I got my first tube amp yesterday - a Legacy 5w (it's a re-badged Epi Valve Jnr) - and ran it at full volume for a few minutes. I couldn't believe how a 5 watter could make the house shake, rattle and roll (well, not roll thank goodness).
I hope the neighbours enjoyed it! :twisted:
Yes, it sure is one loud amp! Enjoy!
--vink
"Life is either an adventure or nothing" -- Helen Keller
I play my 30 watt Orange AD30 almost full up frequently. I don't know any of my neighbors... and I'm glad about that.
It gets freakin loud! Its the best feeling in the world... maybe.
aka Izabella
I got my first tube amp yesterday - a Legacy 5w (it's a re-badged Epi Valve Jnr) - and ran it at full volume for a few minutes. I couldn't believe how a 5 watter could make the house shake, rattle and roll (well, not roll thank goodness).
I hope the neighbours enjoyed it! :twisted:
Aint they just amazing lil amps?
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
I got my first tube amp yesterday - a Legacy 5w (it's a re-badged Epi Valve Jnr) - and ran it at full volume for a few minutes. I couldn't believe how a 5 watter could make the house shake, rattle and roll (well, not roll thank goodness).
I hope the neighbours enjoyed it! :twisted:
Aint they just amazing lil amps?
Amazing isn't strong enough! And to think they cost around the same as SS amps like the Fender Frontmans and similar practice amps is amazing too.
I never really believed all the goings-on about how different tube amps were to SS, now I'm a believer and have started saving towards a bigger tube amp next year.
I have always used solid state amps due to the cost of an all Tube, then moved on to Hybrid tube/solid state amps (Marshall AVT 150, Marshall mode4) but recently bought an all tube Peavey Valve king 100watt head. After using it at home I was impressed by the warm sound and the sheer volume, but didn't get the chance to turn it past 4/5 as the volume became insane. So I took it along to a rehearsal with the band and cranked it up!!! I almost fell over when with the first hit of the strings. Loud is not the word. I can now see why people raved about using an all tube...I had to turn the amp down to hear the drummer. I love tubes.
a cauliflower is just a cabbage with a college education
It's just a matter of different rating methods. Tube amps have traditionally had their power rated at arbitrarily low total harmonic distortion levels, but we kinda like to crank 'em up till they distort heavily, which means a lot more power, plus the added harmonics from the distorting output stage make 'em sound louder. Transistor amps are not driven into heavy output stage distortion, which doesn't sound good from them anyway. They're rated at maximum power, which is clean, and the distortion's from "preamp" stages. They'd fry the output power transistors if heavily overdriven. Generally.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
There are two factors come into play at high volume levels. The first is distortion, how much are you willing to tolerate? Distorted tube amps (driven to high volume levels) were a big part of establishing the Rock & Roll sound in the early days so you might want the sound of a distorted tube amp. The Tube Screamer pedal artficially clips the signal to give you the sound of a tube amp pushed hard at lower levels. A transistor amp puts out different harmonics when they distort and those harmonics tend to be at frequency multiples that are "discordant"(read minor second for those well versed in music theory) where a tube amps harmonics tend to be at "cordant" (major third) frequencies. That is why tube amps didn't go the way of the eight track.
The other factor is how much power can your speaker (s) take before they fail either electrically or physically. Again some of the "great sounds" in classic rock were the result of "blown" speakers. In a couple cases "broken" amps were lugged around for years by bands so some songs would sound right. The vast majority of amp builders over engineer their equipment so it is next to impossible to blow speakers unless you start playing around with the wiring. If you start adding speakers wired in parallel then you start getting into trouble with both the amount of power you are feeding each speaker as well as the amount of power the amplifier is putting out. Don't do it unless you can figure impedance. If you know enough about electronics to be able to figure impedance and the effects of impedance on the power output of amplifiers then it's your gear, go for it.
Then there are the neighbors and the family but I can't address those issues. There was one "progressive" country band who were run off to an old house in the back 40 to practice. They had a lot of tails told about the goings on in the practice house
I may be going to hell in a bucket but at least I'm enjoying the ride. (Jerry Garcea)
It's just a matter of different rating methods. Tube amps have traditionally had their power rated at arbitrarily low total harmonic distortion levels, but we kinda like to crank 'em up till they distort heavily, which means a lot more power, plus the added harmonics from the distorting output stage make 'em sound louder. Transistor amps are not driven into heavy output stage distortion, which doesn't sound good from them anyway. They're rated at maximum power, which is clean, and the distortion's from "preamp" stages. They'd fry the output power transistors if heavily overdriven. Generally.
How does a hybrid amp fit in to those two rating methods? Like the Vox AD30VT for instance, or mikey007's AD50VT?
How does a hybrid amp fit in to those two rating methods? Like the Vox AD30VT for instance, or mikey007's AD50VT?
Those will be pretty much like a transistor amp in that respect. The hybrid amps (in general and those two in particular) use the tubes in the preamp or as some sort of input to the modeller. The power amplifier in those is solid state.
Pop music is about stealing pocket money from children. - Ian Anderson
Exactly.
A good many folks would actually prefer a hybrid amp with a transistor preamp running clean and a tube power amp to crank up. Don't know anyone making one like that.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
The new Line 6 Spider Valve hybrid series look interesting:
I was recently talked into purchasing a Peavey powered 12 as a guitar amp, due to it's 'clean' sound. This was a mistake, as is running a guitar amp at too low of a volume. (depending on the style of music) For me, rock and blues requires a certain sustain which is ONLY available from the tube compression due to saturation, and the sound in the room hitting the guitar strings to keep them sustaining longer. (not feedback, but close to where feedback happens)
This provides a super-sweet CLEAN sustain and sensitivity that no pedals can emulate. I have built an insulated chamber to put the amp in so that I don't disturb neighbors, so that I can run it full out. There is just something about powertubes working that hard that creates such a sweet tone and sustain.
As for blowing the speaker, just don't have the bass settings up too high, bass is a speaker-killer if you overdo it. If you ever need to run a bass guitar through your amp, turn the bass settings down low on the amp and you should be ok.
John
