Yep. Another annoying post about my quest for a more compact amp with good tone and just enough headroom to practice with a drummer w/o tons of saturation. I've seen some deals for these used. The silverface Champ I picked up is sweet, but isn't gonna get 'er done. And though compact, actually isn't that light. The little Swart comes in at 14 lbs.

And yes, I know that when seeking headroom, lightweight, and tube amp in most cases I need to pick 2 out of 3 of those criteria...but nonetheless...

Swarts supposed to have more headroom and more volume, but they also run more than double the price. I've never heard any complaints about them, though. Too bad that Champ didn't work for you.

You interested in the Champ?

I played a Swart Space Tone when I was test driving amps. Nice little amp. Sounds great. It was out of my predetermined budget, so I had to pass on it. Due to cost I think I'm going to have to stick with a Champ, but if you are looking for a bit more headroom and really nice sound....the Swart may be the way!

I had a Swart Space Tone Reverb. Excellent tone, good headroom, Reverb to die for, 12" speaker. Have you thought about a Princeton at all?

Yeah, the only one I could afford is the basic ST 6v6 SE that comes with an 8" speaker. Both are 5 Watts, but the non-reverb with the smaller speaker is also half the weight. But I'll bet the 12" adds a bit of headroom, no? I guess I could hope to find a compatible 12" cab while there. But I really need just a small grab and go...

Haven't looked into the Princeton. I read that the Princeton (non-reverb) is a circuit that stays clean longer. But they also run quite a bit more.

My '64 Princeton is non reverb and yes it's got quite a bit more headroom.

I would talk to Jer about his double Nicole or David Allen about his Chihuahua. 10 watts and reverb on both 12 inch speaker and for just a tad bit wore then the Swart.

that's supposed to be double nickel.

Thanks RJ. If I were gonna do a double nickel, I'd just take my 15P (which I still might do). They are close in dimensions, so likely close in weight. The Allen weighs twice the Swart. Also, if I do go Swart, it will be used, so significantly less than either of these.

I'm probably butting my head up against physics at this point. Headroom means higher wattage. Higher tube wattage means more weight.

Jer built me a Princeton clone

You interested in the Champ?

I'm thinking that there's probably not a financially/transportable(y) viable option that would be anything other than a huge pain in the ass for either one of us at this point.

I'm a tube guy and play through a Carr Rambler. I like clean tone and allow my pedals to control the overdrive. The Swart amps just do not clean up well, always a bit of dirt in the tone. Since my Carr is a back breaker I'm trying out a Quilter Micropro 200 amp. At 19 pounds it looks very nice. Only an 8" speaker but reviews look excellent and it will take an extension cab when needed. I'll report back on the sound with my White Falcon DC.

Tom C

My "70 Princeton non-reverb is clean all the way up. Strummer, if you're looking at Swart 6v6's you should also give Vintage 47 another look. That Oahu suitcase is a pretty hot little amp and is less than the Swart. You could always have someone add a boost switch. I exchanged some emails with David Barnes and he was telling me about delivering an Oahu to aLos Lonely Boys gig. Apparently Henry Garza played through the V47 through the house system the whole night and loved it. On a separate note, isn't there a lot of love for Orange amps?

.....or how about this one

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vin...

Yes. This one!

I've been corresponding with David as well. In the mix. If this one had a reasonable BIN, I might jump.

Not sure Orange clean up that well? The "handbag" heads like the Tiny Terror certainly didn't for me when I road tested them to "drummer" level. And that was with single coils, no pedals.

I tried out an Orange amp a while back. Not my cup of tea. But, I'm a Fender guy. Looking for that sparkle. Not really into the master/gain/volume/knobs here and there type of amps. Even the small amps had too many dials on it. But, it 'seemed' to me to be more along the lines of maybe Marshall or Mesa???

Just my 2 cents.

Johnny

Problem solved (I hope)...stay tuned....

Oh, you devil! You bought that V47, didn't ya?

No need to act coy, I guess...

But for a bit less than it's listed. She must have calculated the shipping large and added it in. I'll bet I could have gotten it for a bit less, but I needed to get 'er done. And if it arrives and doesn't do what I need, I'm pretty sure I'll be able to recoup. But for now, I'm psyched!!! Haven't told the wife yet. Gotta sell the champ.

Anyway, I talked with David and he told me to pop 6l6s in to get it up to 15 watts and bring up the headroom. It'll give me a bit more treble as well. Not so period correct, but more what I need.

It's already en route. Thanks for the tip!!!

I'll be interested to hear how you like it. Truth is I bought one of David's field coil speaker prototypes. I'm sitting here in Spain so my brother-in-law took possession of it. To make a long story short, he loved it so much that I sold it to him. I decided between my Princeton and Vox Night Train I probably didn't need it anyway and since he just bought his first serious electric, a Godin 5th Ave.Cw, it was a good match. Congrats on the V47. Very cool looking amp!

One last note, Strummer. Here's the answer to my question to the seller about how the amp breaks up:

If you turn it about 1 to 3 o'clock and use the volume control on the guitar to control breakup, its best. With the guitar full up it starts to break up around 11 o'clock. The distortion is very consolable, smooth and pleasing. Its not a "metal amp" but think Neal Young.

That sounds just right!

Yeah, I like a bit of bristle and snarl, not squeaky cleans, but I don't use much crunch and grind. I'm working off conversation with David and Brian Blaut's description of playing the Oahu Suitcase with a drummer (http://gretschpages.com/for...) I should be okay, especially with the 6l6s. Brian writes:

Volume level was OK when cranked, but the amp was dirtier and throatier than I want - especially with the Dynobrain pushing it. I like a clean tone with maybe just a bit of grumpy on the edge of the louder notes.

So I ran it through the cab of my Deluxe Reverb. Huge. Thick. I dialed the amp's volume back pretty far to compensate, I had volume to spare.

But the Oahu is only 5 watts, single ended, and has an 8" speaker. The Ric is the Supreme push pull circuit, 12-15 watts, and has a 12" speaker. I'm very optimistic.

I'm also intrigued about putting it in stereo with my de Lisle!

so with all this crazy amp switching about, do you still need the road case? yours if you want it...