good amp with wattage attenuation

[6stringerguy]

Re: good amp with wattage attenuation

yeah i checked out the dsl 40 due to the great price point versatility but i'm at twenty watts already and i get complaints

 

[kherman]

Re: good amp with wattage attenuation

Hughes & Kettner Grandmeister 36 or Tubemeister Deluxe 40.

Plenty of wattage for jamming with a band. But, have a built in soak to go to 1w, 5w, 18w, 36w (GM), 20w & 40w (TD).
Turn off the speaker all together (built in speaker load) and use the built in Redbox to go to your computer recording interface.

 

[Wattage]

Re: good amp with wattage attenuation

I like Oranges

TH30 or 30c if you want a combo, killer cleans and pretty righteous dirt

 

[6stringerguy]

Re: good amp with wattage attenuation

thanks for all the help guys
i'll buy the blackstar series one 50 if i can afford it, if not i'll go for the 6505 mh

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: good amp with wattage attenuation

Might not be what you are looking for but the Vox Valvetronix allows you to adjust the Wattage.

 

[6stringerguy]

Re: good amp with wattage attenuation

the only vox experience i have is the 1x12 vox night train cabinet with celestion greenback and that's my main cabinet currently with my micro dark

 

[stratguy23]

Re: good amp with wattage attenuation

This is my take on the "wattage at home" thing.

In my experience, 1 watt is the MAX I can use at home and get passable tube amp tone. I have a Marshall DSL1, and with normal hard rock crunch, I can get the volume to about 9 o'clock before it starts getting too loud/potentially neighbor bothering. If I switch to the 0.1 watt setting, I can get the volume to about noon or maybe 1 o'clock tops.

I found 5 watts unusable at home. I had the Blackstar HT-5, very nice amp, but I could barely crack the volume past, say, 8 o'clock, so the amp was barely breathing = not getting full tone.

So if you want to get a big amp and have it switch down to a lower wattage, IMO it has to go all the way down to 1 watt.

Grabbing this from elsewhere on the Internet:

40 watts is 94% as loud as 50 watts.
30 watts is 86% as loud as 50 watts.
25 watts is 81% as loud as 50 watts.
22 watts is 78% as loud as 50 watts.
20 watts is 76% as loud as 50 watts.
18 watts is 74% as loud as 50 watts.
15 watts is 70% as loud as 50 watts.
12 watts is 65% as loud as 50 watts.
10 watts is 62% as loud as 50 watts.
9 watts is 60% as loud as 50 watts.
8 watts is 56% as loud as 50 watts.
7 watts is 55% as loud as 50 watts.
6 watts is 53% as loud as 50 watts.
5 watts is 50% as loud as 50 watts.
4 watts is 47% as loud as 50 watts.
3 watts is 43% as loud as 50 watts.
2 watts is 38% as loud as 50 watts.
1 watt is 31% as loud as 50 watts.
3/4 watt is 28% as loud as 50 watts.
1/2 watt is 25% as loud as 50 watts.
1/4 watt is 20% as loud as 50 watts.
1/10 watt is 15% as loud as 50 watts.

The same source says that 5 watts is like playing a trumpet: http://www.amptone.com/g112.htm

 

[6stringerguy]

Re: good amp with wattage attenuation

so i guess the 6505mh is the only sensible choice??
i currently use a 20watt micro dark with the volume about 9 o'clock
so 25% of the full volume

 

[stratguy23]

Re: good amp with wattage attenuation

Well, if you must have a giggable amp with a bedroom setting and you're using high gain, then, yes, 6505 MH looks to be a good choice. The above mentioned Tubemeister and Grandmeisters are really good, too. H&K make good stuff - try it if you can.

Or, you could just get an attenuator and get any amp you want up to, say, 50 watts. Attenuating a 100W amp at home will only reduce from deafeningly loud to really loud.

Or, just get a little practice rig and have fewer moving parts/things to break in your gigging amp. A Marshall JVM1 might be just the thing in that respect (1 watt, goes down to 0.1 watt), there's one up now here:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Marshall-JVM-1c-MINT-/331925423650?hash=item4d484c0622:g:PJkAAOSwIgNXn10N

EDIT TO ADD: Your Micro Dark only has a tube in the preamp, and none in the power section, so theoretically you don't have to crank the volume to get it cooking; you would just turn up the preamp gain and adjust master volume to taste. In practice, however, I've found that the Micro Dark does sound better louder (well, everything does, I guess). If you're having volume problems running through the Micro Dark through a 12" cab, you could try running it through a 10" or 8" cab. You'll get lower volume, but the frequency response will change. Also, I find the Orange 8" cab that comes in a stack with the Micro Dark to be really bad. So if you get a good 10" or 8" cab, that could naturally knock down some volume and let you keep your Micro Dark.

 

[6stringerguy]

Re: good amp with wattage attenuation

okay if i get the 6505mh i could still run it through my vox 1x12 and just sell my micro dark buy the tc corona chorus i'm after

 

[Southbound Suarez]

Re: good amp with wattage attenuation

i love the tone of kt88 valves but could i switch out the el34 in the series one 50 watt for a pair of kt88s

Built in attenuator. Takes any combination of two output tubes: 6550, 6L6, 6CA7, 5881, EL34, KT90, KT77, KT66, 6V6(Lo-V Only) AND it also takes any combination of two preamp and drive tubes: 12AX7, 12AY7, 12AT7, 12AZ7, 12AU7, 12DW7, 7025, 6072, 6201, 6085, 7247, 5814, ECC83, 5751, ECC81, ECC186, 6189, ECC82

30W Class A

 

[Southbound Suarez]

Re: good amp with wattage attenuation

You're welcome!

 

[6stringerguy]

Re: good amp with wattage attenuation

could you switch out el84 for kt77?

 

[Southbound Suarez]

Re: good amp with wattage attenuation

could you switch out el84 for kt77?

The THD Bivalve will take EL84's with an adaptor from THD...

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/power-tubes/thd-triode-yellow-jacket-el84-adapter-for-uni-bivalve

You could even use one adaptor with an EL84, and plug in one KT77, that's just how versatile this amp is.

**KT77's are direct plug and play no biasing necessary. See Post# 31**

 

[6stringerguy]

Re: good amp with wattage attenuation

i'm not very knowledgeable about valves apart from i love the sound of kt77, kt88 and 6l6

 

[Southbound Suarez]

Re: good amp with wattage attenuation

i'm not very knowledgeable about valves apart from i love the sound of kt77, kt88 and 6l6

The THD Bivalve amp can do any combination of two of your aforementioned (KT77, KT88, 6L6) tubes.

 

[6stringerguy]

Re: good amp with wattage attenuation

i can barely find any thd bivalve's in the uk

 

[Southbound Suarez]

Re: good amp with wattage attenuation

i can barely find any thd bivalve's in the uk

If you "barely" find one, then scarf one up as they're no longer made (unfortunately). I presently have Saratov KT66's, and GT NOS Mullard 12AX7's in mine and the way I have the controls set, you could not tonally tell the difference between a Marshall JTM45 and this amp. I'm currently playing the THD Bivalve through my Marshall 2061CX dual 12" slant front cab w/Anniversary 30 Celestions.

One of the things I really love about this amp is, if you have a stash of tubes and they range from old, used, new, etc. you can use them all as the amp senses the current requirement of each tube no matter the condition of wear or age, and provides what that tube specifically needs in the way of current for its best operation. It's a tube swappers delight, and in some ways a tube tester as well. If you have a tube stash then you should never have to buy another tube again unless you desire to.

 

[6stringerguy]

Re: good amp with wattage attenuation

hi been a while but i've narrowed it down to the the peavey 6505mh or the engl ironball 20 and egnater rebel 20 mk2
any thoughts?

 

[NjuiMusic]

Re: good amp with wattage attenuation

Hughes & Kettner 36w is amazing. does 36w/18w/5w/1w