Alastor The Great Posted July 1, 2006 Author Share Posted July 1, 2006 (edited) Well duh. I'm not clueless as to what a tube amp can do or how loud they can be. I just want a bit more than 5 watts, 10-15 watts is perfect for me. Edited July 1, 2006 by Alastor The Great Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BolivarBaLues Posted July 2, 2006 Share Posted July 2, 2006 I think we're wasting our time trying to tell a 14-year-old anything. You know, they already know everything at that age. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
groselicain Posted July 2, 2006 Share Posted July 2, 2006 (edited) Haha, you know, I think we both noticed his age at the same time. I just happened to look at his profile and see that he was born in the fricken NINETIES. I wasn't going to say a thing though... Just let him buy an overpowered amp that his parents won't let him play. EDIT- Do you have the Ken Burns Jazz version of Faubus Fables? Edited July 2, 2006 by groselicain Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BolivarBaLues Posted July 2, 2006 Share Posted July 2, 2006 EDIT- Do you have the Ken Burns Jazz version of Faubus Fables? Of course. Love that version! It also appears on Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alastor The Great Posted July 2, 2006 Author Share Posted July 2, 2006 For fucks sake, just because I don't want to buy a 5 watt tube amp doesn't mean I'm stubborn. My parents, for the most part, LIKE loud noises. In other words. My amp, not your's. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BolivarBaLues Posted July 2, 2006 Share Posted July 2, 2006 For fucks sake, just because I don't want to buy a 5 watt tube amp doesn't mean I'm stubborn. My parents, for the most part, LIKE loud noises. In other words. My amp, not your's. You're the one that came on here asking for advice, pal. That sort of language is not very becoming for a child your age. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alastor The Great Posted July 2, 2006 Author Share Posted July 2, 2006 Advice, yes. Not assholes making fun of me because of my age and certainly not the same assholes making fun of my choice of amp. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jhc Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 Honestly, just because the guy doenst want a 5 watt amp doesnt make him an asshole. Maybe he's in a band with a loud drummer - 5 watts ain't gonna cut it. Besides, the "dumb" kids all want 100W Mashall solid state stacks. A 10-15 watt tube combo is a pretty wise purchasing decision at any age IMO. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ginandcigarettes Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 Honestly, just because the guy doenst want a 5 watt amp doesnt make him an asshole. Maybe he's in a band with a loud drummer - 5 watts ain't gonna cut it. Besides, the "dumb" kids all want 100W Mashall solid state stacks. A 10-15 watt tube combo is a pretty wise purchasing decision at any age IMO. I'm with John. Just about all of us play tube combos in the 15-30 watt range, and very few of us would trade those amps for 5 watt numbers. In fact, BolivarBaLues was just talking in another post about he really loved the sound of a 50 watt amp and was considering trading his 30 watt amp for one. The truth is, even if we suceeded in browbeating AlistorTheGreat into buying a 5 watt amp, in a few years he'd just want to get a bigger amp with a few more options, more headroom, or something that just sounded better to his ears. Why not just let him get that amp now? By the way, being born in the 90's doesn't bother me. Being born in the 80's and talking about people being born in the 90's bothers me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a.miller Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 I just bought a 40 watt tube amp over its 15 watt little brother essentially because I wanted 2 channels, and I must say that it is pretty damn loud on 1 or 2 on the volume knob. I think perhaps I would have been a bit wiser in getting a Blues Jr, as I am using the amp almost exclusively for recording. (sigh) So, if you got a 5 watt tube amp you could crank the hell out of it and get some great overdrive, something that seems to not be achievable with a higher watt amp unless you would like to lose your hearing or purchase an overdrive pedal. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alastor The Great Posted July 3, 2006 Author Share Posted July 3, 2006 (edited) I'm with John. Just about all of us play tube combos in the 15-30 watt range, and very few of us would trade those amps for 5 watt numbers. In fact, BolivarBaLues was just talking in another post about he really loved the sound of a 50 watt amp and was considering trading his 30 watt amp for one. The truth is, even if we suceeded in browbeating AlistorTheGreat into buying a 5 watt amp, in a few years he'd just want to get a bigger amp with a few more options, more headroom, or something that just sounded better to his ears. Why not just let him get that amp now? By the way, being born in the 90's doesn't bother me. Being born in the 80's and talking about people being born in the 90's bothers me. Thank you. About cranking a 15 watt amp to open up the tubes, I'm not too worried about my hearing. If it's too loud, I'll just use earplugs. Edited July 3, 2006 by Alastor The Great Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BolivarBaLues Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 I'm with John. Just about all of us play tube combos in the 15-30 watt range, and very few of us would trade those amps for 5 watt numbers. In fact, BolivarBaLues was just talking in another post about he really loved the sound of a 50 watt amp and was considering trading his 30 watt amp for one. The truth is, even if we suceeded in browbeating AlistorTheGreat into buying a 5 watt amp, in a few years he'd just want to get a bigger amp with a few more options, more headroom, or something that just sounded better to his ears. Why not just let him get that amp now? By the way, being born in the 90's doesn't bother me. Being born in the 80's and talking about people being born in the 90's bothers me. Yeah, I like the added bass and headroom of the 50 watt Classic 50 and I wouldn't mind a trade up from my 30 watt version, but there are some sacrifices involved in such a trade, including having to play at a louder volume to get power tube overdrive. If you play a tube amp, you have to almost accept that playing in your bedroom will have to involve an overdrive pedal, headphones or an amp with an overdrive channel that allows you to overdrive the preamp and keep the volume at a reasonable level. Tube amps simply aren't a great option for someone who just plays at home, IMO. If you have an amp with a master volume/gain setup, you can overdrive the preamp and get a decent enough overdrive sound for practice settings. However, the Pro Jr. only has a volume and a tone knob, so you'd have to either crank the hell out of it or use an overdrive pedal. Or play clean. Fifty watts is as loud as I would ever get, and the 15-30 watt range is ideal. However, I gig frequently and sometimes I need a little bit more volume when I'm playing somewhere that I can't mike my amp (especially outdoor gigs). Different needs for different folks. The bottom line is that you'll never get the kind of power amp overdrive that everyone covets without being too loud for most non-band settings. What I and others I think were trying to impress upon ATG was that if you are used to solid state amps, you can't accurately judge how loud a tube amp is going to sound. I'd wager that a 30 watt tube amp would kick an 80 watt solid state's ass volume-wise. And ATG would be lucky to figure that out at 14, because I was too stupid to make the switch to tube amps until I was well into my late 20s. I was a solid state guy for years, mainly because I didn't want to fool with having to replace tubes and keep sinking money into my amp. But once I got a tube amp, I knew that there was no way that I'd ever go back to solid state. I applaud young guys like him for wanting to play music at his age. I couldn't think of a better hobby. I started to play guitar when I was 12 and started my first band when I was 15. I wish you all the best, Alastor, and I hope you find playing guitar as rewarding as I have. The age remark was because of your angst-ridden attitude. You posted asking for advice, after all, and seemed to shoot down everyone's suggestions. Nothing wrong with being born in the 90s, but if you're going to carry on a discussion with older folks, you might want to leave out the "duh, I already knew that" sort of attitude. But I digress; you can't expect too much from a 14-year-old, and I apologize to you Alastor for cracking on your age. I really just want to help you make a good purchase. There's a lot of folks around here that can help you that have considerable experience playing music. I wish that I'd had the smarts at your age to seek advice from those older and more knowlegable, but I thought I knew everything at that point. I've played guitar for almost 25 years now and have spent over 20 years now playing in bands and I've got several hundred gigs under my belt. But one thing you learn as you get older as that you don't know near as much as you think you did when you were younger. I'm in my late 30s now and already feel like I didn't have a clue in my early 30s. And I'm sure that I'll look back in 10 years and think about how little I knew now. I'm sure that there are others on this board older and more knowlegable than I am, so don't think that I'm trying to come across as the oldest or the wisest, because I'm neither. I don't want you to hesitate to ask for help in the future, and cracking on you for your age is a sure-fire way to keep you from asking again. Again, my apologies. At my age, I should be a bit better than that. BTW, I notice that the Pro Jr. only has a volume and a tone knob and doesn't have reverb. That's certainly something to consider. Personally, I've got to have a decent reverb. A good place to check when making equipment decision is Harmony Central. They have user reviews of just about any piece of equipment under the sun. You can read the reviews for the Pro Jr. here: http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data..._Junior-01.html Best of luck. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alastor The Great Posted July 3, 2006 Author Share Posted July 3, 2006 Thank you for apologizing. I have gone to Harmony-Central and read up on the reviews and I'm somewhat torn between a Blues Jr. and a Pro Jr. But meh, they aren't my only choices. I need to go up to the guitar store and play through more amps. Again, thank you for the help and suggestions. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BolivarBaLues Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 Thank you for apologizing. I have gone to Harmony-Central and read up on the reviews and I'm somewhat torn between a Blues Jr. and a Pro Jr. But meh, they aren't my only choices. I need to go up to the guitar store and play through more amps. Again, thank you for the help and suggestions. That's it right there. Reading reviews and listening to others' opinions can help steer you in the right direction, but ulimately your ears should be the judge. Buy what sounds best to you. I think the Blues Jr. offers more versatility given a choice between the two. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
telekipper Posted July 4, 2006 Share Posted July 4, 2006 spend the extra whatever on the blues jr. the pro is a great little no nonsense amp, but you will appreciate the extra features on the blues. [rion] Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BolivarBaLues Posted July 4, 2006 Share Posted July 4, 2006 I was just reading the user reviews on Harmony Central and found one user's comment that I thought appropriate: My biggest complaint, however, was the volume. As someone who plays in the house rather than on the stage, I found that the amp was too loud to be really useful. I frequently ran it with just one output tube, which helped quite a bit. Even with one output tube pulled out however, the Pro Jr. was louder than my friend's vintage Vibrolux. So depending on your playing situation, this might be a 10, or it might be a 6. I think that a Vibrolux is about 40 watts (tube, of course). I've played through one and it has a weird gain structure that's hard to get used to. You seem to hit maximum volume somewhere around 3 or 4, and everything past that just adds to the overdrive. Reinforcing the point that you need to play the amp and let your ears decide. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alastor The Great Posted July 4, 2006 Author Share Posted July 4, 2006 Hm... Interesting to know. Thanks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
anodyne Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 you could always get a bigger amp and run a power soak or power brake between the amp and cab. another option would be to get a POS ampeg cabinet with some of the most inefficent speakers on earth. you could also get a rack preamp and run it as a headphone amp or match it to a power amp that suits your needs. there are lots of tube options besides combos. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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