Help me choose the right Amp

[DFLCC]

I have been trying to research, in order to buy a low wattage amp, 15 Watts or less. Mainly I want this amp to play Blues, Texas Blues, 60's and early 70's Rock. Need a solid clean channel but would like it to get a decent over drive. I play SG's only so the pick ups are fairly responsive depending on the picking. I love the natural distortion of a tube amp and will avoid stomp boxes to OD. I have tried several Amps but I can't make my mind in which to buy. So far this are my choices in no particular order.

1) Vox AC15C1
+ Natural brightness and Chimes
+ Lots of possible tone
+ Nice reverb
+ vibrato

2) Fender Blues Jr. NOS
+ Natural brightness
+ Nice reverb
+ FAT Swith (Overdrive)
- Not super impressed by the quality of the Distortion produced by the over drive.

3) Eggnater Tweeker
+ Extremely tone Flexibility
+ Amp type selection switch Britt/AC/American
- No Reverb

So I come to you guys, seeking your advise and experience. Which one you recommend and why? Any wisdom is welcome.

 

[Mr. Happy]

Can't go wrong with the AC15!

 

[Biddlin]

I have used Vox amps for 60s and 70s British blues sound since the 60s and can heartily endorse them . I played that model egnater at GC recently and, while indeed flexible, I found it thin sounding ,at practice/studio volume, even after considerable "tweaking" of the eq and voicing .

 

[Tony M]

Disclaimer:
The following post is only my opinion and, as it has been
pointed out by one of our members, a substantial part of
my motivation for participating in this forum is to make
myself look like a "big bad smarty pants".
That being said, I urge the other members of this forum
to refrain from taking anything I post as, in any way,
shape, manner or form, anything more than
"bravoda styled grandstanding" designed to "belittle
others and make you (myself) look superior".
Thank you all for your time in reading this.


I find the Blues Juniors to be somewhat strident sounding.
I can not comment on the other 2, no hands on experience.
I have to say, based on my lack of knowledge of the 3,
the Vox seems to be the choice. It is the only one
that does not have a minus in your listings.

PS:
Would someone please tell me what "bravoda" means?
I could not find it in the Merriam Webster Dictionary.

 

[gtone]

I wouldn't advise any of those three choices due to reliability issues and future resale. For that kind of money or slightly more and for the type of music you're playing I'd seek out a small used Fender - ideally BF, but SF would do in a pinch. They are as reliable and stable as an amp can be, PTP wired (no PC board/heat issues as in those amps mentioned!), the tubes last forever, they take pedals well and simply sound fantastic. There is a reason they're building clones and reissues of many of those models - they're just that good.

What's more, I could sell any of my vintage Fenders for more than I paid for them without too much trouble. Try that with a Tweaker or a Blues Junior!

Just my two cents...

 

[dbb]

Disclaimer:
The following post is only my opinion and, as it has been
pointed out by one of our members, a substantial part of
my motivation for participating in this forum is to make
myself look like a "big bad smarty pants".
That being said, I urge the other members of this forum
to refrain from taking anything I post as, in any way,
shape, manner or form, anything more than
"bravoda styled grandstanding" designed to "belittle
others and make you (myself) look superior".
Thank you all for your time in reading this.


I find the Blues Juniors to be somewhat strident sounding.
I can not comment on the other 2, no hands on experience.
I have to say, based on my lack of knowledge of the 3,
the Vox seems to be the choice. It is the only one
that does not have a minus in your listings.

PS:
Would someone please tell me what "bravoda" means?
I could not find it in the Merriam Webster Dictionary.

Possibly "bravura"?

I for one like your posts, but then again I know am a big fat smarty pants smart ass, so who am I to judge?

Oh, to the OP -

For what you want I suggest the Super Champ fender series, either the older XD or the updated one.

Perhaps try one before you go all Vox...although for Brit stuff it's pretty damn good.

 

[Biddlin]

Stuck in the past

I own a 1964 Vox ac30 that is currently on loan to a music prof friend, who has used it 3-4 hrs/wk for a couple of years after I gigged with it for about 20 years . It has a Bluesbreaker Claptonesque quality , yet with an outboard fuzz tone, makes my Strat spit out Texas blues ala Johnny Winter . I understand that the MIC versions are neither so reliable nor as flexible .
My neighbor just bought a 1970s Silverface Fender Champ, in functional, but ugly,(Butt ugly too!)condition on cl for $300 US . Iron Maiden covers sound good, from three garages away, so it's loud enough (I actually checked it out for him and it's a good sounding, unmolested tube amp,especially @ that price !). Good hunting, Biddlin ;>)/
P.S. Son just told me his ac15, recent vintage, is OK, but the reverb is anaemic .

 

[smitty_p]

"Bravoda" My guess is that it's a simple transposition of the last two vowels in the word, "bravado." A simple keystroke error.

However, if I was feeling mischievious, I'd suggest it's a derivative of Iron Butterfly...y'know..."In-a-gadda-bra-vo-da."

Anyhoo, on to the topic at hand. I second the old Fender idea from gtone or the Super Champ idea from dbb. It's kinda funny, alot of amp makers are trying to cash in on the small amp craze, when Fender's been making small amps practically from day one.

 

[oldrockfan]

this is just one guys opinion but you just don't have good luck doing blues and 70s rock on the same amp. Sure there are amps that can do both ok but not any that really do great at both. If you are going to do 70s rock... hard to go wrong with a marshall tube amp. For blues, I personally think the fender hot rod series works really well. I know they are more than 15 watts but they sure do nail the sounds you are after. If I had to have one amp to do both blues and 70s rock... I'd probably concentrate on an amp with good cleans and then use pedals to get the dirt.

 

[gtone]

'Course you could always get a Marshall 18W clone pretty cheap, probably in that same ballpark pricewise to boot. Tino Zottola builds 'em up every once in a while out of old radio parts and auctions them off on E-Bay (user name = "radiocorner") in the form of a fully assembled chassis, sans tubes, going in the $175-$185 range. BTW, Google Tino if you're unfamiliar with him - he's a legend in tube amp building circles.

Personally, I can vouch for Tino's work as I bought a 5F1 Champ clone off of him a couple of years ago and it has top notch quality and tone built in. Put his 18W chassis in a used or homebuilt cab and wire in a speaker and you're all set, probably for about $350 or so. You could easily cover most of what you're looking to play, in style too and with a combo (or separate head/amp cab config) that could easily work in many situations w/out mic'ing it up. Add in handwired quality and PTP circuitry courtesy of a man who literally wrote the book (several of them, in fact!) on small tube amp building and you have a recipe for tone to the bone.

The only trade-off I'd see in this situation may be in reselling the amp, but it'd be so inexpensive to get into, its hard to imagine a situation where you'd get stomped on resale value (might have to explain to a potential buyer who Tino Zottola is, however). Think you'd still do better in the resale dept. with a Zottola 18W than you might with an offshore AC15, BJ, or Tweaker though, just prolly not as good as my previous recommendation for a small BF/SF Fender. Think the Fender would get you nicer cleans too than an 18W, but that's just my .02... ; )

 

[dbb]

"Bravoda" My guess is that it's a simple transposition of the last two vowels in the word, "bravado." A simple keystroke error.

Methinks you are correct.

 

[dbb]

'Course you could always get a Marshall 18W clone pretty cheap, probably in that same ballpark pricewise to boot. Tino Zottola builds 'em up every once in a while out of old radio parts

I like that idea, reuse the old parts.

 

[Tobacco Worm]

I have been trying to research, in order to buy a low wattage amp, 15 Watts or less. Mainly I want this amp to play Blues, Texas Blues, 60's and early 70's Rock. Need a solid clean channel but would like it to get a decent over drive. I play SG's only so the pick ups are fairly responsive depending on the picking. I love the natural distortion of a tube amp and will avoid stomp boxes to OD. I have tried several Amps but I can't make my mind in which to buy. So far this are my choices in no particular order.

1) Vox AC15C1
+ Natural brightness and Chimes
+ Lots of possible tone
+ Nice reverb
+ vibrato

2) Fender Blues Jr. NOS
+ Natural brightness
+ Nice reverb
+ FAT Swith (Overdrive)
- Not super impressed by the quality of the Distortion produced by the over drive.

3) Eggnater Tweeker
+ Extremely tone Flexibility
+ Amp type selection switch Britt/AC/American
- No Reverb

So I come to you guys, seeking your advise and experience. Which one you recommend and why? Any wisdom is welcome.

Judging by your remarks above, you already have decided on the Vox. Based by the wording of your post, you do lean toward that direction.
Trust your instincts and your own ears. Deep down you know what is best to your taste.

Amps are like anything else in this world. Cars, guns, bows, whatever. You have those that you like, and then there's those that come along that you just gotta have, then later loose their apeal and you trade them off. Go with your gut feelings on the one that give you the most bang for the buck. It's usually the right choice.

Wade

 

[Kevy Nova]

I have an AC15 and a Blues Junior NOS and I love them both but I like the Fender much more for these reasons:

1. It's WAY lighter and easy to carry.

2. It has much more "crunch" than the Vox.

3. It sounds great without having to use pedals.

I think you'd be happy with either one though.

 

[DFLCC]

AC15 or Blues Jr.

Thanks to all who did reply and/or voted on the poll. Looks like I am still on a predicament. Both amps are great and magnificent tone shapers in their own ways. As of now looks like I am buying a Fender Blues Jr. NOS. I am not discarding the idea of buying the VOX AC15C1 in a very near future. I will be posting some pictures ones I get it.

Thanks to all

 

[Alex_SG]

"bravoda styled grandstanding"

PS:
Would someone please tell me what "bravoda" means?
I could not find it in the Merriam Webster Dictionary.

He he he. Love it Tony!!! Perhaps it's dyslexic for "bravado"?
Best
Alex

 

[Dreamscape]

I have had a Tweaker 15 for a year or so & have found it to be a pretty cool amp with lots of tones available, a tube swap is a good thing over the standard Ruby tubes. It does take a bit of tweaking to get the right sound you are looking for so don't go by a quick plug & play at the local shop.
Takes to all of my pedals well too ( MI Audio overdrive,Ibanez TS-9DX,TC Flashback Delay, Dunlop Wah etc). I would like to have a bash with one of those Blackstar HT-1/5's at some stage though. But like others have said you have to follow your gut feeling.

 

[Hammer]

If you let me borrow your ears, I'll let ya know! Forgive me for saying, but...it seems, based on your original list and descriptions, you have already made up your mind. Go pick up an AC15!

 

[DFLCC]

Final Decision

I bought the Fender Blues Jr. It is a little beast and I got a great deal on it. I bought a used one, yet is a 2012 model with no signs off wear or blemishes. The price was unbeatable, $478.00. Sounds great and feels great.

I hate to have sound deceiving, that was never my intention. The AC15C1 is a great amp, but at the end the nostalgia of the Fender Blues Jr NOS got me. you know what I mean if you are as old or older than me

Thanks to all for your opinions.

 

[gtone]

Congrats - you're happy with your choice and that's all that matters in the end.

FWIW, I dig the tweed covered ones more than the black tolex myself. You done good, Spike!