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Best Bedroom Amp


jerry_picker

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Originally posted by docjeff



Exactly. Gotta go teach a class. Can't wait to get home and order one of those tiny amp kits.

 

 

Ummm...this amp kit rocks. I built mine as a 2 watt kit, but I noticed now they have an adapter that allows swapping of output tubes w/o rewiring the amp. You must get this, and the 2 watt tube if you play clean--probably just what you're looking for.

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docjeff wrote;

So, amp makers, if you are listening, make a 1--2 watt all valve combo with reverb and tremolo and a juicy Weber 10" speaker; put it in a nice birch or pine cabinet; call it the bedroom special, and sell it for a couple of hundred bucks. It should be fairly easy to do.

My guess is that 95% of recreational guitar players have amps that are too powerful for them to get decent tone.

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Interesting post. Maybe back in 1955 you could purchase an amp like that for $200. If you currently price the speaker, transformers, chassis and reverb tank, you'll find that you've spent your $200, not to mention assembly cost, electronic component parts, tubes, tube sockets, chassis assembly hardware, switches, jacks, pots, turret or fiber board. Forget about a birch or pine cabinet. It is very tough eeking out an existance offering a product with premium parts that satisfies the fussy Musician. Margins are low. It's a labor of love at best. Just my educated .02 No offense ment. ;)

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Originally posted by Richard Guy



Interesting post. Maybe back in 1955 you could purchase an amp like that for $200. If you currently price the speaker, transformers, chassis and reverb tank, you'll find that you've spent your $200, not to mention assembly cost, electronic component parts, tubes, tube sockets, chassis assembly hardware, switches, jacks, pots, turret or fiber board. Forget about a birch or pine cabinet. It is very tough eeking out an existance offering a product with premium parts that satisfies the fussy Musician. Margins are low. It's a labor of love at best. Just my educated .02 No offense ment.
;)



Yeah, and $200 in 1955 had the buying power of about $1450 today!

You can get a HELL of an amp for $1450 in 2005.

http://minneapolisfed.org/Research/data/us/calc/index.cfm

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So why not modify one of your Champs? That would seem to be the ideal solution.

Originally posted by jerry_picker



That is so true!


Part of the problem is the lack of ready availabilty on the market of a good, inexpensive 1-2 watt combo. The technology is not difficult...a Champ run triode instead of pentode should be delicious. Solid state should be no problem at all.


Perhaps a bigger part of the problem is the over-selling of too-powerful amps to beginners, preying on their wannabe-ness.

"You can use this with your band!" is just what a newbie wants to hear, even if their (ahem) "band" is a schoolyard pipedream fairy tale.

A culture of "my amp is bigger than your amp" arises among bedroom players, and a cycle sets in.

 

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Hello Jerry,

Great site link, thank you!

Yes, it would be one hell of an amp that would satisfy anyone that's serious about tone,.... and look great in a Birch Cabinet! It just so happens that we are taking orders today ;^)

Seriously though, the trick is getting a good, satisfying (un-attenuated or gained-up preamp/master volume) tone at 1 Watt or less. I am positive that off-shore can provide it for $200 and have it fit in a 'drip-panel' flip-flop ;)

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Originally posted by Richard Guy

Hello Jerry,


Great site link, thank you!


Yes, it would be one hell of an amp that would satisfy anyone that's serious about tone,.... and look great in a Birch Cabinet! It just so happens that we are taking orders today ;^)


Seriously though, the trick is getting a good, satisfying (un-attenuated or gained-up preamp/master volume) tone at 1 Watt or less. I am positive that off-shore can provide it for $200 and have it fit in a 'drip-panel' flip-flop
;)



Well, there you go! :D

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Originally posted by Deuterium

I can't believe that none of the Rolan Cubes...INCLUDING the Cube 60 will allow you to run BOTH Reverb and Delay. It is either / or on the Roland Cubes...which Sucks donkey poo!!


Hence, my vote is for a Vox Valvetronix.

 

 

Does the Vox let you run BOTH Reverb and Delay?

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Originally posted by Ven do



I agree. I've owned both and they are way too loud for home use.


Here is one that'll do nicely:


electar1.jpg



nah, I thought that was the biggest turd of an amp I've ever owned. Flat and lifeless.

dude, this amp crushed it:

the univox U45B, I snagged one off craigslist for $145 shipped:

u45B.jpg

it's a LOUD 10 watts with a 12" speaker

here's a clip (recorded at a "bedroom" volume)

pretty tasty eh, dig the groovy tremolo.

clip here

and it can be very quiet and still sound great, unlike that electar which sounded like crap at any volume.


BTW, "bedroom" volume can be almost any volume... ;)

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Originally posted by Richard Guy

Interesting post. Maybe back in 1955 you could purchase an amp like that for $200. If you currently price the speaker, transformers, chassis and reverb tank, you'll find that you've spent your $200, not to mention assembly cost, electronic component parts, tubes, tube sockets, chassis assembly hardware, switches, jacks, pots, turret or fiber board. Forget about a birch or pine cabinet. It is very tough eeking out an existance offering a product with premium parts that satisfies the fussy Musician. Margins are low. It's a labor of love at best. Just my educated .02 No offense ment.
;)



The prices that an amp manufacturer pays for a speaker, cabinet, transformer, etc. are not what we hobbiests pay. It's expensive to buy parts off of the internet one at a time. Still, you are right. $200 is pretty optimistic, but I'll bet the Chinese can do it for the price of a Blues Jr.

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Originally posted by RoboPimp



the univox U45B, I snagged one off craigslist for $145 shipped:


u45B.jpg

it's a LOUD 10 watts with a 12" speaker



and it can be very quiet and still sound great, unlike that electar which sounded like crap at any volume.



BTW, "bedroom" volume can be almost any volume...
;)



:cool:

Got one!

(Mine was $75 on Ebay :p. )

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Here are a few low powered wonders that sound great. The Dano Cadet 22 (yellow grill cloth) barely fills up a bedroom. The green MOTS amp is for sale on eBay at the moment. It's from the late '40s--one of those lap steel student amps. The larger one is made by Estey in So Cal. It has the best tone of the three.

danorick.jpg

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Originally posted by jerry_picker



:cool:

Got one!


(Mine was $75 on Ebay
:p
. )



cool, what do you think of yours?

mine was completely gone over, the wimpy output tranny was replaced and all important caps were upgraded. I think it sounds better at all volumes than a champ. The 12" alnico speaker makes it a lot fatter and more powerful sounding. A 8" or 10" just can't hang. Plus the crunch when cranked is great.

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