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I'm getting an awesome settlement really soon, and of course I immediately think of gear. As soon as I get cooter his money for a lefty guitar body I'm getting an amp.I'm trying to narrow down my options and would appreciate suggestions. I'm looking to hopefully spend no more than $600. I'm trying to get classic mid dominant tone, while also still having a sparkle in the highs. I've looked into Vox Ac15's, Orange tiny terrors, and ampegs so you get a general picture of what I'm looking for. What's the most cost effective solution to getting that kinda tone? I've looked into Tech21 amp sims too and really just duno. Are there any brands I've missed that would be in the same ballpark tonally?

Not even shitting you.

^ that is one of the coolest looking lil guys i have seen in a long time!

Seriously consider the Night Train by Vox.

A Fender DRRI or Princeton ticks all your boxes, apart from the price. Unless you can pick one up second-hand or something. Aren't a lot of the Traynor amps well-priced sort-of Fender clones though?

People around here were frothing at the mouth over the Ampeg guitar heads though, so that sounds like a good plan.

Laney VC-15 I had mine a few years now and love it.

been playing my JetCity 20w head for nearly two years n i love it. check em out.

Concretebadger wrote:Aren't a lot of the Traynor amps well-priced sort-of Fender clones though?

Most of them are vaguely Fender-ish, yeah. The model I'm suggesting is kind of an oddity, though. I'd describe it as a cross between VOX and Fender, in terms of how it's voiced.
It uses a single 12AU7 in it's power stage for the low wattage setting and switches to a 6V6, in the higher power mode and has three EQ settings. "American", "British" and none.
I payed $300 for mine used but I regularly see them going for $400 new.

Second vote on the Night Train 15, and get a decent cab to go with it.

Wiped the floor with the Tiny Terror when u demo'd it side by side. .. But it also depends on your noise.

Or perhaps a Classic 30 combo which I have... Brilliant & reliable amp, that performs the better you crank it, especially with a speaker swap... But the stock speaker is just fine. Quite fussy to dial in. The boost is terrible, and I tend to roll back on the overall EQ.

I almost sold it for the Night Train, just because I mostly play at home. Can't bring myself to do it though.

Vox Tony Bruno 18w

othomas2 wrote:Second vote on the Night Train 15, and get a decent cab to go with it.

What cab are you using with the Night Train?

awfurby wrote:

othomas2 wrote:Second vote on the Night Train 15, and get a decent cab to go with it.

What cab are you using with the Night Train?

I don't have one... but I work in a guitar shop so have the chance to try them out. Only close to buying, and may well do in the future.

I'd go Orange 1x12 or 2x12 or marshall 2x12.

othomas2 wrote:I'd go Orange 1x12 or 2x12 or marshall 2x12.

Interesting - what differences have you found over the Vox 1x12 cab that tends to go with the Night Train head?

othomas2 wrote:Second vote on the Night Train 15...Or perhaps a Classic 30 combo which I have... Brilliant & reliable amp, that performs the better you crank it...The boost is terrible, and I tend to roll back on the overall EQ...

Second vote the Classic 30 though you really do have to crank it up to get gain with any dirt. About $300 used; $5-600 new.

As ever, I vote for the Egnater Tweaker 15 - it rules.

Doug wrote:

othomas2 wrote:Second vote on the Night Train 15...Or perhaps a Classic 30 combo which I have... Brilliant & reliable amp, that performs the better you crank it...The boost is terrible, and I tend to roll back on the overall EQ...

Second vote the Classic 30 though you really do have to crank it up to get gain with any dirt. About $300 used; $5-600 new.

The EQ really can end up quite sharp. Decent bass, though.

I almost always roll the treble down amusingly far, mids up, bass up. That's with single coils, usually. But such a great amp, can take pretty much anything you chuck at it. I almost never used the boost. Clean or boosted could sound amazing, but the shared EQ is kind of crippling as you're never going to be able to just use the footswitch and flip between the two without one of them sounding gash. But for the near decade I've had it I've just left it clean and relied on various pedals for dirt.

Thanks, EK. I'm just learnin how to use all my Classic 30 can offer.

By "boost" you mean gain?

Cheers,

Yeah, the push-switch on top that makes it a single-channel amp masquerading as a two-channel.

As usual, i'm going Mesa/Boogie.

A second for Traynor.

That little head is a nice one. And the Vox/Fender ish voicing is kinda Traynor's thing.
Traynor has been around since 1963, and the sound has mostly been variations on this.

A really nice vintage practice amp from Traynor is the YBA2 aka BassMate.
There are a few versions. I have a YBA-2(2nd version) from about 1966/7.
Find a website called Velvet Black for a nerdout...and no it's not pr0n. Well to some it is.lol

YBA-2(1965-1968)
There are 2 versions of this.
Vol/Tone, and Vol/Bass/Tone. Either could come combo 15" or head.
Head was more rare. And these were tube rectified. 12ax, 6v6.

YBA-2A(1968-72)
3knob only. No more tube rec. combo 15" or head 12ax, 6v6

YBA-2B(1972-78/9ish)
Tube switch to 12ax, EL84. Still combo 15" or head.
That's up to the end of the 70's...after that things got corporate;)

The 2 and 2A lean a bit more toward Fender bassman or Princeton of the same era.
In the 2B version the voxiness becomes a bit more apparent.
That's just my ears though.

Might be a little bit harder to find than the dark horse or night train,
but shouldn't run you more than $400 for a 2A or B. $400-800 for a YBA-2
And you can do a couple of tiny cheap mods, and it can go plexi on you.
I've read of someone doing what they called a matchless mod to one. Vol/Tone/Master.
I think it might be for sale in Winnipeg.
There's all sorts of stuff online about another model, the YBA1 and plexi mods.
But it's a big fella. Rated as 45w, speaks like 90w. The YBA2, A/B are all rated for 20w and speak like 45w.

The thing you wanna make sure about with old traynors, quite a few were dangerous. Something called the death cap?
I believe the cap in question...it's function is required in the amp, but back then the tech wasn't up.
It's easy to get sorted through your tech today. That and grounded plug.
Pete Traynor and Gar Gilles(Garnet)made stellar amps in Canada back in the day.

Sorry for gush. No I don't work for Yorkville or Traynor.
Just played through a few over the years, and like to help out where I can.
Cheers.