Best small guitar combo amp for recording?

[ksandvik]

NI Guitar rig.

[fastlanestoner]

Originally Posted by ksandvik

NI Guitar rig.

Good lul on a Saturday morning. The Vox AC4 will get you there for sure, and it takes pedals well. Some high-gain tones can be had with the right front end. Country cleans to metal riffage.

The Pathfinder is also a decent choice, or any of the Marshall 5 watters.

[kennybro]

I swear by the underrated and highly disrespected Fender Blues Junior. You can get a good one for around 4 bills. Got my first one about 17 years ago. I still use that one regularly for recording and gigs, although I had to swap out the tube sockets for ceramics.

I've had a second one (tweed) for 7 years, and sometimes I use both for gigs. Loud and sweet sound. People say that they don't last because their not point to point. BS. I've been beating the living crap out of these forever, and a few very minor repairs keep them rocking. ...or bluesing or jazzing or whatever.

I've had everything from Z's to Marshalls to Matchless, to Naylor to tons of vintage, and Blues Jr is a good one. I've had the Hot Rod Deluxe, and there's something about the BJ that trumps it. EL84s over 6L6 maybe? Sweeter sound.

[Songwriter]

Digital stuff is out of the question here...

[Slikjmuzik]

My favorite by far and more versatile than anything else in any pricerange is the Fender Superchamp XD. Swap the tubes.

[ksandvik]

Originally Posted by Slikjmuzik

My favorite by far and more versatile than anything else in any pricerange is the Fender Superchamp XD. Swap the tubes.

It's actually my to-go amp for low-volume jams. Helps replacing the speaker, too. Anyway, I've delegated my guitar amps to the practice room and gigs, all digital now in studio, 100x more fun with guitar sounds but that's just my opinion.

[AllBread]

3 suggestions from a guy who has owned a lot if amps:

Save up another $400 and get a used Divided by 13 CJ11.

Goodsell Super 17 is also a beauty and can probably be found for a grand.

Don't know what the vox ac15 hand wireds go for but I played one the other day and really dug it.

[Slikjmuzik]

Originally Posted by ksandvik

It's actually my to-go amp for low-volume jams. Helps replacing the speaker, too. Anyway, I've delegated my guitar amps to the practice room and gigs, all digital now in studio, 100x more fun with guitar sounds but that's just my opinion.

I swapped out the 12ax7 for a Mesa and the 6v6's for JJ's. I then take the speaker out and run it into an Avatar 2x12 with v30's. Recently finished an entire metal project with it. Mind you, one of the guys in the band owned a 5150 and I own a Mesa. The 'mere' 18watt Fender sounded better being captured than the 100 watters.

[Bristol Posse]

I've been having a lot of luck with a blues Jr 3 (with a les paul so it's not too much of Ice Pick in the high end) and Vox AC4TV 10" for my happy, dappy, Brit poppy, guitar rocky crap

I also picked up a blackstar HT1R. With an 8" speaker there is no way to get around it sounding small (unless you run it to a bigger speaker in an external cab) however once or twice it's been exactly what was needed. It's also really useful as a practice amp for around the house when you don't want to bother anyone but want to practice with an amp so you don't get sloppy with your playing

If I had to pick only one of the three the blackstar would be the easiest to drop
Between the fender and the VOX it's a much tougher choice:

The fender has cleaner, more sparkling cleans (BJ3 has the "Sparkle Mod" stock from the factory) and more headroom and is powerful enough for when I play out at small venues (mic'd) to get my stage volume even on the cleans. The BJ3 is actually very loud for a 15 watter

The VOX is just warmer and more what I want for that edge of breakup or crunchy distortion but for playing out it's not got enough headroom to get anything other than full on distortion so if that's a concern for playing out it's worth considering before you buy.
To really get the Vox to sing I find that I need to use the 4 watt setting, there is a little tone suck at 1 watt and a definite loss of balls on 1/4 watt so for me this is still a pretty loud amp, just not a loud clean amp as it does break up pretty quickly

For only recording I'd probably go with the VOX but miss those sparkly fender cleans
No wait I should keep the Fender but miss the ballsy Vox crunch, No Vox, no fender....... Grrr can't decide

I guess I'd say look around used and see if you can get a couple of flavors for your price range, It's nice to have options for recording so you don't get that one amp sound all the time

[Enlightened Hand]

I am completely in love with the Fender Champion 600 for tracking. It's outstanding to me in that it sounds great. It's simple to use and it's the real deal as in real tube distortion. And for $170 bucks it's a ridiculously killer deal.

[Songwriter]

Thanks guys

I listened to the clips with the Blues Jr on thomann.de and compared it to the Hot Rod Deluxe, and they sound very different. I think the Blues sounded a lot better, whereas the HRD was kind of muddy. The Blues Jr is hereby added to my shortlist.

Super Champ also sounded good on a Youtube clip I heard.

13 Amplification and Goodsell don´t seem to be available here in this part of the world.

Pathfinder has a very small speaker...(?) 8"... I think I will go for 10" or 12". The Marshall Class 5 looks interesting, although I suspect that the Marshall overdrive is not quite my thing.

[Bristol Posse]

Originally Posted by Songwriter

The Marshall Class 5 looks interesting, although I suspect that the Marshall overdrive is not quite my thing.

I messed around with one of these for a while when I was getting rid of my AC 30 to go low watt and I thought (and just IMO) this was a real one trick pony. No real cleans at all and the distortion didn't even sound very "Marshally" to me. At least not the classic Marshall I'm used to hearing. Not versatile at all to my ears

Of course someone else might find it perfect so YMMV

[Songwriter]

Originally Posted by Bristol Posse

I guess I'd say look around used and see if you can get a couple of flavors for your price range, It's nice to have options for recording so you don't get that one amp sound all the time

Doesn´t sound like a bad idea in the long run. Maybe going for something not too expensive for then to add another amp to the collection later is a good idea. And I suppose a stereo recording with two amps can be fun too...?

The Fender Champion 600 looks cute, and would even match my Fender Bassman TV Ten bass amp... ... but I´m not going to go with something that´s 6"...

[PrettyGone]

Another vote for the Blues Junior III, pretty much for the reasons Bristol Posse has given. (Although I haven't tried the Vox)

I had planned on getting either a Super Champ XD or the Black Star but 30 seconds of playing in the shop decided it. It cost a bit more than the other contenders but the difference in sound is worth it.

[Bristol Posse]

Originally Posted by Songwriter

The Fender Champion 600 looks cute, and would even match my Fender Bassman TV Ten bass amp... ... but I´m not going to go with something that´s 6"...

I'm looking at one of these Fender Greta's "for my kid" that may end up in my amp room by accident
I can't imagine when I'd ever want the sound of a 2 watt amp through a 4" speaker but the darn thing looks so cute and you never know......

[Songwriter]

Originally Posted by Bristol Posse

I'm looking at one of these Fender Greta's "for my kid" that may end up in my amp room by accident
I can't imagine when I'd ever want the sound of a 2 watt amp through a 4" speaker but the darn thing looks so cute and you never know......

He he Looks like a nice "My first amp". And of course, since there are no rules in rock´n´roll, one may also record a whole album with such a thing. It might be easier to get your own "sound" then, and not sound like everyone else

[TurboJets]

Personally I find the Vox amps (even the hybrids) loaded with 10's to be very responsive and have plenty of tight clean beef in the lows. My Cambridge 30 Reverb Twin never lets me down especially when I plug in something with humbuckers - including my '62 Harmony Meteor.

The Fenders a great amps, but Vox's just seem to have a little more umph IMO.

[Jayyj]

Originally Posted by ksandvik

It's actually my to-go amp for low-volume jams. Helps replacing the speaker, too. Anyway, I've delegated my guitar amps to the practice room and gigs, all digital now in studio, 100x more fun with guitar sounds but that's just my opinion.

Another vote for the Superchamp XD. I use a Princeton reissue for my main recording and gig amp but since i rarely have that amp around the house I bought the Superchamp to play through at home and it's remarkable for the money, even without swapping out parts. I generally use a Casino or ES-330 as well, so it's a great match for that style of guitar.

The Greta is pretty cool but needs an external speaker to get the best out of it. Tried the new Exelsior this week as well, awesome but incredibly loud once you get to overdriven territory. Haven't ruled it out as a recording amp though, and iching to know what a Hammond would sound like running through it.

[benherron.rrr]

I currently use a vox AC4TV head and cab and I think it is a great amp, not just for the price. It is so simple to dial in and has such a massive range of tones and styles. I love that it allows me to use the controls on the guitar to change from clean to distorted which has opened up a new world of performance abilities for me (coming from Marshall's) and it is the perfect size for recording. I find that even the raw tracks I get from this amp using nothing more than a 57 can sit very well in a busy, even sparse mix.

When I bought this amp I had high hopes for it, and even those expectations were low for what the product actually gives me.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

[earman]

Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. ....Turn the volume down.

[ears2thesky]

I like lower-wattage amps run hot for most recording purposes. I have several heads that I match up with various cabinets.

As far as combos: I have used the following models with excellent results from each. I own the head version of the Egnater and Marshall and they do very well in most sessions.

Marshall Class5 5W 1x10 Tube Guitar Combo Amp | Musician's Friend

Egnater Tweaker 112 15W 1x12 Tube Guitar Combo Amp | Musician's Friend

CarvinWorld.com International - Guitars, Amplifiers & Pro Audio

CarvinWorld.com International - Guitars, Amplifiers & Pro Audio

[Aisle 6]

Fender Blues Juniors are a solid amp. Although never blew me away. Having said that, last year I purchased one as Fender did a ltd edition in tweed with a Jensen speaker and it is fantastic. The Jensen loaded version just blew away all the Eminence loaded ones that I have used.
So to answer your question...Blues Junior LTD.

[erosconpollo]

Carvin Vintage 16 is a nice little amp at a nice little price.

The Fender Excelsior looks interesting -- 13 watts into a 15 inch speaker. And an accordion input, in case you've been missing that on your amps.

[cheu78]

Bogner Duende combo with the 10" speaker, fitted with NOS tubes (and not the absolute crap that they put in, shame on them for the tube choice)..
Btw it sounds superb, you could dial in almost any tone, the distortion of the amp is fantastic, and so is the reverb.. of course not cheap.. But great!

If you want a cheaper choice (different sounding) there's a solution which is great imo.. but it's not a combo..
Epiphone Valve Jr. head (also with stock tubes) into a Swanson 2x12 cabinet.. add an original sansamp before the head in order to "control" the distortion of the head.. it's about 1.2k, which is "nothing".. Especially considering the tones you get.. sounds fantastic!

Just my 0.02$,



Cheu

[nedorama]

Originally Posted by Songwriter

He he Looks like a nice "My first amp". And of course, since there are no rules in rock´n´roll, one may also record a whole album with such a thing. It might be easier to get your own "sound" then, and not sound like everyone else

Where it excels is when you plug it into a 8 ohm external speaker cabinet and dime the controls - for $199 retail, hard to go wrong.

Another amp to look at is the Dr. Z Mini Z. Same El 84 as the Blues Jr. but purpose built with just a volume and attenuator knob. Paired with their Z 1x12 cab and you have a great combo for home recording that can sound searing as well.

Of course, I already had the Princetons before buying it, but a used SF princeton is a great amp and worth it and they take pedals well. Like one of the 4 basic food groups.

[dibravibra]

Carvin Vintage 16

[shanabit]

Blackstar HT Studio 20 | Sweetwater.com

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/BluesDeluxe/

[AnthonyRochester]

The Vox AC15c1 has to be mentioned - I have one and its a great amp. Can get good sounds at low volumes, great reverb and tremelo too.

[cinealta]

Agree, Vox AC-15C1 (with master volume) beats the Vox AC4 & Fender Blues Jr.