hey, so living in the city in an apartment with thin walls I'm probably going to have to be bringing my half stack home with me because I'm not able to play it because I can't get anything out of it at a reasonable volume (sovtek mig 100 h...its a monster)
I've been looking at tinier tube amps I'd be able to get a great sound out of at lower volumes and be able to do some recording with. ones I've been looking at are the bad cat mini cat, dr. z mini z, orange ad1510, fender blues junior, etc.
while all these are beautiful amps they are outrageously expensive. does anyone have any suggestions for something a little more economically practical?
or even if not if anyone has had any experience with any of the aforementioned, or other smaller tube practice amps. thanks guys.

p.s. the epiphone valve junior is out of the question, for whatever reason no matter how many people recommend it on these boards to other people I cant warm up to it. I also won't have an extension cab available and I want this thing to sound great at pretty low-moderate volumes.

Tube amps are more expensive than their solid-state brethren, there's no way around it. What budget are you looking at?

I've started seeing Fender Blues Juniors on the market for around $400. That's a good amp for the money (I gig with one for smaller gigs) and the 5 year transferable warranty doesn't hurt. There are plenty of baby tube Fenders in the used shops; hunt around and you should find a bargain.

Also, look for used Gibson tube amps. For some reason, old Gibson amps are still a good bargain (especially when compared to similar-vintage Fender amps!) and they have a gorgeous tone. There's also the Traynor 20-watt amp, which is a 3-channel tube amp with reverb. Good deal, and sounds great as well. A buddy of mine recently bought one, and I was very impressed with it tonally.

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thanks for the great suggestions man. I would've never thought of the gibson.

I'm definitely aware of tube amps price range comparitively to solid state amps, but what surprises me is that brand new 100-watt heads like dual rectos and jcms are the same price as tiny practice amps like the 5-watt bad cat mini cat.

I honestly don't really know what my price range is, just basically as low as I can get to get a real good amp for recording and practicing in my apartment. I'm not really down with PODs or any of that. I'm def gonna look into some of the ones you mentioned. I'm also probably gonna check out some of the matamp tinier combos if they make them small enough.

keep the suggestions coming everybody

thanks

Traynor YCV20. I haven't played one but my YCV40 and my buddy's YCV80 are fantastic.

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TU-2-> Bad Bob Boost-> Dano Overdrive-> Big Muff Pi-> Big Muff Pi (with a Dano fish n chips inside)-> Ibanez TS5-> Behringer Tremolo-> Dano EQ-> MXR script comp-> Traynor YCV40

(Loop) Behringer reverb-> PH-3-> Echo Park-> CE-2-> NS-2-> Verbzilla

The only way you're going to score one for cheap is to get it used. I don't know why they're so damn expensive, they just are. You might want to look into the Peavey Classic 20, but I dont think they make it anymore.

I have no idea what kind of budget you're on, but another choice would be a Cornford Halrequin or a Laney LC-15R.

I pretty much descibribed what I think of both of these amps in this topic. I'll just add that if you want a nice amp to keep for life I'd personaly suggest the Cornford. If on the other hand this is just to keep you playing while you're hunting around for somewhere to run that monster of an amp at 10, then the Laney is more of your thing.

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I'd suggest a Cornford Harlequin aswell. One problem could be their rarity in the US. With rarity comes high prices, tho they are definitely worth the money. Though they are only 5 watts, they are still pretty loud.
Sounds to me like an attenuator might be a better idea, providing that you keep your stack with you.
These Bad Cat Mini Cat and Dr. Z amps are so pricey because of their status....boutique. They aernt your run of the mill amps like the small fenders. (Not putting the Blues Jr down, just they are fairly common).
Look on ebay, you may get a cheap small amp on there, and in pawn shops.
Otherwise, the Epi Valve Junior would be your best bet. But if they are not your thing, then you'll have a tricky search on your hands to get a tube amp for low money.

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MY RIG

Guitars
Jack Briggs Custom with SD JB (Bridge) and 59' (Neck)

Fender MIM 50's Strat with SD Hotrails (Bridge), Texas Specials (Middle & Neck), Sperzel Locking Tuners

Fender MIJ Jaguar with SD SJAG-2 pu's (Neck & Bridge), and Buzz-Stop.

Amps
Cornford Hellcat 2X12 Combo
Cornford Harlequin

if you have the cash, i can't recommend the dr. z enough. that amp sounds great by any standard... screw size... it just sounds flat out good.

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A fender champ might be nice for you i use one when im at home its a very cool little amp with alot of tone.

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