Very nice write up and I'm in agreement. I've heard good things about Vox and their move back toward being the best consumer tube amp. I grew up with a 64 Fender Twin Silverface (Dad's gig amp) and it was a monster, just too much, but I'm glad we sold it to somebody who still has it. I became a solid-state guy but always lusted after the 5150 2x12" combo, and they're holding steady at about $500 used, so one of those is in my future.

I've used quite a few Line6 computer products and I like the bang-for-the-buck but would never, ever put them in the pro sound field. Fun to play with, cheaper than pedals, but takes me quite a bit in fiddling with settings + post production to make them worthwhile (same goes for my little MicroSpider amp, which is mostly for busking).

One thing that came across my radar was the Kemper, which seems to be that technological achievement you might have in mind. I've never played/heard one (that I know of), but I think it has a pretty good reputation thus far. Link: http://www.kemper-amps.com/profiling

I had a first generation 5150, as well, and loved it. Though when I down-sized it was the 5150 that got sold (while I kept the JCM 800). But, that was primarily a function of the size of the 5150 + 4x12" cabinet, while the JCM 800 was a 2x12" combo (which is clearly the ideal amp size for performance, though too big for recording); both amps were excellent. I consider it one of Peavey's crowning achievements, maybe the best thing they ever made. I haven't heard any of the new generation of them, once they stopped calling them 5150. They also moved most of their manufacturing out of the United States a few years back, which reportedly impacted quality...I don't know if the tube amps are still made in the US, or not.

Since I moved out of the motorhome (the reason I sold my JCM 800 and downsized to a tiny Vox was because I was living in ~200 square feet for four years, while traveling full-time), I've since bought another Marshall. It's a 50W JCM 2000 (I think...maybe 900) that I picked up for $600 (and a 4x12 cab that was a few hundred more), but it rarely gets used. The Vox sounds great and is right-sized for indoor use.

I'm really happy with my Vox, honestly; for most things it sounds as good as any amp I've ever owned, and I've owned some good as hell amps (I've also had some old Fenders). I wish it had a bigger speaker; a 10" would make it the perfect amp. It's got an 8", and sometimes low end stuff sounds pinched.

Nothing like cranking the volume and getting those power tubes really cooking! I love my 65 reissue twin.

Why did you part with the JCM 800? That's a classic.

I was living in a motorhome, about 200 square feet, and traveling full-time. I held onto it for about a year, in the motorhome, but it just didn't make sense. I couldn't play it without being on the grid (too power hungry for the batteries), and had to move it every time I brought the slide in...and it was heavy as hell to be moving it around all the time. I sold it for a fair price, and once I settled into a fixed house again, I picked up another Marshall (a JCM 2000, this time, which is admittedly not in the same league as a six knob 800, but it's not a bad amp, at all). And, I have the little Vox, which is a great little amp. I play the Vox far more often than the Marshall, in fact.

I have owned a lot of classic gear over the years and have sold most of it. I view it as borrowing it from the universe rather than "owning it". If I buy it used, and I sell it for what I paid for it, or more, I find I have a healthier relationship with my things (I'm in charge, not the things). When moving into the motorhome, I sold a lot of great stuff. Antique furniture (my mom is an antique dealer, so my house was nicely furnished), synthesizers and guitars and amps, etc. The cost of keeping it was the cost of storing it, which would have added up to far more than its value over four years.

Anyway, these days, I have a good big amp (the JCM2000), a good little amp (the Vox AC4V), a good acoustic guitar (Gibson J45), a good electric guitar (Schecter from when Schecter made really good guitars by hand in California), a good bass (G&L L2000), and a good drum set (Roland TD4S). That's my minimum for musical happiness, and I try not to keep anything else, even if I acquire stuff temporarily to play with it.

> I'm in charge, not the things

Good attitude towards life.

Too bad where I live we can't buy good used gear. Nothing good ever comes by, people hoard and hold on to it for their lives, and when it does come by, it's overpriced to the point it justifies buying new.

99% of the stuff sold in stores it is cheap generic clones of Fenders (MOSFET amps and Stratos).

That would be hard. I live in Austin, TX, which is where half the broke musicians in the world live (and a number of famous ones). So, lots of really good stuff comes onto the used market here, and used gear sells fast, if it is priced fairly. So I can buy and sell good gear as often as I want, and my standards for what I buy can be quite high.