tube amps under $500?

[vwjodyme]

So is blues jr still the preferred amp for deadheads or are there better choices out there now?
looking around and see the bugera v22 that other people seem to like also good marks for the valvekings.

[strumminsix]

I don't think the Blues Jr is a good Jerry amp. Those EL84s have too much character. But makes for a great Bobby amp, IMO.

I'd save a few more bucks and pop for a used Deluxe Reverb.

[FretfulDave]

presuming you are looking for around a 15 watt tube amp, you might want to check out the Egnater Tweaker. 15 watts and has 6V6 tubes which will be closer to what Jerry had in his amps, 6L6s. I have recently moved on from my old Peavey Classic 30 and gotten the Egnater Rebel 30 that sports 2 EL84s and 2 6V6s with a mix knob. I am liking the amp so far. Egnater seems to make pretty good sounding amps. Online sites list the Tweaker Combo a bit more than your price. I got mine from a local dealer where I could check the amp out and they discounted from the online price of the Rebel 30. Kind of depends on the type of shop, I guess.

Good luck in your search.

Dave

[JonnyBoy]

my guitar center is carrying a line of egnater amps, I got to play one last weekend and loved it. dont remember which, tho...great tone!!

[mkaufman]

MusicMan

mk

[vwjodyme]

Yeah, I am looking in the 15w range...maybe more? something that I can jam with buddy's but not shatter any windows. i love my little gdec for quiet time but really want to get into the tube world. I'll definitely look into the egnater and musicman(tho they seem to be harder to find). the deluxe would be ideal but a little pricey for now.

[FretfulDave]

15 watts of tube power is plenty loud but I used a blues jr. for a while in a jam with a 4 piece band before I bought my Classic 30 and it got drowned out w/ drums, two electrics and bass. That is why I went with 30 watts. Seems plenty for most jams I do. Not quite enough for stage I am sometimes told but I don't play on stage. Really depends on what you are going to do and where you are going to take it. two guitars only, 15 watts is more than enough.

Dave

[strumminsix]

15w is plenty loud for small bars and if you are mic'd

[vwjodyme]

i'm checking out the youtubes of these egnater's and they look pretty cool. Just had one question - total newb...is there any advantage to having the head + cab compared to a combo? They say they are basically the same thing but there is a $50 diff

[KCJones]

Might want to consider either of these Carvin Vintage Series. I've played the Nomad, its sweet. Can't imagine the Vintage16 isn't nice too. Anyone have experience with either of these.

http://www.carvinguitars.com/guitaramps/vintageseries.php

[FretfulDave]

VW -

For combo versus head, on the Egnaters, the heads have the dials on the front, the combos on top. No biggie really. Just easier to use the head when on a mini-stack. I went with a Rebel 30 head rather than combo cause I am getting old and jam at some places that have cabs so instead of hauling a combo and an extension cab (in my case the Peavey has restricted cabs you could use), I can now just take the head along w/ my pedal board. Less to move around. Heads probably give a little more flexibility in terms of types and arrangements of cabs that can be used but I know there are lots of folks on the board that have way more experience than I and can probably provide better info on that.

I also just looked at the Carvin's that KC pointed out. One thing I find that was limiting is having a single output impedance for cabs. A head will often give you 4, 8 or 16 ohms with two jacks whereas a combo often only gives you one selection. Not always true, of course. My Egnater Rebel 30 gives all three. My old Peavey was limited to a 16 ohm extension cab. Something else to consider.

Dave