Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Chris on December 03, 2012, 09:26:10 PM
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So I'm thinking about getting a new small amp for the bedroom, and when I say small I mean really small; less than 1W would be ideal. The only thing I've been able to find are the Marshall 1W Anniversary amps which have an attenuator built in. Anybody got any other good options? I've heard good things about the blackstar HT1, but I figure that looking at the price point it probably isn't a match for the Marshalls...
If I do go for the Marshall I'm thinking either the JCM1 or the DSL1. I'm not sure that the earlier amps would have the gain for heavier stuff, but I'm not sure I want a totally modern sound either. Does anyone have any experience with these?
Obviously the best thing to do is to play them all to try them out, and I will do this, but I really hate trying out amps in shops so I like to do as much research as possible beforehand!
Any thoughts based on your experiences would be welcome, or any other ideas that I might try.
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The Hughes & Kettner Tubemeister 18 has a built-in attenuator that goes from 18 to 1 watt and even to silent recordering (zero). They have a 5 Watt-version too.
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Smokey? Cheap and cheerful.
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I have played 3 of the 5 1 watters, the JTM, JMP, and JCM. I own the JMP, and believe me when I say the thing kicks @ss. I also own a JMP 2203, the real deal, and they really sound alot alike. Granted, it is only 1 watt and it is going through a 10 speaker, but when you run through an external cab or especially slave through the FX loop of a bigger amp, it sings.
I liked the JTM, sounded great for the clean kinda stuff and low gain, Hendrix-y stuff. The JMP covers anything from hairy cleans to late 70's rock, especially with the extra pre-tube boost engaged. I did not like the JCM at all. It had the potential to be great but just did not deliver in my opinion. I was not thrilled with any tones I was getting. I highly recommend the JMP, it covers the most ground outside of the dual channel JVM, and with a good overdrive pedal your options are limitless. People complain about the price and only being 1 watt, etc. but these are great amps.
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What about a Noisy Cricket amp - http://www.beavisaudio.com/projects/NoisyCricket/
Or you could get a small lunchbox amp and have power scaling installed so you'll be able to get a good drive sound at very low volume.
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Laney Cub has two output options - less than 1 watt output, or 15w
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The current version of the Class 5 has a low power option, though I think it's only on the combo and not the head for some reason.
Also, there's the Cornell Plexi 7 which has different power settings from 7 watts down to 0.05 watts or something.
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The Ht-1R is a really nice little amp, especially when using a cab with 12 inch speakers. I own one and it's perfect for home use, they only thing I miss is a 3-way EQ. The ISF is quite a nice feature too. Try one out if you have a chance.
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Thanks for all the suggestions! Lots of good info in there. I'm going to try the Hughes & Kettner, and whatever others I can find tomorrow. I'm still kind of edging toward the Marshalls, but I have found a shop near me that does the Blackstars too.
I have played 3 of the 5 1 watters, the JTM, JMP, and JCM. I own the JMP, and believe me when I say the thing kicks @ss. I also own a JMP 2203, the real deal, and they really sound alot alike. Granted, it is only 1 watt and it is going through a 10 speaker, but when you run through an external cab or especially slave through the FX loop of a bigger amp, it sings.
I liked the JTM, sounded great for the clean kinda stuff and low gain, Hendrix-y stuff. The JMP covers anything from hairy cleans to late 70's rock, especially with the extra pre-tube boost engaged. I did not like the JCM at all. It had the potential to be great but just did not deliver in my opinion. I was not thrilled with any tones I was getting. I highly recommend the JMP, it covers the most ground outside of the dual channel JVM, and with a good overdrive pedal your options are limitless. People complain about the price and only being 1 watt, etc. but these are great amps.
I'm interested to hear that, because the JCM was the one that I was most excited about trying... I wasn't sure whether the JMP would have the gain for heavier stuff - Do you think your JMP can handle Van Halen levels of gain? Maiden?
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With the boost engaged it can definitely handle Maiden, and maybe VH in a stretch. I wouldn't use it for anything past that. I'm not extremely crazy about the boost because I like using cleans, and with it on you can't clean up well enough. With a good pedal, yes it will cover VH and beyond easily. I was actually just rocking out to VH, GNR, even Metallica through it last night and it sounded great. Stepped off the pedal, and I got from Aerosmith to Hendrix and Clapton with the twist of my volume knob! Very versatile amp, and IMO the closest of the 5 to the original amp it was modeled after.
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Something a bit different would be the Wienbrock Hobo? If you want more crunch/overdrive type of sounds you will need to stick an overdrive/distortion pedal in front etc. It's really good for getting the best out of your guitar and very well made, plus very loud for around 1W:
http://www.wienbrockamps.com/hobo.html (http://www.wienbrockamps.com/hobo.html)
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There's also the MJW Cub (http://martamp.com/amps.html) and his other amps can be built with power scaling.
At the other end of the price range from all these hand wired amps, the Bugera V5 has 1 and 0.1 watt settings.
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Have you had a look at the Laney Ironheart? Great amp that you can control the wattage. Extremely versatile as well.
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Thanks for all the advice guys. I tried out all of the Marshall 1-watters except for the JVM, and I didn't find the right amp for me. They're all really good amps, very articulate and really transparent with what's happening on the guitar, but a few things weren't right for me... they are still loud enough that I can't really be getting power amp distortion without waking up the kids! Engaging the low power mode helped with that, but also thinned out the sound a bit :-( Also, none of the amps have enough gain to cover everything I want to play - even the DSL seemed lacking a bit.
In the end, although the amps were all good (the JMP was my personal favourite), none of them excited me enough to spend that kind of money. So in the end I bought the Blackstar HT1 for much less than half the money, which I'm impressed with and will do me for now, and I'll keep looking for my perfect home practice amp...
There were a few suggestions here that I'm curious about, but I haven't been able to find examples to try out, but I will keep an eye out for them on the off chance.
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The Ht-1R is a really nice little amp, especially when using a cab with 12 inch speakers. I own one and it's perfect for home use, they only thing I miss is a 3-way EQ. The ISF is quite a nice feature too. Try one out if you have a chance.
I do like the ISF feature, but IMO it works best in combination with a 3-band EQ, as on the HT-5. I tried the HT-1, and thought I would prefer to have a conventional tone control than the ISF by itself.
Still, if you like the "Blackstar sound" you can get pretty much the same thing with the HT-dual pedal plugged into just about any clean amp, even solid state - or direct to a mixer. Obviously it won't be identical because the power amp & speaker add their own characteristics, but it can sound very close.
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I would use a device with headphones in your case.
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Shame you didn't like the Marshall's more. Did you put an od in front of the JMP?
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Shame you didn't like the Marshall's more. Did you put an od in front of the JMP?
Don't get me wrong, I thought the Marshalls were brilliant little amps, very responsive and transparent to what was going on at the guitar. If I didn't need the extra gain I'd have snapped one of them up right away. I think the issue is just that I'm trying to get a nice little practice amp that is versatile enough to cover anything including higher gain stuff, which I thought the DSL at least would be able to handle, but it doesn't seem to be capable of the same amounts of gain as a proper DSL. I'm sure I could get the right kind of sounds using a boost or overdrive pedal in front of the amp, but that would kind of defeat the idea of a very portable, no fuss amp that I can lug upstairs/downstairs/into the garage, depending on where I've been relegated to :-)
The Marshalls for me were significantly better amps than the Blackstar that I ended up getting, but at more than twice the price and not nearly as versatile I just couldn't take the plunge. If it was for a recording studio or if I wasn't interested in higher gain stuff the story would have been very different.
I would use a device with headphones in your case.
It's funny you should say that; I was using the headphone out on this Blackstar last night and was fairly impressed, but in general I don't usually like headphone outs... also, come to think of it, I've not seen headphone sockets on many valve amps - I wonder whether there's a reason for that.
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My practice rig...
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Makes sense. Glad you tried them though, they really are cool little amps!
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I have played 3 of the 5 1 watters, the JTM, JMP, and JCM. I own the JMP, and believe me when I say the thing kicks @ss. I also own a JMP 2203, the real deal, and they really sound alot alike. Granted, it is only 1 watt and it is going through a 10 speaker, but when you run through an external cab or especially slave through the FX loop of a bigger amp, it sings.
I liked the JTM, sounded great for the clean kinda stuff and low gain, Hendrix-y stuff. The JMP covers anything from hairy cleans to late 70's rock, especially with the extra pre-tube boost engaged. I did not like the JCM at all. It had the potential to be great but just did not deliver in my opinion. I was not thrilled with any tones I was getting. I highly recommend the JMP, it covers the most ground outside of the dual channel JVM, and with a good overdrive pedal your options are limitless. People complain about the price and only being 1 watt, etc. but these are great amps.
Allstar - did you try the DSL version just out of interest?
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I have. I've tried all of them but the JVM as it's pretty hard to find it at the moment. I thought the concept was great, as with all of them, but I feel for the most part it failed to deliver. The classic gain channel was decent, but the ultra gain channel was so buzzsaw-y and just not very pleasant. If only one channel is usable, some of the other ones are better options.
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As we talked about on the other thread I tried the JMP, DSL and JVM. I agree the JMP is excellent. Even though you don't like the sound of the JCM one, other people on the Internet seem to like it - all a question of taste of course.
I thought the DSL was quite good, but I wasn't blown away by it like with the the JMP. I can't help shaking the thought that the JCM is the one for me, so I'm trying to figure out what you thought of the rest of the range and interpolate ;)
The thing with that JMP is that it has no master volume, a concern for me. I'm going to try tonebones in my 2204 and see how that works out first. I do need to make a move towards something lower wattage somehow though.
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I feel as though the boost in the back helps act as a problem solver for no master volume. Play on low power mode and you can have the boost off and still get plenty of gain, and good gain at that. Not this terrible chainsaw gain. If you want the volume louder than .1 watt but quieter than 1 watt, turn on the boost and that gets you into the gain territory you'd like. Pair this up with an OD pedal, and your possibilities are endless.
I liked the JCM but I just thought it was too thin. I also don't think the "Jubilee" boost does anything that turning your tone knob down can't do. The master volume is a nice feature to have but when I played it I found similar problems like with basically every other which is low volume on the full power mode. If you like your gain it's a very picky amp in that there's a fine line between sounding good and sounding bad, in regards to the preamp volume. And probably most importantly I liked the gain structure on the JMP much better than the JCM, and I thought the JMP can cover tones ranging from JTM to JCM the best. I like that sweet spot in between those two.
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I hope you understand anything I just said, looking at it I realize I probably made no sense...
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I hope you understand anything I just said, looking at it I realize I probably made no sense...
Actually, it's given me some extra info to think about, thanks!
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I feel bad droning on and on with all these poor people as my witness!
If you want any more info, PM me. I'd be happy to talk about it some more.
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I have both the JCM1 and the JTM1. They both capture the tones and vibe of their bigger cousins.
The JCM can go whisper quiet, the JTM is a lot louder. I run the JTM at the 0.1 watt setting and by the time it gets crunchy it's well above conversation level. It does sound righteous with both controls maxed.
The JCM takes any guitar well, the JTM is very picky. I get the best results with low to medium power humbuckers.
If volume is a concern, you'll want one of the master volume models.
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I have both the JCM1 and the JTM1. They both capture the tones and vibe of their bigger cousins.
The JCM can go whisper quiet, the JTM is a lot louder. I run the JTM at the 0.1 watt setting and by the time it gets crunchy it's well above conversation level. It does sound righteous with both controls maxed.
The JCM takes any guitar well, the JTM is very picky. I get the best results with low to medium power humbuckers.
If volume is a concern, you'll want one of the master volume models.
Good thoughts there. I am leaning definitely to the JCM1, but it ain't cheap of course so I need to think carefully. I am experimenting with various ways to quieten down my existing head at the moment.
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The JCM is the best gear purchase I've made in years. Especially once I got the Greenback cab to go with it.
It has made practicing and just playing at home fun because it actually sounds like an 800, only at a manageable volume.
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Do you find it thin at all?
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It benefits from a bit of Tubescreamer style overdrive to fatten things up, but it's not thin or shrill. It's a Marshall, so it doesn't do super saturated.
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I could see that. I thought it was more along the lines of the 2203 reissues, which I find a bit thinner than the originals or even the late 70's 2203's. YMMV of course.
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I'm starting to like the sound of these little Marshalls....
Must. Stop. Spending. Money.
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I'm starting to like the sound of these little Marshalls....
Must. Stop. Spending. Money.
If it were only as easy as saying it.
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I could see that. I thought it was more along the lines of the 2203 reissues, which I find a bit thinner than the originals or even the late 70's 2203's. YMMV of course.
I have a 2203X. I was in a band with a guy who had two originals, one of which was dated 1982.
My amp sounded virtually identical to that one, and a lot better than the other. The tech who services my amps said the 2203 reissue is the first one where Marshall got it right.
Of course, if you're not into 2203 tone, the JCM1 won't be for you. If, like me, you're stuck in 80s metal land, it's a dream come true. It responds to overdrive and distortion pedals superbly (better than the JTM, tbh).
The built-in boost is decent but I much prefer my OD9 in front.
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Hmm interesting. Definitely right about the JTM taking pedals though, I wasn't crazy about the sounds I was getting while boosting it.
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I reached the decision last night to save for a JCM1H.. hopefully they will still be easy enough to get in a couple of months
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Nice! Hope you enjoy it!
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Nice! Hope you enjoy it!
Thanks, I know you weren't too sure about it, but I like a cutting rather than full tone. Sancho's comments persuaded me of course.
Thomann had a B stock one on Friday with a good discount. I hate doing it, but I used my credit card :/ I know I won't see one that cheap again though. NAD soon then..
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Different strokes for different folks I guess!
And it should offer you a good bit of variety along with your MV.
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Thomann had a B stock one on Friday with a good discount. I hate doing it, but I used my credit card :/ I know I won't see one that cheap again though. NAD soon then..
Congrats :)
If you're into 800 tone, you won't be disappointed!