tube amp thoughts

[The Scarecrow]

so back to the original question (ish) - what's a <$1k valve head that has enough guts to run a live pub venue?

In that price range and new, very little, if anything. Most valve amps will have sufficient balls to run un-mic'd, but 1k for a head that's new is going to be hard to find. I can't actually think of anything in that range to be honest.

The music store I saw the Ashdown head in was Lewis Eady in Greenlane/Newmarket, quite a while ago now. They tend to specialise in acoustics so the sales guy couldn't tell me much about the amp, but it played okay with a Maton. I didn't find it particularly tube-sounding but it was loud.

My advice would simply be go second hand, because anything new is likely to just be waaaay to expensive for what it is. There's obvious exceptions to this, and without being biased, if I had 3k to spend on a new amp, I'd be seeing Custom Audio Boutique about a Splawn myself.

[rocklander]

What's the actual price on the Ashdown Fallen Angel 60?

well I've not seen 'em in NZ, but there's one online in the uk for 299quid - I've a brother over there who could prolly sort sending it on, and the bonus is that it's already gonna be 230V.

so that's like ~NZ$820 - then postage (surely less than NZ$200?).

there are a few US sites to that 'say' they've got em in stock at US$599 - so pretty similar really.

[rocklander]

@scarecrow - it's looking more and more like I should either go for the fallen angel - or back the hell off until I've got a bunch more cash behind me by the sounds of things - general consensus is that the Ashdown is kinda 'average at best' and anything else is gonna be out of my walletabability (I just maded up that word and I like it).

[Bg]

you're talking about warranty by buying new, but if you purchase in the states or uk your warranty won't be worth the paper its written on anyway... so why not go second hand? I wouldn't buy any amp I haven't already tried anyway - all my second hand purchases I've either tested personally or I've tried out the same model, buying an amp without doing so seems a bit of a lottery to me.

[sambrowne]

Don't get an Ashdown, you'll never move it if you want to sell for something else. There's ample great amps in that range on TM right now and any day of the week. My pick:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Music-instrume ... 156401.htm
A little more than a grand, but easy to resell and it's a classic (literally and by reputation) so you KNOW you're getting a good amp. Peavey stuff always sells quickly and for a good price. This is what I'd get if I was in your position. There's also a Line6 Flextone III on there which is a damn good amp for covers, but if you want tube tone, get the Peavey.

[Capt. Black]

And following on from BG's comments, I think that a better quality amp, second hand for under a $1000 is likely to be more reliable than a new amp which is built to a price, so to speak.

Good old fashioned tube amps are pretty simple really and that is one of their virtues. If they do fail, you replace a part and they're as good as new.

Modern entry level valve amps where there is alot more riding on the circuit board, including the valve sockets and all that stuff that heat can affect, seem like a short to medium term thing to me. Definitely a greater risk of failure and less likely that you can get away with a simple repair job.

Just a thought....

[AmpShop]

What's the actual price on the Ashdown Fallen Angel 60?

then postage (surely less than NZ$200?).

I think you'd be surprised, in a bad way. Plus, you'd have GST and customs clearance fees.

[philipnz]

Agree with the captain. There's not much in a good basic old tube amp that can't be fixed cheaply by a good tech. That JCM800 i bought sounds really nice. It had a full makeover by clarry 18 months ago. It'll run forever. Peaveys etc can be bought and sold for the same price

A thousand dollar ashdown today will be lucky to make $400 on trademe next week

[AmpShop]

And following on from BG's comments, I think that a better quality amp, second hand for under a $1000 is likely to be more reliable than a new amp which is built to a price, so to speak.

Good old fashioned tube amps are pretty simple really and that is one of their virtues. If they do fail, you replace a part and they're as good as new.

Modern entry level valve amps where there is alot more riding on the circuit board, including the valve sockets and all that stuff that heat can affect, seem like a short to medium term thing to me. Definitely a greater risk of failure and less likely that you can get away with a simple repair job.

Just a thought....

As he usually does, Capt has hit the nail on the head here.

You could consider looking for a good old 60's/70's Kiwi-made like a Jansen, Holden, Gunn etc and use pedals for your extra crunch/overdrive needs. They're reliable workhorses and the old-school construction methods make them a cinch to repair ... unlike something such as the Ashdown, which would use a cheap PCB which may even need to be replaced entirely if it fails (this is becoming common practice with cheaper brands - it's offen easier and more cost-effective to send out a whole new board than repair the existing one).

[ash]

Peavey Classic 30 or 50 or Delta Blues should always be tried when this question comes up. The Windsor may be a bit over the top with its JCM800ness (reputed).

I know someone with a Crate V30 thingee to spare

[AmpShop]

Crate V30 is only about $1300 rrp right? Good amp for the price.

[Bg]

yep the Crate V30H is a great amp, but I'm going to hang onto mine. I do however have a Jansen Bassman 50, fully rebuilt by Clarry which would be a great amp, for half the budget

[B45-12]

Agree with the captain. There's not much in a good basic old tube amp that can't be fixed cheaply by a good tech. That JCM800 i bought sounds really nice. It had a full makeover by clarry 18 months ago. It'll run forever. Peaveys etc can be bought and sold for the same price

A thousand dollar ashdown today will be lucky to make $400 on trademe next week

Yep right on the nail - the only warning I'd raise is don't go too far back with valve amps or things like master volume controls, effects loops, line output etc. will be missing - they can be really useful and it's not allways possible to add them later.

Keep your eyes peeled for old Abbey valve amps, perhaps Sovtek, besides the Holdens, Gunn's and Jansens mentioned above.

[rocklander]

whoa - been away from the laptop for ½ a day and wow - so much to respond to - okay
@everyone - thanks... seems to be a resounding no to the fallen angel.

@sam - reeeaaalyy don't want another combo (I have two).

@BG - so a bassman50 will do the trick? I mean - I have one of those - it stopped working like 3 years ago, gave it to a techie friend to look at (but amps aren't his specialty) and he's not been able to make it go. it was working fine one minute - then just (within seconds) just got drastically quieter until there's no noise... so if the bassman50 would work for gigging, then is it worth looking at a decent repair job on that?

the warranty isn't about the piece of paper - it's the whole 'psyching' the amp into thinking that it's under warranty, therefore wont fail;-)

and GST and customs - had vaguely considered that, but totally ill prepared as to what the may cost - shipping itself is ~40quid (my brother in london has priced it).

[Hot_Grits]

Yeah, get it to a proper valve amp tech and you'll have a nice amp for not much outlay. Dunno any good techs near Rotovegas, but maybe someone on here can suggest one. If you can't find anyone then I recommend packing it up and sending it to either Simcha at Mojosound in Welly or Clarry up here in Auckland.

Clarry in particular knows those amps inside out and can do a good job of reconditioning and even modding with a few more modern features like extra gain stages, effects loops or master volumes if you desire.

Even with repairs and shipping you'll have more than enough money left over for a couple of nice overdrive pedals. I recommend looking at G2D (made in Auckland and tested on fender style amps, so a good match for an old Jansen) or Ryan's range of stuff at Custom Audio...