Currently own just a orange micro crush, need something little bigger. Was looking at the orange 12 or pignose hog 20. Both have an overdrive and 3 band eq and around same price. Any one like one over the other or have other recommendations at the 100$ price point.
At the $100 price point, I really like the Fender Champion 20. I use mine for duo jamming with a guitar player buddy of mine and am quite satisfied with the tone it provides with my crystal JT30 mic on the bassman setting with a touch of delay. This amp also includes an aux in cable and headphone out jack, which makes it ideal for practicing with backing tracks or learning recorded tunes.
The Champion 40 sounds even better to my ear with significantly more thump and power through a 12" speaker. My guitar buddy who owns a "40" swapped the factory speaker for a Jensen P12Q, which makes it significantly more harp-friendly.
Here's a couple of clips with me playing through the Fender Champion 20. It can make a wide range of sounds, but I typically go for a traditional blues sound with the Bassman voicing.
I owned the Champion 40 for a while and I love it! Lightweight and whit 40w of a nice sound. ---------- Sorry for any misspell, english is not my first language.
@Martin: I can get the volume knob all the way up to 10 if I set the gain low enough. :-)
But seriously, when I play this amp I just find a combination of gain and volume that works for the mic and the room, and the overall volume level ends up being similar to the volume I would get out of a vintage Champ or Kalamazoo (or any small tube amp for that matter).
I just checked the knob settings, and it looks like I probably recorded that Blue Midnight clip with gain on 4 and volume at around 3.5. Not sure about High and Lonesome as that was recorded a few weeks ago at least.
If I wanted to play this amp at loud volumes, I could always pull out my Kinder AFB+, but if I wanted more volume, I would likely just use my Bassman instead. Hope this helps!
I seem to have a very low threshold of resistance for under $100 amps. I have a lot of them, a couple of them are old tube PAs. Craigslist. Old solid state Peaveys are bulletproof and there is a big selection from a time before high gain was the guitar amp model. Just take your mic with you and go try out what looks interesting.
I can’t listen atm but those controls look similar to the vibrochamp xd (out of production). That was a hybrid amp, 6v6 power amp, and 12ax7 driver with a chip for the preamp voice and dsp effects. That comment about setting the volume on 10 if gain is kept low enough, I know tongue in cheek but also very pertinent. I find that amp is about the most versatile unit I own. Just not very loud, and only really one suitable voice, which is enough for me.
@SuperBee: I once tried a Vibrochamp XD at a music store and thought it sounded good for harp. I think the XD has more amp voicings, but overall they are very similar. The Champion 20 also adds an 1/8" aux cable in and headphone out, which are great for practice sessions.
Also, I should note that the Champion 20 has a bit more treble in all the voicings than I would prefer, although the amp is still plenty usable for harp. I was considering trying a different 8" speaker to try to find a darker tone.
i use a vibrochamp xd to play at a local jam.its got a decent sound and is loud enough. it has a line out if you need it louder.If you see a cheap used one try it out. the number 4 voice is the best for harp. i usually use an sm57 or a 545d.
