VeeshanVault

I am looking at gfetting a new guitar practice amp. Here are my constraints:

* 15-30 watts output
* some element of valve design
* great tone, especially for metal
* inexpensive ($150-250 USD)

I was first looking at a Marshall MG15DFX, but I want to get real valve tone, not some digital representation of valve tone. Marshall makes a well regarded valve preamp line (AVT) but the smallest model in that line (20 watt) is expensive. I did a bit more looking and saw that Vox makes a line called Valvetronix, similar to a hybrid of the Marshall DFX and AVT lines, a valve preamp with solid state main amp that has some digital amp modeling and effects, that is about half the cost of Marshall.

Anyone know anything about these amps? Can anyone make a recommendation? I think I'm leaning toward the 15 watt model rather than the 30 or 50 as a nice small practice amp...

Thanks!

Price range?

I don't know about amps but you can never pay too much for a guitar!

Eric Clapton's prized Stratocaster, "Blackie", brought $959,500 in the Christie's Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Auction, becoming the most expensive guitar ever to have been sold at auction. Stevie Ray Vaughan's Stratocaster, "Lenny" received the second highest price ever paid for a Fender Stratocaster at auction, fetching $623,500. A new world record was also set for the sale of a Gibson guitar - Clapton's 1964 red Gibson ES-335 brought $847,500.

I haven't played the smaller Valvetronics, but my friend has the 120w one and he loves it. The cool thing about the way it's built is that it has some sort of adjustable wattage setting in the head, allowing you to control the tube power without sacrificing very much gain. Basically you can go 10w/tube to 60w/tube and get almost the same warm tone, making it excellent for smaller gigs (which is where I've heard it), practice and for blowing out.

It *is* a modeling amp but it's not purely digital, so your tube sound will be the right kind. Like I said, I haven't heard the 30 and 60 watters, but if they're as good as the 120 I'd recommend them.

Thank you sir.

I don't think the attenuation circuit that you mentioned in the 120w head is available in the smaller combo amps, and knowing what I do about valve amps (need to push the valve output to maximum gain in order to get that warm clipped tone) I think for my needs, and the sanity of my gf and neighbors, I'd be best served with the 15w.

oh the prices are:

15w: $179USD
30w: $239
50w: $359

edit: reread the manual...

POWER LEVEL
This adjusts the output wattage of the power amp.
AD30VT: less than 0.1 W – 30 W AD50VT: less than 0.15 W – 50 W
NOTE: The AD15VT doesn’t have this control.
NOTE: The power level setting isn’t saved as part of the program.
This control lets you get that highly desirable, fat, warm sound of the Valvetronix
power stage being driven hard (a common trait of all great valve power amps), at
various levels. This will enable you to play comfortably in a small room or compromising
your all-important tone.

So it looks like I'm getting the 30w amp! The optional footswitch is out until 3/14 so I'll order all of it then.

For some reason I like Drive amps. I have a Marshall and have played on many PV. Drive amps are stupid cheap, look nice, sound nice. The controls suck though