steampowered Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 I tested a venus 3 a few times and was very impressed. Class A, 15 watts, 1x12 with a switch to go down to 7 watts. Any other ideas for a nice 1x12 tube amp? I've been tempted to look into Headstrong amps, even though they are class A/B. This amp needs to be versatile, both blues and jazz playing. Any suggestions of any other combo amps I should explore? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koula901 Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 I have an Epiphone Valve Jr half stack, 5 watt head, 12" speaker cab (4, 8, and 16 ohm speaker outputs), a 12AX7 pre-amp tube and an EL 84 in the power amp. It gets pretty loud and has a nice blues break up in the sweet spot. I'm very happy with it - it sounds a lot like a Blues Jr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fxdx99 Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 Hi SP - I'm not familiar w/the venus amp, but sounds like one I'd like being a fan of 1x12 combos. So many amps... so little funds. I've been interested in Headstrong as well and if you're after blackface sounds they'd be on my short list. Allen is another similar one making brown/blackface based amps - I've an Allen Accomplish Jr that's my favorite and most versatile amp. This model is based on a deluxe reverb and has a master volume and a 'raw' control that moves it from blackface to tweed-like territory. Swart amps look interesting. Shoot, any issue of vintage guitar mag I open has amps that tweak my interest, seems to be som many cool ones these days. Good luck on your search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steampowered Posted June 23, 2010 Author Share Posted June 23, 2010 I should add that the amp must be UNDER 50 lbs. I tried out the mesa boogie lone star and the lone star special a few weeks ago. Both were amazing amps and within my budget, but the weight!!! Way to heavy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjsanders Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 I should add that the amp must be UNDER 50 lbs. I tried out the mesa boogie lone star and the lone star special a few weeks ago. Both were amazing amps and within my budget, but the weight!!! Way to heavy! i'm a big fan of Rivera stuff and Fuchs Audio Technology. also, am intrigued by Xits and Nolatone. Juke Coda or Rave or Vamp are worth a look. i've been a Juke owner for >7 yrs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spectrum13 Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 So many choices I have a few that I have and can recommend.... old 60's Ampeg ReverbRocket2 for about $750? Designed for jazz in the 60 and breaks up real thick for blues. Swarts for thick Tweedy and lush reverb. Vox AC15 clones with an Ef86 channel and a top boost. My latest crush Nolatone RJ... Blackface, Tweedy, Brown Fender to Marshall Paul Sanders made it to be a rock amp but it's so good for jazz and cleans hads such a range in tone but above all his amps sound like the guitar you plug in. There are too many great amps out now so hard to pick just one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smurph1 Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 I REALLY like my Peavey Classic 30..It's got a nice spring reverb, Sweet sounding clean channel, (especially with P-90's) and a great creamy tube overdrive..Plus you can get one brand new for under $600..My 2 cents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steampowered Posted July 1, 2010 Author Share Posted July 1, 2010 I pulled the plug and came home with the Venus 3. It was a rather difficult decision. I tried the Chubster 45 along side of the Venus, going back and forth for about thirty minutes. Tonally, the Chubster had that sound, dead-on. Rich and "shimmery" a true "Wes-like tone". The Venus came across as much more versatile, though, with incredible tweed and blackface tones provided by pulling the middle knob. The Venus won over the Chubster due to being dead silent at idle, having the option of going from 15 to 7 watts, and providing a greater variety of tones. Not only did the Venus provide glassy cleans, but can get very dirty sounding with a pull of volume boost knob. The class A quickness of response was noticeable to my ears, as well. The Venus 3 came across as the perfect amp for both jazz and blues. Not a "best of both worlds" amp, where it can sound merely "good" in either setting, but truly AMAZING for both styles of play. Some buddy's warned that I'd need one "blues" amp and another for "jazz" tones, yet this truly does both equally well. I gotta say that hearing all of the tones that Jerry Donahue got out of his Venus 3 tipped the scale as well. Here is the video clip that Rivera amps has: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smurph1 Posted July 1, 2010 Share Posted July 1, 2010 I pulled the plug and came home with the Venus 3. It was a rather difficult decision. I tried the Chubster 45 along side of the Venus, going back and forth for about thirty minutes. Tonally, the Chubster had that sound, dead-on. Rich and "shimmery" a true "Wes-like tone". The Venus came across as much more versatile, though, with incredible tweed and blackface tones provided by pulling the middle knob. The Venus won over the Chubster due to being dead silent at idle, having the option of going from 15 to 7 watts, and providing a greater variety of tones. Not only did the Venus provide glassy cleans, but can get very dirty sounding with a pull of volume boost knob. The class A quickness of response was noticeable to my ears, as well. The Venus 3 came across as the perfect amp for both jazz and blues. Not a "best of both worlds" amp, where it can sound merely "good" in either setting, but truly AMAZING for both styles of play. Some buddy's warned that I'd need one "blues" amp and another for "jazz" tones, yet this truly does both equally well. I gotta say that hearing all of the tones that Jerry Donahue got out of his Venus 3 tipped the scale as well. Here is the video clip that Rivera amps has: Sweet sounding Amp!! you should be very happy..He sure made it sound GREAT!!..Enjoy!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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