Valve Amp.

naffa said:
Does yours not go upto 11? :eek: :D
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No. It's a 1987x Marshall 50Watt Plexi reissue and Non Master Volume. Therefore I crank it to get the right sound and it so happens to be best at 7. It can be heard three houses (I live in a detached house) away. :p

Blackvault
 
Si. said:
Nice.. I'm considering one of the ampmaker kits.. Anyone used one?
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I built the 5watt kit off ampmaker and can't praise it highly enough and Barry at ampmaker is really helpful, i spoke to him quite a few times during the process of building mine. Only thing was i prefered the sound of the 5watt to the 18watt, but he told me the sound bytes for the 18watt didn't really do it any justice - he has since changed them and needless to say i wish i had got the 18watt now. Mind you there is a surprising amount of poke out of the 5 watter.

Scanning briefly through the rest of the thread thought i would make a few comments. The epiphones get good reviews but only because they are a cheap base to build on, most reviews i have read all involve modding the amp to some degree - new speaker, change valves etc check out the following

http://www.valvejunior.com/

Also i'm pretty sure the forums at 18watt.com have an in depth discussion on the valve junior. http://www.18watt.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=9053&highlight=epiphone

The firefly is for valve distortion at bedroom levels ranging from 0.5-1.0watt output meaning you can get breakup without having to rattle the windows.
 
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It's looking like I may have to ditch the valve idea and stick with solid state.. Looking at a Marshall AVT100, that's assuming I can sell my Vox Ad15 Valvetronic (Anyone want one? :))
 
So you are going from a 1watt all valve to 100watt hybrid (i believe the AVT is valvestate ie valve in the pre-amp, solid state power amp) - talk about a u turn :eek:

Like i said before i would highly recommend the ampmaker kit. I use mine with a Zakk Wylde signature pedal and get great distortion at reasonably low volumes. The amp has a gain and a master volume so i just crank up the gain on the amp keep the master volume low and use the pedal to give me the extra omph that i would have got by cranking the master. Apart from anything else there is something immensly satisfying about building your own amp. I had a Marshall MG100DFX and the sound difference is day and night between the two. A couple of my mates have heard it and it was great seeing the look on their faces. Start off with their noses turned up thinking because it was home made it wouldn't be much kop then they hear it and are suitably impressed. You can pick up some good speakers of the auction site, i got a Celestion G12H for £30ish and i have recently discovered that B&Q stock Birch Ply so you can make yourself an nice speaker cab and head. It is time consuming (i think it took me around 5-6 hours to put mine together - but i had no electrical experience) but the instructions are idiot proof and the guy at ampmaker is only a phone call away.

Alternatively you could check out www.ax84.com and look at their firefly project. Parts can be sourced from the likes of ampmaker, rscomponents, hotrox etc.

Go on build your own - you know you want to ;)
 
LOL true indeed.. the Marshall is a bit of a change from my original idea.

The original plan was to replace my current Vox AD15, and I realy wanted to go with a valve amp, but given my £300 budget I really can't find an all valve amp I like the look of and that is also OK for bedroom practice (ideally having a headphone socket). I'd love to go for the Ampmaker kit but I really don't trust myself to be able to build it..

I'm still looking around, but at the moment the AVT range seems to tick all of the boxes, Good reviews, headphone socket, 2+ channels. I really don't need to 100w but I would like the option of the 3 channels which is why I'm looking at that one.

HOWEVER, I'm still considering options within my price range, so any reccomendations are apprecated.
 
Last word on ampmaker - go to the site, download instructions and read through them - they really are idiot proof, like i said i had no electronics experience whatsoever, did a bit of light reading (as to the basics i.e. what resistors, capacitors etc do) to prepare myself and then went for it.

Options are over-rated my friend unless you are someone like Vai or Satriani consistently experimenting with different sounds, then chances are you will find a sound you like and stick to it, if you only have 2 channels then it will be a case of what you don't know won't hurt you. I bought a Korg AX1500g multi effects unit with a gazillion presets on it and only ever use one or two, most of the time i just use my Zakk Wylde pedal.

If it is mostly bedroom practice you are after then why not consider investing in something like a Line 6 Pod or similar can usually pick them up on the bay for around the £60-£70 mark, just plug your guitar and headphones in and away you go. If your are hell bent on spending your £300 then a pod xt?

Last Last word on ampmaker. As an alternative to a Hot plate you could look at the L Pad attenuator he sells - again though it might require a bit of wiring on your part but i'm sure it wouldn't be that difficult - and it's a lot less money.
 
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Si. said:
LOL true indeed.. the Marshall is a bit of a change from my original idea.

The original plan was to replace my current Vox AD15, and I realy wanted to go with a valve amp, but given my £300 budget I really can't find an all valve amp I like the look of and that is also OK for bedroom practice (ideally having a headphone socket). I'd love to go for the Ampmaker kit but I really don't trust myself to be able to build it..

I'm still looking around, but at the moment the AVT range seems to tick all of the boxes, Good reviews, headphone socket, 2+ channels. I really don't need to 100w but I would like the option of the 3 channels which is why I'm looking at that one.

HOWEVER, I'm still considering options within my price range, so any reccomendations are apprecated.
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Easy - in that price range, Fender Blues Junior or Fender Pro Junior.

Here's my little setup. I have the Fender CVR.
It's amazing.
board2.jpg


Yes - I am 'biased' - hahaha!
I heart Fender valve amps.

Next to it is an ancient Carlsbro GLX80.
I spit on its transistors. You can have it for £80.
Served me well at the time - but then I was young and knew nothing.
I thought its various 'features' were 'cool'.
It actually sounds like [insert expletvive of choice].
The sound of an amp is the sound of an amp.
I know this now. It doesn't matter how many lights and knobs it has.
Usually the more 'features' it has, the worse the basic tone is.
*Line6* *cough* *Behringer* *spew*
 
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After lots of research I've decided NOT to buy a valve amp, there are too many things that I need to do that I can't with most of the affordable valve amps so I've devided to go for a Marshall AVT150 (I know it's a changr from where thie thread started, but it seems best suited to my needs)..


.. AND build myself a Valve amp sometime next year. It's handy that my Dad is a joiner so I should be able to get a decent cabinet made for it.

:)
 
Si. said:
After lots of research I've decided NOT to buy a valve amp, there are too many things that I need to do that I can't with most of the affordable valve amps so I've devided to go for a Marshall AVT150 (I know it's a changr from where thie thread started, but it seems best suited to my needs)..


.. AND build myself a Valve amp sometime next year. It's handy that my Dad is a joiner so I should be able to get a decent cabinet made for it.

:)
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Have you actually heard the AVT150 before buying it? Make sure you do if you haven't.
 
Si. said:
so I've devided to go for a Marshall AVT150 (I know it's a changr from where thie thread started, but it seems best suited to my needs)..:)
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LOL :D Zvex 1watt > AVT100 > AVT150 you wouldn't be a tad indecisive would you? :p
 
Don't get an AVT150.

I'm playing one at the min cos my main amp is at uni (Vox AC30 with the blue celestions) and the overdrive channels sound poor. The clean is pretty good however. I think the problem might be the poor speaker it comes with cos you have to crank the treble and mids to get anything thats not muddy.

Also it doesn't seem to like pedals very much, at least it doesnt like my tubescreamer. AC30 and tubescreamer is a completely different scenario however :)

I'd take a look at the Vox AD series. I tried one in a shop to see if the AC30 sound was close to mine and its not too far off for the money they are going for.
 
Unexpected replies.. Although I've never heard the AVT amps, they get really good reviews from that I've seen, I'm a little surprised by the responces
:confused: :confused:
 
They're not that bad at all really it's just when I got mine I did the same thing as you and went mainly on the reviews. I tried it out in the shop but I only had a 15watt Peavey Rage to compare it to and it sounded awesome in comparison.

Its not a bad amp but I personally think you could get a better amp for the money.

Try a few amps out in the shop first.
 
What would you reccomend for the same price?

I'm really a rather rubbish player so not keen on trying them in the shop (I know.. I'm a wimp!) :eek: :eek:
 
Well personally I like the Vox AC30 sound

So for around £300 -£350 you can get a Laney VC30 which I read good things about and its meant to be like an AC30.

If it is like an AC30 then you probably should get a overdrive pedal to complement it because it wont be a very high gain amp. A Tubescreamer would be brilliant and Tbh I've got the nicest sounding distortion that I've ever heard with my AC30, Tubescreamer and Fender TC-90.

The VC30 is all valve though... and I've noticed that you said you didn't want a Valve amp. Also it will probably be very loud even with the volume control down.
 
No No No..

If you go back to the start of this thread, I DO want a valve amp, however they don't suit my situation.. I don't gig, don't jam (yet :p) so most if the use is going to be practice/bedroom stuff.

Ideally I would have gone for a valve amp, I could probably put a little more cash to it and go for something like a DSL401 but to be usefull I would need to use it at room volumes (not ideal for a valve amp), and probably have headphone options and I've never found a valve amp with headphones yet.

So... that leaves me looking at solid state which better suit the above

:(
 
Codmate said:
Usually the more 'features' it has, the worse the basic tone is.
*Line6* *cough* *Behringer* *spew*
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LOL

You obviously haven't heard the SpiderIII, the Flexitone, the Vetta or anything like that.
 
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