I have heard only praise about the FA2 Danny.  I just wish they would come up with a Lite version that was within price range for us guys that don't gig on a regular basis.  The HD Pod stuff is nice and some might say, "that is the Lite version", but Line 6 is still not quite close enough for me.  This old tube die hard has absolutely no problem switching to modeling, as long as it is somewhat close to the real tone and feel of real tubes. 

When I started playing guitar, it was bigger, badder, and louder. Eventually, I realized that smaller, lower wattage amps could sound just as good if not better.  So I sold the 100w monsters and got a 22w Mesa Studio.
 
Loved it. Still do.
 
Now it seems the rage is in the smaller amps in the 1W to 5W max output range.  I have not yet picked up one of those. Although I have been tempted from time to time.
 
On a different but similar direction.... It turns out that one of the kids I went to school with ...in my high school graduating class, started a company making small amp kits. http://www.guytronix.com/ampkits.html  all the amps are low wattage models.

The question asked up above somewhere was how can the amp companies make and sell a tube amp for $200 since the transformers are nearly that to begin with..... Only thing I can come up with is they buy cheap ones from china in bulk. Years ago I bought the parts including transformers to build a 50w amp based on the marshall circuit design and used marshall transformers. Those transformers were expensive. Aside from the fun I had building it, I could have saved time and money and just bought a nice used head and been ahead financially on that deal. After the tubes and other things were thrown into the mix, it cost as much to build it than it would have to just bought it. I still have the transformers out in my shop in a box. The amp has been disassembled. I keep toying with the idea of rebuilding it......nahhhhh.... just kidding.

Hi,
 
Isn't "rational" wayyyyy too big a word?

Danny Danzi
I dunno Drew....I really think it would wind up a tool for you even if you're happy with your current gear. I've been happy with my stuff for years but got tired of hearing about this thing. One of my pre-amps went down and I decided to get this thing while I waited for it to be repaired. I thought it would be a toy too and something I probably wouldn't use...but boy was I mistaken. It doesn't just model....it does everything you could ever dream of...talk box included. So you're not just paying for the modeling....it's loaded to the gills with everything and it can be as easy to use or involved as you want it to be.
 
What's even cooler is, they update the thing a few times per month and the updates are pure sickness! More options, more tube tweaks, more amp models, more cabs, I'm just blown away at the dedication Fractal has for it. When something is wrong, they fix it instantly...literally. Not trying to sell you on it, but when you see all the things it can do.....it's sort of like owning Jay Leno's garage and deciding to drive a different vehicle every day. I just can't believe how incredible it is. It IS pricey as heck though, that's for sure. Well worth it though in my opinion. It's got the tube gear and old plexi's down so well, it scared me. I'd go as far as to say if you bought it and hated it that I'd buy it off you because I need another one. :)
 
-Danny

You know it's really weird, as it's the kind of thing I would crazy GAS over several years ago, but now Rain's new amp (or yorolpal's) is more intriguing in a way because of the low price.
 
I think part of it, combined with the high price, is it's similar to the way I feel about Variax or Roland VG guitar modeling - it's hard for me to get exited about making one guitar sound like another when I already have a reasonable version of the thing it's trying to model. It doesn't matter how good the modeling is if it's redundant. 
 
I'm not a purist who goes crazy over vintage gear (vs. great sounding, but perhaps different modern examples), so if a modeler nails a vintage tone that's otherwise unobtainable, it doesn't do anything for me. And I don't really need modeled FX pedals at all because I've been amassing pedals for 30 some years. 
 
Of course if it cost 1/3 as much as it does (which still ain't cheap I believe), I'm pretty sure it would be a much different story... 

kennywtelejazz

Rain
 
 Like my SGJ. It was not be THE big fancy Gibson I used to dream of but it's my guitar. I think this amp could work the same. 

Rain , 
I happen to like SG's a lot ..
I have  a 50 th Anniversary Epi limited Edition ..the 61 w 2 P 90's in Alpine White 
I kid you not …that humble Epi can hang w my R 8 sonically and because of the P 90's it brings something to the table that makes it a keeper ….
 
Some of the absolute best sounding Rock and Roll ever played  , was done on an SG….
 
Kenny 
 

I never thought I could dig them that much. The drummer in my band had one, a beautiful classic red one, and that was my first exposure to them, back in the 90s.
 
It was so light and thin that I just didn't feel comfortable playing it, I couldn't find a position to hold it that was comfortable and I always felt as though I would be crushing it. It sounded awesome though. Our drummer always had the best sounding demo tapes of us all.
 
Eventually, after decades of playing strats and then a few years on the LP, I started re-evaluating my needs. Better access to higher frets. The switch moved out of the way. A bit lighter than the LP, but not too far from it sonically. Tune-o-matic bridge. Set-neck, preferably. So it dawned on me that the SG was actually pretty much what I had in mind, despite the fact that it was so darn thin.
 
The first SG I tried which worked for me was an Epiphone, metallic burst. It worked because it had a fatter neck than your average SG, which made it feel a bit more solid I guess. But having dreamed of a genuine Gibson for a long time, and having promised myself that I would own one eventually, when I read that the 2013 SGJ had a similar fat neck, and with the end of year rebate, it became a no-brainer. 
 
I read somewhere that Tommy Thayer used Paul Stanley's 61 SG running through a H&K amp to record most of the last KISS album. Even through the disastrous modern day production and mastering, I had noticed that sound of his. It works great.
 
I will always love LPs, and that awesome sound of theirs, but the SGJ became an extension of myself. Sometimes, I try one of my other guitars for a different color or something but I always keep getting back to the SGJ. The minute I got used to it, it was like someone had removed every obstacle in front of me. I love that guitar.
 
 

That's what craigslist is for :)
 
Well that and the wonders of self justification!... I take a view that I am only borrowing from my savings for a while, and that nice used stuff is a non-depreciating asset...and so I get the fun for "free"..
 

Rain
 
Nice! Though that's in an entirely different league. Your amp alone must be worth twice as much as my entire rig. :P

MakeShift
I have heard only praise about the FA2 Danny.  I just wish they would come up with a Lite version that was within price range for us guys that don't gig on a regular basis.  The HD Pod stuff is nice and some might say, "that is the Lite version", but Line 6 is still not quite close enough for me.  This old tube die hard has absolutely no problem switching to modeling, as long as it is somewhat close to the real tone and feel of real tubes. 

I've never thought of myself as a purist and as a matter of fact, I don't seem dislike solid state amps as much as many guitar players do, though I really appreciate having access to a tube amp. Still, looking back, I've owned mostly solid state amps in my life, some of which I still think were actually pretty nice, like that old Marshall Master Lead combo. I missed that one more than my 59 Bassman - is that heresy enough for you guys? :P
 
I haven't tried Axe FX or Kemper, though I've heard them. I have owned and worked with tons of other amp sims though, and, as a matter of fact, in terms of sound, I like my POD HD quite a bit.
 
Don't ask me why though, but whether I'm using hardware of software sim, I continually have the same issue. I'm practically never happy with anything I record. I can try 70 different combinations of virtual amps and guitars, something just doesn't work - and it's not a matter of sound, it's my playing that's off.
 
Shove a mic in front of the cheapest little amp you can find, like my little Marshall MG and I'll nail the same passage much better every single take. Even the worst of those takes will be better than my best attempt with simulation. Granted the sound itself is nowhere near as good as what comes out of the emulation. 
 
One would think that at that rate, something like my Line 6 Spider would bridge the gap, and it does a tiny bit. But I still play better through an ordinary amp. That's especially true for middle of the road, classic blues-rock stuff.
 
That's the reason I bought the Randall - the stuff I recorded with the Marshall MG was the closest I came to being happy with my guitar tracks recently. But the sound itself was pretty bad. And I felt I could do with tubes.

Rain, I am very happy for you and your new amp purchase.  It is fun reading about what we all own or want or need.  The only amp I purchased in my life was a few years ago and I got a Vox VT30.  It was on sale and I wanted the 10" speaker and tube preamp.  It is not bad.  I used to use a 60's Deluxe Reverb in the studio for decades with my guitar player.  For distortion, we went from his Les Paul into an MXR distortion box and into the Deluxe Reverb.  I miced it with a 57 and the sound was great.  We used it for our albums, studio dates, and all the filmscores we did.  
 
It is great when you can get what you want.  I am happy with my little amp and even used it in church a couple of times.  Can't wait to hear your recordings of all your new toys.  The video you just released with you playing was really nice - just wanted to see your face too!
 
Rimshot
 
 

Makeshift: I know...I too am not happy about the price, that's for sure. I think the whole thing for me is how one little 2 space rack box can do so much and do it so well. Not only that, but to me it's like literally having a bunch of gear with you at all times. It's not like the modelers we use in VSTi form....it behaves differently, which is a plus. I guess the thing that really blew me away was how it tone matched everything I have played through over the years.
 
As you know, I do a lot of beta testing. I was able to literally tone match my favorite sounds from all the beta work and take it with me when I play. This is something I always wished I could do but never could due to how you would get glitches and other weird things by using amp sims live and in real time. The gapless program changing along with tone matching and having all your own favorite sounds just blew my doors off. I'm also not a purist but prefer at least a 12AX7 front end. I don't particularly care for that loud output tube saturation sound....but it is nice to know we can do that without being that loud. It records great too. It's just a shame it's so pricey...then again, if you ever get a chance to play with one for any length of time, you'll understand why. I didn't think it was really worth it at first....but now, if it went to 5k and I needed one and had the money, I'd not procrastinate. Then again...this is the business I'm in, so it pays for someone doing what I'm doing to have something like this where it may be more difficult or not even feasible for guys with families that are hobby types. It's definitely something worth trying at some point though just to hear it for yourself. :)
 
Rain: glad you have finally found something that works for you! I know it can be painful until you get the tone you're looking for. One thing to always consider (and this is where guitar players always seem to fail) is they try to get good tones from their amps with the amps blowing at their knees. I can't tell you how many guys I've bailed out alerting them to this problem.
 
If a cab is at knee level or chest level, you are not getting the true sound. Anytime you think you have a good sound and when you record it, it doesn't sound close....the amp usually needs tweaking. Of course the mic and the placement is important, but you'll know in less than 5 minutes whether it's an amp problem or a mic problem. At the end of the day, we should be able to make just about any mic work when the amp is tweaked the right way. If it's not at ear level so that you can really hear what's coming out of it, it will always be more difficult to get a good sound out of.
 
Just last week I was in a session with one of my interns running the show where the client had a monster dual rectum fryer mesa combo. The guy's tone was pretty good, but they both couldn't understand why all the mic's and placements they tried, just did the tone no justice. So I just sat and watched waiting to see how it would get handled. Finally they both look at me and submit asking for help.
 
The first thing I did was go in the room and explain that you can get on your knees and try to listen to the cab all you want...it's not the same as having that baby at ear level. So I put it on top of a Marshall 4x12 cab with a few books under until it was at ear level just so we could hear it. To the clients surprise, he nearly threw up because the tone was 100% different than he thought it to be. The treble was way tooo hot, mids were missing.....yet when it was blowing at his knees, it sounded like it had plenty of low and push and wasn't too harsh in the treble area and it wasn't piercing. Raising it painted a completely different picture which forced him to totally re-eq the amp as well as adjust his gain setting. In about 8 minutes, he had a tone dialed in that he liked. We mic'd it back up with just a 57 and it sounded killer. I added a 421 and combined the two, and it was pure bliss.
 
So always remember...when you go to record a mic'd amp, always start with it at ear level so you can really hear what the amp is giving you. 9 out of 10 times, the mic is only giving you what the amp is giving you. In my experience, it's impossible to NOT get a good sound from an amp using ANY mic as long as the amp sounds good. :) Best of luck with your new baby....I hope you share some of your playing and sounds with us. :)
 
-Danny

Danny Danzi
 
Rain: glad you have finally found something that works for you! I know it can be painful until you get the tone you're looking for. One thing to always consider (and this is where guitar players always seem to fail) is they try to get good tones from their amps with the amps blowing at their knees. I can't tell you how many guys I've bailed out alerting them to this problem.
 
If a cab is at knee level or chest level, you are not getting the true sound. Anytime you think you have a good sound and when you record it, it doesn't sound close....the amp usually needs tweaking. Of course the mic and the placement is important, but you'll know in less than 5 minutes whether it's an amp problem or a mic problem. At the end of the day, we should be able to make just about any mic work when the amp is tweaked the right way. If it's not at ear level so that you can really hear what's coming out of it, it will always be more difficult to get a good sound out of.
 
Just last week I was in a session with one of my interns running the show where the client had a monster dual rectum fryer mesa combo. The guy's tone was pretty good, but they both couldn't understand why all the mic's and placements they tried, just did the tone no justice. So I just sat and watched waiting to see how it would get handled. Finally they both look at me and submit asking for help.
 
The first thing I did was go in the room and explain that you can get on your knees and try to listen to the cab all you want...it's not the same as having that baby at ear level. So I put it on top of a Marshall 4x12 cab with a few books under until it was at ear level just so we could hear it. To the clients surprise, he nearly threw up because the tone was 100% different than he thought it to be. The treble was way tooo hot, mids were missing.....yet when it was blowing at his knees, it sounded like it had plenty of low and push and wasn't too harsh in the treble area and it wasn't piercing. Raising it painted a completely different picture which forced him to totally re-eq the amp as well as adjust his gain setting. In about 8 minutes, he had a tone dialed in that he liked. We mic'd it back up with just a 57 and it sounded killer. I added a 421 and combined the two, and it was pure bliss.
 
So always remember...when you go to record a mic'd amp, always start with it at ear level so you can really hear what the amp is giving you. 9 out of 10 times, the mic is only giving you what the amp is giving you. In my experience, it's impossible to NOT get a good sound from an amp using ANY mic as long as the amp sounds good. :) Best of luck with your new baby....I hope you share some of your playing and sounds with us. :)
 
-Danny

Very good observation, Danny! I would have been very likely to make that mistake. Though I've recently become addicted to amp stands to keep everything at hand, the knobs location on this little Randall would make that option less than ideal. So, so far, it's been at knee level (actually, I raised it up a bit by placing it on top of one of my practice amps).

 

 
 
I like to keep the stuff I use all the time within reach, and that seems to be the best place for it so far. So I'll have to keep your advice in mind, until I move things around again. One thing though is that since I work alone, I can afford to take the time, and, to make up for my deficient skills, I usually record as many little tests as needed, in context, as to effectively monitor any adjustment that I make whether it's mic placement or amp settings. Not the most time-efficient thing, but it works for me. But I'll definitely take your advice for the amp itself and spend a bit of time w/ it at ear level or more likely w/ my own ear down to the amp's level.