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HELP!! The best small amp for home use.


kwcsports

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Tube or Solid State?

 

One of the best I ever played was an old Supro. But they're as rare as Rocking-Horse {censored}. Very warm sounding,nice break-up, and tho' not loud, they sound massive when recorded with pedals.

 

If you have the $, both Carr & Dr. Z make some nice small tube amps.

 

The Mesa Studio .22 was a great little rig, but a bit too loud at home. (Easy to get carried away with the volume,that is!)

 

As far as solid-state, I have a little Marshall that isn't bad at all. I actually used it live once in a pinch.

 

I've heard good things about the Roland Cube series too,but haven't tried one.

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Originally posted by Omri_Maor

i have the vox 50 watter...great

but its way louder than i ever need in my house,

+1 on the vox (15 or 30 watt)

 

 

If you get the Vox, do yourself a favor and spring for the 30 - it has variable power output down to 1W. Can't overstate the goodness of this feature if you need to practice at moderate-to-low volume.

 

It's a crime they don't offer this on the 15.

 

 

I still say tube though! And you don't have to break the bank. Epiphone Valve Specials and older Galaxies are pretty easy to find.

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I've got two choices, one is a shameless plug that has satisfied many a fussy guitar player and that is the vacuume tube Gilmore Jr Amp Kit.

 

My other choice would be a solid-state Vox Pathfinder, the one with Tremelo only. It is a very nice little amp for ~ $115. and it sounds very good. My Son has had one for almost 8 years and it is still kick'n :freak:

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Originally posted by Professor Tom

If you have lots of money, the Carr Mercury is about as good as it gets.

You can go down to 1/8th of a watt if you need too !


If I had money, that's the choice>


I don't so I use a Peavey Classic 30 which

 

 

The computer just died:

I use a classic 30 which you can get a pretty high gain sound at low volume to use at home.

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Originally posted by Richard Guy

I've got two choices, one is a shameless plug that has satisfied many a fussy guitar player and that is the vacuume tube Gilmore Jr Amp Kit.


My other choice would be a solid-state Vox Pathfinder, the one with Tremelo only. It is a very nice little amp for ~ $115. and it sounds very good. My Son has had one for almost 8 years and it is still kick'n
:freak:

 

The Pathfinder 10 can be had for $70, and trounces the DA5 for sound and playability.

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I really like the Trademark 10, it's a great little amp. I'm also fond of the Marshall AVT20, but find the speaker gets kinda harsh at higher volumes. Thru a 4x12, it doesn't, and it sounds nice, but then you've got a big ass 4x12 kicking around with your small combo. I'm really tempted to try out a Laney tube combo, but I've also been thinking of building my own amp using the AX84.com Hi octane circuit and a single g12t-75...

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I walked into a local shop to hear this guy just wailing with a great tone at a low volume so I went to check out what he was using.... it was a Vox AD15VT. I played around with it for a few minutes and bought two. I have one hidden behind a chair in my family room. I get a great tone at "at home" volumes.

 

I've never turned it past 4.

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Originally posted by zyx345

I use a Tech 21 Trademark 10. Awesome little amp. Sounds great at low volume. It excels in the Marshall type sound. Cleans are ok and very playable. If you are looking the the Measa Rectifier sound don't get one of these. The Mesa Rectifier sound is too bassy and lacks the midrange crunch sound.

 

 

+1 Its simply a kickass little apartment amp!

 

You can always connect it direct to a pa, or into the return jack (effects loop) or power amp in on a larger guitar amp for more volume.

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I own the Goblin 5-15, Tech21 Trademark 10, and Gibson Goldtone 7/15 watt amps. Oh yeah, I built a Gilmore Jr. a while back too (mines wired for 2 watt output.)

 

All are very good to excellent. But it's important to note that "even" 5 tube watts are probably too loud for a lot of apartment situations. 15 watts are normally out of the question.

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Originally posted by kwcsports

The Vox clip sounded awesome. I might look into Vox.

 

 

Do. They rock. I'm looking into the battery Vox or a Microcube myself at the minute for a travel amp. If it's only something to play in the house, though, and you can afford to upsize a bit pricewise, I'd be looking into the higher priced models for bigger speakers etc. The bigger brother to the DA5, the DA15, i believe also has variable wattage switching. The AD15VT, smallest of the Valvetronix series, doesn't which is a drawback if you want to get into late night quietish practice. The AD30VT is a superb amp - can be switched to run at 1watt or 15 as well as 30. A lot of folks advise trading up to the bigger 50watt version - apparently the 12" speaker gives you a tighter bottom end, and a bit more volume which can be useful if you're gonig to jam with a drummer. I was going to go that way myself for a main amp, until i got seduced by a good deal on the AD120VT model - looks like a big AC30 with a blue grille cloth. Yummy. The AD60VT, not unlike an old 1x12" AC15 style, is a nice amp too - basically a mono version of the 120 (the 120 isn't really a 120w amp, rather two x 60 in stereo, again can be set as 2x1w, 2x15, 2x30 as well). If you're really going to get into the modelling lark with difference patches and things, these higher end series are the ones to go for if you want to buy the more developed footboard and store lots of patches - the silver metal grille models can only be used with a footswitch that stores two patches, giving you three sounds at your feet if you include the manual settings. That might be enough for you, though. A good AD60VT can be had used for the same price as a new AD50VT. There's also the big AD100VT - metal grille series, BIG LOUD mother of a thing.

 

If you're really looking for something small and unobtrusive for the house, I'd suggest the 30VT every time. The 10" speaker will give you better sounds than the 6.5" in the DA5. If you also want a travel amp in the same box, though, you might have to look at balancing that convenience over the bigger speaker.

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Originally posted by ECFan

Fender Champ. Blackface or Silverface.

 

 

Course, if you're up for valves, that's a good option.... or one of the Epiphone valve amps that came out a while back.

 

If i could be bother with valves myself, I'd be getting GAS pangs for that new Mini Matamp 2watt head.

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