OK since there are a few questions already about whether or not the 1x12 Monoprice 15 can compete with drummers determined to drive the drums through the floor, and considering Lucas has apparently caved in to modeling (ugh!) here's the true skinny from an owner of a Monoprice 15 (along with about 25 other amps) and a guy who has played out for decades and and an owner/tech repairing, modding, and manufacturing guitar amps, mostly of the vacuum tube variety. If you have yet to experience this, 15 Watts is not 15% as loud as 100 watts. It's closer to 40%. It's logarithmic. Even some 1 watt amps are shockingly loud BUT what we lose when we drop in wattage is Headroom, not only important for huge, gorgeous Cleans but also for "Bloom". That said any band, and I do mean ANY, with a proper PA capable of mic'ing instruments can do just fine with roughly 15-20 watts, 30 is gravy. I wouldn't hesitate to play anywhere on any stage with 2 of these amps, and on most, 1 would do just fine, again depending a bit on PA. Two important tips - (1) if you need more clean, crank the Master - "Gain isn't a Volume knob, Carl" (2) If Master above 3 o'clock isn't clean enough, substitute for a lesser gain 1st tube (12AX7) with something like a 12AU7, or 12AT7. OK, OK... a third (3) Please note that there are "clean" players who have an overdrive or even fuzzes like Big Muff "ON" all the time but with fairly low gain on the fuzz and with the [B]guitar Volume control rolled back[/B]. DO NOT miss the incredible value and versatility in your guitar controls, especially if you're wise enough to have your pickups adjusted down away from the strings so the magnetic pull doesn't inhibit string vibration. If you think magnetic pull isn't a major issue, consider that magnetic brakes are used on industrial power saws to stop spinning blades really quickly. Shop around because Monoprice has some amazing sales. I got mine for $150 USD double-boxed and delivered. I've seen quotes as low as $135 and as high as ~$250. Even at two fiddy this amp is bona fide grand larceny. Steal one for yourself. Just FTR I have zero affiliation with Monoprice other than being an extremely pleased customer for this amp.
Heheh. Well now that Lucas has pinned my comment I feel the need for an expansion and a qualified disclaimer. When I said "ANY band" I should have noted this depends on how much BASS you are asking an amp to deliver and at what SPL stage volume, not to be confused with FOH... interactive but separate animals. Back in the day even bass guitar amps were commonly 30-50 Watts and they were reasonably good at it. Sure, the rightfully sacred 40-50 Watt 4x10 Tweed Bassman became more famous for Lead Guitar, but a BlackFace 50 watt Bassman head through even a single 15 sounds really "round" and good and can compete with bashing Bonhams. This matters since many Heavy bands play "down-tuned" and we aren't talking about a mere Hendrix Half Step to E Flat..; In A440 Concert (Just FTR 440 Hz is the "E" 1st string sounding out at the 5th fret) a common Spanish style 6 String's lowest note on the "E" (6th) string is right around 90 Hz, or cycles per second. Obviously and especially with 7 String guitars or Baritone guitars, it isn't inconceivable for the heaviest, lowest sounding string to be as much as an octave down. We are talking close to 40Hz and definitely invading Bass Guitar real estate. In bands that feature guitar players like this, 30 Watts, even 50 Watts, is unlikely to cut it... not for sheer volume but for clean headroom and definition. Most modern Bass players, and extremely down-tuned Lead players, need a good 100 watts of tube power and 200+ if it's Solid State. Yeah, the nature of tubes makes :Valve Amps" sound louder for any given wattage. So if you're in a down-tuned Dark Metal band even two of the Monoprice combos isn't going to work out well for you (but four (4) might!) but everyone else can get by with one (1) in many venues, certainly any practice room, and with two, play anywhere with a decent PA
i truely respect any guitar gear review by anybody promoting the importance and value of those *knobs on a guitar* 😀 ... to change tone and gain character ... that's how i roll !! thanks - great comment and input !! 😎 (kinda looking for another small rehearsal combo)
Gotta point out as a tech, that a 12AU7 is not a good replacement for a 12AX7. Besides that, it won't accomplish anything that just turning down the gain knob can't. The circuit is a JCM clone with a power section that distorts even easier than the Marshall... Two big issues with this amp as far as clean headroom : the second gain stage is a cold clipper. It is designed to provide distortion, period. The only way to lean it up is to rebias the tube warmer or bypass it completely turning it into a mini plexi (not so clean either). The second issue is that the power amp (especially phase inverter) distorts very easily. Diming the volume will have the PI distorting before the preamp ever does. The best you can do is put 5751 tubes in (they're a direct replacement for 12ax7) for less gain without affecting bias and tone. Normally a more efficient speaker would be the easiest way to get more headroom , but the stock seventy:80 is pretty loud at 98db. Bottom line: if you want clean, this isn't the amp for you. If you want crunchy Marshall goodness in a small package, there is no better bargain out there.
Sorry @@rangerdoc1029 but A) a 12AU7 is just fine as a replacement for a 12AX7. Pinout? Identical. Operating voltages? Nearly identical, with very minor change in induced bias. It's a very common swap that's done been a LOT for decades and never causes a problem. It's just substantially less gain and slight difference in frequency response. B) Because they are both TWIN Triodes, having two stages of gain where BOTH stages are reduced the gain staging structure is changed in a manner decidedly different from just "turning down the Gain knob" which operates at one location in the structure only. Bottom line is it is an easily accomplished option which one can quickly judge for oneself. It works. FWIW I do agree the 5751 is also a good choice but it does have a bit more bottom end response which is why the 12AU7 may have more effect at reducing overdrive onset in a 15 watt amp.. I'm curious about how you know it's a JCM circuit clone. I've never been able to confirm that the Monoprice 15 is unchanged from the Laney from which it was apparently derived. In fact it lacks some features the Laney has and has some the Laney does not so it would appear one cannot just assume it is identical. The JCM circuit to which you are referring having the "cold clipper" operates the way it does (early asymmetrical overdrive) by employing a 10K Cathode bias resistor as opposed to the more linear 1.2K-2.2K in most guitar preamp circuits. I personally dislike how the stock JCM sounds because of that borked biasing and have no evidence that it is duplicated in the Monoprice. It's a pita to derive the schematic on any PCB amp with surface mount components, so I don't yet have one. If you do please post a link. While the Monoprice is not as clean as say an original Princeton, it isn't far off. 15 watts of any design is just not enough clean headroom for how I play when I play live, but it is definitely decently clean at bedroom and recording levels, especially with very minor adjustments to reduce bottom end which sucks up power rapidly in any amp. I'm actually shocked the amp sounds as good as it does with that crap speaker in it. It was designed simply to carry the Celestion name at an extremely low price. I have yet to replace it but videos I've listened to with better speakers do sound better and people I respect who have done so say "it really came alive with a better speaker" and that is likely due to better and smoother frequency response and distortion characteristics reducing overall distortion perception for better apparent headroom. One could increase power supply capacitors for a slight but noticeable increase in headroom but if I was to rely on this amp for gigging I would use 2 of them Wet-Dry or Stereo to just get to that breakthrough 30 watt level putting it easily above Deluxe Reverb levels and with 2x12s instead of one. That should cover a fairly wide range of stage volumes.
Hey Lucas. I bought one of these about two years ago and loved the sound for the money but didn't use it much. Two weeks ago the tubes on my Gibson Goldtone went. One amp down. Late this evening I blew a fuse on my Dr. Z maz 18. Two amps down. Everything was closed so enter my third line. Monoprice. I'll tell ya, the best part about it is the response. For such a cheap amp, great tones. Break is brittle due to speaker size but all around, very usable. I thought about making a video to sing it's praises. I wanted to see who already did one. And there you were, one of my favorite channels (I've been a sub for about 18 months) already had one up there! Thanks for the vid. Great review and great playing. Keep up the good work. My channel just hit 1000 subs today. A long way to go but you've certainly been an inspiration so thank you for that too! Take care and I wish you continued success!! -Mark
I've had one for a year and it's a great little amp. I purchased mine at Christmas when Monoprice had coupon and the total price was around $130 all in. The 5 watt also kicks ass.
I have a Peavey Classic 50 that sounds great, but I bought a PA that is smaller than my 2 monitor speakers to do small gigs. My Peavey is heavy-27 kg or 60 lb. In your opinion, will I be disappointed in the sound of Monoprice?
American companies are gonna have to start making more price effective guitars & gear because Chinese stuff is really caught up to us in mass produced equipment.
People expect too much from American amps. I had an all tube, cream tolex covered, 15 watt, EL84 Crate combo (I can not remember the model number) back in '95-'96. I paid $200-$300 for it brand new. It was a bare boned, old school amp, voiced between tweeds and Vox, sounded great and Crate could not give them away. I wish that I still had it. If anyone has one gathering dust, I am interested.
Very good demo of the Stage Right amp. I purchased one just over a year ago. I played through it just about everyday at least for an hour or so, after about 8 months one of the output tubes went micro-phonic. I replaced the no-names with some JJs, set the bias easily, it has a pot for it. Electronically, this is very close to the Laney Cub 12R except for having an actual reverb tank. I would consider it to be a really decent practice amp for the money. It takes to pedals very well. You need to play with it a bit to see what works best into the front input and what works better through the FX loop. I would compare the tones somewhere between a Fender Tweed and a AC15. Worth $200? You bet.
I have two of these. The first one I bought, I wound up re-tubing it, with a Mesa12AT7 in the first tube slot, and Tung-Sol EL84s. I also swapped the speaker for an Eminence Legend. It now has more of a Fender vibe to it, which was more or less what I was aiming for out of it. The second one is completely stock. These really do have very much a Vox-ish tone out of the box, and it contrasts well with the Fender-ish tone of the other amp. I'm sure I'll re-tube it at some point (I'll probably throw JJs in it), but for now, I'm enjoying the way it sounds. When I bought the first one, I was using it with a Fender Frontman 212R, running my dirt pedals into the front end of the Monoprice, then using the effects loop (yes, these amps have an effects loop) for my chorus, delay, and flanger, and into the effects returns of both amps, using the controls on the Monoprice to control both amps. Unfortunately, the Fender died, which is when I bought the second one and started tweaking the first one. I also switched to running all my effects straight into the front end of both amps, which just sounded better with this setup. Overall, I couldn't be happier with these amps. They sound really good, they're great with pedals, they're plenty loud, and even though they're not as cheap as they used to be (I paid $159 for my first one, and $199 for the second one, but they're up to $250 now), they're still the best value out there. I highly recommend them.
Get a Caline Pure Sky. It's a Timmy clone that works like a Timmy should (no reverse controls), and since Timmy was a way to have a tubescreamer (like the Joyo Vintage OD) that allows you to control the low end, it's better than a TS - allows you to push the highs and lows and thus scoop the mids if desired, something a TS cannot do. Cost's about $25, which is less than the Joyo. Or if you like a more full-range OD that adds girth and warmth, try the Mosky XP Booster (a clone of the Xotic EP Booster V1). Costs under $20. Can run on 18v for more headroom like the original, as well! Both of these can be found on AliExpress.com for the prices quoted (but some sellers do take a while to ship from China, so one needs patience).
I have been using this Amp for harp in medium sized indoor venues... Mostly classic rock, southern rock, and some blues. It easily keeps up with the guitars and drums, and, as you mentioned, when mic'd through a sound reinforcement pa, it really shines. It's actually a copy of the British Laney Cub 12. Lots of players have swapped out the speaker, or upgraded to better tubes, with very good results reported. At this price point, it's an exceptional value. I think that if you tweak it as mentioned, you might be surprised at what this little Amp can do.
I purchased two (2) Monoprice Stage Right 5 watt Tube amps, with 8" Celestin speaker, 8/16 ohm speaker out jack and volume and tone controls for $119 each. One in December 2021 and the second amp in January 2022. Two day's ago they were on sale for $110 each! The 5 watt Stage Right tube amp sounds good and even very good through my Marshall full stack of (2) 412 speaker cabs. - Peter age 71
Dear Lucas , I really totally Digging your videos and especially demoing that stage right 15 all tuber!!! Just purchased one and i couldnt be more thrilled !! Thanks and whatever you do never change your style you totally Rock buddy 👍🙏☺️🎶
Buddy of mine bought one of these, it was great for a year or so and then the power supply died. We couldn't find anyone locally to work on it so we connected the Celestion speaker to a 1/4" input jack and now we use it as a speaker cabinet for his Orange micro terror amp. It works great.
I own both Monoprice amps. I normally dont buy cheaper gear, but i found these and a Bugera T5 for $300. I found that this amp sounded much much better and more expensive than it has any right to be after I did the following. Set the bias right (was COLD !) Replaced reverb pan with MOD 3 spring. Direct drop in replacement. Replaced RCA cables for reverb with better quality (this quieted down the amp) Added shielding tape Replaced the garbage Celestion thats in it with a speaker that is sold under the EHX label but is made my Eminence. 12TS8 30W. This speaker was a huge improvement in the sound ! Def check it out and its $35 ! Tubes V1 Reflektor 6n2p-ev V2 Reflektor 6n2p-ev V3 RCA NOS 12at7 P1 Reflektor 6p14p-eb Pq Reflektor 6p14p-eb I bought mine used for $135 not too long ago. But this amp and the other two cheaper amps i purchased blow my mind. Even if this amp only lasts 2-3 years it was worth it. I have played big name branded tube amps that are in the lower price range (still not as cheap as this is) and they are no better in quality imho. If your looking for a nice amp and you dont want to spend too much, get one of these and do the mods like I did. These mods were not that expensive and it turned the amp from ehh to wow. Just like the Bugera T5 sounded 10x better with better tubes (The Bugera tubes that come stock make this amp sound like shit), this amp gets better. If you are still using this amp stock, you have no idea how much better this amp sounds with the mods. Last thing remember people the "Tone" control is like a Vox Tone Cut. Research that and then you will know how to use it and when you know how to use it this amp becomes even better. That is one thing i wanted to make sure i added to my comment.
Your playing is spot on Lucas and you're making this thing sound really great. I've heard some other demos but I'll be honest, they didn't sound nearly as good. I suspect it's because people probably didn't run the amp loud enough. So many people will take something like this and just run the master volume at like 1 and dime the gain control. It's totally wrong and you end up thinking the amp sounds small and thin. Anyway, just goes to show you that you can get great sounds out of less expensive gear too. I used to have a Pignose G60VR and I have to say, it sounded pretty great stock too. I ended up replacing the speaker and tubes and doing a really easy mod to it... after those fixes, the thing was amazing!
I don't know why people say you can't gig this amp..I got one and it does great did an out door gig,,prolly 1oo people there it did super great,,,The next step would be to mic it,,, If you were on a major tour stage...I havn't even used any pedals with it...it stood up to bass, drums and a peavey 2x12 amp,,,,Blows my mind,,,Love it for what it is.Great lil amp...Also havn't changed anything I see no reason to...speaker is breaking in great....Not great on the reverb though,,I'm gonna gig it and dig it, til it dies of old age,or falls apart,which ever comes 1st....Pedals will be the next venture,,,for me a compressor,eq,delay and a good od,,,then this baby will really shine.. Thats my honest opinion.....
you are by far the best reviewer of this amp. from the start you were amazing but when you started your cream strange brew deal I was sold.I already wanted one from watching other youtubers reviews but I live in Australia and I don't think I can get one imported here for 200 Australia dollars.Luckily I just bought an AC302x and it is amazing but yeah,that little portable beast with just the right sound for me...ooh baby
I love mine! Haven't played around with tube or speaker mods yet because I like the stock sound. BTW, that tone knob is AFTER the effects return, unlike the bass, middle and treble controls which are BEFORE the effects send. So you can choose how they all interact if you've got something plugged into the loop. Nice touch! I also got the Monoprice 5 watt amp with the 8 inch speaker. It's fine for what it is, but no 8 inch speaker is going to sound that great. Plugged into a 12 inch cabinet though, it is quite satisfying---gets that good tube mojo and breakup. (I put a speaker attenuator on it so I can crank it to breakup at low volume, for bedroom use.)
Great video! Word of caution-RU-vid is actively demonitizing a lot of music vids that play small clips of songs. It's becoming a serious problem. The amp sounds great but a lot of that is the player. Have fun with 15 watter!
I previously had a 60s Ampeg Gemini which I loved, but had to sell after being laid off at the end of 2020. Having now found a job, I was looking for another tube amp to replace the Ampeg, but needed something less expensive then what it would have cost to replace the Ampeg. My buddy has 2 of these, so I had the fortune to play one before I bought it. These amps are great. I mainly play an Epiphone Sheraton II Pro. With that guitar, the amp gives a terrific warm tone, nice fuzz as demo'd as well as a nice clean sound when the gains off, and the 15/1 watt button is a great feature. Overall this fit my need for a tube amp at a great price. I see many comparisons to Fender and Marshall, to me this is more closely designed like the Laney Cub 12r. As it has the same features, same tubes, etc. I got mine on 6/10/21 and paid $260. I mention this just for reference.
Have had one a few years. Got it for about $125. Great for Marshall-y classic rock tones. Can get a little flabby sounding with too much gain and the decay on the reverb is too long. Matched it with an inexpensive BB preamp clone, which works well. Really nice for the price.
These amps are now available in Europe and sold by Thomann, re-badged as Harley Benton. Just bought one based on this review. Fantastic amp for the money and great classic tones. Just watch out for the EU plug, you'll need a 2 pin earthed adapter for the UK. Loved your playing by the way!
This amp slays it. I'm all for nice sounding cheap amps. I bought a new Bugera V22 several years ago for around 250 and it's another surprisingly rockin' amp. I just replaced the stock tubes with JJs last night and it sounds even better than I imagined.
Just be prepared to replace the cheap, stock el84 power tubes. Any extra dampening to the chassis, with foam or rubber grommets, with help lessen the cabinet vibrations and help preserve tube life. Combo amps, as a rule, are hard on tubes.
Great demo and review! I have had this amp for a few months now and really like it, and just picked up one for my son as a Christmas gift. Really great bang for your buck.
I picked up one of these amps in a trade about 6 months ago. I just put some better tubes in it and it sounds so good that I got rid of my blues Junior III😳 Pull the chassis and you’ll find they’re actually pretty well made. They’re a Laney Cub12 clone. I’m thinking about going with a 10” greenback in it.
J P all of them. But definitly the power tubes are a must . Get a set of JJ el84s . I like sovtek 12 ax7s for new preamp tubes but you'd be good with all just as well
Robert J Baumgartner I just put a matched pair of JJ el84s . I didn't rebias . I'm not saying you don't have to . Maybe if I did it would be even better. Just changing the power tubes improved the amp a lot . I was getting tube rattle with the cheap tubes in there no problems at all with the JJs
Yes, I have a pair of JJ el84's to install in mine, the stock tubes are fragile and prone to rattle. Inside the chassis there's a small but clearly marked variable resistor pot for bias adjustment (marked TR1). Careful in there though, no poking around or touching metal to metal.
Just found you Lucas and have been enjoying your channel and some good playing to go along. Just received my Monoprice 15w and have to say, quite impressed for 249.00 delivered to my door
Have this amp for about a year now. It’s great for classic rock. I like it also for clean. For that, I roll back the gain knob and adjust the volume with the master. I made some mods to it such as swapping the seventy eighty by a wgs ET-65 which lead me to remove the plastic plate saying “Celestion equipped”... I replaced the reverb thank with a MOD reverb tank and replaced the stocks rubby preamp tubes with tungsol and power amp with JJ’s. Sound great for a small amp. Now, the question is “is it reliable?” Time will tell
Hey Kingpin, did you re-bias when you installed the JJ's? I have a pair of those coming for my 15. The bias adjustment pot is accessible inside the chassis if I feel the need for it once the JJ's are in. Right now the amp is running a bit dirtier than I'd like.
A lot better demo then some of the others I've heard! It would be interesting to hear it through different cabs as well as different pedals in front of it.Even cooler to get a pair of them and stereo it out!
I liked it so much I bought a second after i broke in the first...great pushed on it's own, but also has very good clean and takes well to pedals before and in the loop ( i use a g major 2 in the loop stereo out to both amps). I use this for smaller venues that can't stage my dual marshall half stacks, as well as simple practice . Running a bonzai and getting great pushed sounds as well.
Great review and thanks for having a guitar that’s IN TUNE 👍🏻 I’m checking out the reviews on this awesome little amp, and on so many of them I get 3 chords in and I’m pulling my hair out because they’re so out of tune...
You can get a little more clean headroom out of the amp if you turn down the gain accordingly and put a clean boost in the loop. It will let you clean up the preamp tone and get you as much as possible out of the power section. Also, I highly recommend getting this thing biased. Some are way off from the factory and you can really max out the amps potential with these two things before replacing a speaker.
I bought the 15 Watt Stage Right by Monoprice Amp from Amazon for $229 back on March 7. It was delivered on March 10th and I haven't used my 100 Watt Fender Mustang III since the Stage Right amp arrived. The simple fact is, I LOVE this little amp. This past Saturday I did a comparison test between the amps with the Fender Mustang on Preset #88, modeling a 'Basic 57 Champ'. To MY Ears the Monoprice sounded slightly better (Both Amps have 12"Speakers). Where my Fender beat out the Stage Right was with the Reverb. The 'Ambient' setting on the Fender matched the closest -- you might think one of the Fender's 2 Spring Reverbs -- but sounded 'fuller' than the Stage Right. In NO way was this a deal breaker, I have no problem with setting the Reverb knob on the Stage Right on 6 or 7 for most of my playing. [The only *problem* I have now is I have to finally buy a few Effects Pedals ;-)]
I'm not sure if he mentioned this or not but besides the effects loop this amp also has a jack for an extension speaker (labeled for 8 or 16 ohms), and there's a footswith jack to turn the reverb on/off. The amp does use a pair of el84 tubes. The stock ones are pretty fragile and prone to premature rattle. I'd recommend making or getting some silicon damper rings to help cut down on rattle and preserve tube life. As other's have mentioned a pair of these amps (with or without an extension speaker) would surely give you plenty of ample rocking volume for most types of gigs or band situations.
Yes, I have some extra 12at7's around here so I will experiment with that, primarily to bring the gain down a bit. On the board itself variable resistor TR1 is for setting bias, but what is variable resistor TR2 for adjusting?
I really don't think u give that amp justice ! For 200 dollars it sounds incredible that is a sound that most blues players are looking for is that exact sound, you did a great job on the demonstration but I love the way that amp sounds!
I almost bought this amp, it's a great value and has great tones. I'm all about great tones at a great price. Another amazing bargain amp with great tube tone is the Fender Super Champ X2. It can be found for about $250 and it also has great tone, plus 2 channels; one fully clean, and one with 16 classic amp models. Its also loaded with FX. Its honestly the best bargain amp available and its loaded with great tones and usable features. But this little amp is still a great little tube amp and ill probably be getting one eventually.
@@cujo9071 hell yeah! I'm glad my comment made a difference. I was so happy with the Super Champ I want others to experience the same thing and be blown away like I was. I've made my share questionable purchases and it's always disappointing. Doing research on the internet has helped me find and make smarter purchases
I have this amp ... The ragged thing you mentioned was true on mine but I swapped out the chinese celestion for a Celestion cream back and it made a huge difference... it tightened everything right up!
I appreciate this because all the other reviews l have seen are with Fender guitars. I want to know how it will sound with Gibson guitars especially an SG. Also it's refreshing to you have a review by someone who can play more than power chords or cowboy chords. I also wanted to know what is sounded like for lead guitar and you answered that. So thanks!
Hey Lucas, really great performance and review, What modification would you possibly want to do to make this amp sound even better than it already does.
I ordered one yesterday. Modelers just can't truly get that tube quality and I've tried many. Gonna put a chorus, delay and EQ in the effects loop and a Truetone Jekyll@hyde in front for hotter tones.
Hey Lucas, I've never watched you before. I think you did a very good job with this demo. I would have liked to hear a Tele or Strat in addition to the humbuckers, but that said--good job. I'll subscribe and look forward to watching some more of your videos.
I'm playing half stack Marshall'ss and want to hate your video and the tone but can't , I'm intrigued ! lol Your SG sounds great , what is it and what pickups do you have in it if I may ask ?
Imagine using two of them for 30 watts and 2x12s for Stereo or Wet/Dry AND for around 400bux ($260-$500)... uh huh...I've paid almost that much for premium overdrive pedals and I'd play anywhere with that 400 dollar Stereo rig. That, Son, is a bargain!
It's like an inexpensive vox ac15 with an external speaker it is a VOX. We must remember Guitar PU's change the input signal and tone of the Amp. I have 5 of the original MP amps with the GA5 TV front look. I won't sell these. Thanks for a good review.
Thanks for a great review 👍. Also, enorbet2 thanks for your input. I have been playing for 23 years always on combo amps with lots of effects. I never understood what the big deal was about the tube amp cuz I was pushing all my music thru a crap load of pedals. However, now that I am older, hopefully a little bit wiser, I have been shopping for a new tube amp. I have always cringed at the cost of tube amps. I was and still am partial to the Vox or Marshall. But I recently saw the Monoprice 15 and after watching many different reviews I'm buying one. You just can't beat the cost of a new tube amp for 175 to 230! But the changes that I have heard alot of people talk about such as tube swapping and speaker swapping, to me I cannot hear the difference. Or it is such a subtle difference that it's not worth the trouble. For myself at most I think I will change out the 🔊. But I am grateful for all of your inputs and info and look forward to seeing and hearing Lucas's pedal demos with this amp.
What do you think the longevity and reliability might be? Also, my wife works from home (now permanently) and i'm restricted on volume. How much do you have to crank this amp to get the dirty tube tone? Thanks! Appreciate your video!
Great review, Thank you! I love this amp on 1w for a small space. I can never play at 9-12 o’clock on 15w at home. Any favorite Overdrive, Distortion and Fuzz pedals that work well with this amp to get more bite and low end chunk...especially on the 1 watt setting? Thank again!
Thanks very much for your reply and the link. I didn’t know about the Blackstar LT pedals. After watching, I decided to get the LT Dual, to have the lower and higher gain. I’m Very happy with it and how well it beefs up the Monoprice 15W. Cheers!
That price with an fx loop, ext. cab jack, attentuation switch, footswitchable reverb, and actual spring reverb tank is just amazing. Finally beginners can get a solid amp that won't hold them back due to lack of fx loop, reverb etc. and actually has good tube tone not terrible SS tone with 1,000 presets that all sound bad. I would have killed for this in the 90s when I started playing. It's a great way to get accustomed to playing with a tube amp and getting used to the dynamics. It would make a PERFECT pedal platform practice amp. It's basically a blues junior klone. I'd recommend this to any beginner, stay away from those SS modelers. They might be 4x as big but tubes are louder and fuller in a smaller package and react to your playing so you'll be encouraged to play. With a ss modeling amp you'll likely be discouraged from playing. The only SS amp is ever buy or use is an orange crush 120 head. I'm using a Marshall DSL100HR with a couple orange cabs but if love to get one of these SR amps just for fun/practice. Hell then I could set up a stereo rig for recoding. It wouldn't be super loud but certainly loud enough for practice and recording. Not to mention those blues jr circuits have tons of mods avaliable for those of us who love tinkering with our pedals and amps. Anyways I'm just really impressed with what they threw together for $200.
It is a great little combo! To be clear for anyone who wants to mod one though, I believe this is actually a clone of the Laney Cub 12R and not the Blues Junior, though they are very similar in layout.
I just bought a Gretsch so I want something Vox-ish ,old school Marshall. I run an Analog Alien Rumble Seat as well, so yeah .It's tax time. Got a fair return so Stage Right/ Monoprice is gonna get some of my money. Thanks for the kick butt demo. Answered all my questions ,and I heard some tasty licks. Ya killed it bro!
UPDATE I actually bought this very amp . I love it so much. I even put the Analog Alien away.......don't need it. I almost wish I had bought three ,or four more at this price. Just to let you know the Gretsch sounds amazing through this amp.I would recommend it . It does have enough fullness in live application.
Hey Lucas- can you tell me about that SG? it sounds really good. What pickups are in it? I finally ordered the monoprice 15 the other day.. it sounds really good in your video, but would just like to know what the specs on that guitar are :-) thanks for any help
That is my 1991 Gibson SG Standard. When I recorded this video it had Gibson 57' Classics in it, but I have since changed them to Planet Tone 1957Neck/1959Bridge pickups.
I bought one. I love it. Hope it last. At 1 watt it rocks when sitting at home practicing. Playing thru humbuckers. PRS Tremonti. I always thought my best sounding amp was a '68 harmony but i really like this amp. Cheap. Fun. Great sound. Ty China lol
I just got this amp delivered today 4/6/2021 for $250 from Amazon and I clicked the link on Amazon to write a review and the price is up to $329 a day later.
I'm thinking of buying an amp. I'm a begginer guitar player. I have a Line 6 Spider 3 (15w.) and a Marshall MG10CD (10w.). I'm considering a Line 6 Catalyst 60w., and this Monoprice 15w. I would love to hear any good recommendations. I'd like to stay in the $200-$300 range.
