My Amp History

Student Years

My first guitar amp was a small Fender Sidekick Reverb 30.  Very basic, solid-state amp. I remember actually hating this amp. It just didn't sound like what I wanted - Marshall or Mesa-Boogie high-gain. Tube warmth and drive.
You can here a demo of one here on YouTube. Listening to it now, I am surprised how I didn't appreciate the clean sound this amp made. It is actually really nice with a Stratocaster.
I then tried to get closer to my tone goals using a Boss HM-2 Pedal.
Of course, this amp could never compete with a drum kit.

The Young Rocker

Dad helped me out by buying a pair of old Fender 4x12" PA cabinets, and I went and traded up my little combo for the then brand new Fender M-80 Rack head. This was a good move because, then I could start getting into rack effects. Over the next couple years, I started to get more serious playing with bands. At least three of the speakers in the old 4x12 PA speakers were blown by the time I was in grade 12. I consolidated the remaining good four speakers into one of the cabinets, and this served me well until I was with my first really serious band, Thomas at the Wheel. With Thomas at the Wheel, I finally upgraded to a Randall 4x12 cabinet with Celestion speakers and a metal grill for $300. Combined with my rack effects processors, this was what defined my guitar sound for the band.
All during my teenage years, I always dreamed of Mesa/Boogie amps. A Quad preamp with a Stereo Simul-Class 295 power amp driving two Mesa/Boogie 4x12 cabinets with EVM speakers. Even a Mesa/Boogie Studio .22+ combo amp was around $1300. Far from what I could afford back then.
I remember, at one time before I joined the band, a friend let me use his Mesa/Boogie .50+ combo for a few weeks, I always wished I could have one. I would have given my guitar rig away just for a tube amp. But in 1994, I left the rock scene, hung up my guitars, and sold my amp.

Starting Over

As I turned 30, I started playing guitar again. I needed an amp. I ended up buying a Vox Valvetronix AD30VT. It had a few of models of good amps, a few effects and had a tube in the output stage to warm it up. the 10"speaker was okay at low volumes, but sounded a bit thin and tinny. One day, I powered up the amp and smoke started coming out of the grille on the top. Not even worth fixing it. So, I went shopping. Tried out a Peavey 5150 II combo. No headphone jack was my official excuse, but I just wasn't ready to start using an amp this big and powerful, this expensive, and since I like using effects, I wasn't prepared to start buying pedals either. So I bought another Vox Valvetronix. This time, I got the new VT50. A bit louder, and had a 12"speaker with a bit more low-end response. This lasted me about two years before I started getting anxious again. I wanted a real tube amp. And now I was really playing a lot. This was my stress reliever, and my little escape from the real world. I sold the VT50 to my friend in Brazil, who is really enjoying it.

Getting Serious 

Want a decent all-tube amp for cheap? Buy an Egnater Tweaker.
I decided not to get a combo this time. For two reasons - combos are heavier than individual head and cabinets, and if one of the components fail, or I feel the need to try something else, you just replace that component - not the whole rig.
I tried out a large number of tube amp heads in the $500 range, and based my decision on a few things - variety of tonal options, and it had to have an effects loop. This excluded the Orange Tiny Terror from my list (lack of an effects loop), and the Mesa Transatlantic TA-15 - no effects loop, and rather expensive for my budget at the time.
I bought the Egnater Tweaker head and a 1x12"matching cabinet. I replaced the two 12AX7 preamp tubes with TungSol's - a gift from a good friend of my father. The third preamp tube is for the effects loop buffer. The TungSol tubes DID make a big difference from the Sovtek's that came with the amp. The TungSol's run quieter, and sound more musical when driven hard. Within six months the power tubes blew (strange), so I put in a set of Groove Tubes 6V6s. In an attempt to open up the sound, I added another 1x12" cabinet. Two 12's sound great.
The tweaker is a really great amp. But I'm not happy. It lacks gain. The two 12AX7's don't provide enough. To rectify this I bought a couple boutique overdrive pedals, which I love, but I want and amp that can stand on it's own. Who was it that used the slogan - Ain't nothing like the real thing...?

What Next?

After re-evaluating my feature list, here is where I am at:

• High-gain preamp - at least 3 12AX7 tubes
• Footswitchable channels
• Effects Loop
• 50 watts maximum, even better if it can be switched down to 5-10 watts.
• Lots of tonal variation - this excludes the three-knob Orange TH-30.
• Priced around $1000

I really don't want a clone amp - ie. Jet City, because I just know I'll be pining for a real Soldano. I also am not fond of Marshall, Engl, Laney, or Randall. Considering my historic love for Mesa/Boogie, you know where I am leaning.
After a bit of research, Mesa knows the needs of players like me. Serious, professional, boutique amps with low wattage. Marshall is trying to address this with the Haze series, but it comes across as more of a toy amp - built in effects. It's not a JCM or JVM. Same with the Orange Tiny Terror. It's like these companies are saying - if you want to play at low watt ranges, then you aren't serious about your amp, or you only need the bare essentials.
The only non-Mesa amp I am considering now is the EVH 5150 III 50w Head, which is getting some good reviews, and has a pretty hefty feature list. I have to try one myself.
Mesa/Boogie has three options that fit my list: the 5:25 Plus, the Mini Rectifier and the Transatlantic TA-30.
The 5:25 seems like a great grandson of the .22 Caliber Plus amp of the 80's. 5-band EQ. The Mini Rectifier looks really cool - I am interested to see how different it sounds from the 5:25. I tried out a Transatlantic TA-15 extensively, and I liked it, but I didn't love it. I really think I am going to prefer the 5:25 or the Mini Rectifier.
I welcome your opinions or suggestions..... or offers for a Mesa Mark V, a Soldano Lucky 13 50w.....