Milkman Creamer vs Headstrong Lil King Reverb?

[Steve Z]

I am looking to upgrade from a hot rod deluxe... looking for a smaller and "better" tone (I know, subjective). The hot rod deluxe seems a bit generic, at least at the low volumes I play at home.


There are two used in my area, priced similar with the Milkman being about $450 more...
Milkman Creamer (reverb, tremolo, attenuator) ... seller is asking $1,950
Headstrong Lil King Reverb (reverb, tremolo)... seller is asking $1,500


Thoughts on these two? I play clean, jazz stuff. My daughter prefers edge of breakup Charlie Christian-esque jump tones, which can be accomplished with pedals... this pedal is intriguing... New pedal option for vintage octal sounds)

[medblues]

For low volume playing adjustability, go with the Milkman Creamer because of the attenuator. If you like the speaker on the Hot Rod Deluxe, you can get the Milkman Head Amp Pedal and save money and keep range of options.

[Jabberwocky]

Milkman Creamer. Fantastic build quality, very nicely voiced. Tim Marcus is a fantastic dude.

If I could only afford to spend $1500, I would pony up an extra $95 to buy a new Vintage Sound 15 VINTAGE 15 (Princeton Style) – Vintage Sound Amps .

For $1950, you are within a llama's spitting distance of a new Mike Moody Magic Amps The Vibro Prince

PS I have a Two Notes Captor X as an attenuator/DI/IR box. If you want a straight attenuator/DI, the bog standard Captor works very well. Add a Cab M+ for cabinet IRs and a nicely modelled Silverface Bassman preamp.

[clem_gael]

I just received that new octal pedal from Combs...very nice one!

Will post a NGD soon!

[omphalopsychos]

Between those two, the Milkman is a better value at that price (higher end components like expensive Mercury Magnetics transformers). But both of those are going to be LOUD amps. You may want to consider a 5 watt amp like the Headstrong Santa Cruz if you're looking for something "small".

[CharlesR]

I sold my HRD IV and after testing a Princeton 65 RI I went for a 1 watt amp, awsome tone. With or without reverb... Perfect for home playing.

Room One Reverb - MPF HANDWIRED AMPS

Room One - MPF HANDWIRED AMPS

[Steve Z]

Great info as always. Thanks.

[helios]

The Milkman Creamer is a unique design by Tim Marcus. He states: "I wanted the Creamer to be very versatile so I included an adjustable cathode bias circuit so that the user can easily substitute 6L6 or 6V6 output tubes with no need to rebias the output tubes. I have added a rear mounted switch to maintain an 8ohm speaker output regardless of which tube type used."

If someone knows of a demo video using an archtop, I'd love to hear it!

[Hammertone]

Then there's this one, eh?
Princeton Reverb clone with a twist - "this amp really boogies!"