5 Watt Tube Amp Shootout Pt2: Laney Cub10, VHT Special 6, Vox AC4, Marshall DSL 5, Career Felleretta
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- Опубликовано: 10 сен 2024
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In our first amp shootout, there were a few mismatches... 8", 10", and 12" speakers, this time we're focusing on 5-10 Watt all tube amps with 10" speakers. Which fits your purposes best? You may be surprised.
All guitars recorded into Pro Tools and mixed with a minimum of compression and limiting to get the level up for RUclips. A touch of reverb was added for realism because the iso room is bone dry!
Jump to 2:12 to get straight to the audio. Before that I go over the amps and setup for the shootout. The VHT Special 6 was a great all-around amp: amzn.to/2ps7L6q as well as the Laney Cub 10 - which can get even louder for gigging: amzn.to/2qlsQN4
I've spoken to Andreas Feller about getting the Career by Felleretta to the USA! Fingers crossed. cheers, joe
im looking for an amp for recording project. i ofcourse like the career but not available to me. the vht is my probable choice except im really trying to get a 5 or 10 watt that has that punk distortion. in the realm of NOFX to Sex Pistols at a volume that can safely be recorded but also get alittle feedback without harming the recording mic. Normally you would do live recording for that kind of sound i know but since im a one man band,that is not possible at this time. any suggestions?
No worries about harming the mic - don't worry about that. The VHT IMHO is the current winner n the US market for the moment, cheers, joe
Looking for something that would put a smile on the face of Joe Walsh, which do you recommend?
Drop G? Excuse my ignorance?
In isolation, they all have their merits but when I listen to them back to back in repetition I prefer the sound of the Vox . It has more of the characteristic that I have in my head
Laney definitely shines through as the best here in my opinion & to my ears.
Edit:
Great review, very balanced & demonstrated all the aspects of each amp as best one can
To me Laney was the worst. :D
I want to like Laney but everything on them is made for kids it seems...small dials..small dips witches..small footprint..it it nice but just feels brittle and toy-like...not 5he sound mind you...just the feel of it...turns me off...feels like like something is always going to break off when I throw it in to the bed of my F150...jk...
I like mine alright as long as I'm not driving it too hard without a cab. With a cab you can drive it harder. I've gigged with it a bunch. Not a huge fan of it with the gain dimed.....but I think it's the difference between speaker compression and tube compression....I prefer for the compression to come from tubes being driven hard as opposed to a speaker that sounds like it's being driven too hard. It sounds much better through an extension cab.....
@@jussioman also for me. Vst the best. And vox also
Laney all the way, have one and love it. LOUD with lots of headroom.
In 40 years I have never needed a LOUD low wattage amp. Isn't tone worth some comment?
Have you had any issues with it ? I want to try a tube amp and I'm thinking the super 10 .
The clarity of the Marshall wins the gain contest
Best comparison. Thank you. Better than watching a 40 minute video with each amp played with a backing track. I can hear each amp alone in this video!!
Hi, great video, I have the VHT special 6 ultra, and it's great.
I use it on full power, and have changed the tubes from the original Chinese tubes. I'm a newby with regards amps, made a big mistake in buying a Fender Mustang V2/2 , too many options for me. I'm very happy with the VHT which can be loud when all turned up, and it suits my music style. At 71 and enjoying myself what more could you want.
Damn that Marshall DSL5 was beautiful
I own both the VHT Special 6 and the Laney Cub 10. The Laney has much more low end and more clean headroom, and I actually gig with it. I swapped the stock speaker for an Eminence Ragin Cajun, which gave it a wider tone bandwidth and upped the volume noticeably. The amp sounds a bit dark for my tastes, so I now run through a 5-band graphic equalizer pedal, which allows me to sculpt the tone to my exact tastes -- highly recommended. I don't use any OD or dist pedals, as this little amp breaks up quick and hard, so they're simply unnecessary. Other than the EQ, all I add on the floor is tremolo and reverb via the Mr Black Deluxe Deluxe Plus, a great pedal I always take with me, whatever the amp.
Laney cub 10 that clean sound im looking for, the low end is so great 🙌
Thank you for taking the time and effort to make this and post it Joe. Your video is well produced, entertaining and informative. Watching it was time well spent.
For sure.
Second time around with the VHT sounded at times exactly like Keef. Fookin’ lovely, that. However, overall, I like the Vox the best because it’s so full-spectrum without being boomy.
Great review Joe. Kept it simple and didn't try to blow us away with your riff back catalogue! 👍
Ah, the Laney Cub 10. What an amp. I revalved mine with a JJ 5751 in v1 to just calm the gain down a little, a JJ 12ax7 in v2 and JJ 6v6S power valves when the stock valves began to lose their sparkle and thump. I rebiased it a little hotter than stock ( spot on 70% dissipation now ) and swapped the stock HH speaker out for a Jensen MOD 10/70. The stock speaker was OK, but OK isn't good enough. It's a sweet sounding thing indeed!. My favourite setting is tone up full, master wound round almost to the stop, say 9/10 to really get some sweet power valve compression going and the gain just to the point of crispy-crunch goodness. Say 3-4/10, maybe halfway, no more. Strum away and it is sweet crunch heaven, then hit the front end with a booster to overdrive v1 at the relevant moment and delicious sonic delights issue forth. The bass it can produce, even in stock trim, is trouser-flappingly impressive. Mellifluous mids and tight treble too. Great for punk/funk/ska/classic rock. Bit rubbish for modern metal type tones but can do great Angus Young/Jimmy Page 'on the verge of madness' and really cleans up when the guitar volume gets rolled off a notch or two too. It also sounds quite spectacular when driving a 4x12". Two output valves in class A/B will do that.
The Career sounds rather nice. I wonder though, does it suffer the same fate as many single ended amps when the volume is close to max, that of farty or absent bass, nasal mids ( and too mid heavy ) and screechy treble?. Certainly sounded damn fine in your demo though. I've got a sweet single ended head unit where I've fitted a 12ay7 in v1, stuck with a 12ax7 in v2 and replaced the EL84 with a Russian 6p14p. The 12ay7 still goes to 'mental mode' at full gain but gives greater range on the dial around the sweet spot. The 6p14p compresses earlier but breaks up later and breaks up in a less harsh manner than the EL84. That's another one where I run it with the volume quite high then bring the pre-amp gain up to a suitable level of crunch. There's something quite special a decent single ended amp does and the Career sounds like it does it properly.
The VHT was quite pleasant to the ear in the main and the Vox?, I once owned an AC4TV 10" and it too suffered from what I perceived as being boxy, bass shy and flat. The cure is to make a new back panel ( or cut the one it comes with ) to remove a band approximately 1/3rd the area of the rear panel to make it a semi open back. It really opened the amp and let the speaker breathe at more immoderate volume levels. Full volume and it still fell flat on its arse though. That's one to show some restraint with. Still very much a one trick amp, but one now not constrained by the cabinet. Try the Vox into an open back 1x12" to hear it at its best. I've tried all the AC4 range and Vox are missing a trick by keeping them fully closed back. The front vent ports are wholly inadequate to deal with the cone excursion at high volumes.
I once tried the Marshall in a shop. Given the acoustics of the shop were akin to a warehouse with added tone suck and aural shyte embellishments, it failed to ignite any purchase passion. In the big room, it sounded small and apologetic whilst simultaneously being harsh. I bought the Laney instead. To my ears, it's trying a little too hard. Nicer sounding than the boxy Vox when cranked, but still one trick, and fizzy pre-amp, gainy Marshall is not a trick I'm overly fond of. Power valve compressing big Marshalls are a different thing altogether. I wonder if some valve swaps would help it?
Laney, then Career, then VHT and vying for last place, the Vox and Marshall for me.
An excellent summary! Thanks for writing in. I think you put up a "5 things to do" list for Small combo amps. They all reah a certain resonance point where the cabinet has strong acoustic influences on the tone of the electronics. R/e the Career, that is the one of the bunch that seems to avoid sounding boxy when cranked - just had it in a club the other night, and the other players all politely asked if they could use it as backline. I let 'em all have a go. Naturally by the time I was on again, it was dimed as stage volumes crept up, and not a hint of harshness - just a great amp in stock condition. Now of course, add a 1x12 box (or more) to any of these (all have external outs) and the story changes. Thanks again! joe
They all have something going for them. I personally own the Vox and am happy.
Laney wins for me. The VHT and Vox seems to be hurt by their cabs and/or speakers. Not enough high end. Vox with the Strat sounded good though. Used to have a DSL5 myself and hated its thin fizzy tone.
The most balanced is the laney - Bass - Mid - Treble
Put a EH Big Muff and a Delay pedal in front of Laney CUB10 and enjoy exercising on any volume of sound. Even at a very low volume, the Laney CUB10 will work great.
I personally have an older Laney LC15R, which is a seriously awesome performer, especially with a tube screamer in front. The Laney would be my favourite here too, followed by the VHT.
Fender (clean sound) - Marshall (crunch or high gain) 👌🏻
Received the Career by Felleretta two weeks ago, Im blown away!! Just sold my Fender Blues Junior, the Career is.. just better!
Nuthin' betta than a Felleretta! ;-)
@@joedocmusic where did you buy it? thx
@@pierreg8562 Seems that they're only available in Europe. I got mine in Germany. cheers, j
@@joedocmusic hi, i live in Germany too, but still not sure where to buy it.
@@pierreg8562 Check eBay - there's one dealer that sells B-models there for sure, sometimes simply without the 12" speaker, but that's easy to choose your favorite and install it ;)
Joe, I bought a vox ad15vt practice amp (I upgraded the speaker and the 12ax7 tube), it is the most versatile amp I have ever played and your humdinger fuzz pedal sounds killer through it!
Noice! Post a video and link it here :) cheers man!
Thank u. Probably the best shootout ive seen. You are concise and dont waste time with unnecesary talk. Much appreciated. I subbed
Great shootout! I think we should start petition to have the Career amp available in North America.
Hell yes! Andreas Feller is a German amp designer who makes killer amps... the Career by Felleretta is just amazing... googl him and write to him! With Reverb.com, there's gotta be a way to get those puppies over to the US.
I got Mr Feller on the horn yesterday. He was enthusiastic - he said he'd check with the producer about 110V power transformers, and then the US market would be an option. Fingers crossed! That amp is just brilliant.
Any update on this? I am willing to pay buku bucks for the 5 watt combo with gain boost mod.
Dur
I appreciated this video... and your opinions ARE welcome and invaluable, making
this even more informative... That said, here's what I missed: Tube compliments &
how they're utilized, a rear view to show, as best you can, tubes, transformers and
speakers as well as a shot of the controls, at least a quick view, though progressive
views are always more informative and entertaining. Please forgive if I'm a bit
mixed up as this is all part of being a musician and (if you've not already guessed)
a dedicated dyed in the wool fanatical gear head... so thanx for a great video &
keep them coming and I'll keep comin' back fer more... cheers from Koreatown,
L.A. California, USA
I really like my Blackstar HT 5R MKII amp! 🤘
I’ve just ordered a wee Marshall DSL 1 the one watt version of the one you’ve got there n I cannot wait till the thing gets here .
I’ve had all kindsa nonsense off my neighbors to put up with as I’m too loud apparently 🙄how the hell I’m gonna be too loud on a one watt amp is beyond me so the next time they decide to send my local cops to my house about me having a life I’ll be showing them what I’m playing through .
The wee Marshall is awesome ,I’d had a look at a couple of different small amps n the Marshall stole it on price point quality amount Of features and the power scale where I can drop it too .1 of a watt n still get my groove on
Interesting video.
I have been looking for a low wattage tube amp for recording. I was checking out some of the Fender Princeton reissue amps, but they are expensive these days.
I really like pushing an amp into a power tube type overdrive as opposed to preamp distortion type amps. I already have a Mesa Mark IV, so I have distortion is covered, now need a great overdrive amp.
Very well done comparison with different guitars. Thanks.
Phil
NYC Area.
Vox and laney make great amps
Marshall, the best from those amps
Laney across the piece for me, very nice.
VHT & Laney FTW. Great demo, thanks.
I like the VHT!
I like both the VHT and the Career! They get used quite often on my channel. Especially the Career is really great given the price.
Very helpful review! Looking for a home practice / recording amp and I appreciate your honest opinions and succinct review!
Great job on this video! Thank you the effort. It really helps. 👍
Marshall all settings great
Putting a 12" in the DSL5 really opens it up with some bottom end boost and more balanced range. Shame it costs a good $70 extra for something like a Veteran30 to squeeze in there..
laney was best to me for the clean and mid gain sounds but the marshall blows all away on the full gain setting by far,be a great amp for metal heads and hard rock players
The great thing about the Laney in practical use is that it really delivers good stage volume for it's weight and size, too. Very cool if you're using a pedal board for dirt
Not loving the DSL clean tone.. but it nails a Plexi tone!
Give me the Marshall. The full distortion is so smooth.
I liked everything except the Marshall, which is mostly what I own. I loved how tight the Vox is. I am a mid range junky. It’s the only thing that cuts through a mix as we all know. I have been looking for two amps about this size, and I want to run them in stereo at home with a “variety” pedalboard. I’m open to any suggestions. Thank you. This is great content.
I have the Laney. It's surprisingly good
SUPER helpful, great comparison, thanks so much!
Great Vid man! Had the VHT , awesome clean sounds with a speaker up grade and lots of fun when you change the power tubes ,so cool ! I have a Laney Cub Super 15R head now and its a monster for its size . Liked the Career alot and the Laney and VHT of coarse. Vox not so much and the Marshall is great with gain ! Thanx
That Hofner Colorama w P90’s! Killer!
Thanks for the review. Nice and simple.
I recently bought a Monoprice Stage Right 15w. In other videos, some say the Stage Right is a Laney clone, possibly even made in the same factory. I don't know if all that is true, but a 15w tube for $199 was right for me.
BTW, I had the VHT Special 6. Hated it. Had no kick to it and sounded muddy. I gave it away.
I have a Vox Student amp, but that's a vintage piece. I have seen few examples anywhere.
Thanks for this - some bigger channels have done much worse shootouts than this! appreciate it
Hard for a clear judgement. VHT sounds great clean but i dislike distorted sound. Laney sounds really nice! But for me to use in my flat it would be way too loud and it doesnt have headphones out not the power reduction. Career also really nice sounding but again it doesnt support any way of „silent mode” running. VOX - totally not my sounds from this amp. I don’t know if current Marshall dsl5cr sounds the same like this one, at least it seems so. This 5c has not perfect clean but distorted sounds are the best from those amps. It sounds like it is ready to practise at home without any pedals. And in current version you can play using headphones. For my use Marshall seems to be the best. I was really suprised by Laney and Fellaretta. And most inportant, great comparison Man! :)
Many thanks for sharing this.
Sadly, there were 30 stupid people as at 28-May-2020; so stupid they don't realise how much effort was involved to get this video made - not to mention the amount of money needed to purchase these beautiful sounding amps (my favourite: the Career amp, for some reason). At least have the decency to say why the down votes. Stupidity knows no bounds. I am expecting a lot of down votes for my statement but giving me a down vote means I am more right than wrong.
Imagine forking out your hard-earned cash on an amp only to find that another amp has better sounds for your desire - from a painful personal experience!
Many thanks once again.
Thanks for taking the time to write! As far as the dislikes, well, haters gonna hate, you know? I think in retrospect there were a few things I could have done differently for sure, but you deffo got the main point: Side by side comparison of any type at all can really help if you're trying to make a choice, and that's not available to everyone. And I agree, the Felleretta amp remains my fave some years later. BIG shoutout to Andreas Feller, the designer - here's his channel: ruclips.net/video/bw0wUFswm2Q/видео.html best wishes, joe
the marshall is different but not bad. somehow fizzy compared to the others, but sounds kinda like a record already. i love the career amp I WANT ONE!
Hey - I agree - the Career design by Andreas Feller has tone for miles. I don't dislike the Marshall, but it seems pre-set for a very particular sound. Personally, after the Career/Feller, I like the VHT the best. Just a great amp and very affordable and gig-able. (Is that a word? I guess, "Loud enough for a small gig") cheers, joe
Marshall absolutely the best!!!!! Not even close 🤷🏽♂️🥸
I do appreciate your opinions...
Cool shootout and my critiques are: I wish you'd included
the Champ, the Monoprice (both 8" tho') and mentioned the
tube types and I'm assuming all 3 were back pups & vol dimed
Thanx so very much and Cheerios (but not the cereal 😎)
Great review, thanks for doing this.
The winner is . . . Marshall! Gain is awesome!
Can Laney handle live gig with bass, guitar and micless drums?
That Marshall sounds friggin' SAWWWEEET!
I'd go with the Laney. To me, it sound the best.
Nice demo !,...Vox has a nice chewy something going on !
Thanks for this review! Based on your previous video I bought a VHT Special 6, and I am very happy with it. Takes on pedals very well. However, mine has volume controls and both a Lo and Hi input, is yours an older version?
Correction - my Special 6 does have a hi and low in. One way or the other, the great thing about VHT amps is the way they break up, and (if you trust yourself) you can mod them quite easily. cheers, joe
The VHT is what I have been thinking, hard to decide when I only hear it thru my old laptop.Victor thank you for your input. Hope they like David Gilmour type sounds.
Glad to have helped! I initially thought my Special 6 sounded muffled, but after reading somewhere about similar issues, I switched to only using the high power mode, and it sounds much more open (even at low volumes). I also replaced the 6V6 by an EL84, and that helped me get a sound closer to what I like.
Needed to include the blackstar ht5r...
Comparison needs to be swift from one to the next..no talking but nice comparison..checking out Laney and Marshall plus voxx 5w
Vht sounds nice too.
Good comparison. For me Laney and Career. Vox and Marshall sound too niche.
Nice video. I think I prefer the Laney.
Hey, good comparison, Iiked the method you took to compare. Only note is that you need to balance your voice with the amplifier sound (voice is too low volume)
Man those all kinda have some usable tones don't they. My interest is in that "Felleretta" ..? Never heard of them before but that amp was ticklin my tone bone.
What is the name of the first amp on the show. 2:02 i like this sound.. i m looking for a amp for country music and solo. i think this would fit. it is not so noisy and screamy
Are you using any effects?
That Carrera is probably an OEM Joyo Sweet Baby Fender champ clone? Sounds great.
Full gain. Marshall hands down.
I have the AC4. I play pseudo clean but it's almost too loud to get the tone I want. I was hoping to find something I didn't have...let the search continue. Great comparison video!
Have you tried an attenuator.
@@thekitowl by the time I get an attenuator and mod to connect to the built in speaker....not worth it.
@@njv1805 attenuators can be built as separate stomp boxes. The AC4 inplayed the other day sent chills down my spine (with a PRS SE One with a P90), it would be worth playing at the volume you prefer. I bought a Bitmo attenuator kit, and it was simple to build.
I cant find the career amp anyplace any help?
Jimi Oconnor Bought mine from reverb.com
Im in Europe though..
1:20 "Herfner"??
Try the Black star 12 inch speaker
How about the $99 monoprice 5W?
sounds great, go for it.
Thumbs Up, Joe
Thanks!!
Hey Mark! Thanks for popping by... keep rockin!
joe
Round 1 - VOX, Round 2 - VHT, Round 3 - I liked VOX, VHT, & MARSHALL. Each had their own tone but I liked each for different reasons. Should check out the VHT Ultra...
The Laney sounds best to me
Vox for me by far but I love them so much they could make a toilet and I'd still plug in.
They've done that over the years
But you have to listen to everyone with the same speaker to compare. A 10 "speaker does not sound the same as a 12" speaker even if it is the same model, you should press the same speaker in all amps and then compare
???
That's comparing amp circuits. Not a bad idea but the idea is comparing amps right out of the box. I'll settle for all the speakers being broken in before testing (not sure if that is the case here).
Felleretta
IDK if it's the 12" speaker, but the Felleretta sounds awesome to me - I'd love to be able to get one of those in the U.S. The Laney sounds good, too. I have a Special 6, but I think I like the clean headroom and the chime on the laney better.
I put my Vox ac4c1 on the floor and I get all the bass I would ever want out of an amp
Laney was best clean, Marshall was best dirty.
Exactly the way I heard it
Exactly the way I heard it
Vox and marshall
But special 6 and career felllereta for the wins!!
Dude are u Will Farrell? U sound EXACTLY like Will Farrell
He stops by to narrate the reviews.
Darn, I thought I was first viewer - maybe I was but second commenter! Thanks for that Joe.
Ha! Quick on the draw nonetheless... thanks for watching... hope you dig. More videos coming soon... best, joe
;-)
Laney club 10 valve amp
I choose blackstar fly3
VHT
Marshall wins
it is petty that you didnt play solo. thats where i can hear the sound of the amps and the difference best. and it would be better not to speak and only play. so we can hear best. when someone plays and speaks then i cant concentrate the sound. had to stop in the middle as i m interested in solo sound and there was only cord playing.
i don't want too criticize or upset you. but i felt the need to tell from the video viewer. no harsh feelings, please. I am very interested on Vox amp reviews because i am to get me one. i have a Fender amp already b. and Fender are great but i m looking for a harder sound for Rock music. i like the 60--70s sound of the rock music. that's mainly Fender for country music and pop . but for Rock music, it was the Marshal or VOX.
The Fender of course i keep and play too. Never give away a Fender or a good VOX.
@FalconerPhoto Looser yourself
DSL.. Lol.