Amp search request

brianlux

Gearheads- I need your help! I have hyperacusis-- a collapsed tolerance for sound due to nerve damage in my ears. My sound tolerance fluctuates but overall is at a relatively low threashold. I still emjoy playing my guitars, including my electrics. I'm looking for a tube amp that has warm mid-tone sound that sounds good at a low volume. I've read up on some of the smaller Fender tubes like the Blues Jr. and the Champ but even those little 15 watt amps are described as LOUD! That's good if you want loud in a small space but I want good sound at a low volume. I also looked into the Fender Princeton attenuator recorder amp but the reviews are most bad-- too many problems. So my search continues. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

gimmesometruth27

i would check out that little 5 watt marshall combo that is out there. also if you are looking for something that sounds amazing at a low volume check out the bad cat "mini cat". it is a 5 watt monster. they are going for about $900 on ebay right now. it is pricey because it is a boutique amp, but if you were to ever play one you would know where that money went. if my bands break up and if i ever were to downsize i would get a mini cat.

keeponrockin

brianlux wrote:

Gearheads- I need your help! I have hyperacusis-- a collapsed tolerance for sound due to nerve damage in my ears. My sound tolerance fluctuates but overall is at a relatively low threashold. I still emjoy playing my guitars, including my electrics. I'm looking for a tube amp that has warm mid-tone sound that sounds good at a low volume. I've read up on some of the smaller Fender tubes like the Blues Jr. and the Champ but even those little 15 watt amps are described as LOUD! That's good if you want loud in a small space but I want good sound at a low volume. I also looked into the Fender Princeton attenuator recorder amp but the reviews are most bad-- too many problems. So my search continues. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Egnater Rebel 20 can be pushed down to 1 watt, but like you said, even at 15 watts, amps can fucking smoke, super loud.

mccreadyisgod

Adding to the previous posts, here is a list of well-reviewed small amps that I am aware of:

Vox Night Train (15 watts, can switch to 7)
Orange Tiny Terror (also 15 watts, can switch to 7)
Epiphone Valve Jr (with mods; the stock isn't bad but the mods are usually well-received)
Blackheart Little Giant (a bit of a budget model, but surprisingly good reviews)
A vintage Fender Champ or Vibro-Champ (6 watts)

Smaller amps that I am aware of (but can't say I've heard reviews):

Vox Lil' Night Train (2 watts)
Blackstar HT-1 (1 watt)
Z-Vex Nano (less than 1 watt)
Blackheart Killer Ant (1 watt)
Vox AC4 (4 watt)

Honorable mention to the THD Univalve, which is rated as a 15-watt amp, but it has wicked tube flexibility for lots of tonal options, and the guys who use it just rave about it.

Beyond that, you can keep SPL's (sound pressure levels) down by using smaller speaker cabs, like a single 10" rather than multi-speaker cabs (a 4x12" will just push more air). And even with these little amps, you can use an attenuator to get the cranked tube tone with less volume. You could even go so far as to build or buy an iso box for the speaker cab, and then mic the amp in isolation and pipe that through some headphones via a little mixer. Complicated, but controlled.

Beyond that, the usual trick of wearing hearing protection. You can go to an audiologist and have frequency-neutral hearing protection made for your ears. That means it blocks frequencies evenly, unlike foam earplugs that tend to block more highs than lows. It's expensive ($100+), and involves making molds of your ears. You can use Hearos High-Fidelity plugs, which are off-the-shelf plugs that are meant to have better frequency response (there are other brands, if I remember right, but Hearos are the ones I've heard about most).

My final suggestion, if this gets really bad for you, is to go Line 6. Nothing beats a good tube amp, but if you'd like tube amp tone and can't find it at a volume that works for you, Line 6 will come closest. Easiest for you would probably be a Pod with headphones, although the newest Spider amps (4th gen/IV) also sound pretty damn good.

F5AgainstOne

For a nice Tube Amp check these out

Orange Tiny Terror -
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Orange-Ampl ... 1748318.gc

This is switchable from 15 watts to 7 watts. Excellent warm tube tone with nice gain as well.

There is also a dual Terror, which is the same thing but adds a "Fat" channel and is switchable 7/15/30 watts.
I own the Dual, it is very very good, the only thing it lacks is reverb, but there are pedals out there that sound pretty good.

Switching to 7 watts will give you a nice warm bedroom tone...

brianlux

Thank's everyone! Lots of options to look into-- much appreciated!

All Those Yesterdays

The off the wall suggestion is (even if 5 watts ends up being slightly to loud) to look into getting less efficient speakers..

brianlux

By the description, these looks like a good choices for me... if I had nothing but money to spend!

But seriously-- anybody here have one or tried any of these out?

http://www.carramps.com/viceroy.html

http://www.cornfordamps.com/carrera.htm

http://www.cornfordamps.com/harlequin.htm

mccreadyisgod

I've heard good things about Carr, but never played one myself. Can't say anything about the others.