Are the micro tube amp heads worth it?

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: Are the micro tube amp heads worth it?

I have a bunch of them, mostly cheaper & / or lesser known ones ranging from 15-50W and I love them all...

They all cut through as well as big amp's & don't sound too different from a bigger head through a PA live or in a recording. It's true they don't all make your pants flap around as much as a big amp will when it's cranked ..but there are exceptions (my Brutus sounds nuts when you crank it..30W / Class A is ear-splittingly loud & very thumpy indeed..& it's running 5881's), my Laboga's (4XEL84's) are also very tight & punchy turned up & pretty thumpy too with shockingly little noise...funnily enough the same goes for my little 15W Goldea (2xEL84's) that I bought for $150 new..stays tight and cuts like a knife at any volume..it also retains the punchiness/thump & never sounds strained). I've never dimed my AMT Stonehead though I'm guessing as an SS amp it's probably going to sound it's best at more reasonable volumes...need to check on that actually

These are just blues rock/medium gain clips that I recorded totally dry (no FX or post processing of any kind) with a cheap chinese "little bear" cab-sim pedal I bought for less than $20 on ebay & my cheap "Julius" reactive load-box that I got from Reverb. Recorded with my 20 year old Zoom MRS-1044 standalone digital recorder.

It's just drums & guitars (no bass guitar)..but as you can see there's no huge difference between the 120 W Bugera (4xEL34) & the other's ranging from 15-50 watts...I mean they don't sound 'weaker' / 'smaller' or get lost in the mix (even with the most basic of mixes like this one with zero processing/FX) ..though their tones/tonal character are all different obviously since they're different amp's..

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: Are the micro tube amp heads worth it?

Have 2 pretty high end 20 watt EL 84 amps now ( Mesa Subway Rocket and the Zinky Blue Velvet ) owned a pair of the Jet City JCA22's a regular one and a Custom. You are dead on that most of these little amps get loose and a little sloppy when you really crank them. The little PRS runs a pair of 6L6's and thrives on being pushed will hit just as hard as both my EL34 powered Carvin X50 B and the Mesa DC 5 with 6L6's at high volume. I can't tell t's NOT a 50 watt head by the tightness of tone, clean headroom or by the volume level it's capable of. The little Marshalls that run the EL34's will likely be similar. The little PRS MT 15 is an absolute beast when you really crank it and while small and compact gives up absolutely nothing in performance to my pair of 50 watt full size heads!

My EVH actually gets tighter the more you turn it up... to a fault, lol. At full-band levels, there is barely any low-end left. OTOH, my Krank actually runs on 6L6's too, but it gets darker and kinda farty as you turn it up.

I know big bottle power tubes have something to do with it, but beyond that, I think the MT15 is just an all-around well-designed amp. Then again, I have not tried one. I'd love to, though.

[Aceman]

Re: Are the micro tube amp heads worth it?

On the original topic, a Marshall 2525H Mini Jubilee has been my primary amp since mid-2017 and it supplanted a 100W Jubilee 2555 that I've owned and loved since mid-2001. The 2555 is a great amp, but it's a bit heavy to carry and ungodly loud. It has a great master, but 2 is plenty loud for most rooms and it doesn't start to really sound good until 2.5-4. The 2525H at 20W is loud enough for a drummer, but still manageable; it's actually possible to get into that 2.5-4 sweet spot. The best part is that the head is 22lbs vs 47lbs and my ported 1x12 is 20lbs or less vs 55lbs for the 2x12 or 96lbs for the 4x12. I'm keeping the 2555 because it means a lot to me and I still play it now and then, but most of the time the 2525H is just more practical. It also sounds so close to its bigger brother that I can't tell them apart unless I'm literally swapping cables between them.

Did NOT need to know this.....

[Juanhanglo]

Re: Are the micro tube amp heads worth it?

Get a clean tube amp with the power you need to play at the volumes you want. Then run some of the amazing amp in a box pedals for your drives.

You can scale up on the amp if needed and not alter your sound too much.

[t1r12003]

Re: Are the micro tube amp heads worth it?

Hi, I'm looking for my first tube amp. I like 80s thrash metal, power metal, glam and some death. I want to play in a metal band at some point, but I ind it difficult to find people. I currently jam with friends who are not huge metal heads(one like glam and ozzy though) that like to play pop and alternative rock. Are the tube amps like peavy 6505 mh, Hughes & Kettner tubemeister, etc worth the investment given my interest?. If so or not, what would you recommend? I'm kind of on a budget because I am looking to get a new guitar as well( Jackson King V). I have a Les paul studio and I will be replacing the stock pups. It may not be necessary to spend money on a new guitar so I am willing to spend a decent amount on a tube amp.

PRS MT15 kills. Crazy loud but for the heavy music you want to play, that’ll do it. Tremonti’s solo and Alter Bridge stuff is super heavy. It’s loud as hell though. Not a practice amp by any means. Gigging and jamming with drummer works great.

[Aceman]

Re: Are the micro tube amp heads worth it?

Really been playing my HK Tubemeister a lot lately. It is certainly NOT my Mesa! But really really digging it. I could use this thing for a lot of applications, including live. I'd use the Built-in Redbox out, but still. After a couple of jams in a studio with a drummer, 18 watts through a 4x12 works.

[Coma]

Re: Are the micro tube amp heads worth it?

I use an Orange Jim Root Terror on stage, with a mic-ed pa and without. The 15 watts has rarely been an issue. Sound guys love it, and it sounds monsterous through a 4 X12 and not far off on my V30 equipped 1 x 12

That's funny, I just sold mine the other day. Way too fuzzy/fizzy to play thrash with any semblance of definition. Even with a 10-band EQ in the loop I couldn't get it to sound very good with the gain cranked up. Would've worked a lot better for stoner and doom.

[BenPerkins]

Re: Are the micro tube amp heads worth it?

Whats your budget?

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[Diego]

Re: Are the micro tube amp heads worth it?

Ola Englund makes a pretty good defense of the Orange Micro Dark here:

Sounds kinda mushy, then drops an OD pedal and holy **** does it sound good. The damn thing has an FX loop as well so what's not to like?

[Ascension]

Re: Are the micro tube amp heads worth it?

My PRS MT 15 s an absolute BEAST!! GREAT cleans small light and that high gain side just kills. Had several other small heads that were just OK but this thing is just a wicked amp for any size!! rated 15 watts but runs a pair of 6L6's and has big iron. Will stand toe to toe with my Boogie DC 5 and Carvin X50B heads in volume on the same cab and has by far the best cleans of them all. The crunch side is what I really love it's thick but not muddy, articulate, super smooth, fluid and very defined plus extremely touch sensitive. Rarely run anything but just the amp and a little cheap Byang Baby Boom Tri Reverb and a DD7 Delay in the loop. CRAZY good amp and at just $650 street new is a screaming deal!

[guitfiddle]

Re: Are the micro tube amp heads worth it?

Ola Englund makes a pretty good defense of the Orange Micro Dark here:


Sounds kinda mushy, then drops an OD pedal and holy **** does it sound good. The damn thing has an FX loop as well so what's not to like?

That is my bullet proof backup amp when I take any of my other Oranges out. It can more than handle a show by itself, too. I used it at the last show my Sabbath tribute played, and it killed.

[Securb]

Re: Are the micro tube amp heads worth it?

If you are on a budget don't be afraid to look at some solid-state heads. You will get more volume and bang for your buck. There are some spectacular ones out there. There are Randell heads out there that are phenomenal you can pick up for sub $200. If you can find an old Randell orange stripe grab it.

[El Dunco]

Re: Are the micro tube amp heads worth it?

If you are on a budget don't be afraid to look at some solid-state heads. You will get more volume and bang for your buck. There are some spectacular ones out there. There are Randell heads out there that are phenomenal you can pick up for sub $200. If you can find an old Randell orange stripe grab it.

Even amps with a full tube preamp and a high wattage, compact Class-D power section might be up your alley. You could even assemble your own with the SD Powerstage and your preamp, or even preamp pedal seeing as they make really good ones lately. AMT has both solid state and tube preamps in pedal and rack formats. Mooer has great sounding digital preamp emulators in a box and the entire collection in their new "preamp live" which even lets you profile your own amps a la Kemper.