What do you guys think of the new generation of little big amps ?

[Zeuss]

Re: What do you guys think of the new generation of little big amps ?

I have owned a Peavey ValveKing MH for almost a year now. It was/is my first tube amp. Ill tell you I'm still in love with this amp. I have found several different tube combos that sound killer in this thing. Takes pedals really well (especially my TSmini) and, my local music store carries them I ran it through an orange ppc 412 and a peavey vk 412 at 7 and it was ear crushing and awesome!

 

[Securb]

Re: What do you guys think of the new generation of little big amps ?

I am enjoying the Micro Terror so much I am now getting curious about larger Orange amps. I don't know if this is the manufacturer's intended purpose but putting budget amps out there is a good way to introduce guitar players to your line.

 

[regan]

Re: What do you guys think of the new generation of little big amps ?

Some of those lunchboxes are bigger sounding than others.

But EL84s will never sound like big bottles. They have their own sonic character no matter how the amp is made.

If you are all about pre-amp gain, it may not be as big of a deal to you. But if you are trying to emulate old classic Big Bottle amps set to kill...Marshalls, HiWatts, Bassmans, Dual Showmans, etc. then the small amps are not going to cut it. Been there,done that , wasted a ****pile of $.You need big bottles, big volume and multiple speakers getting pushed to get those sounds.

I completly agree, however a 50 watt el34/6l6 amp at full tilt is stupid loud to the point it's unusable for most applications, which leaves 2 compromise options:
1, modelling which has gotten extremely good nowadays but just does not feel like playing through a 'real' amp & creates listening fatigue after a length of time
2, small wattage el84 amps whose power amps will compress & breakup at lower volumes, although it's not like a 'big' tube power amp it is a tube power amp & behaves like one.

In an ideal world I'd love an old twin or bassman cranked but it's unrealistic to use these amps on a regular basis, so I use a single ended el84 or a 15-20 watt paired el84 amp as the next least worse option, & tbh it's not too bad an option to have

 

[JeffB]

Re: What do you guys think of the new generation of little big amps ?

I completly agree, however a 50 watt el34/6l6 amp at full tilt is stupid loud to the point it's unusable for most applications, which leaves 2 compromise options:
1, modelling which has gotten extremely good nowadays but just does not feel like playing through a 'real' amp & creates listening fatigue after a length of time
2, small wattage el84 amps whose power amps will compress & breakup at lower volumes, although it's not like a 'big' tube power amp it is a tube power amp & behaves like one.

In an ideal world I'd love an old twin or bassman cranked but it's unrealistic to use these amps on a regular basis, so I use a single ended el84 or a 15-20 watt paired el84 amp as the next least worse option, & tbh it's not too bad an option to have

I have been on both sides of this fence. But it is two different applications.....Having a specific tonality vs. practicality. I understand the argument. But I am talking strictly about the tone of big bottle big wattage amps.

 

[BluesGuyJ]

Re: What do you guys think of the new generation of little big amps ?

Are there any mini/lunchbox heads that provide Fender-like clean tone? I wouldn't need a channel switcher, just a clean platform for pedals. I am thinking one of these heads would be great for a backup at a gig and could just plug it into the speaker in my combo and if the lower wattage is not enough, make sure we get it miced up into the PA

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: What do you guys think of the new generation of little big amps ?

The Krank Rev Jr. does not run EL84 tubes. Honestly, that sets it apart from many other smaller heads especially under the mic, IMO.

My Krank Rev Jr.'s dirty channel just barely pulls off full metal band volumes where the drummer's hitting hard, if I must be completely honest, not because it's not loud enough, but because running so loud, it gets a bit too brown-sounding and loses its kind of metal tightness, but it's clean channel with a boost does a killer Plexi impersonation when cranked up loud!

Good to know !

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: What do you guys think of the new generation of little big amps ?

Good to know !

Yep. Can run 6V6's, 5881's, or 6L6's. It's cathode biased too, so just pop your preferred set of 6V6's, 5881's, or 6L6's and you're good to go. Unfortunately, the headshell is pretty small, so you're pretty limited with your choice of 6L6's. The bigger ones won't fit.

I've experimented with a pair of JJ 6V6S, Tung Sol 5881 and 6L6GCSTR, and Sovtek 5881/6L6WGC in mine, and, quite honestly, the cheapie stock Sovies have been my favorite for that amp. They've been the loudest, most open, grindiest, and meanest. The Tung Sol 5881's were cool too, but they were a bit squishier/more compressed/less headroomy than the Sovteks.

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: What do you guys think of the new generation of little big amps ?

Are there any mini/lunchbox heads that provide Fender-like clean tone? I wouldn't need a channel switcher, just a clean platform for pedals. I am thinking one of these heads would be great for a backup at a gig and could just plug it into the speaker in my combo and if the lower wattage is not enough, make sure we get it miced up into the PA

The Marshall DSL15 head's Green Channel does that. It is very Fendery sounding with the 6V6 power tubes and it stays pretty much clean all the way up. But there's no FX loop. You have to put pedals in front the amp.

There's probably not a big market for a clean sounding compact head in that wattage range. For most wanting that, the Deluxe Reverb combo is still the industry standard.

 

[stratguy23]

Re: What do you guys think of the new generation of little big amps ?

Are there any mini/lunchbox heads that provide Fender-like clean tone? I wouldn't need a channel switcher, just a clean platform for pedals. I am thinking one of these heads would be great for a backup at a gig and could just plug it into the speaker in my combo and if the lower wattage is not enough, make sure we get it miced up into the PA

Slight necro just to answer this guy's question, since I played a Peavey Classic 20 yesterday. Its clean tone was *amazing* - up there in quality with any Fender or Vox I've played. Nor the same voicing as a Fender or Vox, but, still, the beautiful kind of clean you could sit and play all day with. And I'm not even a clean tone kind of guy! If I wanted a tube platform for pedals, this would be it. You can scale the 20 watts down to 5 or 1.

Every Marshall DSL clean channel (watts from 1 up to 40) I've played has been very usable. Not as sparkly as a Fender/Vox, but nice and warm and rich.

H&K Tubemeister clean, in my experience, is also very usable - a bit cleaner and more hi-fi than the Marshall clean.

Vox made the AC4 combo/head, which is scalable down to 1 or .25 watt. I've only tried it briefly in a store; it didn't make much of an impression. Reviews of it seem to be mixed, especially in the area of taking pedals, which is surprising.

 

[cliffenstein]

Re: What do you guys think of the new generation of little big amps ?

The red channel on the 15 watt DSLs only has the extreme gain mode. It's just a mess. There are mods worked out to tame the red channel and it sounds great modded, but who buys an amp that has to be modded to sound good? The red channel modded plays great with drums and roars through a 4x12 though.

I only use the red channel on mine. It was definitely too gained out stock, but I put in a JJ 12AU7 in the first preamp slot and a JJ 12AT7 in the 4th preamp slot and that simple change made it just perfect for me.

 

[NecroPolo]

Re: What do you guys think of the new generation of little big amps ?

They are clever and revolutionary - still aren't for me.

As good as two EL-84 amps are at getting a cranked amp tone at reasonable volumes, I like to see low wattage amps that feature one EL-34 or 6L6. I don't know why they dont do that more often.

That would work for me I think.

I have tried a couple of the newer lunchbox amps seeking for a stage solution in the last months. Some of them are really nice sounding to me (e.g. 6505 MH) and all are super portable but I always missed something in the midrange, body and definition compared to anything EL34 that I used and loved from the mid-'90s to 2011. The difference is subtle but subtle differences separate good from awesome, eh?

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: What do you guys think of the new generation of little big amps ?

As long as they get that brightness and crunchy /chewey mid-bite and thick full sweet organic tone of a blackface Deluxe Reverb,or an 18 watt Marshall, I got no problem with em, but how many do? No experience with great el84 Vox amps, but my bro has a rarer than rare el84 64 Fender Blonde 2x12 Head and Cabinet Combo. Condition of the unit is unbelievable. vI Cannot remember what exactly it is though.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: What do you guys think of the new generation of little big amps ?

I have a Friedman Pink Taco and I really like it. The thing sounds great through a vintage Fender 2x12 and fantastic through a Marshall 2x12. No channel switching, not much headroom for high volume cleans. Still, for what it does, this little amp is really sweet.

I have no problem with EL84s; I've been using a Mesa 20:20 in my gig rack for years. No, they don't have the same dynamic sag as 6L6s or EL34s driven hard. Or 6550s for that matter. But except for bass gigs I never really had the luxury of pushing a big tube amp hard onstage even back when I was playing bigger stages regularly. Realistically, how many of us can do that outside of the studio?

Anyway, the Friedman has great tone. And it's been a long time since I had a modern amp I could run with the master volume wide open. That's a luxury in itself.

 

[PUCKBOY99]

Re: What do you guys think of the new generation of little big amps ?

THIS:






Had mine for about a year.....killer little amp !

 

[Drunken Bowling]

Re: What do you guys think of the new generation of little big amps ?

Well I have the Marshall DSL15H, but not for long. On paper it seemed perfect. 6V6s instead of EL84s. No loop but that didn't matter to me. But they gave the green and red channels the wrong modes. The green channel doesn't have the crunch mode that everybody loved on the big DSLs. It has only the clean clean mode instead. The green channel required cranking the gain all the way, all the time, and it was still too clean. It is more Fender clean than the EL34 DSL green channels, probably because of the 6V6s, but I like smokey cleans, not clean cleans. Besides I found that the green channel can't be heard with a real drummer, supported by 15 watts anyway. With both the volume and gain on 10 the green channel does start to deliver output stage overdrive, but its just not loud enough with live drums. Even through V30s.

The red channel on the 15 watt DSLs only has the extreme gain mode. It's just a mess. There are mods worked out to tame the red channel and it sounds great modded, but who buys an amp that has to be modded to sound good? The red channel modded plays great with drums and roars through a 4x12 though.

The DSL40 is a better low watt Marshall. It can be clicked down to 20 watts and it has the crunch and lead 1 modes. Too bad the don't make the DSL40 in a small box head.

Exactly why I sold my DSL15. I'm tempted to buy a 40, but I still feel it might be too loud for the house unless I use pedals.

 

[Demanic]

Re: What do you guys think of the new generation of little big amps ?

Been playing my Jet City Picovalve through a 1x12 closed back cab with an Eminence Cannabis Rex. At 5 watts, it'll keep up with a competent drummer. Switched to 2 watts, bedroom amp supreme.

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk

 

[Ascension]

Re: What do you guys think of the new generation of little big amps ?

Own 2 small amps Zinky Velvet and a Boogie Subway Rocket. Owned a Jet City JCA 22H and want one of these as you can order it pre modded from Jet City/Soldano.

Regularly gig out with both my 25 watt EL 84 amps

 

[Ascension]

Re: What do you guys think of the new generation of little big amps ?

My little EL 25 watt 84 powered Zinky unmiced on a 1/12 blackstar cab outdoors running WGS's in both the combo and the cab no effects recorded off an I phone.

 

[moshpit817]

Re: What do you guys think of the new generation of little big amps ?

Some of those lunchboxes are bigger sounding than others.

But EL84s will never sound like big bottles. They have their own sonic character no matter how the amp is made.

If you are all about pre-amp gain, it may not be as big of a deal to you. But if you are trying to emulate old classic Big Bottle amps set to kill...Marshalls, HiWatts, Bassmans, Dual Showmans, etc. then the small amps are not going to cut it. Been there,done that , wasted a ****pile of $.You need big bottles, big volume and multiple speakers getting pushed to get those sounds.

I couldn't have said it any better,you nailed it!

 

[moshpit817]

Re: What do you guys think of the new generation of little big amps ?

Good to know !

I almost bought 1 of these with the chrome grill,but the employee at guitar center sold it while I had it on layaway,he didn't know it was on layaway,they screwed up and I got a refund..sucked! it sounded kickass!!
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