What are some of the cheaper amps that do a decent job for harp?
I was given a Marshall G15R CD practice amp by a friend but if I use their recommended settings for blues and such I get terrible feedback. It was SO bad that when I had the windows open the other day several dogs in the neighborhood went nuts and started barking and howling like crazy.
Marshall amps generally have a lot of gain for overdriven guitar, which will easily feed back with a mic. Their recommended settings for blues are for guitar, not harp with a mic.
I have not used this amp. I suggest that you try cutting treble off or close to off. Boost the bass some (3/4 of what is possible, cut mids to about 1/4 of what is possible. Turn the gain knobs all the way down. Turn the Master volume way up, maybe all the way. Add the smallest amount of gain then test by blowing some harp in the mic, then add a little more gain. If there is reverb, turn it off at first, then add small amounts.
You can probably get an acceptable sound as you tweak it. If it offers a clean playing setting, use that setting, not the distortion channel.
In the long run, the suggested Crate V5, or a VHT Special 6, or an Epiphone Valve Junior are better for harp. ----------
Peavey. Go back 15 or 20 years and you can buy them all long for $100. I have 4 of them. 2 of them are all tube 12" singles. 1 is a hybrid 2x12 that will blow the roof off. I want to try tube pre-ampp out to hibrid (tube)pwr-amp in and see what kind of 3x12 I get, but I haven't got around to it yet. I keep shopping for a Fender and coming across a good deal on another Peavey. I am thinking my next purchase will be an old Peavey PA so I can experiment with my Digitec.
If we're talking small amps, the fender Superchamp xd and vibrochamp xd are both good value. Superchamp usually gets the nod thanks to 10" speaker and separate 'clean' channel. But I put the vibrochamp up against stock valve junior (v3) and it's no contest as far as I'm concerned. maybe the preamp chip loses it some cred, I dunno. Bigger amps I dont have much to go on. For the last 5 years though I have used a 30 watt Ashton viper. Cost me $500 new. 12", 2 EL34s. Some solid state in the overdrive circuit, which I don't use. Subbed a 5751 in for a 12ax7, otherwise stock. I reckon a good speaker may improve it but ive been reluctant to over-capitalise. On board spring reverb. Gigged it many times with loud band. I believe there is a Marshall combo on which the clean circuit is based but I've lost the reference. Anyway, it took a while to work out how to get the most out of it but it's been very useful. Might struggle to find one outside of Australia or uk. I believe there is a similiar unit with a Randall brand (same factory, design), but probably have to go back 5-10 years. ----------anyway, it's been reliable and useful for years. I did spend $100 on a service though and had the build quality issues addressed. They are built fairly hastily.
Depends on how much of bargain you are looking. I know many will disagree but if you just want to get into practicing amped than this may be an option. I bought a Behringer GM108 used for $20 See: http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/GM108.aspx
It has surpassed my expectations. It has 8” speaker, multiple voicing’s and EQ and you can connect a portable music player to it also so as to play along to your favourites. It doesn’t match my modded Blues Jr or my vintage Beltone but for the price it has its place such as outdoor summer parties where if it gets damaged I am not out too much.
Roland Micro Cube, Peavey Vypyr 15, Fender Champ 600 are a few I'll throw in on this topic.
I hear you on the Marshall, Reed Triller. My first amp that I owned was a Marshall MG10CD. It worked okay for what I was using it for, but the overdrive channel that gave me all kinds of great distortion also made it feed back like a mother. I traded the little guy for a Univox bass cabinet. :-) ----------
if you're not hung up on tubes, the vox vt series of modeling amps are great, especially the vt-30 if you can still find one (it's been replaced by the vt 40+).
I've picked up two Gibson BR9's on Craigslist for $200 each. You can find other old valco's for similar coin. Those are what I consider bargain amps. For a new tube amp - the oft mentioned VHT Special 6 can't be beat - again for around two bills- though I found mine for $125 on Craigslist. None of the above are 'low end' - they are all really good amps - they just arent a lot of money. ----------
Last Edited by on Sep 07, 2012 12:47 AM
Well, I finally had the opportunity to experiment with my old Peaveys. Daisy chaining the little tube into the big hybrid just did not produce anything special. Hooking it up stereo through the digitec pedal was not very productive either. I think I gave it a fair try because I fiddled with it most of Saturday.
Funny thing, the sound I finally landed on which I liked was just using the 2x12 for a speaker cabinet plugged into the 25 watt Bravo 1x12. So now I am surfing Craigslist for a 4x10 or 4x12 cabinet. Naturally, it will have to be a steal.
I've got a Park that I like, when I get the settings right. (Basically it's a Marshall under a different name.) I got it with another amp for $30 at a garage sale. :)
