Guitarists, whats a reliable small combo

The Gibson Goldtones would be my first choice, but it blows the $400 price limit out of the water. Those things saturate so sweetly at reasonable volumes. Really great amps.

For a solid state amp, I’d add the classic: Pignose 7-100.

Of course, this is for really small venues unless you route it through a bigger amp. But very nice ss amp for rootsy music.

Bubba,

I was actually lucky enough to get both my GA15RV and my (old style) Mesa Studio .22 for less than $400 each. The old (and sometimed the newer) Studio .22s regularly can be found for less that $400 but you have to make sure you get a reliable one.

Going new I guess I would lean toward the Blues Jr but I don’t know them well enough to make a solid recommendation.

Peace,
TrackGrrrl

I’m into vintage Fender amps so I can’t suggest one for $400 (that’s pretty low for an amp). I’ve tried the Blues Junior & Hot Rod Deluxe and I didn’t like either one of them (although the HRD is the better of the two).

I’ve heard good things about the Tech21’s.

You might also try the Epiphone Galaxie 25. I’ve never tried one but it’s in your price range.

Hey
I posted some old songs that have a sample of the blues jr. amp so anyone considering one can hear it. That little amp really rocks and is much easier to carry than my twin or 4-10 deville. Here tis’

Blues jr. samples

Lots of good suggestions. Here are a few more:

Vox Pathfinder 15R - Really sweet solid-state amp. MF has them on sale for $119, and they’re surprisingly good!

Vox Valvetronix AD50VT - Vox modeling amp, once again surprisingly good. MF sale price: $359

Then there are used amps. So many good ones, and some of them are cheap! I’ve had a few guitar amps over the years, and right now the only one I own or need is a very nice 70s Traynor YGM-3 Guitarmate, which is their take on the Deluxe Reverb. Kinda DR meets Marshall, actually. Great 1x12 combo amp. I got it on eBay four years ago for $229+shipping.

If you like the Gibson Goldtones, keep an eye out for Trace Elliot Velocette amps. Same exact amp, but made before Gibson bought Trace Elliot. They had two versions: a bare bones one (no reverb, single 10" Celestion), and a more upscale one (reverb, single 12" Celestion). Great little amp! Note: there was an early run of them that had transformer problems, but by now they’ve all blown those bad transformers and have been fixed!

Old Gibsons - I helped a friend buy an early 60s Gibson Falcon that was one sweet little amp! Be careful, they put out a line of amps in the later 60s (with names like Saturn and Titan, etc), that were somewhat less wonderful…

Kustom - The old, cool Kustoms with the tuck’n’roll upholstery were surprisingly good solid-state amps. Hey, Creedance used them!

Roland amps - sure, the Jazz Chorus amps rule, but so do some of their other amps, like the Bolt, Cube, Blues Cube, etc.

Cheers, Tim

A solid state amp:

Trace Elliot Boxer 30.

Yep, a bass amp. But if you ain’t tried it, don’t knock it! :D

(Mind you, I doubt if my hearing goes much above 5k these days, so what do I know? :( )

It always gave me a very distinct and individual tone with my Strat, (there again, that equally could’ve been the Guinness).

And reliable, yep. It spent 3 days in the bottom of a swimming pool, and only needed a hair drier to have it as good as new.

(NB: When you have an argument with your woman and walk out, make sure you take all your important shit with you. :( )

I would probably take the Peavey Classic 30 over the Fender Blues Jr, its a little more versatile, and they are a steal on the used market (check ebay). If weight is really that much of an issue, you can swap out the stock 12" for a speaker with a neodymium magnet. They are very light, but it will add another $100 or so to the price of the amp. Peavey c30s do benefit from a speaker upgrade, the stock speakers are a little bit junky…

I would take a tube amp over a solid-state amp any day, although I’ve heard a few SS amps that impressed me, tone-wise.

ETAWS, have you picked out a guitar to go with an amp yet????

Hi syn707,
Yes, I ordered a Carvin CT3, all mahogany with sunsetburst clear-gloss finish, low-wide frets, abalone block inlays, and gold-plated hardware. I’ve got it half paid for and have to come up with the rest before July 21st. Unfortunately, I still haven’t sold my Fender Pro 185 amp or my Washburn Woodstock Studio acoustic/electric guitar. I’ve got my fingers crossed cuz times gettin short. Anybody out there in n Land in the market for a nice guitar or amp? Wifey says, “I told you not to order before you had the money, you dumb sh*t”! Hmm, maybe she’s right, but I had to have this guitar! Ya’ll know how it is.

Yummy… Carvin guitars… awesome!

etaws, PM me with a price and details for that amp. Where you located etc…

TG

I have a couple of recordings of my Tele through my Blues Junior.

Listen to CMF Jam and Bush Funk Jam.

Blessings, Terry

Check out the Line6 Flextone III, probably the most versatile 1x12 ever created.

http://www.line6.com/flextoneiii/

Quote (caxn @ June 30 2005,11:08)
Check out the Line6 Flextone III, probably the most versatile 1x12 ever created.

http://www.line6.com/flextoneiii/

If by versatile you mean an amp with 1000 mediocre tones as opposed to 1 or 2 good ones, then I'd have to agree with you. Not meaning to be as snarky as that sounds. I've used the POD a fair amount. It sure is convenient for recording in a living room at 2 am while people are sleeping. And I've played a few of these modeling amps too. They're definitely impressive, especially at first. But the longer I listen the more the presets all seem to sound the same.

I think one of those little class A amps might be the ticket. I know the Crate and Epiphone ones aren't maybe totally great out of the box, but there are mods to make them better.

The little fender blues jrs seem pretty cool too. Something with real tubes just seems like the way to go if you can find something decent. Just my 2 cents.

Best,

KS