Best high gain amp at low volumes

[KiD CuDi]

Looking for a good bedroom/practice amp that has crushing high gain tone without having to be cranked.

I've kinda been looking at the krank rev jr, krankenstein jr, blackstar ht-5 so if any of you guys have had experience with these amps please share your thoughts/experience.

 

[FuseG4]

Re: Best high gain amp at low volumes

you should be able to achieve some really burning gain with those, or some slightly cleaner amps and a pedal, but that "crushing" part, where a palm mutes hit you in the gut, that only comes from a speaker going almost all-out. But you knew that already...

I've gotten some searing gain from both the night train and the jet city 20W. The night train needed a light boost from an overdrive pedal to warm it up. The egnater rebel 20 had some good gain but I never liked the compressed feel of that one.

My marshall DSL50 beats a lot of things, or so it seems to me. Even when the amp is at low volumes and it sounds "thin" compared to how it sounds louder, that low volume high-gain is plenty of mids, grind, and sustain.

The Peavey JSX is the same.

Depending on the budget and what you need, there's several ways to go. if you need to stay low-wattage I've heard the blackstar is the good bet but I haven't played that one yet.

So what are you playing currently?

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Best high gain amp at low volumes

My first instinct is to say NOT tube for super low volume, but a Vox Valvetronix amp, which has the tube feel but can be super highgain at low volumes.

But one great option is to buy a new $400 Egnater Tweaker head, put it on any cab, then use any decent OD pedal, and enjoy highgain tube goodness, with the singing sustain of an OD added to it.

I'm putting off buying an Egnater Tweaker head till Bruce Egnater gets the FX loop design flaw fixed. The first batch has a problem with some FX loops. But the Tweaker is a killer low wattage highgain head. Before they're out of production, I fully intend to get one.

 

[Warheart]

Re: Best high gain amp at low volumes

Hughes & Kettner Metal Shredder, or the Hughes & Kettner Cream Machine

You can use it as a tube preamp, a Headphone amp, or plug it directly into a cab using the built in 4W solid state power amp.

I honestly use it more than my regular heads these days!

 

[KiD CuDi]

Re: Best high gain amp at low volumes

I'm currently using a peavey valveking 50w 112 it's pretty decent but I find myself wanting something more aggressive and able to retain that aggression at low volumes.

 

[KiD CuDi]

Re: Best high gain amp at low volumes

Hughes & Kettner Metal Shredder, or the Hughes & Kettner Cream Machine

You can use it as a tube preamp, a Headphone amp, or plug it directly into a cab using the built in 4W solid state power amp.

I honestly use it more than my regular heads these days!

How do you like your krank revolution?

 

[JeffB]

Re: Best high gain amp at low volumes

VOX VT15- JVM and 5150 models should suit your needs and sound a helluva lot better than a pure tube amp at bedroom volumes.

They also take goose pedals really well.

 

[FuseG4]

Re: Best high gain amp at low volumes

it's gonna be hard to get more bedroom-level punch than a 50W 6l6 amp, even if it is a run-of-the-mill 50W 6l6 amp.
You use any pedals?

I'm starting to think that modeling may be a good idea in your case. I mean, it IS hard to find all-tube amps that sound good at low-volumes, and it can be done, but there's no guarantees.
I wonder how many people would hate my bedroom tone? I mean, not hate it, but would take modeling over it.
I've tried modeling and hybrid amps and while it's fine for the bedroom, the modeling amps I've tried just lack the feel of the tube amps I'm used to. I'd rather have the bedroom tone suffer a lil and keep my loud stuff the way it is.

 

[UberMetalDood]

Re: Best high gain amp at low volumes

The following brands or amps sound good at low volume:

Engl
Mesa Boogie
Peavey JSX
Fender Deluxe VM

 

[Ascension]

Re: Best high gain amp at low volumes

Zinky 25 watt Blue Velvet.
Here is a worship gig I played with the amp turned way down facing backwards and a mic on the grill. The only effects are the delay.
http://www.box.net/shared/20ng2ygb7h

 

[Warheart]

Re: Best high gain amp at low volumes

How do you like your krank revolution?

I like it, but its not for the quiet though.

It has crystal cleans and a brutal crunch channel.

It kind of reminds me of a hot-rodded marshall, you still need Power tube saturation to make it sound godly.

In fact, the preamp bleeds through, very trebly and thin when I have the master volume on zero. It really doesn't get good until 4.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Best high gain amp at low volumes

I know it's not entirely helpful to this thread, but here's what I've been using for tube highgain at apartment levels, since my Bogner XTC halfstack is at a studio......just for highgain soloing practice.

50W Marshall Jubilee w/MXR Classic OD pedal, into a Bogner 2-12 cab. It sounds amazing, to the point that I think buying an Egnater Tweaker would be a waste of money. I've been playing my Gibson Diablo SG with Burstbucker 2/1 into it, and that combo is so great, I love it.

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: Best high gain amp at low volumes

Just get a practice amp and a Duncan Metal mayhem style pedal. I must have a good ten grand worth of amps sitting around and I've just been going ballistic on a little Kustom '66 Dart Solid state practice and a modern high gain Metal pedal. Probably sound alot better on my 30 watt tube Crate though.

 

[Animal]

Re: Best high gain amp at low volumes

Blackstar HT-5. Blackstar HT-5. Blackstar HT-5.

 

[TheProphet]

Re: Best high gain amp at low volumes

I know it's not entirely helpful to this thread, but here's what I've been using for tube highgain at apartment levels, since my Bogner XTC halfstack is at a studio......just for highgain soloing practice.

50W Marshall Jubilee w/MXR Classic OD pedal, into a Bogner 2-12 cab. It sounds amazing, to the point that I think buying an Egnater Tweaker would be a waste of money. I've been playing my Gibson Diablo SG with Burstbucker 2/1 into it, and that combo is so great, I love it.

Hey GJ,

Does the Jubilee have a pentode/triode switch to go down to 25 watts? I believe I've seen it on Jubilees although I could be wrong. Do you run yours at the full 50?

 

[pinto79]

Re: Best high gain amp at low volumes

The Engl E530 Tube preamp is a brutal little 4 channel high gain monster that sounds great through headphones, or into any speaker cab using it's 2x1.5 watt power amp section.

One of them is next on my preamp gathering list.

 

[Warheart]

Re: Best high gain amp at low volumes

The Engl E530 Tube preamp is a brutal little 4 channel high gain monster that sounds great through headphones, or into any speaker cab using it's 2x1.5 watt power amp section.

One of them is next on my preamp gathering list.

Been dying to check out one of those! they seem pretty cool man! My only concern is that they seem to want 8ohm cabs? Everything I have is 16ohm.

 

[B2D]

Re: Best high gain amp at low volumes

Question - if it's ONLY for bedroom practicing, does it really have to be an actual amp?

I'm using a POD for all my home/practice needs and can't think of an amp that would satisfy me in the same way. I just plug in the headphones and get lost in my own little world and jam away without having to worry about disturbing others.

If you really want an amp so you can practice AND gig AND record with it well that's a different story.

 

[Nightburst]

Re: Best high gain amp at low volumes

Question - if it's ONLY for bedroom practicing, does it really have to be an actual amp?

I'm using a POD for all my home/practice needs and can't think of an amp that would satisfy me in the same way. I just plug in the headphones and get lost in my own little world and jam away without having to worry about disturbing others.

If you really want an amp so you can practice AND gig AND record with it well that's a different story.

Totally agree, just get a legal copy of amplitube or guitar rig, a good audio interface some headphones and your done for just a few hundred bucks. And you will get some very sweet tones on low volume or even better through your headphones.

 

[super rad stuff]

Re: Best high gain amp at low volumes

I'm currently using a peavey valveking 50w 112 it's pretty decent but I find myself wanting something more aggressive and able to retain that aggression at low volumes.

you got some sort of overdrive pedal? i've been messing around with mine at lower volumes, and on the dirt channel with gain boost on being driven by an overdrive(mxr classic OD specifically) it gets to metallica(MoP-black era) with the gain knob only up about 1/3. i can get those gainy types of tones without the OD, but the overdrive definitely adds some aggression.

so i say drop a few bucks on an OD first before you get another amp