Best 15 - 20 Watt? - GuitarTalk Community

Best 15 - 20 Watt?

Warren

Need some help chaps.

I've had my eye on the Hughes & Kettner Tubemeister 18 for a while now. It does absolutely everything I want, plus it has an effects loop so I can actually use my delay and reverb pedals with some decent gain and not cry for a week afterwards. It also glows blue, which is - you know - crucial as hell. 8)

Also considering the Mesa TA-30 (or maybe the TA-15?) which is quite expensive, but also very full-featured and versatile. Only switches down to 15 watts at the lowest setting though, so probably still too loud for home use?

Are there other options I should be considering? I basically want something with great cleans and grit (ah la my Night Train) but with greater versatility for smooth, saturated gain tones (think Shawn Lane's "Get You Back" tone, or Bonamassa's "Sloe Gin" tone, or Paul Gilbert's "Fuzz Universe" tone, or Eric Johnson's "Cliffs of Dover" tone etc.) coupled with effects like delay and reverb. It also needs to be switchable to a manageable wattage for practice at home, but strong enough if I want to hear myself on a stage.

psyx

I have heard many good things about the tubemeister 18... a usefull feature is the ability to down tone it to 5w and even use earphones on it because of the redbox cab modeller. That can be crucial for bedroom use.

The stack looks alot better than the combo, but its going to cost you a few bucks...

I picked up the 25th anniversary edition tube a while ago for a bargain. Its 20watts and somewhat different than the tubemeister. sadly it lacks the blue lights as well, but worth checking out!!
I'm a big Hughes and Kettner fan... and imo you can never go wrong with their amps!

Warren

Cool thanks. ?

I'm just awaiting some pricing and availability info.

arjunmenon

Great amps there, but i'm not sure it will give you what you're looking for.
Might i suggest taking your pedalboard to a store that stocks a whole bunch of 15 - 20 w amps and test them out.
If you serious about buying, i'm sure they'll indulge you.
Just a thought.

aja

The mesa TA amps are awesome. I have seen a guy gig with the TA 15 and he got a vast array of tones out of it, all good...

AlanRatcliffe

The HK stuff is generally good sounding, well made and is made to integrate into any number of pro rigs, but they lean a bit more to modern, detailed rock tones than anything else IMO - there is something of a hi-fi quality to them that I'm not too keen on. The feature set of the TM18 is wonderful though. Probably the most flexible small amp I've seen.

The Transatlantics are cool - wide range of tones, but even the TA-15 at 5W is pretty loud. Also the TA-15 doesn't have a loop. ☹ The TA-30 would fit your gig needs admirably, but wouldn't really be a home/bedroom amp at all.

Warren

Arjun Menon wrote: Great amps there, but i'm not sure it will give you what you're looking for.
Might i suggest taking your pedalboard to a store that stocks a whole bunch of 15 - 20 w amps and test them out.
If you serious about buying, i'm sure they'll indulge you.
Just a thought.

Yeah, thanks Arjun. It's always best to test drive stuff.

The problem is that not many stores I know of have any stock of the above. I didn't see any at MM the last time I was there. I should probably take a drive past Music Connection.

I also realise that the sorts of tones I listed are created with combinations of some very high-end amps (multiple amps in some cases), and some stellar playing technique. I'm just looking for something that will get me in that ballpark.

@Alan
The TA-15 needs either a loop or reverb, because as it is it's basically a snazzier Night Train (my current amp). The TA-30 has both 'verb and a loop, but as you say, too loud.

I've already mailed the main stores I frequent to see if they have any stock. If they do I'll go test-drive.

guidothepimmp

If you can find one, Egnater Tweaker is worth giving a whirl. Doesn't have the name of a boogie or HK but certainly not inferioir. And much cheaper to boot

Warren

OK...nobody has stock on the Tubemeister. Prices range between R6400 and R7500 (after discount) depending on who you talk to. Stock should come in at the distributors in another month or so.

IceCreamMan

the name TubeMEister just conjures up images of power , reliability , of pwning the small amp market eh .....

ja , bang for buck its going to be hard to beat it ...i am keen on one if i can wangle the finances .. the MEsa sure is nice too but lacks some features and is very expensive in comparison.

All the 15 - 20 W amps are good for various reasons , you should try them all before settling for the TUBEMEISTER!!! ?

the BLackstar 20w is also hawt

nick

Have you considered a Tokai?

Manfred-Klose

have you looked at the laney lionheart ?

AlanRatcliffe

Manfred Klose wrote: have you looked at the laney lionheart ?

Good call - the L20H is well worth a look.

Keira-WitherKay

Buying Amps are no different to choosing guitar , whats perfect on paper or in someone else's eye's is often not the one for you , and same with guitars you need to know what genre you gonna be working in and buy accordingly . And buy what speaks to you when you play your guitar thru it not someone elses or the stores guitar and wonder why it sounds different when you get it home . Also consider an amp build by a local amp builder like jp le roux or bottled tone they not that expensive and you get to tailor your sound to your liking . Good luck ?

Sean

Keira WitherKay wrote: Also consider an amp build by a local amp builder like jp le roux or bottled tone they not that expensive and you get to tailor your sound to your liking . Good luck ?

+1 I'm not going to be able to spend money on gear for awhile, but I have in mind what I want for my next amp, and I'm definitely going for a custom build. I played a couple of bottledtone's amps a little while ago, and I was incredibly impressed. I was meaning to post some pics and a short review but just did not get around to it. The workmanship is fantastic, the parts used are quality, and the tone was great. And like Keira says, you can describe what you want and they can probably get it pretty close. It will most likely be a bit more than your budget, but for what you're getting, I think its totally worth it. Something maybe to look into?

DonovanB

Oooh, Orange Dual Terror!!

What an awesome amp. I also smaak that Ibanez. Unles syou're keen on a cube, can't go wrong there... ?

Warren

Thanks for the responses all.

Orange Dual Terror doesn't have reverb or an effects loop for my own reverb, so that's out. Cool amp otherwise.

The Ibanez does look good, I need to test drive one for sure.

The Laney L20H looks really nice as well, but I couldn't find info on whether it's switchable to a lower wattage? Other than that it has all the bits I want. I think they have stock of these at MM.

As for custom builds, this was something I totally didn't think of. I'll drop a mail to some of the chaps in question and see what I might be in for. Thanks for this suggestion!

AlanRatcliffe

The Two-Rock Jet drops to 22W with 6V6s.

Spendy (R23,100 for the combo - not bad if you consider US price is about $3,500), but if it's anything like it is with 6L6s...

ryanguit

okay so when i have a sad day i watch this:

=

arjunmenon

I think Guido mentioned the Egnater Tweaker 15, which is a lot of bang for buck.
Rikus (on the forum) has one paired with an MIA Sienna burst Strat.
Very very nice!

Or you can get the Two Rock Jet 22 ?