Long story short, my jam group has started to play out some and have a couple more dates set after the first of the year. My issue is where we have played so far has been very small,(think 2 car garage size) so my main amp is just a bit overkill. Peavey Renown 400 2x12 210 watts. I'm looking to get something a bit more practical in a 112 or 115 range. I have a 30 watt Hartke bass amp that works great at bedroom levels but gets muddy over about 3 or 4. I recently traded an old Yamaha G100 for a like new Fender G-DEC30 but it is not very user friendly for changing setting on the fly. Feel free to put a boot up my butt for trading the Yammy. Worst trade I ever made. So to conclude my short story made long, does anyone have any suggestions for any amps to try out. I'd like any input, good,bad, whatever. I just missed out on a sweet Vox AD30VT but drug my feet 1 day to much. OK, I'm gonna shut up now. Thanks

Gary

Hey Gary! I'm not familiar with any of those amps you mentioned but just off the top of my head I would say you can never go wrong with a Fender Deluxe Reverb, or a Princeton either for small rooms. I've also had great luck with the Fender tweed Bassman too if you can get away with more power. The reissues they make now are a good value even though they don't have the snob appeal of the old ones. If the combo amp thing isn't working for you a lower powered amp through a good cabinet will do the trick too. I have on many occasions used a teeny little Fender Pro Jr amp through a variety of closed back 1-12" or 2-12"cabinets and had good results. Anyway, you shouldn't ever need anything that's putting out more than 40 watts to play in a two car garage!

There might be some useful info on this thread from the Bottle Rockets forum: http://www.bottlerocketsmusic.com/messageboard/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=8692
Brian Henneman is an expert at getting great tone and plenty of volume from a small, inexpensive amp. Of course, micing the amp and taking advantage of the PA can make a big difference when you're playing out.

I second the Deluxe Reverb. You may also want to try an amp with a master volume, like the Fender Blues Jr. The master volume will allow you to keep the volume at a reasonable level while still being able to overdrive the amp for that nice warm tubey sound.

Thanks for the suggestions guys!! Seems like everyone are big time Fender fans. I'd love to have a Deluxe Reverb or Blues Junior but Fenders are very scarce in the used market around here. I can't afford buying new this time of year and playing hasn't been very lucrative. Of the last 3 gigs we've played, 2 have been at BBQ's for friends for free food and drinks and the third we played for tips at a local club and made an earth-shattering $7.00 each.LOL Good thing we just enjoy playing or it would be a short career. I'm gonna go to a fairly big store in Wheeling in the next couple weeks and see what they have. I'll take my Fender G-DEC30 with me in case they take trades. If I find anything, I'll let ya know. Thanks

Gary

Deluxe Reverb is kind of "the wheel" but, what you've got now is probably way more than you need SO, anything with one twelve, two twelves, two tens @ 40 watts or under (like the man said) would be more appropriate for what you describe. Crate has made some good for the money, good sounding amps. Smaller Peaveys, etc. The thing about the old blackface and silverface Fenders is they're classic designs AND quality products. HAND wired and durable. Some of the other stuff I mentioned is a little flimsier on the inside. Having said that, it's amazing how much use can and has been gotten out of 'em. Check out that store and see what ya find. Good luck! WW

Well, I finally got to go amp shopping. It's nice to find a store that has several brands to try out. I got to try out Vox, Fender, Peavey, Mesa Boogie, Crate, Blackheart, Genz-Benz and maybe a couple more I can't remember. I finally decided on a new Peavey Valveking 112, 50 watt, all tube, 2 channel. I didn't want to go with a modeling amp as I've already got one. All the other brands had combos that were close to the Peavey in tone and features but none in price. Most were double the price but some were 3 and 4 times as much. Since I'm not Donald Trump I went with the Peavey and I got 30 days to return if not happy and a full 5 year warranty from Peavey!! I may have more Q's since I've never had a tube amp before. Merry Christmas to me!!!!!

Gary