I've got the kraken 50 watt. It replaced my 5150 ii head . I got tired of lugging half a tonne of tone about, so got the kraken which has got more to offer sonically (opinion) and its just as loud, easy to carry (8kg!!!) and has more than enough gain for some dirt shitting riffs. Cleans are super crisp and jangly. Its and absolute workhorse
@@AnthonyChhan I am still very impressed by this Amp! It holds on to the practising day and live concerts, while being good for studio work. It's clean channel is bright, it's gain channel kicks ass, and I am really sure no Amp in this price Range would have done a better job. As a Metal guitarist I recommend it still to this day! Thank you for asking, and your interest! If you have questions feel free to ask
@@mauricewintersehl391 guys, can you Help me with my MT15? I just don't get it tight enough for modern metal, I tried the Tubescreamer in front of it, but it doesn't do that much to the tightness.. yeah, the clean channel is freakin awesome ^^ maybe you guys have any idea or tips, thank you 🤟
@@newthrash1221 its hell'a small dude, literally. My friends laughed at me when they saw it sitting on top a big ass cabinet, didn't have shit to say once I put that son bitch on full volume, not exactly aesthetically pleasing in terms of looks but its deceiving.
I have the Orange OR15 and it is fantastic. And my Egnater Tweaker 15 head is unbelievably good especially for the price. Both for studio use through a Bogner oversized 2x12. 👍🏼
Although I'm a Mesa Mini Rectoverb guy, that OR15 is a sweet amp and really be on anyone's shortlist when shopping for a small head amp. The Dark Terror is a hell of an amp for the money as well.
Mate 😂😂😂 couldn't agree more, my old blackstar tvp 15w on full volume shakes shit at my neighbour's house, 50w with that size would probably bulldoze their house
Hard agree. Love the Meteor as well. Solid Orange tones for dirt cheap. I went with the the Meteor over the Micro Dark, just because the channels were switchable. And I was not a bit disappointed
The MT15 is a beast. I use it in conjunction with the Two Notes Captor’s -20db attenuation and bedroom tones have never been better. Absolutely killer amp.
It’s meant to be a direct injection (D.I.) box for use with tube amps so one can plug a tube amp into an interface going into a computer to record silently without the need to have a cabinet plugged into that tube amp. It does 4 things: D.I. (Plug into an interface going into computer), load box (puts a load on the speaker so you can record silently, no cab needed), -20db attenuator (for bedroom tones), and a cab-sim. It handles amps up to 100 watts. It can also be used to send a signal to the front of house if one is playing live for the same reasons mentioned above. No cab needed, just go from the captor into the P.A., set levels and eq and you’re good to go. It also comes with Torpedo’s “Wall of Sound” plugin which is pretty nice for dialing in tones. It’s just a cab-sim program but a good one. It’s a pretty sweet piece of kit. I think fluff has a video on it actually. If not, there’s a bunch of other videos about it. Check it out man.
I had the Mesa Boogie Mark V 25. It was a great amp. I also like the Super Kraken from Victory. But I replaced all of my heads for a Kemper and a Helix Rack.
H&K Tubemeister 40, I own it, I love it. Our other guitarist plays the Blackstar HT-20 and it’s sick too. We both play through 212 cabs for stage volume but use the direct outs for FOH. They sound great together.
I bought the Katana head last summer. It's such a great value for what it does. It's even got a serviceable little speaker built in for when you don't want to play super loud.
I have it since 2012. You can find them for dirt cheap on the second hand market in europe now. Some people complain about its fizzy tone, but once you play it a high volume that thing really start breathing. That is unarguably the most versatile lunch box amp. 3 chan, 3 mods per chan, 1 switch to modify the eq range per chan, volume boost, reverb. It's also one of the only lunchbox with 2 cab outputs. Only downside is the proprietary footswitch and the weird way of switching channels
I've been looking at the micro dark for several weeks now because when I first got into metalcore Orange was all I ever saw. I've seen good reviews on youtube and this was just one more good reaction to it. Had no clue Beartooth actually uses this thing. Ready to pull the trigger, thanks man.
I think this a very good representation of high gain low wattage heads. The Orange TH30 and Egnater Rebel-30 MKII are two of my personal low wattage favorites. The Egnater has a lot more tonal control via the two attenuator controls for both the clean and gain channels and the two reverb controls for each channel. The TH30 is straight forward simple stupid harmonic bliss and the foundation of my tone. If I were to buy any of the amps shown here I would go with the OR-15, it's got that old school orange sound while the TH-30 is more of a modern tone.
My Friedman JJ JR is the first amp I've owned that completely floored me. Plugging in my 2010 Les Paul Custom and playing it through the matching 2x12 mini stack cab, it is an absolute beast. Hope to keep this forever!
I fell in love with the Mesa Mini Rectifier 25. I'm also thinking about getting the Randall Satan 50 or Peavey 6505MH just for the different Sound and Feel.
I have been playing a Egnator Tweaker 15 watt head at my work and I have been loving that thing. It is really making me consider getting mini heads instead of combo amps.
I tried my friends one, it sounds amazing but for that price you could easily get yourself a used randall t2 (rare but does show up now and again) maybe with a little bit on top get a 5150, vh100r or a 6505 peavy. All killer amps with more kick and bang for your buck.
Fluff, I know it’s a little bigger, but where is the Mesa Boogie Mark 5 Twenty-Five? Not just as a quality U.S. amp, but you can do so much with it. Thanks!
Mine so far is the H&K Grandmeister Deluxe 40, the ultra channel with the gain a bit less than noon boosted with a maxon 808 is sick! It's a bit flubby quiet non boosted, but when you crank her up she tightens right up. Love it
Blackstar Ht metal 5 head. With a 1x12 Hughes and kettner cab. At very Subtle settings. ISF at 1 for slightly darker British sound, Bass at 8 or 9 o’clock, treble, volume and gain around 9 o’clock, Mids at 9:30 or 10. Then boosted with an OD808, with the drive at 0, tone at 11 and level at 1 and further boosted with eq after. Sounds tight, chunky and huge. I play a 6 string in drop C. With bare knuckle juggernauts and a 7 string with emgs. Also has really nice warm or bright cleans. Paired with a analog delay and the build in reverb. You can get really sweet ambient cleans as well
What cab do you use to get the Boss Katana head to sound good? I've tried hard to get mine to sound good and work well with pedals with no avail. I'm about to the point of selling it.
Fluff, If you ever get a chance, find yourself in front of a Carvin V3M. I never heard the V3, and I'm not a humongous Vai fan, but a friend of mine bought the V3M, 50 watts switch able down to something ridiculous like 5 watts. 3 channel EL84s. They discontinued them, but when I have a spare $700 I am going to scour ebay and reverb for one. Killer through a 2x12.
I don't know if it qualifies as high gain but I love my HT-1R blackstar mini stack. tis a 1 watt pushing a 12" speaker and does everything I need it to. the thing proves that wattage is not how loud an amp is.
I've got the PRS MT 15. It will definitely cook your breakfast. Love the tone, both clean and crunch and it will chug for days. It was over engineered for a 15 watt amp. You can cut through mix with this stacked on 4x12 of your favorite flavor.
Fluff I would like to clarify a common myth, people often say ""tube watts" as in my 100 watt guitar amp is as loud as my 1000 watt pa speaker, and they are often correct that it is as loud, but a watt is a watt, doesnt matter where it comes from its the same amount of power, what changes is the speakers, where most pa speakers are full range and produce about around 80-90db at 1 meter 1 watt guitar cabs are focused on a smaller spectrum often produce in excess of 100db at 1m 1w for a single vintage 30 meaning it takes many times more watts to make the pa speaker produce the same db output, the orange micro dark has a solid state power section and will be roughly the same volume dimed on your 4x12 as any other amp of the same wattage
Although I own a 90w mesa mark v, and a 100w dual rectifier Tremoverb, I really love the Mark Five 25. Expensive as hell but I love it. I don't own it. I wish I did.
I've had a Katana 100 combo for almost two years. I get good overdrives but getting a clean tone out of it is a pain in the ass! Thought about changing the speaker but I'm not sure its a good idea.
Mini amps are an absolute godsend. My first "real" amp was a Tiny Terror and that thing kicks all sorts of ass if you're a teenager in his room looking to rock out like I was. I still have it to this day and while it can't hang as well with my 5150III and Rockerverb Mk II, it's still a fun little bastard to jam on.
I played a Dark Terror for a while a couple years ago, and it suprised me with how awesome it sounded. Been itching to try out a #4 or Brent Hinds model now that they're out
PRS MT15 all the way. My favorite amp EVER! Aggressive, put a Maxon 808 and ISP Decimator in the chain with a BBE Sonic Maximizer and noise gate in the loop and this rig kills any 100 watt head. I keep up with 100 watt Mesa Dual Recs and 100 watt Peavey 6505s no problem. I can push 1, 2, 4 or 6 speakers with this little monster. Thank you PRS and Mark Tremonti for creating this amp.
I think you should take a look Joyo, if you already haven't. I think the VIVO and the Zombie are pretty badass, and they definitely earn a spot on this list. Good choices though, the Micro Dark is one of my personal favorites
Fluff. For MONTHS I have been back & forth with what to get for a guitar amp. I had been toying around with getting a Marshall as most of my favorite artists use Marshalls. Or actually a blackstar since they released the new St James line. BUT after stumbling upon this video and doing some digging I am sold on the Orange OR15! Thanks for the help!
I have a carvin V3 micro tube head. I love it. It does so well. It’s like a mine Mesa triple rectifier. 50 watts with a switch tow go to 22 or 7 watt. Effects loop. Built in reverb and boost. Three channels and takes pedal like it was made to.
I'm not even a metal player, but I bring the Orange Micro Dark to every gig I play as a backup. It fits in the duffle bag I carry my cables/batteries/picks/etc., in, and sounds killer. The other guitarist in my band has a finnicky Mesa Boogie and has had to use it at a few gigs, just plugged the Micro Dark into the speaker in his combo, I doubt anyone in the crowd noticed the difference.
I love my 1 watt Fryette,, I re-amp it with a Mesa simul class 90 watt 6L6 power section and it sounds savage AF..! Had a Marshall jvm 1 watt 50th mini head,, that was bad ass also.
I do not consider the EVH 5150 III 50W as a "mini" amp, as the mesa boogie dual rectifier 2 ch version is 50W, and it's quite a big & loud amp. But yeah EVH 5150 III sounds awesome. Sad that my Mesa Mark V:25 wasn't in the list; such a versatile and great sounding tones for that tiny amp, and pretty loud for that wattage.
Hey Fluff, I've got a bit of a noob question....why aren't locking tuners a thing on bass? Sperzel is the only company I know of that makes them, why aren't they more popular?
Since Fender really does make mini heads, I absolutely love my Peavey Classic 20 MH for cleans. Having the choice of 16 & 8 ohm switch plus you can disable the speaker out and just use headphones with no speaker load needed, priceless.
Nope. Both EVH and Peavey make smaller versions of that head. Ironically including the Peavey 6505 Mh in this very video. The 50 watt 5150 isn't considered a mini or small amp in anyway. It's more along the club sized version not a true mini, but Fluff said it's his list so his rules I guess?
My thoughts exactly. I demoed the MT15 (very impressive) and the EVH LBXiii with their OEM respective cabs. Then I went and tried the mini Rec, MKV25, and the Rectoverb 25 with mini Rec 1x12. To my ears, the Mesas were better in detailed clarity with high gain but also we're far more versatile with lower volume cleaner tones than the other two. I had gone into the process with a slight bias toward the PRS and assumed that I would come to the conclusion that it was just as good as the Mesa offerings at half the price. In the end, I went with a Rectoverb 25 head and cab. No regrets. I may be wrong, but I don't see any direct comparisons between the mt15 and one of the mini rectifier variants out here. I'd love to see it with miked cabs and not IR's. Since my purchase , I have to admit that I wish I had tried an engl Fireball 25 just for giggles. I'm very impressed by what I've seen in terms of reviews out here.
Laney Ironheart 15W: single channel amp but with great British hard sound. I have it for more than a year and i love it to the max. I also had Randall Diavlo 1W, another great mini amp but with big modern sound.
Hi Fluff, First Question: Have you ever tried a Mesa Rectoverb 25? It's advertised as being a Mini-Rectifier with reverb but I found it to be something else entirely. Like a really mid-focused, less gainy Rectifier sound. I can't say its quite like any other Rectifier head, almost like it was tweaked to sound best with the EL84 power section. Second Question: Even though using mini-heads has solved a lot of size and weight and price-point issues, they're still really loud and using them in lower power settings like 5w or 1w seems to just suck the life out of them. Are mini-amps really the best solution for bedroom only players needing talking volumes or lower? Or is digital actually a better solution if a player will just never exceed a certain volume level in their environment? Are we trying too hard to fight the physics of sound? Should we accept that no matter the size or the wattage of the amp, you just need to get a certain amount of air moving in a room to really experience a big amp sound? Or am I just thinking into this too much ... ?
I own both the 6505 mini and the Tremonti 15 watt head, both excellent amps... the peavey rocks for real tight modern tones or balls out aggression you come to expect with that line of amp and the Tremonti amp really is loud, such a physical punchy and true sound, not just great for rock/metal but also a really clear clean channel which serves great as a base for pedals etc.
For a long long time I have been dreming of a Jim Root Orange Terror 15W head but still I havent bought it... Maybe because im not sure if it can be loud enough with band practice.
Not a mini amp but what are your thoughts on the crate blue voodoo? For me it’s an amazing amp for any price range ...maybe a remember the 90’s with one? I’d love to hear your thoughts on it or even a head to head with a 5150 since it was crates answer to it?
What do you think of orange dark terror, just got one and kind of sceptic (don't know why) but still i respect other opinions so would appreciate your oppinion
Could you do a video with various settings for Classic Metal tones and Modern Metal tones out of the EL 34 EVH 50 watt head. I for one would really appreciate it.
Not necessarily a lunchbox size but still a very small profile amp I've been playing the Electroharmonix Mig 50 reissue for about a year now. It is louder than you would ever need it to be tight bass response and the thing just loves pedals
Not necessarily mini, but, my Mesa Mark V35 is the best amp I've ever played in my entire life. My bandmate has got the 5150 EL34 and is BR00TAL. Great list, Fluff! :)
I recently seen your video with the peavey invective MH, and I really want to get it for home use. Any reason why you didn't choose that one??? Just want to know the pros and cons from your outlook and why I might choose another Mini amp. Good video by the way
Doesnt Galien Kreuger still make amps. ? A friend of mine had a royally bad ass one and it had 2 4 or 6" speakers and that thing would absolutely scream. Had great tonal quality even at lower freqs. . for its size, it was heavy and just would rock the roof offa the place.
Your list is similar to what mine would have been. I would also consider the Randall RM22, Randall RD20H (one of my most faithful amplifiers that I do most of my demos through), Marshall JCM800SC, Panama Shaman 20, Marshall Origin 20, and many, many more. You’re right, these amps are coming out on the market in droves these days.
No love for the Vox MV50AC for that British Rock Tone?? I've been gigging mine for a white, love the feel and sound. Also makes for a good back-up head on my pedal board!
I’m all about the Hovercraft Dwarvenaut. 20 watts. I’ve played 6 different ones. Each one is different. Each one has a spectrum of tones. I currently own 2. 1. Is all the Crunches and High Gains. 2. is all the Cleans and a touch of Breakup. Both take pedals like amazingly well. And the other 4 Dwarvenauts I’ve played were really kick ass.
Question, That Helix rig, it's pairing well with the baritone and lower tunings right? I know in those ranges tube power amps can flub sometimes. My buddy has a PRS 227 P90 baritone, and found an old ZOOM combo amp that someone literally thew out next to a dumpster near D.C. Paired together it slams. I can't hate it. I tried. Baritones like SS amps. There...I said it.
Would also add the Victory Kraken. Very small amp but still 50 Watts of tube goodness.
10/10 I agree. The Kraken is a monstrous sounding amp, Gain 1 at 11 oclock, pushed hard with an OD... Bliss.
I completely agree
I've got the kraken 50 watt. It replaced my 5150 ii head . I got tired of lugging half a tonne of tone about, so got the kraken which has got more to offer sonically (opinion) and its just as loud, easy to carry (8kg!!!) and has more than enough gain for some dirt shitting riffs. Cleans are super crisp and jangly. Its and absolute workhorse
Oof, love my kraken
Only players who dig Victory are from the UK. Why? Because Victory is made there. Beeyatch!
I looked at a bunch of mini amps, but eventually decided on the Mesa Mark V 25. I smile every time I turn it on. Expensive, but a great purchase!
I got the 35
Psycho Mantis Nice! I think I might have went for that if it was out when I got the 25.
Mark Oxford you can’t put a price tag on gear that inspires & makes you smile when you turn it on. Good purchase!
I agree!
Mark V25 is amazing amp.
Love mine, I think I will be changing tubes very soon now as my is two years old and getting noisy now.
Hail!
Mesa don't mesa round, they make for me personally the best amps in terms of metal.
My PRS MT15 is amazing and incredibly loud! Couldn't imagine playing any other amp right now
Yep same
How do you feel about it now that it's been a year?
@@AnthonyChhan I am still very impressed by this Amp! It holds on to the practising day and live concerts, while being good for studio work. It's clean channel is bright, it's gain channel kicks ass, and I am really sure no Amp in this price Range would have done a better job. As a Metal guitarist I recommend it still to this day! Thank you for asking, and your interest! If you have questions feel free to ask
Thanks for the reply. Seems like a great amp. Just had to know someone's opinion in the long run.
@@mauricewintersehl391 guys, can you Help me with my MT15? I just don't get it tight enough for modern metal, I tried the Tubescreamer in front of it, but it doesn't do that much to the tightness.. yeah, the clean channel is freakin awesome ^^ maybe you guys have any idea or tips, thank you 🤟
Micro dark looks crazy sitting on my Mesa 4x12.
Wayne Willis
How? Plenty of bands use smaller amps on 4x12’s.
newthrash1221 have you ever used a micro dark? they’re about 10 inches long and maybe 8 inches tall. idk any amps that small😂
@@newthrash1221 its hell'a small dude, literally.
My friends laughed at me when they saw it sitting on top a big ass cabinet, didn't have shit to say once I put that son bitch on full volume, not exactly aesthetically pleasing in terms of looks but its deceiving.
I really want to try the Peavey Invective Mini. That amp seems amazing
Hope you can do it soon! I ordered mine right after namm 19, still waiting..
I have the Orange OR15 and it is fantastic. And my Egnater Tweaker 15 head is unbelievably good especially for the price. Both for studio use through a Bogner oversized 2x12. 👍🏼
More love for Egnater!
I’m actually shopping and I’m not sure which one to get..? Which one do you like the most?
Although I'm a Mesa Mini Rectoverb guy, that OR15 is a sweet amp and really be on anyone's shortlist when shopping for a small head amp. The Dark Terror is a hell of an amp for the money as well.
50W 5150 is a mini amp? wasn't aware.
Schwurbel beautifully worded. I spit out my Oreo laughing at that one! 😂
Mate 😂😂😂 couldn't agree more, my old blackstar tvp 15w on full volume shakes shit at my neighbour's house, 50w with that size would probably bulldoze their house
@@diabolikalm can confirm. My 5150 50W can be heard for miles
Scratching my head on that one too....
Evh has a 5150 lbx, and peavy has 6505 mh, no idea, why he chose that instead of them
The joyo zombie is a near perfect triple rec copy but at $150 and 20 watts
I have one as well and its a tiny monster absolutely love it
Hard agree. Love the Meteor as well. Solid Orange tones for dirt cheap. I went with the the Meteor over the Micro Dark, just because the channels were switchable. And I was not a bit disappointed
I have it and it is great - excellent sound!
The MT15 is a beast. I use it in conjunction with the Two Notes Captor’s -20db attenuation and bedroom tones have never been better. Absolutely killer amp.
Ryan Wilson What does the Two Notes Captor do?
It’s meant to be a direct injection (D.I.) box for use with tube amps so one can plug a tube amp into an interface going into a computer to record silently without the need to have a cabinet plugged into that tube amp. It does 4 things: D.I. (Plug into an interface going into computer), load box (puts a load on the speaker so you can record silently, no cab needed), -20db attenuator (for bedroom tones), and a cab-sim. It handles amps up to 100 watts. It can also be used to send a signal to the front of house if one is playing live for the same reasons mentioned above. No cab needed, just go from the captor into the P.A., set levels and eq and you’re good to go.
It also comes with Torpedo’s “Wall of Sound” plugin which is pretty nice for dialing in tones. It’s just a cab-sim program but a good one.
It’s a pretty sweet piece of kit. I think fluff has a video on it actually. If not, there’s a bunch of other videos about it. Check it out man.
Any effects loop issues on your mt-15?
jaychen
None that I’ve noticed. It’s a pretty solid head.
@@ryanwilson5936 Ok because i run an eq with my 6505mh
The Mesa Boogie Mini Dual Rectifier 25w is a beast w/ the mini stack.
Great list. I would also add the ENGL Ironball. Damn good amp.
I had the Mesa Boogie Mark V 25. It was a great amp. I also like the Super Kraken from Victory. But I replaced all of my heads for a Kemper and a Helix Rack.
I have a Panama Shaman 2 that i swear by. Tons of tones, 15w. Beautiful
H&K Tubemeister 40, I own it, I love it. Our other guitarist plays the Blackstar HT-20 and it’s sick too. We both play through 212 cabs for stage volume but use the direct outs for FOH. They sound great together.
I bought the Katana head last summer. It's such a great value for what it does. It's even got a serviceable little speaker built in for when you don't want to play super loud.
I have the Boss Katana Head and I love mine. I can get whatever I want with this amp. And when I plug it into the interface, it sounds so clear.
The JJ Jr kicks major ass! Best amp I've ever owned.
My favorite is the EVH 50W. The tone and sounds that this thing produces are just phenomenal. My favorite by far !!
I'm waiting for the JJ junior.
It should be a good time.
Thanks for everything you do.
I do love my EVH 5150 III EL34. Extremely versatile!
Jet City 22H, best bang for your buck, can’t go wrong with that Soldano Overdrive
I have the 20H, and it also sounds really good.
Would be cool if you could ever find one
@@TheXxjmpxxx Yeah, they've become unobtainium
How did the Mesa Mark V25 not make this list?
The Carvin V3M was the sickest “lunchbox” for me! Wish they still made‘em.
I have it since 2012. You can find them for dirt cheap on the second hand market in europe now. Some people complain about its fizzy tone, but once you play it a high volume that thing really start breathing. That is unarguably the most versatile lunch box amp. 3 chan, 3 mods per chan, 1 switch to modify the eq range per chan, volume boost, reverb. It's also one of the only lunchbox with 2 cab outputs. Only downside is the proprietary footswitch and the weird way of switching channels
I've been looking at the micro dark for several weeks now because when I first got into metalcore Orange was all I ever saw. I've seen good reviews on youtube and this was just one more good reaction to it. Had no clue Beartooth actually uses this thing. Ready to pull the trigger, thanks man.
I think this a very good representation of high gain low wattage heads. The Orange TH30 and Egnater Rebel-30 MKII are two of my personal low wattage favorites. The Egnater has a lot more tonal control via the two attenuator controls for both the clean and gain channels and the two reverb controls for each channel. The TH30 is straight forward simple stupid harmonic bliss and the foundation of my tone. If I were to buy any of the amps shown here I would go with the OR-15, it's got that old school orange sound while the TH-30 is more of a modern tone.
My Friedman JJ JR is the first amp I've owned that completely floored me. Plugging in my 2010 Les Paul Custom and playing it through the matching 2x12 mini stack cab, it is an absolute beast. Hope to keep this forever!
Your original 6505mh video sold me on that one a day or so after you posted it. I love that thing!
I fell in love with the Mesa Mini Rectifier 25.
I'm also thinking about getting the Randall Satan 50 or Peavey 6505MH just for the different Sound and Feel.
The price doesnt qualify as "mini" though
my first tube amp was the Mini Rectifier from the first year they made them! I love it still!
I have been playing a Egnator Tweaker 15 watt head at my work and I have been loving that thing. It is really making me consider getting mini heads instead of combo amps.
Mesa 25 Recto - built like a tank and sounds amazing.
Either Fluff forgot about this amp or his taste can’t be trusted
The Orange Jim Root Terror is my go to for mini box/big tones.
Came here to say that. Love mine. Pair it with a Tube Screamer or a 33 pedal and oof...
But then it does clean and good rock tones great as well!
I tried my friends one, it sounds amazing but for that price you could easily get yourself a used randall t2 (rare but does show up now and again) maybe with a little bit on top get a 5150, vh100r or a 6505 peavy. All killer amps with more kick and bang for your buck.
Fluff, I know it’s a little bigger, but where is the Mesa Boogie Mark 5 Twenty-Five? Not just as a quality U.S. amp, but you can do so much with it. Thanks!
Mine so far is the H&K Grandmeister Deluxe 40, the ultra channel with the gain a bit less than noon boosted with a maxon 808 is sick! It's a bit flubby quiet non boosted, but when you crank her up she tightens right up. Love it
Blackstar Ht metal 5 head. With a 1x12 Hughes and kettner cab. At very Subtle settings. ISF at 1 for slightly darker British sound, Bass at 8 or 9 o’clock, treble, volume and gain around 9 o’clock, Mids at 9:30 or 10. Then boosted with an OD808, with the drive at 0, tone at 11 and level at 1 and further boosted with eq after. Sounds tight, chunky and huge. I play a 6 string in drop C. With bare knuckle juggernauts and a 7 string with emgs. Also has really nice warm or bright cleans. Paired with a analog delay and the build in reverb. You can get really sweet ambient cleans as well
The blackstar ht metal series haven't gotten the love it deserved. Sounds killer!
What cab do you use to get the Boss Katana head to sound good? I've tried hard to get mine to sound good and work well with pedals with no avail. I'm about to the point of selling it.
Fluff, If you ever get a chance, find yourself in front of a Carvin V3M. I never heard the V3, and I'm not a humongous Vai fan, but a friend of mine bought the V3M, 50 watts switch able down to something ridiculous like 5 watts. 3 channel EL84s. They discontinued them, but when I have a spare $700 I am going to scour ebay and reverb for one. Killer through a 2x12.
I don't know if I'm the only one but I think of Fluff everytime I get a kit-kat.
I don't know if it qualifies as high gain but I love my HT-1R blackstar mini stack. tis a 1 watt pushing a 12" speaker and does everything I need it to. the thing proves that wattage is not how loud an amp is.
I have a Peavey Classic 20 MH and it does the trick. I'll have that thing forever.
I was a bit surprised not to see the Peavey Invective MH on your list. Why is that? Would you choose the 6505 mini over the invective?
I have a Randall Rd 1 that absolutely crushes. I have it plugged in to a Mesa Boogie 412 w/Evm12l's & V30's. Huge sound at bedroom practice volume.
I've got the PRS MT 15. It will definitely cook your breakfast. Love the tone, both clean and crunch and it will chug for days. It was over engineered for a 15 watt amp. You can cut through mix with this stacked on 4x12 of your favorite flavor.
Fluff I would like to clarify a common myth, people often say ""tube watts" as in my 100 watt guitar amp is as loud as my 1000 watt pa speaker, and they are often correct that it is as loud, but a watt is a watt, doesnt matter where it comes from its the same amount of power, what changes is the speakers, where most pa speakers are full range and produce about around 80-90db at 1 meter 1 watt guitar cabs are focused on a smaller spectrum often produce in excess of 100db at 1m 1w for a single vintage 30 meaning it takes many times more watts to make the pa speaker produce the same db output, the orange micro dark has a solid state power section and will be roughly the same volume dimed on your 4x12 as any other amp of the same wattage
I have the EVH 50w head. You gotta try the 2nd channel mod so it’s not so muddy. Super easy mod and totally worth it. Best amp ever.
Although I own a 90w mesa mark v, and a 100w dual rectifier Tremoverb, I really love the Mark Five 25. Expensive as hell but I love it. I don't own it. I wish I did.
What’s your opinion on the Mesa mini rectifier? Worth the money?
I've had a Katana 100 combo for almost two years. I get good overdrives but getting a clean tone out of it is a pain in the ass! Thought about changing the speaker but I'm not sure its a good idea.
Mini amps are an absolute godsend. My first "real" amp was a Tiny Terror and that thing kicks all sorts of ass if you're a teenager in his room looking to rock out like I was. I still have it to this day and while it can't hang as well with my 5150III and Rockerverb Mk II, it's still a fun little bastard to jam on.
I played a Dark Terror for a while a couple years ago, and it suprised me with how awesome it sounded. Been itching to try out a #4 or Brent Hinds model now that they're out
PRS MT15 all the way. My favorite amp EVER! Aggressive, put a Maxon 808 and ISP Decimator in the chain with a BBE Sonic Maximizer and noise gate in the loop and this rig kills any 100 watt head. I keep up with 100 watt Mesa Dual Recs and 100 watt Peavey 6505s no problem. I can push 1, 2, 4 or 6 speakers with this little monster. Thank you PRS and Mark Tremonti for creating this amp.
Is it loud enough to rehearse and gig with a band?
I think you should take a look Joyo, if you already haven't. I think the VIVO and the Zombie are pretty badass, and they definitely earn a spot on this list. Good choices though, the Micro Dark is one of my personal favorites
For me, the list is:
1: Victory Kraken
2: Orange Micro Dark
3: PRS MT15
Beyond that, I have never had the opportunity to play any others.
Fluff. For MONTHS I have been back & forth with what to get for a guitar amp. I had been toying around with getting a Marshall as most of my favorite artists use Marshalls. Or actually a blackstar since they released the new St James line. BUT after stumbling upon this video and doing some digging I am sold on the Orange OR15! Thanks for the help!
The little green mini Yamaha metal amp is pretty cool and greet sounding, also value for money and portability. 👍
I have a carvin V3 micro tube head. I love it. It does so well. It’s like a mine Mesa triple rectifier. 50 watts with a switch tow go to 22 or 7 watt. Effects loop. Built in reverb and boost. Three channels and takes pedal like it was made to.
I'm not even a metal player, but I bring the Orange Micro Dark to every gig I play as a backup. It fits in the duffle bag I carry my cables/batteries/picks/etc., in, and sounds killer. The other guitarist in my band has a finnicky Mesa Boogie and has had to use it at a few gigs, just plugged the Micro Dark into the speaker in his combo, I doubt anyone in the crowd noticed the difference.
I really love the Mesa Mark V 25, particularly the Mark IV mode
With the exception of the JJ, none of the amps mentioned touch the Mesa Mark V 25 or 35 watt.
Shawn Rommes those amps are massively incredible and versatile. Rocking the JP2C rn but had the 25 MKV and just went up from there
If I was still gigging, it would be with the JP2C. Had a IIC+ a few years back. Never heard a tone I’ve liked more. Just my opinion of course.
No Boogie Mark V 25??
I love my 1 watt Fryette,, I re-amp it with a Mesa simul class 90 watt 6L6 power section and it sounds savage AF..! Had a Marshall jvm 1 watt 50th mini head,, that was bad ass also.
A 1 watt fryette what?
Do you have a favorite between the OR15 and the 6505MH? I have been looking at the OR15 for some time, but now I like the 6505 tone too!
I do not consider the EVH 5150 III 50W as a "mini" amp, as the mesa boogie dual rectifier 2 ch version is 50W, and it's quite a big & loud amp. But yeah EVH 5150 III sounds awesome. Sad that my Mesa Mark V:25 wasn't in the list; such a versatile and great sounding tones for that tiny amp, and pretty loud for that wattage.
Peuf74 I was thinking the same thing! 50w isn’t ‘mini’ or ‘lunchbox’
How does your Mark 5:25 sound at bedroom volumes ?
It better be good for $1600!
@@bojangles4704 forgive the response time. It's really loud at 8 o'clock volume knob with my 4x12. So, loud enough for any gig
@@Peuf74 thanks for the reply , can you get it down real low in volume and still have it sound great?
I have the 6505 mh and the micro dark. Love the two amps.
Same!
@@jeepnut1 hell yeah man.
Idk if I could consider 50w a "mini" head lol. But I guess it IS less than half the size of the full size one..
So are you saying that the orange micro can hang with a drummer?? Pushing a 4x12??
I just picked up an Orange OR15 head used a couple months ago. Digging it a lot. Can’t wait to pair it up with my JCM 800.
I think tube amps only say what there clean watts are. when add distortion creep an 15 watt tube may put out 25 to 30 watts when full overdriven.
Hey Fluff, I've got a bit of a noob question....why aren't locking tuners a thing on bass? Sperzel is the only company I know of that makes them, why aren't they more popular?
Is the 5153 EL34 worth it if I already own the 6L6 50watt? Are they different enough to justify owning both or should I get the
Invective MH?
Since Fender really does make mini heads, I absolutely love my Peavey Classic 20 MH for cleans. Having the choice of 16 & 8 ohm switch plus you can disable the speaker out and just use headphones with no speaker load needed, priceless.
Laney Ironheart IR studio rack mount. Options for 1 watt or 15 watts.
I really love my krank rev jr pro for metal and my mark v:25 for everything. Despite not liking el84 amps a lot for the chug the mesa nails it
any chance of getting all of them in a video? and which ones can do loud cleans as well as distortions?
Is a 50 watt tube amp head really a mini amp though ? Nevermind, I'll go find something else to do.
Bryan Keith:😁👍
50w is not mini
Nope. Both EVH and Peavey make smaller versions of that head. Ironically including the Peavey 6505 Mh in this very video.
The 50 watt 5150 isn't considered a mini or small amp in anyway. It's more along the club sized version not a true mini, but Fluff said it's his list so his rules I guess?
I have 3 50 watt tube heads and they are in no way mini. Same size as a 100 watt head and just about as loud
It could be argued that a 50watt solid state amp is a mini amp, I guess. Not so much a mini amp but, a "small" amp really.
Interesting to not see the Mesa Mark V 25 or Rectoverb 25 on the list. NOT saying you are wrong lol I own both and they are siiiiick!
My thoughts exactly. I demoed the MT15 (very impressive) and the EVH LBXiii with their OEM respective cabs. Then I went and tried the mini Rec, MKV25, and the Rectoverb 25 with mini Rec 1x12. To my ears, the Mesas were better in detailed clarity with high gain but also we're far more versatile with lower volume cleaner tones than the other two.
I had gone into the process with a slight bias toward the PRS and assumed that I would come to the conclusion that it was just as good as the Mesa offerings at half the price. In the end, I went with a Rectoverb 25 head and cab. No regrets.
I may be wrong, but I don't see any direct comparisons between the mt15 and one of the mini rectifier variants out here. I'd love to see it with miked cabs and not IR's.
Since my purchase , I have to admit that I wish I had tried an engl Fireball 25 just for giggles. I'm very impressed by what I've seen in terms of reviews out here.
No love for the EVH LBX series or the Mesa 25????
Just bought my first tube amp, an Orange Dual Terror 30 watt. Love it.
Laney Ironheart 15W: single channel amp but with great British hard sound. I have it for more than a year and i love it to the max. I also had Randall Diavlo 1W, another great mini amp but with big modern sound.
Hi Fluff,
First Question: Have you ever tried a Mesa Rectoverb 25? It's advertised as being a Mini-Rectifier with reverb but I found it to be something else entirely. Like a really mid-focused, less gainy Rectifier sound. I can't say its quite like any other Rectifier head, almost like it was tweaked to sound best with the EL84 power section.
Second Question: Even though using mini-heads has solved a lot of size and weight and price-point issues, they're still really loud and using them in lower power settings like 5w or 1w seems to just suck the life out of them. Are mini-amps really the best solution for bedroom only players needing talking volumes or lower? Or is digital actually a better solution if a player will just never exceed a certain volume level in their environment? Are we trying too hard to fight the physics of sound? Should we accept that no matter the size or the wattage of the amp, you just need to get a certain amount of air moving in a room to really experience a big amp sound? Or am I just thinking into this too much ... ?
Those amps are amazing and look so sophisticated. If I didn’t already have a full sized Dual Rec I’d get one.
@@joshbarnes6759 I loved the look of it too, really classy!
I like the Jim Root terror from Orange too, and also the 15W EVH 5150III
the Root terror paired with P90s sounds amazing!
I own both the 6505 mini and the Tremonti 15 watt head, both excellent amps... the peavey rocks for real tight modern tones or balls out aggression you come to expect with that line of amp and the Tremonti amp really is loud, such a physical punchy and true sound, not just great for rock/metal but also a really clear clean channel which serves great as a base for pedals etc.
For a long long time I have been dreming of a Jim Root Orange Terror 15W head but still I havent bought it... Maybe because im not sure if it can be loud enough with band practice.
It will be loud enough. Depending on how loud your drummer and other band members are it will cut it. Your're gonna be pushing it hard though.
Love and own the mark v 25. So much in that little amp.
Not a mini amp but what are your thoughts on the crate blue voodoo? For me it’s an amazing amp for any price range ...maybe a remember the 90’s with one? I’d love to hear your thoughts on it or even a head to head with a 5150 since it was crates answer to it?
What do you think of orange dark terror, just got one and kind of sceptic (don't know why) but still i respect other opinions so would appreciate your oppinion
Could you do a video with various settings for Classic Metal tones and Modern Metal tones out of the EL 34 EVH 50 watt head. I for one would really appreciate it.
This would be a great video
I have all of them except the Peavey 5150 III and Friedman..Nice choices 🤘😎
Which mini has the most low end? Some of the minis lack in that area.
Not necessarily a lunchbox size but still a very small profile amp I've been playing the Electroharmonix Mig 50 reissue for about a year now. It is louder than you would ever need it to be tight bass response and the thing just loves pedals
Not necessarily mini, but, my Mesa Mark V35 is the best amp I've ever played in my entire life. My bandmate has got the 5150 EL34 and is BR00TAL. Great list, Fluff! :)
I recently seen your video with the peavey invective MH, and I really want to get it for home use. Any reason why you didn't choose that one??? Just want to know the pros and cons from your outlook and why I might choose another Mini amp. Good video by the way
I upgraded my MicroDark tube to a Tung Sol tube vs the stock JJ tube and that thing screams! Love it. Glad the micro dark is getting love!
Doesnt Galien Kreuger still make amps. ? A friend of mine had a royally bad ass one and it had 2 4 or 6" speakers and that thing would absolutely scream. Had great tonal quality even at lower freqs. . for its size, it was heavy and just would rock the roof offa the place.
Your list is similar to what mine would have been. I would also consider the Randall RM22, Randall RD20H (one of my most faithful amplifiers that I do most of my demos through), Marshall JCM800SC, Panama Shaman 20, Marshall Origin 20, and many, many more. You’re right, these amps are coming out on the market in droves these days.
No love for the Vox MV50AC for that British Rock Tone?? I've been gigging mine for a white, love the feel and sound. Also makes for a good back-up head on my pedal board!
Great video, thought I would see the mini rectifier or the mini mark 5
I’m all about the Hovercraft Dwarvenaut. 20 watts. I’ve played 6 different ones. Each one is different. Each one has a spectrum of tones. I currently own 2. 1. Is all the Crunches and High Gains. 2. is all the Cleans and a touch of Breakup. Both take pedals like amazingly well. And the other 4 Dwarvenauts I’ve played were really kick ass.
Just bought the mt15 and oh my God!! Packs one HELL of a punch!
Question, That Helix rig, it's pairing well with the baritone and lower tunings right? I know in those ranges tube power amps can flub sometimes. My buddy has a PRS 227 P90 baritone, and found an old ZOOM combo amp that someone literally thew out next to a dumpster near D.C. Paired together it slams. I can't hate it. I tried. Baritones like SS amps. There...I said it.