Okay, I read somewhere that before preamps were invented, Eric Clapton wanted distortion so when he was in the studio he was playing at earsplitting levels just to get the distortion. Then somebody invented the preamp, but he thought the tone wasnt as good. Sooo.... I am kinda in the market for a low wattage tube amp(I might build one myself) and was wondering if I had an amp with like half of a watt that had no preamp, and I cranked it, would it supposidly sound better than with an amp with a preamp at like 5 watts? Sorry if I dont make any sense. :oops:
Stairway to Freebird!
no i think you would sound better with a preamp then you could adjust your settings to how you like them. correct me if im wrong but i don't think an amp woul make any sound without a preamp.
Sooo.... I am kinda in the market for a low wattage tube amp(I might build one myself) and was wondering if I had an amp with like half of a watt that had no preamp, and I cranked it, would it supposidly sound better than with an amp with a preamp at like 5 watts? Sorry if I dont make any sense. :oops:
Go check these out....
Playing guitar and never playing for others is like studying medicine and never working in a clinic.
Moonrider:
Interesting amp - the site doesn't provide a price - any idea what they cost :?
BS
ZVex Nano Head is about $400 US
-=tension & release=-
$400.00 :o
Ouch :!:
I bought a new Peavey Classic 30 for $25.00 more.
BS
I don't know about the EC thing, sounds like another long lost guitar tale. You need some type of interface between your guitar and the power amp. Thats what a pre amp is for to adjust or match the signal level for the power amps input. You'll find theres tons of small boutique amps available, some they want a pretty penny for.
I purchased one of these a couple months back. Sombrabella
The one I have is only 1 watt, when conected to a 2x12 open with Celestion Vintage 30's it rocks.
joe
Get one of the Hughes & Kettner boxes - Cream Machine, Crunch Master or Metal Master. They've not been made for a few years, so they can be picked up cheaply on Ebay (about $50). They use 2 12AX7s to give you a preamp and a 1W power amp, a clean channel (foot pedal switchable) and both instrument (for input into an amp) and line level (for mixer, etc.) output.
I have mine connected to a 12" Fane speaker and get enough volume to fill any room in the house without having the neighbours calling the police.
I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
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Actually, all amps have what is technically called a preamp. What it is is the first stage of the amplifier chain. However, I believe that what you are referring to is an adjustable gain preamp. They enable distortion from tube amps at low volume, but also allow you to play clean at the same volume. A 1-watt tube amp would never be able to play clean, and is therefore much less versatile.
Gee whiz! Those are pretty expensive for 1 watt! There's a new tube amp from Epiphone called the valve junior for 120 bucks! I mean come on guys, a tube amp for 120? Even if it sucks, you could probably get new tubes and a 2x12 cab and do some damage! :) http://www.epiphone.com/default.asp?ProductID=254&CollectionID=13
Stairway to Freebird!
Nice find on that Epiphone valve junior. if it's anything like the galaxie amps, I bet you connect it to an open back cabinet with Celestion greenbacks it will gitty-up.
joe
I've seen some nice products in this post. Very interesting. Greg, you were right about the price on the amp. They're selling it for $430 in Chicago.
"Nothing...can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts."
What you are taking about is power amp vs. pre-amp gain. There are a lot of cool amp makers out there that make amps that sound best when cranked and others at low volume. Then you can get an Attenuator - THD makes good ones - to get killer disortion from one that you normally have to crank up to get goos sounding gain.
Here is a few amp makers worth checking out:
Lava Man
http://www.lavacable.com
The Fender Pro Junior is on sale at Musician's Friend for $250. The PJ is an awesome amp! 8)
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
Lava, those were some expensive amps! Yikes! Wes, I may end up getting a little jr one day. I hate the amp I use for practice (a 10w crate ss amp that's really old). Maybe a small tube amp (read: low watts for some tube flavor at low volume) would make me a bit happier....Then again, it's only practice....
"Nothing...can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts."
