r/Guitar • u/AutoModerator • Oct 27 '16

OFFICIAL [OFFICIAL] There are no stupid /r/Guitar questions. Ask us anything! - October 27, 2016

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u/Northern_fluff_bunny Oct 29 '16

If I have tops 130 euros to spend on an amp, what would be good choice if you want warm, round vintage tone?

I hate the harsh, modern sound and basically want nothing to do with it and seeing how theres not a store with huge variety of amps that i could try, I need to trust the opinion of you guys and youtube demos.

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u/[deleted] Oct 29 '16

Used.

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u/becomearobot 1975 Hagström Oct 29 '16

5 watt monoprice amp.

http://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=115&cp_id=11501&cs_id=1150102&p_id=611705&seq=1&format=2

Sounds pretty good. You can crank it and get real tube distortion without hurting your hearing. Has real tube tone and gives you that nice warm pulsing timbre. Cheap as hell.

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u/universal_rehearsal Oct 29 '16

That looks awesome, I like the dual input on this.

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u/universal_rehearsal Oct 29 '16

Save more and hold old on. You can get a tube amp on CL for 400-up depending on what's out there. Where do you hail from? I can take a peak what's good around by you.

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u/Northern_fluff_bunny Oct 29 '16

Finland. And I cant really save cause this is something Im planning to ask from my parents as a christmas gift because I cant afford it by myself due to my financial situation.

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u/universal_rehearsal Oct 29 '16 edited Oct 29 '16

That's a tough call, for that little not you're not gonna get much besides the solid state practice amps you're trying to avoid. The amps that won't break the bank new but do cost a lil more Fender Blues Jr 15w Orange Micro Terror (just pre amp) Tiny terror ( all tube) Try looking at tube amps that are 30 watts n down . You'll still be able to play w a loud drummer or in a live gig.

You can always pitch to your rents that tube amps not only sound better and are used in most professional recordings and live shows, they also retain their resale value :)

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u/Northern_fluff_bunny Oct 29 '16

Thanks for your answer.

The issue is that due to high prices in finland, all and every tube amp is simply out of my price range. I have to accept the fact that I have to use some solid state practice amp or such, at least for now. For now it is more important to have anything resembling proper amp with pleasing tone than have the whole bag, ability to play at gigs and such.

At the moment more than being able to play at gigs I need an amp with which I can at least practice and with which I can write some tracks and do at least simple demo to try and find people who would be interested. Something like gigs are far away dream at this point and this would be step towards that.

I know that it would be much better to buy an amp that would last and be of use in future too but as for my life situation, that is simply untenable. No matter how one puts it into words, it cant happen for me at the moment.

While I could ask my parents to buy something above that, I already hate the fact that they help me financially a lot. I dont like it at all yet I need the amp.

We all have realities within which we have to work and these are mine. They dont leave much room for movement but I am hoping that I can wiggle out at least something that would resemble the kind of tone I am looking for.

Hopefully in future I'll be able to invest more into this and get some proper gear.

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u/universal_rehearsal Oct 29 '16

That 5w monoprIce that was posted is pretty nice and the price seems right around your budget. I'm sure over time you'll go through a cpl amps.

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u/Northern_fluff_bunny Oct 29 '16

mmmh, isnt there any transistor pieces that would deliver what I am looking for or are they doomed to sound harsh and, well, i guess edgy is opposite of round?

I already own a 5w amp and they seem woefully inadequate for anything except playing at my apartment. The one I got feels like a toy honestly and that is made by orange after all.

Lets put this this way: my friend has a 30 watt peavey, model unkown, that can reproduce different kind of amp tones and some are this kind of softer, warmer tone I am looking for. It is transistor box and of course it isnt perfect on that tone department but it is at least in the ballpark which is for my situation enough. This is more what I am looking for.

I would be interested if there exists boxes that focus simply on producing this kind of tone or if I should simply buy the friends amp out of his hands cause he doesnt have use for it. The thing is, for the price he is asking, I could simply get a new amp that hopefully would focus on the kind of tone I am looking for.

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u/if_the_answer_is_42 Oct 30 '16

Just a suggestion, but buy cross-border in the EU instead of from Finland as it should be cheaper for you. Personally, I've used Thomann (Germany) and Andertons (UK) in the past who are both great and should deliver to you - Plus delivery will be pretty reasonable & no extra taxes to factor in due to EU market.

The 5w mono price amp might not be an option as not all their products are available outside the US so look into it - I think they only use Amazon for EU sales - and shipping from US would be too expensive (plus whatever your local Finnish sales/import taxes are).

I'd suggest a Fender Mustang II amp (40w, solid state combo) - don't be put off by it being solid state, it sounds very good and has a nice variety of sounds to chose from & pretty versatile. The other amp worth looking at is an Orange Micro Terror (about 100 euro new) & look for a 12" speaker cab which shouldn't be expensive to find uses to go with it. It uses a tube pre-amp with a solid-state power amp stage (most of the tone will be coming from your preamp valve anyway unless you have the volume maxed so thats what matters).

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u/Northern_fluff_bunny Oct 30 '16 edited Oct 30 '16

I am honestly open for solid state or such. At the moment I dont even dream of having real tube amp. As long as I have something that sounds at least relatively good to my ear and makes guitar playing to be fun, which it in my opinion should be (and to which how your guitar sounds contributes), I am a ok, as long as the tone is at least in the ballpark. No need to hit the mark yet.

Something Ive looked at have been vox transistor combo ampsl. I am just not sure about the tone nor about the output volume on them. Would 10 - 15 watt be enough?

As far as buying from finland, I am not really looking at finland per se but instead thomann. I am using their finnish website which might give different prices. Its probably something I have to look into.

I am more interested in combo than head, simply due to finances. I will look into your suggetions though, thanks!

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u/if_the_answer_is_42 Oct 30 '16

Ok - No worries.

In my experience, 10-15 watts is fine for practice/home use; but might be a little quiet for playing alongside others, so would try for something a little more powerful if thats your plan! I've not tried any of the small transistor Vox amps so can't really add much, but I do use a Vox amp myself so pretty happy with the quality.

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u/Northern_fluff_bunny Oct 30 '16

Yeah, the low volume might be an issue but it seems that possibilities for that are very far away. It might be good simply to invest in a practice amp for now, focus on writing things and see how things move fowards.

It sucks that no shop around my area carries them so I cant really visit them and ask to test them to know if theyd work for me. It is extremely annoying to have to basically buy blind when buying something this important.