Jump to content

Best low wattage tube amp for high gain?


c_corie

Recommended Posts

  • Members

Moving to an apartment soon, looking for a good low watt tube amp for high gain tones, don't really care about clean much-or at all really, I have other amps that can do that well at a lower volume. Price doesn't really matter, as long as it's quality and does high gain sounds well. Also low wattage meaning hopefully under 5w.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 70
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Members

I wouldn't exactly think that low wattage equals great high gain performance in low volumes for an appartment. In fact, low wattage for me, means great power tube crunch in band volumes or bars when you can't really crank a 100 watter. For home use both are equal out of their field of action, believe it or not, be it 5 watt or 50.

Still, there are many amps that get good low volume performance but the sound, it is good for practice but that is it about it for me. It never will be as when they are turned up. I mean my XXX with carefull eq and the damping on tight gets great sound for home use but it is still, preampy not full amp sound.

I've had better luck with modellers, pc plugins or the tech21 trademark 10 I usually use. The yamaha THR10 seems a great solution also, it is designed for exactly what you are after.

Else, I'd also try high gain pedals in a clean amp.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I'd also go Axe or Kemper, though thru something like the Atomic FR. I use the Axe and Atomic FR combo at home and it's glorious, getting far better tones than from the tube amps I had (Diezel and Egnater).

Low wattage tube amps don't sound great for high gain IMO. I'd rather have a 50-100W with a good master volume than a low wattage amp.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I have THR10 and I prefer my Blackstar HT-60 for low volume hi gain sounds.. maybe it's just preference. I use a Digitech RP in the loop to bring the volume right down (it has settings out of 100 for volume).. that allows me to have the master and preamp volumes quite high.. and then run low volume settings on the RP. Everyone talks about the THR (and I like it) but I was spoiled for so long with this Blackstar setup, that the THR was a bit of a disappointment hi gain wise.. I do love the lower gain models though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I don't see how you could do much better than a good overdrive or distortion pedal or two in front of that Class 5 with the Marshall set kinda clean. If you really want to keep it tube, then get a quality tube preamp pedal like the V-Twin, or something.

At volume levels that low it doesn't matter that much what the power section is, because at apt levels even a small power section won't be taxed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Honestly 5 watts is way too much for an apartment. So is 2 watts. In fact, 1 watt is overkill for an apartment. I have the Blackstar HT1 head running into a 1x12 cabinet. It's loud as sh*t for apartment use. I run an attenuator on the amp and I still have attenuate most of the volume away. It's really crazy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Another vote against tubes. I got a Peavey Vypyr 15 a few weeks ago and it's THE best $89 I've EVER spent thumb.gif So many tones and effects available and it sounds/feels great.

I will also second what codecontra said. I have two 120 watt half-stacks sitting here that sound just fine at low volumes, they do have volume knobs... Do they sound as good quiet as they do cranked? No, but do you really need to sound 100% as good as you can possibly sound, 100% of the time to practice? No...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Quote Originally Posted by gt_jumper

View Post

ht-20, awesome high gain even if slightly dark. at low volumes

 

I agree,much easier to control than my Kustom 5w head and sounds better. Couldn't tell ya' about my Orange yet,POS I bought it from a week & 1/2 ago just shipped it yesterday.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Having lived in an apartment most of my guitar playing career I suggest a decent recording interface and headphones. Anything louder than conversation levels with a coworker is loud enough to be heard throughout the building. There are a {censored} ton of free amp sim vsts as long as you have a pc that sound just as good as any amp played at that low of a level.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Quote Originally Posted by c_corie

View Post

Moving to an apartment soon, looking for a good low watt tube amp for high gain tones,[...] Price doesn't really matter, as long as it's quality and does high gain sounds well. Also low wattage meaning hopefully under 5w.

 

Bogner XTC - put it in 1/2 power, triode, class A mode. That's about 7W with nearly any gain level you want.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...