Guitarists, I need a combo amp.

[57pbass]

A tweed champ, seen in cover photos, a slightly different animal, and now very collectible/pricey. As far as Silverface champs go(and those have 8” speakers), there’s also the original Bronco, absolutely the same as a Vibro Champ. Came in a beginner’s package with a Music Master guitar, I believe. I can’t image gigging with one, though.

I don’t know much about Fender guitar amps but I love this amp.. Perfect for my needs, but I will follow your information since I’m now curious. Thanks

 

[Ronzo]

Egnator Tweaker, two 6v6’s for power(like a Fender Deluxe), single 12” Celestion, a variety of tonal options but not overboard, available as a combo or head/cab, no reverb/trem but FX loop. GC carries them sometimes, the combo is $800 new but sometimes as low as $350 used, an overlooked amp.

I have the Egnater Tweaker 15 head with the matching 1x12 cab, and I really love it. But that’s a 2 hand carry, even with the head in a Rebel 20 bag. I wasn’t as impressed with the combo version, for some reason; can’t put my finger on exactly why.

For a light weight, one-hand carry with FOH support, a Blues Jr. is tough to beat, especially if your buddy prefers Fender tone.

And friends don’t let friends play Peavey.

 

[silence.speaks]

If it *has* to be a tube amp, for the money you can't beat the Monoprice. He could buy 2 and run in stereo or wet/dry.

For tube emulation solid state I'd recommend the Boss Katana.

 

[rocklogic]

You can't go wrong with a blues jr. Plenty of volume on tap, and is small enough to lug around.

However, I do have a soft spot for the newer generations of solid state amps, and the Katana is pretty good!

 

[Sean Parsons]

Quilter!

 

[Mister Boh]

+1 for the Blues Jr or classic 30. I'm a big fan of the AC15 which can be had for cheap but may not be the sound he wants and I swear its made out of concrete.

Super champ XD is also a good choice. The clean channel is all tube and pretty excellent but the other channel is modeling. Still some ok sounds to be had though.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

A friend of mine lives in Nashville. He has recently started doing more downtown gigs while some other career stuff is working itself out.

He has nice amps.

But he needs a downtown amp. What I mean is this. He needs a fairly small tube combo that sounds good and isn't too expensive..... a good small meat and potatoes tube combo.

He will be going from gig to gig. He may ha e to park a couple/few blocks out. So he doesn't want to take a super expensive amp in case it gets stolen or damaged. And, if course, he doesn't want to punch a 410 combo two blocks. So it needs to be a one hand carry.

He uses a small pedal board for compression, verb, and a couple mild dirts. He leans more Fender tone than Vox or Marshall. But he can work with whatever. He's a total pro.

Used is fine. I'm thinking of buying it for him and having a tech go through it so he'll have something reliable.

He isn't poor. I just want to do something cool for a friend.

So, maybe a few hundred bucks used and a hundred or so for the tech? I can go a little more if needed. But that kind of misses the point. He doesn't want to lug a $1,000 combo to gigs for tips.

Help me pick him an amp. Thanks!

No brainer... Peavey Classic 30.

 

[LowDownHawkeye]

Blues Jr. all day long. Turn the treble and bass knobs as close to 6:30 as they'll go and let er rip.

But avoid the first gen ones, due to a noisy reverb. I have one and it annoys me just enough that I never use the reverb. A friend has a gen 3 and it’s reverb is much better.

 

[LowDownHawkeye]

I agree with this. Whichever one you can get a better deal on. I also play with a guy that uses and Egnator and it is pretty nice as well.

Aren’t those pretty pricey? Still, I love the Ty Tabor tone...

 

[40Hz]

Used Blues Jr. III

Princeton Reverb sounds better and has a far prettier tone IMO. But those are out of the budget range and weigh in around 35 lbs. So it’s a no starter. Ditto another great new small combo, the Orange Rocker 15 for the same reasons.

 

[Keyser Soze]

Buy a Blues Jr. and have your tech do "the BillM Mods" and a speaker upgrade too, if you want. If he's a tube amp tech, he'll know what you're talking about.

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Unbelievable bang for the buck. Tried and true. I've got one. Everyone who uses it loves it. I love it.

 

[groooooove]

fender blues jr is definitely the place to start.

 

[roller]

The all-tube Bugera stuff is nice, especially for the money. I LOVE my V5.

Help me pick him an amp. Thanks!

 

[Sean Parsons]

So it needs to be a one hand carry.

Haha,

There’s no way your friend will thank you for buying him a Blues Jr, Classic 30, AC15.

Not sure if anyone recommending these amps has carried them one handed for several blocks on a regular basis.

Quilter Amps. Your friend can thank me later.

 

[thebreakman]

Blackstar Artisan 10 Anniversary Edition, or the Studio 10, same thing. Also the Artist 10 or Series One 10. All part of the same family. Great tube amps. Much better than the Fender amps

 

[4001]

And friends don’t let friends play Peavey.

Well, I don't know much about Peavey guitar amps but my Mark III series combo bass amp with the 15" Black Widow is as strong as day one, back in 1981, and the tone is fantastic.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

Haha,

There’s no way your friend will thank you for buying him a Blues Jr, Classic 30, AC15.

Not sure if anyone recommending these amps has carried them one handed for several blocks on a regular basis.

Quilter Amps. Your friend can thank me later.

You want a little cheese with that whine? Lol

 

[Kmonk]

A Blues Jr is hard to beat.

I agree. Blues Jr is a great amp.

 

[dave64o]

The guitar player I play with has a Fender Blues Junior and a Peavey Classic and they both sound fantastic and can get PLENTY loud. My brother keeps a Marshal DSL 20 at my house. It also sounds fantastic - and it's a two channel amp with a switch for 10 or 20W output.

 

[flyingfinbar]

Love me the new Supro stuff!

Used market, maybe a Peavey Classic 30?