Valve Amp Question.

Quattroste

I want to get a decent valve amp but I am concerned that I would not get that warm overdriven sound I am looking for without having to crank it up quite a bit. I mostly play in my attic after and the kids are asleep underneath me so loud volumes are generally out of the question(except at weekends )

With a valve amp(all valve) can I overdrive the pre amp and keep the master volume low(or is it the other way around??). Would this give me the warm tone I am looking for at lower volume?

My other option is to keep the amp at low volume and use my Vox Big Ben tube driven overdrive pedal but that kinda defeats the purpose.

Eoin Madsen

Valve pedals work on low voltages so they're not really that accurate at creating valve amp sounds.

Can you be more specific about the tone you want from the amp? "Warm" is a word with a thousand meanings. I presume you want a small amount of distortion from valve saturation... Maybe comparing to a popular song or artist would help.

Turning up the gain and down the master will saturate the preamp valves but not the powerstage valves. Preamp distortion tends to be more "gritty". Powestage distortion depends on the valves really. The only way to get that at low volume is to use an attenuator like the THD Hotplate or a Weber Mass Attenuator between the amp and cab.

At the end of the day experimenting is the only way to get what you want. An attenuator is an expensive experiment, but if you can't get the right sound with volume pots it may be worth it.

Quattroste

A small amount of distortion from valve saturation is exactly what I am talking about. Closest band I can think of would be Kings of Leon.

You've lost me with the attenuator bit .

I am thinking about an Peavey Classic 30 or a Laney LC 30 as I don't have too much to spend. The other option is a Sound City 50 head but I'd have to get a cab too. The head's can be bought on eBay for around stg£150.

Karl Hungus

You could try this little beauty here, which seems to be one of the very few valve amps geared towards the bedroom/studio player. There's also this Laney which should also be just the ticket, Laney really do have very warm sounds indeed.

I'd say you'd get more distortion out of the Laney, the Ashdown being more vintage tone, so it'd depend on what you're after style wise.

Quattroste

I reckon I'd be more of a vintage man myself. The Ashdown is a beauty allright but a bit steep. I think I could pick up a secondhand Laney for about 200.

I suppose its just buy a valve amp and try it out

Eoin Madsen

Sorry, I'll explain that attenuator thing...

A valve amp is divided into two sections, the preamp and the poweramp (hence the two different kinds of valves). Preamp gets the guitar up to a predefined level (most preamps have the same approximate amount of amplification). Poweramp gets the guitar from preamp output level to whatever number of watts is required to drive the speakers. Input volume/gain happens at the start of the preamp, output volume/master volume happens at end of the preamp or start of the poweramp. An attenuator is a volume control which you place between end of the poweramp and the speaker. It's the only way to get overdrive in the poweramp but still have a low volume from the speaker.

Obviously, you might get exactly what you want just by saturating the preamp a little, so I wouldn't rush out and buy an attenuator straight away. Not that I had you convinced anyway.

dabhoys

When I was in the studio messing around one day. I had the Mesa in on full blast on the master section and the tone was amazing!!! So nice sounding. Proper power section distortion sounds amazing

I'm not a huge fan of attenuators myself. I find they suck the dyanamics out of the sound when playing. But thats just me. Some people swear by them. Different strokes for different folks.

I'd highly recommend the Ashdown stuff. Quality build and excellent sound. Sounds good to me sir. The extra little bit is worth it in the long run...

sean_0

Just a word of warning - even an 8 Watt valve amp will be extremely loud for bedroom use. I have a 4.5Watt valve amp I built myself and there's no way it could go past 5 without bringing down the walls!

You're best bet (I would think) is the Tiny Tone Amp from Torres http://freespace.virgin.net/vyse.co/promotion.htm , which I have heard in action. It's pretty impressive but extremely expensive for what it is. If you're handy with a soldering iron you could save a few bob and buy the kit.

feylya

I've always wanted to build a 0.5W tube amp. Could never afford it though.

Voodu Child

How much can you afford? If you're looking for a pro-quality amp, take a peek at the THD Univalve head. It has a bulit in attentuator that works incredibly well, and also happen to be about the best sounding, best built amp you can buy. Theyre not cheap, but it should be exactly what youre looking for - warm valve tone at whisper quiet levels...(ive got one on my shopping list )

http://www.thdelectronics.com/

sean_0

feylya wrote:

I've always wanted to build a 0.5W tube amp. Could never afford it though.

You can buy an instruction book for that Tiny tone amp for £20stg, and you'd probably put one together for less than 200yoyos. Not too bad really, but you'd need to know your stuff pretty well

feylya

Well, at the moment I can't even afford £20 Might be something to look into though.

Quattroste

Someone asked how much I had to spend. Immediatly I would have up to E400 but I would save for the right amp as I am not in that much of a rush. I have a Roland Cube 30 to keep me company.

The perfecty amp would obviously be something that I could use in the bedroom with the option to gig(yeah right!) so the attenuator sounds good and the THD Univalve head seems to be the biz. Any idea of cost on one of these(or do I want to know?) and how much on a decent smallish cab? Do they do a combi?

david

They dont do a combo... And the head is over a grand in dublin... A decent small cab will cost you about €400 for a 212 with decent speakers...

This one is exceptionally cheap for a 2x12 with vintage 30's

http://www.thomann.de/thoiw6_artikel-179559.html

Quattroste

E1400 + is too much. If I were in a gigging band then I would save and go for it but this is too much. I think something under 500 and a class A low watt amp is enough for me. Thanks for all your help!.

fitz

Look into the Fender Blues Junior.
Gorgeous little valve amp that sounds like it might be a perfect fit for what you want.

pyure

try an epiphone valve junior - 5 watt tube amp with just a single volume knob - listed at 120 dollars on music123.com
if its still to loud use an attenuator to knock a few db off the top volume and allow you to drive it harder at lower volumes.

Eoin Madsen

An attenuator will cost you about 300 euros. Though afaik some or all of the THD amps have built-in attenuators.

If you want to keep to bedroom level you'll definitely need to get something with a master volume or it will be toneless at low volume.

pyure

Eoin Madsen wrote:

An attenuator will cost you about 300 euros.

jeez really? i thought they were more in the region of 25. oh well

Quattroste

Just got a Laney LC30 on Ebay. Total cost plus shipping around 460 euro. Seems like a good deal??

Karl Hungus

Yeah, it's not too bad at all. Hope you enjoy it!

Quattroste

We'll see in a couple of weeks I guess. It gets some excellent reviews on Harmony-Central. Of course its a lot louder than bedroom use, but **** happens eh! :cool: