Amps. Already have a modeling amp or two.

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Really want a general discussion of amps that can be used from practice to couch to bedroom amp but could play a small venue or hold up with friends.

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That’s a huge range of uses. But sounds like you are looking for a tube amp in the 15-50 watt range. Lots of choices have attenuation options these days but such mixed reviews on how good they sound.

Price range also crucial to this discussion.

However two really cool options are the Mesa boogie California tweed and Marshall studio vintage. These are high end though. Fender has all kinds of price points but they are generally too clean for my liking.

Modeling amps are cool but being able to get good your sound just with amp controls is an important skill. Tube amps just have a better sound, hard to explain but it just feels more natural. I waited too long to play through all tube so would at least have that as an option. But tube amps have to be played loud

I’d personally look at Clapton’s gear, and go with a great clean tube amp that has a lot of head room before it starts to break up on the clean channel and that takes pedals well.

Dr Z Nova

Messa Boogie Filmore

Tone King Imperial MKII

Fender Princeton Reverb


Dr Z is one of the best retro voiced overdrive channel amps I’ve heard, but also has a fantastic clean channel as well to push with pedals, but may be the best for Clapton stuff without pedals.

Best clean overall may be Tone King and the fact you can attenuate it to bedroom levels is a huge plus in my book. It breaks up really sweet, but the Fillmore is right there with it in clean tones and as a pedal platform The California Tweed by Boogie is also a great clean amp. It’s hard to beat a Fender for traditional clean tones, so a nod goes to Princeton as well, but it does lack the head room of the others.

If you want to get crazy though, the Two Rock Studio Signature is a hand wired amp that is simply out of sight, but it’s priced that way too, so you better budget for it. It’s not cheap.

It’s also notable that Clapton has been an almost exclusive strat player since the 70s

For concert tours Clapton has used Marshall, Fender Blackface Twin Reverb, Music Man stacks , Soldano stack, then for over 20 years a Fender High power Tweed Twin, and for his last tour a custom built Fender Tweed Bassman Clone. The only effects he has used over the last 30 years are a Wah Wah pedal, and a actual organ Leslie for Chorus effect. He gets all his distortion and sustain from just cranking the amp up.

I'd say don't completely discount the mini versions of tube heads that have debuted over the past 10 or so years. They sound fantastic both at bedroom levels and at club levels due to having built in output options. It doesn't even have to be a full stack. You can get a whole lot of mileage out of a mini head with a 2x12.

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I have no problem going used. Going over $500 seems silly to me. But that’s just me and my opinion hand in hand with my ability.

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Seems like you want someone to suggest a used blues jr

It’s a good amp, just not my favorite and you can get some used 15 watts from the major manufacturers in that price range - I have a Vox AC15 that I think was $550 a few years ago but I don’t love it.

I wish I would have spent more for better gear when I was still learning (ie terrible). My parents bought me an American tele when I was like 26, by far nicest instrument that I had and had been playing almost 10 years. I was a bit embarrassed that they bought me something so expensive especially since I had a good job and could have bought myself if I wanted but just wouldn’t have given myself enough credit to buy something that expensive. However, that guitar motivated me to take my playing to the next level. It felt good in my hands. When I bent the strings they just wrang out like I hadn’t experienced before. I progressed more in that year than the 10 before it.

Why an amp, getting something nice is the same experience - you will be able to hit some tones that your modeler won’t get you - tones you have heard on records before that will make you feel more capable.

I say all that just to not fall in the fallacy of buying gear suited to your skill level, if you expect your skills to improve. Not necessarily to increase your price range

If you want something loud enough to play with drums, you will need at least 15 watts of tube or 100 Solid State. They will be loud on their own though, so I’d have something different for the couch.

There are so many options out there, tough to pick even if you know what you want. But again if it were me, I’d be looking into a one speaker (10 or 12) combo tube in the 15-25 watt range. Those basically start at $500 so would just look at new offerings and compare that to reverb to save some cash. The Orange rocker 15 might be a great choice, it’s attenuated and has 2 channels and can be had for $500 used.

I've never played the Morgan, but it sounds so good on the Axe Fx. It's my go to edge of breakup amp on there.

I love this thing. May be small for a venue other than the local dive bar. I keep it in my office and scroll through the various settings. Perfect for different moods.

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can be used from practice to couch to bedroom

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sounds like you are looking for a tube amp in the 15-50 watt range

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Tube: If you're looking for affordable, high quality tube versatility from clean to pushed blues to vintage rock, in a variety of available wattages/sizes/speaker combos, research the two-channel Peavey Classic series combos of the 1990s into the early 2000s.

SS: All my corksniffer buddies who have nice gear and who are constantly chasing nice gear are raving about the new series of Fender "Tonemaster" amps that replicate vintage tube classics. They tell me they sound insanely accurate to what they model, they are lightweight, no tube hassles, they have onboard attenuation for low-wattage options, they are affordable and you don't have to worry about the value and upkeep of a 55-year old electronic device. I really need to try one.