Pantomime Horse: Amps

When people get to be my age, they go through what most people call a midlife crisis. I don't like to think of it that way. I view it more as a midlife re-evaluation. It's the stage of life where you finally realize that you no longer have all the time in the world to do everything you want to do, so you re-evaluate those goals and figure out which ones are viable and which ones have to be abandoned. It's a bittersweet time as it's sad to see some of your old goals and aspirations die, but it's good to be refocused on the things you really want to do. It doesn't happen at once and the plans often change until you finally figure out what you want.

This re-evaluation happened to me recently. I'm fortunate in that I have a logical, analytical mind, and that I can do a lot of internal analysis without doing anything rash. Many people end up doing crazy stuff like quitting their jobs, divorcing their husbands/wives, and buying outrageous sports cars, boats, motorcycles, etc., only to realize they love their spouse, they liked their job, and the new bike hurts their back. I'm also fortunate because the only part of my life being re-evaluated is music - I enjoy my career, I love my wife, and although I'd love to learn to ride a motorcycle, it's not as important to me as it used to be, so I could take it or leave it.

Time for another list.

This time, I'm looking for a new amp. This list may circumvent the previous (short) list, as a new amp is more important than a new guitar. Since I have a modeling processor - my DigiTech RP90 - I have little use for a modeling amp. My Line 6 Spider III 15 served me well, but it's time to move on to better things and let someone else enjoy the Spider, most likely a beginner or another picked-up-the-guitar-again-after-a-long-break player like me.

I want to get an amp that's small but still powerful that has its own tone and can handle having the RP90 plugged into it. My criteria are as follows:

All tube - no more solid state for this guy
5 watts or less (don't need any more than that)
Headphone output for silent practice
EQ/tone controls, even if it's just a single tone knob
Out-the-door price less than $500, ideally WAY less than $500

Additionally, some features that I would like to have (but won't disqualify an amp if they're missing):

Power attenuator or master volume to get high gain at low levels
Dual channel (clean/dirty) with footswitch

There are only a handful of small tube amps on the market, so they'll almost all make it on this list. Where possible, I'll substitute a stack for a combo if the price of the stack is less than $500. Nice thing about a stack is that I can upgrade the speaker cabinet in the future if need be and keep the same head.

Without further ado, the list:

Marshall Class 5 ($399 at Guitar Center) - This amp is currently my favorite based on reviews and videos. Why? Well, it's a Marshall, it's made in England, it looks cool, and did I mention it's a Marshall? Although it has a headphone output, it doesn't have a master volume or attenuator so the only way to get that classic Marshall crunch is to crank it, which would be extremely loud. I don't think the wife and/or the neighbors would appreciate that.

Blackstar HT-5 ($499 at Guitar Center, but I've seen it for $399 elsewhere) - Easily the second favorite, the HT-5 hits all the marks - dual channel with footswitch, headphone jack, master volume - with the only negative being price, although I could get it for $399 if I don't mind getting it shipped to me.

Vox AC4TV ($199 for combo, $349 for stack) - The AC4TV is a great looking little amp in stack form. The combo looks a little wimpy, but fortunately the stack is so inexpensive that the choice is obvious. The amp gets positive marks for the power attenuator but loses big time by not having a headphone jack.

Bugera V5 ($149) - The Bugera is the cheapest of all the small amps on this list and is also the most full featured. It has a power attenuator, separate gain and volume controls, a headphone jack, and even adds digital reverb. The V5 is really small. Usually, small amps look wimpy (like the AC4TV combo) but the Bugera looks pretty cool for something so small. I played one of these before but I didn't know enough about it to give it a proper test. I got a lukewarm impression of it back then, but I'd like to get another chance to test it out.

Blackheart Little Giant ($349 for combo or stack) - With identical prices for the combo and stack, it's a no-brainer that I'd pick the stack version. While it's a nice looking amp (and sounds pretty good based on videos I've seen) it's missing the all-important headphone jack. Still, it's got a pentode/triode attenuator for lower volume gain and the price is right for a proper stack.

There are a few notable amps missing from this list, including the Fender Champ and Epiphone Valve Jr. While both are great amps, they both only have a volume control, so they are missing too many key features to be considered. Also missing is the Bugera V22, the V5's bigger brother. It's a 22-watt amp, which is probably way too much for a bedroom/recording amp, but if I had to look for an amp to use on gigs, it would be at the top of my list. It has all the goodness of the V5 (minus the headphone jack) and adds a dual-channel setup with footswitch and a pentode/triode switch that replaces the attenuator on the V5. The fact that it's only $349 - well within the budget of this list - makes it worthy of a second look.

So where does this leave me? A lot depends on funds. If I don't want to spend a lot of money, the V5 is the winner, hands down. Its combination of features, looks and price are unbeatable in this category. If I don't mind spending a little bit more, it'll come down to a grudge match between the Marshall and the Blackstar. The HT-5 may have more features, but the Class 5's classic looks and made-in-Britain authenticity make this a much closer fight than it appears to be.