Tiny amps

Phil_aka_Pip

@Skarloey I wasn't sure whether to give you a LOL or a Wisdom!

xSkarloey

Phil_aka_Pip said:

@Skarloey I wasn't sure whether to give you a LOL or a Wisdom!

I'll say it again so I can have the wisdom this time! 

BUY THAT AMP!!!!! At that price what is there to lose? That's the price of a couple of takeaways. 

underdog

Phil_aka_Pip;207900" said:

epiphone valve junior

AC4TV

harley-benton GA5 (used to be combo, they still do the head AFAIK)



btw @frankus is quite right

Already have VJ head. Wanted 1watt or smaller ideally, and I like buying stuff.

meltedbuzzbox

big amps come with volume dials right?

if you are tight on space they double up as seats as well ;-)

underdog

meltedbuzzbox;207959" said:

big amps come with volume dials right?

if you are tight on space they double up as seats as well ;-)

I want quieter but driven hard not physically smaller

stonevibe

The ZVex Nano head was a quarter of a watt.

It was still insanely loud through a 1x12.

So wattage wise valve amps cranked still equal a fair few decibels.

Could you not use an amp sim plugin on a computer?

Great useable tones and whisper quiet.

ICBM

stonevibe said:

The ZVex Nano head was a quarter of a watt.

Not even that - the true rated power, ie maximum undistorted output - would be about 0.1W. OK, it's designed for distortion and it does distort a long way before full power.

I had to make a little attenuator for mine! A quarter of a watt into a 100dB speaker is still 94dB, which is pretty loud in a home situation in the evening.

And yet, the power/volume curve is so non-linear that for any live use, it's not remotely enough. I tried using mine with an acoustic band with a 100dB speaker and it was almost inaudible.

Phil_aka_Pip

@Skarloey you can have a wisdom this time

EDIT you must have a big takeaway appetite - duck in black bean suace + special rice only costs me a tenner!

Richardj

I like my H&K Tubemeister 18.  It has really opened up now the speaker has broken in and has 18w, 5w, 1w and silent out settings.

Phil_aka_Pip

Richardj said:

I like my H&K Tubemeister 18.  It has really opened up now the speaker has broken in and has 18w, 5w, 1w and silent out settings.

The 36 has been claimed to be "very bright" tonally. Is that true of your 18?

xSkarloey

Phil_aka_Pip said:

@Skarloey you can have a wisdom this time

EDIT you must have a big takeaway appetite - duck in black bean suace + special rice only costs me a tenner!

I'm feeding a family of five Phil 

Maybe I should starve them and buy amps instead. 

Richardj

I don't find it at all bright. It does have a very 'European' flavour compared to say a Blues Junior and is a lot more refined, less raucous.  Some have even called it a bit sterile because of this but I don't think so, it has more versatility and is perfect for what I wanted, a  'grab and go' valve amp.

Phil_aka_Pip

That Kustom Defender gets decent reviews on the Thomann website. It appears to be "too loud" for home use, by the time you've whacked the volume control up enough to bring on its natural overdrive. I'd also say that about other 5W amps I've got at home. If I use pedals with either the HB GA5 and the Epi Valve Junior, setting the vol pot on 65% works best (that's the max clean you can get before the amp gets dirty). I'm guessing that similar applies to the Kustom.

BTW I had a jam session with a drummer and a bass player who had a 100W bass combo. They asked me to turn my GA5 down.

@Richardj do you play a Strat/Tele/some other single coil job or something Gibson-esque with humbuckers?

FX_Munkee

I've had a go on one of those Kustom Defender 5w heads. It was pretty loud, definitely not home friendly and the tone was quite frankly meh. Which then just emphasises the fact that you can't change the tone (on the amp at least).
TBH as much as I love valve amps, for practicing at home I'll pretty much always use some sort of modeller (Pod, Yamaha THR etc.). Convenience is sometimes more important than perfect tone. Yes, I did just say Jehovah!

Phil_aka_Pip

@FX_Munkee can you liken the tone to anything? Your definition of meh might be someone else's fan-bloomin'-tastic. I liked the GA5 because it made me sound a bit like Hubert Sumlin on an old Muddy waters cut. Other people might describe that as meh, but I wouldn't.

DrJazzTap

I picked up a Vox Lil Night train head and cab from ebay for £130. Does the job for noodling about in the house. Sure the ten inch speaker can sound a little boxy, but for the money it does exactly what I want. That might be worth considering. It's 2w but is pretty loud for it's size.

dindude

Ok, don't shoot me, it's not valve, but I think this thing sounds pretty good and looks like fun.

http://youtu.be/AqIeM6dsD1M

Otherwise Zvex Nano or 'lil night train both good options.

 If you want anything quieter and don't want to go modelling route, how about a really nice amp-in-a-box type pedal (Wampler etc) to go into your VJ. I can practice at a whisper with my distortion pedal into my "big" amp.

Richardj

Phil_aka_Pip said:

@Richardj do you play a Strat/Tele/some other single coil job or something Gibson-esque with humbuckers?

Don't currently have a Tele but equally nice with either my Lace Sensor/mid-boost Strat, LP Studio or Ibanez S.   I was a touch underwhelmed when I first got it (to be fair on it though I was comparing it to a well played in Pro Junior) but having now used it a fair amount the sound has definitely warmed up as the speaker has broken in.  I might yet try a Ragin Cajin in it to see if it opens up even more. 

FX_Munkee

Phil_aka_Pip said:

@FX_Munkee can you liken the tone to anything? Your definition of meh might be someone else's fan-bloomin'-tastic. I liked the GA5 because it made me sound a bit like Hubert Sumlin on an old Muddy waters cut. Other people might describe that as meh, but I wouldn't.

Brash, harsh, not in an AC30 sort of way, more crushing metal sort of way. Agreed though, others may like it, I didn't.

Phil_aka_Pip

FX_Munkee said:

Phil_aka_Pip said:

@FX_Munkee can you liken the tone to anything? Your definition of meh might be someone else's fan-bloomin'-tastic. I liked the GA5 because it made me sound a bit like Hubert Sumlin on an old Muddy waters cut. Other people might describe that as meh, but I wouldn't.

Brash, harsh, not in an AC30 sort of way, more crushing metal sort of way. Agreed though, others may like it, I didn't.

From your description, I suspect that I may not either. It also depends on what speaker you use with it.