Current gig setup for small venues

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carloscarlos Frets: 3426
edited January 2019 in Amps
Feel free to laugh at my tiny £200 (including cab) amp, but I played tonight for 40 people at the Poetry Cafe in Covent Garden* and I had the thing at less than 9 o'clock on the volume and it was close to being too loud for the venue. How can it be so tiny and so loud?

It sounds brilliant, by the way. It's missing fx send and return and it has no onboard reverb and just high and low knobs but there's only so much you can fit, I guess. I'd describe the sound as Fender tube clean. Not exaggerating on the tube bit either as the ZT Lunchbox sounds very solid state by comparison.

If it fits your music, then I heartily recommend this amp. I haven't tried the other versions as my intention was always to do the grit through pedals anyway.

* - I guess that means I'm a West End musician now?
BTW, I bought the guitar in this forum from @prudd ;
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Comments

  • jdgmjdgm Frets: 850
    Congrats on the gig. What sort of stuff are you playing?
    I can't quite see what the guitar is but it looks very nice indeed.
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  • carloscarlos Frets: 3426
    jdgm said:
    Congrats on the gig. What sort of stuff are you playing?
    I can't quite see what the guitar is but it looks very nice indeed.
    Thanks. I'm doing backing music for a poet. It goes from classical pieces adapted for improvising over, to a little bit of jazz and some stoner/doom metal riffing.
    The guitar is a Peerless Manhattan.
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  • p90foolp90fool Frets: 31368
    Nice one. 
    My experience of poetry cafes is that they ALL need more stoner/doom metal riffing. 
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71960
    carlos said:

    How can it be so tiny and so loud?
    By being Class D - the most efficient power amp type - and having its power supply outboard... if that was mounted in the same box it would have to be more or less double the size.

    The cab is probably pretty efficient too, despite only having an 8” speaker. Traditionally these were pretty weedy when found in typical 10W practice amps, but small-speaker technology has improved, both for volume and tone.

    This sort of thing is the future. Bass players have been using tiny Class D/SMPS amps with highly efficient small speakers for some time now - I’ve got a 500W 1x10” combo which isn’t a lot bigger than your rig. The entire amp is smaller and lighter than the 30W valve *head* the guitarist in my band uses...

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • carloscarlos Frets: 3426
    p90fool said:
    Nice one. 
    My experience of poetry cafes is that they ALL need more stoner/doom metal riffing. 
    I agree. Often you need something that will make people stand up and take notice!
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  • carloscarlos Frets: 3426
    ICBM said:
    carlos said:

    How can it be so tiny and so loud?
    By being Class D - the most efficient power amp type - and having its power supply outboard... if that was mounted in the same box it would have to be more or less double the size.

    The cab is probably pretty efficient too, despite only having an 8” speaker. Traditionally these were pretty weedy when found in typical 10W practice amps, but small-speaker technology has improved, both for volume and tone.

    This sort of thing is the future. Bass players have been using tiny Class D/SMPS amps with highly efficient small speakers for some time now - I’ve got a 500W 1x10” combo which isn’t a lot bigger than your rig. The entire amp is smaller and lighter than the 30W valve *head* the guitarist in my band uses...
    Thanks for the knowledge. I'm very impressed on how well rounded the sound is. Even in a proper band setting I'd bring this head if needed and mic up (or use the line out). 
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  • merlinmerlin Frets: 6597
    That's a cool rig, especially the volume/expression part......
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  • carloscarlos Frets: 3426
    merlin said:
    That's a cool rig, especially the volume/expression part......
    Haha, yes. I'll be using the other one soon to control some wacky parameters perhaps the pitch of the 3 note generator (drones). That way I can modulate them as I play over them. 
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  • my friend has one of those and he brings it to the jam i run, he puts it through a 1by12 creamback, its incredibly loud, keeps up with a drummer, and it sounds really nice too.
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  • 57Deluxe57Deluxe Frets: 7329
    I have held Guitar Club sessions in a big Dance Studio room with 12+ players with just this!


    <Vintage BOSS Upgrades>
    __________________________________
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