Questions about guitar amp

GloopyJon

Thanks Phil - nice looking products.  I think I'll go for a modelling amp at this stage, though.  It's good to hear about other brands and learn more about the whole market, though, because it's not a simple choice and I've only just started to look into it.

Currently leaning towards the Peavey amp, largely because I can use it with my bass (and acoustic if I ever dig that out!).

Sunshinewelly

Hi Joakey sorry to hijack your thread but i have a peavey VIP 30 watt amp that i am selling. its around 18 months old , as good as new boxed etc. Its the older vyper model but still sound very good. Its on a par with most Line 6 stuff.

RBZ5416

Have a good look round the web at the Vypyrs as although they seem well regarded when they're working, I've read quite a few reports that reliability can be an issue. If you want bells & whistles with a hint of tube then have a look at Vox's VT  range.

GloopyJon

Thanks, the Vox amps look pretty cool!  I might just put the VT40  on my list....

GloopyJon

I've been in touch with a big music shop in Belgium that stocks all of the amps on my shortlist (including the VT40 ).  I'm planning to go there on Saturday and try them out, ask for some advice and with a bit of luck come home with a nice new toy to play with!

I'll keep you all posted....in the meantime, any other suggestions are still very welcome!

Toasty

Enjoy, I love trying out new kit

GloopyJon

I've made a comparison chart of the amps on my shortlist (see attached pdf).  They are all modelling amps, some tube and some solid state.  There are some surprising differences in the features, such as:
- Outputs for external speakers
- Types of footswitch that can be used
- Whether you can plug in a bass or a microphone
- Power regulation (e.g. the VIP 3 does, but the VIP 2 doesn't)
- Recording facilities
- USB connection & PC software

That's just to name a few!  It's very hard to choose because each amp has some features that I want but lacks some others.  In the end, I'm sure I could live with any of them but I haven't found one that hits all of the buttons.  For instance:
* The Spider Jam has lots of features like presets, backing tracks, recording facility & bass connection, but it has no external speaker connection, I don't think it has USB and there's no power regulation (and it's 75W, which is quite powerful).
* The DT25 is a bit low on voices & effects unless you get the HD500x, and it's expensive compared to the others - but I expect it to sound the best
* The Vypyr VIP2 can take electric, acoustic & bass, and it has some nice features, but there's no speaker connection and no power regulator.  The VIP3 has a power regulator knob which looks so useful that it could be worth the extra €70 just for that.  But it's a solid state amp so maybe it won't sound as good as the tubes.
* The Fender Super Champ X2 is generally weak on features compared to the others although it does have a speaker out, and it's a tube amp.  Power is probably good for home use but may be low for gigging.
* The Vox looks very nice in some ways, has plenty of voices and it's the cheapest - plus it's even a (partial) tube amp (with a single tube).  However, it's poor on connectivity, and, like the Fender, only a 10" speaker.

None of them yet jumps out as the best option.  We'll see what happens when I hear them for real!  I hope I'll be able to try most of them; I don't think they have all of them in stock in one place.

Christian 71

You need to watch some vids on the Fender Super Champ X2, it's not what you think it is. It is a tube amp with a 12ax7 in the front and 2 6v6's in the power section, but it is also a modelling amp with the Mustang chip, so plugs into a PC and you can play around with all the presets in Fender fuse, record etc. It's one of the most feature rich of the amps you have listed, but disguised to look less complex than the mustangs.

I had a Vox AD100VT and the valve is a bit of a gimmick, not impressed at all although it did some nice AC style cleans. I think TJ had a spider IV, the valve version is similar to the X2.

GloopyJon

Don't get me wrong, the Fender looks like a great little amp and I really liked it when I tried it in a shop last Saturday.  It's the amp that made me start looking into buying a new one after all!  Every amp on my list is a modelling amp with lots of features; it's just that in comparison with the others, the Super Champ lacks some features.  For instance, it doesn't have a particularly sophisticated footswitch compared to, say, the Peavey or the Line 6s.  But it's still definitely there in the mix!

I also looked at the Mustangs, but I got the impression that the Super Champ is essentially a Mustang with modelling, so I wouldn't gain anything by going for a Mustang instead - is that right?  The price difference between the two (the Super Champ being dearer) isn't really an issue.

Christian 71

Yep the Super champ is the valve version of the Mustang, no tubes in the mustang like the Peavy and Line6.

It's a shame Peavy don't do a valve version of the  VIP as it looks like this is what you really want. You could always buy a Bass cab down the line.

Try a Marshall DSL15/SL5 or something similar to get some context, I know it's not the tone you are after but only the DT25 will be able to get close to that tone so should help make up your mind.