Is there such an amp as a 1962x Bluesbreaker combo with power scaling down to 1w?

soma1975

Is such a thing possible? Would it be pricey? 

John_A

You can get powerscaling retrofitted to  Bluesbreaker, but down to 1W it wouldn't sound the same.  Close, but not the same

Teyeplayer

I’m sure someone more knowledgable will correct me. Would something like an 18 watter (mini bluesbreaker) with a master volume get you in the ball park? Almost the ideal half way house? 

soma1975

Teyeplayer said:

I’m sure someone more knowledgable will correct me. Would something like an 18 watter (mini bluesbreaker) with a master volume get you in the ball park? Almost the ideal half way house? 

I assumed EL84s in that 18w make it a fundamentally different sounding beast. Never played one though. 

John_A said:

You can get powerscaling retrofitted to  Bluesbreaker, but down to 1W it wouldn't sound the same.  Close, but not the same

Yeah fair enough - would just love a Bluesbreaker and be able to play it at home as well and my current Marshall 1W Offset head and cab is about the right volume for that. 

John_A

The 18 Water is a very different circuit to the bluesbreaker, it was dubbed the 'mini bluesbreaker' because it looked like one rather than sounded like one.  The EL84's are not the main reason it sounds different.

A Bluesbreaker is a JTM45 circuit which will run 6V6's to get it down to about 20W, a Powerbrake attenuator would make it quiet enough for playing at home.  It's a lot of expense/faff though

soma1975

Yeah I guessed as much re the Bluesbreaker. Sigh. 

Thanks for chiming in. 

poopot

Google “L pad attenuator”... cheap to make and works really well... 

Cant comment on the bluesbreaker circuit but power scaling sound shite in my 18watt!... it reduces the b+ across the whole circuit and just does not work!...

the L pad works tho’

ICBM

If you wanted to actually mod the amp, a post-phase-inverter MV will generally sound better at low volumes than power scaling in my opinion, and is much less work to fit. If you don't want to drill the chassis it can easily be mounted in the second speaker jack hole.

Or if it's a Bluesbreaker with the deep cabinet you could fit a pair of EL84 converters like this:

http://www.tubeampdoctor.com/en/shop_TAD_Equipment_TAD_Class_A_Converter/TAD_CLASS_A_CONVERTER_5235?selected_slave_id=669

Which despite the name do *not* run the amp in Class A, they operate in Class AB as usual - but probably close enough to Class A that you could get away with fitting only one and operate the amp single-ended.

You could also replace the GZ34 with a 5Y3 if you're going to reduce the available output power like that, which would drop the voltage and further reduce the power. You probably won't be able to get down to under about 5W like that, but it will be a *lot* quieter.

soma1975

Cheers thanks. So basically what you’re all saying is buy an Origin and some pedals and give it up. Gotcha

John_A

poopot said:

Google “L pad attenuator”... cheap to make and works really well... 

Cant comment on the bluesbreaker circuit but power scaling sound shite in my 18watt!... it reduces the b+ across the whole circuit and just does not work!...

the L pad works tho’

Not for a JTM45, the L-Pad isn't rated high enough

John_A

soma1975 said:

Cheers thanks. So basically what you’re all saying is buy an Origin and some pedals and give it up. Gotcha

That's about the top and bottom of it

soma1975

And THAT's how you give yourself permission to buy a new amp. 

TTBZ

I was going to say an Origin will be perfect for you but you've already come to that conclusion by yourself

soma1975

I mean, the 1w Offset is great for home but I'm trying to persuade myself to play out as well so Origin it is, unless they are just vapourware!

Plectrum

soma1975 said:

I mean, the 1w Offset is great for home but I'm trying to persuade myself to play out as well so Origin it is, unless they are just vapourware!

I believe they'll be available in May. I played the 20 watt at the Guitar Show on Saturday and it was really nice. The 0.5 watt setting would be ideal for home use. I had the gain and master on full and was still well within the volumes I currently use at home.

soma1975

Ace. Was a bit worried it would aimed more towards the JCM crowd but if it can do a passable JTM impression that will be plenty for me. Thanks for your feedback. 

Plectrum

soma1975 said:

Ace. Was a bit worried it would aimed more towards the JCM crowd but if it can do a passable JTM impression that will be plenty for me. Thanks for your feedback. 

It sounds closer to a Plexi than anything else to my ears but I didn't bother fiddling with the EQ apart from the Tilt. Enough gain to get that classic Marshall crunch but by no means a high gain amp. It'll make a great pedal platform though.

soma1975

Brilliant. Good enough for me, cheers. 

TTBZ

Yeah they definitely have more of a JTM/early Marshall sound than JCM. If you watch the official demo video the bit with the strat is pretty much the max gain you get without pedals.