Looking to buy a new amp

[scotchmist_ken]

Hey guys,

I'm currently playing through a Marshall AVT 275 and if I'm looking to get something new. If I'm honest it's probably a bit too loud for bedroom levels and I don't feel i can get the tone I want out of it without cranking up the volume.

I've been thinking about buying a Dark terror and a 2x12 cab, does anyone have any experience playing with one of these? I've not had a chance to go and test one out yet just been listening to demo's on youtube.

Another possibility is the Marshall DSL40C, again, I've not had a chance to check this out I'm just going on what I've read and heard on the net. Trying to get an idea of what I'm after before I go round the shops.

I'm open to any recommendations or suggestions though...

Thanks in advance!

[Ian Price]

I think a Dark Terror and the DSL will both be wayyyyyyy to loud for your needs. If anything you should be aiming for something with some sort of attenuation/power scaling.

I've got a MJW Bantam that I can power scale down to a whisper and get a pretty decent tone out of. The laney cub range is also pretty decent as week as I think you can wind that right down to 0.25 of a watt. I think you can anyway.

Even the recent 1 watt Marshall series will probably be too loud.

You could try a Blackstar HT series - they have an emulated headphone out. I had one for a while and it was pretty decent.

[Telerocker]

Get a used Tubemeister 18 or a new 5 for bedroompracticing. It has an onboard attenuator that reduces the output from 18, to 5 and to 1 watt.
A cheaper option would be the Orange Microterror.

[dave_mc]

what type of tones are you after? there's a lot of guff talked online (and elsewhere) about tube amps needing to be loud to sound good, and while there's some truth to that, the same is true for non-tube amps (to a certain extent). also it depends a lot of the type of music you're playing- you need power tube distortion a lot more for classic rock than you do for modern metal, for example, plus as Ian Price correctly said, there are ways round the volume thing with things like power scaling, VVR, etc. EDIT: and as he also correctly implied, even supposedly "low wattage" valve amps are loud in bedroom situations. Not buying a 50 watt amp which will do the exact tone you want in favour of a 15 watt amp which won't (and which will still be way too loud) is silly.

[Stevepage]

Do you play live? If not then you could go the software route. Something like the Line 6 UX-1 or the Amplitube software would work fine for playing in the bedroom.

If you definitely want an amp then maybe the Blackstar Ht-1

However if you do play live then maybe look into getting a preamp and poweramp set up.

Use the preamp (something like a POD HD Pro) for quiet recording direct into the computer and then when playing live you can use it with a poweramp and cab.

[scotchmist_ken]

I'm looking for something that's gonna be quite versatile tone wise. I want something that's gonna be able to cover both clean and more high gain stuff.

I've always found that when I'm listening to other people play I often hear really great tones and never really seem to be able to replicate it myself, I seem to spend ages messing about with all the amp controls! I've also had a Boss Gt 8 for years and never really felt that I made full use of it, probably has to many options for me to be honest I've probably spent hours tweaking the settings on that.

I like playing stuff like Sabbath and Led Zep and more 80's kinda Maiden/Metallica. I've always really liked that Bluesy sorta tone you get when you're amp is just being pushed into overdrive but it's still kinda clean too ....Lethal Weapon soundtrack, anyone? ha ha

I'm not playing live at the minute but it's always a possibility so I'd like to stick with an amp rather than having to rely on using my Laptop. I actually had a look at some of the Pod gear a while back, considering getting some sort of midi interface and having a mess around with garageband but wanna get myself sorted with a  new amp first.

Had a look through the Blackstar range last night and the HT5 R sounds quite good just going by the reviews and youtube demo's, any experience with that? I've looked at some of the 1w combo's but not sure about them, I still wanna have the option to be able to be heard above drums etc

[Ian Price]

Are you looking for an amp you can play in the bedroom that can also be gigged? From the original post I thought you were looking for a bedroom amp, the mention of being heard over the drummer makes me wonder if you are looking for something that can do a bit of both.

[scotchmist_ken]

Well it's mainly gonna be used in a bedroom but I'd like the option to be able to use it for gigs. I haven't played any for a few years but it's always in the back of my mind that I might get a chance to play again in the future.

[gordiji]

I've got a Roland cube 40xl combo, great bedroom amp. Good marshall tone model, good high gain mesa model, good enough clean. cheap as chips , loud enough for small pub, all switchable. well worth trying.
I've got an engl screamer & a dual terror and the roland is better than either a v.low volume. 

[Telerocker]

Well it's mainly gonna be used in a bedroom but I'd like the option to be able to use it for gigs. I haven't played any for a few years but it's always in the back of my mind that I might get a chance to play again in the future.

The EL84-loaded Tubemeister 18 or 36 (3 channels) have attenuation so you can play at whispervolumes (1 watt). Both have enough power for stage. Especially the 36 sounds great.
The Roland Cube 40XL is, like Gordiji says, a nice bedroom amp. I just think the cleans and light crunches are not the strongest point of this amp.

[PaulG]

How about the new Laney IRT Studio?, 15 watts & 1 watt inputs, 3 channels, DI & reamping, silent recording, great clean & modern rock sounds, not just for metal.

Paul

[asianaxeman]

for bedroom playing...DSL1 or JVM1 or engl gigmaster 15- all 2 channel, versatile and with fx loops

[HTH AMPS]

Does your amp give you the tone you want at gig volume and are you happy with it for gigging?

If the answer is yes, then a software solution is gonna be best for home practice.  I really fail to see the point in spending a fortune on a home practice rig if it is purely for practice. 

For non-gigging guitarists, I still don't get spending a fortune on valve amps to be used at whisper volumes - its a waste of time and the alternatives out there now for home practising are great (and largely cheap too).

</rant>

[juansolo]

There is another option... Get a good clean amp and get the tones you are after via pedals. Not that I have a vested interest of course ;) Put it this way, this is a Princeton Reverb (Eminence 1x10) dialled right down, you can hear Matt strumming over it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2tDoqKvH4E

[Doctor X]

Does your amp give you the tone you want at gig volume and are you happy with it for gigging?

If the answer is yes, then a software solution is gonna be best for home practice.  I really fail to see the point in spending a fortune on a home practice rig if it is purely for practice. 

For non-gigging guitarists, I still don't get spending a fortune on valve amps to be used at whisper volumes - its a waste of time and the alternatives out there now for home practising are great (and largely cheap too).

</rant>

I agree 100%. I've owned a few valve amps and many, many boutique dirt pedals over the last decade, but since getting a new computer last summer I have only been using software at home. I wish I'd discovered it much sooner.