https://www.quilterlabs.com/index.php/product/aviator-cub ^^^This is the objectively right answer Will give you the Fender Tweed and Blackface tones already rec'd here, as well as a nice middle ground "Blonde" option. All in a package that's lighter, cheaper, and will give you better sounds at low volumes than you could get from tubes. Added bonus of headphone jack, line out, and FX loop. I just picked one up and it's fantastic.
I have a non thinline EJ. It sounds great through everything I've played through. A princeton or deluxe reverb will give you classic fender tones in spades. A Marshall DSL40 will get you some amazing tones as well. If you want something a bit more expensive, a Carr or Tone King will get you a variety of Fender blackface and tweed tones, but at a premium price. I had a Mustang GTX50 for a week and returned it. It sounded good but, like all modeling amps it left something to be desired. Good luck.
View attachment 514247 View attachment 514247 View attachment 514248 View attachment 514249 I'm not fond of solid state preamp gains, an old Supro would be great ut costly. FET boost tends to be brittle as opposed to real tubes. I bought a Monoprice (sorry, Chinese) 5 watt tube amp when they were on sale for 100$ and replaced the cheap tubes (1-12AX7, 1-6V6) with Tung Sols 5751 and 6V6 and it warmed up and breaks up gradually (5751 - lower gain but warm) and it screams. (think Fender Princeton copy basically) Through 2-12 Jensen Vibrantos and it's worth the money by far. Otherwise I have used Crate gt 500 heads and Pignose G40V both tubes and they're affordable if you find them. The el84s in the Crate are warmer than 6L6s and break up like a 6V6. Remember, it takes 10X the wattage to double the perceived sound so 5 watts is loud. There are many 5 watt tube heads available and finding an after market 12 inch cab is east and affordable. I recommend trying several out and then buy used - more bang for the buck if it was taken care of.
For home use... a decent small modelling amp like the one you already have is good or of course.. you can go all out authentic old school vintage tone and rock a Marshall plexi pushing a 4x12" half stack loaded with celestions.. loads of fun!
I'm as comped as you and you seem like an honorable sort. How about this? I'll front the buck. You can leave it at the end of the driveway..
My main "at home" amp is an old Mustang 1. I've had it since it was new. There are lots of good sounds to be had in that amp, especially at "not pissing off the neighbors" volume levels. IMO it is miles better than my Line 6 Spider, and a hell of a lot more practical at low volumes than my tube amps. In fact I'm going to go out on a limb here, and say that at apartment bedroom volume levels, it sounds better than my tube amps.
I thought Ant meant to say “Good question, you will get a good variety of answers, and if you see some suggestions that pop up a lot, you’ll know that any of those will likely be good, and you won’t have to go into it blind. You might also get some helpful responses that will tell you to stay clear of some.”
