#46
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I encourage you to watch this video, and then choose. It will surprise you. But for my money, and I own a Blues Cube Artist, which is amazing and will never be sold....If I were to choose one amp to rule them all.....Hands down it would be one word....FRIEDMAN
https://youtu.be/86yJqZq5uPc |
#47
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With regards to hiss, you have to understand what this amp is doing. You have four levels of gain available, brought on by how many "sides" or preamp tubes the signal is going through. As I understand it, channel 1 has your choice of two or four gain stages, channel two has your choice of three or five gain stages. Thermionic devices (valves, tubes) aren't the quietest circuits in the world. I found that if you kept it to three stages there isn't much hiss. If you wind out the ultimate stage you can expect a little hiss, but I still haven't experienced so much as to keep the amp from being useful in the studio. But you have to realize you are dealing with the kind of gain available in a Dual Rectifier! In some ways I feel like the Express is a little hard to understand for anyone who didn't come up in the '60s or early '70s and have to learn on low and medium-gain amps. Back then is was normal to only get maybe two or three tame gain stages in an amp and without a master volume you didn't hear the gain at bedroom levels because to get that gain you had to raise the roof. Now we have a fully-developed multi-stage amp in a tiny enclosure that, thanks to master volume, can be played really quietly. I think perhaps the problem might be that all that gain is available too easily for people to appreciate. Bob
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"It is said, 'Go not to the elves for counsel for they will say both no and yes.' " Frodo Baggins to Gildor Inglorion, The Fellowship of the Ring THE MUSICIAN'S ROOM (my website) |
#48
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The Fender was surprisingly bad overall, the MB was good, but to me less good than the BC or Milkman clean. The vox was good clean, but what happened with that pedal? Yikes. I also checked out the ones that were mentioned, but not there (Morgan PR12 and Victory V40 Deluxe). I wasn't moved by the Victory which was more expensive, but that Morgan sounded good, while not necessarily better than the BC. Interesting info! Which Friedman amp is your preferred? |
#49
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To add to Bob's info on the Express amp...
I had the original Express 5:25 (with the 10" speaker) and have an Express 5:25 Plus (in addition to the 5:50 Plus I mentioned in my earlier post). The hiss was pretty bad at bedroom levels on the original 5:25 Chanel 2, "Burn" mode. Mesa seems to have eliminated that. My Plus model has no noticeable hiss, whether at gig or bedroom volumes. None.
Just FYI, as folks tend not to distinguish between the different generations of the Express amps, but there are a lot of differences (quieter, improved clean channel, graphic EQ, footswitchable volume boost, etc.) |
#50
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I've spent part of today learning to re-love my olde tyme Vox Pathfinder 15R. Very decent sound with single coils and HBs. |
#51
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#52
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They make nice amps, but a 5W tube amp to rule them all??
Did they bring Candid Camera back into syndication? |
#53
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After jonesing for an entre' into Tube Town, querying here and elsewhere, watching, high-quality headphoned through hi-fi, 30,000 vids of the various recommended amps, looking for pricing and opinions, upsides/downsides, regrets versus heat-of-the-moments versus fads-of-the-day, keeping in mind my relative inexperience/skill level, and a host of way too many variables, I decided to start on the lowest rung of the ladder that still sounded like a tube amp, and which met my reduced-power needs.
I wanted 5 or fewer watts, preferably with an attenuator to get below 1 watt. I wanted Genuine Tube Tone on cleans-to-slightly-dirty (with good solid cleans that weren't too dirty to start), without too much concern for distortion up top (can't have it all, until you get much further up the food chain), would prefer a 12" speaker for the depth, and really wanted front panel controls. Oh, and it had to be cheap to get past the wife's sniper-eye. The universe of such amps is small. Steve's always recommended the Bugera V5, but I had reservations. Reliability being one, way too dark w/HBs being another, 8" speaker didn't thrill me with its sonic presence, and most of the vids I checked out didn't flatter the tone. Plus, why does every amp tester assume every viewer wants to play speed/death/thrash metal on every amp (especially in the Bugera's price range)? Still, many folks, even smooth jazz folks, liked the V5, which counts for something, and Steve said some of the shortcomings could be managed with minor upgrades (and to buy "new"). I managed to find a comparo vid that showed the V5's tone in a better light, even with the 8" speaker. My research into tube upgrades confirmed mixed results, but that most obtained a brighter presence (less dark tone) by shifting to a Tung Sol 12AX7 and a JJ EL84 in place of the originals (which many said they liked). Speaker upgrades provided mixed results, with lots of equivocal info. To me, the cabinet size was the unavoidable elephant in that tiny room - just can't get Big Sound from it due to physics. I found at least two people who spoke well of the Bugera 12" cab and Turbosound speaker for use with the V5. With that background in hand, today I ordered a new V5 from guitar center via a 16% coupon that saved me $32 (but buying from GC exposed me to $15 in sales tax to offset that gift), I then went to the Tube Depot and ordered the referenced upgrade tubes ($48 w/shipping), after which I stopped at Reverb and ordered the only Bugera 12" cab available (used, but "excellent") for a not unreasonable $90 (+ $25 shipping) (they're $160 new on Amazon), and finally topped things off with a factory V5 cover sold at musician's friend for $10. So, I'm at $366, all in, on this baby. If it doesn't work out, I won't have lost too much, and it may well be all I need or want, for a while. With the closed back 12" cab, I'll live with the original 8" speaker, for now, especially as some said they liked it fine - perhaps, with the Tung Sol 12AX7, I will, too. Some may say (not so much here, as on lesser boards) that $366 could have bought me a much more awesome amp, I'm a fool, etc., but I'm satisfied I looked at this from every angle. Thanks for the help. I didn't intend to actually get an amp now, I just wanted to know some basic direction as set out in my OP. It's dangerous to dip a toe in here! EDIT: While I appreciate the Bugera's headphone jack, the sound quality from it, even into good 'phones, is not very good. Probably because there's no easy to pull a headphone jack from a tube amp?? I don't know, but it's strictly "so you can hear yourself practice quietly" quality. Doesn't bother me, but I wanted to mention it. Last edited by ChrisN; 12-16-2018 at 04:58 PM. |
#54
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I'm definitely keeping the MB on my list for down the road. It looks like it can do it all, reliably. It's just way beyond where I am today, so it's an aspirational amp. I'm just glad to know it's out there to shoot for. |
#55
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I've heard good things about Blues Cube and they sound great. If the Bugera experiment doesn't work, I would consider either the Stage or Artist. Are there years/versions to avoid? Years/versions that are better?
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#56
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Well, Guitar Center managed to get the Bugera to my house within 24 hrs of my online order. I like it. The tubes rattle at greater gain/volume, but that's not surprising given their location. I'll give Eurodampers a try.
Very good smooth/warm tone with single coil / p90, OK-to-good/great with mini-hb, but full HB is not great with the Epi Alnico Classic Pro (which I haven't liked with my s/s amps, either) - very dark/flat sounding. However, Gibson MHS HBs sound great at the tone/volumes I prefer (not sure they're designed for lots of distorted work, with their alnico II mags). Anyway, the B5 sounds just like I'd hoped it would - great. Oh, and it is NOT too dark for higher quality HBs (or at least alnico II HBs), as I had those with the Tone at the 11 oclock mark and the tone was perfect - very clear with lots of room to move (guitar tone knob was in the middle). Anyway, a success, and I'm not sure the new tubes will be much of an improvement for the use I anticipate. Thanks to all for the input - it was very helpful (yes, especially Steve's persistence on the Bugera). |
#57
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Use it well, often and (not too) LOUD...
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"Mistaking silence for weakness and contempt for fear is the final, fatal error of a fool" - Sicilian proverb (paraphrased) |
#58
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Has anyone checked out the Lazy J amps? My word! They cost about £1,000,000 each but are absolutely stunning
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“If I had all the money I’d ever spent on guitars, I’d spend it on guitars “ 1996 Martin HD28 2018 Martin OM28 reimagined 2016 Takamine P3MC Gibson Les Paul ‘58 Custom Shop Fender MiM ‘69 Thinline Reissue Telecaster |
#59
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Blackstar HT Club 40
I've owned Fender/Marshall/Randall/Vox/Boogie/Roland and a Trace Elliott. I just purchased a "Swiss Army Knife" of an amp in the Blackstar HT Club 40. The clean channel has a voice switch that alternates between A style and A/B style and the Overdrive channel has a shaping knob that dials between British and American styles. I can get every tone from the Vox/Marshall to the Fender/Boogie types and a blend of both as well as a great reverb that emulates plate and other styles. All for $369 from Proaudiostar on Reverb. I've gotten several of my friends, including Richie Scarlett(Ace Frehley's Comet/Alice Cooper) playing them. EL34's and ECC83's(12AX7's) and a Celestion 12" speaker. Best bang for the buck and most versatile amp I've ever owned besides the Trace modeling amp.
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2013 Taylor 416ce SLTD 2013 Taylor GS Mini "Hog"(K&K Pure Mini) 2003 Taylor 455 RCE 2011 Taylor GAce 12 fret SLTD K&K Pure Pre-amp Fishman Aura Acoustic Imaging Blender D.I. Peavey Ecoustic E-110 Acoustic Amplifier w/effects control pedal/looper |
#60
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Lots of love for the Blackstar HT 40. I’ve had mine for four years and am always impressed when I use it. I did replace the stock Celestion 70/80 and put in an Egnater Elite 80...marvellous
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“If I had all the money I’d ever spent on guitars, I’d spend it on guitars “ 1996 Martin HD28 2018 Martin OM28 reimagined 2016 Takamine P3MC Gibson Les Paul ‘58 Custom Shop Fender MiM ‘69 Thinline Reissue Telecaster |