Members Electric Storm Posted January 19, 2010 Members Share Posted January 19, 2010 I usually jam pretty much in teh house most of the time(since I don't have the time to be in a band cause of work), but am looking for an excuse to own a half stack. Pretty much until now all I've owned is combos. Would a 100-120watt amp sound like {censored} if it is not cranked all the way? And do any of you play your half stacks at home and are satisfied with your sound? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kayman121 Posted January 19, 2010 Members Share Posted January 19, 2010 I usually jam pretty much in teh house most of the time(since I don't have the time to be in a band cause of work), but am looking for an excuse to own a half stack. Pretty much until now all I've owned is combos. Would a 100-120watt amp sound like {censored} if it is not cranked all the way? And do any of you play your half stacks at home and are satisfied with your sound? Way too many variables to draw a generalization about that from. It really depends on the amp. Some 150W+ amps sound great at whisper volumes, some dont. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Electric Storm Posted January 19, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 19, 2010 Way too many variables to draw a generalization about that from. It really depends on the amp. Some 150W+ amps sound great at whisper volumes, some dont. Ok, well right now I'm looking at a used 5150/6505 amp head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members newholland Posted January 19, 2010 Members Share Posted January 19, 2010 i'd say, probably. from many perspectives it's over the top.1- maintenance. why burn a quad of anything when you need 10 watts to cover your volume needs? 2- headroom. 120 watts is pert near endless. hope you have a good gain pedal, a preamp designed for it, and/or a very well designed master volume.3- youd need heavily rated and inefficient speakers to help take volume down.ORan attenuator. see 1. it's all well and good, and hell.. if you can afford it, and are willing to attenuate everything mechanically, do it. i see it as pretty wasteful.. but hey, excess is alright too. i just kinda see it as a why bother driving the sherman tank to work, when defensive driving in a ford escort is just as effective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kayman121 Posted January 19, 2010 Members Share Posted January 19, 2010 Ok, well right now I'm looking at a used 5150/6505 amp head. Those amps stock are pretty notorious for sounding like turd at low volumes. I would tend to agree, but that's just a matter of opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thinkpad20 Posted January 19, 2010 Members Share Posted January 19, 2010 Try to find the 5150 combo... it's 60 watts and sounds excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikey383 Posted January 19, 2010 Members Share Posted January 19, 2010 Ok, well right now I'm looking at a used 5150/6505 amp head. Depends on how loud you're wanting to go. They tend to sound better when up to a band volume, but sound okay at lower volumes. If you're planning on playing it when there are other people in the house and having it sound great, forget it. I can't have anyone else in the house when I'm playing mine. Sometimes, I can't even have anyone in the neighbor's house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NinjaRaf Posted January 19, 2010 Members Share Posted January 19, 2010 I have the combo that I built a headshell for, and I will say that the combo sounds better than the head. You can also get a combo for cheap and build a headshell then get a 412 cab so you can have your half stack. 60 watts is nice cuz you dont burn 4 tubes, but the volume wont be much different from the 100 watt. It sounds best loud, but most of my recordings have been done with the volume between 0 and 1 on the dial. It doesnt have to be ear bleeding to sound good. When I can, I crank the {censored} out of it though. Half way is wall destroyingly loud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jn062181 Posted January 19, 2010 Members Share Posted January 19, 2010 I'm in this same situation - I have a 6505+ and a 2x12 and I live in a three family house (paper thin walls, with my bedroom attached to an adjoining house). Even during the day I haven't brought my master volume past 2 but for the styles I play, it still sounds fine. If you play heavier styles that put emphasis on preamp gain rather than power amp breakup, then I can tell you that the 5150/6505 series specifically should be usable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members metareal Posted January 19, 2010 Members Share Posted January 19, 2010 There are plenty of quality lower wattage (5-15watt) valve heads around nowadays, look into some of those if you really want a halfstack pair one of those with a 4x12. that s still going to be really loud! I m really looking forwar the release of the then new Randall RM22. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NinjaRaf Posted January 19, 2010 Members Share Posted January 19, 2010 I'm in this same situation - I have a 6505+ and a 2x12 and I live in a three family house (paper thin walls, with my bedroom attached to an adjoining house). Even during the day I haven't brought my master volume past 2 but for the styles I play, it still sounds fine. If you play heavier styles that put emphasis on preamp gain rather than power amp breakup, then I can tell you that the 5150/6505 series specifically should be usable. If you dont crank the amp up to around 7 or 8 on the post gain, all you are getting is preamp breakup. The tubes will warm up and sound a bit better at higher volumes, but the 5150 is all preamp gain. 120 watts is a lot, 60 watts is a lot. Its overkill for a house, but if you want a half stack, {censored}ing do it. I have no problems playing in the house with mine, and my old roommate had a half stack and had no problems playing in the house with his either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Electric Storm Posted January 19, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 19, 2010 Yeah, I've been considering getting the combo version. Just have had combos pretty much the whole time I've played guitar and thought I'd go for something larger. As far as the combos are concerned, do you guys prefer the 5150 212, 6505 212, 6505+, or are the differences subtle? I don't mind getting a used one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jn062181 Posted January 19, 2010 Members Share Posted January 19, 2010 Just some things to consider, not sure how much of a difference they would make to you: - Two speakers, versus one speaker (but you can use external speakers). - The 5150/6505 2x12 combos are both made in the USA, while the 6505+ 1x12 is made in China. - The 6505+ has less gain and is voiced to be a little more "refined" and not as "raw" as the 5150/6505. It still has more than enough gain on tap though. - The 6505+ has two independent EQ sections; one for each channel. The 5150/6505 have one shared EQ section. The independent EQs and the slight change in voicing give the + better cleans, but you can still coax a decent clean out of the regular version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NinjaRaf Posted January 19, 2010 Members Share Posted January 19, 2010 also, 5150 212=6505 212 6505+ 112 is based on the 6505+, but every one says it sounds as you would expect. I would recommend the 212 version. And you can get a 412 cab have a 3/4 stack!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mcr23 Posted January 19, 2010 Members Share Posted January 19, 2010 My Sig:X on 40W is too loud for house playing. Get a blackstar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members waveman Posted January 19, 2010 Members Share Posted January 19, 2010 Even a smaller amp is typically too loud for the house IMO. But wattage isn't the only varaible here. The size and number of the speakers comes into play as well. For very low volume jams, I use a Vox Pathfinder. It can get way too loud for the house on it's own with an 8" speaker depending on who you ask Now, having said that, I have found that I can put my Lexicon ALEX processor or a Boss LS-2 (line selecter) in the loop, crank the preamp, and control the overall volume that way, but it still takes too much volume to get the speakers sounding right to get that feel. And you are unnecessarily burning power tubes when doing this, which is why I have the Vox. Another solution I have come with, that alot people don't like since it's not truly an amp setup, but I run a small mixer into my home stereo and just use a modeler to play through and use a IPod or laptop to play music through. This is actually great for what I need and not annoy the neighbors. I only use one power amp source (stereo) and I can do it at very low volumes and mix the signal levels so I can play along with whatever songs I am learning or just want to jam to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted January 19, 2010 Members Share Posted January 19, 2010 120 watts played at bedroom volumes sounds about as good as playing into a PA with one of those Sansamp emulator things to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pioneerprogress Posted January 19, 2010 Members Share Posted January 19, 2010 Get a blackstar this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cougar Hunter Posted January 19, 2010 Members Share Posted January 19, 2010 it will sound {censored}ing fine. stop worrying about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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