Cheap Little Tube Amps

What about the Blackstar HT1?

Those are nice little amps, also do a metal version which is voiced more toward metal. They are worth the price big time. Sound very good and not to pricey at all really

I've played blackstar's 40 watter a bit and its a jack of all trades, master of none.... if the HT1 is like that its a good entry into the world of tube amps.... 1 watt of tube power is a lot in a bedroom

Yes, 1 watt is a lot. My sister had in mind to buy a 100W Marshall once for playing at home ... Waht about Hiwatt? It would be perfect for what I play (Zep and Floyd), but I heard the small one are not particulary good...

Ok , great to know. I'm not toward metal, but I think I'll test one at the local shop next time

Yes, 1 watt is a lot. My sister had in mind to buy a 100W Marshall once for playing at home ... Waht about Hiwatt? It would be perfect for what I play (Zep and Floyd), but I heard the small one are not particulary good...

hiwatt has not made amps since the early 80s, the company currently calling itself hiwatt is some other thing (maybe music go round bought the brand in the late 90s? anyone?), kinda like Orange is secretly Gibson's amp line and Vox is really korg now (but korg has more hits than misses in the reissue department while modern hiwatt has not maintained the craftsmanship or tone of their namesake though they have maintained the ridiculous sticker prices). Hiwatts are also very finicky amps, the big ones of the classic era at least.... even the later models like the OL and the Lead designs that are designed to overdrive more easily are powerful and clean compared to what most young guys are expecting. Love their sound when you set them right, but setting them right involves serious dB. Don't know about low power hiwatts, the smallest Hiwatt I ever encountered in person was the 30 watt 80s lead series 1x12 combo. It was louder than a Vox AC30 and had a sound all its own.

Ok thanks a lot

I don't even understand this thread.... why did the OP ask for opinions on tube amps when he already pretty much decided he was buying a hybrid? Why are we trying to explain stuff to a guy who already made up his mind anyway. How did he go from a 300 euro budget to "I wanna buy a hiwatt." Good luck with your hybrid Orange or the marshall solid state amp you are thinking of overpaying for by 100 to 150 Euros. If its not fully tube it has no resale value nd when you are ready to upgrade you will not be able to trade up.

I think I have the right to ask for advices. I'm sort of new in this world. and I never said I had a budget of over 300e. And for 100 euros (orange amp) I don't think it is overpaid. AND I was asking if it is better to invest in a little tube amp or a bigger (20W+) transistor amp. Oh Btw: http://www.rock-gear.de/Gitarre/Verstaerker/Vollroehrentopteile/Hiwatt-Tube-Serie-T10-HD-Top.html?&campaign=gshopping-de&gclid=COLr6abU3skCFUbmwgodreYDcQ

yeah but you pretty much blew off everyone's advice, thi is starting to be a pet peeve with me on gear forums, I'll shut up now and justs tart ignoring newbies asking for opinions.... but shouldn't a 5 watt hiwatt be called a lowatt?? Anyway, all single ended el84 amps sound pretty similar, some are better made than others, but they are all pretty close from this hiwatt to a vox ac4 to an epi valve junior... generally the more you spend the better the components will be and the tougher the build quality.... that's it though, they are all very similar because the design of the power section imparts a huge stamp on the tone of a tube amp even played clean;;; the cheap "hiwatt" you linked to looks like a Chinese made PCB amp like the ac4tv I recommended. It probably sounds very similar, but like I said, they all sound similar.... personally I would go with whatever one has better ventilation for the tubes and chassis, tube amps get hot and cheap Chinese PCBs warp and crack or the traces can melt if the amps don't have enough ventilation... one of the great things about the vox ac4tv and epi valve jr is they have been around FOREVER now and there's tons of upgrade kits with easy instructions available for them not to mention lots of easy DIY mods available for free online

what I will say against the hybrid micro terror amp is that It has a fairly convincing gain sound, but no clean tone to speak of, just sterile, stiff cleans.... that's a deal breaker for me

I am probably just cranky because my son seems to be coming down with a cold and his birthday is the end of the week...

I am probably just cranky because my son seems to be coming down with a cold and his birthday is the end of the week...

Sorry to hear that, I hope he gets better.

Speaking of tube amps, I have in the back of my mind to make my on workshop in the back of the house for my mods on the guitar, but I tell myself I must get a tiny amp with a great clean sound.

Wait... why would you get a tube amp and speaker cab for home use? That's already WAY too loud, you'll piss off your neighbours with a cabinet. perhaps you should settle for a Vox Pathfinder? It has its own Treble and Bass knobs with overdrive. It's the perfect practise amp unless you want to use tale- I mean effects pedals.

he's not really sick, just sniffly and low on energy.... he's taking another short nap now, hopefully that'll fix him right up, but thanks

because the pathfinder sounds pretty weak? its cheap though.... if you feel so confident building things why not get a 5F1 champ kit and build your own tube amp? Its an inexpensive kit, check out triode electronics' version with the nice turret board, decent transformers and low, low pricetag

Just force him to listen to some four hour grindcore playlist. If you're not awake, or high on energy after that then you must be dead. Maybe that's what Jesus did to Lazarus, I'm sure Judas had some underground metal links.

I try not to subject anyone to metal recorded after 1990 unless I hate them... and I love my son.

Blast some early Metallica records, those were good.

Speaking of, it's been two days. What's your son's status? It's almost the end of the week.

he seems to have shaken off the cold in time for his birthday Saturday, thanks for asking