What amp would suit me best at my budget?

conanthewarrior

conanthewarrior

Member
Hello everyone, I have a Blackstar HT5 metal head that I have owned for around 10 years, but developed an issue where the volume fades down to nothing. On another thread it seems like it isn't a simple valve/tube replacement and is likely something on the PCB contacts.

Due to this, I would rather get a new amp head than get the Blackstar repaired- I don't know much about amps and didn't realise it was essentially a solid state amp with a couple of tubes thrown in, I fell into the hype when they were getting rave reviews and got one.

I like to play at bedroom volumes- I can technically crank an amp as I live in a detached house, but I prefer to practice at a lower volume.

I play a mixture of metal, from 80's thrash to melodic death metal, stuff like In Flames whoracle and colony album, but also like classic things like Judas priest, for example Electric eye off of screaming for vengeance.

I would prefer a real tube amp, unless there is a great solid state amp head that is better for some reason.

My budget would be £700, pushing it maybe £800, and I am OK with buying used if I can find something.

On the other thread someone recommended a ENGL Fireball 25, that could be one option but I would like to know some other amps that I can play at low volume and still get good tone.

Thank you all, Conan.
 
welcome aboard RT

not much to work with quid wise.
my first thought for tubes would be a Hot Rod Deluxe as a platform for your metal pedals

other than that a line 6 is SS but you have all the tone at the twist of a knob
 
At that budget, if you can find a Fireball 25 that's a great option. They sound awesome.

The PRS MT15 is really killer as well.

I haven't liked most of their stuff, but people say the Revv g20 is a good option for this

If you like to play at bedroom volumes, a modeler might be easier than any of these smaller amps, though a nice one (axe fx, helix, kemper?) might be a bit out of the price range, i'm not sure


If you've got an overdrive pedal to boost it, an Orange Tiny Terror or Dark Terror are killer high gain amps as well
 
Edit: there's a Mesa Boogie Rectifier mini in the classifieds for 850$ right now, although since I assume you're in the EU you probably can't get it shipped cheaply
 
70 Mach 1 said:
welcome aboard RT

not much to work with quid wise.
my first thought for tubes would be a Hot Rod Deluxe as a platform for your metal pedals

other than that a line 6 is SS but you have all the tone at the twist of a knob
Click to expand...
No unfortunately there isn't, and that is a hell of a lot of money to me at the moment.

I don't actually own any pedals, I just used the gain on the blackstar as it had more than enough on tap where it was the metal version of the head.

How is line 6 nowadays and what would you recommend? I had a line 6 spider IV 75W years back, and it sucked pretty badly lol.

DanTravis62 said:
At that budget, if you can find a Fireball 25 that's a great option. They sound awesome.

The PRS MT15 is really killer as well.

I haven't liked most of their stuff, but people say the Revv g20 is a good option for this

If you like to play at bedroom volumes, a modeler might be easier than any of these smaller amps, though a nice one (axe fx, helix, kemper?) might be a bit out of the price range, i'm not sure


If you've got an overdrive pedal to boost it, an Orange Tiny Terror or Dark Terror are killer high gain amps as well
Click to expand...
I can get the fireball 25 new from andertons for £779, so this seems like a good contender.

I will check out the PRS MT15 as I have not heard of it, thank you for the recommendation.

Unfortunately the revv g20 is £1,149 new over here, and I don't think I would find one used, I think Revv amps are quite rare in the UK.

I was thinking of a modeler, and saw the amplitube tonex, but I need to do some research into this, like where it is so cheap is it any good?

When I bought the blackstar I was torn between that or a Orange tiny terror, I wish I had gone for the orange now. Would the dark terror be more suited towards my style of music?


DanTravis62 said:
Edit: there's a Mesa Boogie Rectifier mini in the classifieds for 850$ right now, although since I assume you're in the EU you probably can't get it shipped cheaply
Click to expand...
Oh wow, there is one used on reverb for £800 right now in the UK. I will definitely check this amp out!

If anyone has anymore suggestions I would be really pleased, thank you for the help.
 
conanthewarrior said:
No unfortunately there isn't, and that is a hell of a lot of money to me at the moment.

I don't actually own any pedals, I just used the gain on the blackstar as it had more than enough on tap where it was the metal version of the head.

How is line 6 nowadays and what would you recommend? I had a line 6 spider IV 75W years back, and it sucked pretty badly lol.


I can get the fireball 25 new from andertons for £779, so this seems like a good contender.

I will check out the PRS MT15 as I have not heard of it, thank you for the recommendation.

Unfortunately the revv g20 is £1,149 new over here, and I don't think I would find one used, I think Revv amps are quite rare in the UK.

I was thinking of a modeler, and saw the amplitube tonex, but I need to do some research into this, like where it is so cheap is it any good?

When I bought the blackstar I was torn between that or a Orange tiny terror, I wish I had gone for the orange now. Would the dark terror be more suited towards my style of music?



Oh wow, there is one used on reverb for £800 right now in the UK. I will definitely check this amp out!

If anyone has anymore suggestions I would be really pleased, thank you for the help.
Click to expand...


For sure! I would check out all of those

You have plenty of options at that price range for bedroom volumes, so the key here is finding what you like best
 
why not have a tech look at it. can be a simple card.
with any luck 150 and your done

worst case is your out bench fee. but at least you will kow
 
DanTravis62 said:
For sure! I would check out all of those

You have plenty of options at that price range for bedroom volumes, so the key here is finding what you like best
Click to expand...
Thank you, I am not really up on amplifiers lately, well I never was but I knew what ones were available but have been out of the loop for a good few years.

70 Mach 1 said:
why not have a tech look at it. can be a simple card.
with any luck 150 and your done

worst case is your out bench fee. but at least you will kow
Click to expand...
What is a card? I am thinking about it as I do actually like the sound of the Blackstar, but if it would cost hundreds of pounds to fix I could just put it towards a new amp.
However if it was only £150 I would do that.
 
conanthewarrior said:
Thank you, I am not really up on amplifiers lately, well I never was but I knew what ones were available but have been out of the loop for a good few years.


What is a card? I am thinking about it as I do actually like the sound of the Blackstar, but if it would cost hundreds of pounds to fix I could just put it towards a new amp.
However if it was only £150 I would do that.
Click to expand...

There's a lot more options suited to your use (bedroom jamming) these days, as opposed to back in the day

Back in the day you were very limited on that style of amp - nowadays there's a ton of great options
 
DanTravis62 said:
There's a lot more options suited to your use (bedroom jamming) these days, as opposed to back in the day

Back in the day you were very limited on that style of amp - nowadays there's a ton of great options
Click to expand...
Could you recommend any that are suited to metal? As I really have no idea on the options right now so help would be much appreciated :)
 
DanTravis62 said:
That was the ones I posted above ;)

prs mt15, dark terror/tiny terror, engl fireball 25, revv g20, boogie mini recto are all viable and in your budget used or new
Click to expand...
Oh sorry, I didn't realise it was you that posted lol. Thank you for the recommendations!
 
I’m surprised no one has mentioned the 5150, have a look on eBay and there are couple below your budget. Hughes and Kettner switchblade is another one to consider. If you’re Uk based have a look at thefretboard, quite a few amps going on there.
 
DanTravis62 said:
At that budget, if you can find a Fireball 25 that's a great option. They sound awesome.

The PRS MT15 is really killer as well.

I haven't liked most of their stuff, but people say the Revv g20 is a good option for this

If you like to play at bedroom volumes, a modeler might be easier than any of these smaller amps, though a nice one (axe fx, helix, kemper?) might be a bit out of the price range, i'm not sure


If you've got an overdrive pedal to boost it, an Orange Tiny Terror or Dark Terror are killer high gain amps as well
Click to expand...
This. The MT15
 
* Mt15 is definitely great
* Tube amps are still best
* you don't need a low wattage amp to sound insanely good at whisper levels unless it's a dinosaur
 
I always mention the DSL40.
Great lower cost tube combo amp.
Half power switch (?)
Good at low volume.

Just saw a really clean, local one on marketplace for $400.
 
Manxmusicman said:
I’m surprised no one has mentioned the 5150, have a look on eBay and there are couple below your budget. Hughes and Kettner switchblade is another one to consider. If you’re Uk based have a look at thefretboard, quite a few amps going on there.
Click to expand...
I would love a 5150/6505, but was told on the thread about my amp being broken that they are definitely not bedroom amps and have preamp fizz unless you have the power tubes cranked a bit, so may be too loud for me?

OldGtrGuy said:
* Mt15 is definitely great
* Tube amps are still best
* you don't need a low wattage amp to sound insanely good at whisper levels unless it's a dinosaur
Click to expand...
The PRS MT15 is more my budget, thats for sure- I will check out more video and audio reviews of it.
I was under the wrong impression that for quiet levels I needed something lower in wattage to achieve it. Knowing I don't need to be limited to a low watt amp broadens what I can get.

Simon Dorn said:
Get an EVH 5150 6L6 50 Watt Head. The standard black and white version. They go from Bedroom to the Arena.
Click to expand...
I would have to try and find one used locally but this is a contender too. New it is £1,055 so would have to go used, but as I like so many albums that use the 5150 I think it would suit me well.

dcburn said:
I always mention the DSL40.
Great lower cost tube combo amp.
Half power switch (?)
Good at low volume.

Just saw a really clean, local one on marketplace for $400.
Click to expand...
I hadn't thought much about a Marshall, how is the DSL40 at providing high gain tones without pedals, or would I at least need a clean boost to get it going? For $400 that is really good.
 
conanthewarrior said:
I would love a 5150/6505, but was told on the thread about my amp being broken that they are definitely not bedroom amps and have preamp fizz unless you have the power tubes cranked a bit, so may be too loud for me?


The PRS MT15 is more my budget, thats for sure- I will check out more video and audio reviews of it.
I was under the wrong impression that for quiet levels I needed something lower in wattage to achieve it. Knowing I don't need to be limited to a low watt amp broadens what I can get.


I would have to try and find one used locally but this is a contender too. New it is £1,055 so would have to go used, but as I like so many albums that use the 5150 I think it would suit me well.


I hadn't thought much about a Marshall, how is the DSL40 at providing high gain tones without pedals, or would I at least need a clean boost to get it going? For $400 that is really good.
Click to expand...
That second channel gets good and gainy.
First channel can be set clean, gets dirty.
I've heard that first channel described as "plexi-ish" but not sure, I've never owned a real plexi.

IMO its a great bang for your buck MV amp. Sounds good.
 
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