My old Fender up and died on me, so I went to Guitar Center today to get me a nice amp. I saw a great (it seemed great at the time) deal on an amp that looked like the same one The Beatles, Stones, U2, etc. played, a Vox Cambridge 30 reverb. It looked sweet as hell, and I was happy to finally have an amp to be proud of. Little did I know, that I had just purchased the sh!ttiest piece of musical equipment ever conceived by mankind. In this story, there is no "At first, it looked promising." No my friends, it sucked huge ass right out of the box. First of all, there was this unearthly hum, even after adjusting all the possible settings and using all my guitars it wouldnt go away. Secondly, it was WEAK. Weaker than my trusty old Fender Frontman 15, WEAK like a Romanian gymnast, I mean it sounded like I was plugged into a rusty soup can. The distortion channel was muddy and tinny, and there was absolutely no lows. And like i mentioned before, the clean channel hummed very very loudly. I was blinded with rage. Dammit, I shoulda tried it out instore...luckily Guitar Center has an idiot proof return policy so I'm gonna go and return this crap tomorrow. Do any of you musicians know of a good, reliable amp in the 200-250 price range? Or do you have to dish out more cash for a nice amp? I'm just looking for something mid-sized, like a 30 watt. ****...has anybody here had any problems with VOX? I feel like a real idiot.
i can't reccomend anything specifically in that price range but if you go to harmonycentral.com and check out the user reviews you'll probably find all the information you need.
The new Voxes that are smaller than the AC-15 are all crap transistor amps. The best amp that I've tried in that range was the Fender Blues Jr. Everybody that's played mine told me how good it was, (even without prompting by me )
If you are going for that mostly clean guitar amp, I'd go for the Fender Blues Jr. or a used Fender Dual Reverb (something along those lines).
I'd definitely play the next amp before bringing it home. Do you want a "British" sounding amp or an "American" sounding one? The typical Vox or typical Fender sound? Both can be great amps, but it really depends on the kind of sound you want to get from it.
Ninja, I've got a Fender Stage 160 I'm thinking of unloading. If you're interested, shoot me an email. I'll warn you up front that I'm looking for around $500 for it and since it's only 14 months old (been used maybe 50-60 times, in perfect condition), that's not really negotiable. I do think you'd like it. It's a terrific amp considering what I paid for it... 160 watts, 2 12" Celestion speakers, three channels (pffft, really it's two-point-five... clean, drive, MORE DRIVE), reverb, footswitch. Like I said, let me know if you're interested.
So Brian, would this be the same amp that fell out of a truck on the freeway? Be very weary, Ninja. He "says" it was all a joke.
LOL!!! Same amp. But as you can tell from looking at the amp, if I were to ever post a picture, the only damage it's ever taken is a drink ring from an uncoastered beer back in the day.
Fender Vibroverb or Vibrolux, originals or reissues. Best amp Fender has ever made. By the way, how can you go into a music store and buy a guitar or amp without trying it out first? I don't even buy an effects box without playing through it first, adjusting the settings, etc. And, if you want good gear, stay the hell out of Guitar Center. That place, just like Mars, only rips you off on guitars and amps. Want a great guitar store in Houston? Go to Fuller's Vintage Guitar, on the North Loop feeder road just past Yale. Great gear, nice people, and they will work with you and your budget. I wouldn't buy a guitar or amp in Houston from any other store. And I agree...the "new" Vox amplifiers are absolute crap-o-la. If you don't have the cash for a vintage 1960's AC-30, don't buy a Vox amplifier.
That works ok if you want a limited selection of amps and guitars. Want a PRS? Try someplace else. I'm not a fan of GC or Mars, but I use them as a way to check out most stuff I need and then I mail order or buy used (Ebay is great!). I also use Texas Music Emporium (45 at 1960) for stuff because I used to work there and the owner is a friend. I like Fuller's a lot. The guys there are nice and I almost always grab my strings there. It helps that they are only about 5 minutes from my house too! But, I couldn't have gotten my Warwick basses or PRS guitar there (got the Warwicks as a "cost" deal from a friend who worked at GC and the PRS used from a cool guy in Tennessee). But, if you want used or vintage stuff, they are great.
