So whats the optimal livingroom/praticing amp

[hanzo]

So i'm currenntly running on a Roland Cube30, a okay enough amp for the money I guess. Soundswise it's okayish, but thats about it. I have been thinking I want a new amp, something to toy around with and enjoy.

Im a really bad guitarist, and theres no chances of me joining a band or do anything outside the comforts of the house. So I want something that I can play in the basement or office without desturbing the wife or kid to much. I want it to sound great ofcourse, but it needs to sound okay on a really low volume, whiche can be a problem from what I understand. Tube amps seems to be the choice of champions, but I cant cranck it up to 11 to sound good, and getting a great amp only to install attenuatoers (sp?) is not the best option soundwise?

Music styles is pretty diverse, anything from Black Sabbath to Hank Marvin in the same season, but hard rock is the style I focus on and enjoy the most. I also love a good blusey sound ala Gary Moore. So I want a amp that can handle abit of everything, hopefully without 4-5 pedals and tons of wire running everywhere. I would love something with presets, so I can go from Iommi to Hank within a few seconds instead of setting everything up for 30 seconds of Apachi before I dive back into a hopeless rendition of Iron Man

Money aint the biggets issue, I have no problem buying a Bogner Alchemist 212 if thats the optimal choice, but thats about as high as im willing to go for something that will be sitting in the basement and never be heard or seen by anyone cept for those who care enough about me not to comment honestly about how it sounds.

So, I have been looking at the Spider Valve212, sounds killer to my ears, and with the presets etc it fits the bill pretty well. But at 40W it blows the pictures of the wall before I get to 5% volume. I also hear alot of good words about the Bogner Alchemist, but then im back to fiddeling with 12 knops whenever I want to go from 1 style to another?

The Spider Jam seems to get alot of bad critique, but it does looks like the perfect choice for me. I would love to be able to record a few jamtracks etc on it, and play along, or just record abit of my own stuff to laugh about in a few months time. There are loads of effects built in, presets so I can go from this to that in seconds and it's fairly cheap. I know it cant compare to a tube amp 3 times the money, but will I be able to tell the difference? Could this be a good option for the basement rocker with no real ambition aside from enjoying himself?

Last thing I have been looking at is the VOX Valvotronix line, would the 30W version be considered a big upgrade from the Cube?

[Skully]

I'd shoot for the 5, 7 or 15 watt range or at least something that can drop down to that range for practicing (5:50 express), always hear good things about the Tiny Terror and I've seen it run through a 4 x 12 and keep up with a whole band. I think your best bet is something with one or two EL84's.

[monwobobbo]

you might want to look at a Bugera. they have a 22 watt class A model that has a switch on the back to cut the power in half. they sound good at lower volumes and have enough umph that you could use it to jam with people down the road. don't remember the model #.

[9ball]

so you wqant something that "doest it all" and you want it to do it at low volumes and no pedals and not very many knobs....

lol

solid state modeling amps and pedalboards are fun and neat and convenient and all that, but eventually the curiosity will be killing you and you'll end up getting a tube amp of some kind if you can afford it, so just pick up one of the cheaper floarboards or medeling amps, and some cheap ass 1x12 crate to play it through if you get a floarpedal, and be done with it until you save up for at least a tiny terror and a 2x12 or something and maybe a hotplate for it.
but even with a hotplate you'll still need to crank it a little to get a "great" sound. if you choke all the volume out of a tube amp with an attenuator you're kind of defeating the purpose. you still need to move a little air with your speakers to get a good sound.
but if you already have a roland cube 30 you're probably not going to see much of an improvement going to some other solid state modeling amp.

[diabolical]

I'd say probably Mesa 5:25 amp. The Orange Tiny Terror is a good option but might need an overdrive and the eq section is not very big as it consists of only a "tone" knob, so might need an eq in front as well.
Can't think of anything in this range unless maybe a Vox Vavetronix modeling amp. The Spiders are not that good as far as I am concerned, you'd outgrow them fairly quick.

[metalnick7]

what about an epiphone valve jr? I always thought those lil bastards were nasty! (in a good way)

[9ball]

valve jr's are ok if you just want something cheap with decent low/mid gain tone to mess around with. but they're by no means a "do it all" kind of amp.
i have one- i plan on getting a 1x12 for it and maybe upgrading the OT in it sometime, but it's just kind of a toy. sounds pretty good with some pedals in front of it though.

[Flower]

An epi is pretty much a hobbyist's amp imho. Cheap and easy to mod but not very versatile out of the box.

Here's my recommendation. Take it for what it's worth. Buy the Valvetronix 30 watt version. Is it the king of tone? No. But it's a solid amp and gets you what you want. A variety of decent amp models and effects in one combo amp that can go from loud to play in the living room while your kids are sleeping just a wall away. The newer series is fairly nice with up to 66 presets. My older model is a crippled dino in comparison and I really liked it. IIRC it's the 30 watt version that can go into the sub watt range which is perfect for a living room amp.

For your skill level, immediate goals and needs I wouldn't be sweating about getting some ultra-versatile low watt tube amp. Yeah, you'll still have to putz with a modeling amp to begin with but once you find what you like it'll fit the bill you described and it won't break the bank.

I know somebody is bound to smack me for what I just said but for the stuff you described a modeling amp fits the bill. Find one you like and go for that.

[phlip999]

Dang, my first 2 posts in this forum are about the same amp. I'm gonna start sounding like a pitchman.

Fender Super Champ XD- 15 watts, cheap, good effects selection, 16 different amps loaded in (not counting Channel 1 clean), all sound great.

[ponee]

marshall 100 watt tube cranked all the way. only way to fly...

[ludichris]

marshall 100 watt tube cranked all the way. only way to fly...

Yeah, I'm sure neighbors, cops, roommates, children, spouses, significant others, and pets would love that. Do you have any other suggestions? Something that's actually a real answer for this thread? I'll second the Mesa Express 5:25 1X 12. Two channels of great sounding clean, overdrive, and crunch (yes, that's three categories, but as with most Mesa's, the channels have different voices...just sayin', the Express can handle it.).

[ghstofperdition]

It might be a bit too much wattage but the peavey valveking 112 is a great upgrade from the valvetronix amps. Great cleans and it's gain can go from a bit of blues snarl all the way up to old school thrash tones. (might need an od for higher gain needs). It's all tube and won't destroy your budget ($420usd). Also, another thing you can do is buy a THD hot plate attenuator. It's $324 and will allow you to get more gain out of you amp at less volumes. It's worth looking into....


Valveking:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Peavey-Valv ... 1145634.gc

Hot Plate:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/THD-Hot-Pla ... 1145573.gc

Be sure that you choose the correct impedance for the hotplate. Check your amp to see if it's 4, 8, or 16 ohms (or anything in between) and choose the appropriate hotplate.

[D-Rock]

Depends what your playing needs are.

Do you just want to be able to play clean and some blues?
Or maybe some clean tones and heavy distortion?

Tube? Modeling? Solid State?

If you want a small tube amp look at a Peavey Royal 8 or Epiphone Valve Jr and by a decent distortion or overdrive pedal to go with it.

If you're wanting a modeling amp, look at the Vox Valvetronix or Peavey Vypyr combo's. They both have a good amp sims and lots of effects.

For solid state, all I can recommend is a Tech 21 Trademark series combo. Three great SS amp sims, speaker sims, and gain types to choose from.

[diabolical]

For solid state, all I can recommend is a Tech 21 Trademark series combo. Three great SS amp sims, speaker sims, and gain types to choose from.

Thumbs up to that!

[facemelter]

Blackstar HT-5

If you want to play extreme metal get an overdrive pedal, but you can get a good Marshall crunch or a lower gain Mesa sound out of it straight out of the box. Damn shame the price jumped $100 on each model. The head I bought new for $299 back in June was too good to last.