radrobgray Posted September 1, 2007 Report Share Posted September 1, 2007 i saw a thread round here bout some low watt tube amps, not its got me wondering if theres any high gain, low watt tube amps that you dont have to build your self(i guess if i couldnt find one prebuilt id make one)? i looked on google but only thing i found was the Zvex nano, its awsome just not what im looking for. im not expecting VHT/ENGL tone but something a little less classic rock sounding. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibreakemineedtobuildem Posted September 1, 2007 Report Share Posted September 1, 2007 These custom/modded ones I see on Ebay/youtube are interesting. I've been thinking of getting one. http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ovs0s4T2AQM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Posted September 2, 2007 Report Share Posted September 2, 2007 ENGL ENGL ENGL! low watt high gain thats the fireball (60? watts)(maybe 75) i own one personally and play thru the engl 4x12 with v30's it is in my opinion one of the BEST amps out there even if it low wattage if you want to hear the engl's go to www.rocksolidamps.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted September 2, 2007 Report Share Posted September 2, 2007 To me, 'Low watt' means 'something under 30 watts, probably under 20'. 60 or 75 defeinitely isn't (I have a 60 watt Rivera), and it is almost as loud as a 100 watter (remember loudness doubles when you square the wattage, ie 10 watts is half as loud as 100). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radrobgray Posted September 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2007 i mean like 1/2watt, 1 1/2 watts, 2 watts, the most id go is 5 watts. i have a rocktron prophesy II thru a VHT 2:90 power amp switchable to 60/90watts per side. im looking for a small tube amp i can crank and get similar sounds to my rack at 7, but without the ear plugs/deafness. like these but more metal: ZVEX Nano Gilmore Jr. Torres Tiny Tone this one has the most interest for me, i just wish it was a combo Bumbox Lead 1 theyre all about $400 is ther any other options..? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted September 2, 2007 Report Share Posted September 2, 2007 Yes. Low-watt is 1/2 to 5 watts, tops. The only one I've heard killer things about is the Zvex Nano. Perhaps it could be a rare time that you use a pedal for some of the distortion to get you into metal territory? Or even a gain boost to drive the amp even harder? The craziest one I ever heard that still sounded metal was an Epiphone Valve Jr. with a Metal Zone in front of it. I'm usually quite prepared to "dis" the Metal Zone as a bit of a crap pedal, but this guy made that combo sound awesome. Now, the Epiphone amp is NOT considered a great amp. But it IS considered a great amp for the money. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komodo Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 (edited) I went though this search not all that long ago. My main criteria was a GOOD organic distortion. There are lots of high gain out there that sound like crap. The little Orange Tiny Terror was on my short list, as were a couple custom builders. In the end, I found a used Laney TT20 head and some NOS tubes. Check them out . . .the gain quality is awesome (without a box), pentode/tritode switch, 20 watt. I use a 1x12" cab with a Weber Blue Dog and it sounds great. It will cost you more, but Fab amps (custom builder) sound great and you can pretty much custom order anything you want. Of all the builders I looked at, he seemed to more most attuned to the quality of the gain. Edited September 13, 2007 by komodo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black_labb Posted September 17, 2007 Report Share Posted September 17, 2007 when people usually talk about high gain they are usually refering to preamp distortion found in cascading gain stages (think mesa boogie and most mster volume amps). the sound is a bit harsher (not bad, just different). are you refering to preamp distortion (refered to above) or power tube distortion (usually a bluesier sound, think distortion found on tweed fenders or a marshall jtm 45) what amp do you have that you want to replicate the sound on 7. it could well be part power part preamp distortion. if it is power tube distortion then most small tube amps should be able to do that easily as it happens when you turn the volume up. id imagine you are looking for something like a el84 based single ended amp if this is the case (think a fender champ with an el84 power tube, as it is easier to overdrive and gives a more british sound) if it is preamp gain, then a low wattage amp (2 or so watts) wont be what you are after, as you will be getting a significant amount of power tube distortion muddying up the cascading gain preamp distortion. that and the fact that someone wouldnt make an amp in this way as aving so many preamp tubes driving a single small tube would be rediculous. if its a mix of the 2 you are looking for, maybe look into a 15 watt push pull amp with a cascading gain stage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radrobgray Posted September 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2007 to tell you the truth i dont like ANY of the mesaboogies ive tried (roadking, single, double, and triple dual rectifiers). id dont really like any of the marshalls ive tried TSL etc. ive owned a JCM900 for a couple years it was ok but not great. im a VHT and ENGL kinda guy, but only when theyre cranked abit. i run a (rack) rocktron prophesy II to VHT 2:90:2 (2 kt88 tubes per side) power amp to avatar 412 w/ v30's. i dont have my gain set really high on my pre about 6-7 is for my crunch and when i play with my band i crank my amp to about 7ish. so im guessing i like ac ombo of pre and powertube dirt, maybe? im looking for megadeth/slayer/metallica in a small powered combo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 17, 2007 Report Share Posted September 17, 2007 megadeth/slayer/metallica in a small powered combo. good luck.I have been looking for that for years.I have been thinking of looking at that new line 6 tube combo,but only if they have good quality speakers.so far nothing has really fit the bill.I have my stack at the house,which sounds great,but is shall we say "less than portable" by the way,if that sound is what you want,you are looking for preamp gain with almost no power tube soak(or none at all)...the reason you probably tend to crank it a bt to get the sound you want is because you have to push the speakers a bit to get the full sound.I use vintage 30 speakers so I can push them at a slightly lower volume Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black_labb Posted September 17, 2007 Report Share Posted September 17, 2007 to tell you the truth i dont like ANY of the mesaboogies ive tried (roadking, single, double, and triple dual rectifiers). id dont really like any of the marshalls ive tried TSL etc. ive owned a JCM900 for a couple years it was ok but not great. im a VHT and ENGL kinda guy, but only when theyre cranked abit. i run a (rack) rocktron prophesy II to VHT 2:90:2 (2 kt88 tubes per side) power amp to avatar 412 w/ v30's. i dont have my gain set really high on my pre about 6-7 is for my crunch and when i play with my band i crank my amp to about 7ish. so im guessing i like ac ombo of pre and powertube dirt, maybe? im looking for megadeth/slayer/metallica in a small powered combo. firstly i must say that im not much of a metalhead so i dont know much about what is available. i checked what those bands were playing, and it seems that they are playing mostly 80's marshalls and in metalicas case some mesa boogies as well. kerry king has a marshall head which is probably pretty similar to what you have. what i know you should be looking for is something with a solidstate rectifier. if i were designing one for you i would probably be a single ended el84 in a cascading gain preamp with 2 12ax7 (chinese made ones as they tend to have higher gain). fixed biasing. there would be a vol pot after the first preamp triode and then the tone controls after. id also be tempted to put in a treble-mid-bass control as well as it may be a sound without much mids that you are after. i dont know why i wrote all of that, ive been planning to make my first amp (basically a fender deluxe (5e3) with some small modifications to the preamp to get a bit different voicing options and i guess i just like thinking about designing things. good thing im doing an engineering degree, just wish i enjoyed the coursework as much as random designing of things i enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radrobgray Posted September 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2007 actually i run my mids quite high compared to most metalheads that i know. my tone controls are: Bass-8, Mid-7, Treb-5.3, Pres-7.3 on pre. then on my power Pres-5, depth-5 and volume usually 7. maybe someday ill find what im looking for..or i'll build it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black_labb Posted September 18, 2007 Report Share Posted September 18, 2007 actually i run my mids quite high compared to most metalheads that i know. my tone controls are: Bass-8, Mid-7, Treb-5.3, Pres-7.3 on pre. then on my power Pres-5, depth-5 and volume usually 7. maybe someday ill find what im looking for..or i'll build it well if you dont mind getting into another addicting hobby, then building it seems to be a good option. if your someone who likes designing and making things (which you probably do considering your on pg) then you will probably be alright with the amp. just get a book or something that goes through what each section of the amp does and you should be alright to start planning something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radrobgray Posted September 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2007 do you happen to know anything about the High-Octane amp kit? i think its from ax84.com, is sounds good on paper, but does it actually SOUND good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted September 18, 2007 Report Share Posted September 18, 2007 do you happen to know anything about the High-Octane amp kit? i think its from ax84.com, is sounds good on paper, but does it actually SOUND good? not 100% sure about the high-octane but I made the P1 (slightly modified) and it really does sounds good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Alex Posted September 19, 2007 Report Share Posted September 19, 2007 I haven't built a Hi-octane either, but I built a 26watt p1 extreme. And that thing has some serious grunt. I was really surprised at how good it sounds, I will have that amp till the day I die. And if my amp is anything to go by, the ax84 stuff is probably all pretty good. I've also run a tube preamp I built(single 12ax7) into it, and that gives the most insane sound I've ever heard, it's HUGE!! I never liked the preamp distortion sound, but that changed my opinion a great deal. The ax84 stuff is pretty easy to build. The Hi-octane will be a little more diffucult to build than the p1 variants. But they are a cheap and fun way to get started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black_labb Posted September 19, 2007 Report Share Posted September 19, 2007 i dont know much about the kit, but id give it a go if your interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sand Paper Posted September 25, 2007 Report Share Posted September 25, 2007 ORANGE TINY TERROR!!!!! This thing rules, it's 7 or 15 watts selectable. Does the full blown melt faces gain thing great. It's kind of expensive for what it is though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Posted October 28, 2007 Report Share Posted October 28, 2007 you can go to this site http://www.siegmundguitars.com/outcaster.html he can make you anything you what.Very easy to talk to and does great work.I bought his prototype muddy buddy 1 watt amp.It is really cool and can be used for a lot of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thoughtless 7 Posted October 28, 2007 Report Share Posted October 28, 2007 I've just built myself the Gilmour Jr kit and my god, its still a loud amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syxxstring Posted October 29, 2007 Report Share Posted October 29, 2007 Low watt amps are not neccesarily low volume if you want cranked distortion. My recomendation would be a Valve Jr with a good preamp or distortion pedal. In the past I've naild low volume Boogie tones by using a V-Twin into a small amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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