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1/2 Watt TUBE Amp ? ? ?

DriftingByTheStormDriftingByTheStorm Posts: 8,684
edited January 2006 in Musicians and Gearheads
Z VEX ZVEX Mini TUBE NANO AMP AMPLIFIER
http://cgi.ebay.com/Z-VEX-ZVEX-TUBE-NANO-AMP-AMPLIFIER-BRAND-NEW_W0QQitemZ7382456262QQcategoryZ10171QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

You think this thing is worth a grain of salt? worth US $439.00 ?

I've heard lots of good things about Z Vex pedals, but a 1\2 watt TUBE amp ?

I need some sort of viable option for recording guitar on the road (ie. at a friend's house) ... something beyond "line-in" ... a solid solution for a mobile studio ...

is it even worth considering a "novelty" like this, or should i just hunt down a AD15 or something?

Assuming I did spring the bucks for a 1\2w tube amp, what kind've cabinet could i drive with it effectively\efficiently ?

aren't i severly underpowering almost every cab in existence?
or are you gonna tell me that underpowering a cab is just myth, and that i'm really just leaving "ample head room"? har har.

hmm.

i also found this
1x15'' Sovtek cabinet?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Sovtek-tube-amplifier-speaker-cabinet-1-x-15-150-Watt_W0QQitemZ7382801198QQcategoryZ10171QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

rated at 150w again ... above question about underpowering?

oh well.
just a thought.
If I was to smile and I held out my hand
If I opened it now would you not understand?
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    It's cool and might be fun, but for the money, I'd probably buy one from Lovepedal. http://www.lovepedal.com

    Either is probably great for apartment dwellers, but then again so is a Pod XT.


    The Zvex is more complex, thus the extra cash, Zach also has a cool Ipod amp.

    I'm not trying to discourage you at all, I think bob has a little 1 watter he likes, 500 bucks seems steep though. for what you get.

    cool sovtek.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    forget clean sounds, that's for sure.
  • DriftingByTheStormDriftingByTheStorm Posts: 8,684
    sounds like a resounding "NO" from the chorus of two.

    the wise oracles of M&G.

    :D
    If I was to smile and I held out my hand
    If I opened it now would you not understand?
  • who's_pearljam?who's_pearljam? Posts: 2,104
    DriftingByTheStorm wrote:
    sounds like a resounding "NO" from the chorus of two.

    the wise oracles of M&G.

    :D


    Then comes the eternal optimist! :D

    I'm that Bob guy. I don't have a Zvex, but I have a one watt tube amp made by a guy namded John Martin. He makes unbelievable stuff but is hard to get ahold of, too. You'd find him through these guys in Philadelphia:

    http://www.dipintoguitars.com/contact.html


    Don't let 1/2 or 1 watt surprise you.
    I've never played the Zvex, but my Martone 1 watt gives about 20 decibels less that a 50 watt amp. That's not a whole huge difference of perceived loudness. I laughed at 1 watt when I got it, and I plugged it into a 2 X 15 and a 4 X 12 cabinet and it blows you out of the room. It has a master volume on it and it needs it!
    It's a great sounding amp, too. Sounds great clean, more on the Fender side and it crunches up nicely, maybe like a Boogie, Santana like. I paid about $300 for it.
    The advantage of it is that you are driving the power stage tubes harder at less volume, and it sounds way better than just a driven preamp stage.

    I have the lovepedal one, too. I consider that more of a novelty, but it IS a cool little thing.
    There's no clean on it unless you drop your guitar volume, and then it's always on the edge of clean. It has two 9 volt batteries inside with no a/c adapter and no way to put one in because the innards are all gooped with epoxy. It sounds good, though if you want a Vox or Marshall like crunch.
    It has no volume control on it, and really even a 1/2 watt of transistor strength can be loud and it's tiny and portable as anything..

    My one watter sounds GREAT through the Weber in my Fender Deluxe. I still haven't gotten around to getting a separate cabinet for it, but probably go for a 12" Weber speaker in a small cabinet..

    There's my humble opinion.

    Another thing that sound pretty good at low volume is the Roland Microcube through a cabinet. WAY better than through the little speaker in it.

    Another humble opinion :D
    Be kind, man
    Don't be mankind. ~Captain Beefheart
    __________________________________
  • harrisonmerwinharrisonmerwin Posts: 766
    matchless makes/made 12 watt and 6 watt amps, look who we all love that uses them. Savage too also has low watt amps, again, look who uses them, dont be so critical of new ideas, obviously hes doign quite well if hes selling them
    2005.09.04
    2005.09.05

    "how many people did die from that?...did P.Diddy kill them?" - Eddie Vedder 2006.02.19
  • DriftingByTheStormDriftingByTheStorm Posts: 8,684
    guess i should keep the goodvibes flowing in this thread, btw -- thanks bob, for your excellent input -- here are two other amps that look "gnarley" ... i can't believe i just said that:

    http://cgi.ebay.com/CORNFORD-HARLEQUIN-MK1-CUSTOM-MODEL-GUITAR-AMP_W0QQitemZ7382089190QQcategoryZ10171QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

    http://www.amptone.com/kendrickroughneck.htm

    i'ma keep lookin'
    If I was to smile and I held out my hand
    If I opened it now would you not understand?
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    the carr mercury is swell. i'd love one. that goes down to a 1/10th of a watt if you can believe it.

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


    6 watts and 12 watts are still loud.

    i just know the zvex is designed pretty much solely for driven, classic rock kind of tones.
  • sj_2150sj_2150 Posts: 275
    for that money though, i could buy a way better amp
    I wish my grass was emo... so then it would cut itself
    http://www.soundclick.com/Arcticangel
    http://www.soundclick.com/Armadillo
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    http://www.matamp.co.uk/minimat.htm

    several more options http://www.electrosonicamplifiers.com http://www.electrosonicamplifiers.com/solaris.htm


    http://www.stephensonamps.com/stagehog4-5.htm see Stage Hog


    don't give up on them, just try to try some out first. The Zvex is still cool to have if you got one or the one from Dipinto like Bob has.


    That Carr is awesome, There was one next to a glorious Suhr I picked up at the shop yesterday.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • DriftingByTheStormDriftingByTheStorm Posts: 8,684
    exhausted wrote:
    the carr mercury is swell. i'd love one. that goes down to a 1/10th of a watt if you can believe it.

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


    6 watts and 12 watts are still loud.

    i just know the zvex is designed pretty much solely for driven, classic rock kind of tones.

    that looks way "rad"
    :rolleyes: @ the word i just used.

    but i will have to save for the next quarter century to own it.
    :(

    it would definately make my short list, money-no-matter, though. crazy attenuator and built in reverb. super swell psychobilly nostalgic nawgahide.
    :D

    hmm.

    thinks out loud.
    If I was to smile and I held out my hand
    If I opened it now would you not understand?
  • DriftingByTheStormDriftingByTheStorm Posts: 8,684
    Pacomc79 wrote:
    http://www.matamp.co.uk/minimat.htm
    .

    this thing gets my vote for coolest lookin' little mofo at a ridiculous price.
    nice metal box ... suhweet.

    ! hmm ...
    and it would look SOOOOOO good sitting on top of that sovtek box i posted up top ...

    mmm ... wonder if it sounds like butter.
    :D
    If I was to smile and I held out my hand
    If I opened it now would you not understand?
  • DriftingByTheStormDriftingByTheStorm Posts: 8,684
    i thought this was kind've cool too.
    was looking for cabinets on the small side ...

    moded marshall ministacks :D
    http://cgi.ebay.com/MARSHALL-MINI-STACK-CABINETS-WITH-NEW-HARDWARE_W0QQitemZ7381683772QQcategoryZ38075QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
    If I was to smile and I held out my hand
    If I opened it now would you not understand?
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    DriftingByTheStorm wrote:
    i thought this was kind've cool too.
    was looking for cabinets on the small side ...

    moded marshall ministacks :D
    http://cgi.ebay.com/MARSHALL-MINI-STACK-CABINETS-WITH-NEW-HARDWARE_W0QQitemZ7381683772QQcategoryZ38075QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


    They look cool, and would be fun canidates for speaker swaps.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • DriftingByTheStormDriftingByTheStorm Posts: 8,684
    Pacomc79 wrote:
    They look cool, and would be fun canidates for speaker swaps.
    i'm thinking this and the matamp would be SUHWEET.

    any ideas about domestic retailers for matamps?

    are there any?

    i'd love not to have to pay import duties and shipping!
    If I was to smile and I held out my hand
    If I opened it now would you not understand?
  • DriftingByTheStormDriftingByTheStorm Posts: 8,684
    well, i emailed matamp about a US distributor,

    but i checked the user guide, and the 2 speaker outs on the back are NOT to be used simultaneously ... i'm a little confused as to what the point of having them is ... why not just use an A\B box?

    anyhow ... that question aside ...

    is there any SAFE way to run one cord OUT of the minimat but to then split it to both cabinets of the mini stack?

    would this some how affect the load?

    anyone?

    i just think it would be cool to push two tens in a stack with 2 watts ...

    haha.
    If I was to smile and I held out my hand
    If I opened it now would you not understand?
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    DriftingByTheStorm wrote:
    well, i emailed matamp about a US distributor,

    but i checked the user guide, and the 2 speaker outs on the back are NOT to be used simultaneously ... i'm a little confused as to what the point of having them is ... why not just use an A\B box?

    anyhow ... that question aside ...

    is there any SAFE way to run one cord OUT of the minimat but to then split it to both cabinets of the mini stack?

    would this some how affect the load?

    anyone?

    i just think it would be cool to push two tens in a stack with 2 watts ...

    haha.

    wire the cabinets in such a way as to create the required load. it can be done.
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    DriftingByTheStorm wrote:
    well, i emailed matamp about a US distributor,

    but i checked the user guide, and the 2 speaker outs on the back are NOT to be used simultaneously ... i'm a little confused as to what the point of having them is ... why not just use an A\B box?

    anyhow ... that question aside ...

    is there any SAFE way to run one cord OUT of the minimat but to then split it to both cabinets of the mini stack?

    would this some how affect the load?

    anyone?

    i just think it would be cool to push two tens in a stack with 2 watts ...

    haha.

    Matamp and Orange both do that actually, My Orange has a 16ohm and an 8ohm jack neither are to be used simultaneously, though it can be done as aforementioned it just depends on your ingenuity.

    Electric makes the US rigs now I think

    http://www.matamp.com/order.html
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • DriftingByTheStormDriftingByTheStorm Posts: 8,684
    Pacomc79 wrote:
    Matamp and Orange both do that actually, My Orange has a 16ohm and an 8ohm jack neither are to be used simultaneously, though it can be done as aforementioned it just depends on your ingenuity.

    Electric makes the US rigs now I think

    http://www.matamp.com/order.html


    yeah pac, but both of the outs are each labeled 8/16/headphones ... so wtf ???
    If I was to smile and I held out my hand
    If I opened it now would you not understand?
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    DriftingByTheStorm wrote:
    yeah pac, but both of the outs are each labeled 8/16/headphones ... so wtf ???


    It's just a different way of doing things, on say a big hiwatt head you will have an impedence selector on the back Orange prefers to give you the option of a 16 ohm cab (usually one 16 ohm speaker or 2 8's wired accordingly) or an 8 ohm cab usually 2 or more 8 ohm speakers wired accordingly and so on and so forth etc etc. the possibilities are boundless. Essentially think of it as one out put jack, that you can switch. You can use either but not both.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • DriftingByTheStormDriftingByTheStorm Posts: 8,684
    http://www.juniorsmusic.com/

    MINIMATS in the USA.

    YAY!
    $555.
    If I was to smile and I held out my hand
    If I opened it now would you not understand?
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    DriftingByTheStorm wrote:
    http://www.juniorsmusic.com/

    MINIMATS in the USA.

    YAY!
    $555.

    Now, for $555, that to me sounds like a winner. Under 600, tons of MOJO. That thing is awesome.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • DriftingByTheStormDriftingByTheStorm Posts: 8,684
    Pacomc79 wrote:
    Now, for $555, that to me sounds like a winner. Under 600, tons of MOJO. That thing is awesome.

    Well, Pac, I would think you are right ...

    but now CHECK THIS OUT!

    before i found out about the dealer listed in the above post, I clicked on the link you gave me to the US site, and then on the "Used Rigs" button which sent me to a list of 3 or 4 older Matamps, and an email link for inquiries ... i clicked on this link and was pulled in to Outlook to send an email off to INFO@MATAMPS.COM ... so i ask the following question:
    Original Message
    From: ME [yeah, edited my email. hah]
    To: info@matamp.com
    Sent: Tuesday, January 17, 2006 11:18 AM
    Subject: Minimat in the USA


    Do you guys ever see minimats pass through these parts?

    I'd be looking to pick one up, but would prefer not to have it shipped from overseas, and go through the import taxes, hassle, and shipment risks.

    Let me know.
    Thanks!

    ~.::Nik ::.~

    Then I Get This VERY ODD Reply, you tell me, i'm highly confused

    From: matamp [mailto:info@matamp.com]
    Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2006 12:29 AM
    To: ME [yeah, edited my email AGAIN. hah hah]
    Subject: MATAMP USA


    You are 100% right to be leary of ordering from the UK Factory direct, the taxes and shiping risk is a ha$$le and the Brit Gear always show up funky and need tech work.

    I am going to try and avoid taking any of those minimats in on trade.
    We might wind up with one just for review purposes for http://www.planetoftheamps.com but, i doubt it.

    Really not into the "new" style Matamp gear. It is not very Matampish at all, that is why we quit promoting them. They are Matamp in name alone now. The amps are more like Ashdown's and Carlsbro productions.
    [END OF EMAIL]

    SO, This guy works for Matamps or what the fuck?

    jeezus.
    you ask a question to a guy at matamp(?) and all he does is trashtalk the company?

    WTF?
    I guess they really have nothing to do with their british "counter part" ? !?! ?
    If I was to smile and I held out my hand
    If I opened it now would you not understand?
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    oooh, sounds like there was a falling out on both sides like Matchless. I know Matamp UK has kind of departed from the old ways, but this is interesting. I don't know what to tell you unfortunately. You should ask why the change, IE does Mr. Green still build amps?
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • DriftingByTheStormDriftingByTheStorm Posts: 8,684
    Pacomc79 wrote:
    oooh, sounds like there was a falling out on both sides like Matchless. I know Matamp UK has kind of departed from the old ways, but this is interesting. I don't know what to tell you unfortunately. You should ask why the change, IE does Mr. Green still build amps?

    HOLY CRAP, Pac ...
    check out THIS RESPONSE !
    I asked why I was emailing Matamp (ElectricAmp, I guess) and getting trash talk back as a response, as I just found it odd. Here goes:
    From: matamp [mailto:info@matamp.com]
    Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2006 4:56 PM
    To: Super Me
    Subject: MATAMP USA


    Nic,

    I am not trash talking.... just telling you the truth.

    I own MATAMP USA, [matamp.com] started MATAMP USA 10 years ago to revitalize the MATAMP UK line. Tried for years to get them to build the amps "as" they "were" built. I don't work for Matamp, I own the entire USA operation and funded the factory for years.

    Every imported item from the UK needs mega attention, to the point it became un worthy.

    Then MATAMP in the UK started building "other" companies gear in the factory. Then, the MATAMP line started to be made out of the "other" companies parts....

    So in 2004 , we started building "old school" amps and cabs ourselves in the USA.
    MATAMP in the UK went off on their own and started building mini style amps from parts of the other companies parts and designs.

    I personally think the new stuff is very non Matamp, and does not even sound like a Matamp. It all became a "Royal" pain in the ass. None of the UK guys know how to play a guitar, so it just became a useless process. As a last attempt, we sent our specific designs and parts to the UK and they were suppose to build it for our USA orders. They failed misserbly in the UK, and the gear was CRAP, so we had to invest a bunch of money into rectifying the mondo screw ups and bad craftmanship by Jeff and start over. The goods just didn't meet the requirements and the gear sounded HORRIBLE.

    Here in the US we sat down and designed an Old School Hardwire amp that was worthy and found some of the USA's best amp and cab builders and went forth with ELECTRIC AMP Innovations, USA.

    http://www.electricamp.com
    http://www.blackamps.com
    http://www.greenamps.com
    http://www.whiteamp.com

    We turned MATAMP.COM into a USED , BUY SELL TRADE site, and i only want to deal in the 1240+ items we imported since 1994 that are already here in the USA to deal with.

    We moved on with our amp logos and designs such as BLACK and WHITE and the UK has their own thing. However, they bootleg our BLACK and WHITE logo that is registered to us here in the USA from time to time we have found out.

    I delt with the factory and funded it for 10 years, and it was always a comprimise.

    Not Trash Talk Nic, just the Truth.

    I hate seeing people get burnt, when spending hard earned USA Dollars. The UK thinks it is funny and i don't and have never shared their humor in wasting time, money and resources.
    {END OF EMAIL}
    Man. Now, I just don't know!
    :(
    If I was to smile and I held out my hand
    If I opened it now would you not understand?
  • DriftingByTheStormDriftingByTheStorm Posts: 8,684
    I found a GREAT RESOURCE, and a cool amp from it ... still looking, but here is what i got:

    http://amptone.com/
    specific to LOW WATT AMPS (under 10W) here:
    http://amptone.com/#lowwattamps
    right below is a subcatagory for UNDER 10 WATTS!

    Here is one good find off the page, though amptones link was for their Champ clone, i found this on the Fab Amp page, as well ...

    2 to 8 Watt Recording Amp:
    http://fab.stuff.home.comcast.net/fab_fox.htm

    like $450, tubes and some good features included.
    Hmm ... still lookin' though.

    :D
    If I was to smile and I held out my hand
    If I opened it now would you not understand?
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    good info to know, thanks for the update.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
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