Good tiny tube amps for someone that doesn't like gear?

Help

Hey guys, I am looking at getting an amp as a gift for someone. I am a pretty big gear-head and know exactly what I want all the time, so it's weird buying one for someone else that is NOT into gear at all.

I am aware that a tube (or tube hybrid) amp seems like a weird choice here, but I do have a couple reasons for leaning that way. Mainly due to the simplicity of cheaper tube amps. A versatile digital amp would probably be too many buttons and knobs, the simpler the better. Not opposed to digital though. She also doesn't really need or want the versatility, she is very much in the "I just want to plug it in and play" camp, and she loves all of my tube amps.

As far as combo vs. head and cab, I don't think it really matters that much, there's advantages to both I guess. Plugging in a speaker cab is not an issue, she just doesn't know or care about dialing in a perfect tone.

It does need to go down to bedroom level though, so a wattage switch (probably down to like 1-5W or so) is pretty important. But preferably it should be able to do small gigs where it gets mic'ed up.

The types of music we usually play would be like some heavier rock/emo/light metal like Ghost, My Chemical Romance, etc. But also some lighter alt-rock like Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys, etc. She does have pedals.

I'm thinking something like an Orange Rocker Terror, Orange Dark Terror, the EVH 5150 III LBX, etc. might be a good option? A marshall-type amp would definitely be a good bet, but Marshall is...expensive...and I don't really have experience with their lower-end ones to know if they're any good. The Dark Terror seems like the perfect amount of knobs to mess with

in guitarsby Jdibs77

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ImNotTheBossOfYou

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Supro Blues King 10

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You can get awesome tones out of these, especially with a blues driver

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I love my little Vox AC4 - I've got the C1 Blue model and like it enough that I almost feel bad about going ampless for most of my playing. But when I do plug and play, it's a great little amp. I've also played through the 12" version and other than a little more punch it's got the same great tone and simple controls. I've never played one, but if the sound is at all similar the AC4TV would also be great and even simpler: volume, tone, and a switch for 4W, 1W, or 1/2W operation.

Anyway, that's my rec but I also love the Vox sound.

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The AC4TV mini is also a good choice. It’s a 6” speaker instead and is 4W, 1W, or 1/10W. I use it in my living room.

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18h

I have one of these, scored it for $160. Goes from sweet to gnarly with the twist of a knob. Even at 1/4W (or whatever it is) it gets astonishingly loud.

Xav-Tay-Tor-Tot

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The Marshall DSL1HR is a 1W all-tube head, two channels, has an FX loop and power attenuator. It costs about $250USD

OP

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I have definitely wanted to get one of those for myself at least! My only hesitations with it are not knowing if it'll sound good, and it maybe not being loud enough for gigs or rehearsals

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I have a dsl1 head and it's awesome. You'd never know it was one watt with my 1960s 4x12 cab

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I have the combo. It's very decent and will give you the hard rock sounds you want, but it's really for bedroom playing, I think.

ReeeeepostPolice

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i mean the AMP is good... but the 8" speaker? ehh

Xav-Tay-Tor-Tot

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That's the DSL1CR, the combo. I referred to the HR version, the head

make_anime_illegal_

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Black star ht5

Imaginary_Most_7778

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Not sure why a tube amp is necessary here. If the person is not into gear, why have to worry about tubes? Solid state is the way to go. I recommend the orange crush 20RT. Great amp. Clean and dirty channels. Gets the job done.

OP

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I mean I'm sorry but compared to some of the amps I was looking at there, something like an EVH tube amp through a 112 cab is just going to sound infinitely better than a cheap solid state amp with an 8" speaker...

Imaginary_Most_7778

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But he doesn’t care about gear.

OP

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Correct. She does not. But she wants the guitar to sound good. She doesn't care about all the details, why certain things sound better, how to get a good tone, or want to learn how to use something complicated. She cares about how it sounds though, she's not deaf, she's a killer guitar player.

Hence why I'm looking for an amp that sounds good but takes minimal effort to learn. In other words, not a complicated modeler, not a cheap sounding solid state amp, and not a decent solid state amp that includes a ton of effects. So the options that are left are basically just mid to low-end low-watt tube amps.

I have actually put thought into this and I have an idea of what I know will work well for her. I'm not just gonna waste money on a little starter practice amp. I'm looking for a real amp that sounds good, and can be used to play a gig, but that she can also enjoy at home.

Imaginary_Most_7778

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Nerd

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Valve Jr

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Doesn't get much simpler than 1 knob!

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I have a Milkman “The Amp” that I am really happy with - to the point I think I’ll sell my Tone King. A pedal is needed for drive, but it’s a solid pedal platform.

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Check out the Blackstar HT-20 Mkii (or the 5 watts) The 20 goes down to 2 watts, the 5 goes down to 0.5, used are quite reasonable. Great tones and lots of features. The Mk 3 are more expensive and new, make sure you are looking at the MK 2 (if price is an issue or don't need the fancy cab emulation)

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Fuchs Lucky 7. I own it and a Dr Z Maz Jr. amazing little amp

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The Marshall DSL 20H is relatively cheap and sounds great and will definitely do the music you mention. Big sound for a low wattage amp unlike some others in that range.

RaspberryFirehawk

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Orange tiny terror or dark terror. Small, simple and sound wonderful.

OP

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Yup the little Oranges keep coming up both here and in my own findings! I can't decide between the dark terror and the rocker. The dark terror is simpler for sure, but the rocker goes down to lower wattage. Simple might be better though, 7 watts is probably small enough for the bedroom!

I have a micro terror (not tiny terror, the newer and cheaper one with the solid state power amp) and it is pretty solid. Not my favorite, but for the price it's great

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Blackstar ht series, ht1, ht5, even the higher wattage amps have attenuation switches

gautamasiddhartha

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It’s a bit old now but I like my vox valvetronix a lot. It’s just a little 15w combo but if it’s getting mic’d at the gig that’s a good thing. Lots and lots of sound options but it’s cool how it’s got presets ready to go. Bear in mind this is a tube preamp with a solid state amp, not a full tube combo

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I still play mine all the time, but I have the big 120W 2x12 and man is it huge. Still sounds great though. No need for a mic with this bad boy lol

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Vox AC4 is a nice one, though I’d probably still get the AC 15 for home. Don’t let them talk you into a Katana or some modelling crap.

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Another vote for the AC4- I have the AC4TV and it's a blast.

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I know you're looking at some of the more popular brands, but I recommend the JOYO Hybrid Tube amps. They're Sub-$200 each, come with a single-button channel switch and are TINY. Two channels, both channels are literally Gain, Tone, and Volume, that's it, no option paralysis just like the Dark Terror. Has bluetooth in case you want to play music through it and practice along lol. 25watts, great sound. Hybrid-Tube setup so you get all the pre-amp warmth and compression but with the consistency of a solid-state power amp section.

I have both the Jackman II and the Zombie II. Jackman is a Marshall JCM 900 clone I believe, tremendous rock/hard rock tones. It really does the "Marshall-Sound". Sounds great covering Metalingus with my friends. Zombie is a Dual-Rec clone I believe, crazy sparkly compressed cleans and more gain than you'd need but it doesn't get out of control. I play my baritone through it all the time, it chugs very well.

I run them through a Egnater Tweaker XL 112.

At this point they ought to pay me for advertising so hard for them, but I truly and genuinely think their stuff is really good for the price, and I'm REALLY big on budget stuff and fiscally acceptable "good sounds".

OP

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Haha I actually do have both the Jackman and the Zombie! And I have the normal Egnater Tweaker 112. Crazy. I normally don't run the Joyos through the Egnater though just because I don't like moving things around. I love them, and I know she likes both of them.

I was a little iffy on them because the volume knob is really finnicky at low volume, but someone else here recommended trying it with a 16 ohm cab, which never really occurred to me. Even if it is a little finnicky though, it's still better than the one she's got right now!

I was really just looking at the bigger brands because I was trying to get a sort of end-game "Here you go, now you just don't ever need to think about it" amp

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Love my Blackstar Studio 10 6l6

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That's the one without that gimmicky ISF EQ, right?

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Yeah, it's old school.

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Laney Lionheart I'd say. Slept on and covers exactly the tonal ranges you seem to be after.

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Monoprice has a no frills tube amp for like $100 with a switchable 1w/5w power section.

They also have a 15w version with spring reverb, an effects loop, and switchable 1w/15w power section.

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I've been using my Supro Delta King 10" with an aggressive punk/post-punk band for over a year now. Takes pedals nicely, sounds great, only 5 watts and a little over 20 pounds. I'm considering upgrading to the 12" 15W version for a bit more headroom, but I haven't had any complaints other than it does seem to eat up it's 6L6 tube every 6 months or so.

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Any version of the Yamaha THR10. It's an amazing amp. It's a bit different, in that it doesn't use a loudspeaker like a normal combo amp. It uses midrange drivers, basically like computer speakers, so it sounds great at low volume unlike a loudspeaker. Any one I know who's used these amps get hooked

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Yamaha THR30

Abstract-Impressions

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How tiny? I have a 4 W Fender Champion 600 that's great. It only has one knob (volume) It's got a great clean sound. I just use a distortion pedal in front of it to play non-clean tones. Marshall makes a 1 W head ($319) https://www.proaudiostar.com/marshall-dsl1hr-1-watt-guitar-head.html

If by small, you mean 20W, I like my Vox AC15 and Marshall Origin 20C. The marshall has a power switch so I can drop it down to about 5W, but I will say that dialing in clean is easy, but a good distortion is somewhat challenging.

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Blackstar HT1 is nice and small, has valves, and it's the right volume for a house.

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Blackstar HT-20. It has power scaling to play indoors and at 20 watts it’s loud enough for a gig. Tonally it can do anything from Mesa Boogie to Marshall.

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Try look into the Laney Cub Super amps. Comes in either combo or head and cab. With the option to play at 1W too. Sounds pretty nice in demos.

area51groomlake

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PRS MT-15

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For low volume Orange rocker. Prs MT-15 and evh are awesome but more likely to be a little on the louder side.

OP

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The EVH I was looking at specifically does go down to like half a watt, so I am not concerned with that. It doesn't have a ton of knobs, but it is definitely more complicated than the Rocker. I'm kinda thinking the Rocker might be the way to go!

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I have a Rocker 15 running through 2 1x12s, and at the .5 watt setting I can have the volume about a 1/3-1/2 of the way up and not annoy my wife in the same room. With the natural/clean channel it’s super simple, just a volume knob, no EQ or anything. The dirty channel is slightly more complicated with a gain & 3 band EQ, but still plenty simple. It’s a great amp.

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I was going to recommend the EVH Iconic 15 Watt. I just got one a month ago and I'm absolutely loving it. It's switchable to 4 watts, and that's precisely how I've been using it in my bedroom. Found it on Craigslist for $390.

ImNotAsPunkAsYou

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Basically any of the Joyo Bantamps. They have great features, sound fantastic even at low volumes, and come in at a great price point.

HumbleIndependence43

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Yup. Bantamp Zombie II (Mesa) or Jackman (Marshall) plus a small cab should work nicely.

ImNotAsPunkAsYou

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I love my BlueJay, has amazing tone and loads of headroom. Takes pedals like an absolute champ.

I agree the Zombie is fantastic as well, the onboard distortion is wild.

OP

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I actually have both of these, and she has used both of them a decent amount! The Zombie II is on my radar for sure. The only reason I haven't pulled the trigger on one is because it DOES do low volume, but when you're real low volume level, it's a little finnicky to adjust the knobs. You gotta adjust it in tiny little 0.1mm movements or else it blasts way louder. I'd prefer something a tad bit nicer that has some attenuation, but I know she does like it, and it does save the wallet a bit.

HumbleIndependence43

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Is that on an 8 Ohms cab? I think on 16 Ohms the output wattage is halved so that might work better.

OP

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Yup I mostly use it with that dirt cheap Peavey 112 that's 8 ohm. I will try plugging it into 2 cabs in series to get 16 ohms and see how it is!

...Thank you for the tip, seriously. I just have a bunch of 8 ohm cabs because they work with everything I have. I do chain them together, just never on my Joyo's, because I don't want to move things around

HumbleIndependence43

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You're welcome. Would be great to know if it worked well.

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I have a Kustom tube practice amp that rocks! Made quite well, too.

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Honestly, it's a super underrated practice amp brand. Love mine.

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Whatever you end up getting, just dial it in for her and she can “just plug in”. Doesn’t really matter how complex it is if you just don’t use the features.

OP

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I mean she's gonna have to move the thing, and adjust volume and stuff when taking it out of the house. I don't really wanna hand over an amp, and say "here you go now NEVER touch things". She is capable of adjusting knobs, she just doesn't want to deal with it. The main complaints about the current one are that it's way too loud for at-home practice, and that it has so many things to adjust. The goal is to get an amp that she is comfortable messing with on her own

Abstract-Impressions

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If weight is a concern, think about a separate head/cab setup. She can carry them separate.

If you're willing to give up on the tubes that are a bunch of new modeling amps that use Class D power amps are light. It sounds like something like a Katana might be overwhelming, but the Fender Tone master amps are quite simple and light, just a bit spendy.

OP

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Weight is definitely a concern, but sorta low on the priority list I guess? That is one of the benefits of going head/cab that I am definitely aware of, that is like half the reason why I only have one combo! I'm basically like assuming head/cab unless there is some really tempting combo out there

Eastern-Reindeer6838

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The EVH would be my preference as it has a more elaborated tone control.

Noonproductions

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Honestly, forget the tube. Get her a katana 50. Sounds great, easy to dial in. Portable and light weight with adjustable power output from bedroom to small gig. 12” speaker. Built in effects but takes pedals well. Bullet proof quality.

OP

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She has used the Katana actually pretty extensively, and does not like it. Too many things to adjust, and it "doesn't sound good".

EDIT: To clarify, both her and I plug into a 100W katana (usually run at 50W) a couple times a week at rehearsals. We both do not like it. The built-in effects are exactly what I am NOT looking for, let alone the modeling capabilities and such.

Noonproductions

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Ok. If you are looking for a cheap tube amp the Stage right 25w from Monoprice gets a lot of love. I have the 5w version. It’s a great sounding amp in 5watts but doesn’t have enough volume to gig with. The 25 had a power down switch but is significantly heavier.

Noonproductions

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Also, what is it about the sound you don’t like? I have no issue with mine at all. The cleans sound great, it has a three band eq that’s easy to operate. I pretty much set mine on clean and use overdrives to get my distortions or change up my tone. The only onboard effect I use is reverb.

OP

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I'm just gonna be honest, it sounds like shit compared to my Hughes and Kettner. The Katana is a great budget all-rounder, but the speaker sucks, and in my opinion it doesn't do a good job of sounding like a classic overdriven tube amp. I don't hate the Katana for what it is, I just hate it for my use-case because I know what I want, and a Katana ain't it. It is a good amp, just not good for me.

She doesn't like them because there are a bunch of knobs and settings to mess with, and she hates dealing with that. Because she hates dealing with it, she doesn't know how to get a decent tone out of it, so it "doesn't sound good" when she plays through it.

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Just backing you up on not liking the katana. It's good for what it is but is soooo overrated by people who I suspect have not tried a quality tube amp in their lives.

OP

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Yeah see that's what I'm going for, I'm trying to get a legit GREAT sounding amp and am willing to pay for it. I'm only looking at the low/mid end of tube amps because with the more expensive ones, you're basically paying for extra features like more channels, effects loops, possibly onboard effects, and crazy amounts of loudness.

The Katana is okay, there's nothing wrong with it. But she comes over and hears my tube amps, and is like "holy crap these sound awesome, I wish mine sounded like that". So...like of course I wanna get that lol. I'm going for an upgrade, an end-game amp that she's gonna keep for years. Not a sidegrade to an amp that's got a bunch of features she doesn't care about

Noonproductions

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Well, you said you were getting an amp for someone who was not into gear. Now you are comparing a sub $300 amp to a $1000 dollar amp.

You are telling me a year down the road, the person you are getting this for is going to be able to swap out tubes but can’t handle gain, bass, mid, and treble on a Katana? Ok. Not gonna argue with you.

OP

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I was asking about more expensive amps from the very beginning. I was asking about tube amps from the very beginning. And I explicitly called out what I wasn't looking for. A Katana never entered the equation until you brought it here. I compared it to my amp because you asked why I didn't like it. I made sure to mention why she doesn't like it, because it's for very different reasons than why I don't like it.

Clearly you haven't owned a tube amp, it's not like you're swapping tubes every week or something. The fact that a tube amp uses tubes is almost entirely irrelevant to the actual usage of the amp. I have 5 amps with tubes and have had to change a tube once on a used one that was 10 years old. Do you have to know how to perform your own maintenance to drive a car? No. Sure some people do know that, but it's not needed to drive a car.

The Katana has a 3 band eq, like 2 or 3 effects knobs, the channel knob, the presence knob, a gain knob, a channel volume, and a master volume. And the settings on those knobs are reset when you change the channel. That's a lot more than something like the Dark Terror that has volume, gain, and "tone".

Again, yes, the katana is way more versatile and can cover a wider range of tones. But I'm not going for that at all. I'm looking to do ONE thing well.

Noonproductions

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As a matter of fact I have several tube amps. My point stands. You are expecting someone that can’t handle a three band eq and a gain knob to handle a tube amp, when the tubes inevitably die. The other knobs you are speaking about never have to move. In the end it’s your money. Buy a dumble for all I care. But when you say someone is not a gear head and can’t make a katana sound good because they can’t handle the knobs you imply a certain level of skill. then compare that amp to a Hughes and kettner and you seem like you are missing the mark. If you want something that sounds like a Hughes and kettner, get them a Hughes and kettner.

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Katana 100w head has a built-in 5” speaker for practice

OP

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I actually am kind of intrigued by those and think it's an awesome idea to include a little speaker in the head itself! It doesn't really fit what I'm looking for though

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