Why you need a 5 watt amp (and some of my current favorites).
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- Опубликовано: 28 июн 2024
- There are few things I feel more strongly about in the gear realm than this: everyone should own at least one 5 watt tube amp. They're just so much fun. Today we're talking about what I love about these little amps and sharing some sounds from my current favorites. We'll hit on vintage amps, new production examples that fall into this small, low-wattage tube category, as well as the top-tier boutique amps that are small but mighty.
. . .
AMPS in order of appearance:
1978 Fender Vibro Champ in Mojotone cabinet with Weber Alnico 10"
Hiwatt Hi-5 1x10 Combo
Morgan AC5 into Morgan 112 with Celestion Creamback speaker
GUITARS
Novo Miris J
Rivolta Mondo Combinata Baritone
MICS
Soyuz 1973 microphone
Ohma Ribbon microphone
. . .
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I built a vacuum tube 5 watt amp 10 years go. I read a book called The Guitar Handbook by Dave hunter. I hand wired everything from scratch. It has only 3 vacuum tubes ( 5Y3 rectifier, 12ax7, and KT66 power tube for 10 watts or 6L6 for 6 watts. I built my enclosure with poplar hardwood and wrapped with tweed tolex. It also has a 8 inch and 10 inch speakers that can play together or separate. I just love my amp.
Did I fucking ask?
That is a great book! I never had the guts to build my own though.
Love it! I had a silverface Vibrochamp for years, and they're absolutely killer.
Yes! The Vibro Champs are so much fun!
I love my Mesa Lone Star Special in 5 watts mode (single ended class A) for vintage tones with loads of power tube distortion... There's indeed something magical about 5 watts amps! Rock on!!!
The Bad Cat Mini Cat is killer along with the Matchless SC Mini
YES. Regret selling both of those ha. I had a Mini Cat II and it was a really cool little amp. Love that they fit those for 12" speakers.
I’ve had a Victoria 5012 tweed 5 watt 12” speaker for 19 years now. I installed a Weber Alnico speaker in it and it became even better, great amp.
yeah a 5 watt with a 12" speaker is a venerable little amp, those Victorias are nice!
I really enjoy my Blackstar HT5R combo. 12" speaker, overdrive with footswitch and built-in reverb give it plenty of personality for home use.
Man I gotta get myself a hi-5 for pedal demos, that sounds fantastic
I have a Blackstar HT5 head, and it's perfect for playing at home when I can't crank my other amps.
My tube amps are BIG and LOUD. Pro tube Twin and Boogie S O B. Both 60/ 100 watts. But a friend gave me a H/ B Monoprice cabinet with the 12" 70/80 Celetion speaker still in it. Picked up a Hotone Mojo Diamond (Fender Tweed style) 5 watt S S head. Its instantly turned into my fav grab and go amp. Stick in little head inside and can basically run out the door with guitar in one hand and amp in other.
Love the story about you and your dad discovering/rediscovering guitar!
I love that it's part of our story too! It's a really fun way that we're still able to connect; he still plays and we trade gear back and forth. Really fun :)
I have a vintage 1979 Fender Silverface Vibro Champ that I just love. The tremolo is amazing and I replaced the stock speaker with an 8inch Warehouse 8c. I just recently got a foot switch for the tremolo.
Those WGS speakers really can bring champs to life. And the tremolo on a good VC is a BEAUTIFUL thing. Love it!
I got my hands on a 1963 Gibson GA-8T Discoverer last year that was a single owner amp (dad's bff) that hadnt been pushed hard through its life. Had the electrolytics replaced, grounded power cord installed and modded it so that when plugging in an external cab, the internal speaker is disabled. It's one of the best low watt (12ish) amps ive ever used... and i waited 35+yrs to get my hands on :)
Got a few other far more modern era low watt amps but this one is 'special'.
Very cool ! Those old Gibson amps are really cool.
Garnet Gnome 7 watt with tremolo built in…8inch speaker…my go to recording amp for tight mid tones …love it
Great video! I used my ‘61 DeArmond R5T for years playing in church; close mic’d on stage.
57 Fender Champ - still not broken in but absolutely love the instant mojo. I’ve had the Marshall Class 5 for awhile now, built in A/B, and I get a wide variety of sounds with the amp alone. Takes pedals well. Definitely jonesing for a vintage drip edge Vibro Champ.
yeah I bet that's a fun one! The Class 5 is cool - I had one years back. Seems like it would really benefit from a master or attenuator though as that one got LOUD from my memory.
Digging my little champ. Such a charmer.
@@guyicangelo7727 I have a 57 champ, Great amp but noisy when compared to the swart. Just found out there’s a mod to tame the hum and the noise.
I have a 74 Vibro Champ and one of the new reverb ones. Amazing little amps. The Vibro was my first tube amp way back in the 80s, sold it for a stupid price and always missed it.
I have a '76 Vibro Champ with a WGC 8" speaker that I love playing and practicing with. the tremolo is like heaven and the control at low volumes is perfect. I want to check out the supro you mentioned as well.
I can't overstate how transformational a good 8" replacement speaker is in these little Champs. WGS is great; Jupiter; Jensen...lots of good ones, but they really bring these amps to life.
I have a Silktone Micronaut. It’s a really outstanding two channel 4 watt tube amp head, and has the added advantage of a secondary output that allows you to use it as a standalone pre-amp pedal either into another power stage, into your recording interface, or as a very cool pedal into the front end of another amp. Plus you can control line output level with a knob on the back. Not a cheap amp, but really exceptional in sound, build quality and versatility.
yeah those look really fun; I need to track one down eventually.
Ive played acoustic for many years, but only in last 5 years picked up electric, and I've been using modelers (mostly Helix/HX Stomp) from the beginning. I missed the pedal/tube amp exploration and tone chase. I'd be really curious to get a small tube amp to run the modeler through as just a pedalboard. Looking forward to more videos on these! Any ideas on a 5 Watt that would sound like a Benson Chimera or Revv D25? Those are my two favorite amps I've experienced in modelers.
Eyeing up a vibrio champ for some wet/dry at dual mono fun.
I’ve been shopping between the Hi-5 and the EVH 15w combo (intending to use the 1/4 power attenuation). I like a 10” speaker for these little amps
My fine watt amp is a Mesa express 5:50 combo. It’s an amazing amp goes from five watts to twenty five or fifty watts. It can cover all the bases. I used the five watt setting for home use and came in real handy when we had to live in a trailer for two years but the cool thing is it’s got a Mesa black shadow 12 speaker so it doesn’t sound boxy and it’s capable of handling anything you throw at it. So it’s not real light but it’s not a toy it’s a real versatile amp with plenty of bells and whistles . Where I live now I can crank it up pretty damn loud on end wattage I choose.
Those Mesa amps always intrigued me for that reason: having the ability to run either 5 or 25/50 gives SO much flexibility. I think I get scared off by allll the knobs haha but I know they sound good.
I have a Montgomery Ward Airline 62-9012A.
The circuit is similar to a Champ. Bought at a garage sale for $7. Speaker was from an old tv. I replaced it with a Weber 6V8A. I compared this amp with a Vibro Champ I had and I liked it more. Made by Danelectro.
Man I bet that one is cool. So many gems from that era. I had an Alamo Capri that sounded cool and was like $150 or something back in the day. The cabinets are usually garbage but they sound good and are fun and vibey
I built a 'what if?' 5 watt marshall and love it. Knowing the Jtm45 was designed after the 59 bassman I started wondering what kind of 5 watt marshall would have come up with. I started with the tweed champ / princeton schematic and added a tmb tone stack with more marshall values, I added a raw switch and a negative feedback pot. It turned out amazingly. It can go from jtm tones to tweed territory depending on how you set it up. I put it in a blackheart little giant 1x12 cab, which looks a lot like a bluesbreaker cab. Measures up to 90+ dB with a greenback. And dials in nicely with an attenuator.
that sounds like a good time!
I had a Fender Champion 600 . One knob for all and no reverb . Just perfect and ugly at the same time but I really enjoy playing it :)
Yeah those can get ragged in a cool way.
i picked up a fender vibro champ reverb without hearing or trying it.. was kind of thrown off by the price but took the chance... by far the best amp i have for clean tones
Yeah those are great little amps! The addition of reverb makes its such a great "around the house" amp as you can get great tones w/o any pedals. I almost always want a dash of verb and it's nice to just dial it up on the amp.
I play a nice gremlin combo from tone king and I think it’s the most versatile low watts tube amp I ever played
Wanted to try the matchless one too but never met it
Yeah , definitely intrigued by the Gremlin! How are the cleans? ...I had a Matchless SC-Mini for a bit; they're cool , but the EQ wasn't that dynamic or wide of a range, and it didn't grab me like a lot of the Matchless stuff does.
@@AmbientEndeavorsaudiomomo had a gremlin video where he changes the tubes to get more headroom with humbuckers and it’s shocking how much difference it made. Extremely nice cleans.
For appartment practice you can‘t go wrong with Yamaha THR ii. Normally 5 Watt Tube Amps have only one Volume knob and are pretty loud . 8 inch speakers are definetely too boxy . I own a Supro 5 Watt Delta King with additional mastervolume and 10 inch speaker , which solve this problems and it is really affordable. Great sound at bedroom levels!
Interesting stuff . . . Not a 5 watt, but loving my Yamaha THR 30II (black) = great Sounding (and feeling) little amp for a NYC apartment. It's Inspiring. Enjoyed your informative video.
Thanks for watching! Man, been bugging Yamaha about that amp for a couple years now ha, I need to try one - I’ve heard good things. Seems like its made for an NYC apartment :)
@@AmbientEndeavors I will honestly Never be without. I can get Fender Princeton-like "Pristine Cleans" or very convincing Van Halen tones. oNe LovE from NYC
I’ve got three - 1964 Vibro Champ, ‘60’s Selmer Futurama and a Matchless Bsby prototype built for NAMM years ago. They’re a blast to play at home, small jam gatherings and record great.
Some guitarists and engineers prefer small maps in the studio, as the comparative size of a mic element to the speaker is closer with small speakers in those amps.
thats a fun little trio! the matchless baby has to be a unicorn these days, I haven't seen many of those (and I own a *few* matchless amps ha!)
I was looking for a single watt valve amp when I chanced on a Blackstar HT5th 2*10 combo. Getting a dual speaker combo I could (sort of) use at home in an apartment is very rare indeed. I installed a variable L-pad between the amp and the speaker so I can push it a bit harder without the neighbours knocking.
I have a smally DIY 5 watter that I love to record with. Great breakup at not ridiculous volumes.
I've owned a few 5 watt amps over the years, and I currently own one now. I just bought used a 5 watt combo online just yesterday, haven't received it yet. It's a Blackheart Little Giant 5 watt combo with a 12" Eminence speaker.
Great little amp, years ago I owned the same amp in a head and a 1-12 cab format, si I know what I'm getting. I stupidly sold it and have regretted ever since.
One of the great things, and unusual about this 5 watt combo is it comes with a 12" speaker. 5 watt combos usually come with a 10" speaker, or even an 8".
I used to work at Chicago Music Exchange. They have an incredible assortment of tube amps. Being an apartment living Chicagoan.. I’m always looking for low watt quality tube amps. I own a Fargen MiniPlex 5w head, it is a great loss ale Marshall style. But the best 5w amp I’ve played to date, is the Carstens Amification Bluesky. Not only was he an CME’s amp tech, but he’s a super great and knowledgeable guy. I’m also waiting till Steve Bartel releases his (either 3w or 5w) current prototype in the works 🤤
Man that Bartel stuff looks amazing, still haven’t played anything from him…yet.
I may have a few come to think of it. I went through a phase. Victoria 5112. Frenzel Super Champ. National 1210. English Electronics Tone master.
1972 Selmer (no model name) 5W tube combo with 1967 G12S (T1440).
Awesome.
‘79 Champ. Also bought a Dust Devil a year ago almost entirely based on your demo, plus the endorsement of a couple trusted friends.
so glad to hear that about the winfield! I had to move mine along, but still have a Cyclone in the collection that's not going anywhere. One of my favorite takes on the AC15 sound, and they're criminally under-valued.
Drinking my morning coffee and enjoying your tremolo washed tones. Maybe over 20 years ago I bought a Champ PTP kit from a guy named Pat Bunn who ran STF Electronics. I wired and soldered by hand using his fantastic instruction booklet. Built a pine cabinet and got a Weber speaker. I really enjoyed building that. A few years after I upped the transformer and a couple resistors and now run a single 6L6 or EL34. Love that thing.
Aw thanks man :) what are you drinking?! …someday I wanna build a/some amp kits ha :) I’ve soldered a million pedals and I would love to dive into amp works but it’ll have to wait for a different season ha :)
@@AmbientEndeavors I really like Allen Amps. After the champ project I built an Allen Old Flame head kit which is based off a Super Reverb. Very good instructions. Check out the Allen kits. I don’t think STF is around anymore.
@@michaelmccormick1016 yeah the Allen stuff is really cool , I've played one or two of those amps.
I only have 1 amp now. A Supro Delta King 12 combo. I love the 5 watt supro amps too though
Great video! 🙂 I was drawn to lower wattage amps back in the 90s, as a way to run my amps hotter, without ending up with bandmates up in arms because I was blowing them away with the volume from my amps, in the heavy rock bands I was in. Nowadays, at age 60 (been playing guitar since I was 15), other than acoustic guitar playing in a local church's band, my days of gigging in a band are pretty much over, but I still like to play electric, and do like my gainy sounding guitar. Unfortunately, living in an apartment (and learning the hard way a long time ago, that playing too loud can cause issues with your neighbors [and one time in the 80s when I was in college, led to a visit by the police]), I prefer to still have driven amp sounds but preferrably at low volumes. Unfortuately this means using a modeling amp (which are OK, but IMO can sound kind of generic, I currently have a Yamaha THR5), or ultra low watt (1 watt or less) amps. Unfortunately unless you want to cough up money for a speaker cab, you're stuck with only a few combos (Marshall DSL1, or Blackstar HT1) with IMO small, 8" speakers (I prefer at least a 10" speaker for some decent bass response. Oh well, I'll keep on looking.
when i was into small amps i had a marshall class 5 ,a vox ac4 tv red and a mooer little monster bm. i swapped tubes and speakers sold the marshall and the vox and turned the mooer to handwired class a with vintage mullard and brimar tubes.
I didn’t squeeze it into this vid, but the cream colored line of ac4tv amps are really fun, especially with a tube swap and speaker swap. I also have a little 1x6.5” mini version that’s cool and works well driving a cab too. Great bang for your buck with the 10” version especially
I paired a Vox AC4 with an Orange Micro Terror for a minute. The stereo spread was really fun, even at low volume.
oh yeah! these amps are a ton of fun to run in stereo. I didn't get to it in this video, but one of my favorites is the tan AC4TV series combos. I ran that in stereo with a champ for a while and loved it!
My 57' Custom Champ Reissue is amazeballs
How about the Jeff Bober East Amplification Studio 2? Or the Mesa TA-5/15?
I love my vintage Orange AD5, great amp for recording!
oo cool , I'll have to check that one out. The Orange Terrors are high on the list when I think of budget-friendly low-watters. Orange also fills a cool textural hole in my collection of mostly Fender & Vox sounds.
I live in Australia and use a locally made Valvetone Impact 5w, which is incredibly good. It's got a killer master volume on it. Worth looking into.
very cool - I'll check them out!
I have a Marshall SV20 that has a 5W mode which I typically run into a Marshall 4x10 cab. I also have an old Fender Bronco (basically a. Vibro Champ) which I believe is 6W and has an 8” speaker. Had fun recently running it into my old Twin’s speakers
Swart 5 watt with 12” speaker….this is the one you want
yeah the Swart stuff rises to the top for sure.
I love my Space Tone Tremolo for home use. No pedals needed
What a sound from that baritone and Hiwatt, oh my, thank you for that 🙏🙏 Are you tuned in B standard ?
Big fan of my 5 Watt Supro Reverb reissue!
yeah those are really cool little amps. Having reverb on board is really slick, and the gain control is nice to get that 60s crunch at lower volumes.
Love my '78 Champ. I run it into a pair of G10N-40 Celestion parallel for 4ohm 80w. If you replace the 12ax7 with a 12at7 it gets louder and cleaner. Still snarls with a Les Paul.
I have a harmony h605 which rules! Tons of features. Sounds great
I’ve got a silver face champ, class5 head and combo, DSL5, ac10. Love them all
That’s a fun lineup! Would love to hear some of those paired in stereo!
@@AmbientEndeavors I’ve done that plus a/b clean to mean
That baritone 🌄
Fender Tweed Princeton 5F2A and Fender Vibrochamp are my favourite 5 watt amps. Run them in stereo!
I have 2 Marshall dsl 1 hr , heads I use they both have Marshall 1960 a cabs to run thtough....some times I run them in stereo....but mostly I just run 1
I had a tweed champ clone with a 10” speaker for several years. It didn’t sound very good unless cranked so I regrettably traded it for something I ended up not liking. Later I replaced with a Marshall DSL5cr which I think is great. It would be perfect if it was 10 watts, to keep up with a drummer. A fantastic practice and jam by yourself amp!
Tuning in for the first time. I have my subscription. I have a nemesis, a flint, and a cloud burst. I can’t find the sweet spot. I’m trying to use volume and.exp pedals. But it either seems like it’s way too much. Or not enough at all? I’ve been messing with it, I am a TS - 10 into sSuper Reverb type. But I’ve invested in ambience. There’s got to be more than just” swelling in and swelling out really beautiful tones? All right thanks I’ll keep my eyes on your site. Best of luck
Yessir. Dig my Tungsten Mosaic.
Love your way my friend :)
🙏🏼 ty !
Have a clone of a 57 champ absolutely love it. My father has the fender ec vibro champ honestly love them. Trying to find a good aby pedal (for a good price) to run them in stereo, so to speak.
Mine’s a 68 bronco amp drip edge that I made a baffle for Weber 10” ceramic .. got for $300.. they had modded it to run the tremolo tube as another gain stage or something wacky but I put it back with a switch for slow/ fast tremolo.. 16k or 10k mid resistor switch, both is like 6.3k, both off is tone stack lift. Nfb on/off switch .. the switches are under the chassis.. baffle board was some real hard dense particle board I found .. I enjoy it :) Jensen 8” Alnico and drip edge board packed away ;)
I have a 57 Custom Champ. Nothing else like it. 3 or 4 on Volume. VR1 ribbon and a 57. Done.
Oo nice. Whats the scoop on the VR1?
My gigging amp is a Fuchs Lucky 7 with a Celestion Gold 1x12 cab. Also have a '69 Silverface Vibro Champ (Bronco) and a homebrew head that is basically a 5w tweed Princeton with a tone control added.
Ooo haven't heard mention of a Lucky 7 in years! That's cool. Great little trio there!
I like the 4 watt tube Vox Amp
there are some good ones! I think I need to make a video on the AC4TV series. some of my favorite little guys and they didn't quite make the vid.
@AmbientEndeavors I have one of these lil boogers!
Always like the sound of those Soyuz 1974s, on both spoken male voice, and guitar cab. My most used amps are a Victory V40, most often in the 7 watt mode. And a Marshall ST20H JTM head, usually in the 5 watt mode. Both into not such a small 1x12" Marshall JTM cab with a Creamback. The Victory V40 has two triode modes too, 1.5 watt and 0.5 watt. I'd like to buy a small tweed 1x10" or 1x8" with a Jensen, to maybe do some maxed out Champ type modes. Though I guess I do have a Vox Pathfinder 15, I could use as a cab for that. To my ears, the Victory V40 has a sound somewhere between a Fender Super & Hi-watt, it's a thicker, cleaner, smoother more high-headroom sound than a Fender Deluxe Reverb. I'd maybe consider selling my Vox AC30S1 to upgrade to a Matchless AC5, for recording (and keep my Vox AC15C1 for live).
I just switched from a 120Watt half stack for distortion A/B’d with a fender 180 watt super twin reverb for cleans. To a 170 watt class D into a single 1x12. I tried a 45 watt class D and 15 watt tube amps. They just didnt give me enough speaker cone movement. At home ill turn the power amp down to where its barely louder than the unplugged guitar, or crank it thru the 4x12. I no longer have a practice amp. Or a stage amp, or a rehersal amp. Its just the same amp, into cabs at those locations.
Sometimes less is more. Even when its alot, its many pounds less to transport and 95% of the tone ( still rockin tube preamp)
I love low wattage amps, and have had the pleasure of trying quite a few. Since you bought them up, I’ve played both the gremlin and the Raleigh (as well as most of the other amps in both the tone king and Carr lineups). I found the Gremlin to be pretty uninspiring unfortunately, just kinda bland, and that only when I got it dialed, a lot of unusable tones otherwise, it’s possible it needed a tube replacement. The Raleigh on the other hand was amazing, I almost bought it twice but it was probably for the best that someone else grabbed it as it wouldn’t have been the best financial decision for me at the time. Crank it up and it can sound like Brian May with a range master into an AC30 without the ear damage, great fun!
that's good to know! The Raleigh is still very much on my radar!
Ok I’m finally watching this video. King of 5 watt amps, let’s do it.
It’s silly how good that mic sounds on amps.
Have you tried the Laney L5? I heard a demo by Mike Garvey here on RUclips and it’s amazing sounding (Gilmour-esque), but a big chunk of that is Mike and effects.
I haven’t! Will have to add that to the list.
I had a Morgan PR5, loved that thing, but was too loud for an apartment…. That was pre-ox box, now I run a Two Rock classic reverb with OX 😂
OX BOX is a game-changer!
I love my Suhr 5w Corso, and if I had the coin I’d get a low-wattage amp from Swart Amps out of Wilmington NC. I think VVT Amps (Waldorf MD?) might have made a 5w, and they make great stuff as well, to name two lesser known builders.
The Suhr looks fun! I like the idea of variable power. Swarts are GREAT but yeah, not cheap.
I really need a 5 watt amp. My amps are too loud for an apartment. I really want the head version of the hi5. Really cool but I’m kind of digging going to the walrus acs1 into one of my old studio monitors. Sounds cool.
15/30w I like Valvtrain but any switchable wattage will do. That can gig anywhere. They will mic it in a larger venue anyway. If you need a 5w.. Its probably at home, and you most likely have studio monitors and an interface so all you need is Amplitube or Tonex. You dont need an amp at home at all.
When you were playing the baritone through the Hiwatt, was that drive coming from the amp?? Very beautiful tone! 9:52
Yes! On the Pure-Tube overdrive channel.
The Morgan sounds nice
It’s a fun one!
Its 10 watts but I think it fits your description. 10 inch speaker. It is light weight, you can get get beautiful cleans. it has a really decent digital reverb. Most of all you can play it at home and still get a great sound.
As for rehearsal, totally cranked it keeps up with a drummer but not a heavy drummer.
Hard to get a bad sound of this amp, and it can do clean to pretty heavy.
I've had quite a few amps, but the 7w mini katana makes things easy
those types of amps are so fun because you can get so many sounds quickly and easily, and they're super portable! Haven't tried that specific one, but I need to check out the Katana line soon.
@@AmbientEndeavors The Boss Katana Mini is 7 SS watts with a 4 inch speaker, the Blackstar Fly3 is 3 watts with a 3 inch speaker. Both are great bedroom late night amps. I have an Orange Crush 12, its 12 SS watts with a 6 inch speaker, it sounds really good at low volumes. My favorite practice amp is the Marshall DSL1CR, it is a 1 watt tube amp with an 8 inch speaker, it has a power reduction switch that drops it to .1 watts so you don't piss off your girlfriend as much.
@@AmbientEndeavors they sure are, and yes it gets thrown in a suitcase and takes up as much room as one shoe. I honestly dont use anything else anymore.
I would really like a vibrochamp, preferably a point to point rather than the 68 RI. I recently got a deal on the supro 64 reverb, which sounds really full and great, slightly pushed. Not as sparkly clean as a fender though, and I miss the tremelo. But the master volume is pretty neat. I also have a THR30ii and if I don’t put it right next to the tube amp, I’m actually totally fine with how that sounds, and it is way more versatile and practical at home…
Orange Rocker 15 Terror. Vintage Orange sound with a 15/7/1/.1 watt attenuator.
nice! Man the Rocker series from Orange might be one of the more underrated budget-friendly amp lines. Everything I've played in that vein has sounded great.
Have the same Hiwatt. Would like to buy a Matamp minimat at some point, but they're pretty rare..
it's a fun one! And those little Matamps are cool. Haven't played one but I'm sure it'd be a good time.
This is making me regret selling my Matchless SC-mini. 😢
😬 haha. I’ve regretted selling almost 100% of the matchless amps I’ve sold ha
64 and a 71 vibro champ !! Love will never sale
I have a silly amount of 68 Vibro Champs, so I get the love affair with them! ha :D someday, a black panel, but I'm a sucker for the drip edge aesthetic.
The Valvetrain 205 Tallboy is the perfect 5 watt amp in every way… except for the comic sans font.
Hahahah I’m afraid that puts it out of the running for me immediately. Too much of a font guy to not care 🤣
My favorite small amp, but it’s really expensive, is a Carr Raleigh.
I really need to try one of those. What do you like about it!?
@@AmbientEndeavors Well everything! I love how it sounds for beautiful fender-like clean tones at low to pretty high volumes. It sounds much bigger than it is. Its super easy to carry and at 63 years that is more important every day. It looks really nice if thats important, mine is currently in the living room. I dont like its master volume mode very much, but it takes pedals so well that I always use the clean channel. Finally its almost silent when turned on, particularly compared to a Fender champ I have. I don’t see ever selling it.
The one you have, 70’s Fender vibro champ…. The one and only
they're classics! Such fun little amps.
Heck yea, I got a '74 champ, '65 kalamazoo model 2, gretsch '62 6150t and '66 6151, '62 silvertone 1471, crate v5 and bugera t5! And I'm a bass player! Lol
ahha thats a fun little collection! Those Kalamazoo amps are so vibey. If I didn't own a silly amount of champs I'd probably pick one up.
Swart Atomic Jr.!
Oh man yeah. The swart stuff is absolutely worth mentioning.
I bought myself one as a retirement present 3 years ago and don't regret it, some people think an 8 inch speaker is too small but that Weber speaker really kicks it out. The tube reverb is amazing. Humbucker Music has a good video of how it sounds.
@@markmcdonald5711 Yep, I’ve had two of them and the STR tweed, which is the 12 inch version, I’ve done a bunch of demo videos of it on RUclips as well!
🤣 No.
I tried a few low watt tube amps, 4W to 15W and was underwhelmed.
I have 5 x 100W tube amps, 1 x dual 100W rack tube power amp and 1 x 180W tube amp. My smallest tube amp is 50W, but it has an attenuator switch, 5W, 10W, 50W; and I usually use the 50W setting.
I can play loud at home and I do. I have earplugs. 😁
I can’t fathom that reality, but I’m happy for you ha. My biggest amp is 45ish watts and I can rarely play that one through a cab at home.
@@AmbientEndeavors thanks & cheers!
It's not all about volume, the dB differences between 15W, 30W, 50W and 100W are relatively small, and the efficiency of the speakers will influence the actual dB.
it's about the big bottle power tube saturation, especially with a NMV amp; with my MV amps, I can dial up the master section, and lower the preamp volume or vice versa;
I find for more classic hard rock/metal (60's to '80s) a more open and raw sound I like the power section cooking. For more modern, smoother tones (e.g., Mesa for me), I can do with less power section and rely on the preamp more, but it also really comes alive with the power section hotter...it could be it's what I'm used to though?
Epiphone Valve Jnr. Two of them in wet/dry. The Mrs likescthem as furniture pieces too. Win Win. My lounge sounds great.
Those are cool and dead simple. I’ve owned one or two over the years. Got one to mod the heck out of but never got around to it.
@@AmbientEndeavors Yup, One pick up guitar, one cable, one knob amp. Go!
How do they get wet? Do you play outside? 😂
My favourite 5W-amp...? That's easy: I got a BLACKSTAR Studio KT88 which I love with all my heart! Lightweight 1x12" combo, all tube, clad in British Racing Green tolex. It''ll do anything from clean to ultra-mean PLUS it's 100% band- & gigworthy - even w/out a monitor if need be. Only thing it just doesn't want to do is this "lonely wolf" ambient stuff... it's a character: Secretly takes fun in having 10W... and seems to look down on anyone not able to play without FX-pedals 🤷♂
What I do not understand is: When looking at the amps/makers you recommend - how do they try to justify the humongous $$$? Cannot be parts: A 5W amp I'll build in a day for 100 quid (ok, 150 max.). Add a really nice speaker (and all 10" I know are relatively cheap, even if Vintage), and we're loooking at 500 quid MAXIMUM... but a small Carr for a thousand and MORE?! I once got a Carr for a few weeks (is there a model called "Rambler"/"Rumbler"?), as replacement while my Browny Vibroverb (the prices for which I understand - just go try find one!) was repaired, and I found it very dynamic - but then again, it didn't sound THAT special to me (Fender-ilk imho), and MANY tube amps become "alive" dynamic-wise when waking up their power-amp stages - which is the reason we still love'em, correct? I mean, everything BUT the sound of tube amps is a veritable pain in the behind compared to non-tube amps, let alone modelers! We cloned my Brownie's profile into a "Kemper" once, and in a blind test I was shocked by the "authenticity" - even the feeling was spot-on (weight, reliability, consistence, adaptability I won't even start with... just think e.g. VOX AC30: Had a '65 for a while (silver Bulldogs), and that thing nearly broke my back, PLUS it had a serious personality disorder, a few times thinking it was a smoke generator... and even with spare tubes at hand... did you ever try to exchange these at a gig? Not much fun, trust me!
Last question (as I am honestly curious): When playing ambient music - do you do that in bands? Somehow, I imagine that hard to do (how would you get delays synched? Wouldn't the sound be in acute danger of becoming muddy (no insult ok?! We all know the simple equatiion: More FX = less projection, right)?
In the end I peresonally think: Whatever floats your boat - is right for you.
It's just all this ambient-stuff is still new to me; I never thought about the prcatical side of gigging with it before...
Seriously looking forward to learning from you all, and if I sound sceptical or so... 1. honestly not meaning to be, and if I might've come across as such, I hereby apologise!🙈 2. Music -to me at least- is art. Art is highly individual. Individuality never asks for permission, does it?😉✌
Swart STR-Tweed
Those Swarts are solid.
I prefer 1.
1 watt, or…
I use my amp as a clean platform, so 20 watts works great for me (Dr Z, JAZ20/40) since it has a master volume and I can add overdrive with a pedal. A smaller amp with some headroom and no master volume (like the Champ) would be great (and not weigh a ton), but most that I’ve tried start to break up pretty early so they probably work better for someone who likes more ‘edge of breakup’ like a country or blues player. I don’t really think ANY tube amp works well for home use if you want it to provide real overdrive unless it has a master volume. Even a 5-watt amp is really loud when you turn it up, definitely too loud for a home. You seem to have found several that fit the bill, hard to go wrong with any of them.
agree - a good master volume or good attenuator on-board changes everything and can make even higher wattage amps pretty dang versatile.
Mesa TC-100 does everything and goes down to 3w
How about the little Epiphone
which one!?
Marshall DSL1CR, 400,00 with tax. Great apartment amp.
that line of amps looks cool!
Great vid. Perfect amount of talking.
thanks for watching!
You only need one decent amp with an attenuator.
Just get a fender tonemaster. Can dial it down to .2 watts. End of review.
Dang nice, that’s easy. I look forward to your video!
I mostly play metal, so 5 watts is useless to me.
a fair point.
Depends whether you are playing a stadium or your bedroom really. The little Blackstar 5 watter tube amp with a 12" speaker is pretty well liked for heavier types of music.
@@7171jay I play a 1959HW with 2 x 4x12 cabs in my living room. No master volume, and I like power tube saturation. I have earplugs. Among other amps in my living room is my '76 Fender Super Twin, 180W.
Nothing comes close to having big iron, IMO. It's where I started, and after my rack-rig days, it's where I went again.
@zoomzoom3950 Very cool that you have a space you can use those amps cranked up in !!! I've owned an early 70s 100W Marshall, a Showman Reverb, 60s black and silver faced Bassmans, Ampeg V4, and a Sunn Scepter among others.
For the last couple of decades it's been a 7W and 5W combos run full up which will hold up with drums and keeps the volume around or slightly under 100dB. With the big amps and efficient speakers it would be 110dB+ and I think I would get neighbor complaints with that extra volume. At the slightly lower levels there is also less leak into iem's and nobody complains as we wrap it up by 9pm. The big iron amps were certainly cool but I don't miss the extra 15-20dB that they have over the small low wattage combos with inefficient speakers which are much more controllable. I suppose if I still owned the big amps I would probably get an attenuator and bring them down to about 95dB or so. Just a couple of different approaches and there are obviously others that some people use that work for them. Basically it comes down to what works for you and we are lucky to have many different options available these days.
@@7171jay cheers!
You don't. 1w or at least 50w. You're kidding yourself with anything else.
ehh, I disagree. But it's definitely dependent on genre and context and all that. The 1 watt amps (and there are significantly fewer out there compared to 5ish watters) often lack the life, headroom, and that slight bit more "power" to really feel like they're viable for any live scenario. And to me, anything beyond about 35w is just overkill. I do nearly all my live playing with 12-35W amps and can't imagine needing any more than that. I'd concede that if the 50w has an attenuator or master volume. But like I say, YMMV, this is just my experience for the contexts I've played.