I think Warren was getting a handle on one 1/2 watt tube amp if I'm not mistaken. Let's see if he says something about that.
i have been trying to decide if I want to get a tube amph or not. Probably only looking for a 5 or 15 watt to keep the peace at home. I have never had a tube amph .... any advice? I'm currently playing through a Roland cube 60.
Thanks, Dave
"You don't have to act your age to feel it."
DaveO
I think Warren was getting a handle on one 1/2 watt tube amp if I'm not mistaken. Let's see if he says something about that.
Guitars/Bass - MIM Fender Classic 50s Strat, MIM Fender Standard Strat, Squier Classic Vibe 50s Tele, Gibson Les Paul Studio, Epi '56 Gold Top Les Paul, Martin DSR acoustic, Sigma Martin Auditorium electric/acoustic, Squier Jazz Bass.
Amps/Cabinets/Modelers - Model 2558 50 watt Marshall Silver Anniversary Jubilee combo w/ Celestion Vintage 30s, 4x12 Marshall cabinet w/25 watt Greenback Celestions, Fender Blues Junior w/ a couple of Billm mods, Line 6 POD 2.0, Roland Micro Cube
Pedals/Effects - Cry Baby Classic Wah, Boss TU-2, Boss NS-2, Boss RC-2 Loop Station, Ross Compressor, MXR Micro Amp, Danelectro FAB Echo, Danelectro FAB Chorus, Danelectro Chicken Salad, Marshall Guv'nor Plus, Marshall Echohead, Duhvoodooman's Zonkin' Yellow Screamer, Digitech Digiverb, Digitech Bad Monkey, Dunlop Fuzz Face, Homemade Loop Bypass pedal, Duhvoodooman's Sonic Tonic (Maxon SD-9 clone +), Voodoo Labs Superfuzz
Is that the one from ZVex?
"You don't have to act your age to feel it."
DaveO
If you feel you "have to have" a tube amp, so get one because that feeling will keep bugging you and there is no way to get over it until you own a tube amp. That was my case at least. You can get a small one to be quiet enough - especially if you have a 60watts now.Originally Posted by DaveO
If it's not that bad - so you need to define your requirements. You won't find a small tube amp with effects like the Cube so you will have to use pedals. I would say that if you want a great clean, you will get it from a tube amp. Great pedal distortion/overdrive also, as tube amps make pedals sound better than any other amp. If you want a great amp distortion - it will be trickier with a small tube amp but can be done.
Sounds like you're a candidate for one of those little Epiphone jobbies! Or has anyone tried one of the little Peavey ValveKing Royal 8s?
Axen: Jackson DK2M, Fender Deluxe Nashville Telecaster, Reverend Warhawk 390, Taylor 914ce, ESP LTD Surveyor-414
Amphen: Jet City JCA22H and JCA12S cab, Carvin X-60 combo, Acoustic B20
Effecten: "Thesis 96" Overdrive/Boost (aka DVM OD2), Hardwire DL-8 Digital Delay/Looper, DigiTech Polara Reverb, DigiTech EX-7 Expression Factory and CF-7 Chorus Factory, Danelectro CF-1 Cool Cat Fuzz
"I wish Imagine Dragons would be stuck in an Arcade Fire for an entire Vampire Weekend."--Brian Posehn
arch23- I will have to add some pedals, but, that is one of the things about the cube that didn't impress me. The effects sound fine but you have very little adjustments so the only thing I really use alot is the reverb. I have a BBE Sonic Stomp and have a OD pedal on the way. Scouting the bay for used pedals now.
marnold-I forgot about the Epi's. I have been looking at the Crate v5 or v8 and I will be heading out to the local shops to try some out.
Thanks, Dave
"You don't have to act your age to feel it."
DaveO
DaveO I'm going through the same thing you are you can check out my thread down from this one Cube 60, I found a Epiphone Valve standerd 15 watts tube Amp for 200.00 bucks cant pass it up, I will pick it up next friday,
everybody is going ape over the 5 watt Epi valve Juniors, do a search and you will come up with hundreds of hits,
Keith.
i have heard great things about this one (the 1/2 watt version)...haven't got around to getting one yet but i am going to.....Originally Posted by tone2thebone
http://www.guytronix.com/home.html
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Guitars: Gibson 1998 Les Paul Special : Peavey Predator (Early 90's Fat Strat Copy) : Ibanez GAX30TROriginally Posted by just strum
Brownsville Reso - 101 Electric Reso : Fender GDO-300 Maple Quilt Top Acoustic
Amps: Fender Super Champ XD
Effects: Digitech RP250 Modeling Guitar Processor : DVM "Phased and Confused" Script Phaser Clone : Digitech Bad Monkey
Danelectro Cool Cat Chorus : Behringer Distortion Modeler : Ernie Ball Volume Pedal : Dunlop Cry Baby Wah
There is also the Fender Champion 600 (5 watt). I may get one soon.Originally Posted by DaveO
I pick a moon dog.
Originally Posted by DaveO
I dunno..
It is kinda like Booze, cigs or crack cocaine.. they say NEVER try it, because why start something you may not be able to quit.
What if you REALLY like it? Then you want another.. and another.. and then a Bigge one, and a bigger one then that.. then two for the house, don't forget a spare for on stage etc etc.. then how about NOS tubes while you are at it.. and ... and..
_______________
Of course I am kind of joking.. but you get my point?
OF course you should get a tube amp if you want one and can afford one..
________________
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page...?bandid=676362
Being only into these guitars a few years I been trying to decide that stuff to.. so far been thru a few Solid States.. Cyber-Champ, Ampeg oldie, Roland Cubes, Crates and Vox Da-5.. but then I started messing with this 5 watt Epi Valve Jr. alot..I mean alot.. and combined with a Weber MicroMass I can play it thru my computer and disturb no one but myself.. so combined with that feature and the sound from the little tube amp thru speakers (it's alive I tell you .. it's alive!!) .. well , I will stick with it for now.. till I can get a bigger tube amp.. Think a Fender blues Junior will be next.. then maybe a twin or bassman head.. then a soundcity or Hiwatt... then.. oh heck... Im trapped to!!!
Jimmie Vaughan Strat , Squire 51
Epi 56 GoldTop, SX "Vintage" Jazz Bass
Zager 50, Guild GAD30R (Excellent)
G-Dec 3 Thirty, Valve Junior & Cab
Crate PowerBlock, Crate V33H
Avatar Cabinet 2x12 Hellatones
JamVox, Studio GX With Mods/Farm 2.0.
It's already a given that one is never enough. I'm already a little scared since I have access to some great amps at a local music store, Fat Sound in Cary, NC. I'm probably going to pick up some kind of tube amp, after alot of test drives
Dave
"You don't have to act your age to feel it."
DaveO
Just my thought...if you're looking for a tube amp at home, I think sticking with a modeling amp is your best bet. Just my opinion as I play 95% of the time at home. Even 5 watts can get pretty loud at times depending on the amp.
The ONLY tube amp that I've found that is decent as a home amp is the used Marshall JTM 30 that I found off of ebay. I can get away with the gain, volume, and master volume all at 12:00 at home, and it puts out a reasonable volume that doesn't make the dogs go running to hide under the bed.
Mainly though, I use my Valvetronix amp at home.
Guitars: 2003 and 2004 American series strats, Squier Classic Vibe 50's Strat, Squier Deluxe Strat.
Amps: Line 6 Spider IV 120, Vox AD50VT 212, and Peavey Transtube Bandit 112.
Pedals: Digitech Bad Monkey.
I play my AD30VT (only amp I have), but I've got a 5 watt Fender Champion 600 on the way.Originally Posted by TS808
I thought I'd put in some nice tubes (there are only two). It seems like a nice amp to drag around to different places. That sucker is itsy bitsy teeny tiny...
I pick a moon dog.
Wattage of a tube amp can be deceiving. Tube amps are rated at "clean" power, yet most people like to drive them to the point of breakup to get better responsiveness (is that a word?) out of them.
In order to double the volume of a tube amp, you need to increase the rated watts by ten times.
So, if Warren buys his half watt amp, which is .5 watt, my Valve Jr, which puts out 5 watts, will be twice as loud, and someone else's 50 watt Marshall, or Traynor Blue, or what have you, will be twice as loud as my Valve Jr....
My point being this..... most people buy a 20 or 30 watt tube amp thinking it will be quiet in the bedroom at night, and they can crank it w/o disturbing anyone...... if you don't have a master volume, gain knob, attenuator, etc.... it's going to be LOUD if it's even 5 watts, you're going to need headphones or some way to keep it quiet. But it's gonna sound great.
I use a THD Hotplate w/ the ValveJr. and it can still get loud enough to be heard across the street w/ the Hotplate at max attenuation when I crank the amp to around 1:00 o'clock through 1 Celestion in a closed back cab.
Guitars
Wilburn Versatare, '52 FrankenTele(Fender licensed parts), Fender USA Roadhouse Strat, Fender USA Standard B-bender Telecaster, Agile AL 3000 w/ WCR pickups, Ibanez MIJ V300 Acoustic, Squier Precision Bass,
Amps
Ceriatone Overtone Special, Musicman 212 Sixty-Five, Fender Blues Jr., Peavey Classic 30, Fender Super Reverb, Traynor YCV-40 WR Anniversary w/ matching 1x12 ext. cab, Epiphone SoCal 50w head w/ matching 4x12 cab (Lady Luck speakers), Avatar 2x12 semi-open back cab w/ Celestion speakers
Pedals
Digitech Bad Monkey, Digitech Jamman, DVM's ZYS, Goodrich volume pedal
There's more to it than the watts. The Champ 600 has a 6 inch speaker in a teeny tiny (did I already say itsy bitsy? ) cab. From what I understand 5 Epi watts are quite a bit louder than the same number of Champ watts.Originally Posted by oldguy
People who have replaced the stock speaker with a Weber ceramic 6 inch (whip out my--itsy bitsy--6 in) remark on the increased loudness due to the increased efficiency.
& yes, responsiveness is a word. A good word that bears repetition:
*ahem*....responsiveness
Last edited by tot_Ou_tard; June 17th, 2007 at 08:26 PM.
I pick a moon dog.
I'll add a little something, since I was in the same boat a month ago as you are now...
First off, yes the 5 watt epi is LOUD. I was blown away at how loud it can get. It seems like it can get almost as loud as my Vox, which is FIFTY watts. But I think this was explained earlier about how it is acually 5 watts CLEAN. Before the Epi valve jr, all I used was my Vox AD50VT. It was, and still is my primary amp at home because I can turn it down as low as i want and still get good tone. Now let me say, once you get a tube amp, you WILL want another. Haha, I thought "eh I'll try the valve jr, since its so cheap, and i'll just stick at that for a while". Well now I find myself looking into 20-30 watt tube amps. And I don't know why!! hahaha
But I do DEFINITELY agree that the biggest difference is responsiveness. Absolutely splendid Responsiveness. Splendid.
Leonidas' Gear List:
Electric Guitars - Agile AL-2800 (S.D. '59 B, Pearly Gates N), Squier Telecaster Custom (GFS FAT PAFs + Mods)
Acoustic Guitars - Crafter ML-Rose, Epiphone PR-350CE
Amps - VOX AD50VT, Epiphone Valve Jr. (Modded), Fender Blues Jr
Pedals - Crybaby Classic w/ Fasel Inductor, Boss DS-1, Digitech Bad Monkey, Danelectro Cool Cat Chorus, Danelectro Fish & Chips EQ, Ibanez AW7
Ohhh a sweet little tube amph is something you definitley don't want to miss.
Of course the modeled amphs of today are close, but they all lack that warm dynamic and life that only the tube has.
On this year's tradefair I have played the Fender Champion 600 and I can highly recommend it. A little tube change, which depends on you flavour, and there you go.
To tube or not to tube - what a question, he?
I think everybody should tube.
"A lot of people in the industry want to blame downloading for the state of the business. But I think if most music wasn't shit to begin with people wouldn't be downloading it for free," - Corey Taylor (Slipknot)
I'm thinking of getting myself an Epi Valve Jr head and cab for Christmas. Hopefully, I'll be able to actually play something by then.
Guitars (All Lefty): Fender MIM Wine Red Telecaster
Washburn D10SCELHBK
Greg Bennett (Samick) Avion AV3/LH/CS
Franken-Strat (Maple Neck / Black Body & Pickguard / 2-Point Tremolo / GFS Alnico Single-coil Pups / Gold Hardware)
2 Fullerton Standard Strats; Sunburst w/ GFS Overwound P'ups and Black w/ GFS Lil Killer Rail 'Buckers
Fullerton Deluxe Dreadnought
Amp: Blackheart BH1HS Killer Ant Half Stack (Bitmo Ant Eater Kit)
Crate V18-112 (Goodsell RGM Speaker / Accutronics Tank / Switch R4 - R10 Mod)
Pignose G40V (Jensen MOD Speaker / DC Heater Mod / Pentode:Triode Switch)
Fender Champion 30 Reverb (Accutronics Tank / Jensen MOD Speaker)
Speaker Cab: Lopo 1x12 Tweed Convertible w/ Eminence GB128 Speaker
Pedals: Korg ToneWorks AX1000G, AX5G, & AmpworksG Modeling Signal Processors
Boss DS-1 (Rectifier Tri-Gain Plus Mod); CS-3 (Opto Plus Mod); SD-1 Super (GT Mod); GE-7 (Plus Mod)
Fender PT-100 Tuner
E.H. Big Muff Pi (US)
S.D. Pickup Booster
Ibanez CF7 Chorus/Flanger
Alesis NanoVerb
ART Tube MP Studio (OPA2604 Op Amps) (On Champion 30)
Behringer NR100 & OD100