Kustom Tube 12

[pictoratus]

I got a chance to play through a Kustom Tube 12 today and I have to say I wasn't very impressed.

Maybe I was expecting more, I don't know. I played a Starcaster (Fender low end model with 3 single coils), some off brand double cutaway I had never heard of with a P90, and a Les Paul knockoff with 2 humbuckers through it. Playing clean with the Gain switch turned off, it was decent sounding but not great, but with the Gain switch on, it just didn't do it for me. I know this has a tube for pre-amp only; not sure what the gain switch does.

I've been looking for a low cost Tube amp and have played through a Epiphone Valve Jr and now the Kustom. Still want to try a Fender Champion 600 and a Bugera V5 if I can find them to try out. So far the Epi is the winner for me.

[zagatron1]

I'm gonna go with the Bugera V5 for a my bedroom amp.

[DetroitBlues]

I had a Champ 600, wasn't bad, but got too flubby with a Les Paul.  Never tried it with a strat.  A friend had the Bugera V5 with similiar results.  Going back, I think it had more to do with the speaker than the amp itself....  Wish they'd make those tiny amps as just heads....

[creekster52]

I have expressed an interest in a Bugera V5 head several times with Bugera. Their response has been to try to bump me up to the V22.

I like the Epi Valve Jr. head version too.  I have a Peavey SX112 ext. cab that worked well with that little amp. There are even some of the original versions (no tone stack or reverb) left at the Guitar Center in Dallas @ $99.

[pictoratus]

I don't think it would be too difficult to modify either the Champion or the Bugera to use an external enclosure. A guy on another forum modded his Mustang amp with a 1/4" jack in the back. When you plug in the cable to the external, it disconnects the internal speaker. You would just need to match the impedance of the internal speaker.

Of course, doing so would void any warranty.

[creekster52]

The Bugera V5 already has an extension jack. It would just be nice to have a smaller head version.

[DetroitBlues]

I have expressed an interest in a Bugera V5 head several times with Bugera. Their response has been to try to bump me up to the V22.

I like the Epi Valve Jr. head version too.  I have a Peavey SX112 ext. cab that worked well with that little amp. There are even some of the original versions (no tone stack or reverb) left at the Guitar Center in Dallas @ $99.

I did rather enjoy the tone of the V22 however, my problem with Bugera is the reliablility.  I had one for about a month when the reverb cut out when the amp gets too hot.  Some people have great luck with the amp, but I switched to a handwired amp that is much more servicable.  It doesn't have the killer OD tone of the Bugera, but that's why we have stompboxes!

[creekster52]

The hand-wired thing appeals to me as well. I have considered the VHT Special 6 head, but it is twice the price of the Valve Jr.

[zagatron1]

I might get one from these guys http://www.guytronix.com/home.html 'cause at 10 watts, my Allen Amps Chihuahua is a tad too loud...... to be my bedroom amp anyway.

[DetroitBlues]

I've thought about the Blackstar HT-1 head.  1 Watt little tube tone monster.

[zagatron1]

I thought about getting one of those, but all I hear are overdriven sound examples. I'd like to hear some clean headroom examples. One thing I do like about it, is it does have reverb. I wonder what the 4x8" Blackstar cab sounds like?

[reb]

pic, i have an epi valve jr. head-have had it maybe 3 years. i like it....with 'the wrong' speaker cab, it sounds bright and harsh. with the 'right' cab, it sounds smooth to my ears. now that i have established that i am a 'tone crazy', a couple years ago, all of my disposable income went to 'new raw speakers'. i think i bought maybe 6 new eminence, jensen and maybe a celestion, and made cabinets out of 3/4" plywood for all of them (which i had in the shop).  the 'smoother ones' (again, to my ears, which are a little bad nowadays) were the eminence copperhead, the cannabis rex and the jensen jet tornado.

both companies have sound bites of their speakers; there is also a youtube vid by rivera amps, i think, which compares a wide variety of speakers. the modders try to stick different brands of el 84s in the epi, and claim all kinds of success. i don't notice as much difference with a different tube as i do with a different speaker.  right now, i'm running a celestion 12" (i think the 50 watt) on mine stuck in the original epi speaker cab. sounds pretty good to me, but the fact that all the larger speakers are way higher in wattage than the epi can reach restricts any speaker overdrive. i have to overdrive the amp to get decent grit out of it.

dunno if that's helpful re: epi valve jr.; just one person's experience.  reliable amp, though. actually pretty well made and very cheap (mine is a clearance for the new version one).

[pictoratus]

Thanks for the tips, reb.

I am kinda leaning toward getting either an amp head to use with some type of cab or at the very least a combo with external speaker jack. Makes it easier to test drive different speakers to find the one that sounds best.

[reb]

pic, i got to thinking about this...i've been working all week with my hands, and i thought 'i maybe played guitar 30 minutes one night...and i have an Epi Valve Jr. head....i could use a little fretboard time...and a comparison recording would maybe help someone get to an amp they like...' (i like cheap amps, as well as cheap guitars..so)

i did a 'comparison recording' and put it in the same post with the recording using the Fender Champ in my introduction thread.  the Epi will do a little better pinch harmonics than the Fender, so i threw a few licks in with those, too. don't know if that will help you in your search....all this stuff gets to be very individual-tone settings on guitar and stompboxes, fingers or pick...but at least you have some direct comparison (not professionally done..sometimes those are too slick for me). i have found the speaker situation to be a big component of 'what it sounds like'.  i THINK i can hear the Epi being a little bit shriller than the Fender.....i ran through the coil tap and humbucker settings on the Schecter the same as i did on the first recording.

[pictoratus]

Thanks, reb. I'll check it out.