Low volume: dirt pedal or modeling
 

So I'm not really interested in discussing the advantages of tube amps because I know, I love tube amps their sound and everything about them. However, I am wanting to get a setup for home. And getting any sort of breakup with a good tube amp isn't going to work. I don't want to go with a small tube amp because I haven't found one I liked very well yet. And they don't seem to have good cleans.

So I'm considering either a fender bassbreaker 15w and using a dirt pedal to get any crunch or distortion, or a modeler.

I love tube amps but if I'm just going to use a pedal for crunch is it worth it?

Also I live in the country so I'm not restricted to super quiet like someone in an apartment might be. Just reasonable volume levels for at home.

Thoughts?

i think you are giving up on tube amps too early, but that is your choice. you may not have tried enough of them to find yours. note that 40% or more of your sound is the amp. i get great breakup with my small tube amps: gibsons, fenders, sears, etc. and, they are all clean to a point.

an overdrive pedal may do the trick for you but, try all amps, including modeling amps.

play music!

Give the Fender Mustang a try. For home use, a mustang GT 40 will be more than enough. Go to your local GC and give them a try, I bet you'll be very surprised at the tones you can get out of that thing.

Tons of people use OD pedals with tube amps even if they don't have volume constraints, so yes it's still worth it.

What about the 7w Bassbreaker if you're concerned about volume levels?

In terms of using an OD pedal they work fine with tube amps and regular old SS amps, so it's not like the choice is "Tube or Modeler".

I use an Amplifire 3 as my main amp for everything. At home it sounds great through my studio monitors or headphones and, for jams and playing with others, I have a 1x12 FRFR cabinet from XiTone. I can get pretty much the same tones (barring the obvious sonic differences more volume can impart to sound) from headphones right up to cranked at a jam with drums and three or four other amps, tubes and all. It also allows an impressive array of amps, cabinets and effects to shape your sound.

That's a highly personal choice. For my part, I tried a million ways to do it with pedals etc. and never was satisfied. I ended up going to modeling long ago. I keep my amps and play the modelers through them.

Bob

The best sounding small tube amp I have heard is the Blackstar HT-5r. Two channels. Beautiful clean and great crunch tones too.

I am in the process of selling my last tube amp to buy a Boss Katana 50. Yeah, they are that good.

I am continually blown away by the tones in my Fender Passport mini. You have to do some tweaking with the software, but the tones are great once you do. Does it have adequate volume, you may ask? I played an outdoor gig at a restaurant and as I was walking to my car (3/4ths of a block away) two stoners 4-5 houses from the restaurant said that was why they were sitting outside - so they could hear me. Yeah, that loud.

If you want great cleans the Blackstar and Katana will give them to you at low levels and at gigging levels too (although the Blackstar wouldn't hold up to a large, loud venue).

If you want good cleans and nice crunch both, you will need a pedal, a 2 (or more) channel amp, or just lean over and change amp models.

BTW, 25+ years with tube amps.

50+ years w/ tube amps and I still enjoy dealing with what you're talking about. This past year, I added a few modelers, they are a load of fun. Have Katana 50w, Fender mustang, and Yamaha thr-10.
After trying about 20 distortion type pedals, I finally found one that is primarily musical, the Friedman BE-OD, great for very low volume bedroom/apt. volume, or if others are trying to live elsewhere in the home, or for making your neighbors want to move, if necessary.
I just turn tube amp low (1964 Deluxe Reverb blackface), till it just begins to distort/break up:D w/ elec. guitar at 10, then add small volume to od pedal for lead or louder expression.
With regard to the modelers, for me, volume isn't usually an issue, but the tiny Yamaha th-10 is perfect for practice levels. It's all good, even Blackstar.

If I were starting from scratch, I'd probably go with one of the newish Boss Blues Cubes, and might add a dirt pedal later on if I felt like I really needed it. And maybe an effects pedal or two (delay for sure). But that's just because I really have zero need for lots of different amp models or more than a couple of effects, and I am accustomed to pedals and they are more intuitive to me.

Modeling has come so far that it would be an equally good choice, it's just a matter of preference. If going the modeling amp route, I'd go with the Boss Katana 100W head then, if needed, add a 1x12 or 2x12 cab. I would not go with the Katana combos, as they lack , of all things, a speaker out jack.

Or if modeling with a floor unit into an FRFR speaker, and not worrying too much about expense, the Helix seems to be ruling the roost lately.

Reactive load + convolution cab sim (eg Two Notes Wall of Sound) + some good impulse response files (Ownhammer seem to work best for me).

All of the flavour of your tube amp from input stage to output transformer. Play silently through headphones or hi-fi loud through your monitoring gear.

If you don't want a computer & audio interface in the chain I think Two Notes do some boxes with reactive load + built-in cab sim.

DO NOT use an ordinary resistive load. The tone is still there but you lose all the dynamics and "feel". Reactive loads are very easy to make if you can handle a soldering iron.

Yamaha THR will do the job.