Amps for Bedroom + Small Gigs??

[Mincer]

Congrats on the new amp! A Deluxe (and amps based on it) is about as perfect of an amp as it can get for me. It sounds great with pedals or without, and responds to your playing with really great tone. The reissues are the best tube amps Fender makes these days.

 

[jeremy]

glad you like the amp! you could swap the reverb driver tube to something with less gain, like a 12au7, to reduce the amount of reverb if you want

 

[Ascension]

Thank you for the suggestion. Will need to try one of these out. Unfortunately there are no Mezzbarba retailers in my city

I understand. They are very rare here also, however I still regret not buying that amp on the spot. Have owned a number of Fender small combos, including a real 1965 Deluxe. The little M 18 floored me at just how good it was. Will bury any of the Fenders, and you have to experience one first hand to really get just how good they are.

 

[esandes]

100W marshall head and 4x12 cabinet

 

[SirJackdeFuzz II]

5E3 clone . . . is my go-to for playing in the house.
Neil Young (if i remember correctly) recorded his ''Le Noise'' album with two 5E3's.

 

[Securb]

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

Yes, it does, and does lose its character when knocked down.

 

[Securb]

Hello all! Just a quick update.

Today I took home a reissue 65' Deluxe Reverb. I

Perfect choice, portable but loud enough to get overthe drums. My first gigging amp was a Deluxe. It takes pedals very well also. I think the Deluxe is almost perfect in sound and design.

 

[Chistopher]

Yes, it does, and does lose its character when knocked down.

Ain't that just the way. I find for home playing, you want an underpowered amp. My Badcat Mini Cat (modded) is just loud enough to where it might be able to keep up with a drummer, but I can dime every knob and not be a nuisance.

 

[misterwhizzy]

Yes, it does, and does lose its character when knocked down.

Same with my Origin 50. Lowering the wattage kills the thump and headroom, not the volume.

 

[Ascension]

Yes, it does, and does lose its character when knocked down.

Two of the best sounding low volume amps I have found are my pair of US built 50 watt PRS heads. My first gen Archon 50 and my Custom 24. Both will absolutely kill at a whisper. The Custom 50 cleans in particular are amazing at super low volumes, but the crunch is not shabby at all either. Much better low volume bedroom tones with ether than almost any small low wattage amp I have ever used. Don't know how the did it, but they did.
Check this out my Custom 50 head on my Mesa Widebody 1/12 cab. There is no PA of any kind, 2 acoustic players and a young guy running the internal speakers in his Casio keyboard plus me with the Custom 50. Check out how this sounds in the room and this was recorded with my Zoom Q3 HD. That Custom 50 is a very loud all tube amp with 6L6's when cranked BTW and the Mesa cab is loaded with a 90 watt Celestian Black Shadow. Yet can still sound like this at a whisper.

 

[Sam SG]

Just get a Marshall Major and piss off the neighbors

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[ehdwuld]

I got a Stage Right 15
That knocks down to one watt
It has a nice growl at one watt
You can goose the gain a bit more at the lower volume

At 15 Watt it comes alive
The reverb has more body and everything
But that's just a function of loud
Its plenty of that

It is very responsive to guitar volume as well

My H&K Tonemiester goes from 20/5/1/0
At 0 and 1 it is excellent for practice
But it is alive at 5 and 20
Rich and aggressive



Again I think it may just be a function of volume

We are accustomed to our amps moving air and our heros using big impressive rigs

There were a lot of the massive sounds made by cranked small wattage amps that were struggling. Most of these weren't tracked live with a drummer to compete with but processed to compete in the studio