Mesa Boogie Studio Preamp rig question

[Garebear18]

So my brother hung up his guitar playing days and gave me some of his old equipment which included a mesa boogie studio preamp and a 12in. mesa cab. Unfortunately, his mesa boogie power amp was sold by a friend of his. So I have been running the preamp through an old soundcraftsmen power amp my dad had, but I really would like to upgrade to a tube power amp as I think it would really flesh out the tone and bring my rig to life. However, I'm a poor college student and the tube amps I've looked at (peavey 50/50, mesa 20/20, carvin ts-100) are pretty pricey for me. Plus, I don't think I will be needing the kind of power those amps will be putting out since all I really want to be able to do is record or jam with my drummer buddy. So I've been looking at lower price tube amp heads and I've been wondering about the Epiphone Valve Junior. I figured I can use the mesa to get the metal or gainy tones I want and just use the EVJ as a power amp. Does running my preamp through that to the cab sound like a legitimate set up? I'm pretty new to the whole rig thing so I don't know if that would work well for my needs. Would something like the blackheart little giant or blackstar ht-5 work better? Any direction or advice is welcome

 

[glpg80]

for college a POD goes a long way, especially if money is tight and volume is of concern. for the price you would be spending on an HT-5 you could add $100 more and get a stereo tubed power amplifier for your rig.

id recommend storing it and going modeling, or save a bit more and spring for the power amps you mentioned

 

[tehuk]

You should try an EHX power amp. They sound pretty good at low volumes.

 

[mboogman]

The studio preamp is a great piece. It's been an integral part of my rig for a while now (well, at least for over 6 months ). It should be pretty easy to find an older solid state amp to pair with it for a while until you can find a decent tube power amp. In fact, I may have something that would work quite well for you, and I could make you a great deal on it too. My old ADA Microtube 100 power amp would pair quite well with the SP. Shoot me a PM if you think you might be interested.

 

[skoora]

Look for a used peavey 60/60. They can be found cheap and are a great bang for the Buck power amp. If you're jamming with a drummer anything less than 20 Watts will not cut it, especially if you want to have a clean sound that will be heard. That's. 20 tube Watts too. Solid state you will need at least 100 Watts.

 

[petejt]

If you can find a Mesa/Boogie 50/50 stereo poweramp at a cheap price, then grab it. I am not sure what they sell seconhand though.

Or maybe a Rocktron Velocity? or Mosvalve?

 

[Anonymous]

i'd get a mosvalve stereo power ampfor now...you wont' regret it..and you don't have to worry about tubes (for the budget friendly college kid). they're usually between 150-180 and last forever...built like a tank.

then later, you can upgrade to what you want.

i dont think a valve junior will compete with a drummer in any setting, but i know the mosvalve and the ada power amps will. the peavey 60/60 can be found cheap (3 or under) but IME they're kinda stiff to play through and don't respond as fast as a lot of other tube amps i've used. they're not bad though, i'd get one for 200$ if you can, but not any more than that and usually require the right power tubes in them to feel right, at least that's what i thought.

those marshall valvestate stereo power amps aren't terrible, but they're IMHO not as good as the mosvalve and would be my last choice.

 

[SFW]

look for an old Peavey Classic 60 mono block poweramp. That's what I used to run my Studio Pre into in the 90s. It's a great sounding unit that can be had for cheap off of ebay.