Thank you so much for all of your messages! I did not make my choice yet and still searching for a good amp that would open up all the greatness of the JTV guitar. So far (if we speak of the tube amps), I still think of the Blackstar HT5 amp. If we put the tube thing aside and speak of the solid state and digital amps, Yamaha THR 10 sounds good.
I want to thank each and everyone for your kind replies and suggestions!
@Sparky: Thank you so much for your reply and the comments concerning the Blackstar amp. Out of all the options, it seems to be the most suitable for my needs. However, I am still a bit concerned about the volume, wondering if it can sound well at the bedroom levels.
@Toneman2121: If I could choose, then that would be Vox AC30! :D :)
@DieterWelzel: Thank you for clearing things up with the Marshal JMD:1!
@Benni2407: You discuss an important point in your message. As I was looking through the reviews and opinions on Blackstar HT5, I was constantly hearing about the hybrid amps and some people were saying that Blackstar HT5R is not a full tube amp. Then others claimed that it is a full tube amp which was built by some interesting and innovational scheme. Anyway, it is the sound that matters and the response that can echo the movements and the feelings in your fingers. Since I have never played a tube amp before, I have zero experience and always remind myself that only a fully cranked tube amp can give that proper sound. Since I can't play at high volumes, I am looking for something that would give me a good tube sound at the bedroom levels, if at all possible.
It's great that you can play your Blackstar HT Club 40 in a flat and that the sound is great! What do you think of the emulated output? Have you tried it? I wonder if the volume pot sensitiveness is the same with HT series of Blackstar amps. But in any case, it would be possible to adjust it! :) Thank you so much again for your message!
@Anthonylee: Thank you! Yamaha THR 10 sounds like a very interesting amp and Soren Andersen is one of my favourite guitarists. I have to thank him for my choice of effects and inspiration! It's hard to tell - I have Roland Cube 40 XL which is a digital amp, so that would probably leave it standing in the corner. A tube amp would probably differ (or not?), so it's hard to decide. Thank you very much for suggestion!
@Nikoniablue: Fender Super Champ X2. Actually, it was one of the amps I was looking for and sounds like a good one! Unfortunately, can't find it in the local shops to try out. There is Fender Champion 600 amp that I can try! :D :lol:
@Thorneven: You are absolutely right - it has to be the amp that you have tried and liked the most at the local store. Unfortunately, not every store in one's reach carries each model that sounds or looks interesting. There is always a certain risk which you kindly mentioned, - the sound is not the same in the store and in person's bedroom and the impression that we may get may change when we get home. It is when and where Internet comes to help - you get advices, opinions, thoughts and people share their experiences and tell of how they got their tone and what it took. JTV guitar made it possible to cover a lot of musical ground and play different styles of music. Now it looks like I need to find an amp that would let me play in the vein of progressive rock, starting from the beautiful cleans and getting good overdriven tones once the heavier parts kick in! Thank you very much again for your kind message and advices!
@Pheld: Thank you for your message! If I could name a tone that I would like from a tube amp, then the first thing that comes to mind is VOX AC30 tone and the likes of Tom Petty, R.E.M., The Shadows, Pink Floyd. I do play 80's metal and metal ballads and sometimes like going through the heavier territories, but my heart is always with good clean tones! That's right - very few tube-amps perform well at low volumes and the only amp I still think of is Blackstar HT5R (12 inch speaker), but I do not know how well it will do at low volumes.
An amp-sim... What would you advice from the amp-simulators? I have my Roland Cube 40XL modelling amp, but there is no flat response-speaker option as far as I'm aware. It has good cleans through the clean channel, but having good acoustic sounds from Variax would be very important. What would you advice from the modelling amps or amp sims? Thank you again!
@rlumpkin: Thank you for your reply! Yamaha THR 10 sounds interesting and always calls up a smile. It has a very good sound, too. Did you try to record with it via USB?
Thank you again! :)
With the best wishes and deep respect,
-- Denis