Been hovering around for a couple years now on the forums, just reading things of interest. I'm at a point now where I'm going to be stepping up to some new gear. I'm a tube amp virgin, hence, need some input.
I'm currently using a 15watt SS Hiwatt mini stack which has been perfect for personal jamming in my basement. I am aware of the beauty of tube amp sound and have noodled on a few in guitar stores, but never owned one. A couple friends came over with 30watt tubes and they blew me away as well as my Hiwatt. In fact my Hiwatt became quite useless next to theirs. I would now like to turn my Hiwatt into a piece of furniture and purchase a tube amp.
I am looking for a tube amp (head, not combo)somewhere between 15 and 30 watts, it's just for basement jamming, but will be taken to larger jam sessions with drums and vocals. I prefer something in the boutique department. Although I play allot of heavier stuff I prefer to have an amp geared to a pure clean tone. I find it easier to make a clean sound dirty than visa versa.
I realize this may be a loaded question, but I am looking for opinions on which of these would best fit my criteria. I don't have the luxury of a large city where I can test these amps.
I've narrowed it down to...
Orange AC30
THD UniValve
H&K Puretone
Speedster 25 Deluxe
Budda Superdrive II 18w
Zinky 25w Blue Velvet
Appreciate any comments.
Thanks
