suggestions for a tone monster apartment amp...

[jmv]

Okay so....

I used to be really big into guitars and whatnot. I started out owning some basic beginner stuff, found this place and learned me some stuff about gear, and went out and bought some nice stuff (gibson les paul and a 1966 fender bassman halfstack). Unfortunately, the past couple of years my music has turned to a different direction, i've had alot less time on my hands, and other interests began to preoccupy my time and money. There was a period of about 2 years where i could count the times i played guitar on one hand.

I finally pulled out my gibby and brought it to my apartment though. I've been playing on it without an amp and its getting old, i miss the bassman but it couldn't hardly fit in the apartment much less produce good tones at manageable apartment volumes.

The guy who sold me the bassman had a 50s gibson GA5 skylark, it was a badass little amp and i'm kinda looking for something along those lines. Its supposed to be VERY close in circuitry to the tweed champ.

Considering i'm a poor college kid, what can you guys reccomend for someone looking for nice dirty tube tone at apartment levels??


Thanks,
Jason

 

[jmh151]

Re: suggestions for a tone monster apartment amp...

Orange Tiny Terror

 

[jmv]

Re: suggestions for a tone monster apartment amp...

did some quick reading on that, looks nice. I would prefer a combo though, for space purposes. Shoulda mentioned that.

Also, is a class A amp running at 7 watts still too loud to crank in an apartment without seriously annoying the neightbors??

 

[guitfiddle]

Re: suggestions for a tone monster apartment amp...

Epiphone or Blackheart 5 watt combo.

 

[J Moose]

Re: suggestions for a tone monster apartment amp...

Get one of those old Gibsons if you dig 'em...

They can still be had for reasonable prices... Great amps.

WAAAAY kooler then an Epiphone head. I was seriously underwhelmed by them after reading all the interknot hype.

Lots of other sleepers out there too...

 

[jerryjg]

Re: suggestions for a tone monster apartment amp...

what about a champ 600? Theres one for sale right now on the Trader forum.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: suggestions for a tone monster apartment amp...

i really like the epiphone valve jr...new tubes and a decent speaker and you're doin fine.

the blackheart head is almost the same with more knobs. i haven't heard it yet but i'm thinkin of getting one for pretty much the same situation you're in. my 68 bassman's a little too loud too :smokin:

 

[ericmeyer4]

Re: suggestions for a tone monster apartment amp...

I have found that a 6 watt Fender Vibrochamp was too loud to run at apparment levels. This may not be true in your situation though. To get around this I have a PODxt for making demos and a Vox DA5 for general practice. I leave the vox set on the .5 watt mode and keep the volume around 2-3.

I'm not claiming that these are end all be alls for apartment playing, but they have served me well so far.

 

[jmv]

Re: suggestions for a tone monster apartment amp...

i may try and get an old gibson skylark. I'm leary of ebay though.... never used it before because i'm always afraid of a bum deal.

What can you guys say about the champ 600 and/or the Epi valve junior??

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: suggestions for a tone monster apartment amp...

Look for something on Ebay...a 50's Gibson GA-20 would be nice. Or something smaller. Your neighbors will hear you wailing through any amp though if you live in an apartment building where you share walls, floors and ceilings with other apartment dwellers. Still: look on ebay and don't buy from anyone who has less than a 99% positive feedback report. And do read the negative feedbacks the person has gotten. If the seller is in the 99% positive category, he or she is probably trust worthy. Almost everyone has had a couple of bad experiences on ebay and received a negative or two...it's normal. And as often as not, it's because they sold to or bought from someone who is a bit of a jerk and should have cut the buyer/seller a little slack and not left a negative anyway. But hardly anyone has 100% positive feedback...99% is close enough, IMO, to make a seller probably trustworthy. Especially if they've had a few hundred or more transactions. Lew

 

[gnoj_LL]

Re: suggestions for a tone monster apartment amp...

palomino V8. simple 5 watter. its a nice sounding dirty small tube amp that has a creamy tone. (US voiced tone) its easy on the budget too

 

[Hoss]

Re: suggestions for a tone monster apartment amp...

Epiphone or Blackheart 5 watt combo.

i'll second that...or a Pro Junior or Blues Junior?!

 

[Lu_B]

Re: suggestions for a tone monster apartment amp...

i really like the epiphone valve jr...new tubes and a decent speaker and you're doin fine.

Couldn't agree more - I've got the special as opposed to the junior. Threw a celestion tube 10 speaker in mine about 6 months ago, great move improved the tone no end. Then this weekend I replaced the tubes with JJ's and couldn't be happier - getting some really nice smooth clean tones

 

[Simon_F]

Re: suggestions for a tone monster apartment amp...

Wecome back Jason! Haven't seen you in a long time!

 

[jmv]

Re: suggestions for a tone monster apartment amp...

Wecome back Jason! Haven't seen you in a long time!

Glad to see someone here remembers me!!

Thanks for all the suggestions guys, if anyone else has any helpful insight go ahead and throw it on out there!!

 

[jmv]

Re: suggestions for a tone monster apartment amp...

a thought just struck me....

i have a full-wall closet with sliding doors that i have barely anything in. Its ~24" deep, and my bassman, with flight case, is ~14" deep. if i took out a shelf it could fit in there fine, although getting at it to remove the top of the case would be a pain. If i got an attenuator, would i be able to bring a 50w tube halfstack down to manageable levels?? I don't know much of anything about attenuation except to know that it exists.

 

[Rich_S]

Re: suggestions for a tone monster apartment amp...

An attenuator CAN bring your Bassman down to apartment levels, but it won't sound the same. A lot of the tube amp mojo comes from puxhing everything, even the speakers, to a certain extent.

Since you're apparently a Fender Guy, I would look into a Champ (used silverface ones are in the $250-$350 range), or a Champ 600 (if you want something new). I think the Palomino V8 is more Brit-sounding. The Blues Junior is too powerful for an apartment.

Be warned: even a Champ is too loud for an apartment, unless you neighbors are all musicians and/or like you a whole lot and/or you play real good. The good news is, attenuators for little amps are cheap - look into a Weber MiniMASS or even a plain old Radio Shack L-Pad speaker volume control.

 

[J Moose]

Re: suggestions for a tone monster apartment amp...

i have a full-wall closet with sliding doors that i have barely anything in. Its ~24" deep, and my bassman, with flight case, is ~14" deep. if i took out a shelf it could fit in there fine, although getting at it to remove the top of the case would be a pain. If i got an attenuator, would i be able to bring a 50w tube halfstack down to manageable levels?? I don't know much of anything about attenuation except to know that it exists.

Probably a bad idea to shove it in the closet...

You'll encounter what's called the proximity/boundary effect which states that for each surface the cabinet is next to you pick up an additional 3dB of low end. So pushing the amp against a wall is +3dB, into a corner is +6 dB... in a closet where it's trapped on all sides that's +12dB...

Low end is what travels through walls easiest & is hardest to stop. Best to leave the amp in an "open" room.

On the flip side... attenuation works! You can totally bring a raging JCM800 or whatever down to the same relative level as a TV or stereo system. Going from a 4x12 to a 1x12 or 2x10 cabinet would also work in your favor... less speakers means less air getting displaced = less neighbor annoying volume.

 

[Hot _Grits]

Re: suggestions for a tone monster apartment amp...

Either go for a zvex nano head or an attenuator. Or both, if you need to keep things really quiet. Attenuators generally tend to leave the sound uncoloured up to about a 15db drop and usually start sounding pretty compressed after that. It all depends on how picky you are. For some people it's fine, others don't like it.

If you've got some money check out the Carr Mercury, which will go down to 1/10 of a watt, or the Suhr Badger, which is equipped with power scaling, a technology that works like an attenuator but sounds a lot more natural.

If you love your bassman's tone to bits, consider getting a good tech to fit a power scaling kit from London Power. We are going to see more and more power scaling equipped amps over the coming years. it's an awesome technology.

 

[CrazyD]

Re: suggestions for a tone monster apartment amp...

It's not to do with watts, IMO, because 7 watts cranked is incredibly loud.

It's to do with an amp that has a great "working" Master Volume, that sounds great at low volumes.

Then it's to do with 2 channels, a Fenderish clean, and a Marshallish crunch to hi gain.

For me that = Rivera.