misterwhizzy
Well-known member
Re: Good high-gain tube amp for bedroom-level tones?
I know it's on the cheaper side of things, but how about a Blackstar HT-20?
I know it's on the cheaper side of things, but how about a Blackstar HT-20?
Good high-gain tube amp for bedroom-level tones?
- Thread starter nikosteph
- Start date
Re: Good high-gain tube amp for bedroom-level tones?
I tried a couple of the Blackstars a while back, and to be honest the gain wasn't quite as high and saturated as I'd hoped. It's weird, I have a very particular sound in my head, and the Blackstars are great for classic and hard rock, but were a little too muddy and not as sharp and aggressive as I wanted. I kind of feel the same way about most Marshall amps I've tried, which is why I drifted more towards the Engl and Mesa Boogie-type amps...
I tried a couple of the Blackstars a while back, and to be honest the gain wasn't quite as high and saturated as I'd hoped. It's weird, I have a very particular sound in my head, and the Blackstars are great for classic and hard rock, but were a little too muddy and not as sharp and aggressive as I wanted. I kind of feel the same way about most Marshall amps I've tried, which is why I drifted more towards the Engl and Mesa Boogie-type amps...
SirJackdeFuzz
New member
Re: Good high-gain tube amp for bedroom-level tones?
Randall have some good High Gain all valve amps :
Randall have some good High Gain all valve amps :
SirJackdeFuzz
New member
Re: Good high-gain tube amp for bedroom-level tones?
It might say Overdrive on the face plate, but they are known to be very high gain units.
It might say Overdrive on the face plate, but they are known to be very high gain units.
GilmourD
Burritotoneologist
Re: Good high-gain tube amp for bedroom-level tones?
A 50 watter in his bedroom might relocate his bed, though.
I figured the 5 watt Randall might work well cuz even turned up it's not going to kill anybody but will still get those tubes working.
It might say Overdrive on the face plate, but they are known to be very high gain units.
A 50 watter in his bedroom might relocate his bed, though.
I figured the 5 watt Randall might work well cuz even turned up it's not going to kill anybody but will still get those tubes working.
SirJackdeFuzz
New member
Re: Good high-gain tube amp for bedroom-level tones?
Bolt the bed down !
:wave:
A 50 watter in his bedroom might relocate his bed, though.
I figured the 5 watt Randall might work well cuz even turned up it's not going to kill anybody but will still get those tubes working.
Bolt the bed down !
:wave:
SirJackdeFuzz
New member
Re: Good high-gain tube amp for bedroom-level tones?
Here is a 'small' hi-gain amp that i always wanted to try.
http://www.skymusic.com.au/Krank-Krankenstein-JNR-20w-head.html
Here is a 'small' hi-gain amp that i always wanted to try.
http://www.skymusic.com.au/Krank-Krankenstein-JNR-20w-head.html
Re: Good high-gain tube amp for bedroom-level tones?
Thanks for all the great suggestions, lots more good options to look into! I had the chance to go to a Guitar Center earlier this week and try out a few contenders, and here were my impressions. For a guitar I used an ESP M-II with passive pickups (I'm assuming the JB/Jazz, but the pickups didn't have the SD logo on them, so who knows...).
- Engl Ironball: probably still my first choice; great saturated sound, lots of sonic territory, great power attenuator
- Engl Gigmaster: also great, but not quite as full-on metal capable as the Ironball. Similar in sound and feel, and quite nice, but I prefer the Ironball
- Orange Dark Terror: did not like this at all! Too tinny/shrill unless I dialed back the single eq knob most of the way. Not nearly thick and aggressive enough...
- Hughes & Kettner 36: I was very pleasantly surprised by this one! Vies with the Ironball for the top spot. Huge range of tones, great distortion, the effects are cool. I was especially surprised because in the past I didn't like H&K amps, they were never high-gain enough. Guess this one is different...
- EVH 5150 III head: not a huge fan, I must admit. Again, the distortion wasn't as saturated, and seemed too shrill for my taste, despite fiddling with the knobs. I played this through a 2x12 EVH cab, and I read somewhere that you need to let the speakers break in a bit before they sound good, so maybe that was it. Also, this one did not have an attenuator (like the combo does), so I could only play "bedroom-level" volume with the master very low
I still want to try the Mini Rectifier, which GC doesn't carry (they don't carry any Mesa products! Such a disappointment). I did try a used Triple Rec they have (yeah, total overkill, I know), but I'm just not gelling with the rectifier sound. It sort of sounds the way the amp looks: like a metallic treadplate roaring down the pavement. I can definitely see the appeal for others, but it wasn't "wet" enough of a distortion for my taste, if that makes sense. That being said, I do love to run a boost pedal (the EP Booster, which is a magic little box) into any tube amp to thicken up the tone a bit, so maybe that would help.
Definitely want to try the 6505 mini head; I didn't much like the 6505+ combo in the past, but then again I couldn't run it with the master over 1 or it would be too loud, so maybe the mini head attenuation will help. And some of the other amps in this thread, like the Jet City or the Randall, look quite promising as well.
Thanks again everyone!
Thanks for all the great suggestions, lots more good options to look into! I had the chance to go to a Guitar Center earlier this week and try out a few contenders, and here were my impressions. For a guitar I used an ESP M-II with passive pickups (I'm assuming the JB/Jazz, but the pickups didn't have the SD logo on them, so who knows...).
- Engl Ironball: probably still my first choice; great saturated sound, lots of sonic territory, great power attenuator
- Engl Gigmaster: also great, but not quite as full-on metal capable as the Ironball. Similar in sound and feel, and quite nice, but I prefer the Ironball
- Orange Dark Terror: did not like this at all! Too tinny/shrill unless I dialed back the single eq knob most of the way. Not nearly thick and aggressive enough...
- Hughes & Kettner 36: I was very pleasantly surprised by this one! Vies with the Ironball for the top spot. Huge range of tones, great distortion, the effects are cool. I was especially surprised because in the past I didn't like H&K amps, they were never high-gain enough. Guess this one is different...
- EVH 5150 III head: not a huge fan, I must admit. Again, the distortion wasn't as saturated, and seemed too shrill for my taste, despite fiddling with the knobs. I played this through a 2x12 EVH cab, and I read somewhere that you need to let the speakers break in a bit before they sound good, so maybe that was it. Also, this one did not have an attenuator (like the combo does), so I could only play "bedroom-level" volume with the master very low
I still want to try the Mini Rectifier, which GC doesn't carry (they don't carry any Mesa products! Such a disappointment). I did try a used Triple Rec they have (yeah, total overkill, I know), but I'm just not gelling with the rectifier sound. It sort of sounds the way the amp looks: like a metallic treadplate roaring down the pavement. I can definitely see the appeal for others, but it wasn't "wet" enough of a distortion for my taste, if that makes sense. That being said, I do love to run a boost pedal (the EP Booster, which is a magic little box) into any tube amp to thicken up the tone a bit, so maybe that would help.
Definitely want to try the 6505 mini head; I didn't much like the 6505+ combo in the past, but then again I couldn't run it with the master over 1 or it would be too loud, so maybe the mini head attenuation will help. And some of the other amps in this thread, like the Jet City or the Randall, look quite promising as well.
Thanks again everyone!
Edgecrusher
New member
Re: Good high-gain tube amp for bedroom-level tones?
They used to... then Mesa cut them off. Basically GC wanted to buy on credit and Mesa doesnt do business that way.
They used to... then Mesa cut them off. Basically GC wanted to buy on credit and Mesa doesnt do business that way.
jclogston
New member
Re: Good high-gain tube amp for bedroom-level tones?
I have the Ironball for this purpose. Just bought an used Randall RM22 w/ Deluxe and XTC modules so excited to see how this works. Ended up getting that as i am impatient and who knows when the peavey 6505 mini head will come out....
I have the Ironball for this purpose. Just bought an used Randall RM22 w/ Deluxe and XTC modules so excited to see how this works. Ended up getting that as i am impatient and who knows when the peavey 6505 mini head will come out....
Re: Good high-gain tube amp for bedroom-level tones?
My EVH iii 2x12 came in a few days ago. I had the same concern about volume so I got the combo that attenuates from 50 to 1 watt. At 1 watt I can play and practice at a very reasonable level. It doesn't bother anyone in my house. It doesn't sound as good as if it was fully cranked up because my speakers are not pushing massive air but it sounds damn good and the harmonics are all there as well as the gain cuz the tubes are still cooking. Lower wattage speakers react better at lower wattage where as higher wattage speakers need to be pushed harder with more wattage to react the same way. for now I am gunna leave in the greenbacks because at the moment i am not playing out anywhere big and don't need to crank my amp up all the way so for jammin with the guys or practice its just fine.
My combo amp allows me to practice at low volume so that works well for me and is still flexible enough to play loud and jam with the guys. It covers alot of bases for me. You can get a little solid state combo amp to play at very low volumes or small 5 watt tube amp to do this and still get a like a 50 watt Marshall DSL to jam loud on. That works too. I just wanted one amp that I was used to that would do it all. Good gad I had to pay for it but it was really worth it to me and I sold off all my little practice amps cuz I don't need them anymore. With all my gain on tap I don't need a bunch of damn pedals ether.
The trade off is you can simplify if your amp can do both and using 1 amp is a great way to really know your gear and get the most out of it. it also saves on space so your room doesn't look like a pawn shop of odd amps. It can be expensive but many new amps have this feature now helping you save money with a single purchase. In the old days people just bought little Pig Nose amps to practice on around the house before cranking their Marshall or Fender heads to play live.
My EVH iii 2x12 came in a few days ago. I had the same concern about volume so I got the combo that attenuates from 50 to 1 watt. At 1 watt I can play and practice at a very reasonable level. It doesn't bother anyone in my house. It doesn't sound as good as if it was fully cranked up because my speakers are not pushing massive air but it sounds damn good and the harmonics are all there as well as the gain cuz the tubes are still cooking. Lower wattage speakers react better at lower wattage where as higher wattage speakers need to be pushed harder with more wattage to react the same way. for now I am gunna leave in the greenbacks because at the moment i am not playing out anywhere big and don't need to crank my amp up all the way so for jammin with the guys or practice its just fine.
My combo amp allows me to practice at low volume so that works well for me and is still flexible enough to play loud and jam with the guys. It covers alot of bases for me. You can get a little solid state combo amp to play at very low volumes or small 5 watt tube amp to do this and still get a like a 50 watt Marshall DSL to jam loud on. That works too. I just wanted one amp that I was used to that would do it all. Good gad I had to pay for it but it was really worth it to me and I sold off all my little practice amps cuz I don't need them anymore. With all my gain on tap I don't need a bunch of damn pedals ether.
The trade off is you can simplify if your amp can do both and using 1 amp is a great way to really know your gear and get the most out of it. it also saves on space so your room doesn't look like a pawn shop of odd amps. It can be expensive but many new amps have this feature now helping you save money with a single purchase. In the old days people just bought little Pig Nose amps to practice on around the house before cranking their Marshall or Fender heads to play live.
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Re: Good high-gain tube amp for bedroom-level tones?
this is not a bad option and its cheap like $300
this is not a bad option and its cheap like $300
Re: Good high-gain tube amp for bedroom-level tones?
The Splawn Supersport is a great sounding amp and at 20 watts with the "loop level" control it can get it done at lower volumes. I put quotes on the words loop level because the knob has nothing to do with the level of the EFX loop, it acts as a volume put after the power section (I think that is right) where it takes whatever tone/gain level you have and makes it louder or quieter without changing the sound. You would have to want a more "modern" Marshall type of sound though.
The Splawn Supersport is a great sounding amp and at 20 watts with the "loop level" control it can get it done at lower volumes. I put quotes on the words loop level because the knob has nothing to do with the level of the EFX loop, it acts as a volume put after the power section (I think that is right) where it takes whatever tone/gain level you have and makes it louder or quieter without changing the sound. You would have to want a more "modern" Marshall type of sound though.
stephen 37772012
New member
Re: Good high-gain tube amp for bedroom-level tones?
I use a VOX VT-30. Its solid state with a tube preamp, and a dozen amp options, dozens of sound options and presets, and for banks. And all the different style gains your looking for. 30 watts thats adjustable down to 5 if you choose. Pretty versitile
I use a VOX VT-30. Its solid state with a tube preamp, and a dozen amp options, dozens of sound options and presets, and for banks. And all the different style gains your looking for. 30 watts thats adjustable down to 5 if you choose. Pretty versitile
stephen 37772012
New member
Re: Good high-gain tube amp for bedroom-level tones?
stephen 37772012
New member
Re: Good high-gain tube amp for bedroom-level tones?
Iron1
New member
Re: Good high-gain tube amp for bedroom-level tones?
Have you tried the ID:Core series? I picked up a 40 and can almost get the exact tone I used to get from my JCM900 stack, but at a volume level that won't even drown out the TV. It even has the emulated trailing cabinet >woomph< when chugging. It has that ISF knob that allows you to sweep from "US to UK" tones, which I'm assuming is more defined Mesa Boogie to muddier Marshall tones. And, like anything I've ever used, it needs some sort of boost from a pedal or whatnot to give it the push over the edge in the gain department.
Have you tried the ID:Core series? I picked up a 40 and can almost get the exact tone I used to get from my JCM900 stack, but at a volume level that won't even drown out the TV. It even has the emulated trailing cabinet >woomph< when chugging. It has that ISF knob that allows you to sweep from "US to UK" tones, which I'm assuming is more defined Mesa Boogie to muddier Marshall tones. And, like anything I've ever used, it needs some sort of boost from a pedal or whatnot to give it the push over the edge in the gain department.
Re: Good high-gain tube amp for bedroom-level tones?
Ah okay, interesting! I asked the guys at GC why but none of them knew (or they wouldn't tell me...). Pity though.
Ah okay, interesting! I asked the guys at GC why but none of them knew (or they wouldn't tell me...). Pity though.
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