Looking for an amplifier - recommendations, bitte?

[dumb]

Here are my criteria for an amp I'd be interested in:

Need to have... (I won't budge on these)

• Good clean channel
• An effects loop
• Under 40 pounds

Ought to have... (I need a good reason to budge on these)

• Footswitch-able OD channel/boost function
• 3-band EQ or more
• Footswitch-able spring reverb

Want to have... ("Extra credit" - I'd like these, but they aren't crucial)

• At or under $300 used
• Footswitch-able chorus with rate control
• 20+ watts tube/50+ watts solid state/hybrid

I currently have an '88 Peavey Special 112 from the Solo Series. On the plus side, the Special 112 puts the solid into solid state - this thing will never break on me; that, and the clean channel is a thing of beauty. I loooooove it.

On the other hand, I really don't need 160 watts - and considering that I get my favorite sound by plugging a Tone Wicker Muff into the effects loop at minimum gain, the wattage of the amp really restricts how much I can crank the Muff. Also, the Special 112 is just too freaking heavy. I wish not to disclose my location out of paranoia, but I live in an area that favors mass transit over driving (it's a pain to get anywhere in a car), and the Special 112 has got to be almost seventy pounds. Fancy lugging that from bus to bus?

I really don't care if my next amp is solid state, tube, hybrid, digital modeling, whatever...I've borrowed enough amps to figure out how to get a decent tone out of any type of amp, assuming it's at least a decent one for its type. I also don't care how prestigious or reputable a brand or model is; if I did, I wouldn't be playing a Peavey Special next to my friends' Bogners and Fender Twins.

Here are a couple links to show you what kind of sound(s) I'd be going for:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhEm4S-4v_U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHHrDNbMxf8

[J M Fahey]

http://www.peavey.com/products/index.cfm/item/804/116534/Envoy%26reg%3B%26nbsp%3B110
Weight: 24lb.

[lurkalot]

What about a Fender Mustang III

100 watts and 36lbs loads of great features http://youtu.be/PNgTipganH4

[joecool85]

Dean Markley DM60RC: http://www.amazon.com/Dean-Markley-DM60RC-Guitar-Amplifier/dp/B0073XDQTO

If you'd be willing to budge on wattage for solidstate gear then there would be a few more good options.  Any reason you want 20w if tube but it has to be 50w if solidstate?

[bobhill]

Possibly because of the myth that tube watts are more powerful than SS watts that I've seen on too many other forums. They seem to think that driving a tube into it's non-linear region of operation somehow can violate the laws of physics. Too dim to realize they know that non-linear region by another name. Clipping.

[dumb]

Nah, it's just been my experience that a solid state amp is going to be much lighter than a tube amp if the two are at the same watt rating. In the weight/portability range I'm looking, it's going to be unreasonable for me to try to find a tube amp that's, say, 80 watts, whereas that's perfectly reasonable for solid state. The standard's higher for solid state, then, because that's what the market has to offer.

Watts are really at the bottom of my list of criteria, though, to be honest - don't watts operate logarithmically? So 50 watts is really more like 45% "louder" than 15 watts, rather than 3 times louder? So there's not much point in obsessing over watts?

Basically, the point I was trying to make was that I don't want something like a 2 watt Fender Greta; as long as I can stay away from that extreme, I'm happy.

[J M Fahey]

The BIG difference everybody hears (and there must be *something* to it) , comes from comparing apples to oranges.
The schematic for the 2xEL84 15W tube Matchless Spitfire specifies (yes, on the schematic itself) a "Celestion Vintage 30 , 12" , 8 ohm" speaker, and its cabinet measures 18"x25"x9" ; there's a 2x12" version measuring 19.5"x27"x9"
Oh !! MSRP is U$1910 or U$2120.
This is usually compared to an entry level 15W amp, with a wimpy 8" or 10" speaker, with a cookie sized magnet (no kidding) , in a small lightweight cabinet.
Easily 6 or 7dB difference, on account of the speakers alone.
Yes, in that case, "Tube beats SS" .... or does it? :duh
Yet, there are (or used to be) SS amps used by the best Pros .... how come?
Well, BBKing replaced his classic Twin Reverb with what was known as the "Twin Killer" .... the mighty Lab Series L5, 200W RMS , driving 2 EV speakers.
Each magnet weighs as much as a complete tube combo ... or so it seems
The classic Kustom amps, made famous by C C Revival, were typically 100W RMS ... usually driving 2 x 15" Altec or JBL speakers .
Pedal Steel players, who want *loud* and *clean*, use special SS Peavey amps, driving highly efficient Black Widow speakers (a "JBL" clone developed and built by Peavey), because no other amp, tube or SS, can give them that much clean headroom.
And so on.

[QReuCk]

With your criteria, I would definitely go full analog SS or dare I say hybrid design (not convinced with the gain in tone though, but as they usually can be sold for a slightly higher price point, manufacturers tend to pay more attention to speaker selection in these cases than with 100% SS, and a well placed 12 AX7 might have some technicall interest).
From what I gathered, you could like:
- Roland Blues Cube 60 112 (don't bother trying the cube60XL, which is a really different design, only the blues cube is analog and almost universally praised for its clean tone)
- Tech21 Trademark 60 112 (beware that each chanel has its own medium, but bass and trebble are in the master section, which might not be that good considering chanel one can either be too bassy or to bright depending on the position of the bright button)
- Peavey Bandit 112 (not super standout clean on its own, but drive it with a slighly boosted M shape or frown curve EQ and hear what happens)
- Hugues and Kettner Edition Blue 60R (very nice clean tone)
- Some older SS Fender (don't remember the exact name, but I tried a SS 50W with one 12' speaker that did sound decent - stay away from frontmans though, they are really not on par with older SS models)
- Laney LV100 (which is really a 65W) and LV200 (same with hybrid design)

As far as tubes are concerned, I think the Peavey Valveking might fit your criterias, as would do a Laney VC30 if you can source a used one in your area.

[bobhill]

One of the better SS Fender amps I have found is the Deluxe 90 with 90 watts into a single Celestron 12". The clean tone is classic Fender, It does not gripe about pedals, spring reverb, pre out and PA in. The only thing I did to it was to replace the clean channel volume pot that is a 50k linear taper with an audio taper pot. I can't tell you anything about the "drive" channel, because I don't use it (see above about pedals  .) Most of the weight of the amp comes from the massive magnet of the Celestion GT12-100 speaker. Mine has a '99 date on it and I found it for $125 used, so they are quite in your budget with a lot of room for extras. Fairly small and weighs in at 33 lbs (15kg) so easily portable even for us older guys.