I’ve been leaning to smaller watt tube amps lately and picked up a 68 reissue. It’s awesome.
I tried the 65, and also awesome amp.
They’re simple, light and effective….the twin is great but only effective.

 

You ever think about the Fender tonemaster twin? Gives you that twin sound in a very light package. I have a twin preset on my Fractal that sounds great and I can get the tone to sound like its on 4-5 but at lower over all volume.
I'm pretty sure the tonemaster twin has power scaling. I owned it for about a month a few years ago but wasn't ready to go digital at the time.

 

1. If you MUST have built-in vibrato, a Traynor YGM-3 reissue might be an option, although it has EL84 tubes.
2. I'd see if I could check out a Mesa California Tweed 6V6 2:20, it might fit what you're looking for and still be loud enough for playing out. They're very light.
3. Just to round out the options, a Vox AC15 is a good compromise.

 

Opinion of one.so take it with a grain of salt...

It depends a bit what you are hoping to get out of the switch to a tube amp. But a twin reverb like you said, is way too loud for the use case you are describing. You definitely won't be getting anything but clean tones from it at the volume setting you'll likely need to play at, but maybe that is ok for your use case. Even if clean is what you are after though, to get the power amp section going, you'll need to play at a certain volume. If suggest trying one out at a local shop, or demoing this amp before you buy it. It sounds like a Princeton is more up your alley?

You'll notice that larger tube amps tend to be cheaper than their smaller siblings these days because even gigging musicians can't really use them anymore

 

At that price, you’ll enjoy paying for it.

But you won’t enjoy loading it into your vehicle.

You won’t enjoy lugging it down to your basement.

You won’t enjoy the tone when the volume is less than 1 while still at a manageable level.

Your family will not like the volume on anything past 1.5+.

Buy an an attenautor or similar kind of pedal (I think JHS calls it a “Little Black Box” and use it in conjunction with your Hot Rod Deluxe.

 

I think I have tried most amps out there and now my playing is mostly at home.

For my home use now I have the 68 vibro champ reissue and a FRFR cab that I use with my board if I want to get really loud .. both work great and sound awesome.

Many of the new power tubes these days don’t seem to last .. so having just a single ended champ tube amp simplifies and lowers my costs.
it’s almost like a mini Princeton with the reverb and Vibro.. quite happy with it .

I have jumped off the big amp bandwagon.. tired of replacing power tubes and getting the bios done.

 

Hi, I live in Kanata and have a Blackface Twin Reverb converted to an head/cab configuration. I've recently switched over to playing bass and might be interested in selling it if you're interested!

 

Played twins for years. Now use a Vibrolux great smaller amp. But I still have a tonemaster twin. Lite and very close to a tubed twin.

 

+1 on the attenuator option if you’re set on a larger amp without built in power scaling.
I have master volume amps, but still use an attenuator to get a bit more out of the amp at a reasonable volume.

 

My issue with playing a high volume amp at low low volume is every once and awhile it will do something unexpected. Like when I had my amp at super low and plugged the cord in. The jack clicked so f'ing loud it was like I had the amp on 10. Of course I had my head about a foot from the grill cloth.

 

I guess that’s where an external attenuation device can help.
I get you.. those can be loud enough to stop or restart a heartbeat.

 

If you want a Twin by a 70’s one - they are great and I’ve seen a for $1200 Cnd recently on Kiji.

Even if it’s costs up to $400 for a good servicing it’s going to sound way better and be much more reliable than a modern Fender.

 

Big high wattage amps sound better at low volumes than the vast majority of lower wattage amps do.

 

I disagree. Back from about 1980 till 1990ish I was a big fan of the twin. I had a 65 reissue and a Bruce Zinky dual professional, which is basically a type of modded twin. As clubs started clamping down on the volume I had to play the twins at lower and lower volume. The 65 twin played at 1 to 1.5 was very sterile and brittle sounding not good at all. The dual professional was slightly better at lower volumes. Then I made the jump to Dr Z amps. Which although still quite loud the EL84 tubes seemed to get going a bit better at the lower volumes than the twin. And when I say lower volumes, it was still quite loud. With my Dr Z Stangray (my all time favorite amp) tried a Z brake but hated what it did to the tone. If you were down 1 or 2 clicks not too bad but it got to the point where I had to be down so much more and it didn't work for me.
So I went on to to some other power scaling amps (Tone King) that worked pretty well and some master volume amps. The Allen amps that owned, Encore and accomplice, were 2 of the best amps I ever owned to sound good with the master volume and "RAW" knob.
But even that has its limits and as I got older and played more very small venues the need to be even lower volumes was necessary. So that brings me to now a days with digital modelling. It does everything I need at just about any volume. I still have a couple of tube amps for when I can open them up at an outdoor venue. But thats maybe 1 or 2 times a year.
The 2 amps I have, mesa fillmore 50 and a Fargen DBC50 can sound pretty good at fairly low volumes but not as low as digital can get. The fillmore 50 has a very good master volume and a half power switch. The Fargen also has a low power switch. The blackface channel on the fargen can sound good at real low volumes but the Plexi channel needs more.

 

TeleLUVR go for a Deluxe Reverb Blackface vintage or a 65 Deluxe Reverb.

 

I know tis not tubes, but you really should try the Twin Tonemaster. Its got an attenuator, has an XLR output, a lot lighter and sounds incredibly like a tube twin.

 

Mines been bullet proof and is 95 percent a real twin.

 

OP rent the amps in question and see if they actually work for you.

 

Renting is excellent advice! Really good advice!

No one wants their vintage Twin Reverbs. You wouldn't pay much more to get a vintage one.

The big Fender amps are out of fashion.

How big a guy are you? How's your back? How loud do you need your amp to be?

You can play a Twin Reverb at any volume and it's going to sound good. That's the way I use my Super Reverb. If you want a clean platform that will sound good at any volume, a Twin Reverb is a good amp.

If you want a little dirt from the amp, you would have to play pretty loud. I guess that's what the attenuator is for.

I played a very expensive little Princeton Reverb that sounded great.

All amps can be mic'd.

 

I'm a basement dweller myself, and I mostly use my '74 Twin Reverb. I don't get any complaints from my neighbors.

I found my Twin for $1,000 with a flight case a few years back. There's also a '74 Pro Reverb available near me for $1,500, and I almost broke down and bought it—lol.

I would highly recommend either renting an amp or going into a store with your Strat. Also, don't just stick with the big-name brands; check out Traynor. They offer a lot of options at a much more reasonable price range, and their speakers are decent.

 

Couple of great options, thanks guys. I'll check them out. Fender tonemaster=I've seen them, but until a year-ish ago my amp experience was limited to that loud/clear/barky Peavy amp. @ 5W maxed-out on the Katana the ear damage happens slowly, but I'm getting the sound I want. @ 50W turned way down

Looking at the local B&S this morning, I'm seeing a Fender Blues Jr. amp @ about $800, 15W, Jensen speaker etc. Price seems about $100-$150 high but it's more or less @ the same price as the 65 Twin Reverb. The latter would be an all day affair driving wise, but you've all painted a good picture of the pros/cons of the twin.

Opinions on the Blues Jr?

 

Imho it will need a speaker upgrade

 

The 30th anniversary edition is the most mature version (most of the bugs have been addressed)

 

It's a volume control.

 

Power scaling is a knob on the back, not a volume. It drops the power so that it simulates a cranked amp at lower volumes.
Whether it is actually restricting the power section or doing it digitally, I don't know.
I can do the same think in my FM9 with the amp models. Crank up the MV and\or gain then bring the overall volume down to where I need it to be. This way I can get a cranked sound but lower volumes. All done digitally.

 

It's darn near impossible to get a twin to break up. I can turn down the power scaling on my TM and get it breaking up at a reasonable volume.

 

It's very possible, most people just dont play that loud

 

Controversial take here--buy the Twin. Pull the outside two power tubes (reducing power by about half, and changing the impedance) maybe get a tech to check the bias, as it will change. Pull the tube in the first preamp spot--this will disable the first channel, but will reduce headroom on the second. Then patiently wait for someone to sell some lightweight speakers. The re-issue Twin is a good amp. Heavy, but sturdy and great with pedals.
I've done this before with rental Twins and festival backlines where I've needed a bit of oomph, but not willing/able to turn a Twin to 7.

 

Thanks everyone-the research continues... Had someone (recently) suggest I just get a Blues Junior, but thinking I need to get in front of some of these recommendations before buying. Honestly, I came close to a Tone Master last week...but more research req. Fender ain't giving these away, and I have patience on my side. lol

 

Look for a ‘94 Twin (aka Evil Twin). The (kinda) master volume design coupled with the high/low power switch on the back as well as the high/low inputs, make it useful and sound great at almost any volume. The only drawback is that it doesn’t have Tremolo…but that’s easily sorted with a pedal.

 

‘94 Twin under my Sessionman. It’s available to try if you’re in the neighborhood. It’s Evil. Has a switch to take it down to a loud 25 watts. Follow the instructions, pull the correct tubes, relocate the speaker connection to the proper ohms input, and you get a loud 15 watts. Has an effects loop with several options that most amps don’t have. The clean channel is boring compared to the gain channel. The drive channel is truly evil if you play it cranked, yet volume is easily controlled. I like it best at full wattage.

I’m at that point in life where it’s time to part with gear. So it could be yours.