best amp for $200 bucks on the used market?

or somewhere relatively close to that...

so what do you guys think...? anyone with any experience with one or more of these...i've only played on the Roland Cube 30...which was pretty decent for the money for sure!?

Tech 21 tm10
Roland cube 30
Orange 30r
Ampeg Jt12
Vox ad30
Fender blues jr.
Marshall valvestate
Hamp;K blue30

or something else...

i think i'm basically gonna take what i get from my Tech 21 tm120 and buy the TP tickets and then get something small to play until my wife starts work and i buy a Rivera?

Add Peavey Classic 30 and Carvin Bel-air to the list. They often show up for about $200 on ebay. I got my Classic 30 for $200 with an Celestion loaded extension cab!

They are both pretty decent Fenderesque tube amps.

Mike

i forgot about the classic 30...i can at least play one of those here locally...

anyone have any experiences with the Orange crush 30r..?!?!?!

none of you guys have or have played small practice/small gig amps!?


Originally Posted by Hossnone of you guys have or have played small practice/small gig amps!?

Oh yes i have! I own 4 or 5 small amps... the Peavey Classic 30, an all original 1965 Fender Deluxe amp, a Fender Princton Chorus amp, and a Berhinger Vintager... My rundown is

the Classic 30 is the best i have for a small amp as far as it still being loud enough to jam thru with a drummer. It has poven to be a great gigging amp.... My one complaint is it does not have enough low end for my tastes as i'm used to stacks, but a good soundman will add the extra bass. But it has everything else i could want and it is really light to carry. I use a large pedalboard thru it and for different tunes i will use both the Distortion channel on the amp for some tunes and also distortion pedals thru the clean channel for different tunes.... Plus i run my Piezo's thru the clean channel as well and it sounds great! But at low volumes this amp does not sound that great. Turn one up and it comes to life!!!!!!! Also Gibson style guitars shine thru this amp but single coil strats don't sound that great. I picked up the Classic 30 for a cheap cheap price with the matching ext cab..

The 65 Deluxe is a bit of a waste really as i just use it in my bedroom and i really do not care for any of the tones i can get thru it... It has a good clean sound with a neck strat pickup but other then that i don't care for it. My Boss DS1 does an OK job to turn this amp alive but still not amazing. I scored this amp for an extremely low dollar off a kid. It didn't work at all and he got it from a old lady next door who used to be in a band back in the 60's. I had a tech do some tube and cap work to it and it works fine now. But still the tone is only good for clean strat neck pu sounds so it seems to be a one trick pony.

The Fender Princton Chorus amp is an amp i have owned since about 1988.... I've had many different Prinston Chorus and Ultra Chorus's over the years and still have a Princton.... It's about 6 years old now and it is my main practice amp. Most people think these amps have way too much fuzz sound to it..... Well yes it does sound like a distortion box over a tube OD. But the amp has many different tones if players would sit and adjust the gain and mid boost controlls back. This amp also has an amazing clean channel... The Chorus and Reverb are very nice and i don't like the new DSP Prinston's as the real spring reverb and lush Chorus is gone and the effects suck. You can pick these amps up dirt cheap but beware that sometimes they can have faults... check them out from top to bottom. This amp is also gut-less!!!! The speakers buzz and distort extremely easy and you can't turn them up. But for jamming late at a wisper i love them!!!!! And for a bedroom practice amp that sounds so big yet does not wake anyone it is worth it to me.... Oneday i want to try better speakers in the Princton to see if the amp can sound good at a louder volume without crapy cheap speakers buzzing. The Ultra Chorus i had was LOUD! Solid State Loud..... It didn't have the bottom end i liked so i sold it and got some real tube stacks for high volume work.

The Berhinger Vintager was a bit of a mistake for me to buy but i still use it a lot. A mistake as i have other amps that do what it does better. It was dirt cheap and has a million features so who cares i guess.... It has LXR direct outputs and 3 switchs to choose Cab, Amp And Tone preset sounds. Plus it has EQ knobs. I fooled around with this amp and it has one great tone. The ACDC type rock tone with huge amounts of bass!!!!! This thing at low volumes is killer for that sound.

WhoFan
Small practice amps is what we as guitarist play thru the most and the yare very important.....

Tech 21 trademark 10!!!!!

I played a little amp by Hamp;K called an quot;Edition 60?quot; I think. That was one of the best sounding cheap combos I've heard. Personally, I think you'd dig a Valvetronix, simply because it's so versatile.

did some research on the bay...and that Hamp;K model looks decent...especially for the money...they can be had under $200 bucks...i would like the versatility of the ad60 combo...but i think it will always be just outta the range i'm wanting to go...i'm still real curious about the orange crush 30r too...and the Classic 30?!?!?

Another vote for the Tech 21 Trademark 10. Great amps. They sound very realistic. Great reverb also.

played the tech 21 tm10 and the classic 30 today!!! the tech 21 is a great little amp and i could definitely get one for less than $200 bucks on e-bay...but the Peavey Classic 30 is alot more amp for not much more $$...on the used market

wow...i was actually really impressed with this thing and it gets plenty loud enough for me to play it in church or small gigs...i really fell in love with it...great cleans...really good crunch that was more marshallesque than fenderish...which is a plus...the reverb sounded pretty decent too (not rivera good but ) and i heard you could upgrade it as well as alot of other mods...the blue marvel 12' speaker sounded pretty decent too, but could be upgraded anytime i want...that's one thing that tech 21 doesn't give you...they say that they don't do other speakers very well at all...i think i'm sold on the Classic 30 and the tweed looks real sharp...who knows i might laquer it someday and even get the extension cab...i'd still like to try that Hamp;K, the ampeg and the Orangecrush...but i really, really dug this little tube tone bugger!!!

thanks for all of the advice fellas...spot on as usual...i'm not postive about this one yet...but i'm real close...only a few more to try out?!

thanks again,
mike

oh btw...i played them with a Washburn HB-35 (the gibby 335 clone) and it was a SCHAAAAWEEET guitar...i really liked it ALOT!!!

Yep, my singer plays through a Classic 30 and I was impressed with the tone. For the price, I don't think it can be beat and the power level is perfect for most average size gigs.

I've been extremely happy with the Classic 30! It is a really nice small amp that works for working musicians. I know a few local pros searching out used ones as well. And the extention cab adds so much to it!!!! The extention cab i have is the matching 1x12 from Peavey covered in the same tweed but it is a closed back speaker. That closed back speaker adds so much lows compaired to the Classic 30 alone with it's open back cab. I used it a few times and our drummer loved it! He could really hear me thru the open back and i loved the sound out front of the closed back ext cab. Best of both worlds!!!!

I bought mine used a few years back and it came with these wire clip tube holders in it that i was told are not stock.... They clip on and hold the tubes from falling down from vibrations. They can be had for a few bucks if your Classic 30 does not have them.

The only trouble i have with my Classic 30 is one of the bolts that hold the amp chassy in the combo is stripped. Like that when i bought it. When i turn the amp up high the chassy vibrates and i need to get that stopped. Is their any other way to get this metal bolt to hold again besides taping for a slightly bigger bolt?

WhoFan

Hoss, do you actually need an amp? How about a used POD, or a V-amp? Headphones and you can jam to your hearts content. I use my GT-6 quite a bit, so as not to bother the family. A set of wireless headphones and I'm a rock star.

Food for thought...the V-amps are super cheap.

i thought about that...but i still play in church and i have visions of grandeur in playing a few other small gigs this summer with just me and another guy...?!

the only bad thing is that the Classic 30's are going for $300 and over right now... ...figures!


Originally Posted by Hossi forgot about the classic 30...i can at least play one of those here locally...

anyone have any experiences with the Orange crush 30r..?!?!?!

stay away from it... it might of been a bad day for the amp and axe and perhaps for me too, but that amp is utter crap from my experience.

the peavey classic though was quite nice. cranked the gain and put volume on 4 and with the JB equiped framus you got instant AC/DC sound. and that is a tube amp right? or is it a solid state one?


Originally Posted by Daveystay away from it... it might of been a bad day for the amp and axe and perhaps for me too, but that amp is utter crap from my experience.

the peavey classic though was quite nice. cranked the gain and put volume on 4 and with the JB equiped framus you got instant AC/DC sound. and that is a tube amp right? or is it a solid state one?

All the Orange 'Crush' series of amps are Solid state

Craig


Originally Posted by BrowAll the Orange 'Crush' series of amps are Solid state

Craig

yar, i ment the clasic30 .. read above that it's a tube amp


Originally Posted by Daveyyar, i ment the clasic30 .. read above that it's a tube amp

Sorry, I misunderstood your post

I know the Classic 30 is a tube amp, but I thought you were talking about the Orange Crsuh. Ah well...... I'm a moron

yeah...it's tube (the classic)

i've heard with some JJ tubes and some orange caps it can even sound better than it does now...sooo that sounds like fun too!? (modding it)

well, if i had the $ to spare i'd go for it