What’s new at Zystrix? Read on… December 8, 2025 The Best Affordable Tube Amps for Metal (part two) In the last issue we went over the best affordable tube amps (preamps) for metal part one (click here for a refresher). This time we’re going to continue the adventure by checking out the best affordable new (and possibly used) tube amps in an amp head or combo (amp and speaker) form. And they all have to contain at least one vacuum tube. So sit back and relax. Welcome to Zystrix, the heartbeat of the universe. Where creativity and free- thinking have more value than conformity. Background Artwork The colorful artwork that surrounds the edges of this website is invisible to many cell phone users. It’s included here (with others) for your enjoyment. Multiple copies are tiled together for a cohesive and seamless background seen all around this page. Enjoy. Introduction -- Affordable Tube Amps for Metal (part two) In this issue we’re going to start by looking for deals on affordable new (or blem) tube amps. I’m going to include hybrid tube designs (lunchbox amps with a tube preamp) as well as all tube designs. This time I’m going to look at amps with only 5 watts all the way up to 20 watts. As usual, these lists are not exhaustive as there are many tube amps not included here – mostly very expensive ones – and I’m trying to just hit the affordable highlights. And don’t forget to shop for a new but slightly used amp. I’ve had pretty good success using this method finding amps. Many of the big box music stores have open box, blems, mildly damaged, and returned slightly used new amps for sale. OK, with all that in mind let’s spring into new hybrid tube amplifiers... Joyo Bantamp Series These amps have a single tube in the preamp so they are not the end-all to tube sound. And many owners say this series does better with an EQ in the effects loop. It does to my ear too -- a lot. Many owners also goose the front end with a Tube Screamer or something similar like the Behringer TO800. I think I’d go with a Caline Orange Burst, the Boss SD-1, the Mosky Obsessive, or the Boss Blues Driver. But that’s just me. These Joyo amps are probably not loud enough for band practice, but for playing at home or recording they work great. The amps can drive a 4x12 speaker cabinet, but some owners say a single 12-inch or a two 12- inch cabinet is better. All models feature a 20 watt output into an 8 ohm cabinet. But even after all that the brand new price lands at about $179.00 USA and free shipping at almost any big box store, and I found a few blems and returns for $135 USA with free shipping from Musician’s Friend and Guitar Center. Excellent. Joyo Jackman II If you like the sound of a Marshall JCM 800 you may enjoy this amplifier. Does it sound just like a JCM 800? Well, not exactly, but it’s got enough Marshall-like roar to be convincing to most ears. It also features blue-tooth connectivity for playing along to your favorite music, but for people who prefer the critical listening real time experience of a wired input, unfortunately, that’s not available. But with a little thought there’s a simple work-around for everything. There’s also an effects send and return, so you can personalize and tailor the sound to your liking. With all of the amps in this series, it has 20 watts output into 8 ohms. Joyo Zombie II If you like the sound of a Mesa Boogie rectifier you may enjoy this amplifier. Does it sound just like a Boogie? Once again, no. But it’s damn close. This one also features two channels, and blue-tooth connectivity for playing along to you favorite music. There’s also an effects send and return. Yes. Joyo Firebrand Some people say this amp is a little quieter than the others, so that may make a difference to you. This is their rendition of the Engl Fire Ball. It’s a single channel, so that’s why there’s no place on the back for a foot-switch. As with all of these amps, an EQ in the effects loop really makes it easy to customize the overall sound. Joyo VIVO Just in case you don’t know, VIVO is roman numerals for 5150. This amp is also a single channel, so that’s why there’s no place on the back panel for a foot- switch. As with all of these Joyo amps, an EQ in the effects loop improves the sound sculpting ability and makes it’s aggressive nature really shine. It also doesn’t hurt to spank the front end using your preferred overdrive pedal. Rock. Orange Micro Dark Continuing with the hybrid amp theme, the Orange Micro Dark offers 20 watts of metal tones with a 12AX7 in the pre-amp section. It also has a headphone output and an effects loop for personalizing your amp tone. This one is available from many big box music stores for $180-$200 USA and free shipping. Used ones show up occasionally. but I haven’t seen much of a price difference. Bugera V5 Infinium This small light-weight 5- watt beast screams with old metal attitude. It’s an amp and speaker in one cabinet (a combo amp) with one 12AX7 in the pre-amp and an EL84 tube in the power amp section. This little amp has a cool look and it’s very portable. Unfortunately there is no effects loop for adding more personalized features. To do that you’ll have to step up to the... Bugera G5 Infinium This 5-watt amp head has lots of features like a morph EQ to vary between American and British voicings, an attenuator that goes from 5 to 1 to .1 watts for low volume playing, a headphone output, and an effects loop for personalizing the final sound. If you are looking for recording or playing at home this one is excellent. Unfortunately it won’t keep up with the volume of a drummer so you’ll need an external power amp or a higher wattage version like maybe the G20. Blackstar HT-5R Mark 3 I wasn’t going to include this one because the features to price ration (about $600 USA and free shipping at many big box music stores) is not as good as the amp options above, but it does have a lot of versatility and a great rockin’ sound -- especially the grind and growl. This one offers 2 channels, 5 watts, 3 band EQ, American to British voicing options, reverb, XLR output for recording and front-of-house, an effects loop, headphone output, and a computer USB port. Part Two Conclusion -- Affordable Tube Amps for Metal That’s as far as we’re going to go with this tube sound adventure today. I overlooked many other amp options, but I was going for bang-for-the- buck. It is quite possible to get a genuine tube sound on a budget – when I say budget I mean $200 to $300 USA. The trick is to be able to compete with the drummer’s volume, and so far I don’t think we’ve really accomplished that. Not yet, anyway. But speaking strictly about sound quality, the amps listed above are capable of delivering some great metal tones for recording or bedroom practice. Don’t touch that dial… Stay tuned next time… In part three we’ll close out the year 2025 with the final section on this tube amplifier adventure. From my experience, at least 50 watts will give enough headroom for a guitarist to sound huge and solid and still compete with the volume of a drummer, so we’re headed that way. We’ll consider a list of some used but still relevant all-tube amps, some larger new mostly affordable all tube amps, and we may even consider a cursory list of some more expensive budget-busting new amplifiers that left the affordable category far behind and sound as massive as they are heavy to lift. But does it need to be big and expensive to sound massive? Maybe only when playing live. And we’ll hear another solo piano tune by Dangerous Neighbors. Maybe I’ll see you then. Money-wise I’m set for life, as long as I die before Tuesday.
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ZYSTRIX POPULAR FREE DOWNLOADS The Best Free Synthesizers of 2024 It’s another epic issue, and there’s lots of FREE downloads here. And the Honorable Mention Synthesizer List might surprise you. This list is long, so prepare yourself. And if it seems like too much to take in, I warned you. Click here for the official list of The Best Free Synthesizers of 2024. The Best Free Mastering Plugins Your DAW (digital audio workstation) will be so happy. And so will you. Here are the best of the best for EQ, compression, limiting, tube and tape emulation, reverb, delay, and honorable mentions. This list is a must have with lots of downloads. Check out The Best FREE Plugins for Mastering 2024. Here’s a free download of almost one and a half hours of original neo-classical solo piano by Dangerous Neighbors. This full length album called Piano Top to Bottom consists of 18 original piano pieces with the final piece in two movements. There is a bonus track making 20 files total. 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Djammincabs for Guitar Free Guitar Impulse Responses This is the original Djammincabs guitar cabinet impulse response collection that started it all. Click here to download over 200 Free Guitar Cabinet Impulse Responses. Djammincabs for Bass Guitar Download Free Bass Impulse Responses Click here to download over 200 Free Bass Guitar Cabinet Impulse Responses. Best Free Guitar Impulses. The Top 11 Best Free Guitar and Bass Cabinet Impulse Responses for 2022 (in alphabetical order…) Find, download, and test the best free guitar cabinet impulse responses for 2022. FREE BASS LOOPS SAMPLES DOWNLOAD ROYALTY FREE BASS LOOP SAMPLES FREE BASS LOOPS Over 200 samples are included in the collection Download the complete collection of 24-bit bass loops here. NOTE: This download size is approximately 369 Megs. 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Download over 50 Reverb Relics from the past including oil cans. Click here to download free reverb impulse responses. Free Drum Samples Only Available from Zystrix Free Gong Samples and Sounds Free Snare Drum Samples and Sounds Free Bass Drum Samples and Sounds Free Oriental Cymbal Samples and Sounds Free Oriental Bells Samples and Sounds The Ultimate Original Drum Sounds List Download over 2000 original slammin’ rock bass drums. Download original Gongs, Cymbals, Broken Cymbals, and Bells. Download Over 200 Free Original Bass Drum Sounds and Samples. Download over 200 Original Free snare drum sounds. Click here to download Drum Kit Sounds. Dangerous Neighbors The SW Michigan Rock Band Power Trio. Free Rockin’ Music Downloads Download tunes from the 80s to today. Use the special codes on the Embalmed for Life page (see the DOWNLOAD FREE AUDIO BOOKS link below) and get free downloads for the complete album and the free horror audio book The Fluid - Embalmed for Life. Click here to download various music from the rock band Dangerous Neighbors. Download Free Synth Samples for Intros, Interludes, and Endings Listen to example #01 by clicking here (MP3 Sample) Download FREE professional quality stereo sample packs that slowly evolve over time. All samples are in 48K 24 bit WAV format and are about 20 seconds long or more. If you like suspense, psycho, outer space, or terror then this collection is for you. These range from paranoia to sci-fi, cinematic gore to strange industrial horror, and creepy creatures to insane laboratories. Click here to download all the synth Intros, Interludes, and Endings. DOWNLOAD FREE AUDIO BOOKS The Fluid, Embalmed for Life There are Free Audio Book codes for Audible downloads (must sign up). There are also free sample downloads of the book reading. There are free downloads of music samples. There is a free “Look Inside” download of the paperback. There is a free glossary of the largest list of mortuary slang in the world. The Free Dangerous Neighbors Album The Fluid, Embalmed for Life comes included as part of the audio book and parts are available here as a free download. The paperback book is available for sale at Amazon dot com. I have no control over these sales; because of the Amazon agreement I cannot offer complete paperback or complete audio books here. And for some reason most book sales go to Japan. Who would have thunk it? Click here for free audio books, book reading samples, music samples, etc. Take me back to the top of the page. Zystrix Privacy Policy THE FINE PRINT: Zystrix is a world leader in personal privacy and we take your privacy very seriously. We do not store, sell, give away, or barter with any of your personal or private information including your email, IP address, links clicked, location, habits, tastes, online activities and behaviors, or anything else considered personal or private information. 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