Hello all – I am after some advice on amps. After many years of playing at home/jamming with friends etc, I got involved in setting up a covers band at age 50!(better late than never). I am having great fun, we are playing at parties, charity events etc and play a wide variety of material from old rock and roll numbers through to some tunes from the 'noughties'. The lineup is bass, drums, keyboards, guitar (me) and two vocalists. I usually play my trusty Mexican strat and to date I have got away with using a little Laney LC15R valve amp with a Korg effects unit to help with different sounds. This is a very loud little amp for 15w, but is not really loud enough for the live work. So I am looking for a versatile amp, loud enough for village halls, sports club type venues (audiences maybe 100 ish), but not too big/heavy, budget £300ish, so probably solid state.
So far I have tried the Line6 SpiderIV 75w and Vox VT50w. These modelling amps are impressive but I wonder if they are a bit too complex for live work? I tried a Fender Frontman, did not like this, and a new Marshall MG50FX, nice sounds both clean and overdriven with a few useful built in effects. The Marshall is my favourite so far. I would like to try the Laney LV200 (65w) but have not found one in stock locally yet.
Any views on what models might best fit my requirement? Also what wattage do I need? Valve amps seem much louder for the same rated output, would a 50w solid state amp, such as the Marshall MG50) be loud enough?
All guidance appreciated to assist me in making the right choice.