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Best low wattage tube head?


butterguitar

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Hey guys I have been in the market for a low wattage tube head to use at home at medium volumes. I have played the Marshall Haze, a good head but I thought it was missing something, very vintage sounding to my ear, no "marshall roar"

 

I would like to here your views on the Jet City JCA20 and the Orange Tiny Terror. I have yet to find either of these amps in my local guitar center's or sam ash.

 

Thoughts?

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I wouldn't say this is the "best" low watt amp, but its pretty dang good. I'm biased as its my first tube amp, I just got it, and I like it, but if you aren't looking new you might look into a Peavey Bravo 112.

 

Here is a guy that really shows the variety of sounds you can get from it. Me, I mostly get wrong notes and out of time rhythms from it, but I'm pretty sure its not the amp. ;)

 

[YOUTUBE]8m--jFYVr4E[/YOUTUBE]

 

He I think he shows in the video, but you can pull out one of the knobs for lead boost. I believe I've read online you can mod a footpedal to do that too.

Here's a vid of a guy doing metallica with one he turned into a head,

[YOUTUBE]x4nQDVqKFVk[/YOUTUBE]

 

Anyway, 25 watts, made in USA, inexpensive (shipped to me by pioneerprogress $200 total) and can do quite a range of things. Just throwing it out there since the guys around here turned me onto it. :wave:

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Wow that is metal! I have been wanting to go with the Jet City, but I feel that the 20 watt version won't have a lot of gain for me. The 50 watt I feel would have the perfect amount of gain because it has the 2nd channel for lead. But the amp is 50 watts
:mad:

 

here is some more arm twist then, the amp can get killer high gain tones even without boost.

 

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=9845500

 

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=9815550

 

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=9736148

 

first 2 are boostless, second is boosted with a bad monkey.

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I wouldn't say this is the "best" low watt amp, but its pretty dang good. I'm biased as its my first tube amp, I just got it, and I like it, but if you aren't looking new you might look into a Peavey Bravo 112.

 

best amp under 50 watts I've ever owned :thu:

Made the mistake of selling the first one I had, never gonna part with mine now!

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The Jet City has a great feel to it. It responds like a much more expensive amp and you can't go wrong with it. It sounds the best with a lot of gain though, so keep that in mind. I haven't actually played a Tiny Terror yet, but I've wanted one for a couple of years now... just haven't ever gotten around to picking one up.

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Jet City

Blackstar ht-20

Egnater Tweaker


Those are the best I have heard so far. Any of those I would be very happy to play. The tweaker is the most versatile, the blackstar will get you the heaviest tone and the Jet City is a great rock/lead amp.

 

 

This. I'm in the market for a low watter myself and these were the three contenders, but I'm leaning pretty heavily toward the tweaker due to its price and diversity. It's the same price as the five watt version of the blackstar new. And the Jet City just doesn't seem diverse enough for my style, though from what I've heard, the tone is killer.

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here is some more arm twist then, the amp can get killer high gain tones even without boost.








first 2 are boostless, second is boosted with a bad monkey.

 

 

those sound great. I need to check one of those out. Thanks.

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I'm really loving my Egnater Tweaker head. I sold my Blackstar HT-5. It had a nice smooth distortion like a Tube screamer might give....but it didn't have the presence and cleans of the Tweaker.

I also sold my Deluxe Reverb reissue after getting the Tweaker.

The price is great too.

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My favorites are the Tiny Terror and the JCA20. The Tiny Terror is WAY more expensive, though. Plus, I love the responsiveness of the Jet City. The JCA will NOT do modern metal without a boost, though. However, it responds extremely well to every pedal I have thrown at it.

 

I really don't like the basic tonality of Egnator. They are well made and have great features, though. Blackstar is also great. Probably the best choice if you need modern metal right out of the box.

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Would the JCA50 be overkill for me? The only reason why I would want it is because of the dedicated overdrive channel.

 

 

It depends what you meant by "medium" volume in your original post. I use my 50 watt Mesa in my house at "gig" or what I'd consider "medium" volumes because that's what I got it for and that's what I'm tweaking it for... It's also in a room that is 400 square feet in size. My wife doesn't mind, says she likes it, but my parents would have killed me if I did that when I was living at home. My neighbors don't complain, but I don't play late at night, so they have no reason to do so. It comes down to what your situation is.

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One thing to note about the tweaker is it is the result of Bruce Egnater's experience with all the module stuff. According to him he pinpointed just what makes amps sound different from each other, which is why I believe it is able to really "change" its tone when you select different switches/options on it.

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