Low watt amps...

[TS808]

Just some babbling and rambling on my part. Recently, I sold all my big amps (except for my Delta Blues 210) and with the money from the sales bought two of the Blackheart amps (the Little Giant Head and Handsome Devil head). I also found a Crate V212T cab on evilbay at a great price.

For years, I was convinced that small amps just didn't sound that good: Keep in mind though that I grew up in an era where "small practice or home amps" meant a 15-watt solid state that sounded like a cardboard box with a speaker stuck in it.

This really is a great time for guitarists....some REALLY GOOD small amps have come out in recent years that really deliver; whether it's the Vox AD**VT line, Peavey Vypyrs, Egnater Rebel, Blackheart, Epiphone, Blackstar, the new Voxes that will be coming out....these amps all deliver very well on tone and at volumes that won't leave you deaf or disturb the family/neighbors. Plus, they are REASONABLY PRICED.

Tube amps had pretty much been impractical for me because of my living situation (a townhome) but the recent innovations with the smaller amps have closed a gap which I always thought was out there: great gig sized amps, and cheesy amps for the home noodler.

Tone is a matter of subjectivity, and I've owned amps like a Blues Jr and an AC15 but thought they lacked a certain depth so to speak. Plus, I got way too caught up in the latest "flavor of the day" syndrome that many of us go through where we see a new amp come out, sell the old ones, and go with the new fad. Also, I never thought I'd play something other than a Fender, etc (that brand recognition bias).

Part of it too is that I'm probably a little burned out with buying and selling gear and probably spent more time tweaking amps rather than playing.

Sorry for the rambling editorial, but I think this is a GREAT time for guitarists: Good gear, good tone, reasonable prices.....:AOK:

[marnold]

Part of it too is that I'm probably a little burned out with buying and selling gear and probably spent more time tweaking amps rather than playing.
I think I'm coming to that conclusion too. GAS is all fine and good, but what am I playing? I've thought about this a lot after I was chasing that Rhoads and now seeing the Blackstar. The Rhoads would have looked cool, but wouldn't have been better than the guitar I'd be losing. I'm driving myself nuts trying to find the distortion tone in my head instead of just playing. Maybe the Blackstar would be a solution to that, or maybe it'd just end up another way to spend money.

[tunghaichuan]

I've always been an ampoholic. At one time I had 13 amps, including 2 100-watt heads, a few 50 watt combos, etc. I ended up selling them all when I became interested in building my own stuff. Most of the stuff I've built is low watt: parts for high wattage amps are more expensive, and I'm with you, I just don't need more than about 5-10 watts. The highest wattage amp I have right now is 18 watts.

Not to hijack, but the precursor amp to the low wattage boom was the Hi-Mu. I really lusted for one of those back in the 80s. Unfortunately for the builder, he was about 15 years too early. If you ever come across a Hi-Mu amp for sale, snap it up. The later models feature Magnequest transformers, true point to point wiring, and put out about 5 watts for the single ended 6V6 model, 10 watts for the single ended 6L6 and 15 watts for the push pull EL84 model.

Here is some info:

http://www.diycustomamps.com/himu.htm

tung




Just some babbling and rambling on my part. Recently, I sold all my big amps (except for my Delta Blues 210) and with the money from the sales bought two of the Blackheart amps (the Little Giant Head and Handsome Devil head). I also found a Crate V212T cab on evilbay at a great price.

For years, I was convinced that small amps just didn't sound that good: Keep in mind though that I grew up in an era where "small practice or home amps" meant a 15-watt solid state that sounded like a cardboard box with a speaker stuck in it.

This really is a great time for guitarists....some REALLY GOOD small amps have come out in recent years that really deliver; whether it's the Vox AD**VT line, Peavey Vypyrs, Egnater Rebel, Blackheart, Epiphone, Blackstar, the new Voxes that will be coming out....these amps all deliver very well on tone and at volumes that won't leave you deaf or disturb the family/neighbors. Plus, they are REASONABLY PRICED.

Tube amps had pretty much been impractical for me because of my living situation (a townhome) but the recent innovations with the smaller amps have closed a gap which I always thought was out there: great gig sized amps, and cheesy amps for the home noodler.

Tone is a matter of subjectivity, and I've owned amps like a Blues Jr and an AC15 but thought they lacked a certain depth so to speak. Plus, I got way too caught up in the latest "flavor of the day" syndrome that many of us go through where we see a new amp come out, sell the old ones, and go with the new fad. Also, I never thought I'd play something other than a Fender, etc (that brand recognition bias).

Part of it too is that I'm probably a little burned out with buying and selling gear and probably spent more time tweaking amps rather than playing.

Sorry for the rambling editorial, but I think this is a GREAT time for guitarists: Good gear, good tone, reasonable prices.....:AOK:

[TS808]

I think I'm coming to that conclusion too. GAS is all fine and good, but what am I playing? I've thought about this a lot after I was chasing that Rhoads and now seeing the Blackstar. The Rhoads would have looked cool, but wouldn't have been better than the guitar I'd be losing. I'm driving myself nuts trying to find the distortion tone in my head instead of just playing. Maybe the Blackstar would be a solution to that, or maybe it'd just end up another way to spend money.

It got way too crazy for me...going back and forth, trying a new amp, selling an old one, and in the end, I still wasn't satisfied. It gets to the point where gear becomes more of an obsession than playing guitar.

I've seen so many "boo-teek" amps on ebay lately, and even some of the sound clips I hear on other forums with $3000 amps REALLY don't sound that much different than some of the clips I hear with a mass-produced amp.

Thankfully, I reached a point a few years ago where I quit buying guitars.

Part of the problem too was that my amps sounded like crap because I was buying amps that were just not made for playing at home, so all the "bells and whistles" were just going to waste.

I'm finding too that the simpler that amp, the better I like it, whether it's one or two channel.

[tunghaichuan]

It got way too crazy for me...going back and forth, trying a new amp, selling an old one, and in the end, I still wasn't satisfied. It gets to the point where gear becomes more of an obsession than playing guitar.


I hear you. About 15 years ago I sold off all my FX pedals, including a nice TS808 Tube Screamer. I didn't have any pedals at all until about a year ago. I found that I was playing around with the settings more than I was practicing. Lately though, I've been picking up lots of pedals on the cheap. Old habits die hard :(



I've seen so many "boo-teek" amps on ebay lately, and even some of the sound clips I hear on other forums with $3000 amps REALLY don't sound that much different than some of the clips I hear with a mass-produced amp.


I think the boutique thing is messed up. A lot of boutique amps are just copies of low wattage practice amps from the 50s and 60s. The originals were only so-so in quality. They were meant to be cheap practice amps and were built for that price point. Now that a lot of them have become unaffordable to all but those with deep pockets, the boutique makers fill the niche by offering updated, high quality clones. A lot of the price of a boutique amp is the cost of paying the maker to hand wire it, which is fairly labor intensive. It takes me a good 10 to 15 hours to build a Tweed Princeton amp from scratch.



Part of the problem too was that my amps sounded like crap because I was buying amps that were just not made for playing at home, so all the "bells and whistles" were just going to waste.


I agree, I got rid of my two 100W stacks because they just didn't sound good at low volumes. If I had regularly cranked them, I would be divorced now :D



I'm finding too that the simpler that amp, the better I like it, whether it's one or two channel.

Very true. That is the reason the tweed Princeton is my favorite amp. It is very simple. Two gain stages, a low loss tone control and a single output tube. You can't get much simpler and have a good sounding guitar amp. The tweed princeton does a good low volume clean sound and sounds glorious when cranked. It takes pedals well, so if you need a heavier sound, you can push it with an OD pedal or a booster.

tung

[TS808]

I think the boutique thing is messed up. A lot of boutique amps are just copies of low wattage practice amps from the 50s and 60s. The originals were only so-so in quality. They were meant to be cheap practice amps and were built for that price point. Now that a lot of them have become unaffordable to all but those with deep pockets, the boutique makers fill the niche by offering updated, high quality clones. A lot of the price of a boutique amp is the cost of paying the maker to hand wire it, which is fairly labor intensive. It takes me a good 10 to 15 hours to build a Tweed Princeton amp from scratch.

Agreed...the hand wiring certainly is labor intensive and it's cool if people are into that....I believe that whatever works for a person, they should certainly get.

I think us guitarists get too caught up in the hype though sometimes, and find that no matter what amp, we still sound like ourselves in the end :D

It's amazing though when I visit other forums how caught up people get in tube swaps, speaker swaps, only to get rid of the amp 3 months later because they "couldn't bond with it".

My point is it becomes a vicious cycle sometimes and more of an obsession. I'd rather have that kind of obsession to PLAY guitar then going through that endless cycle of buying, selling and trading gear.

[tunghaichuan]

You bring up an excellent point here. If I had spent as much time practicing has I had chasing down and acquiring gear I would now have monster chops of doom. But it is easier to acquire gear. And it is more satisfying in the short term.

I think GAS is ultimately indicative of being unsatisfied with playing ability. It is the "grass is greener" syndrome. The question is how do we turn off the GAS obsession and turn on a playing/practicing obsession?

OTOH, I've owned a lot of cool gear and have learned a lot about it. Building amps is the same way, I've learned a lot about circuits by building them and testing them.

I don't think buying/collecting gear is inherently bad, it is when it becomes a substitute for playing/practicing that it starts to cause the never ending cycle of acquiring and flipping gear.

I'm a gear addict, so I think about this a lot.

tung




Agreed...the hand wiring certainly is labor intensive and it's cool if people are into that....I believe that whatever works for a person, they should certainly get.

I think us guitarists get too caught up in the hype though sometimes, and find that no matter what amp, we still sound like ourselves in the end :D

It's amazing though when I visit other forums how caught up people get in tube swaps, speaker swaps, only to get rid of the amp 3 months later because they "couldn't bond with it".

My point is it becomes a vicious cycle sometimes and more of an obsession. I'd rather have that kind of obsession to PLAY guitar then going through that endless cycle of buying, selling and trading gear.

[Katastrophe]

Preach on, brother!

I think that we get caught up in the hype so much that when someone famous says something totally steeped in myth, we tend to believe it.

There is, IMO, very little common sense testing out there to get to the truth.

[TS808]

I think GAS is ultimately indicative of being unsatisfied with playing ability. It is the "grass is greener" syndrome. The question is how do we turn off the GAS obsession and turn on a playing/practicing obsession?


Yep! I wonder how many times I bought new gear when I was feeling like I was in one of those playing ruts??

Funny how we won't hesitate to try and buy new gear, but how hesitant some of us are to try different styles of music or spend some cash on lessons lol.

I really believe though that no matter what the gear, I still sound like me..the tones might be a little better, but I still have the same chops (or lack thereof) in the end. :D

[just strum]

I pretty much have my guitar GAS under control, but I am giving serious thought to the Blackheart 5 watt amp head and this thread isn't changing that craving.

[TS808]

Preach on, brother!

I think that we get caught up in the hype so much that when someone famous says something totally steeped in myth, we tend to believe it.

There is, IMO, very little common sense testing out there to get to the truth.

There is alot of hype about gear. I've heard guys play through old Peavey Bandits and they sounded like pure tonal bliss. That's not to say buy the cheapest gear possible, but to me it shows that the gear is a smaller part of the tonal equation than alot of people believe.

Guys like Hendrix, BB King, and many other of the older rockers and bluesmen played through whatever was available at the time, and to this day, their tones are still the best.

[TS808]

I pretty much have my guitar GAS under control, but I am giving serious thought to the Blackheart 5 watt amp head and this thread isn't changing that craving.

I think the Blackheart is worth every penny though....inexpensive, simple, and it sounds great.

[just strum]

I think the Blackheart is worth every penny though....inexpensive, simple, and it sounds great.

Exactly!!! That is music to my ears (and wallet)

[piebaldpython]

I'm curious as heck to see what people think of the Vox AC4TV combo, the little 4W tube amp with a 10" speaker. If Vox does that RIGHT; that could be a MAJOR hit for them in the little watt amp market. It could do for little tube watt amps what the Fender SCXD has done, blow away the competition.

[F_BSurfer]

[QUOTE=TS808]There is alot of hype about gear. I've heard guys play through old Peavey Bandits and they sounded like pure tonal bliss. That's not to say buy the cheapest gear possible, but to me it shows that the gear is a smaller part of the tonal equation than alot of people believe.

In my book the Peavey Bandit is a great amp I know it is ss but man it is a versatile amp and rock solid. haven't replaced the one that was stolen from me last Oct. yet but I will.

I sill have a 100w amp (collecting some serious dust) the other 10 amps are all 22w or below and I agree it is really good time for guitarist and low wattage reasonably priced amps. Hope to add a Blackstar HT-5 to my arsenal if and when I can find one.

[sunvalleylaw]

I like my simple Peavey Classic 30 and the simple small Blackhearts look like a similar thing but smaller. That is why I lean toward them. On the other hand, a couple of the small modelers look very good as well, and I would not have to lug around extra cables, effects, etc. I agree, pretty nice that there are all these options right now.

[Tarin]

GAS has not hit me... yet, but i have swapped and tried out a few amps looking for that "tonal bliss" everyone's trying to find.
My very first amp (if we can call it an amp), was a Danelectro 1 watt battery operated plastic thingy to start out in my apartment without bothering my neighbors.
Second, Vox Pathfinder 15R... huge improvement!
I then started trying out lots of amps from GC, or freinds of mine (just a few that play guitar) and i'll always compare them against my 15R, of course, taking in consideration prices: i would play a Fender Blues Jr. and of course it sounded great... but it's 400 bucks above my 15R! and besides that, my 15R also sounds great.
Like that i played other Voxes, fenders, gorilla's, Peavey's... lots of them and i'd always come back to my 15R (this is not a promo, i promise).

Then i wanted to hop on the tube amp wagon and was aiming for the Blackheart LG but came across the Crate V5 wich was a lot cheaper, and even though it had bad reviews, i went for it... well, it sound pretty bad but i'm keeping it as my modding platform (couple guys have already done it, check the thread).

Wrapping this up, it's easy for that GAS bug (or hype) to hit you, since i've been gladly stuck to my Vox's tone, i'm all excited about the AD4TV that's coming out and i haven't even heard it yet! already saving my pennies for it (sweetwater has a pre-sale right now) just becuase it's a low watt Vox amp!

How many amps must i try before i realize that the tone i'm looking for has been there since day one... in the 15R.

(note to self: that's the reason you haven't sold it yet... stupid).

[TS808]

In my book the Peavey Bandit is a great amp I know it is ss but man it is a versatile amp and rock solid. haven't replaced the one that was stolen from me last Oct. yet but I will.

Wasn't trying to diss the Bandit...my point was that alot of "gear snobs" look down their noses at solid state and even digital modeling, but so much of it has to do with the person playing through the amp. Solid state amps today aren't the same technology that existed when I was a teenager in the 70's (that paper thin, raspy sound). Alot of solid-state amps really sound good these days.

[just strum]

Wasn't trying to diss the Bandit...my point was that alot of "gear snobs" look down their noses at solid state and even digital modeling, but so much of it has to do with the person playing through the amp. Solid state amps today aren't the same technology that existed when I was a teenager in the 70's (that paper thin, raspy sound). Alot of solid-state amps really sound good these days.

I have contemplated selling or trading my AD30VT on several occasions and realized there would only be regrets to follow. I have a rajun cajun speaker for it that will be delivered this week and if the speaker lives up to the reviews, then I don't see parting with it. Come to think of it, the Vox is the gear I've held onto the longest.

[gndboy]

Hi - My name is gndboy and I am a gearhead. Gotta agree with the above. When the gigs are thick, I'm really happy with my stuff (if I even think about it at all), but when there is down time, I get cranky with my gear and almost always wind up doing something stupid (not the Nancy/Frank Sinatra tune).

[Commodore 64]

I suck. Therefore I churn gear.

[NWBasser]

I think I'm coming to that conclusion too. GAS is all fine and good, but what am I playing? I've thought about this a lot after I was chasing that Rhoads and now seeing the Blackstar. The Rhoads would have looked cool, but wouldn't have been better than the guitar I'd be losing. I'm driving myself nuts trying to find the distortion tone in my head instead of just playing. Maybe the Blackstar would be a solution to that, or maybe it'd just end up another way to spend money.

Marnold, I recently played a Blackstar HT-5 head and 10-inch cab. I think that you and I have similar tone tastes for thick n' rich rockin' overdrive.

With that in mind, DON'T try a Blackstar unless you go in with a heavy wallet!

I nearly had to be pried away from it by the GC sales staff.

Of course, I can say the same for the Tweaker.

[deeaa]

There is alot of hype about gear. I've heard guys play through old Peavey Bandits and they sounded like pure tonal bliss. That's not to say buy the cheapest gear possible, but to me it shows that the gear is a smaller part of the tonal equation than alot of people believe.

Guys like Hendrix, BB King, and many other of the older rockers and bluesmen played through whatever was available at the time, and to this day, their tones are still the best.

I'm with you 100%. Except I think that way about guitars. I can't believe people shell out thousands for electric guitars, when it's really like 60% about what pickup you use and 35% how well it's set up and maintained and only maybe 5% comes from woods and whatnot. No magic there.

But, amps too. Ultimately it's all in the fingers. I do think one can sound great on any old junker, but still, if you're really after great tones, it's the amp more than the guitar. I mean, while you can get a superb tone out of a 10W Peavey Rage for some purpose, in real life/gigs/volume/whateverwise, you need a proper amp. A good amph is a good amph, no question about it. Not the tone alone, but it's the main tool for guitarist, IMO. Or not even an amp, maybe a software program can suffice and be great.

I'd rather have a real nice amp and a 200-buck cheapo guitar than vice versa, if I can spend some time to work on the guitar.

[gndboy]

I agree, it's under the fingers of the player. That said, I've heard astonishing sounds from some junk whether in a smokey funk club or a hall, or a studio. I think the good players have a sense of the situation, and if lucky, have some competent band mates who also have the same sense of situation. In this regard, it's undeniable the amp is an instrument (as though that needs be mentioned here). It's great searching for better tone, but nothing counts more than the situation and the other musicians. At least for me. It's the ensemble.

[marnold]

Marnold, I recently played a Blackstar HT-5 head and 10-inch cab. I think that you and I have similar tone tastes for thick n' rich rockin' overdrive.

With that in mind, DON'T try a Blackstar unless you go in with a heavy wallet!
If Blackstar hadn't cranked up the prices on the HT-5s, I probably would have one of those instead of the Jet City. I played it and liked what I heard a lot. Now that I've had the Jet City awhile, it's clearly all's well that ends well. I think I like the little extra oomph a 12" speaker gives too.

[gndboy]

I've had it with getting decent tubes. The ART TubePAC actually has a tube in the audio path that won't bust your bank account. There are several very reasonably-priced MOS-FET jobs out there that sing even better with the TubePAC. I have no interest in ART. Try it.