Best "workhorse" amp? (Clean tone)

[HansIII]

Right now I only have a crappy practice Yamaha amp. I need to improve to a better amp, good for band practice, and maybe playing in a small club. Looking for the "best bang for buck". I don't know much about amps, right now I need a "clean sound" for instrumental kinda rock, not too dirty. Been looking at Fender frontman or Orange combos.

Any recommendations?

 

[harpinon]

Fender Frontman amps sound pretty good, but you need to look into a decent tube amp. Don't trust online demos so much. A good tube amp has a noticable feel to the sound when working the strings.

I would look at a 22 watt Fender Deluxe reverb. Its just the right size and the tones are what you are after.

Good luck.

 

[k.murfee]

Peavey Classic 30 or 50, Fender Hot Rod series. Good sounding, inexpensive workhorses.

 

[FiestaRed869]

If your looking for the best clean tone go with the blackstar (either ht 20 or ht 40) the clean tones are incredible, really IMO cant be beat in their price range. Take a listen
http://m.youtube.com/index?&desktop_uri=/#/watch?v=6MOXCh5qOds

Also the OD side has a really nice vintage voiced overdrive. Seems perfect for what you need. After looking at every amp out there I settled on an ht 40, found one used for 500$ on CL. I'm sure u can get a ht20 for under 400

 

[Jonny D]

+1 for the Peavey Classic 30 or Delta Blues

If you don't mind working with a small solid state amp, see if you can find a Hughes and Kettner Edition Blue 15R. I have been truly impressed with the clean sound.

One trick I did is to put a shorting jack in the back to be able to bypass the interior speaker and enable me to use a larger and better speaker, which makes it even better and cleaner.

I have even used that amp at small gigs, and people always ask what tubes it uses.

 

[zenas]

Ecuador well Hans you ain't going to score a silver faced Twin Reverb for 500 bucks like we can in the States. What amps do you have down there?

 

[bobbradley]

deluxe reverb R.I.

 

[Phletch]

Ecuador well Hans you ain't going to score a silver faced Twin Reverb for 500 bucks like we can in the States. What amps do you have down there?

Truth. Anything decent is going to cost BIG $$$!! Even in NZ my Mini Rectifier was $1800 (just the head), which I highly recommend for anything, from virginal clean to outright obscene and everything in between, especially if the OP is considering an Orange.

 

[Rufes]

A SF Deluxe reverb is one of the best amps out there for its price.

With a tight budget, a Roland 2x10' Jazz Chorus is absolutely killer for the price. No maintenance (no tubes) and you've got an amp for the rest of your life. It takes pedals very well.

 

[mangoman]

Deluxe reverb, or better yet, find a god used Princeton.

But the peavy classic 30 is solid as is the fender mustang. I have a buddy that gigs his mustang weekly, and uses a ton of different guitars.

 

[HansIII]

Ecuador well Hans you ain't going to score a silver faced Twin Reverb for 500 bucks like we can in the States. What amps do you have down there?

Well, truth jaja. In my city "big" guitar shops have Fender, Marshall, VOX, Behringer and Laney. Think also Nashvile, Roland and Peavy.

Small guitar dealers bring Orange, Carvin, Bogner, Egnater, Soldano, and some boutique amps that I don't remember well.

The best deal you can hope to get is the same price as in the US with a new amp (in some dealers). It's very hard to get a good deal on an used amp here, since everyone tries to sell at a higher price.

Thanks for all your replies so far!

 

[FFTT]

I'd say for mass production amps that you have access to,
I'd go for one of the new AC30 Hand Wired Amps that are now coming
out of Vietnam with much better turret board construction.

The amp has a 1/2 power switch so, this amp will be ideal for small-large venues.

Turret Board construction, means any good tech can service the amp, with essentially off the shelf components, so no long wait times for proprietary components and boards.

 

[SackvilleDan]

Another vote for a Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue.

 

[BakerySpecial]

+1 Fender Hot Rod Deville. 2x12 combo, loves pedals! The III's tame the volume knob issues.

 

[Aslan]

Deluxe Reverb reissue has a clean tone that defines many of the recorded sounds of the 60's, also the reverb and trem just add icing on the cake, you cannot go wrong with this amp!

 

[PatrickE_FenderADV]

I just found a used Hot Rod Dlx for $300. Great cleans and a fantastic pedal platform. There's plenty of them around both here in the US and abroad. I can't imagine Fender not shipping that many to Ecuador.

Seriously... these are listed on CL daily and the price point is right.

 

[NorCal_Val]

I was trying out some guitars the other day and was playing
them through a used Fender Blues Deluxe re-issue.
I thought the clean tone I was getting was fantastic!
I was playing through Ch.1, with the eq almost flat.
Very warm with a nice chime-y top end.
The amp really revealed the individual voice of all the
guitars I tried out. If I didn't already have so many amps,
I would've snapped it up!

 

[LPMojoGL]

All of the PV Classics and Fenders are good suggestions.

For a cheaper alternative that sounds great clean and is used by pros on stage, Vox Pathfinder. $130 out the door, perfect for practice and small, low-volume venues.

 

[dconeill]

You don't mention budget. That's always a consideration.

The Peavey Bandit, a solid state amp, is versatile, commonly available, and not very expensive. It's widely used, it has lots of power, it takes pedals well, and you won't hurt yourself moving it.

Is it the ne plus ultra of tone? Certainly not within TGP, where tubes rule. But it's a very usable, versatile amp, and appears to be widely respected.

 

[Cussion]

They're extremely heavy, but sounds great clean or pushed. Vox AC30 Custom Classic 2.
Go and find a cheap used one.