Guitar amps that a bass player would like.

[powellmacaque]

I know its a bit of heresy, but I dabble with guitar from time to time, mostly to write songs with.

I'm in the market for a relatively inexpensive (under $1k) all tube guitar amp that could be loud enough to gig but not too loud for a bedroom.

I have this tonal idea in my head, and I'm not quite sure it exists in the guitar world. I'm looking for a guitar amp that still feeds my bass side, so deep and growly with a bit of clarity and grind. I write mostly folk/alt country/blues/punk (think Duane Eddy "modernized" a bit), so I would like some overdrive, but I don't need super saturation. I'd also like some cool "vintage-y" effects built in, trem and reverb and such, but these aren't a deal breaker.

I was thinking about a Peavey Delta Blues with a 15", as this seems like it'd be a very much what I'm looking for, but I can't really find one to demo or find any solid recordings.

Any other ideas?

[Crater]

Lots and lots of choices at that price point, here's my random suggestions:

My choice personally would be something like a Fender Deluxe reverb.

The Peavey 'Classic' series is the same amp chassis as the Delta Blues, but with 1x12 speaker (Classic 30) or in 2x12 or 4x10 formats for the Classic 50. Any of these should be well under your budget used.

Used Fender bassman head with 2x12 cab. I've seen the silverface 50 watt heads go for about $400 or so on my local craigslist. Dirtier tone than your typical fender, but no reverb.

[Nev375]

I think what you want is a vintage fender bassman amp. It was a mediocre bass amp, but guitar players loved using them.

[anderbass]

If you run across a used Mesa/Boogie D-180 rackmount head for sale, give it a try. It's truly unlike any other amp ever made and was designed for both guitar and bass duty. I found mine for $400 on craigslist. It'll go from a clean and loud Fender-tone to overdrive at any most any volume level you want, although it does not have reverb or trem/vibrato.

The old 1970's Ampeg V4 heads do a good job of pulling off Bass and guitar duties too. The have a cool sounding reverb but you'd need a pedal to get any overdrive at reasonable volume levels with guitar.

[chaosMK]

You might like the Orange Tiny Terror through a quality cab, usually ~$300 used.

Tiny Terror Review | Orange | Guitar Amplifiers | Reviews @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com

[basscooker]

jcm800- any model. takes patience, but you can find one in that price range. as far as fx, maybe a little lacking, but still imho the best all tube amps built. now, power may be an issue there, being only 50 or 100 watters, so even close to bedroom levels will require attenuation, but it's asmall price to pay for amazing tone. and (check out the marshall amp forum for details and suggestions from more experienced players) i think if you plug the speaker into the headphone output you get 1/4 watt, so, built in attenuator.there was a studio 15 model that came out with the jcm-800 line, but used different power tubes, i've read the only marshall to ever use this kind, and is 15 watts-maybe a little shy of gig power. but realistically wasn't marshall founded on a fender bassman clone anyway? but anywho, i say marshall all the way, since 1k isn't more than you're willing to spend, you can do well.

[JayfromDeeKay]

For a guitar amp with lots of bottom, I recommend a Rivera Chubster. It has a deep cabinet and is capable of a very bassy, bottomy guitar sound, if you want it to.

Rivera: The Definition of Tone

It's all-tube, has a marshally and a fendery channel, and tube spring-reverb. It's also built like a tank, with high-quality components.

I bought it because I really wanted the deep, percussive sound from hand-muted strumming.

However, I have no idea what they cost over there in the US, but I'm guessing they're cheaper in the US than in Europe, since they are made in America. Either way, you might be able to get one used.

Here's a guy demoing it:
Rivera Chubster 40 features, functions,Eq Demo - YouTube

[RED J]

My first thought was what you already thought, the Peavey.
I will tell ya just in general that amps with 12's in them just sound better to my ears, and two are better than one. Tens have a much different, thinner voice in general to me. The twelves bring the fat. Closed back cabs are great as well

[Joebarnes]

Marshall JCM 2000 Dual Super Lead. Unbelievably versatile amp. I use it for my bass and my brother uses one for his guitar. (love that marshall sound). It goes from sparkly clean Plexi, to 800, to 900 to full on METAL depending on which channel and switch you use. You can pick a used 50w or 100w combo quite reasonably (definitely under $1000).

[powellmacaque]

I guess I should've been more specific in my OP, but I'm really looking for either a combo or a smaller head/cab combo... I just don't like guitar enough to lug around a JCM head, and I'm not a big fan of their combos.

The old Bassmans and Peaveys sound intriguing, do they get a really nice throaty low-end?

[VanillaThundah]

for vintage plus effects, the classic fender combos are a good way to go

[lowfreq33]

Peavey classic 30. Quiet enough for a bedroom, and they just get better sounding the more you crank it up.