Dirge for november Posted November 23, 2011 Report Share Posted November 23, 2011 Hey guys, I'm looking for an amp to ad to my collection and was wondering if you have any tips. It has to be a tube amp and needs to work well on lower volume settings. That is where the problems start, because the amp sound I'm looking for comes from amps that are loud enough to blow up a country. I'm looking for a stoner/sludge/drone sound. Most bands that play anything like the sound I'm looking for play Sunn amps, early (matamp built) Orange, Sound City 100, etc. I currently own an Orange Tiny Terror (equipped with JJ tubes for now). I'm happy with it, but I want to play around with multiple amps and switching between amps (clean / dirt). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim37 Posted November 23, 2011 Report Share Posted November 23, 2011 have you looked at a vox lil night train 2 watts through a 10" speaker. also the blackheart killer ant. one way to knock the volume is to run it though a smaller cab a 5 watt amp through a 4x12 is loud while the same amp through a single 10 can be manageable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripthorn Posted November 23, 2011 Report Share Posted November 23, 2011 You could check out the Egnater Tweaker (gonna get me one of these), along with the VHT Special 6 Ultra. You could also look into building yourself and airbrake (type of attenuator). There is a detailed BoM and such at The Amp Garage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirge for november Posted November 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2011 Thanks for the replies. Vox nighttrain: nah, I have the Tiny Terror which is in my humble ears a bit better sounding then the nighttrain. Also I think the orange comes closer to the sound I'm looking for. Thanks for the attenuator tip. I will look into that for sure! Another thing is that it has to be slightly affordable and my preference goes out to old vintage stuff. Does anyone have any 'secrets' as in: unknown vintage amp brands that sound killer? An amp I'm looking into is a Hohner Orgaphon, I'm in love with the looks and the clean sound but doubt it will do the sludge/drone sounds. I want to sound something like this: The problem is: This guy uses I believe 5 Sunn amplifiers and two ancient Orange's at the same time. haha. (the dirt kicks in at around 2 minutes) I'm not sure what I'm looking for actually exists Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Workingman Posted November 23, 2011 Report Share Posted November 23, 2011 Keep an eye out for old amps in garage sales and the like. Most mail order companies and bigger music stores had house brands that they ordered from people like Valveco (Sp?). They can be had very cheap and are usually in the 5-10W range. Make sure to replace the power cord with a three prong grounded one though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirge for november Posted November 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2011 Is it going to make a lot of difference in sound when I push the power tubes of my tiny terror to the max and use an attenuator? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripthorn Posted November 23, 2011 Report Share Posted November 23, 2011 (edited) Different attenuators have slightly different sounds. From what I have read, the THD hotplate is not very transparent, but the airbrake is supposed to be the most transparent. Pretty much all others fall somewhere in between. Again, not personal experience, just what I have read, so take it for what it's worth. Edit: I doubt you will get that sound with a small tube amp. Try sticking something like a red llama or other fuzz box in front (possibly a modded fuzzface). Edited November 23, 2011 by Ripthorn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirge for november Posted November 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2011 What I actually mean to ask is does pushing the powertubes make a significant difference? Significant enough to spend money? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirge for november Posted November 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2011 Which is something I haven't been able to try out (because the 15 watts of the tiny terror are extremely loud) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim37 Posted November 24, 2011 Report Share Posted November 24, 2011 lil night train much smaller only 2 watts What I actually mean to ask is does pushing the powertubes make a significant difference? Significant enough to spend money there is a definate diffence between preamp breakup and power tube breakup. heres some amp cab things to think about for a given cab it takes aprox 10 times the wattage to double the volume. so if you have a 4x12 cab and are running 15 watts to double the volume you need 150 watts, to half that volume you need 1.5 watts. that being said and i dont have the numbers but if you kept the 15 watts and went to a 2x12 its somthing like 66% volume (thats if i remember that number right) so i would say your best bet would be to go to a smaller cab. i personaly wouldnt go smaller than a 10" speakr though i find any thing smaller lacking but thats me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirge for november Posted November 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2011 That demo sounds better then I expected! The cab story: interesting. I currently use a 2x12 loaded with Celestion Vintage 30's. But doesn't going smaller surpass my goal of making peoples trousers come of with heavy bass? I have a 1x10 but it sounds like empty crap in comparison. In any case, using one of those 2watters on bright setting with full gain and full volume and high treble settings whilst using my TT through another cab with a ballsy bass heavy setting (using a signal splitter) might get something near what I'm looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim37 Posted November 24, 2011 Report Share Posted November 24, 2011 yeah you do loose some bass responce with a 10" speaker to me thats fine most guitarist lean toward 12" speakers i will say i dont like the sound of a 8" speaker thats just too small but then agian there are guys who do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirge for november Posted November 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2011 My guess is those people won't be playing Drone anytime soon . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirge for november Posted November 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2011 This vid makes me sort of hopeful about my current setup: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLnZDjInfB0&feature=related Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AxAxSxS Posted October 27, 2012 Report Share Posted October 27, 2012 Gotta second the fuzz into clean amp thing. Black arts toneworks pharoah is my new favorite thing. Stacks well and crushes esecially into a slightly overdriven amp. this dunwich amps demo is a good example of what I mean. It sounds grittier with my setup but this is nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.