Members chrismd465 Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 Can anyone recommend a good small tube amp for use during college? i want something that is quiet enough to use in a dorm but loud enough to play with a drummer with very little breakup. I will get all drive tones from pedals. I was seriously considering the upcoming blackheart 15-watt, though I'm afraid it could be either too loud for a dorm room or it could break up too early with a band. Is there anything else you all would suggest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FatsoForgotso Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 I'm not one to ask. My dorm neighbors despise my V4. 100 watts of pure annoyance and noise. I {censored}ing love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SonicVI Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 Something like a Fender Blues or Pro Jr would probably be fine. What' syour budget? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members veil Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 Get a POD or Cube for practice, and whatever you want that'll fit for live playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TechBrother Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 Crate also makes great sounding tube combos in 5, 15 & 30 watt varieties (Palamino or Vintage Club series). I've played both the 15 & 30 watt combos. The 15 watt is better if you're looking for more break up but it sounds like the 30 will suit your needs. It sounds great at low volumes and sounds even better cranked. Since the amps are cathode biased w/ no negative feedback("Class A") they sound hella louder than most 50 watt tube combos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chrismd465 Posted April 1, 2008 Author Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 I can probably spend up to about $500 on it. I may actually check into the crate 30 watt. I've played a vox AD30VT as a practice amp for a few years now, and while it has worked well for that application, I'd rather just have a nice clean tube amp to use in that setting that can also be used for small gigs. I can deal with a moderatley loud amp as long as it has a good enough taper on the volume that I won't blow everyone away. I mostly just want warm cleans+headroom for delays Just out of curiosity, Fatso, how the hell do you have room for a V4 stack? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members johnrambo Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 blues jr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members grayeyes777 Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 peavey classic 30... way over the blues jr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Crxsh Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 Blues Junior ... but that needs quite a bit of modding IMO. Blackheart Little Giant One of the Crate Palomino's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members johnrambo Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 Blues Junior ... but that needs quite a bit of modding IMO. what mods have you done to yours. is the improvement that great? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members makingbeds Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 I use a vox valvetronix halfstack. Even though this isn't tube, i think it could suit your needs very well. I haven't had roommates complain about my noise here, mainly because this amp has a little dial on the back which lets you change the wattage. It sounds fine when you set the wattage knob for ~15 watts for dorm playing, but you can raise it to more like 40 for band needs. I got mine for $450 (head and 4x12 cab). Its big and takes up a lot of space (one negative) but can suit both dorm playing and band playing (a huge positive for me) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members johnrambo Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 I use a vox valvetronix halfstack. Even though this isn't tube, i think it could suit your needs very well. I haven't had roommates complain about my noise here, mainly because this amp has a little dial on the back which lets you change the wattage. It sounds fine when you set the wattage knob for ~15 watts for dorm playing, but you can raise it to more like 40 for band needs. I got mine for $450 (head and 4x12 cab). Its big and takes up a lot of space (one negative) but can suit both dorm playing and band playing (a huge positive for me) my second suggestion would have been the valvetronix combo w/ the built in attenuator. they're nice sounding amps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Crxsh Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 what mods have you done to yours. is the improvement that great? LOL!! What mods have I done? Let me see. My Blues Jr. -Custom Teak Cab w/ Oak Base -Eminence Cannabis Rex Speaker -JJ Tubes -Bill M mods: Tone stack, twin stack, power stiffening mod, Reverb mod for green boards, simple adjustable bias, presence control knob mod, master volume audio taper mod, metal input jacks. I'd say, yes ... the improvement over a stock Blues Jr. is great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Agreed Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 Edit: ^^^^^^ You could have just bought a better amp... You know, there really isn't any need for a tube amp at college. A Roland Cube series amp (I heartily endorse the Microcube, whole lotta amp for the money and it'll run for 10-20 hours of continuous use off of six AA batteries), Vox Valvetronix modeler, or somesuch would do all you want. Even low wattage tube amps are loud as hell if you're intending to get the tubes cranking. Remember that half the power means about 3db lower volume, so even a 5W amp is still about half as loud as a 50W amp (and that's pretty damned loud). My ~15W THD Univalve (depends on the tubes - you can use an EL84 and with the Yellowjacket adapter and get it down to 4W, but with the 6L6 I have in it, it's probably putting out about 17-18W), with built-in Hot Plate attenuator, will easily get over a drummer when driving anything bigger than a 1x12. Through my 4x12 cab it might as well be as loud as my 100W and 120W heads for anything but playing out. Modeling amps sound great for dorm room practice and give you a lot more versatility. Why not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rogueweez Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 Tech 21 Trademark 60, plus it sounds great for recording. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HeartfeltDawn Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 I'd go for one of the Valvetronix amps for uni. I wish they'd been around when I was studying rather than the crappy Marshall Valvestate I had at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pbone Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 I'm kind of in the same ballpark, if I go to college next semester. I'm gonna try to bring as much of my stereo rig as possible (although still trying to sell off my Princeton Chorus and buy a bassman), but I doubt that anyone is going to appreciate a loud amp. Didn't someone on here start making a small amp that was supposedly perfect for this kind of stuff? Like 8 watt, all tube, and had a headphone jack? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members johnrambo Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 LOL!! What mods have I done? Let me see. My Blues Jr. -Custom Teak Cab w/ Oak Base -Eminence Cannabis Rex Speaker -JJ Tubes -Bill M mods: Tone stack, twin stack, power stiffening mod, Reverb mod for green boards, simple adjustable bias, presence control knob mod, master volume audio taper mod, metal input jacks. I'd say, yes ... the improvement over a stock Blues Jr. is great. do you know how much BillM charges for his mods out of curiousity. i've been thinking of swapping the speaker and tubes to see what it'll do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NetStar Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 Didn't someone on here start making a small amp that was supposedly perfect for this kind of stuff? Like 8 watt, all tube, and had a headphone jack? Wat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members smrz Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 Unless you play a lot quieter than me, you need about 30 watts and ideally more than 1x12 (2x10, 2x12, 1x15) to really get clean tones playing with a drummer. In some bands I've played in, my Blues Jr. couldn't keep up with all of the knobs maxed out. I have a Pro Reverb. For playing in the dorm, I usually just leave it on 1. It'd be good to have a practice amp. Next year, I'm getting a house though, so it'll be a moot point. So, I guess the point is that I wouldn't worry about what you have in terms of size. Get the amp that works for you in group situations. Bedroom practice tone isn't nearly as important to me as for when you're playing with other people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members smrz Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 Oh...and it's not like you'd be able to crank even a 5 watt tube amp to the point of breakup, where it really starts sound good, anyway in a dorm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoboPimp Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 I'm not one to ask. My dorm neighbors despise my V4. sure, blame the amp they'd probably love the amp if you played half-decent. to the OP... most amps have a volume knob for "college dorm friendly" playing I suggest starting with it all the way counter clockwise then slowly moving it clockwise until you find an acceptable volume. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members squareking Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 Jazz Chorus for the possible win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TechBrother Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 Jazz Chorus for the possible win. Jazz chorus could have been the winner assuming that the OP was looking for a) solid state 2) something w/ 120 watts d) a huge monster of a combo Don't get me wrong, I've owned 2 JC-120's over the years but they could never replace any of my tube amps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garyfanclub Posted April 1, 2008 Members Share Posted April 1, 2008 I had a Fender Pro Jr. my second year of college. It was a decent enough amp, though putting it past 1 or 2 was generally not an option as my dorm was apartment style and the people both above and below would complain. Maybe get one of those Champion reissue amps that are like 5W? That might be the best option. I sold it on CL after I damaged it somehow, at a significant loss as well. I live in a house now, so I can play my Twin at 1 or 2 without really annoying anyone, but I'm still thinking about getting a low wattage amp for my house next year, specifically for practice and recording purposes. Hope that helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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