen to music, rechargeable battery, wireless potential, plug into a PA, and interface for the computer. Just seems like a really versatile little amp. Should be though since it retails for $550.
How do you find the Quilter? I tend to go out to jams/rehearsals every month or so and at the moment, I'm lugging a Tweaker and a Marshall 2x12 around. It just feels like an ordeal every time. I've been eyeing a Quilter Aviator Cub UK or maybe even the Mach 3, but they're a complete arse to find to demo over here. There's like one physical supplier of Quilter amps in the UK and nobody likes going to Wembley. Some of the demos on Youtube of them sound absolutely mighty.
I really like it, I have the US version and mainly play clean with stupid amounts of reverb, so it's great for that haha. Haven't tried any of their UK voiced ones. I got mine from Andertons, I think they might be the only supplier over here other than the place in Wembley.