Tube head with DSP?!

[ChrisTanakaCanwell]

Trying to downsize my live rig... I want to get a decent Marshall-ish sounding head with a tube power amp section, delay built into the FX loop (any other effects can go in front) and a tap tempo button controlling the delay time on a footswitch.

I want to avoid modeling amps if possible as I'm usually disappointed with the tone, and I don't want to have to run an external delay unit because I want to keep things simple. Also looking to avoid dropouts/latency when switching channels. As far as I can tell, these are the only options out there that would be close to what I'm after:

Bogner Alchemist: Would be perfect but there's no tap button on the footswitch
H&K Switch/Coreblade: Tried the SB combo and wasn't crazy about the tone, it'd probably be fine with a sealed cab but Hughes and Kettner seems to have a lot of reliability issues and they're a lot spendier than the other options
Line 6 Spider Valve: Probably the most practical option but I always end up regretting every Line6 product I buy, excluding the wireless units which are awesome and not designed by them.

tl;dr: I want a straightforward high-gain tone with tolerable cleans and tap-controllable delay without the associated extra gear, cable runs, tone loss, etc. Any other options out there?

 

[MatrixClaw]

The Alchemist is a cool amp, but it's not really "high gain" in the sense of metal. I'm not sure how heavy you're wanting to go, but I mean... it can reach metal levels of gain, but it's not really tight enough without a boost.

It's been years since I've played a Switchblade, so I probably shouldn't comment on that, and I've never tried a Coreblade. I remember liking the SB, though.

The Spider Valve is pretty meh IMO. Easily the worst of the amps on your list. It's better than the crappy solid state one for sure, but if you're going to look at modeling, you should be looking at the Peavey Vypyr Tube instead, cause that thing puts the SV to shame.

 

[Clark Kent]

What about Marshall JMD. I had a 100W version of that and I must say that it was very good.. I never felt like having a digital modeler. Modeling is done by Softube... which also makes some of the best VST plugins out there.

The only downside for that is that all tones are Marshall. So I was using the JVM models most of the time.

 

[Sloan]

Peavey Vypyr Tube

 

[drew_drummer]

Why don't you just get the tube amp of your choice, and a Line 6 M13 in 4-cable method? Seriously... 4 cable is quick to setup, and you can have two slots on the M13 before the amp, and two slots in the FX loop. It would work really well.

Otherwise, maybe checkout the Blackstar ID series.

 

[B36arin]

I know you don't want a modeler, but you should still check out the Kemper Profiling Amp. It does exactly what you want, and it sounds and feels like a tube amp. You can even get them with a built-in power amp now.

 

[ChrisTanakaCanwell]

@Drew: That might be the best way to go, my amp always sounds like shit with anything in the loop though, even higher quality devices than the Line6 using the four cable method. I guess the Krank Rev1s were known for that... probably need to just get a different head

@B36arin: Kemper would be perfect but I blew all my money on my wet/dry rig and I want to keep that around for bigger shows so I'm looking to go somewhat cheap on this one

Thanks for all the other suggestions guys, I'll check them out!

 

[Charles J]

Peavey Vypyr Tube

X10000000000000000000000000000

The Vypyr hybrid DSP preamp + tube power amp combo and head absolutely SLAYYYYYY for high gain tones.

Wish I could get the sounds and DSP from the Vypyr in VST format... it's definitely NOT Revalver!

All the others you mentioned, I've tried 'em, they suck balllls compared to the Vypyr (I work at a music store so I get to hear and try a lotttt of stuff)

 

[AntonioPetrole]

X10000000000000000000000000000

The Vypyr hybrid DSP preamp + tube power amp combo and head absolutely SLAYYYYYY for high gain tones.

Wish I could get the sounds and DSP from the Vypyr in VST format... it's definitely NOT Revalver!

All the others you mentioned, I've tried 'em, they suck balllls compared to the Vypyr (I work at a music store so I get to hear and try a lotttt of stuff)

I completely agree. I was at a gc in nyc and I remember hearing this killer tone across the store, I thought it was a mesa or something but low and behold when I get over there it's a tube Peavey Vyper. I played it for an hour, killer little amp