Quiet Home Playing

Hick81

I got the Cornell Romany 10 as that’s got the 3 way switch taking it from 10w down to 0.5w. It’s still pretty loud when it’s driven but not excessive. 

axisus

I have a THR at work and I find it disappointingly meh. At home I use an old AxeFx standard and I absolutely love it, goes real quiet but always sounds good.

Paul_C

I have my Katana 50 on the clean channel, both knobs at 12 o'clock, master on 9 o'clock most of the time.

Volume otherwise is controlled by which pedals are on, but I generally aim to keep the overall volume roughly the same no matter what is on.

LordOxygen

munckee said:

LordOxygen said:

I have a THR10C which lives under the coffee table along with 1 meter guitar lead which is perfect for playing when the mood takes me. With the 10c on the table pointing at me it sounds great (and is still too load when turned up). But is does sound very good at low volumes for people sleeping upstairs.

I also have a Marshall DSL5 (5/1watt) in 1 watt mode its ok to about 2 or 3 on the volume control. For late night its still too load in my view. 

If I wad being honest with myself for home use the 10c is all I need. The Marshall arrived first and Im glad as it's a lovely amp and sound great with a few pedals.

need being the word.  You only need a 1995 nissan micra to get you to work, bet you don't drive one : )

Have played DSL5, really nice.  Just seen the DSL1R they look cool for home.

You're right I don't drive a 1995 Micra, ours is a 2001.;) 

A dsl1 would be ideal for home use.

darthed1981

I wish everyone had decibel meters!  Anyone trust the phone apps?

Thanks for the replies so far but I'm still interested in the definition of "home volume" - would be great if anyone could put a decibel figure on theirs?

Big ask I know, but as well as the gear one of the things that really interested me about the Andertons vid was the psychology.  Like most self-made entrepreneurs, Chappers' psychology I suspect could fill a conference.

However, the relevant bit is that he said he's rather not play than lose the feel a bit of volume gives, anyone else feel like that?  What volume are we talking?  Realistically in most rooms at home you will get to significant volumes quickly, but like with hi-fi you lose a lot of the dynamics and feel when you go down to a civilised volume.

So where does that line lie?

mrkb

Im interested in this as well as Im going the other way - have played with headphones on for the last five years - AxeFXII into good sennheiser headphones - which sounds superb. Ive just build a garden room and have a put a marshall poweramp and 1x12 cab in there to amplify the modeller - I haven't managed to get it to a volume that I can get feedback (its way too loud for my ears before then), and I don't feel any effect on the guitar of having moving air around it. The rooms acoustics are crap at the moment (no flooring down or any furniture yet) - but it will improve as soon as that's finished, but Im still not sure what this "Cab in the room" sonic benefit is vs having a great tone straight into your ears via headphones!! 

LordOxygen

darthed1981 said:

I wish everyone had decibel meters!  Anyone trust the phone apps?

Thanks for the replies so far but I'm still interested in the definition of "home volume" - would be great if anyone could put a decibel figure on theirs?

Big ask I know, but as well as the gear one of the things that really interested me about the Andertons vid was the psychology.  Like most self-made entrepreneurs, Chappers' psychology I suspect could fill a conference.

However, the relevant bit is that he said he's rather not play than lose the feel a bit of volume gives, anyone else feel like that?  What volume are we talking?  Realistically in most rooms at home you will get to significant volumes quickly, but like with hi-fi you lose a lot of the dynamics and feel when you go down to a civilised volume.

So where does that line lie?

Can't help with db. But i have my thr10c no louder than my lg g6 mobile phone on full volume.

dazzajl

I’ve been on the common meandering journey for a late night practice amp. 

So far (at least the ones I remember) I’ve had  

Fender Champion 600
Blackstar HT-1R
Vox AC4 head and 1x12 cab
Yamaha THR10C
Orange Crush 35RT
Fender Mustang IV v2

I also don’t know the decibel levels I play at but I’d say quiet late night playing is down to where you can comfortably talk over the top of the guitar and hear the strings as well as the amplified sound. 

If you’re at all interested in my thoughts on each, read down but to sum up.....

Valve amps are just not suited to super quiet playing. They can be attenuated but never sound that pleasing until they are in their comfort zone. Small speakers will always sound small and there is a big difference between small sound and low volume. If you need to keep an amp small and want to have a pleasing frequency range and presence, HiFi technology does this better than guitar amps. So things like the THR etc. 

All of those amps have offered something I liked. The Fender champ probably the least so. Its a great little amp but small speakers don’t do it for me and it last actually very loud by the time you get it in it’s comfort zone. 

The HT is much more versatile but still has that small box sound. Very good at producing a nice bit of dirt it a low volume. 

The Vox was okay, the amp was lovely but let down by a cheap speaker a little. Played through a Celestion Blue it sang but still didn’t deliver a really satisfying late night sound. The 1 watt setting is still quite loud and the 1/4 watt just a nasty fizz. 

The Yamaha is very well covered. I liked it a lot but it got swapped for something with a slightly bigger sound that could also cope with the odd jam.........

The Orange. A great amp, simple and with a surprisingly mellow and deep sound for a small box with a 10” speaker. Solid state but importantly not digital means it sounds real and reacts well to the guitar and changes in gain and volume. The Orange dirty channel isn’t for everyone though, much more fuzz than overdrive. 

The Mustang really doesn’t belong in this crowd and I’ve always seriously disliked modelling amps but it really is the best at the job by miles. You can dial in any combination from deep or sparkling clean to raging gain, add effects and toys if you want them. You can turn it down to a whisper and the 2x12s still give you a warm and very present bass end. It’s also loud enough to put a small elephant into orbit and destroy your hearing if you want it to.  

Nomad

THR10 on the desk right in front of me is pretty good for really low volume playing late at night, but can sound a bit strained if I move away from the desk and turn it up to get some sound into the room. For sitting at the desk, Zoom G3X into hardware mixer, into PC speakers is also okay, but would probably be better with decent speakers.

For nearly everything, though, it's my Blues Deluxe with a volume pedal in the loop. I have the channel volumes on about 2, and the volume pedal is usually set between 1/3 and 2/3. With the pedal at max, it's at what I'd call 'decent Saturday afternoon volume' - something that sits well with the hi-fi turned up. This is with a pedalboard, gain either pedal alone, or as a cleanish boost into the amp's gain channel.

munckee

Mrs munckee out today (shopping in Guildford, ts going to hurt) so hve the champ out with the pedal board, on normal champion 600 setting I can play at full volume without disturbing neighbours or my son who is in another room.  With the 5F1 switch activated full volume is probably too loud (for the speaker as much as the house) with every thing maxed but I can get really driven sounds at half volume plus.

With the overdrive I can really nice sounds at quite low volumes, not quite midnight volumes but evening volumes.

Making me think I can go bigger.

THR can cover the really quiet times, 

axisus

@dazzajl Nice little round up there. I fancy trying a Mustang now!

dazzajl

axisus said:

@dazzajl Nice little round up there. I fancy trying a Mustang now!

I actually have two at the mo, a three and the four. If you’re anywhere near me (just south of Swindon) you’re very welcome to a drink and a noodle. 

chrisj1602

I'm using a Blackstar Fly 3, I'm very happy with it, especially for under £50.

rlw

HT1R head and a twelve inch speaker is very nice at genuine bedroom levels. 

Arjailer

I'm using a 10 year old Roland Micro Cube - doesn't have the dynamic response of a valve amp, or even a decent modern modeller, but sounds fine at low/headphone volume, has a variety of sounds, and runs for weeks on batteries, so I haven't felt the need to try anything else ... yet ...

Rigid_Digits

chrisj1602 said:

I'm using a Blackstar Fly 3, I'm very happy with it, especially for under £50.

Yep same here but got the extension speaker too which does make for a better sound.

darthed1981

Rigid_Digits said:

chrisj1602 said:

I'm using a Blackstar Fly 3, I'm very happy with it, especially for under £50.

Yep same here but got the extension speaker too which does make for a better sound.

See I've got the extension speaker and I thought it made no difference to tone, obviously a tad louser, and it looks cool.

Having the PSU is useful though, but I kinda like just wandering around with it.

normula1

In the current heat, I've done a fair bit of noodling in the conservatory with all the windows and doors open whilst watching the footie. I've been using a Fender G-Dec jr into a 4*12 that lives in there as I've not got round to putting it up for sale and running it really quietly with a TC MojoMojo for an occasional touch of hair. The tone is certainly acceptable as is the dynamic range which I reckon is half the battle playing quietly.

Headphones

I see no mention here of the good old Pod.  This is just what it's good at.

I have a Pod Pro that I use, played through an audio amp and Hi Fi speakers.  It plays really well at conversation levels and can do headphones - which was where it started, as I bought it new when the babies arrived.  I've had it a while and tried many of the options mentioed above, but few scratch the itch just as well:  It sounds good, it has knobs on the front and is as complex as you want (though most of the time I don't)

It's not standing in front of a real live amp, but you need a bit of volume to make the speakers do their filtering job, so that's really not an option for a baby/neighbour friendly abode.

Tone71

I use the Katana 50 at really low volume, what  I like is that you can still make it scream and squeal etc albeit no louder than the tv.

I also have a Champion 600 and play that through a 1x12 cab with pedals, to be honest it too loud for home playing but I love the clean sound.