An Idea for a Bedroom Rig

[zippy]

So I have been throwing around ideas in my head for a high gain yet versatile bedroom rig to jam at my friend's house, who has a really anal neighbor (my Rectoverb is apparently excessive). I was thinking about getting a preamp like an ENGL E530 and running it through the power section of an Epi Valve Jr he happens to have laying around in his garage. Would this actually work? I don't have any experience doing stuff like that; and, more importantly, do you think that would have a decent sound?

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: An Idea for a Bedroom Rig

The ENGL Into Epi idea will only work if the Epi Valve Jnr has an effects loop or pre-amp stage out/power amp stage in sockets. Probably easier just to rock out through the Epi Valve Jnr on its own.

Might be smarter to spend your money on an attenuator device such as the Marshall Powerbrake or THD Hot Plate. The latter doubles as a nifty DI box.

 

[Aceman]

Re: An Idea for a Bedroom Rig

Might be smarter to spend your money on an attenuator device such as the Marshall Powerbrake or THD Hot Plate. The latter doubles as a nifty DI box.

+1 And the recto is excessive - excessively cool, that is!

A social, but nearly never done thing, is to go ask all of the neighbors if there is a time that they wouldn't care or a scheduled time that they will be away. I always ask/let people know stuff like that before jamming.

Most are dooshy and don't care about what you want - only that they want quiet when ever. I'd find something to beetch at them about too. shouldn't be hard. "Hey - I wanted to work with you, but you were a prick so turn the [insert issue] down/off whatever at x am/pm."

But it is always good to ask first. You kids went and just made what YOU thought was not much noise at a time that suited you and pissed them off from the beginning, didn't you? Don't lie. You already outed the recto. Just a little life lesson from a guy who digs a Marshall stack as much as the next kid. And I also appreciate a social heads up. Heck - I'll even find some place to go!

 

[Kostas]

Re: An Idea for a Bedroom Rig

... a preamp like an ENGL E530 and running it through the power section of an Epi Valve Jr he happens to have laying around in his garage...

Try it and see for yourself. I had put a Roctron Phophesy through the Valve Jr. Speaker(s) and pickups will also affect your sound. I have the head version and with a 12" (100Watt) the amp stayed pretty clean. You can substitute the 12AX7 with a tube with less gain to make the Epi even cleaner http://thetubestore.com/gainfactor.html

 

[Animal]

Re: An Idea for a Bedroom Rig

It's hard to say how good an ENGL preamp into a Epi Valve Junior will actually sound. Such a preamp is probably designed to be fed into a clean and powerful amp. The Epi Valve Junior will probably lack the "cleanliness" to adequate justice to it.

It should "work" to a degree but it seems like a clunky setup. You'll need a rack case to avoid "bunging" it up when moving it around. You'll have to sit it somewhere non-precarious where it won't fall over but be close enough to attach to the input of the Epi Valve Junior. Then you'll have to have an available outlet to power the preamp. These are small things that can be easily overcome but can also be equally annoying.

I would highly recommend abandoning the idea altogether and consider a Blackstar HT-5 head. It has clean channel that is very CLEAN and punchy plus an overdrive channel that can go from roaring Marshall to Mesa from a twist of the ISF knob. It doesn't need much volume to sound good (though it can get really loud!) and is much warmer and dynamic than any solid-state or digital amp I've played through.

I sold my Mesa Quad Preamp + Fifty/Fifty rack setup because my HT-5 practically made it redundant for home use. Also, it's MUCH easier to use. A simple volume knob for the clean channel, gain and volume for the overdrive, shared EQ, and the ISF knob, it's not hard at all to find good tones on the fly. Best of all, a HT-5 will set you back a lot less money than an ENGL E530.

 

[Reload in 5]

Re: An Idea for a Bedroom Rig

Unless its been modded, valve juniors dont have power amp in
a 12AU7 would get you even more clean from the junior
valve junior combos wont have a chunky high gain sound to them
Valve junior "on its own" wont sound gainy until it is pretty loud
I would get a cheap but decent high gain pedal, and load a 12AU7 in the junior. Sound like you are already set for big time sounds, so I wouldn't spend a ton of dough on a big time preamp. Heck you might be happy with a basic digitech into that valve junior.