Valve amps at low volumes

barbar69

Hi I’m looking for some advice on valve amps suitable for bedroom practice. In an ideal world I want an amp that can produce lovely saturated tube tones at low volumes. I usually play not much louder than speaking volume(70-85db approx).

Over the past few years amp manufacturers have begun to produce simple low watt amps for recording and practice. Some like the Blackstar HT-1 produce only one watt. So are 1 watt amps quiet enough for the bedroom when cranked?

Also some amps feature attenuators allow the power to be reduced to under 1 watt such as the Vox AC-4TV. Do these features allow genuine tube tones at low volumes?

Any thoughts are welcome, especially from those who own low watt tube amps. Thanks!

Squidgy Black

I had the Blackstar HT-1 nifty little amps.

You don't actually need to crank the majority of bedroom amps, they normally have a master volume and a gain control.

It's mainly non-master volume amps and amps with just a volume control for dirt that you need to watch out for in regards to volume.

barbar69

my understanding though was that using the gain and keeping the master volume relatively low to achieve overdrive doesn't use the valves in quite the same way and wont produce as good a tone as cranking it. But maybe I'm wrong about that.

wild turkey

i've the ht1 & theres no way you'd crank it at nighttime Way too loud its not far off a 5 watt valve amp. I run mine through a weber attenuator to crank it but your not really pushing the speakers enough
mabye one of the vox ac4's etc that go down to 1/4 watt

Squidgy Black

barbar69 wrote: »

my understanding though was that using the gain and keeping the master volume relatively low to achieve overdrive doesn't use the valves in quite the same way and wont produce as good a tone as cranking it. But maybe I'm wrong about that.

The power tube saturation does play a part to it, but that only really applies at huge volumes. Another aspect, in my experience and opinion, is the air pushed by the speakers which simply can't be recreated.

I've played amps like the zvex nano amp at 1/4 watts and even then they're quite a bit louder than speaking levels when cranked. Your best be is an amp with a good master volume or an attenuator

il gatto

stetyrrell wrote: »

barbar69 wrote: »

my understanding though was that using the gain and keeping the master volume relatively low to achieve overdrive doesn't use the valves in quite the same way and wont produce as good a tone as cranking it. But maybe I'm wrong about that.

The power tube saturation does play a part to it, but that only really applies at huge volumes. Another aspect, in my experience and opinion, is the air pushed by the speakers which simply can't be recreated.

I've played amps like the zvex nano amp at 1/4 watts and even then they're quite a bit louder than speaking levels when cranked. Your best be is an amp with a good master volume or an attenuator

Maybe a pedal with a tube preamp? Might get the tone without needing the volume? Or maybe the perfect situation for digital modelling (spit)? I'm happy enough with a transistor amp when the valve isn't appropriate, tbh.

Miklos

Basically, the electric guitar was not designed to be played at speaking volume.

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

NickWray wrote: »

Basically, the electric guitar was not designed to be played at speaking volume.

ìf only pub owners understood this

Demeyes

From my experience, if you are just planning on playing at quieter levels and aren't going to be using an amp for gigging and loud jamming then you'll probably be better off with a decent modelling or solid state amp. Pretty much any tube amp I've used didn't sound fantastic at lower levels while most SS stuff doesn't sound too shabby. That said, I'd do some research and play a good few of the nicer SS stuff instead of just checking out the cheaper line 6 or marshall amps that people often go for.

Saila

fender champ 600, 5w tube amp. nice little bastard this one. I bought a 40w deluxe after this and its been gathering dust ever since :mad:
be warned though you need a good line of pedals especially an EQ and OD-1 or similar tube preamp. just volume on the amp and thats your lot!!!!!. also has a second input for a heavier overdrive. the loudest its ever been is 4-5 and your ears will be close to bleeding at that level!

ciaranmac

I have a 100w Trace Elliot guitar amp (picked it up last January on adverts.ie) with a tube preamp and a solid state power stage. I can crank up the overdrive all the way while still keeping the output at soft speaking levels. I'd say it depends on the make and model though because it's not really what amps are designed for. Try out as many amps as you can lay hands on, and enjoy the search.

kevin65

If you are looking for an amp to play at low volumes you would be better getting a decent ss amp. The older peaveys are a good buy, they have a 'saturation' circuit which gives a reasonable overdrive and distortion sound. New ones are probably good too.

Grolschevik

There's lots of interesting reading here:

http://www.amptone.com/#quiet


http://www.amptone.com/g112.htm

BostonB

I used to have a Marshall 50W valve combo, the ones with the controls on the top, tweedy fabric on the front. I assume it was some 70's model or something. This had no overdrive at all, and I could never get it to do so. So I ran it with a distortion pedal and a power attenuator when practising. It gave lovely clean valve tones, but with no break up at all. With the pedal I got good tones, but it was long way from the classic tube distortion. Oh yeah this amp a massive string reverb unit in it. Akways wondered what it was, sold it many years ago.

I think it depends on the done you are looking. A little breakup, some crunch or true distortion. On youtube theres loads of video's with amps like the epiphone Valve Junior and a weber attenuator and perhaps with a pedal to boost the break up. These sound lovely.

hidinginthebush

I can verify the epi valve junior sounds great with an attenuator. You actually do need one too, believe it or not, the 5W is still quite loud for playing at home, and it only has a volume knob. The combo sounds quite boxy, due to the 10 inch speaker in the combo, but I hook mine up the the 12 incher in my bigger combo and it sounds incredible, completely changes the character.

If you want a nice saturated tone at home, you'll pretty much need to attenuate your amp, and these things do cost a fair few bob, so on top of getting the amp itself, you might be better off getting a ss amp. Well, that's what people will tell you, and it makes more sense, but there's no talking to a musician with a bad case of GAS!

fwiw the epi vj is a lovely little amp, and there's tons of mods you can make to it, so it'll keep you busy. Can't say anything about the fender champ / blackheart / Vox ac4 etc.

There's also a lot of great amps in the 20 - 30 Watt range (peavey classic / laney vc or lc series / traynor are supposed to be sweet too, the list goes on...) that might be worth a gander. They usually have master volume knobs too, so you'll get nice tones at respectable levels, not the purist 100% tube overdrive, but they still sound gorgeous, and they tend to have more features and generally sound better than the little 5W and smaller gang. And of course you can always attenuate too if it bugs you to not be cranking it all the time. Another bonus is 30W will let you keep up in a band situation.

wild turkey

https://taweber.powweb.com/weber/minimass.htm
Not that expensive

Got a vox lil nightrain last week in a trade for the blackstar
This is the low watt amp ive been after , i'd have it over the blackstar anyday.It has great low volume tone & sounds great with a tubescreamer in front of it, although i have to admit to a quick mod of clipping a capacitor on it, but really fattened it up.
Worth checking out!

johnROSS

but...

these ones go up to 11