new practice amp - my only amp. question

[zongatron]

Hi everybody,
I am about to purchase my first real amplifier after a playing layoff of 25 years due to illness.
I have always loved the Marshall sound and I have always loved the mesa boogie sound. (and im sure many others I wasnt aware of).

At this point I am getting back into playing and I would like to get real and buy a valve amplifier.

At present I have boiled it down to either the Marshall DSL5w, which has a switch to reduce it to 1w for bedroom playing and the Blackstar HT5RCMK2 which also has a switch to reduce it for bedroom playing.

At this stage the amp will only be used for home use - but one day might find its way into a garage jam.

I actually quite like the blackstar for its wider range of tones however I am wondering if i would be settling for something thats not either the true marshall sound and not the true mesa boogie sound?
So my question here, for the wiser and more experienced than myself is - Does the blackstar hold its own in terms of sound quality - OR is it more of a substandard copy of a marshall in american mode and a sunstanbdard copy of a mesa in british mode?

I have small children and am on a low income which means - I only get to buy one Amp.
Thanks any and all for any advice
Ben

 

[cardinal]

Hey Ben, are you able to try them out at a Guitar Center or something similar?

 

[splatter]

Go with the blackstar, Tone wise its 10x better , There is a reason people boost their marshalls and have them modded, its because it won't get where they want it to go on its own.
I had a 5w blackstar and its a great little amp . If your getting a combo I would suggest swapping the speaker.the stock one isn't horrible but it can be improved upon

 

[skullfxr]

What exactly is your budget? I personally think that you could do better for the dollar. Are you OK with buying a used amp? Also don't equate wattage to ability to sound good at lower volumes. I have 100 watt amps that perform better quiet than 5 watt amps I have had.

 

[zongatron]

Hi guys,

I have heard them both at a guitar centre but am yet to take my guitar in and try them as I thought i would do all my research first.

My first impressions were, wow the blackstar really punches and sounds very versatile so I should be able to find a few tones in there somewhere - BUT, it didnt have the marshall thing.

My impressions of the marshall was - Yes, there it is, however it just kind of sounds like everybody else so I would have to start modding it to get any individuality out if it etc. which addds $$

My budget is $800 + or- a few dollars

I should mention that I live in Australia, and there are very few quality second hand Amps in my price range.

Ben

 

[skullfxr]

You would be much better suited with a bigger amp - not just for volume but the sound quality that comes with moving up a tier, but unfortunately that is accompinied with an increase in price.

 

[Thunkful]

I'd take the Blackstar over Marshall, i think the Blackstar sounds more like a good boosted marshall should sound even at lower volumes unlike the DSL which sounded cold and shrill even when i cranked it, same with the JVM.

Also you should check out Fender's Bassbreaker models. surprisingly Marshall-esque sounds at higher gains + sounds and feels great at lower volumes! Also as it is a Fender amp it might have a bit "Mesa" in it so that would be a nice crossover for ya!

Hopefully i didn't sound like a Fender PR guy, but seriously, try them, they're that great that i was even surprised myself.

Edit: If your budget is around 800$, you should try the Hughes & Kettner Tubemeister, last time i tried it it sounded really nice.