Cheapest Marshall ALL TUBE low watt combo?

composer · 10th December 2006, 11:24 PM

Looking for something to mic without blasting the neighboors, some swear the solid state sound great for recording, others think they are hideous....

I have owned Groove Tubes Solo 150 $2000+ and know a good tube amp sound when I hear it, but my needs are for Rock/Alternative, Blur, Foo Fighters, Green Day.

Axes, Les Paul and Strat with HOT RAILS in the Bridge.

I wonder how much better a mic'd solid state would sound compared to plug in emulators.........also have a FENDER CHAMP tube and wonder if adding some pedals (Boss Metal Zone, etc) would have the same effect. Also like some of the RECTIFIER sounds, but I don't like the idea of $1200 for one sound....whereas I feel the Marshall may offer a few more tones.

I remember though I had a JCM 900, that I brought back in 2 days....
It claimed two discrete channels however, if you gained channel one, and turned the GAIN off on channel 2, it was identical sounding (I have good ears, LOL) and felt ripped off as all channel two was, was another gain stage.

Anyway, looking for low watts marshall opinions either all tube or MG, AVT opinions.

Thanks.....
PSI looked at the Marshall line and they don't seem to have say a 25 or 30 watt all tube combo....therefore the thoughts on the solid state or tube pre-amp section series, although I think the tube preamp series starts at 50 watts.

Blast9 · 10th December 2006, 11:38 PM

You musta mised the awesome 18 watt combo. They also do a head.

But for that money, there must be some great amp builders in Cali who do a similar concept.

Look in the gtr/amps/drums sub-section to get you started... Or go over to www.thegearpage.net

Have you considered to THD Univalve?

Superb amp!

carival · 11th December 2006, 04:23 AM

Don't forget about the often overlooked Marshall Studio 15 amp from the 80's. The build quality isn't great, but they're quite versatile. They don't have gobs of gain by today's standards, but the tone is good. One 12" speaker, a master volume, and 15 watts of tube. Should be pretty cheap, if you can find one.

platypipros · 11th December 2006, 06:49 AM

look for that lil epiphone amp, the 5 watt one...i've heard great things about them. only 100 bones new.

GPl · 11th December 2006, 07:28 AM

What about the Tiny Terror

Jem · 11th December 2006, 07:53 AM

I've heard those epiphone tube amps are really noisy which wouldn't matter so much in a practice situation obviously but for recording... There are quite a few sites which explain some DIY mods to reduce the noise though. Just something to be aware of.

Jonboy79 · 11th December 2006, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jem

I've heard those epiphone tube amps are really noisy which wouldn't matter so much in a practice situation obviously but for recording... There are quite a few sites which explain some DIY mods to reduce the noise though. Just something to be aware of.

That was the first run of combos. My Epiphone Valve Jr. head is quiet as can be. You should do a little more research before posting.

esrsteve · 29th December 2006, 07:30 AM

I too am a fan of having an amp to stick a mic in front of... it's just not a Marshall anymore. Lately I've been getting amazing sounds from a Mesa Subway Rocket. It kills by itself and sounds downright scary plugged into my 73 Marshall 4x12 slant. 15 watts of EL84 bliss. Many on Ebay.

JSVice · 29th December 2006, 09:07 AM

I was wondering if anyone could confirm or deny a nasty rumor I heard recently.

A salesperson at an amp shop told me that a certain boutique amp maker, whose initials are Dr. Z, used the circuit board directly out of the Epi amps, and marked the price up a few hundred percent. Anyone?

sventvkg · 29th December 2006, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSVice

I was wondering if anyone could confirm or deny a nasty rumor I heard recently.

A salesperson at an amp shop told me that a certain boutique amp maker, whose initials are Dr. Z, used the circuit board directly out of the Epi amps, and marked the price up a few hundred percent. Anyone?

I call bullshit...DR Z is a serious amp designer and would never risk his career like that plus his stuff is point to point wired....Punch that Amp shop salesman in his nose.

JSVice · 29th December 2006, 09:33 AM

I had a very hard time believing it. Maybe he was just trying to push his other boutique brands, since he didn't carry Dr Z. He told it convincingly though.

FFTT · 29th December 2006, 11:37 AM

The Valve Jr Head does not have any of the noise issues from the earlier combo amp.

I'm sure the boutique amps are far superior, but this little amp is a must have for
low volume rehearsal and more.

Especially for $100.00

Ceria Tone is also building hand wired point to point clones of many great amps.

I'd check them out too.

Also Google "18 watt amp"

Pip · 29th December 2006, 03:19 PM

I'm considering trying to resolve the same issue (damn people next door). I'm really taken with the:
http://zvexamps.com/amp_view.htm (Is that doctor Z??)
Its a 1/2 watt class A head, people say sounds good, but as yet untested and I also like the look of the Orange Tiny terror. Anybody else got thoughts on a rocking low output tube head?
Pip

chetatkinsdiet · 29th December 2006, 03:43 PM

There's a ton of cheap little fun amps. In addition to the ones mentioned already, look for something like the little Vox AC15CC, Orange AD15 or any old funky 60s tube amp like the Silvertone 1482 or Supro/Valco made that were sold in Montgomery Wards under the Airline brand or Alamo brand here in Texas.....

There are a ton of these that sound killer when cranked.

later,

m

sekim · 29th December 2006, 04:09 PM

If you're just going for good sounds and not trying to nail a particular sound, try compressor>tube screamer>Champ, substitute tubescreamer with distortion of choice to taste. Moderate compression up front can help small amps sound bigger.

Another thing to look at is the Native Instruments AC Box from the now discontinued Combo series (only available in bundles now). I have both the Combo series and Guitar Rig 2 (and 5 tube amps, 3 vintage) and the AC Box sounds from the Combo series (not the Guitar Rig 2 series) are excellent.

dlmorley · 29th December 2006, 04:24 PM

As said before, if you can find one, the Studio 15 is great.
Still LOUD though!
Orange Tiny Terror is one I am going to check out, as it may be closer to Marshall than some...
tbh though, part of the marshall sound we love is the air being pushed...can't replicate that.

mrface2112 · 29th December 2006, 04:47 PM

here's another +1 or

or

for the epiphone valve junior. not at all noisy, very ballsy, and a very decent overdrive (considering the stock sovteks) starting around 2:00 on the dial. i've ordered some JJ's, which i'm hoping will be here today, and should smooth it out a little bit.

this amp definitely does the marshall/british thing quite nicely. for $99, you really can't lose. now i just need a les paul to go with it.

cheers,
wade

mrface2112 · 29th December 2006, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sekim

If you're just going for good sounds and not trying to nail a particular sound, try compressor>tube screamer>Champ, substitute tubescreamer with distortion of choice to taste.

i have a champ as well, and i agree that a compressor->tube screamer->champ is a VERY usable and worthwhile combination and tone........but it's not the marshall type sound. i think he was looking for that marshall type sound.......but absolutely, put your favorite distortion pedal in front of the champ and rock out and you'll be ok.

one thing that i *immediately* noticed about the valve jr is that it takes very nicely to my Jekyll and Hyde pedal. it's a great mating.

between my champ, valve jr and vox pathfinder, i've got three cheap, little amps that all record exceptionally well and do the 3 different tones quite respectably--especially in the context of a mix.

now all i need is something that does that mesa sound!

cheers,
wade

HudHudson · 29th December 2006, 05:36 PM

The Marshall PA 20 head from the late 60s/early 70s is a great rockin' amp, sorry I sold mine a couple years ago with its matching 1x12 ported mini stack. I see them every now and again on eBay but the price has gone thru the roof on these. I have seen a few boutique amp builders cloning these EL84-based screamers.

sekim · 29th December 2006, 05:48 PM

The DSL201 with a few tweaks is a sweetie. Probably too loud for pacifying upset neighbors though...

Karl J · 29th December 2006, 06:40 PM

I have a Marshall Artist 3203 head. It was bastard stepchild of the JCM800 family I believe. It has a solid state pre section with two EL34s on the output, plus a 12AX7 for the overdrive. It's 35 watts and gets some great tones wether you crank it up or not. Not ALL tube, but sounds nice.

Pip · 30th December 2006, 01:18 PM

What about a Marshall JMP1? I used one a number of years ago and seem to remember it was pretty nice sounding.

vernier · 30th December 2006, 07:13 PM

Epi valve junior with Mercury mod, the samples sound good.

FFTT · 30th December 2006, 08:40 PM

Well after watching McCartney in red square, I want a divided by 13, and once I save up a mere $3,700.00 I might actually get one.

Blast9 · 30th December 2006, 08:48 PM

LOL I thought exactly the same when I saw the same DVD. Awesome band.

Rusty Anderson has a great tone

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10th December 2006, 11:24 PM	#1
composer Gear addict Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 352	Cheapest Marshall ALL TUBE low watt combo? Looking for something to mic without blasting the neighboors, some swear the solid state sound great for recording, others think they are hideous.... I have owned Groove Tubes Solo 150 $2000+ and know a good tube amp sound when I hear it, but my needs are for Rock/Alternative, Blur, Foo Fighters, Green Day. Axes, Les Paul and Strat with HOT RAILS in the Bridge. I wonder how much better a mic'd solid state would sound compared to plug in emulators.........also have a FENDER CHAMP tube and wonder if adding some pedals (Boss Metal Zone, etc) would have the same effect. Also like some of the RECTIFIER sounds, but I don't like the idea of $1200 for one sound....whereas I feel the Marshall may offer a few more tones. I remember though I had a JCM 900, that I brought back in 2 days.... It claimed two discrete channels however, if you gained channel one, and turned the GAIN off on channel 2, it was identical sounding (I have good ears, LOL) and felt ripped off as all channel two was, was another gain stage. Anyway, looking for low watts marshall opinions either all tube or MG, AVT opinions. Thanks..... PSI looked at the Marshall line and they don't seem to have say a 25 or 30 watt all tube combo....therefore the thoughts on the solid state or tube pre-amp section series, although I think the tube preamp series starts at 50 watts.

10th December 2006, 11:38 PM	#2
Blast9 Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: London Posts: 2,805	You musta mised the awesome 18 watt combo. They also do a head. But for that money, there must be some great amp builders in Cali who do a similar concept. Look in the gtr/amps/drums sub-section to get you started... Or go over to www.thegearpage.net Have you considered to THD Univalve? Superb amp! __________________ :: my band is called protoangel My guitars: Atkin OM (sitka spruce top walnut back: sweet mids):: Atkin Small Jumbo (cedar top, rosewood back: big bottom, sparkly top):: Jap Tele with fat frets (rude and fat):: . My amps: 1973 Hiwatt DR504::Framus Dragon ... Latest purchases Kel Audio HM-2d TC Electronic Nova System, Chameleon Labs 7602 Digi 002 + PTLE, Addictive Drums

11th December 2006, 04:23 AM	#3
carival Gear maniac Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: boston area Posts: 223	Don't forget about the often overlooked Marshall Studio 15 amp from the 80's. The build quality isn't great, but they're quite versatile. They don't have gobs of gain by today's standards, but the tone is good. One 12" speaker, a master volume, and 15 watts of tube. Should be pretty cheap, if you can find one. __________________ chris rival middleville studio http://chrisrival.com http://www.myspace.com/rivalchris

11th December 2006, 07:28 AM	#5
GPl Lives for gear Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Ottawa Posts: 1,293	What about the Tiny Terror __________________ Michael Scott --------------------------------------------- "Two degrees in bebop, a PHD in swing, he's the master of rhythm, he's a rock and roll king" -Lowell George-

11th December 2006, 06:49 AM	#4
platypipros Gear Head Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 41	look for that lil epiphone amp, the 5 watt one...i've heard great things about them. only 100 bones new.

11th December 2006, 07:53 AM	#6
Jem Gear Head Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Australia Posts: 34	I've heard those epiphone tube amps are really noisy which wouldn't matter so much in a practice situation obviously but for recording... There are quite a few sites which explain some DIY mods to reduce the noise though. Just something to be aware of.

29th December 2006, 07:30 AM	#8
esrsteve Gear interested Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 28	I too am a fan of having an amp to stick a mic in front of... it's just not a Marshall anymore. Lately I've been getting amazing sounds from a Mesa Subway Rocket. It kills by itself and sounds downright scary plugged into my 73 Marshall 4x12 slant. 15 watts of EL84 bliss. Many on Ebay.

29th December 2006, 09:07 AM	#9
JSVice Gear addict Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Kentucky Posts: 318	I was wondering if anyone could confirm or deny a nasty rumor I heard recently. A salesperson at an amp shop told me that a certain boutique amp maker, whose initials are Dr. Z, used the circuit board directly out of the Epi amps, and marked the price up a few hundred percent. Anyone? __________________ -John Vice

29th December 2006, 09:33 AM	#11
JSVice Gear addict Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Kentucky Posts: 318	I had a very hard time believing it. Maybe he was just trying to push his other boutique brands, since he didn't carry Dr Z. He told it convincingly though. __________________ -John Vice

29th December 2006, 11:37 AM	#12
FFTT Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: A stoned throw from ground zero Posts: 2,932	The Valve Jr Head does not have any of the noise issues from the earlier combo amp. I'm sure the boutique amps are far superior, but this little amp is a must have for low volume rehearsal and more. Especially for $100.00 Ceria Tone is also building hand wired point to point clones of many great amps. I'd check them out too. Also Google "18 watt amp" __________________ Don't look at me in that tone of voice

29th December 2006, 03:19 PM	#13
Pip Gear nut Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: London Posts: 103	I'm considering trying to resolve the same issue (damn people next door). I'm really taken with the: http://zvexamps.com/amp_view.htm (Is that doctor Z??) Its a 1/2 watt class A head, people say sounds good, but as yet untested and I also like the look of the Orange Tiny terror. Anybody else got thoughts on a rocking low output tube head? Pip

29th December 2006, 03:43 PM	#14
chetatkinsdiet Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,473	There's a ton of cheap little fun amps. In addition to the ones mentioned already, look for something like the little Vox AC15CC, Orange AD15 or any old funky 60s tube amp like the Silvertone 1482 or Supro/Valco made that were sold in Montgomery Wards under the Airline brand or Alamo brand here in Texas..... There are a ton of these that sound killer when cranked. later, m

29th December 2006, 04:09 PM	#15
sekim Gear addict Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 360	If you're just going for good sounds and not trying to nail a particular sound, try compressor>tube screamer>Champ, substitute tubescreamer with distortion of choice to taste. Moderate compression up front can help small amps sound bigger. Another thing to look at is the Native Instruments AC Box from the now discontinued Combo series (only available in bundles now). I have both the Combo series and Guitar Rig 2 (and 5 tube amps, 3 vintage) and the AC Box sounds from the Combo series (not the Guitar Rig 2 series) are excellent.

29th December 2006, 04:24 PM	#16
dlmorley Lives for gear Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Belgium Posts: 3,070	As said before, if you can find one, the Studio 15 is great. Still LOUD though! Orange Tiny Terror is one I am going to check out, as it may be closer to Marshall than some... tbh though, part of the marshall sound we love is the air being pushed...can't replicate that.

29th December 2006, 04:47 PM	#17
mrface2112 Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 549	here's another +1 or or for the epiphone valve junior. not at all noisy, very ballsy, and a very decent overdrive (considering the stock sovteks) starting around 2:00 on the dial. i've ordered some JJ's, which i'm hoping will be here today, and should smooth it out a little bit. this amp definitely does the marshall/british thing quite nicely. for $99, you really can't lose. now i just need a les paul to go with it. cheers, wade

29th December 2006, 05:36 PM	#19
HudHudson Lives for gear Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Austin, Texas USofA Posts: 1,175	The Marshall PA 20 head from the late 60s/early 70s is a great rockin' amp, sorry I sold mine a couple years ago with its matching 1x12 ported mini stack. I see them every now and again on eBay but the price has gone thru the roof on these. I have seen a few boutique amp builders cloning these EL84-based screamers. __________________ "The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." - Hunter S. Thompson www.myspace.com/steventoddhudson

29th December 2006, 05:48 PM	#20
sekim Gear addict Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 360	The DSL201 with a few tweaks is a sweetie. Probably too loud for pacifying upset neighbors though...

29th December 2006, 06:40 PM	#21
Karl J Gear nut Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 78	I have a Marshall Artist 3203 head. It was bastard stepchild of the JCM800 family I believe. It has a solid state pre section with two EL34s on the output, plus a 12AX7 for the overdrive. It's 35 watts and gets some great tones wether you crank it up or not. Not ALL tube, but sounds nice.

30th December 2006, 01:18 PM	#22
Pip Gear nut Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: London Posts: 103	What about a Marshall JMP1? I used one a number of years ago and seem to remember it was pretty nice sounding.

30th December 2006, 07:13 PM	#23
vernier Lives for gear Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 3,660	Epi valve junior with Mercury mod, the samples sound good. __________________ http://www.myspace.com/learstevens

30th December 2006, 08:40 PM	#24
FFTT Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: A stoned throw from ground zero Posts: 2,932	Well after watching McCartney in red square, I want a divided by 13, and once I save up a mere $3,700.00 I might actually get one. __________________ Don't look at me in that tone of voice

30th December 2006, 08:48 PM	#25
Blast9 Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: London Posts: 2,805	LOL I thought exactly the same when I saw the same DVD. Awesome band. Rusty Anderson has a great tone __________________ :: my band is called protoangel My guitars: Atkin OM (sitka spruce top walnut back: sweet mids):: Atkin Small Jumbo (cedar top, rosewood back: big bottom, sparkly top):: Jap Tele with fat frets (rude and fat):: . My amps: 1973 Hiwatt DR504::Framus Dragon ... Latest purchases Kel Audio HM-2d TC Electronic Nova System, Chameleon Labs 7602 Digi 002 + PTLE, Addictive Drums

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