Already got seller's remorse... What should I do?

[Clifdawg]

Alright, so I literally just yesterday sold off my Peavey Bandit to a guy because I hadn't played it since my little man was born four months ago... Only been using my Blackstar ID:Core 10 (even gigging at church! At my feet and mic'd, of course) since. Thought I'd use the money to buy a friend's Playstation 4, because he doesn't want it anymore and is willing to let me have it for peanuts.

Buuuuut... Christmas is coming up, and I'm thinking Santa needs to get a good boy like me a real amp again, already. Haha. Except, maybe this time, I'll get something really portable I can throw in the car one-handed so I actually get to use it more (the Bandit was freakin' heavy and pretty large for an SS amp). So, having played some smaller amps, I've kinda narrowed down a few options, in order of my interest in them:

1. Vox AC10C1: Killer good looks, super light weight, perfect size, glorious Brit-grit tone, stupid low price. Played one; loved it. Highly dependent on how that chimey top-end takes my OCD pedal.
2. Marshall Class 5: Something about a dead-simple mini-Bluesbreaker appeals to me; but the lack of a master volume or attenuator makes me hesitant.
3. Marshall DSL5C: Heard that a Gibson + DSL is one of the most glorious sounds a guitar can make, but I worry that the ultra-gain may be a little too much for the kinds of sounds I want to get; plus, I have the OCD for pushing it into the "heavy" territory anyway.
4. Boss Katana 50: From the way people talk about this amp, it must be the king of digital amps. I wonder if smacking pedals in front of it will hurt the digital pre-amp over time, though... Or even if it will sound all that good. But it's super cheap and does everything I would ever need it to do, too!
5. Fender Super Champ X2: Great size and weight, with lots of volume. However, I halfway wonder if this is just a glorified Mustang with tubes to make purists happy. I know Fender modelers do Fenders well, but I'd like a usable classic-modern rock crunch tone, too.

Wildcards:

1. Peavey Valveking 112: About the size and weight of the Bandit, and at 50 watts it's clearly more power than I'll ever need, but these things regularly go for less than 200 bucks. I like the way Peaveys sound, and for the price of entry, I could re-tube and do a speaker swap and have clean and crunch tone for days. If I can find one for around 175, I'll actually consider it.
2. Peavey XXL 2x12 combo: Way bigger, way heavier than the Bandit. It's big, it's loud, it's dumb, but I know some consider it one of the best SS amps ever made. And it's made in USA. 'Merica, punks. (Just kidding all people from other countries you're cool too I love you I promise don't hate me please). If I found one around 200... I'd buy it just to have it.

Anyway, that's where I'm at. If you had a couple-to-a-few-hundred to spare around Christmas and didn't have anything than a tiny modeler, what would you do? Thanks everyone!

 

[pedecamp]

Out of your list I really liked the Class 5 and Superchamp. But if I were to get a small amp I would go with a Fender Bassbreaker 15, these are awesome amps.

 

[DrBGood]

SCX2 has one channel full tubes and voices on the other channel are pretty good.

One of my recordings on it.


But other reviews are better, like this one.

 

[gball]

Not sure what your budget is, but based on the amps you are considering, maybe check out a Laney Iommi. It's not the one-trick pony you might think, and sounds like an absolute fire-breathing monster when you want it to. Portable. 12" speaker. <1 watt mode for keeping things quiet when need be. The grill is kind of goofy but the tone is anything but.

 

[jvin248]

.

The weight and size you mention of the Bandit ... makes me wonder about a project of making pine board boxes (instead of the heavy fiber/chip on them) as lighter solutions, make a head unit and put the speaker in a matching cabinet. Lighter boxes plus split weight into two trips if necessary. A little internet searchy ... https://www.google.com/search?q=peavey+bandit+head+amp&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X

If you find another Bandit...lol.

.

 

[Dave Johnson]

The Katana 50 is amazing for what it is.
Light weight, portable, and sounds great. Definitely a one hand amp.
One not on your list is the Marshall DSL 15C.
Picked one up used a few weeks ago for $300 and it really surprised me.

 

[pedecamp]

SCX2 has one channel full tubes and voices on the other channel are pretty good.

One of my recordings on it.


But other reviews are better, like this one.

My favorite tones out of the Superchamp were the Marshall voices, so I opted to get a Marshall instead but the Superchamp did a really good Marshall tone!

 

[pedecamp]

Not sure what your budget is, but based on the amps you are considering, maybe check out a Laney Iommi. It's not the one-trick pony you might think, and sounds like an absolute fire-breathing monster when you want it to. Portable. 12" speaker. <1 watt mode for keeping things quiet when need be. The grill is kind of goofy but the tone is anything but.

Laney also makes the Ironheart IRT Studio, I've never played one but it looks to be a very interesting affordable small amp, 3 channels etc.

 

[syscokid]

Lots of nice suggestions for small and versatile amps made here already. For the price ($200), you just can't beat the BOSS Katana 50. You should demo one, or buy one on a trial basis if possible.

Also... the whole line of the Fender Bassbreakers is very impressive. The 15 watt combo is about $650, new.

 

[Clifdawg]

Awesome, thanks for the ideas, everyone. Seeing as how I'd like to hover around the 300 dollar mark (and don't at all mind buying used), seems I need to look into the Super Champ, DSL series, and the Katana first and foremost, then keep a sharp eye out for a killer deal :)

 

[Dave_Death]

Personally I don't know why people think combos are more portable. Once you get up to a 12" speaker (and definitely with a 212) you are usually better off with a separate 50W head and 212 cab, especially when going tube. Tube combos are very heavy. I'd rather carry two lighter loads than one heavy load.

 

[pedecamp]

Awesome, thanks for the ideas, everyone. Seeing as how I'd like to hover around the 300 dollar mark (and don't at all mind buying used), seems I need to look into the Super Champ, DSL series, and the Katana first and foremost, then keep a sharp eye out for a killer deal :)

Used Bassbreakers are cheap too, I think they are better than anything in your list, check them out before you discount them, especially the 15 watt its got an fx loop. Another that comes to mind is the Blackstar HT series amps (and you know you already like Blackstar), the 5 watt and 20 watt are fairly cheap used.

 

[pedecamp]

Personally I don't know why people think combos are more portable. Once you get up to a 12" speaker (and definitely with a 212) you are usually better off with a separate 50W head and 212 cab, especially when going tube. Tube combos are very heavy. I'd rather carry two lighter loads than one heavy load.

I totally agree with you on this point, I mostly have heads for that reason plus a head through a 2x12 sounds way better than any combo. Matter fact I just ordered a Vox AC30CH head to replace my Vox AC15 combo, point taken!

 

[kiko]

Class 5 get my vote!

 

[Clifdawg]

Used Bassbreakers are cheap too, I think they are better than anything in your list, check them out before you discount them, especially the 15 watt its got an fx loop. Another that comes to mind is the Blackstar HT series amps (and you know you already like Blackstar), the 5 watt and 20 watt are fairly cheap used.

You know, I've played the Bassbreakers, and for some reason I just don't love the 15. Maybe it's the small speaker and the simpler class-A circuit, but I actually prefer the little 007 1x10 combo. That's one I'll probably revisit at some point in my search.

I didn't really look at the Blackstars because the HT-5R is a bit pricey new for what you get, but it seems like the non-reverb units are going pretty cheaply now - found one for just over 200 shipped pretty easily. I'll keep that on my radar too!

 

[Paul G.]

I have an Orange Crush 35. It isn't sexy, I guess. What it is is very light, compact and loud enough for gigging or jamming, yet sounds fine at lower volumes as well.

I not only love it, but by bringing it to a weekly jam it's sold at least 3 more. People hear it and they go out and buy one.

The best part is that it sounds and feels like an amp -- natural and organic. Great cleans, great crunch and dirt, decent reverb.

P.

 

[chicagoslim]

I like the Katana 50, as is.

With tube and speaker upgrades, SCX2. I have a SCXD with EHX tubes and Eminence Legend 105 speaker.

For a wild card, the Kustom Defender V15. All of the Kustom tube amps are great, whether they were made China or USA.

 

[Clifdawg]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! Thinking about what Dave_Death suggested... I perused a little more today at the used market and found a Blackstar HT5 mini-stack with two 1x10 cabs available from GC for $350... So I got to thinking: If I got something like that, I could just leave one cab at home and one cab at church, and only transport the head.

I dug a little more and stumbled across a YouTube vid that discussed a "Harley Benton" (I'm guessing Joyo) cab available from Thomann shipped to the US for $162 that has a real 12" Celestion V30 in it, which is the same price as a Bugera cab, and I could get a Blackstar HT5R head for around $200-250 used and have a killer rig for less than 400 bucks, with the option to pick up a matching cab later to just keep at church. I always reserve the right to plug both of them in if I really want to feel the wind in my hair

 

[DFLCC]

Of your list, I will caution you against the Marshall Class 5. Although some people like it your bass control knob is almost unresponsive. Do not buy it until you try it, if you like it then get it.

Not to crazy about the DSL5 but I do love the DSL40C and I mean love.

The Katana is a beast. The .5W position is Baby friendly while keeping the tone integrity. Ask anyone that owns any version of it.

Fenders, only tubes for me. Blues jr, Blues Deluxe and HRDLX. I own all three and there is a reason why, and I am not letting go of any of them.

VOX, I just don’t know, so can’t comment.

 

[Clifdawg]

Thanks, DFLCC. Based on the feedback I've gotten, I think I've pretty much decided on the Blackstar HT5R combo. I could care less about the hate it gets from some players because of its hybrid tube and solid-state preamp section - "if it sounds good, it is good!"

The 12" speaker, reverb, pristine clean channel, diminutive size, and less-than 30 pound weight kinda seals the deal for me, especially since I regularly find them for 350 or less used. If I can swing one for even less, I might drop a vintage 30 in it for extra grunt. Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!