Basically I've been playing acoustic for about five years and i'm moving over to electric now. I bought a cheap epiphone SG to play around with at the end of the summer and now i'm looking at getting a more serious amp to play with.
I'm going to be getting a new guitar after my amp. Probably a tele or a gibson SG standard.
I also definitely want a tube amp. Any advice? I've played around with some fenders at my local guitar place but they don't really have much variety. Any advice on what I should get? I'm really influenced by Coldplay, Sigur Ros, U2 , some muse, and that cool alt sound (The Strokes, The Hives, Interpol, etc).

anyway, opinions appreciated!

Orange amps are really really good, but I'm not sure about the price. I played an Orange head on a Marshall cabinet at my friend's place the other day, and let me tell you, it sounded SUPERB. Like I said though, I'm not sure about the price. My first amp was a Fender 30 Watt, which honestly puts out enough power for small gigs and such. IMO, half-stacks with 150 - 250 Watts are only needed if you're playing considerably large concerts, which I've never done. If you want that sharp tone I'd say go for Fender tubes, or you could check out some Vox tubes. Vox really rocks.

I have a Crate Halfstack GT1200H (i think), it's pretty awesome man, it can really bark.

Stay clear from VOX. That's what I used to use.

Go for an Orange. Great sound and they're FAR more reliable than any VOX I've owned.

I got my head/4x12 cabinet for $2,000 after haggling. You can get Orange combos for much much less.

Yeah, I've heard mixed things about VOX. How does Orange compare to Fender?

Edit: Seems like Orange amps are for the most pare solid. Do they have any tubes?

Crate sounds so muddy.

I second the orange. though if you want a tube amp with a really nice gain grain, go for yorkville traynor. smooth overdrive that can really kick butt when cranked over the top. but it basically delivers the kind of low gain marshall crunch. of course, this is ten times better with single coil pickups.

Not to mention very dry.

I believe all Orange amps are tube driven. Mine is... but I can't say for certain.

Traynor's are very good for their price, but they don't look as cool as pulling out an Orange.

Wtf? who couldn't like VOX? if u want that alternative sound, well they use kind of a retro sound so VOX is great for that.

I WOULD RECOMMEND AN AMP THAT GOES TO ELEVEN.

MY KEYBOARD GOES TO ELEVEN.

Because those of us who have owned a VOX realized that they have substandard quality and that you can get the same sound with more reliable alternatives.

There's NOTHING like your amp going out on you onstage. Happened to me three times with three different VOX amps. My Orange amp, sounds great and I've never had any problems with it.

So tonight I went to my nearest (two hours away) guitar center with a friend who was getting a new keyboard and played a few different amps. But the Vox really did stand out. I tried several fenders, marshalls, and VOXes. I reallly liked the VOX. I played around with a couple of the Valvetronix. Any one have any expierience with these amps?
Another guy that went over with us uses VOX and said he's never had a problem with it cutting out. He has a newer one and said that vintage ones tend to burst into flames :-S.

I didn't see any Orange amps there so I didn't get a chacne to try 'em.

If you buy a Valvetronix I will disown you. Those are the ****ing bastards that I'm talking about! That guy knows nothing about trying to gig with those amps, I assure you. KILL HIM!!!

haha. Yeah I read some reviews after my post and it seems like I can get a better sound with a tube and some good pedals in front of it. My state needs to build a guitar center closer so I don't have to drive two hours to play something besides a Fender. I'm gonna look up Orange later tonight and see where I can go to try them out.

There's a couple places in Atlanta. I think you should come here and try out mine and then try out a couple at the store.

Although, I'm not going to lie. I love the VOX Pathfinder and Brian May amps I've owned. Those are the best.