The old low watt amp discussion

toescantalk

The more I read the thread the more I'm likely to end up with my head ruling my home amp purchase decision. And get a Yamaha THR. 

Maybe I can use the EHX Black Finger into it to pacify my desire for the valve mojo...

Teetonetal

Drew_fx said:

Personally I think anything below 50watts is a waste of money. Modern high powered amps with good master volumes sound infinitely better than 10-30watts of EL84 crap.

Small amps have two big advantages for me - size and cost. I have a cub 12 and the sound is good enough and in fact since I put a decent speaker in it, it's the best amp I've owned (out of lots). most places I play have tiny stages, but if there are any issues with volume, then it just gets mic'ed up. To me what lets these small amps down is clean tone - they don't have the weight/body of bigger amps. But I don't play clean so not fussed.

Still plugging into decent cranked 100w 4x12 is special... 

shaunm

The more I read this thread the more I think lower watts are for me also.

I don't play stadia, my tone ranges from dirty cleans to a little bit more crunchy but not overdriven.

My normal use will be at home and very occasional gigs in pubs and practise rooms.

FelineGuitars

I often use the MJW single ended 10W power amp withmy rack 

10 watts is still plenty loud and it sounds great - posibly because of decent size transformers

It was playing around with a Cornell Romany that got me hooked on these type of amps for home use

Teetonetal

shaunm said:

The more I read this thread the more I think lower watts are for me also.

I don't play stadia, my tone ranges from dirty cleans to a little bit more crunchy but not overdriven.

My normal use will be at home and very occasional gigs in pubs and practise rooms.

Sounds ideal for you IMO

GuyBoden

I don't have one, but I think this is where the good profiler amps, Kempler etc must win hands down................

The same sound at all volume levels.............

Dave_Mc

rlw said:

My Cornford Harlequin at 6 watts is way too loud for normal home use but the master volume seems to do a good job of keeping the volume down but the noise up, if you see what I mean.

True, but in that case a good-sounding master volume on a higher wattage amp might not sound any worse.

guycp

In reality anything over half a watt (real valves) in going to be loud in the home. So a THR or similar modelling amp does well in that situation - great for late night noodling & home practice. However if your gigging with a drummer, even in a small pub or club you'll need a minimum of 20 watts UNLESS YOURE MICED. If you have a nice guitar and enjoy good tone, buy the best amp you can afford. I prefer a good tweed deluxe type amp or good marshall/ Cornell plexi (20 watt) - no master volume - learn to use dynamics and volume control on the guitar. I think trying to find a good quality amp for home use and gigs is unrealistic. Unless you live in a castle.

Jez6345789

As Guy Boden said I am loving the new Kemper for home and recording, and getting a flavour of amps I would never have had a chance to own. I have long had the dream that there would be a highly versatile low power room level combo without modelling but in reality, I never found it. You have to pick your profiles but splashed out on Mbritt profiles and never looked back.

mr_air

Orange Tiny Terror (or the Dual Terror). I don't know if the tones will suit you, but I really like both.

impmann

Bottom line - want headroom? Need watts. Like squishy, crunchy goodness without aural pain? Less watts.

Fwiw the other guitarist in my band uses a 15w Mofo and that is WAY loud enough to keep up with a drummer and keep up with a 400w Markbass rig and my HRD or ZT plus cab rig. He shoves a booster in the send return for solos and it cuts, plus sounds great. We don't use much 'clean' though. We only mic up for bigger venues and we turn *DOWN* our amps. It may not work for all but it works for us.

shaunm

Yesterday I was in the fortunate position of being able to spend an afternoon playing some beautiful low watt amps belonging to two fellow forumites.

I played through two MJW amps, a 10watt Goldstar and an 18w Roadstar. I was massively impressed with the tone and the amount of clean headroom.

What's been said is true regarding gigging clean head room but mic'd it will be be plenty for small gigs.

It's made my mind up anyhow, a nr MJW order is incoming.

sweepy

FelineGuitars;565476" said:

I often use the MJW single ended 10W power amp withmy rack 10 watts is still plenty loud and it sounds great - posibly because of decent size transformers

It was playing around with a Cornell Romany that got me hooked on these type of amps for home use

The Transformer size pretty much convinced me when trying smaller power Amps. I have a 5w Epiphone with a Partridge transformer that nearly weighs as much as the head and that seems to have the bottom end that other small Amps seem to lack .

Teetonetal

guycp said:

In reality anything over half a watt (real valves) in going to be loud in the home. So a THR or similar modelling amp does well in that situation - great for late night noodling & home practice. However if your gigging with a drummer, even in a small pub or club you'll need a minimum of 20 watts UNLESS YOURE MICED. 

not strictly true - I gig nearly every week with a laney club 12 and the >1w actually has enough for 60% of my gigs and the 15 W channel does the 60-90% and the remaining 10% get miced up. For band practice I never use the 15w channel. I nearly always get told to turn down.

Playing in a 4 piece band, Drums, Bass, E-Guitar, Acoustic Guitar. Small amp is plenty loud.

Of course genre has a part to play too - My amp would not be great in a  metal or country bands

I have a blackstar HT-40 which never gets used as I never, ever need an amp with that much power. 

I

thisisguitar

My little Marshall Custom Offset 1 watt makes 96db from two metres at full volume… you'd be surprised how little you need 

Sassafras

I don't think you can set a specific minimum wattage for live playing. I've used 5 watt amps and cut through, on other occasions I've used 30 watts and been swamped.

Teetonetal

Sassafras said:

I don't think you can set a specific minimum wattage for live playing. I've used 5 watt amps and cut through, on other occasions I've used 30 watts and been swamped.

The interesting thing there is stage sound vs audience sound. 

Assume you are playing without monitors? If so, next time you feel swamped with a big amp, get a wireless go out in to the room and I bet in nearly every case you will be the sound that dominates everything else. I don't find this with small amps, they give you a much better on stage sound (IME). Of course it might be that your just having volume wars...

skay

Do many of you actually mic up for rehearsals? That's when a small amp hasn't worked for me (Fender 57 Deluxe) as it just gets buried unless it's aiming at my head, but then no one else can hear me.

We don't mic any of our amps live either, so 30 watts seems to be the minimum I could get away with (using a Carr Rambler at present) seeing as I need a loud 'clean' and the ability to fill the room with sound.

shaunm

To be honest I gigged a Laney Lionheart 20w 4x10 combo for years and never once had a problem with volume. In fact I never had to really push the amp that hard.

guitarfishbay

I firmly believe the drummer sets the volume of an un mic'd band.  If you can reinforce via PA you can use whatever you like.

Playing drums softer gives a different sound.  You can't control drums the same way as you can an electric guitar as there are no volume controls, the only way is via dynamics which changes the tone.  Asking a rock/metal drummer to play softly is like asking a racing driver to drive slow - you'll get there but the result won't be as desired.

If you play a lighter style, or don't need a high volume un mic'd clean you can use lower wattage amps without fear of compromise.  I personally wouldn't buy a sub 50 watt amp for my style, but I've owned an AC30 in the past and liked it - but they just don't work for my current needs.