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demonrail666 · 08.13.2008, 08:10 PM

Yeah, Orange amps are pretty costly. You'll probably be looking at upwards of $1k for anything other than the Tiny Terror. (The AD30TC costs around $1500.) Saying that, I doubt you'd get a new Fender Twin for that much less than that.

Laney do reasonably priced valve amps, at least they're not that expensive in the UK. The other ones that've been reissued are the Sound City ones, which are mostly associated with the British Glam 'hooligan' tone - think Slade, etc. Oh yeah, and HiWatt too. Although all of these are 'British' amps, like Vox, I think the more affordable ones are actually made in the far east. The exception is Laney, whose VC30 is made in the UK and is priced quite reasonably in the US.

http://www.hiwatt.com/data/gcombos.html
http://www.arbiter.co.uk/soundcity/index.htm
http://www.laney.co.uk
http://www.orangeamps.com/

The Marshall DSL401 might be a decent bet. There were some complaints about them breaking down due to overheating, but apparantly Marshall have sorted this problem out.

It's worth noting though, that Orange, Sound City, Laney, Vox, Hiwatt and Marshall all have that heavier 'British' tone (a consequence of their mostly using EL84 valves). As such, they'll sound quite different to the classic 'American' tone of the Fender Twin (which uses the 'brighter' 6L6 valves, just like most Mesa/Boogies). So if you're going for that 'janglier' tone you mention in your first post, then the Fender Twin might still be the way to go. Although it's worth reminding yourself that the Twin is ridiculously loud, with acres of clean headroom. So unless you use an overdrive/distortion/fuzz pedal, it won't even start to distort until you turn it up to near wall-shaking volume levels. It's also true that the newer ones get very mixed reviews regarding reliability.

A good, alternative might be the Peavey Valveking. This uses the same 6L6 valves as the Fender Twin and is a lot cheaper - although this is because it's made in China. Having said that, in the case of Peavey, I wouldn't let that where it was built put you off, seeing as how their reputation for quality control seems pretty good.

You might want to consider trying Fender's Hot Rod Deluxes. A lot of people complain that the overdrive channel on them is terrible, and that there are issues with build quality, but they are about half the price of the Twin - and still very loud!

I've not heard the Fender Blues Jnr, but the fact that it uses EL84s makes me think it'd have a slightly more 'British' sound than other Fenders.

Hope this helps a little.

PS: When I say 'valves', i mean the same as when you say 'tubes'. Just one of those quaint British-American differences.

08.13.2008, 08:10 PM	#15
demonrail666 invito al cielo Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 18,509	Yeah, Orange amps are pretty costly. You'll probably be looking at upwards of $1k for anything other than the Tiny Terror. (The AD30TC costs around $1500.) Saying that, I doubt you'd get a new Fender Twin for that much less than that. Laney do reasonably priced valve amps, at least they're not that expensive in the UK. The other ones that've been reissued are the Sound City ones, which are mostly associated with the British Glam 'hooligan' tone - think Slade, etc. Oh yeah, and HiWatt too. Although all of these are 'British' amps, like Vox, I think the more affordable ones are actually made in the far east. The exception is Laney, whose VC30 is made in the UK and is priced quite reasonably in the US. http://www.hiwatt.com/data/gcombos.html http://www.arbiter.co.uk/soundcity/index.htm http://www.laney.co.uk http://www.orangeamps.com/ The Marshall DSL401 might be a decent bet. There were some complaints about them breaking down due to overheating, but apparantly Marshall have sorted this problem out. It's worth noting though, that Orange, Sound City, Laney, Vox, Hiwatt and Marshall all have that heavier 'British' tone (a consequence of their mostly using EL84 valves). As such, they'll sound quite different to the classic 'American' tone of the Fender Twin (which uses the 'brighter' 6L6 valves, just like most Mesa/Boogies). So if you're going for that 'janglier' tone you mention in your first post, then the Fender Twin might still be the way to go. Although it's worth reminding yourself that the Twin is ridiculously loud, with acres of clean headroom. So unless you use an overdrive/distortion/fuzz pedal, it won't even start to distort until you turn it up to near wall-shaking volume levels. It's also true that the newer ones get very mixed reviews regarding reliability. A good, alternative might be the Peavey Valveking. This uses the same 6L6 valves as the Fender Twin and is a lot cheaper - although this is because it's made in China. Having said that, in the case of Peavey, I wouldn't let that where it was built put you off, seeing as how their reputation for quality control seems pretty good. You might want to consider trying Fender's Hot Rod Deluxes. A lot of people complain that the overdrive channel on them is terrible, and that there are issues with build quality, but they are about half the price of the Twin - and still very loud! I've not heard the Fender Blues Jnr, but the fact that it uses EL84s makes me think it'd have a slightly more 'British' sound than other Fenders. Hope this helps a little. PS: When I say 'valves', i mean the same as when you say 'tubes'. Just one of those quaint British-American differences.
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