Lots of People Looking For/At Low Wattage Amps!

[Peripeteticqs]

I got my SF champ about a year ago and I love the thing. Great clean sound at low volume, great mild break up at higher volume (loud but not stupid loud-just filling the room).

[Purple Radar]

Originally Posted by Peripeteticqs

I got my SF champ about a year ago and I love the thing. Great clean sound at low volume, great mild break up at higher volume (loud but not stupid loud-just filling the room).

Very sweet set up!

[PapaSquash]

Originally Posted by Peripeteticqs

I got my SF champ about a year ago and I love the thing. Great clean sound at low volume, great mild break up at higher volume (loud but not stupid loud-just filling the room).

+1 (except I've had mine about six months)

[Deftone]

I have the Krank Rev jr. and for metal/hard rock, I've yet to hear better. If you want seriously crunchy power chords, look no further. One of my favorite features is the EFX loop which is adjustable. I also like the line out, and the fact that it is made in the USA. Many (or all) of the other small tube amps in this price range are not.

[Led Zeppelin]

An old friend of mine had a Fargen at one stage, they are incredible (and expensive).

[Peripeteticqs]

Originally Posted by Purple Radar

Very sweet set up!

Thanks. If the 1x15" cab sounded better with distorted sounds, I'd be set. Can't complain though, as I got it for about 70 bucks.

[Boshizzle]

Blackstar HT-5 is a nice amp for the money. Here is a post about it with some sound clips-

Blackstar HT-5 Thougths

And here is a link to the Blackstar Group here on MLP.

http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/grou...ar-rising.html

[xsouldriverx]

im liking this thread a whole lot.
for those that are thinking baout lower wattage for bedroom columns you also have to take into account cab selections. a 5 watter into a 4x12 can still be overpowering.

[Goldtop75]

More to consider:
Laney VC15-110 (15w)
Laney LC15R (15w)
Laney Lionheart L5T-112 (5w)
Fender Pricneton Reverb Reissue (15w)
Blackstar HT-5 (5w)
Divided by 13 CJ11 (11w)
Gries 5 (5w)
Egnater Rebel 20 (1 to 20w, I think)
MesaBoogie Express 5:25 (5 to 25w)

[Cyanide]

Orange Duel Terror and and 18 watt Marshall weather it be clone or actual Marshall and also the Marshall Haze its a 15 watt amp head like the tiny terror and night train

[Slick]

Fender Pro Junior (15w) - I've got one and its great, only problem is no master volume so at home I use an attenuator but it still has the guts for small gigs

[Torren61]

The funny thing is that low watt amps have been used in the studios of you favorite bands for years. Page, Richards, Walsh and Gibbons have recorded some of the baddest and most memorable guitar parts on low watt amps. The arena rock era required higher watt amps but that's not what the big boys preferred in the studio. It's not all that hard to make a small amp sound large.

What IS new is the marketing end of low watt amps. Amp manufacturers have finally recognized the desire of the "stay-at-home" guitarist for an amp that he can crank without getting arrested or evicted.

The pitfalls that I see are quality issues. Are you getting bang for your buck? Are you getting TONE for your buck? I think the answer is still shaping up.

[Lungo]

A couple more low wattage amps to add, both right at $400:

Carvin Vintage 16 - 5watt/16watt tweed amp, 12" speaker with reverb

Mahoney Orchestrator, found it on musictoyz.com:

The Orchestrator amp is based on a 1950's style Mullard push-pull circuit with slight modifications using vintage Germanium transistors .... AC125 and AC126 on the front end and two AC128's on the output side. It also features both driver and output transformers that mimic the sound we are familiar with. The speaker box contains a custom made Weber 6.5" 4 ohm twin cone driver speaker. The amp is powered by a standard size 9 volt battery. Its power output is approx 1 watt.

[TeleDog]

I'm still looking!

I have a freaking half stack and the thing is way, way too loud for this place! I rewired a valve jr (sounded like it was farting as you turned the volume up), but I'm still waiting for a couple parts.

I heard lots of good things about the AC4, but I don't know if the reviews are biased by the whole "Vox" thing. Never tested the Class5 by Marshall.

The thing is sometimes when I just wanna play a bit, it's nice to have a little amp that won't get the police called as a matter of national emergency, it's frustrating!

[BillB1960]

The more I see some of the newer low wattage amps coming out the more I realize Crate got it right with this little sweetheart, the Vintage Club 20:




15W all tube (sans rec), cathode biased, reverb, 10 in. speaker, external cab jack, headphone jack, US made & built like a tank. I bought 2 of them for $220 and sold 1 for $250 less than a year later. I still have the other and it's great for home use.

[Paragon]

Vox Valvetronix VT30 - Modeling amp easy to go from fender cleans to high gain, 10" speaker, adjustable from around 1-30W. The VT15 has a smaller 8" but I think the VT30 sounded better with the larger speaker and 15W through the VT30 should have less power hum/buzz than the VT15 fully cranked.

[GibbyTel]

Originally Posted by Paragon

Vox Valvetronix VT30 - Modeling amp easy to go from fender cleans to high gain, 10" speaker, adjustable from around 1-30W. The VT15 has a smaller 8" but I think the VT30 sounded better with the larger speaker and 15W through the VT30 should have less power hum/buzz than the VT15 fully cranked.

Ballparking it, the VT15 should get to about 106db and the VT30 to about 109db, not a big enough difference to worry about unless you're always running them cranked.

At a studio setting where you'd worry about a little power hum/buzz you're only using maybe 1 watt and there shouldn't be any difference in the hum, unless there's something wrong with the smaller amp.

I really liked the VT15, especially for the money.

[LPGEM]

Originally Posted by tomaseriksson

Mahaffay amps handcrafts a couple of all tube practise amps for sub $500.

Little Lanilei 3350LT


http://www.mahaffayamps.com/little-lanilei-3350lt.htm

They also make a "hi-gain option", HiLo Watt Plexi.



HiLo Watt Plexi Amplifier - Mahaffay Amplifiers

The company is Songworks. Owned and run by Tris Mahaffey. The only ALL tube amp is the 1/4 watt. The others including the 3350lt and hi/low watt plexi are 1 pre amp tube fed to a pre amp tube acting as a power tube for that section. It is than fed to a Solid state power section. My bad. I just found out that the name has changed from Songworks to Mahaffey Amplifiers.

[Belzeebub]

Here's my humble contribution to this thread...

Epiphone Valve Jr. combo, 5w class A, 8" Eminence speaker best of all...

$60.00 out the door.

Equipment used in the video - Squire bullet strat, Boss DD-6 delay and of course the EVJr.

YouTube - Blues2

YouTube - Blues2

[jonesy77777]

My 18 Watt tube Atomic Reactor amplifier sounds better than any other amp I have tried with a PodXt live board. It is essentially an all tube power amp. They have larger models, and though they are relatively unknown, those that do know of them love them.

[ElhazGuy]

Amazing tips to people like me, who's thinking of buying some little amp.

Thank you for the precious informations.

[tn1dagger]

dont forget the matamp minimat

[rumbling_groover]

What about a some older models like a Gibson GA15RV or a Trace Elliot Velocette these can be found for good prices secondhand.

Then there are the more boutique THD Univalve, Cornford Harlequin and Cornell Romany.

[Deftone]

Hiwatt makes a 7 & a 20 watt head:

[patrick ginnaty]

I've been plugging straight into a 12 W SF Princeton Reverb with a JBL K120 speaker.

[hipofutura]

Patrick, Fender & JBL. It doesn't get any better than that! I've run D120's in a Bandmaster and D110's Super Reverb. I presently have an E120 in my 35 year old Traynor YRM-1.

[Quill]

Originally Posted by Belzeebub

Here's my humble contribution to this thread...

Epiphone Valve Jr. combo, 5w class A, 8" Eminence speaker best of all...

$60.00 out the door. ...

Really nice sound, Belzeebub.

Originally Posted by rumbling_groover

What about a some older models like a Gibson GA15RV or a Trace Elliot Velocette these can be found for good prices secondhand ...

The Velocette! I love those little amps. If you can get one that someone else has repaired/upgraded - the stock transformers tend to blow on those - you are in good shape! I once had two of them: the green one with the cloth grill and two EL?? power tubes, and the beautiful and fairly rare black one with the chrome grill that would take just about any power tube that would fit - like a budget Univalve! (but the Univalve would really be worth the money, I think.) Had to get the transformer replaced in the green one ... got the plastic tube sockets replaced with ceramic ... the pcb needed some work ... the repairman swore he'd never work on one ever again ... but once that was done, it was fantastic! One of those things I regret selling all the time.

[leeplaysblues]

I like both the Mesa 5:25 Express and the Blues Junior. Play both at home and live and they cover the bases.

Had a Hot Rod Dlxe 2 settings on and impossibly loud for both home and on stage (mic éd).

The Mesa is my favourite

[Skit]

I have a Little Lanilei 3350LT and love it. I'm waiting on delivery on a Peavey Classic 20 from the bay.

[Cygnus X1]

I'm all over it.
It's called the Cygnus-7.
PTP wired (actually terminal strips), 6V6/6L6/etc. family of power tubes, single ended, high gain capable...
designed from the ground up as a low watt single ended amp.