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I think I've got this small amps thing all wrong -maybe there isn't an amp that does home AND gigs!!

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  • ICBM said:
    riffpowers said:

    Would you take the combo over a head and 2x12 ?? I think yours will be a similar size and weight to the stiletto 1x12 combo, just wondering how you manage with it!
    The Trem-o-verb is heavier than the Stiletto - 98lb. It does have wheels and good handles, so I actually found it not that hard to move - actually easier than a Fender Twin or AC30, both of which are quite a bit lighter.

    I don't have mine any more though - some medical advice about lifting heavy things made me change my mind as to what was acceptable for a guitar amp. And that was before I broke my arm...
    Out of interest, what do you play now??!

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  • Mark1960Mark1960 Frets: 326
    I have a Fender Blues Delux RI combo at 40 watt, and is fine for home and gigging, and if I ever need more, put it through the PA
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71958
    edited November 2018
    riffpowers said:

    Out of interest, what do you play now??!
    A 500W bass amp .

    I’m not playing guitar in a band any more, so I’ve not bothered with a giggable guitar amp. If I needed another one I’d be more likely to get a THR100 or something like that.

    When you've got a 500W bass combo - OK, it's only 250W into its own internal speaker, but it can drive an extension cab at the full power - that sounds great and only weighs 28lb, it makes you re-evaluate how heavy is acceptable for a guitar amp.

    That's lighter than the guitarist's Orange Rocker 30 *head*.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • octatonicoctatonic Frets: 33725
    Just get a Katana 50 for home use and sod trying to use high wattage tube amps at home.

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  • DopesickDopesick Frets: 1507
    edited November 2018
    Use a drive/distortion pedal into a clean amp at home and then use your proper gigging amp on stage.

    With many amps you can do both of these things.

    I live in a first floor flat with floors as thick as pancakes but I use a Laney AOR100 with a VHD distortion and I get no complaints.
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  • JCA22 plus cab for gig, pocket pod plus headphones for home.
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  • I only have a hand wired ac15 clone now, but with power scaling it's fine for both up to a sort of indie bluesy thing.

    If I needed distortion like rock, it would have to be a big amp with a good master. @icbm has it right. I also really liked the orange number 7 slipknot sig, which was decent quiet but not sure about way up at gig volume. 
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  • mgawmgaw Frets: 5239
    Get a bigger house?
    +1 on this, wish I had done it before the great amp journey started, could have saved myself some money
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  • DominicDominic Frets: 16012
    Something like this sounds ideal for your needs...

    www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/143532/fs-brunetti-pleximan

    It sounds fantastic and exactly the same on 5w but it is still loud
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  • VoxmanVoxman Frets: 4718
    edited November 2018
    Look for and try an original blue series Vox Valvetronix 1x12 Ad60vt or ad60vtx 
    Plenty loud enough for gigging and great for home. Built in attenuator for 1w, 15w, 30w or 60w and headphone out. And weight at 43lbs is sensible to take around. The 2x12 ad120vt/vtx has a bigger tone but is 58lbs.  VTX are closed back, birch ply cabs and g12 vintage 80w celestion  neodymium speakers.  VT versions are open backed with mdf cabs and celestion seventy eighty speakers.  The mix of valves and modelling has never been bettered...very different to the budget Valvetronix that followed.
    I started out with nothing..... but I've still got most of it left (Seasick Steve)
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  • shaunmshaunm Frets: 1591
    It’s strange but the best sounding amp I have for home use is my Laney Lionheart 4x10 combo. It sounds great at home and it sounds great at a gig. 

    It’s easier to get a great tone from that amp at home than it is my fender 68 Princeton or my Fender Tweed Champ even though they are a lot less watts
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  • timmysofttimmysoft Frets: 1962
    Helix 
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  • TimmyOTimmyO Frets: 7349
    octatonic said:
    Just get a Katana 50 for home use and sod trying to use high wattage tube amps at home.

    nah - spend that same money on a Torpedo attenuator 
    Red ones are better. 
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  • ecc83ecc83 Frets: 1589
    Haven't followed the whole thread but such discussions abound in the foruna all suffer, IMHO because noone defines "Home" or "Gig" volume levels!

    To take the Home first. A nice level that does not give YOU hearing damage but gets the "amp" cooking nicely? My very limited tests with son some years ago with an HT-20 and Dommi clone would suggest a level, in the (small) room of 80-90dB. Now, THAT is not going to be popular with 'er indoors watching Corrie and in the summer time with windows open, the street.  At 11 pm and not to wake the chavvy you need a whispering 55-60dB SPL. Such a level from a "guitar" speaker would require, believe it or not only some one or two milliwatts! We are talking headphone amps here.

    Power soak even a 5 watt valve amp that low and it won't sound good.

    Gig levels? Well, assuming 100dB/W/mtr speakers, 15W will do a small pub. 50W pretty much any where else but Wembly.

    Dave.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71958
    ecc83 said:
    Haven't followed the whole thread but such discussions abound in the foruna all suffer, IMHO because noone defines "Home" or "Gig" volume levels!

    To take the Home first. A nice level that does not give YOU hearing damage but gets the "amp" cooking nicely? My very limited tests with son some years ago with an HT-20 and Dommi clone would suggest a level, in the (small) room of 80-90dB. Now, THAT is not going to be popular with 'er indoors watching Corrie and in the summer time with windows open, the street.  At 11 pm and not to wake the chavvy you need a whispering 55-60dB SPL. Such a level from a "guitar" speaker would require, believe it or not only some one or two milliwatts! We are talking headphone amps here.

    Power soak even a 5 watt valve amp that low and it won't sound good.

    Gig levels? Well, assuming 100dB/W/mtr speakers, 15W will do a small pub. 50W pretty much any where else but Wembly.
    Exactly. The power to volume relationship is so non-linear - especially if competing with other sounds, and it's also hugely dependent on the speaker sensitivity - that there's no simple way of making it easy to choose the 'right' amount of power.

    What needs to be understood is that the power of the amp doesn't control its volume, the *controls* on the amp control its volume - and some work a lot better than others. The power simply limits the maximum volume it can produce, and that you don't need to turn it up full just because you can...

    The other thing that doesn't seem widely realised is that 'halfway up' on a volume control doesn't mean the amp is producing half the power. If it's a Log control and the amp doesn't reach full power until it's nearly full up, it will be *far* less than half - but some amps reach full power at, or even below, halfway on the control... in other words there is simply no correlation at all.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • nick79nick79 Frets: 252
    My (non master volume) amp doesn't get any louder after 5 on the dial, after that it just gets a lot gainier. 
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  • timmysofttimmysoft Frets: 1962
    There are lots of amps that sound good in both scenarios. The best I found was the Brunetti Maranello, it’s an amp I really miss because of its versatility, volume and portability.

    There are plenty of other good options, but the first thing I’d say to try is different speakers. V30s need to be pushed to sound good, Greenbacks on the other hand sound great at low volumes. CL80s and Creambacks are also good at very low volumes and excellent at Louds too. 


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  • teradaterada Frets: 5113
    I use a 50watt orange retro 50 for both home and gigging. 

    Ive had 1 watt amps, 4 watt amps with a master, thr10, amps with attenuators, but the orange through a 2x12 is the best of al of them for home use. 

    It just has a superb master volume. 
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  • martinwmartinw Frets: 2149
    tFB Trader
    The only amp I've used consistently over the last 12 years, home and gigging, is a 20W Plexi type amp.
    At home, crank the gain and master volume down, for gigs, master all the way up. Sounds great for both.
    Same would apply for a 50W version  but for my taste I prefer the smaller one.
    Not difficult really.
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  • ShrewsShrews Frets: 2959
    A question I've not seen answered is 'longevity' i.e reliability over time. Are some amps more reliable than others in that they continue to perform at the same level for years?

    No point in having an amp built for home practice and gigging, if you hardly take it out gigging within its expected lifespan.  That seems logical to me, unless amps are generally reliable for years. 
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