What Amp Would I Buy If I Only Had $250 

For the answer to the title, go to 9:14

Go to 10:06 for the answer to the question in the title.

Thanks for the Q&A. I always learn new info on what’s going on the gear industry from your videos.

Appreciate your objectivity and candidness. Thanks. Great videos all.

@Phillip McKnight I've watched quite a few of your videos and I like your style. Humble, unbiased, and informative. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience and experiences.

It is a real pleasure to watch someone on YT that is actually well informed and has something to offer other than their own point of view but rather facts. I know there are lots of people out there that are smart and make good videos...I simply haven't seen too many. When it comes to pedal reviews I like Gearman and Don Carr,they get right to the point and show the pedals capability. As for amps (don't laugh) I have a Peavey Vypyr 30 for when I am in a Insomnium/Amon Amarth mood and so far I am still blown away by all the sounds/tones i can get for under 200 new in the box. I have the one from about 4/5 years back not the newer design. For my Robin Trower/David Gilmour mood I have a Blues Deluxe Limited Edition Smokey Tweed with the Jensen P12Q upgrade and mostly playing at lower volumes this amp is more than I could ask for,it sounds like a crystal bell and with my Fulltone Soul Bender I get just the right od tone. However the amp set me back over 800 bucks and had to sell some of my premium German knives from my collection to buy the amp. No regrets. It's the most beautiful little amp and the cleans are so silky with the Jensen it's unreal. Back to the Vypyr,for under 200 it is a great little amp and can crank if need be. Not sure of the Chinese durability but time will tell. Peavy has always had a good rep for reliability.I have talked with guys that play high end amps and some say they keep a little Vypyr around just to toy with. If I were going to buy another cheap amp I would try to find an old American made Peavey Bandit,very reliable and those can flat crank with the Scorpian speaker. I saw a Bandit take a tumble down a flight of stairs back in the 80's and didn't even scratch the the vinyl covering,plugged it in and blasted through a small two hour gig. Chhers brother,love your videos.

I took ur advice and got a Fender Super Champ x2 and it is awesome. Thanks Phil.

Excellent video. You have a very energetic delivery which is appealing. Thanks.

Thank you for the quality of content.

A definite +1 to the Valveking series. I picked up a VK20 II head for $250 and I love it, very versatile and great tone. I would also highly recommend a Jet City JCA20 or JCA22, head or combo. I picked up my 22H, originally a combo converted to head, for $150 on CL. The 20H is single channel and the 22H is 2 channel. Both are all tube and designed by Soldano. They love pedals and the 22H has a tube buffered FX loop. They are neat little amps with sweet Soldano-ish tone for a very little amount of money.

peavey valveking is the one for me! I have the first series and I absolutely love it! the overdrive channel with a clean boost really drives the amp beautifully!

For cheap amps I really dig the Bugera amps. They sound great

I would choose the Orange Micro Terror 20w head and the 1X8 cab with it, the price is right $250 american.

What do ya know, I only have 250 dollars to spend on an amp. I I'm considering a Vox Valvetronix though

Just for the record - there were 7 string guitars way before Ibanez. The Russian guitar (sometimes referred to as a "Gypsy guitar") is an acoustic seven-string guitar that was developed in Russia toward the end of the 18th century: it shares most of its organological features with the Spanish guitar. It is known in Russian as the semistrunnaya gitara (семиструнная гитара), or affectionately as the semistrunka (семиструнка), which translates to "seven-stringer." These guitars are most commonly tuned to an Open G chord as follows: D2 G2 B2 D3 G3 B3 D4. In classical literature, the lowest string (D) occasionally is tuned down to the C.

I'm really diggin' your vids. Great job.

I bought the Roland 40GX for 250 and down right amazing for the price

Great advice on the amp question. I tried a used valve king once and thought the sound was immense. Was afraid of buying a big amp. Decided the next day it was a no Brainer for $200 and it was gone. Wound up with a super champ xd which preceded the x2 but is really great. And I paid $190 and it had a speaker upgrade.

The answer (amp) is at about 10:00 - either a used fender superchamp x2 or a used peavey valveking

Hi phil .thanks for great helpful videos. Im trying to get a wine red x2 super champ with a celestion speaker. The amp seems really versatile and sounds great

Great review Mr. M. Loved your 4 pedals vid.. :D

Fender had a pair of solid state amps in the early 80s called the Studio Lead and Stage Lead that in my opinion were two of the best SS amps ever made. The dirty channels weren't that great, but the clean channels were very much like a Pro Reverb or a Twin. Just wonderful amps. You see them on eBay all the time for $150 -200.

Hey Phil! Just wanted to say I love your channel! Such good and honest information with nice presentation based on experience, keep rocking! :) Could maybe companies decision not to put reverb (and or effects loop) is based on not having to deal with all the service, especially reverb tanks? (Bassbreaker vs Hot Rod Deluxe). E.g. An amp with a lot of failure in the effects loop is the Marshall Vintage Modern in comparison. Cheers from Sweden!

Hi Phil, I bought a 50 watt tube amp brand new in the box for $209.00. So did many of my pals on the My Les Paul forum. They are Silkyn Super 50. They are still on eBay and the NAD thread I started is up to 28 pages. Some bought two of them.

Awesome response on the question that inspire the title. I go used if I can - However I picked up a brand new Randall Diavlo RD5C for $200 recently - A steal really, and perfect for my preferred genre (Metal). That thing is nuts. The Valveking is a great budget option, and with a decent OD in front of it it can do just about whatever you need it to do.

Absolutely love this channel! I have already known a lot about guitars, amps, pedals, etc. but you are widening mi insights greatly! Big thanks for that! :)

Blackstar Amps are affordable sturdy and are reliable/versatile ! Love my 15 -w for home practice ! Looking forward to getting a more powerful one soon ...

Hey Phillip, just discovered your channel and I adore your straight-to-the-point approach to questions and topics! It's not often that you get guys who are able to talk so passionately and intelligently about gear without rambling. Also, great choice with the Super Champ! I have a Super Champ XD that I picked up for $200CAD a couple years ago and have been incredibly happy with it. Not many amps at this size/price range have the warmth and versatility of these guys. Great all-around amps.

Hey Phil, love your channel. I have an orange crush 20ldx amp. It's not a bad amp. The only problem I have with it is that it has a tendency to get muddy. I'm still somewhat new to playing the guitar. So it just could be my lack of understanding of how to properly ajust the settings.

The super champ x2 has to be the best amp on the market for that price. Unbelievably awesome amp.

That dude technical ecstasy was named after an old black sabbath album

Blackstar HT1R... 1Watt tube amp, simple but amazing sound for just one watt. Has enough output for attic or bedroom use and is great for recording as well. One of my best purchases ever!

Great channel, like your outlook on things. What is your take on guitar lead quality? If you have a good guitar (say a fender american delux strat) and decent amp (tone king imperial, fender custom twin) what make of leads should you be looking at? or do you think it's not that important?

If you don't need the X2's added USB out for recording, and the tap tempo control for the modulations, the original Fender Super Champ XD, made in China, is a great find for around $150 to 250 used. I think they sound better than the made in Mexico X2 newer model. I have two XD combos and the X2 head, bought all three new, and no kidding, the XD sounds better to my ear than the X2, don't know why, but it does.

New to your channel.. I like your $250 amp section.. I've owned basically everything you mentioned... I've sold these: Peavey Vypyr/Peavey Valve King/Fender Super Champ XD/Egnator Tweeker/Peavey Pacer/Ampeg VH 140C/Peavey Classic 50/Vox AC15/Fender Bandmaster VM/Marshall TSL 100/Marshall Haze 40/Fender Mustang/Mesa DC-3/Traynor TS-75 I've settled with (35 years of buying/selling): Roland Cube 40/1979 Fender Deluxe Reverb/Fender Supersonic 22/Mesa 5/50 express

for $250....hands down the Yamaha THR10. New 299 but any holiday sale at GC you could do it for that price brand new. I have 9 amps currently, and that Yamaha is little gem. If they re-tweaked it with a DI line out for a PA and a foot switch to toggle between the 5 savable patches you could cover almost any gig. The cleans are awesome, as are the crunches and classic rock tones. It's small, light and tough as nails. It's loud for it's size (great bedroom amp) and has headphone and mp3 and usb jacks. Mike it up and it's some great little package.

That root beer brown PRS is absolutely beautiful...except for those white pickup rings. I would go with black or even better, gold plated pickup rings. I love your videos and your down to earth approach. Keep on rock'n.

i remember my first affordable good amp was a Vox vt20+... kept it until i could get my hands on a tube amp. it is awesome!

George Van Eps was a Jazz guitarist in the 50s and 60s and he played a 7-string guitar. I took jazz lessons in the late 60s from Howard Morgen in Queens, NYC. Howard had a 7-string jazz guitar and went on to write several(?) instruction books on 7-string jazz guitar. Howard also wrote columns for a few guitar magazines on both 7-string jazz guitar and fingerstyle jazz guitar. So, there were 7-string guitars long before rock musicians took notice of them.

I'm a Pawn shop/Craigslist kind of guy. I paid $250 for a Marshall SLX 50 watt back in 1999. In 1998 I bought a Laney Pro Lead AOR for $200. I bought a new Sovtec Mig 60 for $350. I paid $250 for a Peavey Classic 100 head and $250 for a Crate VC50. I bought a Blue Voodoo 100 watt head for $200 and a matching bottom for $150. I traded some stuff for a clean Carvin MTS 3200 head that I still have. But the better deals was $350 for a Laney VC50 combo and $100 for a matching 412 straight bottom and I traded some stuf for a dead Laney GH50L head and in the trade for the Carvin, I got a Laney Slant for the dead Laney head that cost $125 to fix. I'm sure there was more, but right now I like the 50 watt Laney Amp.

hey Phil are you going to look at chapman guitars at namm and what's your opinion on them? thanks

On the Reverb, To add it to a tube amp, organically, Takes one tube to push, a tank, the connectors, a reverb transformer and another tube to collect the signal and push it on. So, you can add two tubes to an amp that has a single pre amp tube, and a single phase invertor. You can see, for as nice as reverb is, it comes at a hefty cost in additional circuitry. Then of course, you do have an effect on the tone and gain of the original circuit. Now, once you have your basics, now your Power transformer has to have enough meat to take care of the new components. It is really a pretty hefty addon. Tremelo, on the other hand can be had for pretty cheap, using the phase invertor tube. And effects loop, I really haven't given it any study. But there ya go. It all comes at a price. And they aren't just thinking of the price they will pay to manufacture, but the price the customer will be willing to pay for the additional perks.

I'm so glad Krank is back in business. Cant wait til they start making mini heads again so I can buy a Krankenstein jr.

Thanks dude, pretty rad just hearing short summaries on a WHOLE ass-ton of gear! There is SO much stuff out there that one easily gets lost in whatever heavy marketing push big industry is currently doing. Have you ever done a Review or BEST-OF of home studio audio interfaces for guitars under 400$?

Adding reverb adds a lot of cost. (extra tube+wiring+ reverbtank +pot) But it doesn't change the sound of the amp when the reverb is turned off. Adding a send return,.requires low impedance buffers and extra ciruitry so it can change the sound of the amp

You are so right....just got a super champ x2 last night at gc 250 Love it !

Some info on 7's: 1/In 1968, Gretsch made a jazz-box 7, "George Van Eps" model. The late GVE, a chord-melody player, viewed guitar as "lap-piano". He had a custom-made 7 many years before the Gretsch. 2/Vai originally wanted the 7th string to be high 'a', but .008s kept breaking. The late virtuoso Lenny Breau, fixed the high-'a' problem with a Kirk Sand custom 22.75-scale 7.

I got myself a used Fender Vaporizer in mint condition from a retailer for $250CDN which is about $210USD. I couldn't be happier with it, great clean sound and has some balls when needed. I don't think I'll ever get rid of it.

@9:15 "............ what if you had a budget of two hundred an fiddy dollars............" Brohugs dude! Love your channel!

Thank You Philip for your excellent advice. This is a true story - I have more than $250 but I wanted to see how the little Fender X2 worked. I bought the Champ head and put a EVH 2 x 12 cab under it. This this is unbelievable! The range and depth plus the tone is incredible. Yes, the 2x12 would seem like it is too much - not at all - thumping powerful midrange. I bought the EVH and the Champ head at "open box" prices ?used? - so I only spent about $650 for an incredible set up. Is 15W too small - HELL no - I can't turn it up more than 4 on volume. Just wanted to say that you know your stuff.....I also found a PRS SE Floyd at $499 - there is nothing that can touch it at that price. (new guitar) You should review that puppy!!!

Hey brother, Just found your youtube. You seem extremely knowledgeable and in the world of the internet, every jackhammer thats owned a piece of wood with strings thinks they're some guitar guru.. Safe to say in this case, in the 4 or 5 vids ive watched straight, you def know your stuff.. Ive never msgd someone to let them know how much i enjoyed their videos, but you got it man.. Im sorry to say im one of those guys that never subscribes to anyone. Been watching youtube since 07 and have prob subscribed to 10 channels, give or take.. Anyway brother, will stay tuned in tune! Later

Hi Phil, I just found your videos. I love the way you explain things. You are obviously quite knowledgeable & everything I have heard you talk about has been spot on. I do have a question for you. What's your take on the Bugera stuff? I have read so much bad stuff about them but it just seems like brand snobbish rhetoric. I did pull the trigger on the 1960 Classic & the 1990 classic & I like them & for tube amps, the price is awesome. What do you think? I mean, most of us cannot afford the prices of the Vox, Marshall & Fender tube stuff but we want those tube tones.

find an old Bell and Howell, Sony or other decent brand of reel to reel with tube based electronics. Most of these have quarter inch mic inputs. Though sometimes they are not built for the same size plug we use now. Easy fix. Many even have tone circuits and an external speaker output driven by an EL84 or other small power tube. You can modify the input impedance to be more amenable to a guitars loading. Or leave as is and have some really great overdrive. Plus, can be modded for real tape echo!

all three of my guitars are ibaenez i really like the jem , gio ,and rg

He mentioned the Roland Cube 40 watt. I have the 80 watt which is almost identical. It is a great amp if you prefer a more classic amp as opposed to a modeling amp (which I did not want). The Roland is also mega loud for a single speaker solid state amp. At home I have never pushed the master volume past 1.

Agree about the Egnater amps. My ohm switch broke and took it to Jens Kruse to get it fixed and he said he has had bad luck with getting any help from the Egnater people. They never reply back when he needs parts so instead he actually got the switch from Peavey.

I was able to pick up a ValveKing 20 combo for under $250. I love it.

The Bassbreaker amps are made for Power Tube Distortion. Pedals would just make your signal muddy. If you get your "sound" from pedals. You might want to get a amp with a clean channel and a effects loop. The output tubes would not be distorting. All tube amps have power tube distortion when cranked. Read Aspen Pittman's "The Tube Amp Book" for more info and history.

I like the Peavey bandit silver stripe or red stripe !! I had a fender super champ X2 and it sounded nice but used to switch of at any point and time!! took to an amp tech and he couldn't find the problem

the Vox VT40X modeling amp at 249 is an amazing amp and sounds great clean or dirty.

For a NEW $250.00 amp with a warranty, the Monoprice Stage Right 1/15 watt with JJ tubes, effects loop and verb tank is hard to beat!

Thanks for all you videos and time! I've always wanted a Les Paul but due to my RA I can't stand the weight! Do all Les Paul copies weigh as much as the original?

First Ibanez 7 string came out in 1990 Steve vai's passion and warfare Vai also worked with Ibanez back in the 1980s during his WhiteSnake era, At the had time Steve vai was working on the first Ibanez Rg's which was like his Green Meanie. Yeah the Green Meanie was a Strat/Charvel but it was different. Like it had 24 frets, one volum and one tone knob and a five way switch also has humbucker single coil humbucker configuration. This small difference helped launched Ibanez Rg and also Vai' signature Jem model.

GAWD I love your prs guitars!!! 😄😄😄

Yamaha THR10C is a great little amp for in the house and it sounds great with my pedalboard in front of it.

I LOVED my Tweaker. I dumped it in a guitar swap. GREAT Amp.

Phil, what are your thoughts on the Crate Vintage Club 50 series amps? I bought one 5 or 6 years ago for $225 and I absolutely love the tone i get from it. I've never seen a review on these amps before and have little information on their history

Hollow 7 String Guitar: George VanEpps (custom/Special order from Gretsch)

1978 Peavey VT100(a 50watt Tube Work Horse, can't kill 'em) - Under $250 sometimes. Also, Fender SuperChamp 5Watt Tube with digital effects board - I got mine for $130 on Ebay WITH aftermarket Jensens(italy), and USA Tubes....5watt Tube is fucking LOUDER than I thought, my neighbors can hear it Threw my garage easily.

Dan, I'll have to by some more leads! cheers Phil

Egnater Service: A friend of mine has a Egnater Rebel 30 combo that had a problem, (actually several problems). He sent it off somewhere to have it repaired... which didn't work out at all I guess. He asked me to look at it and see if I could repair it. Long story short, together, we corrected its (several) problems. BUT.... the way it's built, the access to its circuit boards is terrible, not poor, not difficult, not awkward.... terrible. It appeared that ZERO consideration was given to EVER servicing it. Trying (to push a test signal through it) and then clip on a voltmeter or oscilloscope, stage-by- stage, is nearly an impossible task. Once we fixed the electronics, we discovered we still had a few cabinet rattles to hunt down. So... if he wasn't a friend.... I would have turned it away in 20 minutes. Once it was "fixed" (some skill-some luck) and after we finished high- five-ing each other, we agreed that we hope like hell it doesn't crap out again. It was NO fun at all.

I actually picked up a used Peavey Classic 50 4x10 last year for $249 from GC. Needed one opamp to fix the reverb.

Orange Amps crush 12 watt. Really amazing beginners amp for the bedroom.

If I only $250.00 and I needed an amp for home and gigs ( 'cause I need both) I'd go for a used Fender Mustang III v2. A great clean tone is subjective but I've been very impressed with them. It takes some fiddling with the software but you can get really good things out of them. BUT....the Super Champ X2 is an excellent amp. If I were only looking for home use I'd love to have one.

Hey Phil, Have you used the Line 6 Spider Jam amp combo? I'm getting back into guitar, seemed like it had allot of features including being able to run a mic in also, or is there a better amp to look at? Just basement playing , no gigging. Thank u for your help. You have the best equipment videos ! !

Orange Micro Dark and old, messed up 4x12 cab.

marshall code 25 for bedroom playing.....used code 50 for small gigs...has great cleans...and great od sounds

I have been playing electric for a year now, but I want an upgrade from my little $50 amp. I have been looking at the Fender Super Champ X2, but I think I am going to purchase the Marshall MG100HCFX head and cab. IS THIS A GOOD CHOICE?

JP7 has a scale length of 25.5". Good memory!

I remembered this question when I bought a Monoprice amp a couple days ago. It is a great size, 15 all tube with a 12" speaker by Celestion. I got it for $209 in the door. Keeps up or blows out drummers. I am an old dude and I can carry it. I changed the power tubes because I do that. The reverb tank is a joke, so it got a new one. Effects loop is fine with my 20 plus pedals on a board. This is a winner and a ripoff of the Laney 12r Cub, that not a secret. When blows up and takes out my cat! I would buy another, I have three cats!

Go for a used Marshall MG 250DFX 2x50W Stereo Tube amp simulation Reverb Effects Bedroomlevel or stage Nothing comes close

Fender Mustang I have been using is a great with the Fuse software the possibility is endless plug into computer set the tones and your good to go for the money none better

If you're just planning on playing in your bedroom, I'd just get BIAS.

I got a used Peavey Delta Blues 210 at a local shop for $250 with rajun cajuns! It had a microphonic 12ax7, but that was an easy fix. 35 watts, plenty of headroom, great with pedals, and it has an effects loop!

Hey Phillip, I play guitar for 20+ years but I don't know much about gear and stuff, mostly because I'm from Azores-Portugal (Islands in the middle of the atlantic ps-where Nuno Bettencourt is from too) just to say that I like very much your videos and explanations, very clean and objective, and awesome to me that can't try almost anything, in my Island only have 2 music stores and with no new stuff :P , Thanks, bye

micro Dark terror mini stack.....those sounds pretty awesome for around 288 on sweet water.... and it's amazing as a hybrid.

I have a peavey viper 30 watt. its a sturdy tone monster. cost me 95.00 from a pawn shop here in Florida.Amp modeling and built in effects.

I'd say get a Marshall mg100hdfx (like from 2008 or older) and the matching 4x12 or a kustom kg 4x12. You can get each piece for like $100 used. I use that as my man amp actually and use my Gibson with P-90's in it and damn does it sound good at any level

I brought a selmer treble and bass all valve 1969 amp for £60 a few years ago, lately I been gigging with a transistor peavey amp for convenience really cos I dont have to carry a cab as well as the head, however I was playing local and thought I'd take it out for a blast and oh my god it is Amazing, the response the power the tone all on another level, point being that my old selmer is all valve hand soldered, just like really expensive boutique amps, yes it takes a bit more care and attention but old amps that look a bit out of fashion are a bargain because inside are the same as the hand built boutique amps that are £1000's of pounds in fact these boutique amps are modeled from all valve vintage amps

i just bought a orange crush 35LDX for that price its killer you can even add a foot switch its good enough for a coffee house gig

you mentioned a couple Rolland cubes ive had my eye. on the battery powered/or plug in cube street ex. 50 watts. bunch of options on this little power house amp lots of good reviews on line what do you think? i saw a few for around 400 .new their 500 thanks

I would also suggest a used Fender G-DEC 30 f you can find one. USB, user downloads. Built in rhythms, records, versatile as anything out there. I prefer tubes, though, Super Champ- either version - are great.

Could Fender leave out an effects loop because of cost? Yep! You need to add another tube to drive a low impedance signal through the loop, since cable runs from the loop are typically long. Adding another tube means that you have to add the cost of another tube, tube socket, and misc. resistors and capacitors. It's not a lot of money, but still an added cost to every amp. Also the power transformer might have to be beefed up, depending on the transformer that comes stock with the amp. They probably make it as small as possible to reduce cost, so mostly likely it needs an upgrade. Adding another tube increases the current draw of the amp and might fry the stock power transformer if it's not made for that extra current draw.

The preview makes it looks like he has a badass mohawk.

I have a USA made Peavey amp that I had a Fender Spring Reverb installed in. What a great sounding amp now!

Have you done any videos or do you have any experience with the 6505 + 112? My nephew has one we are trying to improve upon.

WHOOP WHOOP SOME LOVE FOR THE PEAVEY VALVEKING

Don't forget the Blackstar HT1 for cheap bedroom amp

George Van Epps pioneered the 7 string guitar.Gretch released a signature model in 1968.(wikipedia)

Regarding 7 strings: Gretsch made the George VanEps 7 string in the 40's. Ibanez was the first manufacturer to make them with commercial sucess! There were Russian classical 7 strings made a long time ago as well.