what valve amp

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what valve amp
Topic Started: Aug 1 2008, 05:51 PM (179 Views)
ruffdog64	Aug 1 2008, 05:51 PM Post #1
Member Posts: 35 Group: Members Member #8,686 Joined: July 26, 2008	I play an epiphone les paul custom through a vox da5 amp which has 11 effects on it but wondered if getting a valve amp would give a better tone , and would i need a particular effects pedal; i like acdc, guns and roses ,boston whitsnake etc my budget is around Ł200.00 and it is just for home use and i`m looking for small in size, has anyone some suggestions?



monwobobbo	Aug 1 2008, 06:30 PM Post #2
Posts: 610 Group: Moderator Member #8,625 Joined: June 23, 2008	after looking up your amp i can see why you want something better . unfortuneatly for the money you mentioned you wouldn't be able to buy an all valve (tubes to us yanks) amp. i found a couple that have a tube in the preamp section which may work for you. VOX AP30VT (L129) or a LANEY LV200 (L199) of the two the laney may prove to be more versitile as its a 65 watt amp. you may also consider a good solid state amp ( yeah i know "evil") that could do the trick for you as well (used may be a good idea for you as you might be able to find a valve amp or what you can afford). built in effects for amps are very limited in most cases. if you feel you need greater control and options then a pedal or multi-fx unit would be the way to go. keep in mind that a real nice guitar is going to sound crappy or just passable when played thru a crap or cheap amp. its a common mistake that many make when first starting out. a good amp can make an average guitar sound good and even a crappy one sound ok.
	and now for something completely different


ruffdog64	Aug 1 2008, 07:18 PM Post #3
Member Posts: 35 Group: Members Member #8,686 Joined: July 26, 2008	If i push the budget to Ł300.00 would that help and it would need to be available in the uk, your right in that i`m not happy with the tone/sound i`m getting at the moment



monwobobbo	Aug 1 2008, 07:36 PM Post #4
Posts: 610 Group: Moderator Member #8,625 Joined: June 23, 2008	more money never hurts . when i do research i go to UK sites the prices are in ( ) and as has been noted Americans don't have the pound sign on our keyboards so i use an L. i realize that just because i have several good music stores here that thats not the cse for everyone so i do try to see what is generally available before i give advice. so far it seems that in the UK your gear choices are way more limited than over here. the amps i mentioned should be fine for home use. i feel that its kind of a waste to spend huge money on equipment just for noodling at home. i keep a cheap ibanez and a small boss practice amp in the living room to noodle on while watching tv. i probably spend more time playing that than my "good" stuff.
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mynameisDavid	Aug 1 2008, 11:56 PM Post #5
Member Posts: 919 Group: Moderator Member #294 Joined: March 2, 2007	ruffdog64 Aug 1 2008, 07:18 PM If i push the budget to Ł300.00 would that help and it would need to be available in the uk, your right in that i`m not happy with the tone/sound i`m getting at the moment You can always sell your old amp for like 3/4ths of the money



Bullet	Aug 2 2008, 04:43 AM Post #6
Admin Posts: 1,834 Group: Admin Member #183 Joined: January 13, 2007	Ł300 will get you an all tube amp. Not a top of the range one but a nice one that you will be happy with Obviously monwobobbo didn't look around much they is quite a range of good guitar stores here. To the TS, take a look at the Peavey Valveking http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/peavey-valve-king-112/68946



monwobobbo	Aug 2 2008, 02:57 PM Post #7
Posts: 610 Group: Moderator Member #8,625 Joined: June 23, 2008	Bullet Aug 2 2008, 04:43 AM Ł300 will get you an all tube amp. Not a top of the range one but a nice one that you will be happy with Obviously monwobobbo didn't look around much they is quite a range of good guitar stores here. To the TS, take a look at the Peavey Valveking http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/peavey-valve-king-112/68946 didn't mean to say there aren't good guitar stores there just that what i found on the web (and no i didn't spend alot of time on that) and seen in your guitar magazines (some stores over here import them) didn't have a wide variety of makes offered. it seems once you get past fender, gibson, ibanez or epiphone the choices really diminish. for instance i play BC RICH guitars and i don't see them offered all that much in the UK. just a perception based on what i've seen. originally he asked for L200 or less so thats what i looked at and you would have to admit at that price point the options are limited. i do the best i can but am an American so i'm not as familiar with whats available to you folks. i want to steer people right so i do a quick check usually with dolphin music since i know there site. i never mean to imply that thats all there is just wanna give a timely answer.
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ruffdog64	Aug 2 2008, 03:31 PM Post #8
Member Posts: 35 Group: Members Member #8,686 Joined: July 26, 2008	bullit , what do mean when you say Ł300.00 won`t get a top of the range amp, by that i know there are amps for Ł900.00 etc but what is it going to lack compared to high end amps



monwobobbo	Aug 3 2008, 12:24 AM Post #9
Posts: 610 Group: Moderator Member #8,625 Joined: June 23, 2008	lack may not be the best term. think of it as say cars, you can buy a corvette which goes fast and looks sharp or a ferrari which looks sharper and goes faster. they both do the same thing just one a little better and of course for about 5x the price. when it comes to tube amps less money usually translate into less features and power. how many watts, speaker size and number of speakers, how many independent channels etc all come into play. for your purposes they won't mean as much. a 30watt 1x12 amp is more than sufficient for practice. this is not to say that you will be losing out on great sound though. many of rocks greatest albums were recorded using smalll tube amps in the studio. if you decide to get into a band then you'll need more until then don't worry about a top of the line amp or guitar.
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Bullet	Aug 3 2008, 11:44 PM Post #10
Admin Posts: 1,834 Group: Admin Member #183 Joined: January 13, 2007	Yeah, cheaper amps are usually built in middle eastern countries (not that it's a bad thing, but labour is cheaper and keeps costs down) and they are made with lower quality materials, usually resulting in a lower quality sound. Though picking an amp never depends on the price.... you could spend 2 grand on the worst amp you have ever heard. It's best to go to the shop and try some out and see what you like Though, as the proud owner of a Peavey Valveking for 2 years, I thought I would advise you that it is a good buy Good Luck



ruffdog64	Aug 4 2008, 07:56 PM Post #11
Member Posts: 35 Group: Members Member #8,686 Joined: July 26, 2008	I`v finally made my mind up and gone a bought a fender champ XD and i can`t believe the difference even a complete beginnner like me can tell the tone is so much better



monwobobbo	Aug 4 2008, 09:24 PM Post #12
Posts: 610 Group: Moderator Member #8,625 Joined: June 23, 2008	great enjoy!
	and now for something completely different


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