Best budget tube amp???

I have one of those chainsaw cases

Best budget tube amp I've used is the Peavey 6505+ 112 combo. Found one for my nephew for $500 (recently serviced), definitely a gig worthy amp rather than a practice amp. Easy head conversion too if that's something your back requests later.
 
I have my nephew's amp here at the moment, used it today (out in the garage) to test the 412 cab with the Stephens speakers. Simply pulled out the internal speaker connection (it plugs into a socket just like an external cab) and then put a speaker cable between it and the cab and set the ohms selector to 16 ohms. I had to wind the post-gain up to around 6 to get the volume I got with my 120W 6534+ on 3, but it sounded great. It also has a spring reverb and an MSDI output, which my amp doesn't have. Definitely had it loud enough to annoy the neighbours!

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Robert Herndon said:
For me, the smallest amp is the LARGEST amp that I can lay on its side in my Mustang's trunk. That's the DSL40C. I have (4) foam blocks that keep the amp in.place during transport.

I wont buy or play anything smaller. I think I paid $599.99 for it at the peak of DSL40C hysteria...add $169.00 for the custom 50 watt WGS Reaper 55Hz speaker and another $150.00 in spare tubes.

I tried s few 15 and 20 watt amps (borrowed for testing) with zero success at stage volumes without mikng through a PA or adding cabinets.

For me I believe that 40 watts tube is the absolute bare minimum.

The DSL40C is what I consider a "practice amp."

I cannot "practice" through a tiny amp with a tiny speaker because - for me - "practice" is 90% perfecting the tone and presence that the listener is going to hear during a live performance.

I have two personal live performance benchmarks:

1. Don Felder Capitol Centre 1977
2. Gary Moore Cold Day In Hell Live 1992

When I am "practicing" here at home, those are my standards for tone and articulation.
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Slightly surprised there...I mean a 40 watt amp at full boil is no more than 3db louder than a 20 watt one all the way up (quieter than the sound of someone breathing), so I wouldn't have guessed there would be a noticeable difference.

I switched to 25-watt amps deliberately because they are just as loud in a band setting (at least for me) and much more usable at lower volume.
 
67plexi said:
Sorry I like the chain saw better nothing funner than cutting down trees
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OMG The timeliness of this. I just got a message from a friend's son who notified me of his dad's chainsawing/tree accident that happened to him May 11. He did not get crushed or dead, but a springing release of the tree impacted his face and broke most of the bones in his frontal area from what I gathered. A copter ride and much surgery was done.

Sad, but chainsawing and tree work can really be a tightrope walk between getting job done and being done in yourself.

As for nice budget tube amps. I will read with interest. A friend got a Jet City 20 watter a few years back.
 
gball said:
Slightly surprised there...I mean a 40 watt amp at full boil is no more than 3db louder than a 20 watt one all the way up (quieter than the sound of someone breathing), so I wouldn't have guessed there would be a noticeable difference.

I switched to 25-watt amps deliberately because they are just as loud in a band setting (at least for me) and much more usable at lower volume.
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@gball: The volume level - as you say - is very close, but the tone was thinner...the 40 sounds bigger...literally massive...and some of that may be the 55Hz speaker???

Here's my settings. Note volume on '4' which is the lowest volume setting I use for practice:

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Robert Herndon said:
@gball: The volume level - as you say - is very close, but the tone was thinner...the 40 sounds bigger...literally massive...and some of that may be the 55Hz speaker???

Here's my settings. Note volume on '4' which is the lowest volume setting I use for practice:

View attachment 25323

View attachment 25322
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It's whatever works for you. Admittedly, with a band I am usually playing the 25-watters through a 4x12, so I am getting the benefit of all that driver real estate. They're plenty loud through a sealed 1x12 too, when the 4x12 is too big, but I like the oomph that the big cab gives.
 
gball said:
It's whatever works for you. Admittedly, with a band I am usually playing the 25-watters through a 4x12, so I am getting the benefit of all that driver real estate. They're plenty loud through a sealed 1x12 too, when the 4x12 is too big, but I like the oomph that the big cab gives.
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Now through my 1985 Jackson 4X12, the DSL40C takes on a new persona, but it's too much for me to lug around.

It's only used for outdoor venues when we rent a Penske truck with liftgate.
 
gball said:
Slightly surprised there...I mean a 40 watt amp at full boil is no more than 3db louder than a 20 watt one all the way up (quieter than the sound of someone breathing), so I wouldn't have guessed there would be a noticeable difference.

I switched to 25-watt amps deliberately because they are just as loud in a band setting (at least for me) and much more usable at lower volume.
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if it is 3db louder then it is in fact twice as loud. Loudness is not linear but logarithmic. This if for everyone else, I am sure gball knows this all ready.
 
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