High Wattage Amps & Apartments.....

[Surgeon]

Re: High Wattage Amps & Apartments.....

It all comes down to you neighbors man... My 1watt killer ant was too loud for one of the buildings (read neighbors) where I lived a few years ago...

Always makes me laugh when I read guys recommending 15-20 watters (tube) for bedroom or appartment.

A smaller modeler would be, IMO, better than using your recto (which you could keep for gigs or jams out anyways).

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: High Wattage Amps & Apartments.....

Pignose or similar amps are a decent option. The Pignose was my only dirt pedal for a few years. Fed it into my Princeton. Some of them have headphone jacks too.

 

[AudioWonderland]

Re: High Wattage Amps & Apartments.....

The more I think about it the more I'm actually considering selling the Roadster and getting one of the New Mini Recto 25s and running a reverb pedal through it. I'm gonna have to sleep on that one for a while though as I'm afraid I may regret it. It's just when I consider the future and a few other things it makes the most sense to me, I'm partially torn as I kinda feel like the Roadster is going to waste because I live with my parents at the moment, don't even gig, and the situation will only get more strict when I move to an appartment. Not only that but quite 4 channels is much more than I know what to do with. Cranking my Roadster yesterday while my parents weren't home was what got me thinking about this. The more I cranked it the better it sounded and now I'm not sure I can live with low volumes and whatnot.

Something like the egnater Tweaker 15 might be a nice option. Lots of options to dial in a sound, master volume, only 15 watts and very affordable. It won't break the bank which should let you keep the big amp for gigs etc.

A Gamma for under the speaker cab would be a good idea also

 

[GuitarGuy503]

Re: High Wattage Amps & Apartments.....

Something like the egnater Tweaker 15 might be a nice option. Lots of options to dial in a sound, master volume, only 15 watts and very affordable. It won't break the bank which should let you keep the big amp for gigs etc.

A Gamma for under the speaker cab would be a good idea also

Gamma? :scratchch *Update* Figured it out.....

 

[gvis]

Re: High Wattage Amps & Apartments.....

I used an attenuator with a partial isolation box for years in a tiny middle unit townhouse. Still loud, but not nearly as loud as without them. No one ever complained, although it was in the basement. Apartment may be a different animal.

Now I'm finally in a single family home, though now married with kids, so the only ones I'm annoying now are the ones in the house. But man it feels sooo good to crank full volume for a change.

 

[StratKat]

Re: High Wattage Amps & Apartments.....

Go over to this place, read the chart at the top and then think about what youre going to do.

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/archive/index.php/t-795837.html

50 watts is barely discernible next to 100 watts and 25 watts is 81% as loud as 50 watts! Loll!! My answer was to build and buy a couple of 1/2 to 2 watt amps and even those are as loud as Hell when you crank em but what they are goodat is lowering the break-up point down to something I (And the wife and kid!) can live with.

I sold off my 100 watt Peavey amp and I still have my 65 watt tube amp (Thats been gathering dust and is currently for sale.) but I'm looking at one of the Fender Mustangs to complement my little tube amps.In the club environments these days, I cant imagine needing more that 8 watts of tube amp into a 2x12 but then again, given the choice, I'll always chose a smaller car over a larger one and if youre into the Recto shoud, you're going to need that characteristic to be completely happy.

If you can find someone who has one, try one of these. I bought mine when they first came out and I love it! (Aint no recto tho!): http://www.surprisesoundlab.com/ssl-22_003.htm

 

[Surgeon]

Re: High Wattage Amps & Apartments.....

Go over to this place, read the chart at the top and then think about what youre going to do.

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/archive/index.php/t-795837.html

50 watts is barely discernible next to 100 watts and 25 watts is 81% as loud as 50 watts! Loll!! My answer was to build and buy a couple of 1/2 to 2 watt amps and even those are as loud as Hell when you crank em but what they are goodat is lowering the break-up point down to something I (And the wife and kid!) can live with.

I sold off my 100 watt Peavey amp and I still have my 65 watt tube amp (Thats been gathering dust and is currently for sale.) but I'm looking at one of the Fender Mustangs to complement my little tube amps.In the club environments these days, I cant imagine needing more that 8 watts of tubes.

If you can find someone who has one, try one of these. I bought mine when they first came out and I love it!: http://www.surprisesoundlab.com/ssl-22_003.htm

While this is all true, when we're not thinking of bedroom/appartment play, there's the question of clean headroom that enters the equation.

 

[GuitarGuy503]

Re: High Wattage Amps & Apartments.....

Go over to this place, read the chart at the top and then think about what youre going to do.

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/archive/index.php/t-795837.html

50 watts is barely discernible next to 100 watts and 25 watts is 81% as loud as 50 watts! Loll!! My answer was to build and buy a couple of 1/2 to 2 watt amps and even those are as loud as Hell when you crank em but what they are goodat is lowering the break-up point down to something I (And the wife and kid!) can live with.

I sold off my 100 watt Peavey amp and I still have my 65 watt tube amp (Thats been gathering dust and is currently for sale.) but I'm looking at one of the Fender Mustangs to complement my little tube amps.In the club environments these days, I cant imagine needing more that 8 watts of tube amp into a 2x12 but then again, given the choice, I'll always chose a smaller car over a larger one and if youre into the Recto shoud, you're going to need that characteristic to be completely happy.

If you can find someone who has one, try one of these. I bought mine when they first came out and I love it! (Aint no recto tho!): http://www.surprisesoundlab.com/ssl-22_003.htm

Some good information here, thanks. I'd wondered how much of a difference there was between 100/50 watts and 25watts but it appears the difference is still pretty minimal. lol Evidentally, 10/25 watts still much more than I really need but if I wanna keep the Rectifier flavor it is the minimum wattage I can go. Wattage ratings are so misleading it's crazy....

 

[Grenade]

Re: High Wattage Amps & Apartments.....

I have a three room apt. and upstairs neighbors.Master volumes on my 120watt DIME are on about 1.5 and my Bassman 70 master is on 7 with channel volumes on 3. It sounds better cranked but I can talk to my student over this volume.

 

[Van Noord]

Re: High Wattage Amps & Apartments.....

I play 120, 100 and 50 watt amps at all volume levels. At low volume I raise the master volume and lower the channel volume and often boost the gain channel. My 1 year old and wife sleep just fine while I quietly crunch and thump away.
I've done the small amp thing and they just simply sound small. The whole volume debate aside, small amps feel small. I get much better results with big amps at low volumes.
If you're unable to make a 100 watt master volume amp sound good at low volume then sorry, but that's a dial turning and equipment use deficiency on the owners part.

 

[Jessie's ghost]

Re: High Wattage Amps & Apartments.....

I play my 100-watt TSL100 half stack in an apartment. I don't play it loud at all, but that amp still sounds good to me turned down low. And I have modeling stuff, too, and a Mesa/Boogie 1x12 combo, so I'm not wanting for good sound at home.

 

[GuitarGuy503]

Re: High Wattage Amps & Apartments.....

At low volume I raise the master volume and lower the channel volume and often boost the gain channel. My 1 year old and wife sleep just fine while I quietly crunch and thump away.

I'll give this a shot and see what kind of results I get. How much would one set the master volume and output to? Is there a point where to much can lead to bad feedback or anything? I guess I just want to avoid any obnoxious surprises..... lol

 

[Van Noord]

Re: High Wattage Amps & Apartments.....

I'll give this a shot and see what kind of results I get. How much would one set the master volume and output to? Is there a point where to much can lead to bad feedback or anything? I guess I just want to avoid any obnoxious surprises..... lol

On my Recto I set the output to 5/10. 6/10 at the most, past that and noise can start. (depending on your power tubes) I then put the channel volume at 1/10.
In modern mode I set the gain to 5/10 and boost it with an OD pedal.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: High Wattage Amps & Apartments.....

When I was rocking high wattage heads, I used a combination of Hot Plate (set to a mild attenuation) going into an iso cab and then set it in another room. I then fed the mic signal into a preamp and used either headphones or monitors at my desired volume to have my cake and eat it, too.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: High Wattage Amps & Apartments.....

I've done the small amp thing and they just simply sound small. The whole volume debate aside, small amps feel small. I get much better results with big amps at low volumes.

I used to feel the same way as you and really believed anything under 50W was a big sonic compromise. Since then I've discovered some great under 20 Watt amps and high efficiency drivers allow me to get power amp distortion at quite reasonable levels. (ie, gig levels, not home practice levels)

In the main I agree with you, however -- a lot of small wattage amps sound either small or like toys. There are a few exceptions to this rule, however (Dr Z, Komet, EAST are the first ones that spring to mind).

 

[James Rock]

Re: High Wattage Amps & Apartments.....

Also to note I think the main problem is sound escaping if loud tv volumes on your amp upset neighbours then you really need to either live with being in practical silence, move or someone stop so much noise escaping. I live on a busy street so can pump music loud outside noone complains but if I play my peavey rage above 12 o clock i have to make sure no one is home because it can be heard loudly everywhere in the house due to the thin ass walls and thats just a 15 watt ss combo

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: High Wattage Amps & Apartments.....

I used to feel the same way as you and really believed anything under 50W was a big sonic compromise. Since then I've discovered some great under 20 Watt amps and high efficiency drivers allow me to get power amp distortion at quite reasonable levels. (ie, gig levels, not home practice levels)

In the main I agree with you, however -- a lot of small wattage amps sound either small or like toys. There are a few exceptions to this rule, however (Dr Z, Komet, EAST are the first ones that spring to mind).

I have always felt the opposite. I view high-wattage amps as being more of a compromise. I use them when sheer volume is required, but tonally, my favorite two amps are 15W 1x12 and 12W 1x10 combos...by FAR. And one of my favorite amps that I DON'T own is a black-face Vibro Champ, which is even tinier. Up there with my top-5 favorite guitar tones ever is Esquire through a Fender Harvard, also a very tiny amp. The ideal amp to me would have the tone of a small class A Ampeg combo, but the volume of a 40W Marshall.

The one exception is my Ampeg V-4. It is hands down the best 100W amp I have ever heard, tonally speaking.

 

[Stratman]

Re: High Wattage Amps & Apartments.....

WOW!

When I lived in Texas, my neighbors used to come over, drink beer and jam with me.

Heck, the apartment management used to have us play at the pool parties.

Maybe, your playing is not so good?

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: High Wattage Amps & Apartments.....

One cheap tool I've always used for choking off volume in an FX loop is the Alesis Nanoverb. You can find them for $50-$60 nowadays, and the input, mix, output, adjust knobs allow me to tame the volume, add reverb, and inject a bit of signal into the input, to make up for anything lost by not driving the power amp harder.

For this reason, I prefer amps that always have FX loops. I can deal with no reverb, but I really need amps to have an FX loop, so I can use it to choke down the volume with 1 piece of rack gear while adding verb, delay, or EQ.

 

[GuitarGuy503]

Re: High Wattage Amps & Apartments.....

On my Recto I set the output to 5/10. 6/10 at the most, past that and noise can start. (depending on your power tubes) I then put the channel volume at 1/10.
In modern mode I set the gain to 5/10 and boost it with an OD pedal.

It actually seemed to help quite a bit thanks.