Amplifier Mistake (Blackstar)

hubobulous

Suhr Badger 30 + 1x12. Sorted :-)

jonnyburgo

Peavey Bandit

guitarfishbay

It is not worth injuring yourself for tone.

At the end of the day you have to have equipment you're comfortable with otherwise you're going to resent moving it which means you'll eventually resent going to rehearsals and gigs.

Danny1969

One easy answer must be to use a small amp that you like the sound off that's light and easy to carry, and mic it up and use the PA to give you a nice spread. It's a win win situation as it will be better for your hearing, the audience will get a more even spread of guitar and you won't put your back out

The HT20 head doesn't weigh much more than the 5 if you like the Blackstar sound. 

ICBM

I totally agree that anyone with a real issue with lifting anything heavy shouldn't risk doing themselves harm, no matter how much I go on about how heavy my amp is and how I can move it . But I really do think that those of us without serious reasons quite often make far too much of a fuss about amp weight. As already said a lot of it is down to knowing how to lift things - I wouldn't ever lift my Trem-o-verb by its top handle either, except maybe to just get it up a very small step. The top handle is for steering it when it's on its wheels . The side handles are for lifting it. Unfortunately a lot of amps are poorly designed and either don't have side handles, are an awkward shape or are badly balanced (or all of those things) - including many heads.

I still prefer the sound of a big amp too, and it's not the same to use a small one and mic it, even when the final volume is the same. I've tried it - over a period of years, with many different amps - and it does not work for me with the sounds I usually want. I wish it did! Sometimes I like the sound of a small amp too, and if I always played in the sort of band where it was the right sound that would be ideal.

guitarfishbay

ICBM said:

But I really do think that those of us without serious reasons quite often make far too much of a fuss about amp weight.

Yes and no.

I'm not weedy but I worked out I was (often single handedly) shifting 100kg+ of gear sometimes twice a week, with at least one trip involving stairs.  Taking a 50kg OS 4x12 up stairs is a pain in the backside even if you can handle it.  It felt like I'd done a mini workout every time.

Right now I use two 2x12s which are around 27kg each but I find that quite comfortable on my own.  In fact I've sometimes farmers walked both of them over cobbled streets as I actually find that an easier lift than bear gripping a 4x12 infront of me even though on paper the weight is higher (my cabs have top handles).  I mostly went digital for the workflow benefits, cab wise I actually mostly shifted over because I preferred the sound of the  2x12 cab to the 4x12.  But the weight savings all round are pretty welcomed!

ThePrettyDamned

A different idea for an amp - Laney lh50. It's fairly compact (fits on a smaller 1x12 cab nicely, no overhang), and although it's not *that* light (massive toroidal in it) it's easily moved. Great sounds, too, clean and dirty channel and it excels at the 80s gain levels. Has an effects loop, but I don't know what kind - might not work with a boost (@icbm care to comment?).

They go super cheap - and seriously, they're a great sounding amp. Never had any issues driving the balls off mine and bedroom practice (12+ hours use a week, a few of which were loud). So presumably quite reliable, just needed new valves after about 18 months.

ecc83

"Obviously an "ID MkII" with an output transformer would be a bit more expensive, but I also wonder if it wouldn't also sound even more valve-like…"

Heh! I have this recurring fantasy IC that somewhere in dusty lab cupboard of one of the major amp makers is a superb sounding, solid state amp which uses a multi-tapped OPT!

Built as a "no expense spared" concept they could never make it commercially viable since the punter WILL buy Sstate but only if it is much cheaper (and lighter) than a valved equivalent.

BTW the problem with very low resistance traffs is that they can cause DC coupled OP stages to "run away". Still, a conventional class "AB" tranny amp should have a socking great output cap IMHO!

Would love to find a very cheap Quad 50E to experiment with.

Dave.

meltedbuzzbox

impmann said:

It never ceases to amaze me the attitude of guitarists toward this very real problem...

"Man up"

"Deal with it"

etc etc etc

Obviously sympathy and empathy are two traits that are bypassed when some learn to play.

As someone with a back injury that cannot be cured by going to a Gym or any other half-arsed suggestion (or surgery for that matter), lunking a heavy guitar amp around isn't something I can do any more. In fact, I had to sell my Les Pauls and other heavy guitars too - as I just could not stand with them any longer than about 15mins without being in great pain for sometime afterwards. That has nothing to do with "dealing with it" or being a "man" - that is a physicality.

I gig a Hot Rod Deluxe and struggle with it sometimes - its a great sounding amp, and to answer one of the questions from above its more than loud enough to cope with a VERY loud, splashy drummer and an equally loud 2nd guitarist and a bass player with a wattage infatuation...

I also have gigged a ZT lunchbox. This is a super lightweight, tiny amp - and I love it for small gigs. However, unless you play with drive pedals it may not be for you - the on board overdrive is a bit... er, well, I don't like it. I use the amp with the DI out going into the PA (waits for usual howls from the usual people about how this "always sounds bad"... it doesn't) and in fact, the rest of the band prefer it when we do this as we get a clearer on stage sound (less spillage on stage, less volume on stage etc etc).

If you don't want to use the DI route, buy a lightweight 1x12in cab (talk to Zilla or similar) and use the output from the ZT... its a 200w amp, so should be loud enough. ;-)

man up :-P

Voxman

I used to be pretty fit and strong and carted round 2x12 combo's (inc. Vox AC30, Selmer Zodiac MkII, Fender Blackface and Silverface) for years without too much difficulty.  But as mentioned earlier I have had real back problems for years - when the vertebrae compress the 'gel' in-between them squishes out and hits the nerve.  Yes, I do take as much care as possible when lifting gear, but it's particularly difficult carting heavy gear up and down stairs and in/out of cars (and no, I can't keep it downstairs as it's far too expensive to do that...it would cost me a divorce! >:D<  ). Wherever practical, I get help.  

So I have real empathy with the weight problem, and which is why I rarely take out my Vox Valvetronix AD120VTX.  It's a really good sounding versatile amp, but because of the weight 58lbs), sadly I may eventually have to sell it.  The 48lbs of my DSL401 and VC30-210 is about as much as I can realistically cope with nowadays - just one of the many problems you get as you age! With the advantage of hindsight, I should have got the AD120VTH head but that was well over 10 years ago before my back condition deteriorated.  

I'm such a wimp now that I daren't try to lift a 25kg pack of salt tablets on my own for our water softener, and it's far safer now to just scoop out the tablets from the bag in 'dollops'. If my back goes, it's not only very, very painful and puts me out of commission for a week (even getting in/out of bed and turning in bed is agony!) but it literally takes months to recover fully.  Trust me, it ain't funny! 

impmann

:P

paulmapp8306

thomasross20 said:

Suhr Badger / Bogner Atma would be AWESOME.... but not loud enough for gigs, right? 

Err no.  They do an 18w and a 35w, both using EL84s - and now I believe a 30 watt using EL34s.  There all loud enough to gig, though if you want a crystal clean sound the 18w might be pushing it.   Weight wise, the 30W head is 14Kg - so easily caried.  The matching 1x12 is 15Kg.

Basically if you want natural valve crunch at gig volumes, go for the 18.  If you want a cleaner base sound go for the 30 or 35 W.

Its the one amp I intend to won at some point.  Tonally Im heading towards the 18w personally, but thats just me.

 

RaymondLin

Someone on TGP gigged with his Atma at 5w in a room of 60+ people, no PA. Its a louder amp than the number suggests.

On paper, 35w is 3db louder max.

ThePrettyDamned

RaymondLin;445813" said:

Someone on TGP gigged with his Atma at 5w in a room of 60+ people, no PA. Its a louder amp than the number suggests.





On paper, 35w is 3db louder max.

Not clean though. It would be dirty, a 5 watt amp, even with an efficient speaker, would be dirty just to keep up with a fairly modest drummer.

RaymondLin

True, and there's still the 18W. It depend on the venue too.

ThePrettyDamned

RaymondLin;445817" said:

True, and there's still the 18W. It depend on the venue too.

This is true.

Although my preferred styles of music generally mean a high power fender amp or a 6505, and both are capable of levelling a small civilisation.

thomasross20

I have to tell you...my back is still sore...! This isn't a case of me wimping out or needing to man up... my back is still sore since lifting the amp on the Saturday! Lots of uncomfortable shifting at work in the chair today...!

Jalapeno

head & cab(s) definitely the way to go for you then.

thomasross20

Yep. I toyed with the idea of keeping the 260 but it's just not going to happen, long-term. 

thomasross20

RaymondLin said:

Someone on TGP gigged with his Atma at 5w in a room of 60+ people, no PA. Its a louder amp than the number suggests.

On paper, 35w is 3db louder max.

That's impressive!!