Tube amps

I laid down on a Laney cub 8 tubed amp for my intro into valve territory. Is this a good choice? It's only a 5 watter , too low in wattage? If so I can work on obtaining an Orange Tiny Terror instead.
 
Re: Tube amps

Tube amps, like any other piece of gear, are just tools made to do a job. It's impossible for us to tell whether we think you got the right tool without knowing more about the job you intend to do with it.

5 watts should be plenty for moderate-volume home playing.
 
Re: Tube amps

I have a Laney Cub 12 which is 15 watts with a 1 watt option. Like Adam said, amps are definitely just a tool for the job. There are many different kinds of tubes and many variable factors for tube amps to get a different tone in the end.

Over the years I have owned a few different tube amps. I have owned 6L6 amps, a KT77 loaded amp, EL34 amp an a EL84 amp. I have found reasons to love all of them and I have not found too many reasons to dislike any of them. For the most part if there is something you do not like about one you can either swap out the tubes for a new brand, swap out the speaker or if the amp is lacking something you are looking for (like a 3 band EQ or a Master Volume knob) you can always sell the amp to buy one that has what you're looking for.

So, let's talk about my Laney Cub 12 a bit as it may be relevant to your question. I love mine, it is an EL84 amp. The stock speaker is pretty bad but gets the job done. Replace the speaker and the amp becomes a fire breathing dragon compared to the gecko it started out as. 15 watts of tube power is enough to gig with and for gain/overdrive music it is enough to rehearse with a live drummer with. For clean guitar songs you may need to buy an Echoplex booster or something similar if your drummer drives nails into his set. Now, your question was about 5 watts. Is 5 watts too low? It depends on your desired use of the amp. One of the benefits of a tube amp is finding the sweet spot or breakup zone of the amp. For a 5 watt tube amp it will blow your socks off in a bedroom to find this zone. Even when I play my Laney on the 1 watt mode for home practice and home recording it is loud. Windows rattle with only 1 watt of tube power my friend. Is 5 watts enough for gigging? Yes but with an asterisk... you will likely have to run a mic through the PA system to do so (which you would do even with a 40 or 50 watt amp in a big enough joint). Is it enough for band practice? Sure, if your drummer plays pretty quietly. It will likely struggle to hold it's own next to most drummers I have played with though. Is 5 watts enough to piss off the neighbors? Depends on if you live in a house or apartment. 5 watts will definitely piss off apartment neighbors.

I hope that helps! Laney makes good amps for the money IMO.
 
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Re: Tube amps

Hey thanx all!! I think my main worry is build quality. I like high gain most of the time through a 4x12 cab with 3 Mojo Tones & a Celestion gt hot 100 drivers installed in it. Will it drive it well?
 
Re: Tube amps

Hey thanx all!! I think my main worry is build quality. I like high gain most of the time through a 4x12 cab with 3 Mojo Tones & a Celestion gt hot 100 drivers installed in it. Will it drive it well?

If the Ωhm ratings match up correctly it will work. Drive it? Not sure as I have only used a 2x12 cab with 5 watt amps in the past.
 
Re: Tube amps

Hey thanx all!! I think my main worry is build quality. I like high gain most of the time through a 4x12 cab with 3 Mojo Tones & a Celestion gt hot 100 drivers installed in it. Will it drive it well?

Doesn't look like it has a speaker out if it's that lil' combo. Might not be driving anything but the stock speaker with that one. Not to say it wouldn't be a fun little amp.

I wouldn't worry about build quality but I would do some homework prior to a purchase (i.e., does it have a speaker out, can it do high gain, can I test one out somewhere [not that I haven't done that], etc.).

What's your most-of-the-time amp?
 
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Re: Tube amps

Doesn't look like it has a speaker out if it's that lil' combo. Might not be driving anything but the stock speaker with that one. Not to say it wouldn't be a fun little amp.

I wouldn't worry about build quality but I would do some homework prior to a purchase (i.e., does it have a speaker out, can it do high gain, can I test one out somewhere [not that I haven't done that], etc.).

What's your most-of-the-time amp?

DankStar brings up a valid point. Gotta have one of these to drive an external speaker:

20150327_191456.jpg
 
Re: Tube amps

This little amp has a external speaker jack & if possible I plan on using it guite a bit.

Then you should be good to go, just pay attention to the Ω rating like you would with your AVT150. I made the journey from an AVT50 to tube amps myself about 10 years ago now. I think you will like it!
 
Re: Tube amps

This little amp has a external speaker jack & if possible I plan on using it guite a bit.

ah cool! didn't see that in whatever photos came up for the cub 8 when I googled. should be fun to crank through a cab then. my apologies. I have an older version of your main amp (marshall 8100) that I like a lot too.
 
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Re: Tube amps

The speaker sensitivity is a big factor. The better your speakers (or sensitivity) the louder and better the head is going to sound. If you have efficient speakers 5 watts will sound like a monster.
 
Re: Tube amps

^^
I have a 5 watt Picovalve currently running with a JJ's KT-88 into a 1X12 Cab with a 50 watt Cannibis Rex which is rated at 103 dbs. When cranked all the way it will keep up with bass and drums in a small practice space. Plus it gets great tone. Very touch sensitive.
 
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