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I've said it before, I don't particularly care for small amps. I also have a fairly large collection of amps that I enjoy playing.I really like playing late at night, and I like it really quiet, basically at TV volume or lower.I've found a solution that works like a charm. Been doing this for several years now and still can't find a thing wrong with it. I get to play all my amps, they all sound 'right' and react like a cranked amp.
I really wouldn't even call this approach a compromise.Here's what you need. All of the individual components are interchangeable, you can use what you most likely already have.1.
Your favorite high power amp cranked to its sweet spot.2. An attenuator with a load setting and a line out. You can also use a load resistor.I don't want to get into a discussion about attenuators and how safe they are to use.
Religious debate is frowned upon on TGP. Instead I'll just tell you what works.
For an amp with a 16 Ohm output, use a 25 Ohm resistor. No, that is not a mismatch. Impedance is not the same as DC resistance, a 16 Ohm speaker is only 16 Ohms at a certain frequency. 25 Ohm is a very good approximation of how an amp 'sees' a 16 Ohm speaker. It is very easy on the amp/tubes and most importantly, it sounds great.If you're a DIYer, by yourself a 225 Watt, 25 Ohm Ohmite wire wound resistor. This will handle all your 100W amps comfortably.
Put it into a nice enclosure or mount it somehow. It will get warm/hot.
Make a line out with an 82k resistor and a 5k linear pot. A parametric EQ. This is needed to compensate for the Fletcher-Munson effect. Your ear is not a linear device, at very low volume you need compensation. The EQ is like the Loudness switch on your stereo, only much better.
It also helps compensate for the lack of speaker coloration at very low volume.4. Time based effects. Even if you prefer playing 'dry' at stage volume, at very low volume a touch of reverb and/or delay does wonders to fill in the sound. In this setup you're adding it after the amp, the ideal place to put it.5. Finally, you need a re-amp. This should not be a guitar amp, but a more linear, neutral sounding amp with good low volume adjustability.
This amp feeds your5. Guitar speaker cab.Here's my current setup:1. 4xEL84 Amp via speaker cable into2. Old Komet Airbrake prototype set to load. From the Line Out of the Airbrake via guitar cable into3. Presonus EQ3B.
From there via guitar cable into4. TC Electronics Flashback delay into TC Hall of Fame reverb. I used to use an old Lexicon LXP-5 until I dropped it.5. Grommes Little Jewel. This is a 2x6V6 mono HiFi amp from the 1950s. From there via speaker cable into6. Marshall 4x12.Try this setup.
You won't be looking for a 'bedroom amp' anymore. This is the ultimate practice rig.Of course it does not sound and feel exactly like standing in front of a big amp blowing your hair back. You do lose the interaction of the sound waves from the speaker(s) hitting your guitar/strings. You're missing the psychological effect of the sound pressure.But, once you let your ear/perception adjust and dial this setup in, it is very satisfying. You still play your favorite amp(s), get the picking dynamics, attack, etc.
It's a beautiful thing. Click to expand.In my experience, even a 5w amp sounds much better with a system like this. A 5w turned up to where it sounds good is still well over TV volume. With a system like this you can set the tube amp wherever you want and control volume with the reamping device. That's really the whole point.Incidentally, this is what badcats unleash does, minus the eq, but plus an interactive load, which should help to maintain the feel of the tube amp, which is the big thing you give up with the tried and true outlined above. The great convenience of one small box and the happy price point are certainly advantages too.In any event, in my experience, low watts are not the solution to low volume playing, though i still do very much like low watt amps.
Just not because they're quiet, cause they ain't. If you've already got the attenuator, why not just try that right into the cab first? All brands are different in how transparent they are, and on some amps that are overly bright in the first place, I find I don't even need to compensate with an EQNothing wrong with the idea presented of course, but it seems like a bit of extra gear such as the power amp, when in reality, going from the head to attenuator to cab may get the job done just fine.I know I'm rather pleased with how my Aracom works just by itself. If you've already got the attenuator, why not just try that right into the cab first?
All brands are different in how transparent they are, and on some amps that are overly bright in the first place, I find I don't even need to compensate with an EQNothing wrong with the idea presented of course, but it seems like a bit of extra gear such as the power amp, when in reality, going from the head to attenuator to cab may get the job done just fine.I know I'm rather pleased with how my Aracom works just by itself. Click to expand.I have a number of attenuators, so I have of course used them straight into the cab. The attenuator that does extremely low volume the best out of the ones I've tried is my Faustine. But even with it, at the level I'm playing at, you're very near the maximum attenuation setting on the rheostat and the control over volume at that setting is jumpy and hard to dial in. Much easier to fine tune your volume on the re-amp, it's like adjusting the volume on a stereo.Another advantage of my approach is that I can use the EQ, which makes a huge difference, and I can place my time based effect after the amp.
Interesting setup.I never quite understood many these arbitrary 'looking for no more than x watts amp for gigging' threads. Cranked 50/100s are loud to be sure, but so is any amplifier. 50w being 3db from a 100w and 25w only being another 3, I don't see the colossal difference. I have some 1w amps that can't hack a live band setting on their own, but will get the cops/apartment manager to your front door easily enough.Feeding the big guys all those tubes is a PITA, but the headroom and low end make them better amps in most applications IME. So, with the badcat unleash, do you feel it needs an EQ or does the circuit design compensate adequately on its own?