Finding the right amplifier

So, once I had decided to turn part of my living room into a guitaring area I started thinking about what amplifier I should use. I knew that I would need an amplifier upstairs for when I put my girls to sleep, they appreciate their father noodling about while they try to fall asleep, and I decided that my old DG60 would be serving that purpose. What I needed then was something that would match or preferrably outshine the DG60 in every way.

As my thoughts moved on, I decided my new amplifier needed to have some furniture-like qualities. It needed to look good. And take up some vertical space as the walls are pretty boring. That ruled out most combo amplifiers really. Small size is good for many things, this was not one of them. So maybe a half or full stack? Yes, why not work on what used to be a distant dream? Half stack it was. Checking the used market made me think this would definitely be a good idea.

So, a half stack then. But what half stack? I looked around at used amps and there were Laney, Marshall, Peavey, Mesa Boogie, Fender… I quickly decided against a Mesa Boogie head. I know they’re great but way above my budget. Marshall, well, turned out the ones that were within my budget were solid state and opinions varied from them being pure crap to being great for what they are. So I gave it some more though. Like, I don’t really need a 100W head, do I? My 60W combo was louder than I needed. 

Also, looks. I needed it to look good. The Laney and Peavey heads I found would all look great in a man-cave or at rehearsal. Not so much so in a living-room. The Fenders were somewhat in-between in this regard.

So this is when I look at what shops have and I stumble across Marshalls Origin 20H. Wow. Now, that seems to tick the boxes. Then the DSL20H. Yes, one of these would do it. Then I noticed the Code 100H. Now, it’s a 100W head but I know that modelling amps can be run at low output and still sound good, plus I read up a bit on things and figured a 100W amp isn’t necessarily THAT much louder than a 60W amp. It should be possible to play at tolerable levels.

Of course, me being me, this is when I started second guessing myself. I always do this. Would a 20W head be loud enough? Would the tube amps require pedals to get the sound I want? Would the Code 100H phone app stop working at the next android update?

Eventually, I had a look online at the used section at one of the big stores here in Sweden. Found a DSL20H cheap. Just couldn’t figure out how to order it. Went to another store website. Found an even cheaper Code 100H. And ordering was easy.

Pretty much had my mind made up there. Until I looked to see if they had a suitable cabinet. And that’s when I saw it. My new amp. The Yamaha DG130HA. After a chat with a friend, I decided to order that. I’ll do a separate writeup on this amplifier, hopefully with pictures. But the reason I ordered it is basically that I know how good my DG60 sounds and I needed to match or exceed that. And the DG130H… Well, kind of a unicorn. I can always get one of the Marshall heads later this year, this could easily have been the last time I ever saw the Yamaha head for sale.