2-3 Watt TUBE Bedroom(practice) AMP

[Badside]

I have a 1.5W amp, known as a Firefly

Funny how it's as hard as my big amplifiers to manage in my appartment.

Actually, it's kind of useless, still too loud for appartment use, yet not loud enough to jam with a drummer.

 

I end up using my big amp (50W JCM800 clone) and keeping the volume down.

 

I need to build myself a small 1X8 or 1X10 cab though, 2X12 is just too much trouble getting to sound good at those levels.

[thunder100]

Hi Community

 

Solution 1

 

I bought Line 6 UX-1.This comes with POD Farm a modeller

 

Now I can play through the computer with hifi speakers sounds OK and also the modeller is OK

 

This as tue amp silent sound simply doesnt exist

 

Still waiting on the arrival of the attuenator (MicroMass) but for now me and the neighbours are fine

 

Roland

[firejack018]

Get a Peters amp.

The master volumes are incredible and the power amp EQ section is designed to enable you to mimic cranked tone at lower volumes.

No need for attenuators or practice amps.

 

My Gryphon is the only amp I own and I can get pretty impressive tones at very low volume levels with it.

And it gets even better when you get the opportunity to give it more juice.

It's both my practice and performing amp.

 

Seriously, Peters amps are incredible!

[golfnerd]

one thing that no one has mentioned here is speaker efficiency. Almost ALL musical instrument speakers will produce at least 97 dB with one watt input.

 

So...even halfing the power to 1/2 watt will only elicit a 3 dB drop in spl.

 

So...even 90 dB in an apartment is LOUD.

[RUExp?]

Vox AC4

[wrathfuldeity]

Just a thought, what I do because of family...maybe a vox tonelab to headphones, or powered monitors, computer or into your amp. Imho the tonelab sounds better than the pod for cleans, blues and non-high gain. Also different headphones make a big difference when using the modeler. I think the vox tonelab st has the capicity to plug in a cd, mp3 that might be useful when practicing.

[Ferdinandstrat]

How 'bout the Zvex amp?

[AXEL276]

I highly recomment the Vox DA5. SS, very good effects, good clean, lots of OD sounds, .5, 1.5 and 5 watt power settings, and the speaker will not fart out! Seriously, check this little beast out, read the reviews. The clean is very good as well!

[brikus]

You might want to consider the speaker issue...if you have a 4x12 cab, you'll always be louder than with a 2x12, which in turn is louder than a 1x12...so I guess that 2-5W through a 4x12 is LOUD, but through a 1x12 or 1x10, that may be more manageable...

[Verne Andru]

Takt GA-10 if you can find one:

 

 

60's vintage, PTP, all tube tone. Stock tube is rated at 3.2 watts but will take a 6V6 equiv that boosts it to 4 watts. They have a resistor on the input and a [great sounding] 3 watt 6" alnico speaker. Stays clean until it's totally cranked then gives a creamy brown-sound OD. Very manageable sound-wise in stock config. Will shake the windows plugged into a 2x12 cab. $70 off CL + about $20 in parts to re-cap it.

[boytbpc]

Vox AC 4 has a 4 watt/1 watt/ 1/4 Watt option.

[tech21man]

I have the trademark 10, it's a little beast when it comes to heavy distortion(not nu-metal recto like, old school) or even low volume plexi crancked or tweed sounds. But it does not really have a clean channel, rather than seems as a single channel amp with cascaded gain stages...lower the gain you get a clean sound. Even the best result, did not gave me a tube clean sound but rather a tube style (speaking in the dynamics when playing) good solid state clean sound.

 

I gave the pod xt a try through a tech21 power engine. Never really liked it distortion wise, but still it was pretty good. Huge range of sound never bored. And it was the only modeller that in the clean tube department sounded like a clean tube amp.Surprise!But only through my tech21 power engine with the mic sim closed,,,(celestion seventy 80 speaker). That said, with a strat it gave out one of the best clean tones I ve ever heard(fender setting). I'm a clean snob, I don't care about clean sounds.I have tube amps and I don't care. That said I still prefer the pod xt/power engine for everyday use...Both the pod and trademark 10 have the thumbing air moving sound pre-designed in the way they sound:like a crancked amp in...the next room...

 

It is true, you're never gonna get the exact same feeling through a regular amp pumping lots of air, but at times I really prefer the low volume situation of a modeller style simulation because only then I can hear nuances in the gain structure and play without my ears ringing...

 

Attenuators are fine for what they do: Have a non master volume marshall or fender? need to cranck it to get distortion???Can't stand less than a minute 120 db's???can't live without that sound???that's your best bet. Still, at whisper/tv volumes even that is not going to give you the speaker air suction thing as many have stated above.

 

All in all, if you find a used trademark10, your're getting a lot of sounds for little money and weird as it sounds I'd rather sell my mesas than my trademark 10 as I also live with other people around.

 

Another great sounding surprise through decent pc/speakers is peavey's revalver. I love it. But it still can;t do a decent clean sound, it excells at the overdrive-sweet through thick high gain department and certainly destroys the pod in my book for that type of sounds.

 

Last but not least mesa's and other amps like them that focus on preamp (distortion if that's your thing) still sound very very good at low volume at home but not excellent or complete and even difficult to find a sweet spot tweed like break up sound

[thunder100]

 

I have the trademark 10, it's a little beast when it comes to heavy distortion(not nu-metal recto like, old school) or even low volume plexi crancked or tweed sounds. But it does not really have a clean channel, rather than seems as a single channel amp with cascaded gain stages...lower the gain you get a clean sound. Even the best result, did not gave me a tube clean sound but rather a tube style (speaking in the dynamics when playing) good solid state clean sound. All in all, if you find a used trademark10, your're getting a lot of sounds for little money and weird as it sounds I'd rather sell my mesas than my trademark 10 as I also live with other people around.

 

 

this is my problem currently

 

Worldwide 3 (three) Trademark 10s on offer 2 refuse to ship abroad and the 3rd one has a longer beat up history.But I keep looking as it has so good reviews that Tech 21 doesnt make them anymore and few arround.

 

The day will come

 

in the meanwhile POD

 

And I am really on this tube cleans.Its a pity.once you heard experienced everything else is..hmmm...not as good not to say junk.And i dont hear as well as I did long ago

 

Roland

 

PS:Cool AVtar

[solarburn]

Little Lanilei Tube Amp:

 

http://www.songworks.com/3350lttopseller.html

 

[YOUTUBE][/YOUTUBE]

[tech21man]

there is a trademark 30 but I don't know nnothing about the speaker.And tech21 is rather careless about speaker choice int the power engine for example or the trademark 60. The celestion seventy80 is great but it is not perfectly suitable for the trademark series. I've tried my trademark 10 through it and it sounds muffled. Trademark 10's 8 inch is almost full range and so is the special design 12 inch of the older power engine 60's and trademark 60's...

 

About the clean. The clean is every bit dynamic in the way you dig in either to make it dirty crunchy or simply funky. But as a coulour is not as tube like...Solid state clean was always my preference for metallica clean, jazzy parts and fast funk though...

[thunder100]

 

there is a trademark 30 but I don't know nnothing about the speaker.And tech21 is rather careless about speaker choice int the power engine for example or the trademark 60. The celestion seventy80 is great but it is not perfectly suitable for the trademark series. I've tried my trademark 10 through it and it sounds muffled. Trademark 10's 8 inch is almost full range and so is the special design 12 inch of the older power engine 60's and trademark 60's... About the clean. The clean is every bit dynamic in the way you dig in either to make it dirty crunchy or simply funky. But as a coulour is not as tube like...Solid state clean was always my preference for metallica clean, jazzy parts and fast funk though...

 

 

 

Did you ever play a Trademark 30?

Same sound like the 10?

 

Roland

[tech21man]

there is a thread here that says that the 30 sounds even fuller, rounder but some prefer the 10 for close micing and recording(I love the way my 10 records from the di with the english 4x12 style speaker sim...great!)

[thunder100]

Hello Community

 

I started this a while ago

 

My very personal

 

1.)Attenuator-->no solution for my problem

 

A 10 inch speaker needs power to pump enough air to create a good sound

I tried Weber Micromass to tame my Vibro Champ,but you can tame it from volume 9,7 or 5 to Volume 1 but you cannot tame it from volume 5 to volume 0,5

 

2.)POD/Modeller

 

I bought Line 6 UX-1 with POD Farm which includes the Line 6 modelling amps

After a bit of technical exercise as the UX-1 acts as a soundcard to your computer(is a soundcard) monitoring was a bit of issue if you dont want to run the a cabinet(read above).Because if you run it through the computer(the monitoring signal) you get a lot of delay(Much further then any delay pedal)

 

So

Try 1 was headphones-->which I hate

Try 2 was through my Audio equippment-->colours that sound

Try 3 active speakers (Bose) for a sorround TV set-->very nice sound

 

my bedroom rig is Dell Notebook-->POD FARM-->Line 6 UX-1-->Guitar

Monitoring UX-1-->Bose speakers

 

Works very well( I am an lacy player.So I need practice.And I need to hear where I am on the fretboard(Close to correct fret,in the middle,close to the wrong fret) this you hear on Vibro Champ immediately,but you also hear it (Not as noticeable though ) from the POD

 

3.)Side effect

 

Many recommended me go to a SS-amp.First recommendation-->Tech 21 Trademark 10-->no chance to get one many other suggestions-->E.g.Roland Microcube.Running through many amps I fall in love with a Roland Cube 30 X because of its JC-120 cleansound.So I have annother amp.It has a "Power sqeezer" which works but not as good as the POD(annother 10" speaker) although better then the Attenuator issue

 

4.)Personaly not recommend for silent just above unplugged playing

 

Any of this 1/2 to 4 Watt tiny tube amps-->F..ckung loud

My Hotrod dlx

 

Thanks for all the suggestions

 

Roland

[Slaymoar]

Tonelab is pretty close... clean and dirt.