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Bedroom amp: Tube vs solid state; volume vs Tone
Searching for an amp I can use a Gibson SG with burst buckers through in a bedroom and not disturb others yet have a good tone, two I am considering are the Orange micro terror Thru the orange 1 x8 speaker cab and or the Orange Crush 20RT as I have played both; budget would like to stay below $400.00. Looked at those solid state and valve pre amp, due to tube amps needing to be louder for more crunch distortion, open to suggestions of other amps.
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#2
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You need either an amp that has a master volume going down to the equivalent of less than 1W power level or an attenuator capable of reducing the output to that sort of level. Whether tube or solid state, bedroom volume means a real master volume or an attenuator.
If you go with a non-master-volume amp without an attenuator you'll need to turn your amp's gain/volume and/or guitar volume pot so low you severely affect the tone and EQ. And you'll need to get your dirt from pedals. The usual advice you'll see a lot of on this forum (and elsewhere) will be that tube amps sound far, far better than solid state and there will be mentions that some of them have a "one watt" or "five watt" setting. Unless your definition of "bedroom volume" includes 100dB and higher sound pressure levels you will find a "one watt" tube amp still massively loud in a 12-by-16 or similar room, even moreso if you want to crank it to get distorted tones.
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#3
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Thank you for the prompt reply, after reading what you wrote and doing some research, I’ve found the Bulgera V5 Infinium 1x8 5 watt tube amp with a 5W/1W/0.1W setting, although it does not have a master volume switch. Last edited by FLGuitar; 10-05-2022 at 06:56 PM. |
#4
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😹😂😹😂😹😂 No worries FLGuitar, help is on the way. fd
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#5
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The Power Attenuator 0.1/1/5 watt switch is on the back of the amp.
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Martin 000-17 SM Martin HD-28M Lots of loud banjos Last edited by Pine Cone; 10-05-2022 at 07:44 PM. |
#6
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Picked up one of these for $175 brand-new during Sweetwater's Labor Day sale: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...ss-a-tube-head If you have a spare cab lying around - or plan to buy/build one - the T5 head is far more flexible and versatile in all respects, more representative of the "modern Class-A" tone favored by several high-end boutique amp makers than the tweed-era vibe of the V5 combo. In addition to the two-band EQ (fairly wide-ranging BTW - this one'll allow you to scoop the mids and tweak the highs for clarity when/if need be) there's also a push-button "phat" control that bypasses the tone stack and kicks in a serious gain boost: if you have a bright-sounding, high-efficiency cab (101dB+/1W/1M rating) and a stompbox EQ (or you can get the tone[s] you need with your guitar's tone controls) you can - without exaggeration - play a 400-seat house or medium-size bar with no problem ... That said, the V5 and T5 are sonically very different animals, united solely by the characteristic post-2010 bulletproof Bugera construction and exceptional value-per-dollar. While the V5 can be pushed into classic-rock lead territory - my last band used to do the Moody Blues "Story in Your Eyes" and I had no trouble obtaining that gradual-onset feedback in the intro with a P-90 LP - the T5's tones are of the cleaner variety: more blue-check Ampeg than Fender/more Hiwatt than Marshall (depending on your guitar/EQ settings), and unless you have exceptionally high-gain pickups (or an OD box) better-suited for cleaner styles, ranging from jazz to country to Americana to '50s/60s R&R and R&B to funk to surf to older "fat-&-crunchy" blues; as I said I own both (as well as the big-brother V22), each has a very definite place in my tone arsenal (and neither one is going anywhere) but, for my lifelong guitar-cable-amp approach and preferred musical styles (YMMV), if I were forced to pick only one for the long haul the T5 would win hands-down - enough so that there's a T50 head on my radar for the not-too-distant future... If you're interested here's a more-detailed, hands-on review: https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...57#post7081057
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"Mistaking silence for weakness and contempt for fear is the final, fatal error of a fool" - Sicilian proverb (paraphrased) |
#7
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When I want real low volume, I plug into a preamp pedal with speaker emulation, and plug that into some computer speakers. That sounds better than my 1W Marshall, in the low ( 0.1W? ) setting turned down to similar volumes.
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#8
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I think the power level setting is more or less getting at the same function as a master volume knob. Not exactly but close enough.
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Grabbed his jacket Put on his walking shoes Last seen, six feet under Singing the I've Wasted My Whole Life Blues ---Warren Malone "Whole Life Blues" |
#9
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Sweetwater has the V5 on sale for $200 right now so you could buy it & make all the necessary mods like I did for probably under $300. That's a lot of bang-for-the-buck in my opinion! Frank |
#10
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#11
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Their SpecialDeal category more times than not is gear they are looking to move out of inventory, and there is no way of knowing what that may be. As a long time Sweetwater devotee, my suggestion is develop a relationship with a sales rep there. They will work with you, when they can, and get you ten and sometimes fifteen percent off the ticket. Keep in mind though, those CoolCats work on commission and if you aren’t a regular they may not be so forthcoming with the discounts. frank d.
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#12
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"Mistaking silence for weakness and contempt for fear is the final, fatal error of a fool" - Sicilian proverb (paraphrased) |
#13
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I live in a townhouse, and have a Roland Blues Cube hot that I can attenuate down to like 1/2 watt. I run a couple pedals in front of it. Sounds pretty decent to me at low volume and didn't cost a fortune. I pretty much switched to exclusively playing acoustics, its its perfect for when I want to play my one strat.
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#14
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I also just got a new Bugera V5 from Sweetwater for $200 a couple of weeks ago. I liked it so much, I replaced my Fender Blues jr. with the V22.
To note, it does has a headphone out jack that mutes the speaker, but I have not tried it yet. The V5 does sound darker than even the V22, but I find it easy to adjust with the Tone controls on the amp and my guitar. Bugera V5.jpg
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Taylor AD17e Comins GCS-1ES |
#15
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Last edited by FLGuitar; 10-06-2022 at 06:51 PM. |