How to properly test-drive an Amp (or "how to find the perfect amp")?

So, I'm going to get paid in just a week, and I think it's time to upgrade my rig a bit. While I do like the sound of my Fender Mustang Amp when I record it, I just don't think it sounds quite as spectacular when I just practice. It sounds good, don't get me wrong... It just lacks the warmth of a real Tube Amp, which leads into my problem...

I'm going to buy myself a Tube Amp when I get paid, and I have a pretty good idea of what my requirements are: It must be able to get a nice overdriven tone for Blues and Rock, but at moderate volumes so I can continue practicing at home without blowing out the windows. As such, 100 W Tube Heads with 2x 412 cabinets are way out of the question. I've already looked at a handful of amps that look like they might just give me what I'm looking for, but I have yet to actually test them to find the best amp. I haven't really tried out a lot of Tube Amps for the sake of finding the ideal Tube Amp for me. Normally, that's only been to test some guitars, but no the situation is reversed... I'm bringing in my own guitar (my Epiphone Les Paul 100 w/ Oil City Pickups in it), so I'll have something I can relate to.

How would you guys go about testing amps for the sake of finding the perfect Tube Amp for your needs? I'm not in a situation where I need a huge 100W Stack or anything like that. Just something that can play loud enough for small venues when the time comes, yet still sounds great when I'm practicing at home or playing with others when I find the people to start a band with. Any suggestions are welcome.

I don't really have any suggestion how to do this other then just trying all the amps that you can.. preferably with your main performing guitar.
You might look at the The Vox Valvetronix+ Series.. "Tube-driven VOX Valve Reactor circuit uses a 12AX7 vacuum tube for true-tube tone" The more I learn about mine, the better I like it..
Good luck on your search..

Take your guitar and go play amps. Lots of them.

I finally settled on two tube amps for man cave use. I chose these because they sound righteous at reasonable volume levels.

Blackstar HT5RH with a separate cab and a Bugera V22.

Most of the time I'm not using these though :) Mostly I use my Yamaha THR10, BOSS GT-001, ReValver or Guitar Rig Pro thru a set of monitors.

I'm not suggesting you buy either of these. Just ideas for amps to try out.

The best advice I think I can give you is sleep on it over night before you buy. You may listen to 5 to 30 different amps that day. By then you will have amp over load, no matter what you find that day, leave it at the store, get a good nights sleep, then go back and play through it again. If you still love it make it yours, if you have any questions, leave it there.

I left my home 4 different times over 4 or 5 years with money in my pocket and the idea I would buy a new acoustic in my head, but came home empty handed every time because I could not find the guitar that made the sound I was looking for. When I did finally find the one I wanted it cost a bit more than what I wanted to pay. I was very glad I didn't settle for something less on one of my other trips, because I still had the money to pay a little extra for what I wanted.

Do Not Settle! if you go back the next day and that new amp does not sound the same, keep the extra cash until you do find what you want.

Originally Posted by: compart1I don't really have any suggestion how to do this other then just trying all the amps that you can.. preferably with your main performing guitar.
You might look at the The Vox Valvetronix+ Series.. "Tube-driven VOX Valve Reactor circuit uses a 12AX7 vacuum tube for true-tube tone" The more I learn about mine, the better I like it..
Good luck on your search..[/QUOTE]
Like I said, I'm going to bring my own Les Paul. I know how that one sounds through my Fender Mustang, so it gives me a frame of reference. I've never really heard of the Valvetronix+ series. To be honest, I always thought Vox had only made the legendary AC30 and the more recent AC30C2... Turns out I was wrong. I'm going to see if they carry the Valvetronix+ amp. If they do, I'll check it out :)

Originally Posted by: bob99Take your guitar and go play amps. Lots of them.

I finally settled on two tube amps for man cave use. I chose these because they sound righteous at reasonable volume levels.

Blackstar HT5RH with a separate cab and a Bugera V22.

Most of the time I'm not using these though :) Mostly I use my Yamaha THR10, BOSS GT-001, ReValver or Guitar Rig Pro thru a set of monitors.

I'm not suggesting you buy either of these. Just ideas for amps to try out.

I've heard of the Blackstar amps. Checked out their HT-series at Copenhagen Guitar Show last year. Haven't seen one since then, even though they looked cool. I've read mixed reviews of Bugera, most of which actually say they break down right after the warranty expires, while others state they're some very good, highly versatile amps that don't break the budget. I'll see which Bugera they have, and try them out. Sadly, I know they don't sell Blackstar amps, so I can't check those out.

[QUOTE=haghj500]The best advice I think I can give you is sleep on it over night before you buy. You may listen to 5 to 30 different amps that day. By then you will have amp over load, no matter what you find that day, leave it at the store, get a good nights sleep, then go back and play through it again. If you still love it make it yours, if you have any questions, leave it there.

I left my home 4 different times over 4 or 5 years with money in my pocket and the idea I would buy a new acoustic in my head, but came home empty handed every time because I could not find the guitar that made the sound I was looking for. When I did finally find the one I wanted it cost a bit more than what I wanted to pay. I was very glad I didn't settle for something less on one of my other trips, because I still had the money to pay a little extra for what I wanted.

Do Not Settle! if you go back the next day and that new amp does not sound the same, keep the extra cash until you do find what you want.

Good advice. I've got plenty of amps that I know I'm going to try out. I already know that I won't need a huge stack, so I guess Tube Heads are out of the question (especially 100+W Stacks). To me, something smaller like a 22W Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb Combo or a 40W Fender Hot Rod Deluxe III (or 15W Fender Blues Jr.) would be plenty. Both of those two Amps should be loud enough to keep up with a band in a rehearsal-space or a small venue when the time comes. I've also looked at the Hughes&Kettner TubeMeister 5 and 18, but sadly, my local gear-store doesn't have them, so if I want to try them, I'll have to order one, then test it for up to 30 days and then return it if it doesn't live up to my expectations.

All in all, I'll have to try out a bunch of amps, see which ones I can find in a store... And hey, if I don't find something good right away, it's no big deal. After all, I'm not going to be playing gigs anytime soon, as it looks right now.

Goodluck on finding an amp,as there are so many these days. Why is a tube amp out of the question?.
I have a blackstar ht5rw and its an awsome amp.
Loud enough for small venues and it has an emulated headphone jack. Sounds amazin through headphones for practice without bothering anyone.

And i have a Marshall dsl15 combo which to me sounds great. There both great for classic rock ,blues through in a dist pedal now ur playing metal.
Just a thought imo. Does it have to be new. Because you can find great deals on reverb.com. blackstar id series are great non tube amps. Allot of noise on youtube about them. Good luck.

Originally Posted by: axe2Goodluck on finding an amp,as there are so many these days. Why is a tube amp out of the question?.
I have a blackstar ht5rw and its an awsome amp.
Loud enough for small venues and it has an emulated headphone jack. Sounds amazin through headphones for practice without bothering anyone.

And i have a Marshall dsl15 combo which to me sounds great. There both great for classic rock ,blues through in a dist pedal now ur playing metal.
Just a thought imo. Does it have to be new. Because you can find great deals on reverb.com. blackstar id series are great non tube amps. Allot of noise on youtube about them. Good luck.

No offense, but I think there's a minor misunderstanding somewhere. Tube amps aren't out of the question. Large 100W Tube Heads with 2 4x12 cabinets are out of the question. My needs have changed slightly since I created this thread, but not so much it makes a huge difference. As things look right now, I've got a meeting, jam and possible band-start with a bassist next friday, so if that works out well, I'll need something that can get to the "sweet spot", where the Amp sounds best, at somewhat low volumes. The reason I rule out tube-heads is that all the Tube-Heads I've seen so far (at least in a music-store, not just online) were 100W or something outrageous like that, and since I'm not going to be playing at a large festival or a massive outdoor arena, I won't need 100W of Tube-tone through 2 4x12 cabinets. And besides, I've seen plenty of nice smaller tube-combos. I still haven't found the perfect amp for myself yet.

For all I care, it doesn't have to be brand new, or even mint-condition. As long as it sounds great for the kind of music I play, I'll be happy. Well, I don't want one that falls apart the moment I try to put it in my car, for obvious reasons, either. Brand-wise, I'm pretty open, although I'm going to steer away from the Vox AC30... I've tried playing through it once, and I spent over 30 minutes trying to get it to sound the way I wanted, so I'll just stay away from those :)

Features like built-in Reverb, Tremolo, multiple channels or headphone-jack aren't exactly a high priority to me. Especially the thing with channels. I just need one. Maybe two, if they have separate EQs, so I can dial the tone I want with one guitar and another tone for another guitar. More than that, I refuse to pay extra for. Tremolo is not at all important, as I get that through a pedal.

Of course, in the end, there's no better way for me to find the perfect amp, than by playing through as many amps as I can find. And who knows? Maybe I'll end up with a stack, maybe I'll end up with a combo and a mic. Only one good way to find out...

Marshall dsl15 combo. 2 channels, eq works both and reverb.
Google it take a listen. And like i been sayin reverb.com has some hot deals.

But i wouldn't buy an amp,if its not returnable..
Im sellin mine,because its to loud for me. And i use my boss js10 in place of my amps.
I don't see myself in a band and if i do i will keep one of my blackstar amps.
Good luck .

I think you're on the right track in trying out as many as you can. I have collected several amps over the years, both tube and solid state. There are many great low wattage tube ampsout there in the 15w to 30w range, which are plenty loud enough for your needs, or can be "mic d". My personal preference is the Ibanez Tube Screamer TS15H- 15 watt all tube head with built in Tube Screamer, but there Hughes and Kettner is a great, versatile camp, as is the Egnator Tweaker 15 and the Black stars are very good. If you have the money, the Fender Deluxe Reverb '65 Reissue (I believe you mentioned) is a superb amp- one of the most widely used and recorded amps in the industry. the fun part is the shopping and testing.

I just spent spent several hours in a store checking out some amplifiers that fit my needs (small combos and heads with small cabinets), and while I couldn't quite find all the amps on my to-try list, I managed to find a Fender Deluxe Reverb '68 Custom, Fender '65 Twin Reverb Reissue, Fender Princeton Reverb and Fender Super-Sonic 22 (the last of which wasn't even on my list). I sadly couldn't find any of the ENGL, Hughes&Kettner, Egnator or Blackstar amps I'd been meaning to try, but at least I got to try out some of the Fenders.

Starting with the Twin Reverb, I knew right away that it was too loud for my needs. But it was there, and it's a famous amp, so I just had to try it out. And it sounds very good with pedals. The Deluxe Reverb '68 Custom was kind of a disappointment. I love the sound of a slightly overdriven '65 Deluxe Reverb, so I thought the '68 Custom would be just as awesome or even better. It wasn't. For one thing, they've replaced the Deluxe Reverb's tone-stack with a Bassman Tone-stack, giving it a slightly different sound. Secondly, it turned out that I would have to turn the volume up way too much to get the tone I want, meaning it would be impractical for home-use, unless I want to replace the windows every time I practice. The Princeton Reverb, on the other hand, sounded much like the Deluxe Reverb I like, but still didn't break up at low enough volumes for home-practice.

And this is where the Super-Sonic 22 comes into the picture. It was by far the best amp I've tried in the last year. It's a two-channel amp with a single input, which is cool I suppose. It's a Super-Sonic after all. Its Clean Channel is for all intents and purposes... a Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb! Granted, it's a '65 Deluxe Reverb with a Fat-toggle, that lets you add more mids to the Clean channel, but a '65 Deluxe Reverb nonetheless. Same tone, same awesomeness. Still needs to go loud to break up, though... The Burn Channel, on the other hand, is more forgiving. It has two Gain controls (Gain 1 controls the Distortion, Gain 2 controls sustain and compression), and can cover all the styles of music I like. It can easily go from ZZ Top-like crunch to Mötley Crüe-style Metal to mellow Blues to classic Arena Rock with the turn of a few knobs, and being able to go from clean to distortion and back with the footswitch eliminates the need for my Overdrive and Distortion pedals completely! Amazing amp, and it even sounds badass at home-friendly volumes! And even better, I tested it with my own guitar that I was actually there to pick up from the repairshop, and then tested the SS22 with an Epiphone Les Paul 100 with Ceramic pickups, and it sounded badass no matter what I threw at it!

I'm going to continue looking around, to see if a better match for my tastes exists, but I highly doubt it! Until then, I'll have to try and see if I can recreate the SS22 with my Mustang. Shouldn't be that hard, when I know which models to use :) Now the problem is to save money for it...

The funny thing is that my favorite amp-model turned out to be a massive disappointment, while the amp-model I hated the most, because its presets in my Mustang have all kinds of weird effects and noise, turned out to be a truly epic Tube Amp!

Try a medium power tube amp like a Fender Blues Jr. It has 15 watts and is pretty loud! If you like a bit cleaner with a blackface breakup, then the Fender Princeton Reverb reissue, also 15 watts, is great. I've use mine for 5 years and its a ball to play at home or at the gig. A Peavey Classic 30 is also a great tube amp for so many practical playing out situations. It's a bit rare to see big amps on the club stages these days as stages are smaller and PA systems are much more efficient. Stay at a max of 30 watts with whatever amp you chooseand put some Boss pedals in front (just 2 or 3 at a time). That's all you need to sound great. Any good player could use any of those amps (and many others) and get pro sounding results.