ratzbi
3 posts
Nov 19, 2011
11:18 AM
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Hello guys! How are you today?
Well, ive got 200 dollars i saved for buying a new Amp and i need help in picking 1.
I have the Superlex 112d/c mic which i like and now all i have to do is plug it to his amp friend.
Note that i like blues very much, but i would happy to be able to produce a clean and a "guitar like" sound as well
so far i had my eyes on:
Fender mustang 2
the gretsch Adam recommends
Blackheart BH5H little giant
has anyone tried them or know any other nice amp for 200 bucks and could aid me?
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ratzbi
4 posts
Nov 19, 2011
12:14 PM
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Btw, when i said i want to get that "guitar like" sound i was talking about the sound of this solo at 1:21
that thing blew me away!
m.youtube.com/watch?desktop_uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DJEQ9iDNsrNY&v=JEQ9iDNsrNY&gl=US
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Joe_L
1627 posts
Nov 19, 2011
12:59 PM
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I have a feeling of Deja Vu. There were two threads on cheap amps in the past week. You might want to read them.
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The Blues Photo Gallery
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HawkeyeKane
435 posts
Nov 19, 2011
1:54 PM
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The "guitar" sound you're talking about is simple gain and mid-range driven distortion. It can also be attained with a tone control on a simpler amplifier.
For a solid state amp, the Mustang wouldn't be bad I don't think. Not that I have played one before. My Vypyr 15 is a similar type of amp, and it's very versatile.
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Hawkeye Kane
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NiteCrawler .
143 posts
Nov 19, 2011
4:04 PM
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@ratzbi,As said by Joe L,go to page two 11/17 and there are many choices for inexpensive harp friendly amps.As far as vintage goes,aside from the Kali you also may want to check out the low watt(5 watt) Soundprojects/Lectrolab amps.They are cheaply made pressboard cabs,but the electronics have great gritty harp tone.They can be had for under $150. to $200. depending on the models.
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ratzbi
5 posts
Nov 19, 2011
7:32 PM
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I understand. I will check them out!
In addition, has someone tried the Gretsch? Can it produce a clean sound as well as the bluesy one or is it limited?
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colman
106 posts
Nov 19, 2011
7:45 PM
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You can`t go wrong with an old Fender Champ ...
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ratzbi
6 posts
Nov 19, 2011
10:04 PM
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anyone tried thd Blackheart BH5H little giant head amp?
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bharper
102 posts
Nov 20, 2011
6:19 AM
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+1 on old Fender Champ
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NiteCrawler .
144 posts
Nov 20, 2011
6:35 AM
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I totally agree with the vintage Fender Champ,they do have a wicked tone but,you will have to pay $350. to $400. bills for one.(unless you get very lucky)From the original ques. the poster says he has $200.saved for an amp purchase.That all said you can keep saving your sheckles for an older Fender,Kali,Silvertone etc. or go on the advise from some of the owners of some of these newer less expensive harp friendly amps.JMO , As far as the Blackheart head I,m not familiar but you have to consider getting a speaker cab to go with it unless you already have one avail.as well as a 12ay7 to tame it a wee bit.
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lumpy wafflesquirt
464 posts
Nov 20, 2011
6:49 AM
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roland streetcube
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"Come on Brackett let's get changed"
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MrVerylongusername
2071 posts
Nov 20, 2011
8:52 AM
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The only thing that threads like this seem to agree on is that everyone likes something different.
Only you can decide what amp is right for you.
You need to hear it first. That means hearing yourself playing through it, not listening to someone else's sound on Youtube or whatever. Borrow one, play one at a jam, go a to music shop.
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Tommy the Hat
432 posts
Nov 20, 2011
9:49 AM
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"The only thing that threads like this seem to agree on is that everyone likes something different."
Ditto!
"Only you can decide what amp is right for you."
Ditto again!
"You need to hear it first. That means hearing yourself playing through it, not listening to someone else's sound on Youtube or whatever. Borrow one, play one at a jam, go a to music shop. "
3 for 3.
I don't know much about amps and sound, but I do understand common sense as well as trying to get advice on subjective subjects. As well as having read through many similar threads.
Nice MrVLUN
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Tommy
My Videos
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kudzurunner
2825 posts
Nov 20, 2011
10:14 AM
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The Gretsch that I recommend has been discontinued, so I've switched my recommendation to the Fender Champ 600.
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Johncn
6 posts
Nov 20, 2011
11:07 AM
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Hey Ratzbi,
I'm not at all familiar with that microphone, and I don't have the breadth of experience of many of the others here with different amps. Part of your choice depends on what sort of settings you see yourself playing in, and whether you are going to run your output "as is" or mic it through the PA.
If looking for a lower wattage, tube driven sound you might want to check eBay for a fairly recent Epiphone Valve Junior half-stack. These were discontinued about this time last year, but a search of recent completed sales show that the head and extension cab can be had separately combined, or together sometimes (but not always) in the $200 - $250 range.
For harp, these sound good to me stock. Very simple 5 watt head with one input, one 12AX7A preamp tube, and one EL84 power tube. The tube swaps and mods are easy to do, and my daughter likes my stock one with her Strat, but I'm not a guitarist. The extension cabinet has 4/8/16 ohm inputs, but houses a 12", 16 ohm Eminence Lady Luck speaker rated at 70watts.
There are folks here with far more expertise than I have, so your mileage may vary. ;-)
Johncn
Last Edited by on Nov 20, 2011 11:47 AM
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Joe_L
1632 posts
Nov 20, 2011
12:06 PM
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If you're going to play outside the house, I would save more money and start looking around for a used Pro Jr. $250 should snag a decent used one.
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The Blues Photo Gallery
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HawkeyeKane
437 posts
Nov 20, 2011
12:28 PM
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@ratzbi
I would agree with Joe_L. Try saving a little more. Honestly, one of the best amps you can get, and Sonny Jr. himself will attest to this, is an old Kalamazoo Model Two. Greg Heumann here on the forum sells rebuilt and improved ones. I love the one I got from him. Go check out what he does on his site.
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Hawkeye Kane
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eharp
1561 posts
Nov 20, 2011
12:42 PM
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save more money?
trust me, ratzbi. none of these guys saved more money.
gear acquisition syndrom is all about sazing just a little money and spending it on gear. then repeating the process again because the piece of gear you bought just aint quite what you were looking for.
these guys have a corner of their basements dedicated to little used amps, mics, pedals and even harps! and if it aint in the basement, they have sold it to someone else where it is sitting in their basement!
so dont save more money! buy whatever you can for the money you got and start clearing an area in your basement to store it! gimme a call. i'll check my corner. maybe others will do the same. because, after all, my GAS needs feeding.
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HawkeyeKane
439 posts
Nov 20, 2011
1:08 PM
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@eharp
I'll agree that GAS can lead to that routine. But when you find that one particular whatever that hits home for everything you want, like the Kalamazoo was for me, it's pretty easy to fixate and save for it. Especially when you put a picture of it in your cubicle and look at it every day as your saving up.
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Hawkeye Kane
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eharp
1563 posts
Nov 20, 2011
1:26 PM
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very true, hawk. but let me ask...
1) how did you know it waas the amp for you before you bought it?
2) had you bought amps previous to the k-zoo thinking "this is the one"?
but it aint just GAS. it is the instant gratification that can turn GAS into a waste of time and money.
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HawkeyeKane
440 posts
Nov 20, 2011
1:41 PM
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@eharp
1. I'd first become interested in the Zoo-Deuce just reading about them, with many harp players recommending them. Then I plugged my JT30 into one that was passing through my usual music shop, and even though that one had a bad capacitor and hummed like a mother, I fell in love with the sound that it put out. And so...that's why I set my sights on one.
2. No, I haven't ever taken the plunge and BOUGHT any thinking that. I did buy my Peavey Vypyr simply because I was pleasantly surprised at the sound I got out of it when I tried it out, but not because I'd fixated on it. First time I blew through a Delta Blues 210, I thought "this is the one", but it was way more than I was willing to spend at the time. The 'Zoo possessed the happy medium of everything I wanted in volume, features, tone, and value. So that's why I went after it.
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Hawkeye Kane
Last Edited by on Nov 20, 2011 1:42 PM
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eharp
1565 posts
Nov 20, 2011
3:38 PM
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aaaaah.
some actual 1st hand knowledge before buying.
a bit of a rarity in today's internet store and swap meet society.
it seems most folks are at the mercy of forum voting (like ratzbi) of watching youtube vids. with the first you need to hope that whoever's opinion you go with has the same criteria and ear for what you are looking for and the second you have to "play the wind" of your computer speakers and the recording equipment of the poster and then throw in the variable of the ability of the demonstrator. nothing wrong with either but sure doesnt compare to actually trying things out. for my rig, i went to music store and bought the stuff i wanted just so i could actually test drive it for 30 days. the entire month i was searching craigslist for these items used. i found them and returned the new ones back to the store.
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Joe_L
1633 posts
Nov 20, 2011
5:31 PM
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@eharp - Gaining first hand knowledge is not that rare. I am cheap and somewhat risk averse. I have a multitude of harp and guitar playing friends with lots of amps. I get to plug into a lot of amps that are owned by different people before ever making a purchasing decision.
I decided to build a tweed Champ clone after playing a vintage tweed Champ. I was up for a project. I researched the kits to death before purchasing a kit from Marsh amplification.
I've played several Kalamazoos that Greg has refurbed. They are great amps. Since, I own the Champ clone, I never felt the need to buy a 'Zoo. If I didn't have the Champ, I would call Greg or build one of those fancy Weber 5F2H kits.
I was looking for an amp a bit larger than a Pro Jr. (I bought the Pro Jr after a friend loaned it to me for a month.) I found a used Harpgear Double Trouble at a heavily discounted price. It was the only amp that i had never played before purchasing it. I relied on reviews on the Internet. I also trusted Brian Purdy after he came highly recommended from a trusted friend. In retrospect, I am glad I did. Its a fine amp.
I've owned a Mini Meat. I played that amp several times before purchasing it. I really liked the tone of the amp. After playing it for about a year, I decided that I wanted a cleaner sound. I sold it.
I purchased a Super Sonny from Greg Heumann. I had played that amp a number of times at a variety of blues jams. I really liked it. It sounded very close to a friend's original 59 Bassman.
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The Blues Photo Gallery
Last Edited by on Nov 20, 2011 5:32 PM
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eharp
1570 posts
Nov 20, 2011
5:43 PM
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maybe not as rare as i thought but still definitely not the norm.
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Ray
361 posts
Nov 20, 2011
5:51 PM
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Lately, Kalamazoo Model 1 amps have been selling for less than $150 on ebay. And are in pretty nice condition. Unmodded Kalamazoos can't be beat for the money for harp. And NO they ALL don't need to be rebuilt. They sound great as is.
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HawkeyeKane
443 posts
Nov 20, 2011
6:08 PM
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@Ray
The 'Zoos may not all need to be rebuilt soundwise, but it's highly advisable to have the power supply rebuilt with a modern three-prong setup and the safety caps replaced. Those suckers are notorious for the nasty shocks they can give their users. Also, a two prong adapter should never be used because of the steel chassis being the default ground. That can be a one way ticket to 120 volts.
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Hawkeye Kane
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eharp
1572 posts
Nov 20, 2011
6:16 PM
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sounds like a good murder mystery could be devised with the k-zoo as the weapon!
might have to make greg either the perp or the expert witness.
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HawkeyeKane
445 posts
Nov 20, 2011
6:30 PM
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Hey, as long as they're done right and you use them correctly, they can't be beat in their class IMHO. Since I got the 'Zoo, Every time there's been a buzz in the PA, our lead guitarist immediately thinks it's my amp and goes on a rant about me not letting him put a ground lift on it, even though the problem has never wound up being the 'Zoo. That's a never ending debate with him.
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Hawkeye Kane
Last Edited by on Nov 20, 2011 6:32 PM
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Greg Heumann
1343 posts
Nov 20, 2011
7:43 PM
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"Lately, Kalamazoo Model 1 amps have been selling for less than $150 on ebay. And are in pretty nice condition. Unmodded Kalamazoos can't be beat for the money for harp. And NO they ALL don't need to be rebuilt. They sound great as is."
Ray, I've rebuilt over 200 Kalamazoo Model 1 and Model 2's. I'm quite sure that is well more than anyone else on the planet. I buy the vast majority of them on eBay. Out of those 200, fewer than a handful have been operating at 100%. Most have never been rebuilt - and every single one needs its power filter caps replaced. Some are worse than others in this regard. In fact - with some they will make reasonable sound - but far from optimal. Of the ones that HAVE been rebuilt, the majority are done with terrible and potentially dangerous workmanship - and often the wrong value components used, which alters the tone. I am not exaggerating here - this is the honest truth. If you get an amp you're not familiar with, and you turn it on and it makes sound, how do you KNOW if it is working properly? You don't - unless you have a known good one to compare it to.
So I have to disagree with you. Your chances of getting a Kalamazoo on eBay that is working up to its full potential are not good - in fact they are terrible.
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/Greg
Last Edited by on Nov 20, 2011 7:44 PM
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BAG
107 posts
Nov 20, 2011
7:49 PM
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For a new tube amp for $200, the VHT seems to be a good starter, especially for guys like me that never take it outta the basement. see other threads regarding this amp.
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Twitter ~ BossoBrewingCo
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easyreeder
34 posts
Nov 20, 2011
8:59 PM
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I have two Kalamazoo Model 1 amps. One is stock, bought on ebay; it works, and sounds good, but it's noisy and still has the two-prong plug. It didn't cost much but it didn't come with a guarantee. The other I bought from Greg Heumann. It cost more, but it's a different animal altogether, and Greg guaranteed it. It's quiet and has more gain before feedback than the stock version. If I had it to do again, I would buy one from Greg, or learn to do the mods myself. Unfortunately, that's not on my wife's honey-do list....
I also have an HG2 that I bought used, in superb condition. It sounds great. If I have a gig I take the Heumannized Kalamazoo and the HG2, and I have trouble deciding which one I want to play. When I need a bit more volume I use them both.
I don't think a stock Kalamazoo (or any other vintage tube amp) off ebay is a good risk for somebody who only has $200 to spend. It might be a stinker, and a dangerous one at that, and they obviously don't have money to pay for repairs.
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HawkeyeKane
447 posts
Nov 20, 2011
9:04 PM
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@easyreeder
Don't know if you, or anyone else has tried this, but...
Is your Heumanized 'Zoo equipped with Greg's line-out option? If so, you could always try plugging it into the HG2, or vice-versa, and see what you can get out of it.
EDIT: Oooooooookay.....completely missed the last line there. Disregard that question. But on a sidenote, which way do you go? Mic into HG2 or the 'Zoo?
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Hawkeye Kane
Last Edited by on Nov 20, 2011 9:15 PM
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easyreeder
35 posts
Nov 20, 2011
10:00 PM
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@hawk eye
I don't have the line out option on the Kalamazoo so it's line out from the HG2 to the Kalamazoo.
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ratzbi
7 posts
Nov 21, 2011
4:38 AM
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Wow, thank you all for posting :)
someone suggested me to get the Roland Micro cube.
how is the Roland micro cube compares to the Fender champion 600? i narrowed it down to both of them and i need to decide.
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Pluto
193 posts
Nov 21, 2011
6:20 AM
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A few years ago, Ricky Bush, http://bushdogblues.blogspot.com/, posted a schematic of an easy to build like out jack. I built one in 15 minutes, and it houses a 1/4" jack, and two alligator clips you connect to the speaker leads. It may not be a permanent solution, but its great for fooling around with amps that don't have that feature built it in
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HawkeyeKane
449 posts
Nov 21, 2011
9:27 AM
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@ratzbi
There are a lot of trade-offs between these two. They're both good starter harp amps. The Roland definitely has more effects that you can use, and it can run on batteries. The Champ 600, IMO, is a better LOOKING amp, but if aesthetics aren't something you're going for, never mind. But I will say that you could probably get a little more output out of the Champ 600 over the Microcube.
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Hawkeye Kane
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Tommy the Hat
434 posts
Nov 21, 2011
9:29 AM
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Isn't the Champ tube and the Roland not?
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Tommy
My Videos
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HawkeyeKane
450 posts
Nov 21, 2011
9:34 AM
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@Tommy
That's correct. But as I said, even despite the Roland being solid state, it has a world of advantage on the champ because of the effects you can put on it like reverb and trem. All the Champ has is a volume knob.
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Hawkeye Kane
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easyreeder
41 posts
Nov 22, 2011
6:00 AM
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I have a micro cube. I use it only when I don't need much volume, and I need to run on batteries. I would only recommend it as an accessory or practice amp. Most recently I used it on a parade float with an acoustic group. It was a single mic setup (bluegrass style) and I couldn't step up to the mic to be heard. The micro cube brought my volume up to the level of the guitar & banjo. Worked great for that purpose. Once I tried it while sitting in with a rock band; it was impromptu, and I had it in my car. We mic'd it but it still couldn't compete; with the volume cranked, when I really leaned into it the batteries collapsed and it would just go quiet until I lightened up on my playing. I turned it off and just used the PA.
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HawkeyeKane
457 posts
Nov 22, 2011
8:36 AM
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Easy,
Have you tried the headphone/recording jack on the Cube through a PA before? I used to use the emulated line out on my Marshall MG10 that way every now and then.
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Hawkeye Kane
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easyreeder
42 posts
Nov 22, 2011
3:30 PM
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Hawkeye,
I haven't done that. No doubt it would work well enough. My point is that I don't think it's a good choice as an only amp. The headphone jack makes it really useful as a practice amp, but a lot of informal jamming doesn't include a PA, so it's bound to disappoint. And have you ever heard the FOH guy say: "Nobody told us there was a harp player, were out of inputs..."?
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HawkeyeKane
469 posts
Nov 22, 2011
3:51 PM
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Only once, but I won't play with that twit anymore.
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Hawkeye Kane
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garry
150 posts
Nov 22, 2011
3:52 PM
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if you're considering modeling amps (like the roland or mustang), try out a vox vt-20+ as well. although you're probably better off saving a little more and checking the vox vt-40+, which has a larger speaker and is loud enough to stand up to gigs or open mics.
whatever you get, go to a music store that has your candidate amps and play through all of them with your mic. plan to spend several hours; you want to take your time to really figure out what sounds good to you.
it doesn't matter a whit what any of us think.
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easyreeder
44 posts
Nov 22, 2011
5:47 PM
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@garry,
"it doesn't matter a whit what any of us think."
I take your meaning to be "Buy what you like, not what somebody else likes", which is good advice, but I think what you and everybody else thinks matters a lot when it comes to figuring out what I like. If not for the collective experience of others on forums like this I wouldn't have known that purpose-built harp amps even existed, or options like the Kalamazoo, or Harmony, etc. Listening to what others think about their equipment is invaluable and helped me tremendously by giving me a reference point when I was able to test drive them. Trying the amps others recommended gave me a basis for comparison to the vintage stuff that wasn't so easy to find and helped me decide whether a particular tone was worth the added risk of buying old electronics on ebay. Nobody on this forum or others talked me into a particular amp, but they sure helped me sort through the chaff to find what best suited my needs. What was most useful was when somebody raved about a particular amp and I was able to find one to try out and ended up thinking it sucked. I learned a lot about what I liked that way. Test driving amps in music stores led me to my first disappointing purchases because I had no educated opinions to help me evaluate what I was hearing.
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