Small Amp Rant

[J T]

I only use low wattage amps, I rant at the bastids regularly.

I'm a home solo player, so my imput is limited within that context.

My favourite amp of the last 2 decades - Emery Sound MicroBaby, if I could reach to kick meself up the arse for letting it go, I most certainly would.

K910k Zq — Postimages

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Current.

Audio Kitchen - The Big Trees - amp/pedal. Ridiculous thing, both indispensable and brilliant.

f RIPrdx — Postimages

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Matchless - The Little Monster. 9 Watt. Beautiful.

Toq BNXr — Postimages

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Cool stuff.
Is that Matchless new to you?

 

[ourmaninthenorth]

Cool stuff.
Is that Matchless new to you?

I first bought the Matchless about 12 years ago Jim, sold it to fund the next great hope, and subsequently bought it back at the same dough about 5 years ago - still had the same Blackburn Mullard's I put in it from first ownership when I got it back.

Great little amp. Typical Matchless class

Hope you're both doing OK me old Pal?

 

[jb_abides]

Greg weighs in

 

[Any Name You Wish]

Greg weighs in

Got to love Greg. Although he is mostly talking about volume here, he does touch a little on amps and prefers something 45 watt to get that feel and engagement with the crowd and the rest of the band. Hear it and feel it, push that air.

 

[Athos]

This guy (Greg Koch) is spot on. I also like that he doesn't dig 'silent stages'. Where's the rock? Indeed.

"Oh my god, you guys are at 100dB!?!"

 

[Offshore Angler]

All, about the "pushing air" myth. Amps don't push air. They send out pressure waves. The speaker works in both directions so the net air movement is zero. The pressure wave moves out from the speaker at the speed of sound which is a function of the air's temperature. For a given sound pressure level (perceived loudness) therefore, the magnitude of the pressure wave is the same from a 10W amp as a 100W amp. The air molecules don't fire out of the amp towards the listener, they just bounce off each other transferring kinetic energy. In other words, the sound you perceive is not the air that came out of your amp, it's the air that was already in your ear canal just being pushed around.

Even more important is the amps efficiency. When comparing amps class matters. A small Class AB is generally more efficient than a Class A or even a Class B, so when making generalizations re amp "power" you need to always make sure you're comparing apples to apples.

It's all a matter of taste. if you pine for a nice warm, organic overdriven amp a smaller Class A is always a good choice. If you want to be Darth Metal using ton of pedals grab the bigger AB amp.

 

[Any Name You Wish]

All, about the "pushing air" myth. Amps don't push air. They send out pressure waves. The speaker works in both directions so the net air movement is zero. The pressure wave moves out from the speaker at the speed of sound which is a function of the air's temperature.

Yeah right, and I can stand near my bass players amp and my jeans are moving. That's just my imagination LOL.

 

[Offshore Angler]

Yeah right, and I can stand near my bass players amp and my jeans are moving. That's just my imagination LOL.

Yes it is. Easily proved. Blow some bubbles in front of the amp and report back what happens. Think of the Artimis II SLS first stage we all just witnessed. It was the loudest noise on Earth when the SRBs kicked off, but outside of the rocket plume flags didn't move. You can clearly see that in replays. And that is louder than any bass or guitar amp even a few miles away, including Marty McFly's! A sound wave is a pressure wave. At least here on earth and our reality.

Also let's use some conservation of mass. If the air was being pushed away from the speaker there would be an inrush of replacement air blowing the guitar player's pants TOWARDS the bass cab, not away from it.

Additionally, if your pants where moving it would be at the frequency of the bass note, which would be faster than you could see them anyway. And your pants would need to be low mass.

 

[Athos]

“Moving air” is a commonly enough used phrase to describe high sound pressure levels. Let’s not get bogged down in semantics due to the physics.

There are times when low stage volumes are appropriate. Playing in a restaurant where people are trying to have conversations, for example. But when people want to see a show and it’s all about the music, then generally rock and blues benefit from some real volume. Loud enough to have to shout to be heard, for sure.

One of the reasons I like bigger amps is that you almost always have some ‘reserve’ power or headroom. You can always attenuate it down (or use the master volume), but once you’re past the sweet spot on a small amp’s volume, there’s nowhere to go. You’re totally at the mercy of the sound guy, if you have one. It’s one thing I would worry about if I ever gig with my 5E3.

 

[Offshore Angler]

Athos, I think I have to agree with you on headroom. If a player wants to have a clean sound at a higher volume a bigger amp will stay clean at a higher volume. And really, that was the whole goal of the Twin.

Good point!

 

[calcheyup]

“Moving air” is a commonly enough used phrase to describe high sound pressure levels. Let’s not get bogged down in semantics due to the physics.

There are times when low stage volumes are appropriate. Playing in a restaurant where people are trying to have conversations, for example. But when people want to see a show and it’s all about the music, then generally rock and blues benefit from some real volume. Loud enough to have to shout to be heard, for sure.

I think this is a good point - I think a lot of times when folks feel a band is “too loud,” it’s because they didn’t come to that venue specifically to listen to music - rather, a band happened to be playing when they walked in. That’s not to say that “too loud” isn’t sometimes a valid complaint, I just find that it’s most frequently uttered by folks who aren’t there for the music anyway.

 

[dwagar]

And really, that was the whole goal of the Twin.

I thought the goal of the Twin was to test how strong your back is.

 

[Subliminal lanimilbuS]

I wonder what this would feel like. They turn it up shortly after 15 minute mark.

 

[Offshore Angler]

It would sound really quiet after the speaker blew.

 

[Athos]

Athos, I think I have to agree with you on headroom. If a player wants to have a clean sound at a higher volume a bigger amp will stay clean at a higher volume. And really, that was the whole goal of the Twin.

Good point!

I’ve played through the Twin Reverb reissue many times in stores, it’s always been my reference for a good, very loud clean sound. But I preferred the character of the Super Reverb reissue I owned for a few years (and it was lighter too).

That said, I’ve been interested in one day getting a low-power tweed twin (5E8-A). Still fairly light, more headroom than my tweed deluxe, but can get a nice overdrive out of it too. Only weighs about twice as much as my deluxe so fairly portable by 2x12 combo standards. Seems like, with an attenuator, could be a super versatile amp for blues gigs from small to large.

 

[Wilko]

I’ve played through the Twin Reverb reissue many times in stores, it’s always been my reference for a good, very loud clean sound. But I preferred the character of the Super Reverb reissue I owned for a few years (and it was lighter too).

That said, I’ve been interested in one day getting a low-power tweed twin (5E8-A). Still fairly light, more headroom than my tweed deluxe, but can get a nice overdrive out of it too. Only weighs about twice as much as my deluxe so fairly portable by 2x12 combo standards. Seems like, with an attenuator, could be a super versatile amp for blues gigs from small to large.

the sound you are looking for lives in the Vibrolux Reverb or Pro Reverb. Both have tube rectifyier and about 40 watts. Pro is 2x12' and is same size as Twin Reverb. Vibrolux 2x10"

 

[calcheyup]

I’ve played through the Twin Reverb reissue many times in stores, it’s always been my reference for a good, very loud clean sound. But I preferred the character of the Super Reverb reissue I owned for a few years (and it was lighter too).

See, I find that the height of the Super Reverb makes it even more of a pain to cart around than a Twin, especially going up and down stairs.

Re: your comments on the Super sound vs the Twin, I think I know what you mean and agree with you. I generally don’t like using words to describe sounds as it is subjective to everyone, but for lack of a better term I find my Super “livelier” and have a bit more character than the Twin, while the Twin to my ears seems to be a more “full” and “neutral” sound to my ears (I don’t mean that to say the Twin has no character, mind). I find it’s very difficult to get a bad sound out of a Twin, and it takes any pedal you throw at it. The Super seems to be a bit less forgiving in terms of how you EQ it and what pedals I hit it with, but again this is entirely subjective and some folks may have the complete opposite experience as I.

 

[Any Name You Wish]

See, I find that the height of the Super Reverb makes it even more of a pain to cart around than a Twin, especially going up and down stairs.

Re: your comments on the Super sound vs the Twin, I think I know what you mean and agree with you. I generally don’t like using words to describe sounds as it is subjective to everyone, but for lack of a better term I find my Super “livelier” and have a bit more character than the Twin, while the Twin to my ears seems to be a more “full” and “neutral” sound to my ears (I don’t mean that to say the Twin has no character, mind). I find it’s very difficult to get a bad sound out of a Twin, and it takes any pedal you throw at it. The Super seems to be a bit less forgiving in terms of how you EQ it and what pedals I hit it with, but again this is entirely subjective and some folks may have the complete opposite experience as I.

Spot on regarding the Super, although I've toyed with the idea of converting to a 2x10 smaller cab. I would like to pick up a '57 Low powered twin. Kinda pricey though for the later version.

 

[GreenBurst]

Not to intentially derail the thread but there is a lot of talk about attenuators. Curious as to what people are using these days. For small, or large amps.

Please share your attenuator choice.

FYI, I have two Marshall Power Brakes and also a Faustine Phantom DX2.

Both are awesome, but I swear by the latter.

 

[calcheyup]

Not to intentially derail the thread but there is a lot of talk about attenuators. Curious as to what people are using these days. For small, or large amps.

Please share your attenuator choice.

Fryette PS-100. I think it’s an excellent device, but it did take some getting accustomed to. In my experience, it’s nowhere near as simple as just getting the tone you want, and then clicking it to “operate” down to reasonable levels. Not only do you lose the vibration and general feel pf “air moving” (regardless of whether this is scientifically correct, everyone here knows what I’m referring to), but the treble/bass frequencies themselves sound considerably different at different volumes - I believe what I am referring to is known as Fletcher Munson effect, but I could stand corrected. My point is, even if the PS-100 is keeping the tone completely intact, it doesn’t necessarily SOUND as if it’s been kept intact once you start to hit lower volumes. It obviously has some features to try to counteract this effect and dial things back in, but it can be frustrating to recapture the sound you just had before you attenuated it.

I would definitely say it works best, the less you attenuate the signal. I use it with a Super Reverb on about 4-5 to bring it down to reasonable, non-Albert Collins volume level. I don’t think it’s overly valuable if you’re wanting to get your amp down to “apartment volume.” I personally have not felt it excels in that regard.

Overall I would recommend it, but I don’t see it as a magic bullet to play a Super Lead in the basement - not that I’ve ever tried. Of course, this is only one man’s opinion, and I’m sure it’s possible other folks have had considerably more success with it than I ever had.

FWIW, it can also make a small amp louder, too. Provided the speaker can handle it, of course, but I doubt many folks use it in this capacity.