Amps for Bedroom + Small Gigs??

[Juanhanglo]

I'd take a drri any day of the week.

The blues Jr always sounded like an el84 amp to me, and a boxy one at that. I tried it thru big cabs too. Still boxy. Mine was a gen 2.

The hrd is a great amp, but different from the drri. Which I prefer.

Another one not mentioned is the fender supersonic 22.

 

[Mincer]

I always thought the Blues Jr was boxy, too. The HRD has a tiny bit of that sound, too. Not as open as a Deluxe.

 

[Lucius Paisley]

I'm not sure if this is available to you, but here's a full demonstration of what some would call a "cheap" amplifier.

All the rooms are too small in this place to open up the volume, but if I were sensible, I'd turn the guitar down just to be able to take it past 1 before really annoying the neighbours. I can't use headphones with this, but there's no point in buying a combo if you're not listening to the speaker.

The amp's bigger brother, the 20A, has more control options (as it should) but would probably overpower a small gig space.

 

[jeremy]

the blues jr can sound boxy, but with a few easy mods, it can sound really good. a good speaker makes a big difference, setting the bias a bit lower, and a few tone stack changes. i used a green board bj as my main amp for years. everything turned all the way up except for the reverb which was set to taste, and the bass control set so the low open e was a distinct note, not mush. its not overly fendery, its not marshally, but it sounded really damn good.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

the blues jr can sound boxy, but with a few easy mods, it can sound really good. a good speaker makes a big difference, setting the bias a bit lower, and a few tone stack changes. i used a green board bj as my main amp for years. everything turned all the way up except for the reverb which was set to taste, and the bass control set so the low open e was a distinct note, not mush. its not overly fendery, its not marshally, but it sounded really damn good.

I help a friend do the Bill M mods to his Blues Junior as well as replacing the speaker with a G12H Anniversary. Almost completely different amp.

I think the only thing keeping a Blues Junior for being a truly fantastic amp after the mods is the cheapie undersized MDF cabinet.

He tells me he recently got an AC15 which he likes better than his Blues Junior, though.

 

[jeremy]

im a big fan of the g12h-30 in fender amps, its what i use in my deluxe

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Thank you for the reply!

I was attracted to the Hot Rod, mainly because its about half the price as the Deluxe. My only worry there is the volume. 40W is a lot for bedroom practice!

A Deluxe is mighty loud for bedroom practice too, if you want to get it into its sweet spot.
Kind of a Catch-22.
Anything powerful enough for gigs is going to be too loud to be at its best in the living room.

Then again, that's why amps have a master volume knob.
Not ideal for tone and feel, but good enough for the bedroom.

For home use, if you want natural breakup you're better off with something smaller.
Playing blues by yourself, even 5 Watts is enough - and 10 is almost too much.

 

[jeremy]

a dr sounds great at low volume, but its clean. fenders usually do clean pretty well

 

[ehdwuld]

I typically use a tube amp at home my Peavy Classic 20 is my go-to just because it is right next to my desk. If I go downstairs I am still in the honeymoon phase with the AC30. Still, I do love my solid-state JC120 and Fender M-80. And the solid State Fender B100 Bassman I bought is a beast. Best bang for your buck amp I have ever bought.

Bruce
that classic 20 has an attenuation on back to lower the wattage to 5 and 1 watt does it not?

That sounds like the way to go

 

[Mincer]

a dr sounds great at low volume, but its clean. fenders usually do clean pretty well

That clean sound is why I like DRs...never a fan when the power tubes start to distort.

 

[donaldr]

It's not easy to have a good tube amp tone for bedroom playing. You could use an OD pedal and lower the volume but it would never sound the same. Usable yes but the same no.

Have you thought getting a Fender DRRI for 50% of you playing and a Yamaha THR10 (or Boss Katana) for the other 50%? Might fit your budget and you would get a good sound 100% of the time.

I know you want a tube amp, but the other option is a Fender Deluxe Reverb Tonemaster. It will work well in all your playing situations, just remove the badge on the lower right corner. In the meantime you can save for a real DRRI.

 

[contiContiCONTI]

It's not easy to have a good tube amp tone for bedroom playing. You could use an OD pedal and lower the volume but it would never sound the same. Usable yes but the same no.

Have you thought getting a Fender DRRI for 50% of you playing and a Yamaha THR10 (or Boss Katana) for the other 50%? Might fit your budget and you would get a good sound 100% of the time.

I know you want a tube amp, but the other option is a Fender Deluxe Reverb Tonemaster. It will work well in all your playing situations, just remove the badge on the lower right corner. In the meantime you can save for a real DRRI.

I have thought about combining different amps but as I say, I'm really looking for a tube amp. I do have other options already available like my amp simulation running into my studio monitors if it should come to that. But to be honest, after many years, I'm just done with all transistor/simulation/plugin type stuff. I play through it almost exclusively and every once in a while, when I plug into a tube amp, it ALWAYS sounds infinitely better than anything I can get from the myriad of gear I have at home, and have been using for daily for years.

 

[Securb]

I play through it almost exclusively and every once in a while, when I plug into a tube amp, it ALWAYS sounds infinitely better than anything I can get from the myriad of gear I have at home, and have been using for daily for years.

I love my Peavey Classic 20 head. I plug it directly into my DAW; It has great onboard gain, features, full loop, and great reverb. The original tubes started to go around 3 months ago, so I just replaced all the glass with Mullard, and it sounds beautiful. Always has but now it really sings.

 

[donaldr]

I have thought about combining different amps but as I say, I'm really looking for a tube amp. I do have other options already available like my amp simulation running into my studio monitors if it should come to that. But to be honest, after many years, I'm just done with all transistor/simulation/plugin type stuff. I play through it almost exclusively and every once in a while, when I plug into a tube amp, it ALWAYS sounds infinitely better than anything I can get from the myriad of gear I have at home, and have been using for daily for years.

Yeah I hear you, nothing like a crank tube amp!!!!

I just by "mistake" found a combination of parameters on my Atomic Firebox MK1 that for the first time in my last 20 years with modelers I'm floored. It's so organic, feel is perfect, really dynamic and 3D sounding, out of my powered PA speakers!!! It will not replace my big tube amp and my 4x12" cab but it's on par (if not better) than my big tube amp and a 1x12" cab. Just wanted to say

Maybe have a look at Bogner Atma, it would do clean/Texas blues/classic rock and many other things. It has a built-in attenuator for 18w/5w/1w.

 

[Aceman]

I vote with Ascension and Uopt

Something other

I have a H&K Tubemeister 20 head
It has a switchable attenuation from 20 to 5 to 1 to no speaker

An emulated direct box out
Emulated headphone out

And sounds awesome at every watt range

Since your in Europe. Get a greenback loaded Harley Benton cab and call it a day

I have a Tubemeister 18 and am very much on board with this plan...

 

[beaubrummels]

Hey! Thanks for the reply. Surely the Deluxe reverb would break up later than a Princeton? Considering it’s double the wattage.

I'm just going by my experience playing a Deluxe, which distorted like a mini-Marshall to me, while my bandmate had a Princeton which didn't break up all that much and just sounded dark to me. Maybe just my situation and experience. Double the wattage doesn't guarantee headroom, the circuit design matters more, IME.

 

[beaubrummels]

For bedroom, I use one of these, with an old Randall cab with a Celestion G12H-30. I can swap the tube types to sound like any amp I want, from EL84, 6V6, on up through 6550s. 6-12 watts of tube saturating goodness, but no ear fatigue or neighbor problems.

 

[jeremy]

can you add a md421 on the speaker too please?

 

[beaubrummels]

can you add a md421 on the speaker too please?

I have one, but didn't use it the day the picture was taken

 

[contiContiCONTI]

Hello all! Just a quick update.

Today I took home a reissue 65' Deluxe Reverb. IT was the amp that my instinct was calling for. I tried to like smaller, more boutique options but to be honest, every time I plugged into the deluxe for me it just sounded exactly like what I was looking for.

A few comments:

- I'm really surprised that a lot of people complain about the volumes on this amp. I live in a flat surrounded by other flats and I think the Deluxe has perfect volumes for home practice. I'm playing with the amp volume at 3 and, in my opinion, that's just about enough to get some oomph from the speaker but won't make any neighbours angry or bust my eardrums.

- The weight is what it is, but it's definitely not a 'heavy' amp. I think that's also a bit of an exaggeration. I mean its not light but come on, what ever happened to 2x showman and 8 10 inch speakers? We're talking about a small 20W combo here hahaha

- No need to comment on the sound, we all know what a blackface fender is suppose to sound like but I will say that the reverb is a little awkwardly loud. I have it set to 1 with the amp volume at 3 and it still seems like too much to me. The vibrato is fantastic.

- I will not clip the bright cap as I don't seem to be having any brightness/thinness issues myself.

Overall incredibly happy and can't wait to take this guy out to my next gig!