Mr T wrote:

Josh Hayes wrote: AC 15?

ores.

You may struggle to find an Ibanez TSA in CT to try. Your best bet is Thundercloud Music in Fish Hoek. Laney, go to any Bothner store.

There are a few at the constantia marshall music, and if that fails, you're welcome to come and try mine and then order it from TOMS as I did.

Thanks Shibbibilybob. I may take you up on that offer some time in the future. ?

For now I have decided to look out for an inexpensive, second-hand ss amp. Something like a Mustang or Cube.
(unless some miracle appears in the next few days/weeks)
As an intermediary 'stepping-stone' to a real tube amp.

Not sure if its still available, but there is a guy selling his ac30cc1 on fb for R4500, just saying...

Norman86 wrote: Not sure if its still available, but there is a guy selling his ac30cc1 on fb for R4500, just saying...

If you could let me know that would be cool, thanks Norman. I am in CT.

I put an ad out on Gumtree last night and have got a few responses.
One guy is offering a mint Peavey Bandit 112 for R2500 neg. I have read some really good reviews on it so far.
However I am going to wait and see if anything else pops up.

no need at all to rush man. The longer you wait,the bigger your budget too.
I would not really look at the bandit if I were you, or any but the nicest (Jc120) of solid state amps. You already have a small solid state amp.
We'll be reading another thread like this started by you if you don't just bide your time, sit on your wallet, and wait for a good deal to pop up.

You have still not mentioned your budget, but if that ac30 at 4500 is a consideration, you have plenty room for an awesome amp...In fact you could pretty much go and pick out a new tsa15 head and 1x12 cab.

Shibbibilybob wrote: no need at all to rush man. The longer you wait,the bigger your budget too.
I would not really look at the bandit if I were you, or any but the nicest (Jc120) of solid state amps. You already have a small solid state amp.
We'll be reading another thread like this started by you if you don't just bide your time, sit on your wallet, and wait for a good deal to pop up.

You have still not mentioned your budget, but if that ac30 at 4500 is a consideration, you have plenty room for an awesome amp...In fact you could pretty much go and pick out a new tsa15 head and 1x12 cab.

Budget is probably around R4000 (possibly a bit more, my parents support my musical ventures).

I can't find this AC30 on FB, anyone know anything?

I will wait then I guess... seems like the best decision for me. Bear with me a little while longer. ?

Shibbibilybob wrote: no need at all to rush man. The longer you wait,the bigger your budget too.
I would not really look at the bandit if I were you, or any but the nicest (Jc120) of solid state amps. You already have a small solid state amp.
We'll be reading another thread like this started by you if you don't just bide your time, sit on your wallet, and wait for a good deal to pop up.

You have still not mentioned your budget, but if that ac30 at 4500 is a consideration, you have plenty room for an awesome amp...In fact you could pretty much go and pick out a new tsa15 head and 1x12 cab.

+1

Josh Hayes wrote:

Budget is probably around R4000 (possibly a bit more, my parents support my musical ventures).

For 4k you can get a REALLY nice lower wattage valve amp. No need at all to go for the Bandit or a Cube, unless it's what you prefer, but like Shibbibilybob says, you already have a nice solid state amp and the TSA is well within your budget. So is a Laney Cub. And if you go second hand, you have lots of good valve options too. I've seen Peavey Classic 30s for less than that in the classifieds. You might be able to pick up one of the Laneys higher up the range - I might be a wrong here but I'm sure there was a Lionheart for around that price in the GFSA classifieds a while ago. It was the 5watt but the speaker in that thing is bloody loud. If I'd had anywhere near that amount of cash available I'd have seriously considered it ?

Starting to ramble a bit but ja, you can get something great for that amount of money. Just bide your time ?

Not in CT but just as an example of what can pop up on the second hand market in your price range, Music Connection had an Orange TH30 combo for 4k the other day.

Not much on the Western Cape Gumtree at the moment I see... But don't rush. Something'll turn up ?

To quote the monkey, 'cause he makes a very persuasive case for the Cub which is in your budget

singemonkey wrote:You have the opportunity to start with a phenomenal sounding valve amplifier. Forget the "modelling" amps with built in effects. They will become obsolete with new technology, you'll want to replace them and find out at the same time that their value has plummeted. They will also never give you that gold standard tone. Rather develop your ear for a good amplifier sound with your first amp which you will have no reason to ever get rid of even if you get a bigger one, or one optimised for playing in a particular style.

To be more specific, get a Laney Cub12R. This amplifier is all valve, cheap as old boots, and I've heard it deliver classic guitar tone with massive response to picking (gets more distorted the harder you pick or when you turn the guitar volume up) in live settings played by players you could only wish to be. It's a joke that these things are so cheap. They sound amazing. There are other cheap valve amps now, but none that I've heard sound as good as the cub. Seriously, it sounds better, even with the stock speaker, than many R15,000 plus amplifiers I've heard people use live. If I didn't have the opportunity to get one of the few amps I know that does sound better (at a much higher cost), I'd get one myself. - See more at: http://www.guitarforum.co.za/guitar-gear/buying-your-first-gear-the-smart-way-the-singemonkey-approach/#sthash.S3Qy5gGF.dpuf

If you can afford a small valve amp. Wait a bit. Get one.
Don't forget the TSA either.

Sorry if I sound like a stuck record. But if you have the budget you mentioned, there's absolutely no reason for you not to have an awesome sounding valve amp.

@Psean: Thanks! Sounds like a good idea, I will keep a lookout. Hopefully something will pop up soon.

Josh Hayes wrote:

Norman86 wrote: Not sure if its still available, but there is a guy selling his ac30cc1 on fb for R4500, just saying...

If you could let me know that would be cool, thanks Norman. I am in CT.

I put an ad out on Gumtree last night and have got a few responses.
One guy is offering a mint Peavey Bandit 112 for R2500 neg. I have read some really good reviews on it so far.
However I am going to wait and see if anything else pops up.

Hey Josh, sorry dude, cant find that AC30 anymore.. i actually think someone else on the forum snapped it up :-[ apologies for only coming back to you now!

Norman86 wrote:

Josh Hayes wrote:

Norman86 wrote: Not sure if its still available, but there is a guy selling his ac30cc1 on fb for R4500, just saying...

If you could let me know that would be cool, thanks Norman. I am in CT.

I put an ad out on Gumtree last night and have got a few responses.
One guy is offering a mint Peavey Bandit 112 for R2500 neg. I have read some really good reviews on it so far.
However I am going to wait and see if anything else pops up.

Hey Josh, sorry dude, cant find that AC30 anymore.. i actually think someone else on the forum snapped it up :-[ apologies for only coming back to you now!

No worries Norman :goodtimes:

The search continues... ?

Hey everybody I am back. ?

There is an AC15C1 on Gumtree for R4000 (don't go take it now that I have pointed it out). I have checked with the seller, it is legit (I am 90% sure), little under a year old and in excellent condition. The seller is immigrating to the UK and has to sell soon.

There is just one problem though...

It is in Durban. And I am in Cape Town. ? :'(

What would you guys with more experience advise?
Do I risk couriering it to CT, and is it safe to trust the seller to ship?
Do I have to test it before buying?
What would shipping cost?

I am a bit lost when it comes to this. :-\
I am hopefully coming to the end of this amp finding adventure.

Thanks again in advance for your guys awesome help.

That's a really good price. Maybe a Durban-based forumite would be kind enough to test it out for you?

Couriering the amp should not be a problem IMO. We've sent many of these all around SA without incident. Amps are tougher than most people think. They're designed with shipping in mind and so is the packaging - hence make sure he has the original packaging to ship it in. If not, he'll need to wrap the amp nicely and find an appropriately-size box and get it sent that way - and in all likelihood it will be just fine. Just make sure the amp is insured through the courier service in case anything does happen in transit.

There a laney head and cab cub for 3500 on gumtree,could do worse.

As others have mentioned wait, 4 k will get u a tube amp and a decent one at that

Mr T wrote: That's a really good price. Maybe a Durban-based forumite would be kind enough to test it out for you?

That would be amazing, if there is a kind fellow who could help me out.

Couriering the amp should not be a problem IMO. We've sent many of these all around SA without incident. Amps are tougher than most people think. They're designed with shipping in mind and so is the packaging - hence make sure he has the original packaging to ship it in. If not, he'll need to wrap the amp nicely and find an appropriately-size box and get it sent that way - and in all likelihood it will be just fine. Just make sure the amp is insured through the courier service in case anything does happen in transit. God Forbid ?

I will definitely insure it, what will that and a courier cost?
I think I will try and go for it, an AC15 has been my dream amp for ages.

IceCreamMan wrote: As others have mentioned wait, 4 k will get u a tube amp and a decent one at that

If this does not work out I will definitely keep my eyes wide open.

I will definitely insure it, what will that and a courier cost?
I think I will try and go for it, an AC15 has been my dream amp for ages

Just my 2c on the Vox AC15. I own one and I used mine in church for a long time. Please don't rush into buying one. Don't get me wrong, they are really fantastic amps but my AC15 had to be modded to get the sound I was after. I part traded with shaun on the forum, gearhead changed the caps to orange drops and did some other magic, I think a valve upgrade too. I upgrded the speaker to Celestion Vintage 30. The other problem I faced was also mentioned, it's heavy and it's a shlep to travel with every Sunday. As you know, in church you play songs from many artists and there is almost no time to setup your amp between songs. The Vox sounds like a Vox, moving from a Chris Tomlin song to a Jesus Culture song for example isn't easy using the Vox.

I replaced the Vox with a Fender Super Champ XD for playing in church (wont sell the Vox yet). The Super Champ is also a valve amp and much lighter and easier to use. Has some effects and the amp models are very easy to use, easy to dial between songs and sounds good. Also sounds good mic'd up. Would recommend it above the Vox for church use. Doesn't beat the Vox sound wise though, but wins in overall useability and variation.

But ultimately I ended up getting an Eleven Rack, I know that budget is an issue but I got my Eleven rack for almost the same price that you want to pay for the AC15. Great sounding models and very useable effects and great when using pedals. Many, many patches and easy to dial in the setlist for a Sunday. Once you know your way around the knobs it's not too bad to even dial in tones on the fly.

But there has already been some great advice in this thread, so good luck with your decision. ?

CDee wrote: I part traded with shaun on the forum, gearhead changed the caps to orange drops and did some other magic, I think a valve upgrade too. I upgrded the speaker to Celestion Vintage 30.

Yeah, JJ valves. We really need to get together sometime Corrie. If you do ever decide to move the amp along at a later stage, let me know first ?