Small, Inexpensive Tube Amps?

[takauya]

I actually like those silver face amps with aluminum frame better than blackface amps. Especially smaller ones look really cute like this Vibro Champ.

[Hammertone]

Just get a speaker cab and one of these half-rack-sized little Teutonic devils. The Blues Master (same thing as the Crunch Master in Europe) is a multi-functional device that is also a 4 watt Class A amp (1x12ax7, 1x EL84). The Metal Shredder (same thing as the Metal Machine in Europe) is a multi-functional device that is also a 4.5 watt hybrid amp with tube preamp (2x12ax7) and ss power. Neither have been made in years, but they are worth digging up. They sound great when run clean, IMO. Run one into a small 1x8" cab. Or a 4x12" slantback cab. Or anything in-between. It's all good:

[docsteve]

I got this sweet baby last Saturday:

Fame JTA-05 Sweet Baby Combo

Should fit the bill completely, and they ship to the States.

As an aside, I was in Chicago last year and got myself a Quilter MicroBlock at CME. Great with a 12' cab. I just got the baby because there was one on sale and I'd always wanted a small tube amp.

[lammie200]

Mr. B you have a lot of info to chew on here. My 2 cents:

I have a Pro Jr. and a Super Champ X2. I use the SCX2 every night in my living room. The Pro Jr. is right next to it and I may fire it up on weekend early evenings. Pro Jr's are great but can be noisy and (small) boxy. I had to mess with mine to get it where I wanted. Output transformer, bias mods. different tubes, etc. It sounds great but not worth the trouble IMHO. I put an alnico speaker in my SCX2 which helps get a more transparent sound IMHO. Other than that it is stock. The modeling sounds and effects are nothing to be laughed at IMHO. You can dial in some neat things and you don't have to let them overpower your sound. It is nice not use any pedals to get a little reverb or delay. Pretty quiet amp as well. I like the SCX2, but I would also consider the point-to-point wired VHT Special 6 Ultra. I would really like to play with one in person though and I have never seen one in the flesh. Nothing on the internet helps me know what those sound like.

[ESCC]

I second the VHT Special 6, great little tube amp in the Fender tradition. A review of the amp is below.

VHT Special 6
Low-powered Valve Guitar Amplifier

VHT Special 6 is priced like a budget amp, but the specifications read like those of a boutique model. Available either as a 1x10 open?back combo or a separate head with matching 1x12 closed?back cabinet, it's fully hand?wired, with no PCBs in sight. We're promised a high?quality speaker, and although the head and combo are built of MDF, the 1x12 cabinet is made, in time?honoured and labour?intensive fashion, from finger?jointed Baltic ply. It all sounds a bit too good to be true.

There is a fair bit in common between the Special 6 and some of the Fender amps that have borne the Champ designation. Like the Champs, the Special 6 is a single?ended design that uses a single ECC83 (or 12AX7 if you prefer) preamp valve and a 6V6 output valve, although its rectifier is solid?state. The only EQ control is a simple Tone knob, but the Special 6 is more flexible in this regard than initially meets the eye. The amplifier's default voicing is set by a fixed 'tone stack', but the resistors making up this circuit can be removed from the signal path by pulling the Volume control out, effectively re?voicing the preamp stage and increasing the gain. The Tone knob remains operational in both modes, and the pull boost can be controlled using the supplied footswitch, if you prefer.

Both the head and the combo feature a multi?tap output transformer that is capable of driving either a 4?, 8? or 16? load; VHT's own speakers are 16? models. A three?way switch puts the Special 6 in and out of Standby mode, and also provides a 'Low Power' mode in which the output valve is operated in triode rather than pentode configuration.

What impressed me first of all was the build quality, which would not be out of place on a much more expensive amp. Everything feels solid, the finish is of a very high quality, and although the VHT logo is arguably a bit on the large side, the overall look is jolly smart. The only minor weakness I could detect was a slightly wobbly grille on the back panel of the combo.

The basic tone of the Special 6 is very impressive indeed: less raw than my Vibrochamp, with a smoother, more 'scooped' clean sound that is perhaps closer to what you'd expect from one of Fender's larger amps. Pull the Volume pot to defeat the fixed tone stack, and this gives way to a louder, more distorted, snarly sound with a lot more mid?frequencies. I've seen this described as moving from a 'blackface' to a 'tweed' Fender sound, and as long as you don't expect a perfect replica of a '50s Champ, there's some merit to that description. Low Power mode is perhaps a little disappointing by comparison, but still capable of yielding usable sounds.

And not to forget, sorry about the theft, that really sucks!

[Papawooly]

The only good part of the story is the empty laptop bag...
About 40 years ago my truck was broken into in my driveway (San Jose, CA)
Good news here was that I had my high $$ Blaupunkt secreted away in my
glove box, and left a "Decoy deck" mounted in the dash (with nothing connected to it)
As luck would have it, the DA's took the "decoy deck" and left the Blaupunkt.

I was still a victory of some sort.. even though it felt a bit hollow when I thought about
the audacity of some MF'er robbing my truck in my own driveway...

Anyway, back to the topic.. I have been AAS'ing for one of these for the longest time..

It meets all of your criteria except one...

[Tal_175]

Well, amps don't get more feminine looking than this 4 watt 8 inch Vox
Vox AC4TV8 - 4 Watt Tube Combo With 8 Inch Speaker - Long & McQuade Musical Instruments





I'm personally on the Champ camp. I can't imagine a better practice amp than a Champ (or a cheaper clone 5f1). But I've always been charmed by the sweet, chimey Vox amps. Never tried the one above, but I think they are under 200 dollars used and if they sound anything like a real Vox amp it might be a good option to consider.

[va3ux]

Well, the Cubes aren't tube, and the Super champ has all that modeling gobbeldygook. I was hoping for a one or two knob deal.

It's probably just gonna be a used 600...it doesn't look like there's many cheapie amps like that anymore...guess that fad ran it's course.

Tube - yes, sorry about that. The SCXD does have the modelling stuff for sure. But there's 2 or 3 settings that are pretty nice for 'us'. Its a nice little amp. Try one if you get the chance.

I think the Epi Electar might fit the category of simple, small tube amps. No idea what it sounds like.

[lawson-stone]

what about this?

Monoprice 1x8 6watts

[TOMMO]

That was the one I tried to remember the brand name of. It is said to be a clone of a Laney 5 watter. A friend of mine bought one and likes it a lot.

[patshep]

under $500 you could do well with a fender superchamp xd, or a vht special 6... a silverface champ will cost over $400 for sure
people in nyc are asking over $700 for old vibro champs

[feet]

i'm partial to my vox ac4hw1, but it is a little pricey and it needs an eq in front to unlock the magic. it's also heavy as hell for what it is. but it hand-wired on a turret board, has a 12" speaker and looks awesome. and it is something different, not the same old, lame old that everyone goes for.

Cheaper than cheap would have been the $29 i spent on those prs plug ins. i put all my amps in storage now.

[gregunit]

It's like a 20 watt twin reverb. Perfect for me.
To gig I use a pedal into the PA.

[jazzbow]

If you can find one how about an Ampeg GVT5 combo.. It switches between 5 - 2.5watts, simple Bax tone stack and is super hi fi clean.

Good with pedals too.

[Longways to Go]

That there is a really good idea. I played a GVT15 a few years ago and loved it -- should have brought it home.

Regarding the VHT stuff, I had a Special 6 for a while. Liked it but not quite amazed.
Sold it fairly quick, and the buddy I sold it to did the same.

[Alter]

Fender Champ 12. Not the best drive channel for jazz, but really good clean 6L6 tones.

[jazzbow]

I would say the Champ 12 had possibly the worst O/D channel.
I had one for a long while but moved it on to a harmonica player.
The reverb was either on or or off.

I have a GVT 15 which is perfect. On that premise I would say the 5 watt version would be a winner.

On a tangent I would try a Yamaha THR 10C. Yes I know its tranny-dijjy but what a fantastic set up.
I also use mine for lining out my phone for play along tunes. It really is worth a look and second hand would be a no brainer.

[Hammertone]

The Ampeg GVT Series, for the five minutes it was on the market, was pretty cool - visually a nice nod to the Helmethead era. Made in China to meet a price point, there were some QC issues. I've never been inside of one, but I suspect that they are easy enough to fix or upgrade to last. The ones I played sounded pretty good. LOUD was far too stupid a company to make a go of these, unfortunately. Maybe Yamaha will do a better job.

[Hammertone]

I've been having way too much fun with a Koch SE-6 combo that I grabbed at the last winter NAMM show:
-1x12" 60-watt OEM Koch (Sica) speaker, open back
-Class A amp, runs either 1x6V6 or 1xEL84
-runs either 6 watts or 2 watts
-vol/tone/master vol.
-outs for 4/8/16 ohm cabs
-a bunch of useful switches for tone
-pre-amp in, recording out, dummy load switch
-and it's teeny!
OK, not cheap, and hard to find in North America, but still super-cool.
I may grab an SE-12 (same amp, 12/4 watts, either 1x6L6 or 1xEL34) at the upcoming NAMM show.

[ESCC]

Here is a fellow forum member playing through a VHT Special 6.

[vashondan]

Why not a used Champion 600? There seem to be quite a lot on offer. Used Gretsch g5222 is pretty much the same thing Otherwise, the 5 watt Bugera tube amp sounds quite good IMO.

I'd also suggest checking out a Fender Champion 20. It's a modeling amp, not tubes, but as simple as the Microcube. Not cute, but basic black(face) style goes with anything. Mine is allowed in the living room, but that be because of the cover I made out of duct tape for it.

If you're willing to go up to $450-ish, something in Valco/Leilani/Alamo neigbhorhood could actually be quite decorative.

John

Really sorry about your amp. Such a bummer. I have a SC X2 and a Champ 20 and they both do the trick. i've had two PRRI's that I loved but HAD to sell and would love another but the X2 clean channel is great. i'd like an inexpensive tweed type as well

[Robertkoa]

Any old Silverface Champ that works well. of course...

Then have a jack for an extension speaker put on ...they sound great into larger Guitar Speaker Cabs 1-10's 1-12's etc.

[lawson-stone]

I've been having a blast with my cheap little Monoprice 5 watt amp with just volume and tone controls. I replaced the 12AX7 preamp tube with a 12ATZ for a bit more clean headroom and my wife even commented on how warm it sounds, which is really historic in our household. I got it for less than $100 shipped, and the older model has better aesthetics than the newer one.

[mmukav]

I bought a Fender Pro Jr IV a couple of weeks ago and have pretty much used it on every gig since. A much better amp for jazz than the (slightly comparable) Blues Jr imho.

Are you able to get loud/clean enough? I've been toying with the idea of a Pro Jr but am worried that for gigs it'll break up too early. Did you swap out tubes, or using it stock?

[El Fundo]

I guess it depends on just how loud you might want (or need) to play through it. I took it to my regular Tuesday night trio jazz gig at a place with pretty bad acoustics a couple weeks ago, and I was not happy with it at all. But rooms like that are not a good place to judge amps or even guitars. The problem I had with it was not about it breaking up too early, but more about strange resonant peaks, the cause which I haven’t yet quite figured out yet. Fortunately I had my Deluxe Reverb in the car and used it for the rest of the night after the first set and it sounded great as usual. So that really got me wondering if the Pro Jr is everything I thought and said it was.

One thing that’s pretty annoying is how unbelievably sensitive the volume and tone pots are. The difference in volume between two and three is just ridiculous, in that it gets real loud real quick. But it doesn’t break up there. You have to get it up to five or six for it to do that. Same with the tone knob. I have to set it to no higher than 2. But if I bump it to even 2 1/2 it gets very bright. I did use it on a blues gig after I first got it and was pretty pleased with how it sounded with my Strat—and I had the volume up to about seven or eight. Broke up very nicely and I didn’t even have to use my overdrive pedal. So now it’s been relegated to being mainly a blues amp and then casual “jazz” gigs with no drums that are very quiet. But I’ve decided to no longer use it for jazz gigs that are louder i.e, with a drummer. It’s not so much about it breaking up but it just doesn’t sound good cranked up because of those weird resonant peaks, most likely caused by the particle board that is used in most cheaper amps like the Pro Jr.