It was obvious to me that I was hearing a small amp in the intro. It was missing a bunch of low end thump. That lack of low end thump is why these amps work so well in the studio. They sit nicely in the mix and don't step on the bass or kick drum.
1:52 Decibels are measured on a logarithmic scale. A +3dB increase represents approximately double the power, electrically speaking. So, totally makes sense that a 100W amp is that much louder than a 50W amp... it also helps to remember that "just" a 3dB increase at higher volumes is more punishing to your ears than one would assume, since we all tend to think in linear fashion rather than exponential.
You are correct. A doubling of power is a 3 dB increase. While researching info about human hearing, I discovered that a 3 dB power change is just barely noticeable. According to researchers, it takes approx 10 dB of power change to be perceived as twice as loud. That's 10 times more power! Food for thought...
I love your comment here. I was thinking exactly as you were. I was too scared to comment because I didn't know how to explain "exponential " in Marshall speak. Thank you! 🧠👀🖤🥳🎉🤓
By definition a 3dB increase is just noticeable whereas I believe a 6dB increase is a four fold increase in output power but represents only a doubling of apparent volume
Correct a 3dB increase represents twice the power, however it takes 6dB to 9dB to sound twice as loud, varies somewhat person to person. So to sound twice as loud, we need to increase power at least four times, ie: a Twin Reverb sounds twice as loud as a Deluxe Reverb, 22w vs 88w also with a 3dB increase with 2x12 cab.
I use a Vox AC4TVH Head (4 watts) with a Vox V112TV speaker cabinet. Although we do mic the amp and run a full monitor mix, I can play anywhere with this setup from small bar gigs to the biggest outdoor stages. It has plenty of stage volume for loud stages. I don't know a lot about specs and don't need to. This amp does it all for me. I play a Tele usually. I turn it on, turn it up to about 6.5 on the volume control and and little past mid on the treble and play. It gives me that bright twinkle you expect from Vox and I just love it.
I have several vintage and newer 5 watt amps and the only thing I can add here is that you'll hear the difference more easily in various tube types when cranked. Cranking the amp constantly is hard on them though. Class a tubes never get a break, lol. I have a small collection of vintage tubes and no longer use them much because they're either hard to get without getting ripped-off or crazy expensive, (ie; rca black plate),. Long ago I thought folks made too big a deal out of it until I put a black plate in my barth amp. At about 6/7 volume it really was the holy grail of tone. I finally get it. Cheers.
I saw Cheap Trick in Los Angeles at a huge arena show back in 1979. Rick had a wall of impressive looking amps/cabinets and of course the sound was great. But since I was near the front, I started looking more closely. And off to stage right (right next to him, out of view of most of the audience) was a Fender Champ on a chair, mic'd, and this was clearly the sound that was coming through the mains. I have no idea if any of the other amps were even throwing any sound at all!
same with one of the most famous TV appearances of The Jam: a Marshall stack behind Paul Weller, but the actual mic-ed sound was coming out of a ... Peavey Bandit
@@MrTimcoronel Backstage 30. Which was a high feature amp. 2 channels, footswitchable Saturation and Reverb, and afaik - there's only one video that shows him playing it live. Had one recently. Quite overlooked. Ever hear of a backup? The idea that a stadium filling band couldn't crank up a Marshall in the 70s is ludicrous.
I walked into a tiny music store in Portland OR which had a bunch of cool vintage stuff. Plugged a really cool, highly used Strat into a very unassuming old Fender Champ and from the first note was taken away. Dreamy round dripping with tone sounds emitted from what looked like something that was going to be thrown away at Goodwill. It was like you couldn't play a bad note and every pick and stum took you to new places. It was kinda mind blowing.
Anyone here ever played thru a lil monster called a Fender "Super Champ"? OMG I don't know if that one fits in this discussion, im sure it was rated above 5watts. But...o Lord, best purchase my young mind could muster. Oh that amp was a screamer, and clean with headroom to the heavens!!!❤
I recently acquired a 76 Vibro Champ. I wasn't specifically the lookout for one, but just couldn't pass on the opportunity (good deal, GAS, etc). So glad I got it and might let go of some of one my bigger Combos. This just really fits my environment (Basement, residential area...Kids at sleep :) And I could chit chat with the seller about the local music scene here in southern Bavaria while the thing was dimed🙂
Or different cabs for the the big amp. I always use a hiwatt dr103 as I like the sparkle and I like the infinite clean headroom that still sounds tonally rich. I just switch up my cab depending on the situation. If it requires a 412 I take a 412, if it is way lower volume I take a less efficient 112 cab so I get some of that speaker push at lower volumes.
Man I can hear Ben talk about guitar all day. It would be cool if you guys had him on the dipped in tone podcast, or even better if he had his own channel. Thanks for the great content Rhett!!
@@pczTV I have a Peugeot 306 with 100hp. It's just about enough in a small car, as you know, and I've driven plenty of tasty machinery myself before now, but the Peugeot is definitely up there when it comes to fun. Another 20hp wouldn't go amiss though...
Great mic, good placement, good gain choices, great touch on the instrument. You make all these sound great 🤷♂️. Also, keep riffing on Zeppelin…like, forever, please. I love your little personal takes on the riffs that I have loved for decades. I actually do that all the time when I’m messing around too ❤.
About 25 years ago I painted a portrait of a friend and his daughter in exchange for a silverface mid 70s Fender Twin Reverb. Since I'm not a gigging musician I concluded that this was way more amp than I really needed and swapped it for a Fender Blues Deluxe reissue. While I loved the sound it put out it was still more than I needed and I sold it to buy a Fender Champion 600 reissue. For me it's the perfect amp. 5 Watts through a six inch speaker, two inputs but only a volume control. I like some reverb so I added a Boss digital reverb pedal along with an EQ pedal, to adjust tone, and one of those green drive pedals. And that's all I need. And don't forget; Derek and the Dominoes used Fender Champ amps to record Layla...
@@timhouston1638 Originally I did start off small. I had a silverface Fender Champ (that I gave to my son) but always wanted a Twin Reverb. It wasn't until I had one that I realized I really didn't need it.
There’s truth in gigging with small amps in ANY size of venue. They are more than loud enough. You don’t need your amp to be as loud as your drummer on stage because your VOCALIST can never be louder than your drummer on stage. You will be forced to mic your amp. You will sound better too because the PA system can properly fill the venue with your sound.
I feel like in a studio, any amp can sound big. I used a slightly modified Fender Frontman 10G (the kind of amp you get in one of those players packs) to record something about a year ago, and no one who wasn't there was able to guess that was what I used.
That's why people arguing over modelers sounding "bad" are silly. It's all about how much you dial in the tone and where it sits in the mix. Modern modeling software can crank out so many usable tones that don't make a difference and sound great.
these small amps are great! had a supro from the mid 50s that we used for harmonica tones with a shure green bullet mic and it was the best harmonica i'd ever heard, thats another cool use of these lil guys
that fender champ is amazing. blew me away how good it sounds for recording. definitely going on the list for small amps for the studio to compliment Fender Twin Reverb. This will be so helpful for late sessions and sounds huge!!
I have found this exact thing out from trying to find a great "in my house" amp, that won't rip my ears off. I went through thinking I needed the Crate Blue Voodoo, the Marshall VS100, the EH Mig 50....only to really use my VHT Classic 18 (18 watt) or my Orange Terror STamp (20 watt) amps most of the time. I only own the MIG 50 now and gig most of the time with my VHT. Because like Ben said...most places are micing amps these days. Great video as always. I always find your content informative and entertaining.
Cool video man. Recently I found a 52 Princeton clone so I bought it. 5 watts or hit the switch for 1 watt. Its been a long time since I have used an amp that small. It brought back memories for sure. Breakup is phenomenal at that lower output plus the brightness darkens as the output gets higher which makes it perfect. It takes pedal very well. Im giving it some burn in time to see how it handles. I guess I'm back to a 5 watt man at least at home and maybe the studio. The wife even loves it, now thats saying something. Have a good one.
I've used my five-watt amp jamming with a drummer. It's plenty loud. I need to use a speaker soak if I turn it up in my den. What it doesn't do is clean loud.
We have to remember, these higher wattage amps were basically PA systems for guitar players, in a time when PA gear was limited and you needed headroom, efficiency and sheer volume just to be heard. There is no practical reason to use a high powered, non-master volume amp these days.
I had a PA once that I just plugged my guitar in direct, I think it was 200 watts. Someone before I bought it had spilled a coke into it though and it died on me. It did sound nice. I have a 1000 watt sound system with 10 inch stereo speakers, plugging a guitar into that is too much for the speakers. I need some bigger ones to do that. Surprizingly my Lowrey organ has an input and that thing blasts clean. I think it's 100 watts. There are a lot of ways to amplify a guitar.
@@RPSchonherr When I started playing guitar, I modified an old boombox I had and used it as an amp. I didn't have pedals at the time so I just cranked it as best I could. That poor thing wasn't designed for what I was doing. Thankfully, my parents bought me an amp for Christmas that year. LOL!!
@@RPSchonherr Power ratings on power amps are practically a scam. There's so many ways you can play with the numbers it becomes meaningless. There's only a few companies in the world that make an honest clean 1000 watt amp, and it will be over 10k for a single channel amp. If you want to see what I'm talking about, look at some budget brands like Crown, QSC, Yamaha, or anything similar. Compare the power on amps like that to a pro audio Bryston. If you can't find any pro audio Bryston info, look at they're home amps. Their much more popular and they're identical to the pro models. All they do is put different connectors on them. Aside from that, they're identical.
Saw a Gary Moore tribute act 25 years ago. Guy was using a POD into a Peavey solid state amp. Sounded absolutely incredible. Volume, talent and good ears equals incredible tone. Good gear? Less so.
Great video Rhett. I use my '66 Vibro Champ at certain gigs and other guitarists don't believe me when they ask about my rig. I show them my LP, 2 pedals and a 5w amp with a mic. It's so funny to watch their reaction. We're on a full In Ear setup and it sounds like a giant amp in my ears.
I have a '73 Fender Champ that I have been lugging around forever. Never used it. Sitting in a closet here, put in storage there. I finally decided to do something with it. I guess the place to start was to put a new speaker in it, because original speaker cone was dust. So I bought a Jensen P8R and put it in. It worked. I couldn't believe it. Sitting around for 40 years doing nothing...and it worked. It sounds good. I did it with the intention of selling, since it still looks good and entirely original (Except speaker of course) , but now I don't know. Might just keep it.
I just recently bought a Ceriatone amp based on a Marshall 18 Watt Plexi. It has an PPIV Master volume and the tremolo channel is modified to have a standard Plexi tone stack with Treble, Mid, and Bass controls. The TMB channel has a bit more gain than the normal channel, so an A/B switch in the front allows for channel switching. Plus it has a low power option which drops the output valves into triode operation and the power to 9 Watts. Another sleeper in the 60’s small amps is the Vox Tube. Pathfinder. It is pretty much a Champ, not much Vox DNA in evidence. I cranked it through the 4x12 at our rehearsal space on Sunday and I am still grinning.
Great video. Love the analogy of the small amps to useable sport cars like a Miata. You can use their full performance any time. Big Marshall half stack is like a supercar - there are very few opportunities to use its full performance.
Fun Video. I have a Marshall Class 5 that might be one of the best sounding amps I own. I switched out the stock 10" for a 10" Greenback and added an extension cab (and a homemade 8ohm resistor box to keep the total load @ 16 ohms) with a 12" Greenback. It takes one of those Klon Screamer pedals really well, but the Behringer VT999 Tube Monster really works best for me. I need channel switching and the OD pedal takes care of that. I switch out the original 12AX7 in the Tube Monster for a 12AU7. Since there's no FX loop on the Marshall Class 5 even though Chorus and Delay sound good in front of the amp, I usually mic the amp and use the mixer's channel insert for those post FX. I also have a Bugera T5 Infinium that sounds great through a 4X12.
Nice demo and conversation between you guys, I always enjoyed the small amps, I had a Deluxe reverb which I loved for jazz (clean with no effects except for the amazing reverb sound, but that didn't record as good as my Vibro Champ for more raw guitar sounds. I added a reverb pedal to put in front, but it really didn't need it.
I wish there were words to explain how much I freakin love an electric guitar and a killer amp. These are a few of my favorite things... Thanks for what you do Rhett. Stay classy!
I bought a few of the 50th anniversary 1 watt Marshall’s when they came out. A decent pedal board in front has always given me a the sounds I want at low volumes.
I own a Blues Deluxe, a Champ, and a Mini Marshall (the 9v battery one). They all sound like their size. Though, one interestingly good sound is the Mini plugged into the 12" speaker of the Blues Deluxe. I removed the resistor for the headphone jack for use with external cabinets and the tiny little amp circuit sounds beastly when paired with a big speaker. I have a very difficult time making the Champ sound good. A TS808 is a must have in that case. It's somehow able to sound thin and boxy regardless of what speaker I plug into it.
The new Gibson amps are just Mesa Boogies with Gibson cosmetics. If you call Mesa customer service someone from Gibson will answer. I am so glad I have a MK5/35 that was made in the Mesa factory.
I haven’t had anything bigger than 15 watts in years, and the one I’ve used lately is a Fender Vibro Champ XD and it sounds great. I’ve been wanting a Marshall Class 5 for a while because they’re just awesome too. I’ve even been using a TC Electronic DC30 so I don’t have to deal with taking an amp lately too. I find it quite amusing Rhett was using a tube screamer but the fact that he said he wasn’t using a ton of gain made it even better, cuz that’s the point of them, you take an amp with a decent amount of gain and it boosts the frequencies you want so you cut through. Way to go, your journey is complete.
“If it inspires you to play or help you find your sound it’s the right thing.” Amen Rhett. On that note, and we Love notes, heh, I just got a King of Tone after almost 6 year wait and it’s the most inspiring thing I’ve had the pleasure of being inspired by. That strikes me every time I play now. I realize how inspired I am. I’m always grabbing the guitar now. More than before the KOT. Love this video and really will love to get my hands on a little 5 watter. Thanks Rhett. Always a pro.
I heard the intro and thought there was something off with the micing... After seeing you were plugged into the Gibson I realized it was the sound of "small iron" or possibly a small speaker. A nice tone for some but not what I'm into. I watched the whole video and at the end you plugged into the JMP and that was without a doubt the sound I was hoping for in a smaller amp. Good video... look forward to more.
I just received a Splawn Quick Rod 50. It has a volume control on the loop. It's awesome. I can play at any level and it sounds so good. Turn it up and the amp shakes the house. Five watts doesn't do that, but 5 is can still be ear splitting. Whatever I'm using, I run a cable into the next room.
I'm still loving my vibro-champ for clavinet. Funky as F. Also, respecting that kid in the background handling study and enjoying it. Music can do that. Thank you Mr. Shull.
I bought my first amp in 1968. It did have two tubes, I remember that. I can't recall the brand name, but I'm pretty sure it was just an import. It was part of a used guitar package deal at a small music shop. I wish I still had both items now. Currently, I own a Blackstar Debut 50R that has the 5W/50W switch. It works out great for my purposes. Thanks for the video!
I have a modified Epiphone Valve Jr. running through a Blackstar 1x10 cabinet. It has a boost switch and an extra gain knob. I love how this thing sounds and it is plenty loud. I found a whole lot of mods are available for this particular amp.
Another great video! my $.02 having owned 5 different Vintage Gibsons... It is super easy to retrograde the circuit to the older versions (61-64). Those ones really smoke!
I always love what you do brother. After watching the video, I’m thinking what I seen in the past is that the four by 12s are used for drums that aren’t shielded and a bass player that has an ampeg cabinet from hell and really just projecting sound to 1000 people kind of vibe. Recording wise totally understand what you’re saying, you don’t take a dinghy out into the ocean and you don’t try to port a cruise ship in a pond .
I play a 5 watt Blackstar...use the clean channel as a pedal host. The drive on the amp is good too. Use it at my church all the time. Quiet enough to be stage level with a closed back cab...small amps work. If you don't need to move air because you are going though PA it just works.Not my 18 watt Marshall clone..it does sound way better...but for a church gig it just works. Break up real well with an X2 booster and a JHS OD.
I have everything from a '76 JMP 2203 Superlead to a '67 Deluxe Reverb to a '65 Silvertone 1481 with 5 watts and an 8" speaker than sounds ROCK... they all sound awesome!
I couldn't help giggling when I realized there's a Gibson USA sign on the wall with a white Fender Strat hanging over it. Awesome video and very informative... this is great for house players that want to emulate the bigger sounds without having the police called for noise complaints.
Nice to see those old Gibson amps get some respect. I inherited my Grandfathers old GA-5 Crestline that I am guessing he bought new back in the day. It literally has an on/off knob and a volume knob. With my Klon clone pedal, it is a little tone monster.
Love seeing you at Big House... and the next time I'm there, they better let me crank that Marshall. If they refuse, they'll have Yelp pay. But really: it's a great store with a great selection and friendly, intelligent staff. I hope they get some due exposure from this video.
My VHT Special 6 Ultra is a killer amp. 6W with 12" speaker. Handwired. FX loop. Watts knob to dial in saturation. It can go both really quiet and pretty loud for a small amp and still sound great.
I recently bought a second hand 3 watt, battery/ mains powered Vox modeling guitar amp with a 4 inch speaker for £70 ($80ish). It sounds huuuuuuuuuuuuuge and I love it!
You forgot to mention that you can plug these small combos into a separate cabinet. Five watts running into a high efficiency 12” speaker is actually pretty loud. If I recall, those 6 1/2” and 8” Jensen/Oxford/CTS speakers were only around 90db. Plugging into a 2X12 with Creambacks would quadruple the volume and massively increase the low end.
Loud as in annoying to the wife, not loud as in actually loud. For reference: I cut an EP with my favorite 90s metal drummer. He even pulled the kit from when they toured with Pantera out for it. My 71 Traynor YBA1 is a non master volume Marshall Lead (50w, Super Lead is 100w) clone with extended bass response and 65 watts. One of those "never shoulda sold it" amps. That through a Thiele in the room with a real deal, stadium crushing drummer was...just enough. Keep in mind, cranked, it only had Zep/ACDC levels of gain, so it was getting pushed by my pedals. A 4x12 would've taken it further, surely, but there's not a 1x12 combo made that's significantly louder than that monster quarter stack. Everyone has enough wattage, until someone starts hitting that kit like a man.
My Champ dsp 30 doesn't have a line/speaker out :( I don't know if I would run the Phones into another amp but I guess you could. You couldn't just go into a 4x12 from there. I tried with my Guitar Research VL-20 going into the Champ and it sounded like poop.
@@RPSchonherr if you're willing, you can fairly easily get some male and female 1/4" jacks and put a patch point in your speaker wire. Make sure you use tape or shrink wrap to make sure these jacks don't short against the speaker frame or chassis.
I’ve had a ‘65 Champ for over 25 years. It was my first ever eBay purchase; bought it locally for $200. It’s still stock with the exception of the 3 prong power chord, I had installed about 20 years ago. I love it but sold it to a buddy for half of what it’s now worth $750 vantage $1500 people are buying them for. He does recording and will get better use out of it. But he’s in Chicago and I’m in Dallas, so I’m still holding it for him.
I have a 4 watt single-ended triode 6V6 tweed I built myself. It has a 10" Jensen P10R in it, and if I dime it, the neighbors would definitely be banging on my wall.
I knew from the title that the intro was going to be a small amp, and I love the sound. Interestingly Mike Cole was talking about another 5W amp, the tweed '57 Fender Champ, in a video today. 5W is definitely all I ever need, although I like my 15W Blue Jr IV (which I paid $400 for used and it's in great shape). This does nothing to dissuade me from the thought that 100W heads and 4x12's are for arena-sized rock tours and very little else.
I truly appreciate smaller amps now. When I was young all the sound came from the amps behind me and not through the small PA. The PA only had the vocals. We had over 1000 watts of amps cranked. So I had 200 watts of bass 18” behind me that felt like a fan blowing past me. The most recent band I am in we drove everything through the PA and the volume was much lower. We could hear each other and get a great balance.
I have a Kustom V15 combo. 15 watt, switchable to 4 watts. It had a 10 inch Celestion Greenback, but that is now a Creamback. It sits on an Abbey single 12 inch cab, with a Fender by Celestion 50 watt speaker in it. I call this my mini Marshall. Tons of punch, at a reasonable level.
I'm a big proponent of the small amps. Pretty much all I play now. The Class A kicks ass. But holy molly! That 76 Marshall was amazing! The harmonics, feedback, and "punch in the gut" is really satisfying. 😎
I would suggest trying amps like these with a Fryette Power Station. I have a range of amps from a 5/20W Marshall SC20H through to a genuine 1968 SL100. When driven to high powers but slugged down to bedroom levels by the PS100 they all stay still on song. That could be a great way to get the best out of your high power amps even at low volumes, (though not cheap). And I'm not decrying smaller amps, I have a few of those myself. You pays your money and you takes your choice! And of course a lot depends on what speakers you pair them with. For my money the worst combination is a low power amp with high powered speakers. The speakers never get driven hard enough to come on song and that removes one of the most important tone tools in the chain.
Great video. You always play covers that inspire me to go and learn them rebel rebel in this one was great. Speaking of low powered, small amps, have you ever considered playing around with the tiny Joyo amp heads?
A bit more wattage, but I love my 1960 Gibson GA-79 (two 15 watt channels stereo) that I've owned since the mid-sixties. I've had it re-capped, but it still has some of the original Gibson branded tubes. I play it in tandem with a Deluxe Reverb Tone Master set on 5 watts.
Aloha and mahalo for a great video. One of the best clean sustai6 tone I ever happened was a Chandler Tube Driver to a Sliverface Vibro Champ to 2 JBL 12" speakers.
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5:06 ah yes the Klon Screamer, those are hella rare!
that vintage gear is awesome, but probably like 1000 bucks on reverb
LMAO!
Always love when Ben's on.
Me too!
That Green Klon (screamer) into the champ sounds killer.
It’s super rare and expensive which is why it sounds good.
@@RhettShull Totally
@@RhettShull LMMFAO
they made him a green klon to match the guitar
Yeah that intro definitely got me. I feel like a fraud
At this point, just go digital because it all sounds the same when miced up 😝
@@xxdr34m5xx_4until the digital breaks down and no one can fix ☹
It was obvious to me that I was hearing a small amp in the intro. It was missing a bunch of low end thump. That lack of low end thump is why these amps work so well in the studio. They sit nicely in the mix and don't step on the bass or kick drum.
1:52 Decibels are measured on a logarithmic scale. A +3dB increase represents approximately double the power, electrically speaking. So, totally makes sense that a 100W amp is that much louder than a 50W amp... it also helps to remember that "just" a 3dB increase at higher volumes is more punishing to your ears than one would assume, since we all tend to think in linear fashion rather than exponential.
You are correct. A doubling of power is a 3 dB increase. While researching info about human hearing, I discovered that a 3 dB power change is just barely noticeable. According to researchers, it takes approx 10 dB of power change to be perceived as twice as loud. That's 10 times more power! Food for thought...
@@MrDiscomfortzone You are even more correct.
I love your comment here. I was thinking exactly as you were. I was too scared to comment because I didn't know how to explain "exponential " in Marshall speak. Thank you! 🧠👀🖤🥳🎉🤓
By definition a 3dB increase is just noticeable whereas I believe a 6dB increase is a four fold increase in output power but represents only a doubling of apparent volume
Correct a 3dB increase represents twice the power, however it takes 6dB to 9dB to sound twice as loud, varies somewhat person to person. So to sound twice as loud, we need to increase power at least four times, ie: a Twin Reverb sounds twice as loud as a Deluxe Reverb, 22w vs 88w also with a 3dB increase with 2x12 cab.
The Five Watt World ethic at play. I’m even wearing my FWW shirt.
I knew I wouldn't need to scroll far to see a shout-out to Keith on this video!
I use a Vox AC4TVH Head (4 watts) with a Vox V112TV speaker cabinet. Although we do mic the amp and run a full monitor mix, I can play anywhere with this setup from small bar gigs to the biggest outdoor stages. It has plenty of stage volume for loud stages. I don't know a lot about specs and don't need to. This amp does it all for me. I play a Tele usually. I turn it on, turn it up to about 6.5 on the volume control and and little past mid on the treble and play. It gives me that bright twinkle you expect from Vox and I just love it.
Great video. And the Ramble On in the end, dude... nailed it. It was awesome to hear that riff.
The intro: 100W amp, right?????
Me: Rhett is not wearing hearing protection. No chance that it's 100W.
Caught that as well. I was very concerned for him until I realized what was going on
0:26 When it didn't feedback, i knew it was not the plexi
I gotta imagine these 100 A MARSHALL stacks will decrease. I don’t know who really buys these besides the decreasing number of local gigging musicians
I have several vintage and newer 5 watt amps and the only thing I can add here is that you'll hear the difference more easily in various tube types when cranked. Cranking the amp constantly is hard on them though. Class a tubes never get a break, lol. I have a small collection of vintage tubes and no longer use them much because they're either hard to get without getting ripped-off or crazy expensive, (ie; rca black plate),. Long ago I thought folks made too big a deal out of it until I put a black plate in my barth amp. At about 6/7 volume it really was the holy grail of tone. I finally get it. Cheers.
I saw Cheap Trick in Los Angeles at a huge arena show back in 1979. Rick had a wall of impressive looking amps/cabinets and of course the sound was great. But since I was near the front, I started looking more closely. And off to stage right (right next to him, out of view of most of the audience) was a Fender Champ on a chair, mic'd, and this was clearly the sound that was coming through the mains. I have no idea if any of the other amps were even throwing any sound at all!
The others probably didn’t even have speakers
that really is a cheap trick
same with one of the most famous TV appearances of The Jam: a Marshall stack behind Paul Weller, but the actual mic-ed sound was coming out of a ... Peavey Bandit
@@MrTimcoronel I gigged with a 1989 Bandit a few weeks ago. It's still a brilliant amp!
@@MrTimcoronel Backstage 30.
Which was a high feature amp. 2 channels, footswitchable Saturation and Reverb, and afaik - there's only one video that shows him playing it live.
Had one recently. Quite overlooked.
Ever hear of a backup?
The idea that a stadium filling band couldn't crank up a Marshall in the 70s is ludicrous.
I walked into a tiny music store in Portland OR which had a bunch of cool vintage stuff. Plugged a really cool, highly used Strat into a very unassuming old Fender Champ and from the first note was taken away. Dreamy round dripping with tone sounds emitted from what looked like something that was going to be thrown away at Goodwill. It was like you couldn't play a bad note and every pick and stum took you to new places. It was kinda mind blowing.
Anyone here ever played thru a lil monster called a Fender "Super Champ"? OMG I don't know if that one fits in this discussion, im sure it was rated above 5watts. But...o Lord, best purchase my young mind could muster. Oh that amp was a screamer, and clean with headroom to the heavens!!!❤
@@scottboutin4781 super champ xd, I have a super champ x2 great 15w amp and affordable. Nice cleans
I recently acquired a 76 Vibro Champ. I wasn't specifically the lookout for one, but just couldn't pass on the opportunity (good deal, GAS, etc). So glad I got it and might let go of some of one my bigger Combos. This just really fits my environment (Basement, residential area...Kids at sleep :) And I could chit chat with the seller about the local music scene here in southern Bavaria while the thing was dimed🙂
The secret is that you can have a big amp and a small amp. Amps for different use cases and occasions. What a novel idea!
Or different cabs for the the big amp. I always use a hiwatt dr103 as I like the sparkle and I like the infinite clean headroom that still sounds tonally rich. I just switch up my cab depending on the situation. If it requires a 412 I take a 412, if it is way lower volume I take a less efficient 112 cab so I get some of that speaker push at lower volumes.
Tube amp for winter months to warm up the room. Solid state for summer so AC bill doesn't go up.
Man I can hear Ben talk about guitar all day. It would be cool if you guys had him on the dipped in tone podcast, or even better if he had his own channel. Thanks for the great content Rhett!!
I second this!! Please
Or, in motorcycle terms, it’s a lot more fun to ride a slow bike fast than have to ride a fast bike slow.
That’s my mantra when I’m driving my Porsche Boxster 😆
So true
@@bubbahchops same with my Corvette Z51. I drove at 'spirited' speeds on the highway to the beach and turned about 2000rpm. It was a non-event.
And…the small HP person enters the chat… or my 100 (ish) HP Toyota MR2 drives about (which is slower than my wife’s Corolla ….)
@@pczTV I have a Peugeot 306 with 100hp. It's just about enough in a small car, as you know, and I've driven plenty of tasty machinery myself before now, but the Peugeot is definitely up there when it comes to fun. Another 20hp wouldn't go amiss though...
Rhett I always put my headphones on to watch your videos. Best way to soak up the TOAN
I bought a Champ in the 80’s when I learned Clapton used it for Layla! It is a great recording amp. My favorite is a Silvertone 1392!
That skylark through the ribbon sounds so good.
Great mic, good placement, good gain choices, great touch on the instrument. You make all these sound great 🤷♂️.
Also, keep riffing on Zeppelin…like, forever, please. I love your little personal takes on the riffs that I have loved for decades. I actually do that all the time when I’m messing around too ❤.
Good video. I always enjoy when Ben is on. I'd like to see more with him.
The Vox AC10. It does quiet for practice, but with master volume on 10! Holy moly! And then speaker out to a bigger cab. Heaven.
About 25 years ago I painted a portrait of a friend and his daughter in exchange for a silverface mid 70s Fender Twin Reverb. Since I'm not a gigging musician I concluded that this was way more amp than I really needed and swapped it for a Fender Blues Deluxe reissue. While I loved the sound it put out it was still more than I needed and I sold it to buy a Fender Champion 600 reissue. For me it's the perfect amp. 5 Watts through a six inch speaker, two inputs but only a volume control. I like some reverb so I added a Boss digital reverb pedal along with an EQ pedal, to adjust tone, and one of those green drive pedals. And that's all I need. And don't forget; Derek and the Dominoes used Fender Champ amps to record Layla...
@@timhouston1638 Originally I did start off small. I had a silverface Fender Champ (that I gave to my son) but always wanted a Twin Reverb. It wasn't until I had one that I realized I really didn't need it.
I think what I like most about your videos Rett, is that you always inspire me to go play my guitar! 🙂
There’s truth in gigging with small amps in ANY size of venue. They are more than loud enough. You don’t need your amp to be as loud as your drummer on stage because your VOCALIST can never be louder than your drummer on stage. You will be forced to mic your amp. You will sound better too because the PA system can properly fill the venue with your sound.
I love the videos you and Ben do together. Just guitar goodness!
I feel like in a studio, any amp can sound big. I used a slightly modified Fender Frontman 10G (the kind of amp you get in one of those players packs) to record something about a year ago, and no one who wasn't there was able to guess that was what I used.
That's why people arguing over modelers sounding "bad" are silly. It's all about how much you dial in the tone and where it sits in the mix. Modern modeling software can crank out so many usable tones that don't make a difference and sound great.
these small amps are great! had a supro from the mid 50s that we used for harmonica tones with a shure green bullet mic and it was the best harmonica i'd ever heard, thats another cool use of these lil guys
that fender champ is amazing. blew me away how good it sounds for recording. definitely going on the list for small amps for the studio to compliment Fender Twin Reverb. This will be so helpful for late sessions and sounds huge!!
Nice to see you kids finally getting this! My fave is a Univox U45B I bought in 1993... it's the best recording amp ever!
I have found this exact thing out from trying to find a great "in my house" amp, that won't rip my ears off. I went through thinking I needed the Crate Blue Voodoo, the Marshall VS100, the EH Mig 50....only to really use my VHT Classic 18 (18 watt) or my Orange Terror STamp (20 watt) amps most of the time. I only own the MIG 50 now and gig most of the time with my VHT. Because like Ben said...most places are micing amps these days. Great video as always. I always find your content informative and entertaining.
I really enjoy when you bring out the amp knowledge! As always great playing Rhett!
COOL INTRO,its true many of our beloved tunes where recorded on small amps back in the day
Cool video man. Recently I found a 52 Princeton clone so I bought it. 5 watts or hit the switch for 1 watt. Its been a long time since I have used an amp that small. It brought back memories for sure. Breakup is phenomenal at that lower output plus the brightness darkens as the output gets higher which makes it perfect. It takes pedal very well. Im giving it some burn in time to see how it handles. I guess I'm back to a 5 watt man at least at home and maybe the studio. The wife even loves it, now thats saying something. Have a good one.
I've used my five-watt amp jamming with a drummer. It's plenty loud. I need to use a speaker soak if I turn it up in my den. What it doesn't do is clean loud.
We have to remember, these higher wattage amps were basically PA systems for guitar players, in a time when PA gear was limited and you needed headroom, efficiency and sheer volume just to be heard.
There is no practical reason to use a high powered, non-master volume amp these days.
I knew a guy in the 90's in a cover band, and he used a crate solid-state combo with an SD-1 mic'ed up into the PA. He made that thing sound amazing.
SD-1 into a JC-120 sounds astonishingly good.
I had a PA once that I just plugged my guitar in direct, I think it was 200 watts. Someone before I bought it had spilled a coke into it though and it died on me. It did sound nice. I have a 1000 watt sound system with 10 inch stereo speakers, plugging a guitar into that is too much for the speakers. I need some bigger ones to do that. Surprizingly my Lowrey organ has an input and that thing blasts clean. I think it's 100 watts. There are a lot of ways to amplify a guitar.
@@RPSchonherr When I started playing guitar, I modified an old boombox I had and used it as an amp. I didn't have pedals at the time so I just cranked it as best I could. That poor thing wasn't designed for what I was doing. Thankfully, my parents bought me an amp for Christmas that year. LOL!!
@@RPSchonherr Power ratings on power amps are practically a scam. There's so many ways you can play with the numbers it becomes meaningless. There's only a few companies in the world that make an honest clean 1000 watt amp, and it will be over 10k for a single channel amp. If you want to see what I'm talking about, look at some budget brands like Crown, QSC, Yamaha, or anything similar. Compare the power on amps like that to a pro audio Bryston. If you can't find any pro audio Bryston info, look at they're home amps. Their much more popular and they're identical to the pro models. All they do is put different connectors on them. Aside from that, they're identical.
Saw a Gary Moore tribute act 25 years ago. Guy was using a POD into a Peavey solid state amp. Sounded absolutely incredible.
Volume, talent and good ears equals incredible tone. Good gear? Less so.
That's why I love low watt amps or high watt amps on reactive load box for recording. Thank you for your take on this.
Dude, it’s not the amp, it’s the magical JRC-4558 op-amps Bill Finnegan sourced for his green Klon
Great video Rhett. I use my '66 Vibro Champ at certain gigs and other guitarists don't believe me when they ask about my rig. I show them my LP, 2 pedals and a 5w amp with a mic. It's so funny to watch their reaction. We're on a full In Ear setup and it sounds like a giant amp in my ears.
I have a '73 Fender Champ that I have been lugging around forever. Never used it. Sitting in a closet here, put in storage there. I finally decided to do something with it. I guess the place to start was to put a new speaker in it, because original speaker cone was dust. So I bought a Jensen P8R and put it in. It worked. I couldn't believe it. Sitting around for 40 years doing nothing...and it worked. It sounds good. I did it with the intention of selling, since it still looks good and entirely original (Except speaker of course) , but now I don't know. Might just keep it.
I loved this idea. What a great video. Thank you for making this. There so many amps I’d like to hear.
I just recently bought a Ceriatone amp based on a Marshall 18 Watt Plexi. It has an PPIV Master volume and the tremolo channel is modified to have a standard Plexi tone stack with Treble, Mid, and Bass controls. The TMB channel has a bit more gain than the normal channel, so an A/B switch in the front allows for channel switching. Plus it has a low power option which drops the output valves into triode operation and the power to 9 Watts.
Another sleeper in the 60’s small amps is the Vox Tube. Pathfinder. It is pretty much a Champ, not much Vox DNA in evidence.
I cranked it through the 4x12 at our rehearsal space on Sunday and I am still grinning.
Great video. Love the analogy of the small amps to useable sport cars like a Miata. You can use their full performance any time. Big Marshall half stack is like a supercar - there are very few opportunities to use its full performance.
Suddenly loving the Tubescreamer? Unsubscribe. It's like you don't even know who you are anymore, Rhett.
It’s not a TS, it’s a super rare and unobtainable Klon that nobody else has or has heard of before not even Josh Scott.
@@RhettShull Well now I know you're lying :P
Believe it or not I’ve seen one in the wild. It’s the Zenabi st
Humans are allowed to change, dude.
Oh no! Someone changed their opinion on something in 2024?!? What has the world come to???
Fun Video. I have a Marshall Class 5 that might be one of the best sounding amps I own. I switched out the stock 10" for a 10" Greenback and added an extension cab (and a homemade 8ohm resistor box to keep the total load @ 16 ohms) with a 12" Greenback.
It takes one of those Klon Screamer pedals really well, but the Behringer VT999 Tube Monster really works best for me.
I need channel switching and the OD pedal takes care of that.
I switch out the original 12AX7 in the Tube Monster for a 12AU7.
Since there's no FX loop on the Marshall Class 5 even though Chorus and Delay sound good in front of the amp, I usually mic the amp and use the mixer's channel insert for those post FX.
I also have a Bugera T5 Infinium that sounds great through a 4X12.
You straight up fooled us Lolol. Awesome videos as always brother!
Nice demo and conversation between you guys, I always enjoyed the small amps, I had a Deluxe reverb which I loved for jazz (clean with no effects except for the amazing reverb sound, but that didn't record as good as my Vibro Champ for more raw guitar sounds. I added a reverb pedal to put in front, but it really didn't need it.
I wish there were words to explain how much I freakin love an electric guitar and a killer amp. These are a few of my favorite things... Thanks for what you do Rhett. Stay classy!
Somewhere Zach from Mythos is screaming FINALLY!!!
I bought a few of the 50th anniversary 1 watt Marshall’s when they came out. A decent pedal board in front has always given me a the sounds I want at low volumes.
I own a Blues Deluxe, a Champ, and a Mini Marshall (the 9v battery one). They all sound like their size.
Though, one interestingly good sound is the Mini plugged into the 12" speaker of the Blues Deluxe. I removed the resistor for the headphone jack for use with external cabinets and the tiny little amp circuit sounds beastly when paired with a big speaker.
I have a very difficult time making the Champ sound good. A TS808 is a must have in that case. It's somehow able to sound thin and boxy regardless of what speaker I plug into it.
That Skylark is what Gibson should reissue.
Isn't that exactly what they're doing? But I think the original is cheaper. They reissued some low wattage 60s amps.
@@221b-l3t Not quite. The Falcon is nowhere near similar to these.
The new Gibson amps are just Mesa Boogies with Gibson cosmetics. If you call Mesa customer service someone from Gibson will answer. I am so glad I have a MK5/35 that was made in the Mesa factory.
@@roberthurless4615 I also have a "pre Gibson" MkV/25 which will not be sold under any cicumstances.
I have a DSL1 combo that records and sits really well in a mix. Bedroom producers should NOT shy away from using a small amp.
I haven’t had anything bigger than 15 watts in years, and the one I’ve used lately is a Fender Vibro Champ XD and it sounds great. I’ve been wanting a Marshall Class 5 for a while because they’re just awesome too. I’ve even been using a TC Electronic DC30 so I don’t have to deal with taking an amp lately too.
I find it quite amusing Rhett was using a tube screamer but the fact that he said he wasn’t using a ton of gain made it even better, cuz that’s the point of them, you take an amp with a decent amount of gain and it boosts the frequencies you want so you cut through. Way to go, your journey is complete.
“If it inspires you to play or help you find your sound it’s the right thing.” Amen Rhett. On that note, and we Love notes, heh, I just got a King of Tone after almost 6 year wait and it’s the most inspiring thing I’ve had the pleasure of being inspired by. That strikes me every time I play now. I realize how inspired I am. I’m always grabbing the guitar now. More than before the KOT. Love this video and really will love to get my hands on a little 5 watter. Thanks Rhett.
Always a pro.
People sleep on how great a clean to cleanish Marshall sounds
Yep. My preferred sound anymore, I personally feel they have more character than most Fenders. Also takes pedals so well
I heard the intro and thought there was something off with the micing... After seeing you were plugged into the Gibson I realized it was the sound of "small iron" or possibly a small speaker. A nice tone for some but not what I'm into. I watched the whole video and at the end you plugged into the JMP and that was without a doubt the sound I was hoping for in a smaller amp. Good video... look forward to more.
When ever Ben is on the show , you know it’s gonna be a great episode
That was an awesome video. Those little Gibson amps sounded amazing.
I just received a Splawn Quick Rod 50. It has a volume control on the loop. It's awesome. I can play at any level and it sounds so good. Turn it up and the amp shakes the house. Five watts doesn't do that, but 5 is can still be ear splitting. Whatever I'm using, I run a cable into the next room.
I'm still loving my vibro-champ for clavinet. Funky as F. Also, respecting that kid in the background handling study and enjoying it. Music can do that. Thank you Mr. Shull.
I bought my first amp in 1968. It did have two tubes, I remember that. I can't recall the brand name, but I'm pretty sure it was just an import. It was part of a used guitar package deal at a small music shop. I wish I still had both items now. Currently, I own a Blackstar Debut 50R that has the 5W/50W switch. It works out great for my purposes. Thanks for the video!
Currently watching this with my '65 Champ sitting next to me. Loved seeing it get a shoutout!
I have a modified Epiphone Valve Jr. running through a Blackstar 1x10 cabinet. It has a boost switch and an extra gain knob. I love how this thing sounds and it is plenty loud. I found a whole lot of mods are available for this particular amp.
5:06 👈🤣 Awesome comparison, Rhett! Fantastic video!
It's hard to beat when the 4x12s hit the guitar and vibrate the wood and strings, yes, a great clean sound too.
I loved that message at the end Rhett. Play what u want to play, what inspires u to play. Just play your damn guitar 🎸 and express yourself!
Another great video! my $.02 having owned 5 different Vintage Gibsons... It is super easy to retrograde the circuit to the older versions (61-64). Those ones really smoke!
Special green Klon! Hahaha
Years ago a friend gave me a vibro champ. Cranked it was like instant Freddie King. Amazing sound and perfect for the studio.
I always love what you do brother. After watching the video, I’m thinking what I seen in the past is that the four by 12s are used for drums that aren’t shielded and a bass player that has an ampeg cabinet from hell and really just projecting sound to 1000 people kind of vibe. Recording wise totally understand what you’re saying, you don’t take a dinghy out into the ocean and you don’t try to port a cruise ship in a pond .
I play a 5 watt Blackstar...use the clean channel as a pedal host. The drive on the amp is good too. Use it at my church all the time. Quiet enough to be stage level with a closed back cab...small amps work. If you don't need to move air because you are going though PA it just works.Not my 18 watt Marshall clone..it does sound way better...but for a church gig it just works. Break up real well with an X2 booster and a JHS OD.
I have everything from a '76 JMP 2203 Superlead to a '67 Deluxe Reverb to a '65 Silvertone 1481 with 5 watts and an 8" speaker than sounds ROCK... they all sound awesome!
Very enjoyable video. Caught myself giggling quite a few times.
I couldn't help giggling when I realized there's a Gibson USA sign on the wall with a white Fender Strat hanging over it.
Awesome video and very informative... this is great for house players that want to emulate the bigger sounds without having the police called for noise complaints.
Thanks so much for playing Rebel Rebel, Rhett. ❤
Nice to see those old Gibson amps get some respect. I inherited my Grandfathers old GA-5 Crestline that I am guessing he bought new back in the day. It literally has an on/off knob and a volume knob. With my Klon clone pedal, it is a little tone monster.
Great sounds!
Both the Gibson and the Fender.
I still have my 1972 Fender Champ. Bought it when I was still in school back then.
Great video Rhett. Cheers 🎉
Love seeing you at Big House... and the next time I'm there, they better let me crank that Marshall. If they refuse, they'll have Yelp pay.
But really: it's a great store with a great selection and friendly, intelligent staff. I hope they get some due exposure from this video.
My VHT Special 6 Ultra is a killer amp. 6W with 12" speaker. Handwired. FX loop. Watts knob to dial in saturation. It can go both really quiet and pretty loud for a small amp and still sound great.
That neck pickup on that les paul sounds so clear. It's wonderful.
Man, i've fell in love with those little amps! I hope I'll buy one of them for my bedroom playing!
Yup play what you like, how you like it! @17:20 Thanks Rhett!
I recently bought a second hand 3 watt, battery/ mains powered Vox modeling guitar amp with a 4 inch speaker for £70 ($80ish). It sounds huuuuuuuuuuuuuge and I love it!
You forgot to mention that you can plug these small combos into a separate cabinet. Five watts running into a high efficiency 12” speaker is actually pretty loud.
If I recall, those 6 1/2” and 8” Jensen/Oxford/CTS speakers were only around 90db. Plugging into a 2X12 with Creambacks would quadruple the volume and massively increase the low end.
Loud as in annoying to the wife, not loud as in actually loud.
For reference: I cut an EP with my favorite 90s metal drummer. He even pulled the kit from when they toured with Pantera out for it.
My 71 Traynor YBA1 is a non master volume Marshall Lead (50w, Super Lead is 100w) clone with extended bass response and 65 watts. One of those "never shoulda sold it" amps.
That through a Thiele in the room with a real deal, stadium crushing drummer was...just enough.
Keep in mind, cranked, it only had Zep/ACDC levels of gain, so it was getting pushed by my pedals.
A 4x12 would've taken it further, surely, but there's not a 1x12 combo made that's significantly louder than that monster quarter stack.
Everyone has enough wattage, until someone starts hitting that kit like a man.
My Champ dsp 30 doesn't have a line/speaker out :( I don't know if I would run the Phones into another amp but I guess you could. You couldn't just go into a 4x12 from there. I tried with my Guitar Research VL-20 going into the Champ and it sounded like poop.
@@RPSchonherr if you're willing, you can fairly easily get some male and female 1/4" jacks and put a patch point in your speaker wire.
Make sure you use tape or shrink wrap to make sure these jacks don't short against the speaker frame or chassis.
I built my 5f1 Champ with a 10'' inch speaker, a bigger output tranny and it's great!
I’ve had a ‘65 Champ for over 25 years. It was my first ever eBay purchase; bought it locally for $200. It’s still stock with the exception of the 3 prong power chord, I had installed about 20 years ago.
I love it but sold it to a buddy for half of what it’s now worth $750 vantage $1500 people are buying them for.
He does recording and will get better use out of it. But he’s in Chicago and I’m in Dallas, so I’m still holding it for him.
I have a 4 watt single-ended triode 6V6 tweed I built myself. It has a 10" Jensen P10R in it, and if I dime it, the neighbors would definitely be banging on my wall.
I knew from the title that the intro was going to be a small amp, and I love the sound. Interestingly Mike Cole was talking about another 5W amp, the tweed '57 Fender Champ, in a video today. 5W is definitely all I ever need, although I like my 15W Blue Jr IV (which I paid $400 for used and it's in great shape). This does nothing to dissuade me from the thought that 100W heads and 4x12's are for arena-sized rock tours and very little else.
I truly appreciate smaller amps now. When I was young all the sound came from the amps behind me and not through the small PA. The PA only had the vocals. We had over 1000 watts of amps cranked. So I had 200 watts of bass 18” behind me that felt like a fan blowing past me. The most recent band I am in we drove everything through the PA and the volume was much lower. We could hear each other and get a great balance.
I have a Kustom V15 combo. 15 watt, switchable to 4 watts. It had a 10 inch Celestion Greenback, but that is now a Creamback. It sits on an Abbey single 12 inch cab, with a Fender by Celestion 50 watt speaker in it. I call this my mini Marshall. Tons of punch, at a reasonable level.
I'm a big proponent of the small amps. Pretty much all I play now. The Class A kicks ass.
But holy molly! That 76 Marshall was amazing! The harmonics, feedback, and "punch in the gut" is really satisfying. 😎
I would suggest trying amps like these with a Fryette Power Station. I have a range of amps from a 5/20W Marshall SC20H through to a genuine 1968 SL100. When driven to high powers but slugged down to bedroom levels by the PS100 they all stay still on song. That could be a great way to get the best out of your high power amps even at low volumes, (though not cheap). And I'm not decrying smaller amps, I have a few of those myself. You pays your money and you takes your choice! And of course a lot depends on what speakers you pair them with. For my money the worst combination is a low power amp with high powered speakers. The speakers never get driven hard enough to come on song and that removes one of the most important tone tools in the chain.
Great video. You always play covers that inspire me to go and learn them rebel rebel in this one was great. Speaking of low powered, small amps, have you ever considered playing around with the tiny Joyo amp heads?
A bit more wattage, but I love my 1960 Gibson GA-79 (two 15 watt channels stereo) that I've owned since the mid-sixties. I've had it re-capped, but it still has some of the original Gibson branded tubes. I play it in tandem with a Deluxe Reverb Tone Master set on 5 watts.
Thanks for reminding me I want a Champ for some reason as a metal head even, I want a vibro champ it’s the coolest sounding small amp I’ve ever heard.
Tube screamers are amazing boost pedals. Big mid boost that tightens up the bass - excellent for playing live.
Aloha and mahalo for a great video. One of the best clean sustai6 tone I ever happened was a Chandler Tube Driver to a Sliverface Vibro Champ to 2 JBL 12" speakers.