Trying to find the right amp in life can be tricky and a life time search.

I am after advise on what is the best smallish gigging amp.

So far this is what have learnt on the various experimental trials I have made,

for the right sounding amp. The problem is still not resolved can you help?

1) Basic transistors amps can sound a bit flat

2) These sound way better with reverb

3) A valve in the circuit sound better (but the AX12 valve doesn't sound great)

4) This then lead me to combo amps with valve and effects

5) Valves sound better and more three dimensional, these need to be driven to get better distortion effect.

6) If you drive valves with valves pedals or over drive pedals this helps them come alive

7) But this leads you to what valves, I have tried  some EL84 mullards and these sound ok  

What valves have the best sound? 6v6, El84, etc?

Valve circuits can be noisey and lots of hiss and buzz for recording

8) This then lead me to "Rat amps" which modify valve amps and remove the noise from the circuit for recording

and offer power scaling, so you can turn it down but still sound crunchy. These are great see my Bugera rat amp and rat Grainger (Epiphone copy) amps (small 5 watt amps).

9) External speakers sound better than combo speakers, a 12inch has more bass then a 10" and pushes air

this is about all you would want to carry as they weight. 

However a four 10" also sound possibly better than 1 x 12" but vary depending on makes.( leads you to Jensen and vintage speakers etc)

10) I have no found some 2 no 2 x 10 inch 80's jap celestrians ( £20 each bargain.. see bugstack!) which sound pretty darn good (I may have preferred 2 x 12's if it was a big venue but still lightish and portable)

11) But am now back to the issue of what head unit to drive them with.

12) I like the sounds of Orange valve amps but these have no reverb (unless you go to stupid money), 

13) Hence I am on the quest for best valves to use and what second hand head to aim for?.

I hear Messa boogey are very good, but they may be beyond my badly listed ebay bargain bucket budget.

Hence I'm after any tips to the way to go on getting that Holy grail of sound...

I know the old Marshall stuff used to use a certain type of valve in old vintage stuff, but what is the holy grail of amp heads for sound? EC83 and EL84?

Now how can you get this on the cheap?.  

Here is some of my experimentation with amps etc:

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/video/amp-test-which-has-best-sound

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/video/amp-tests-2

Your help and ideas are greatly appreciated..

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Intake your point

But Keith Richards was desperate to get Brian
Jones Ac30 of him and they also had 1960 Fender twins
Which are dam fine bits of kit.
He also developed the 5 string.

Hendrix helped make Marshal what they are today
And I'm sure ACDC would never have made it with a Kay amplifier
Or Vanhalen without the right amp.

Maybe I'm just a tone junkie lol

I'm just trying to get my head around why
Things sound better as there's a lot of average stuff
out there.
But I take your point..

I like the theory and understanding far more than the actual doing.

Thanks for the wise words...like Nike
Just do it!

Check what BB King says about amps for gigging in this clip...

Hope my comments didn't ruffle too many feathers, but if you are playing small gigs and open mics etc, it's quite normal just to go on stage and plug into whatever is there...the more you do of this sort of thing, the more you get used to it. People will respect you a lot more in that sort of situation if you don't faff about insisting on having to set up your own amp, but just plug into the house gear and away you go.
Yup I can relate to that John
I can also make a plastic toy guitar sound ok, so I take your point.

But I also note he likes a fender twin too, which makes sense.

The best amp in the world just amplifies how ya play.
If ya play bad ,it will just be much louder..

This stuff still fascinates me to why stuff sounds better.

Chickenbone, you ROCK! All these cork sniffers running around with 5K amps and a pedal board covered with $500 to 1K+ boxes are bone head crazy. 

have you given any thought to using pedals? Reverb, eq and distortion can all be handled on the floor. The only issue you would have left to decide is what amp gives you the best over all sound. You can't add frequencies that the amp and speaker combination wont handle. 

If you look at Seasick Steve it's one amp a chair
and a stomp box .
As lugging gear is a pain. Pedal board
Is just something else to carry.
Take your point though..

Seasick Steve used an ordinary Roland Cube for a heck of a long time...there's plenty of effects built in right there in the box - did anybody really care that he was using a cheap Chinese-made amp that you can pick up in any high street music store? 

He uses an old fender tweed when at home

Roland cube was his sons supposedly
Light and easy to carry for travelling..
And he threw his guitar down on the joules holland
show as he thought he had played bad.. Lol

EAS: Equipment Acquisition Syndrome

GAS... gear acquisition syndrome or (just bored for short)

Valves intrigue me, I would build amp circuits but I would die ...

I think Clock is right you do this about once a year bug, I never get the sound I want but I live with the sound I got. Do a 40 minute acoustic set and you'll love your amps, you have to have a good clean sound the amp distortion and pedals is the easy part.

like john said it the performance all these little amps sound pretty good. Don't forget about Peavey amps I got a 8 in. Vypry for $50 at a garage sale rocks and plenty loud enough for a PA.

. I'm on the tube side and you didn't mention 5751's which I use in my preamp and compressor that I run vocals and guitar through they were SRV's favorite less power smoother. I played a few of those Bogner'6's they are awesome and big bucks. My amps sound like 1950's until you put a digitech muti effect then they shine. 

RTZ 5in. & 2 1/2in. amps

It's a European and especially British term for tube amps; the actual vacuum tube components we know as Valves.
All the best from Bill. :D

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