What should I get a 5W tube amp or a 15W ss for practice?

[rock&roller]

I am a beginner guitarist. I want to buy a nice practice amp that will still sound good as i get better. Please don’t flame me.

Which one you recommend?
1.vox vt15
2. cube 30 (30 watts is a little too much for me)

following are tube. Are 5w tubes really better than SS? But a tube only sounds good at max volume, so a low wattage allows me to put it at high volume. Should i get tube amps with no effects & just get pedals or amps with built in effects?

3.Blackheart BH5-112 5W (heard real good things about this one. How will mt-2 sound with this? getting the pedal for free. Will it be better than built in metal stack?)

4. fender vibro champ xd (no mid tone control? Will it be impactful to not be able to control the mid? **Its solid-state overdrive and distortion eliminate many of the preamp tube problems that plague tube lovers. Shouldn't the tube be overdrived? So will the blackheart sound better & I should choose it if I am going for sound

5. Peavey Valve King Royal 8

How does the vibro champ xd compare with the vox vt15 (5w tube vs 15w ss) sound wise. Can these 2 play metal?

I like everything & will like to play everything. So looking for something versatile that can play from clean to metal (built in or pedal) without sounding unclear, messy/muddy/dull. I specifically point out metal because don't know if the above amps handle that sort of hi-gain well. I will test them out but will like to hear what others think if they used some of these before.

is the cube 30 better overall in tone from the valvatronics? it seems to have decent blues to metal vs valvotronics which is specialized in blues. but cube 20 & 15 is too specialized for metal. it lack blues & 30 is too loud for room.

[defaced]

What kind of tone/sound/style of music/guitar/pickups will you be playing.

If I had to pick a "metal" pedal out there, the Line 6 Uber Metal or a POD would be my choice. The analog metal pedals out there that I've tried/heard have not blown my skirt up.

[rock&roller]

I like everything so I will try to play everything. I tested out the vt15. Everything was good but i wasn't too thrilled with the hi-gain metal sound. Not bright & its unclear. I am specifically pointing out metal because most amps don't handle hi-gain well. But i don't want an amp that is specifically for metal and sound horrible with mellow stuff like a peavy vypyr.

If i want effects. I will be considering 5W tube vibro champ to 15W ss vt15. so which sounds better IYO.

Also whether i should get a vibro champ & use its metal stack (since hooking up metal pedal to a modeled amp doesn't sound good) or blackheart 5W + metal pedal (like a boss mt-2). But will that sound better than modeled metal stack? I just mentioned mt-2 because someone is going to give it to me for free.

And i use a fender strat hss.

[tedmich]

Harmony Central has a ton of reviews on these and many other amps:
Guitar Amp Reviews: Harmony Central - User Reviews


a few questions: whats your budget?

limited:

I hate SS amps so I advise only tubes BUT if you dig the Randall/Krank doometal Br00tal tone by all means try some SS amps (Krank Rev Jr). Do you have to have multiple Jekyl/hyde/AMT/Ts9 disto overdrive pedals in front of your amp? Then I advise to go SS low gain as its cheaper and more reliable.

people love the orange tiny terror for metal, also the Peavey JSX Mini Colossal.

unlimited budget?
the $3k Rivera KR 55-112 Combo (and a few other Rivera models) scale to only 8w and scream.

[Jared Purdy]

Don't discount the Marshall Class 5. And, it comes with a head phone jack! Hand wired, made in ther UK

[rock&roller]

$350. I know thats not much but I just need a moderate loudness amp. I heard tubes sound better than ss. But what about 5w tubes compared to 15w ss sound wise? would you recommend getting 5w tubes + metal pedal (like mt-2) over a 15w ss modeled metal stack soundwise? I would like to play all genre so I not a brootalz, but I can say I am not too impressed with vt15's metal sound. just wondering if 5W tube + pedal will have a better metal sound because i heard pretty good things about blackheart.

and IYO which is better sounding vibro champ or vt15? or even blackheart.

[GregS]

I have the Vibro Champ XD. I cannot compare it to the other amps you mention as I've never tried them. The Vibro Champ has a number of different digital amp voicings/simulations including vintage clean and distorted sounds as well as modern high gain metal sounds. There are also a number of digital effects simulations. I find there are a number of amp simulations I like as well as some that I find unusable. I am not a metal player so I can't judge these simulations very well. I find a lot of the effects simulations quite cool. Overall it's a fun little amp to play by yourself at home. You really need to try all the amps out . Everybody's tastes are different

[axpro]

Solid State amps "scale" quite well. it won't sound crappier if it is on 1 as opposed to 10. Tube amps, don't always scale so well, turning down the gain starves the tubes and they sound brittle.

You mention metal. lots of great tube amps do metal well. (depending on your definition of "metal") but a high gain preamp and the design and work needed to make it quiet and reliable cost a lot of money. If you are planning to use some pedals like the MT-2, which kinda makes any guitar/amp sound metal-like, then go with a nice realiable SS combo that has enough headroom for what you need.

If $350 is your budget, get a Spider IV 75 watt combo. 75 SS watts is NOT as loud as you think it is (but your parents/Girlfriend/Spouse will still complain) and it does lots of tones from clean to metal to Grind. 12" speaker will give you a nice amount of bass, and it has Speaker outs so you can run it into a 4x12 if you want some better dispersion.

My last "metal " amp, was a Dual Rec running EL34's. Good amp if you need a few different sounds and volume levels all foot switchable. My Favorite was a Soldano Avenger 50.

[dmartn149]

I was thinking Spider also. Wasn't sure I wanted to add my 2c. but it really can do lots of different sounds, and cheap.

[tubeswell]

another vote for 5W SE tube amp (but maybe not an epiphone). How about a Fender Champion 600? I have played on a couple of these and they are quite versatile for a raw little fun machine.

[tyru007]

May want to consider the Super Champ XD, not that much louder than the vibrochamp.

I also tested a Peavey Vypr 30 and found it had a lot of range and usefull sounds from clean to metal.

[Koreth]

I think the Cube 30 would do you well. It can go from very clean to mild distortion to heavy distortion, and it has built in effects which sound decent enough, saving you the cost of purchasing additional effects pedals.

One thing to keep in mind is that 30W does not automatically mean that it will be too loud to use in your bedroom or in your apartment living room or whatever. 30W is simply the power it can put out before before the output stage distorts (which can sound damn nasty in a SS amp). More is better thought as capability to be loud that just more loudness. So while you *can* turn a cube 30 up to volumes that are more than needed for practice and rude to the neighbors, doesn't mean it has to be that loud.

Axpro makes a very good point. SS amps are very good at reproducing what's fed to them up till their output limit. So if you find a tone that sounds to your liking at a loud volume on an SS guitar amp, it shouldn't change too fundamentally being brought down to a much quieter volume. A tube is not so consistent from loud to quiet volume. At a level I can handle in my bedroom w/ earplugs, my 100W half-stack sounds okay. At practice and show volumes, when I can turn it up louder is sounds much more awesome -- the low volume growl can become a roar. But when I have it turned down to the point I'm not worrying about earplugs, the sound is in a word, meh.

However, ultimately you'll have to choose which amplifier's sound you like the best and go with that. It may very well be a small tube amp. When I first started playing guitar, I didn't practice much, partially because I couldn't stand the sound of the cheap practice amp I'd bought. It wasn't until I found a better sounding amp that I started practicing more. If I'd had a Cube 30 straight out of the gate, I honestly believe I'd be further along in my playing ability today because of starting with earnest practice sooner.

[Maruuk]

I would recommend the VHT Special 6. 6 watts with a half-power switch, all point-to-point hand wired. An excellent 10" speaker. 3 tone controls. And even a boost footswitch. Plus 3 impedance settings. Beautiful Voxy chimes on the top end, great crunch, lotta soul. All for $200. Such a deal. But I won't.

A beginning player needs to play constantly to time. Absolute time. Not that jello-time in your head. That's the only thing that can prevent you from becoming a good player: bad time. Play to absolute time, metronomic time all the time. And playing to chord progressions and whole rhythm sections with keyboard alt. chords sounding back there is even better.

And to want to play, you need to sound great. A beginning player does not sound great. You suck, we all do starting out. So get a rig that has great amp sounds, and also is versatile with great effects to inspire you even when you can't execute that great flourish.

I strongly recommend the brand new G-DEC 3 series. Either the little 15 watter ($299), or the 30 watt ($399). 100 great, long rhythm loops/jamtrax played by real studio guys. The ability to handle MP3s in any which way you can learn from them. A looper. Headphone out. Plays midi files. And great tones! Don't believe me? Check out the G-DEC 3 videos on YT. They finally got the G-DEC series right at Fender. Full software support, USB, user community, the whole shot.

For a beginner/learner, there is no more inspiring and fun tool. It will literally make you a much better guitarist. I admit the earlier G-DECs were nothing to write home about, they had a good idea, but blew it badly. No support, no USB, no community, nada.

Though the core Cyber Engine was and is excellent. And they tweaked it even more for the better in the 3. One of the best. Blows away many famous brand modelers. Up there with COSM (in the Cubes) and the Vypyr series. Better Fender emulation than COSM, and Marshall about equal to Vypyr. It's really good stuff.

It's about to ship in the next few weeks. Worth the wait.

BTW, the 100 live-performed loops each come with chord breakdowns and scale suggestions. Plus you get a full amp modeling/efx plug-in set for your DAW and they even give you the recording software. Forget the old G-DEC, this ain't Kansas anymore.

[wrathfuldeity]

another vote for 5W SE tube amp (but maybe not an epiphone). How about a Fender Champion 600? I have played on a couple of these and they are quite versatile for a raw little fun machine.

^agreed, my favorite is simple se 5 watt tube amp...basically a 6L6 princeton circuit; and if I want variety put a modeller in front...my preference is a vox tonelab tt over a pod 2.0, have both but the pod has alot more diggy frizz but pod probably works better for metal...bought both modellers used for the same price as a boss pedal...and lots more tone shaping options. Also volume is greatly influenced by the choice of speaker and cab arrangement...have a low effiency alnico 12 that is sweet but gets easily overwhelmed, a high effiency alnico 12 in a detuned cab which is deafening; but mainly use a effient alnico 8 that that handles the saturation without me going deaf and bothering the neighbors. So with the modeller infront, it acts as the tone shaping/effects preamp and the tube amp works like a power amp with master volume with a global eq...that produces good whisper to roaring volume tone. Imho this combo is quite interactive and superior to any hybrid, g dec, transtube/integrated, XD stuff I tried off the shelf in the store.

[m-fine]

following are tube. Are 5w tubes really better than SS? But a tube only sounds good at max volume, so a low wattage allows me to put it at high volume. Should i get tube amps with no effects & just get pedals or amps with built in effects?

Since you mentioned a SS VOX I would add the VOX AC4TV or AC4TV8 (10" and 8" speakers) to your list. They are well within your budget and also have a built in attenuator so you can play them at 4w, 1w, and either 1/4 or 1/10 watt (cant remember). The Burgera V5 is another small cheap tube amp with an attenuator. Look to youtube to get an idea of the tones these guys and others can produce.

Tubes can sound good below max volume, it depends on the sound you are after. With tube amps you can get overdrive distortion from the pre-amp tubes and or the output tubes. You obviously need to be at full output to overdrive the output tubes but you can overdrive the input tubes at lower volumes either with gain built into the amp or with a pedal out front.

IMHO tube amps are better to learn with. They tend to be more sensitive to the guitar controls and your right hand technique, allowing you to learn to control tone with your hands and not rely on digital effects as much.

You can always add pedals, or mod the tube amp to get different tones, but as a beginner, I would get something simple and focus on your playing first. If you get pedals, I would keep it simple like a basic overdrive or compressor. You can go with the more capable modeling type pedals if that is really what you want.

Finally, some of these tube amps come in head versions for a bit more but still in your budget. These will let you use a larger 12" speaker which can add meat to the bottom end. Never underestimate the impact the speaker has on tone! Some of the small combos sound much better after a speaker swap, and some of them have external speaker outs so they can be used as a head or as a highly portable combo, if you prefer.