[snizzle]

That makes me feel a little better. I was kicking myself for missing such an obvious solution if this were the case with all amps..
-shane

[snizzle]

Got approval for a small, low cost tube combo amp. Offhand, I would say that it needs to be under $300. Doesn't need to be big or have lots of volume. It will be mic'd, and it seems like having a small wattage tube amp would be good for overdriven tones.

For background: This is for a huge preteen ministry (150+ kids). Not a lot of tone snobs out there. I've been using a Behringer DI with a cab emulator and haven't gotten any concerns about the sound, but it's driving me (and a couple of the sound guys) crazy. Needs to be something warm sounding.

Key concerns are tone and cost. Buying used isn't really an option. Here's what I've seen thus far (in no particular order):

Fender Champion 600
$150. 5w, 1x6.

Bugera V5
$150. Adjustable: 5w, 1w, .5w. 1x8. Built in reverb.

Epi Valve Jr.
$160. 5w, 1x8.

Vox AC4TV Mini
$200. Adjustable: 4w, 1w, .1w. 1x6.5

After that the price jumps up pretty rapidly. Offhand, I'm leaning towards the Bugera...but that's completely arbitrary. I haven't played or heard any of these first hand but the reviews on all of them are great. What are your thoughts? Any others that I should include on the list? If the price gets much higher than what's listed, my chances of actually getting this amp get much slimmer.

Thanks guys.
-shane

[Rainer.]

My personal preference if you're gonna be doing any modern worship (and I sound like a broken record saying this) is the Jet City JCA20 combo:
Buy Jet City Amplification JCA2112RC 20W Tube Guitar Combo Amp | Tube Combo Amps | Musician's Friend

Because if I were you, I'd definitely want something with a master volume, which takes the Champion, the Epi and the Vox (sort of) out of the mix. Also, IMO, the Vox sounds like a tinny box, the Epi's aren't much better with the stock speaker. I use an old Fender Champ regularly for rehearsals, but that thing gets darn loud and no master volume to boot (not to mention, not much headroom either).

I've never tried the Bugera.

The JCA20 is pretty warm, has a very modern voice (unlike most low-watt amps) which I find ideal for standard CCM worship tracks.

[DropKick74]

you could use a bad monkey overdrive's line out option as the last thing in your chain set to a clean setting and run your m13 through it. i think they can be had at a cheap price and your not lugging an amp anywhere. just a thought.

[snizzle]

We narrowed it down to the Bugera and the 1x10 version of the Vox listed above and sent it off for approval. They'll pick one and let us know.

I've been thinking about a bad monkey (and read decent reviews of the cab simulator) for a while, but after having such a bad time with the behringer pedal it was time to step up to a real amp or a nice simulator (H&K red box, sansamp, etc..). I need to pick up a bad monkey as a backup though...for $40, I'm sure I wont be disappointed.
-shane

[DropKick74]

oh... sorry i cam in to late. I should probably read the whole thread before I post next time.