LOL, I tried so many pedal combinations on the Blues Jr. and still I never got a decent sound out of that POS. You must have to mod the crap out of it, and at that point you might as well have bought a Mesa Boogie
$80 put a cannabis Rex my favourite for blues and blues rock or Texas heat. They give blues Jnr a fantastic tone to it and if you set it up and use pedals correct. You can have fantastic sounds. The older black blues jnr 3 is better sounding. Master up volume to suit. Use your drive pedal volume to control it and you’ll have the great break up eq it.
I’m surprised at the amount of guitar players that don’t realize how loud 15 watts is cranked. People in apartments aren’t paying attention to skill. Just the fact that they hear someone doing anything. Breathing Playing screwing anything.
Paul Raudenbush Jr Guitars and amps don’t work in an apartment environment? Listening to some moron learning to play Paranoid late at night is absolutely no fun.
Indeed, I had a Princeton reverb and was a beginner. Not only was it loud as hell but I sucked. My wife demanded a change so now I play through a different setup and generally through headphones. I have a Boss Me-80 and a nice set of monitor headphones and that pleases me and those around me. Eventually I may get a good amp again but my needs are met for now.
@@Cheeso888 That is the point! It's an affordable amp you can mod to your specs. Most of the amps everyone here is saying are so much better are 2-3 times the price. I have the BJ IV which I thought was too boxy when I first played through it but I did the tone stack mod (which cost $0) and put in the CR speaker (eBay for $54) and it sounds great. Add a couple of simple pedals to taste! Once you find the sweet spots on it It is a good versatile amp. If you want it to be a Marshall stack or a Princeton then buy that. Buy this for what it is.
@@davidreineke1758 If it's already a great amp, there's no need to modify it. And if you've modified it, it's not the same amp anymore. How are people missing this simple concept? LOL
I love living out of town, the freedom to crank tube amps without complaints at will is the best. I'm currently using a 50 watt custom built plexi clone and a custom built (Achillies amplification) tweed Bassman with 1/2 power mod and master volume controls added.
Lol! I got my 100w tube Marshall in highschool around '06. My parents were thrilled. I couldn't get it close to a good sounding volumes before getting yelled at.
I use a Twin Reverb for home use and as a practice amp, and i'm starting to realize that using a Twin as a practice amp or house amp is like driving your ferarri to the grocery store lol
Haha, I played 100W Vox AC100 Custom with 4x12" cabinet ;D I'm pretty sure neighbours thought that the war just started :V I've also tried 200W Fender Twin Reverb silverface from '72, but that was really too much to handle ;D
Because of this video, I just picked up the Junior IV and I am in love. Although it’s stock, I’m still glad to listen to a good recommendation. Very good purchase. Thank you for all you provide the guitarist community!
Great video and great advice telling people not to open their amplifier up. Most people do not realize that an amplifier can bite you if do not drain the caps before working on it. I have also repaired several amplifiers that have been butchered from DiY attemps at repairing amplifiers. I enjoy your content hope you continue to put out quality content.
Luke nope lol. My last name starts with L. I’m not even that much of a miata guy, I’ve got a firebird and I’ve never owned one myself, but I’ve driven them and they’re fun little cars for sure
I have a 2006 Mazda Miata and love it. All my running around and teaching outside the home is done with that car. 6 speed trans. 3rd gen. I like it better than 4th gen. I think the looks are better and there is more room than in earlier versions.
I'm a life long acoustic player who bought his first electric just two years ago. All of this is new to me and my head is reeling from all I've had to learn, and even more from all I still don't know. Your videos have been immensely helpful and much appreciated. I bought my guitar, and Ibanez AS93, without an amp. I began playing it through my Bose Comapct that I use for my acoustic act and it works pretty well at home. Some time ago, a friend gave me a Peavey Bandit 65 that I only use when I'm home alone, but it's been great for learning what all the knobs are supposed to do. Next on the list are some pedals. Thanks again.
You'll do yourself a massive favor if you ignore the tone snobs and just play what sounds good to you. I fell into the "only a tube amp will do" bs for a while- they have their place- if you play in a Zepplin cover band or a blues outfit, they have a huge place- but not everyone plays that style of music. The guys who do play that style- forget that quite often. They're a hammer and so- everything looks like a nail to them.
I live in an apartment building. I have a 5e3 clone, with a Celestion Blue 12” speaker...WAY TOO LOUD. I got a Dr.Z Break Lite attenuator to play it during the day, when neighbors, wife and son are away. These days, no one is away! I picked up a Strymon Iridium to play with headphones. That works pretty good? Upside, I get to have three different amps sounds that interact (well?) with my pedals, and I can play day, or night. Downside is the sweet old lady down the hall complains that “(she) never hears me playing guitar anymore”. Can’t please them all? Would love to play my amp in a “safe” room, with a great band. Miss how the pedals interact with a real amp, and speaker. Miss feeling the sound in my body as well as my ears. Hope everyone is safe out there. Peace
Interesting! I want to play easy (no computers), and with a wonderful clean-crunch sound at home. What kind of FRFR would you like for your Iridium? Headrush, Line 6 power cab, Tech 21, or another? Thanks.
Ride my volume on the amp all the time! One of the great things about that circuit is dialing in the tone! Very dynamic to how you play. When I use a Fuzzface type pedal, which cleans up great (adds some nice sparkling highs to the ‘clean’ tone), but gets extra thick when you bring up the volume. The amp and the effect are working in concert with each other. The Strymon Iridium only does this to a degree? My pedal board is very basic, and is never more than 7 effects deep, including my looper. Generally, Fuzz, Octave, Wah, modulation (vibe, rotary, etc.), delay, reverb, looper. Sometimes I forgo modulation for an overdrive, but generally the ‘Deluxe’ breaks up perfectly!
For my birthday I took the plunge and bought a Morgan AC20 combo. OMG! I absolutely love the sound out of this amp!!!! I never would have found out about it without you Rhett! Thanks for all you do!
I live in an apartment, I manage to get by with my Fender Concert amp (40 Watts) plugged into the low gain input. Volume stays around 2, but I don't need alot of volume to practice. Works great for me. Great Video! informative and sounds good. Thanks Rhett.
I like the Peavey classic 20 and 6505 20 watt heads. Pretty affordable with all the modern features. Both heads cover all the music styles pretty much. Even with the amps Rhett mentions, your sound is going to depend on how well you set them up and the guitars you use as well as your playing ability.
Love my Badcat Mini Cat! It has a 10” speaker, 5W, and a master volume. Sounds pretty small in the room but you get it mic’d up and in the mix and it kills!
I just a Boss Katana head with it’s integrated speaker. Tilt it on its side and can even sit next to your feet in a desk. For quick guitar recording, you can use the USB out. And it’s not too expensive so this can be a backup/home only amp
Orange Tiny Terror. Fully tubed 15W which can be switched to 7W. Fully screams at full level, but nice and clean and crisp when needed. Also just simply dial in the one tone knob for extra warmth and your enjoying sound. Great amp.
Its important to remember the voltage does not kill you its the amperage... getting zapped by a engine spark plug that has 40,000 volts will hurt but it won't kill you. Capacitors store electrical energy and release it very quickly in the form of Current (think amps) thats why they can kill you.... even at lower voltages
Randy Stites My brother works in the electronics industry and used to be a bench technician assembling gas detectors. A few years ago I asked him if he could do a capacitor mod on my Marshall DSL40C. His response, “Oh yeah. So I can get zapped instead of you!” I’m sure he would know what he’s doing but I’m still waiting. 😄
Excelent video, as usual. Something very important when talking about electric risks: I know an amp builder with more than 30 years of experience who got shocked when he was counting the caps of an open amp, pointing them with the pencil he was using to write notes down. Unfortunately, he slightly hit one of the caps with te tip of the pencil and he got a 400v shock coming through the graphite, right to his hand. His heart bit went down to 35, that was close! BE CAREFUL!
Had the Monoprice 5W tube amp (in Europe marketed by Thomann) for around € 100, put in a JJ preamp tube and a Warehouse 8" ceramic speaker - both for around € 50 an both notable improvements. Perfectlich happy with this for home use.
All good choices, but my fave’s the Vox AC10. It sounds amazing, and it’s small enough that it’s easy to bring to a band practice or a friend’s house just to jam. Thanks for another great video!
i use a handwired AC15 as a low volume/apartment amp because it has a nice linear master volume and it sounds awesome with a transparent overdrive in front of it. it's generally a good pedal platform amp
A friend lets me (among others) use his original ‘65 deluxe reverb. At first I thought it was overheating, until I realized it was the amp equivalent of a good scotch, with its own comforting warm aroma. He always makes sure to put it on standby the second it gets carried in from the car, which may explain why it’s still essentially ALL original. It may sound weird, but it’s sort of comforting to me as I get older to use gear that is around my age. I have an ampeg SBT with 2-15” Altecs that’s in its sixth decade, bought because I could afford it, turned out to be awesome.
Probably not anyone’s first choice, but definitely great for anyone who’s a hobbyist or needs something for at home: Joyo Bantamp Blue Jay. It’s a micro hybrid tube amp voiced like a Fender Blues Jr. It’s super clean, has some of that tube magic, and is a great pedal platform amplifier for home use.
Its not a value amp, but for me ticks every criteria for a home amp: Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb. This is the first solid state amp I've owned in 30+ years of owning amps, and honestly, its almost perfect (just a bit expensive).
First time I have owned an amp that keeps my tone at bedroom levels and doesn't piss the wife off. I have yet to try a fuzz with it (lost it in my recent move) but blues breaker pedal and Klon style pedal both sound the same to my ears as previous tube amps I owned. Definitely not a value amp but I couldn't be happier purchasing a week before the quarantine began. It paid me back with sanity.
I am interested in those. How is it at low volume? For bedroom use I normally put my Marshall origin 20 on the low power mode (Think it's less than 1watt), any idea how the fender might compare?
Newer and better tube amps are definitely something I think will easily motivated people to try more and play more. Amps of all kind are worth trying out, and there are endless possibilities! Awesome work!
For home use, I love the Vox ac10 amps. For my own home practice, I recently got a Joyo AC tone which has really amazed me. It's great because us guitarists need lots of repetition and if you live with anyone else, even those small amps are going to be heard by whoever else is there. It's better to get some good sounding, comfortable earbuds and you can play all you want and nobody else is forced to listen to your boring repetition.
I’ve got a Laney Lionheart L5T-112. Picked it up used. It’s one of the UK made ones before they started make them in China. Has a 12” greenback in it. Sounds great. Still really loud for 5 watts. I seldom go above 3 on the clean or drive channels.
A great amp. I had one and was quite impressed with it. The Laney Lionheart L5T-112 sounded like a Vox on the clean channel and a Marshall on the drive channel.
@@jonizeta Yep. It’s a hidden gem. Very responsive and versatile. Definitely an overlooked amp. Not as sure about the Chinese made ones, but I hear they are built to similar specs. My UK made one is built like a tank I think it weighs about 45 lbs. pretty hefty for a 5 watt amp.
Tone King amps are the Rolls Royce for home use imo. Particularly the Gremlin and the Falcon. They sound awesome, great build quality, and current ones all come with built in Iron Man attenuators.
The newer Roland Micro Cube is my go to practice and teaching amp. Amp models that are very accurate, ample effects, reverb and delay, and an auxiliary in to play along with tunes or just simply use as a “boom box”. I even plug my laptop into it to play video games.
Spot on. Bought my son one years ago, for house only. However, this amp has so many features for the money. In addition to having 2 volume controls, it has 3 for eq, a gain, and a four position knob for overdrive, distortion, metal, and metal stack. ( That last one kills me ) There’s a clean volume and finally, a record out( headphones) all through an 8” speaker. It can get loud, which is surprising for 15 watts. Pedalboard not included. Somehow, I convinced him to leave this one at my home, so I might enjoy his playing when visiting. His Marshall’s and Fender amps live with him. Now if I could get him to leave a LP or Strat behind. I see shopping in my future. Regards.
I have a Blackstar HT1R and it is perfect for home use. It sounds fantastic and takes pedals really well. I have finally got my Spark 40 too, and while it isn’t a valve amp, it is fantastic.
To be completely honest. You just make the (by far) best and most lovely Videos on this whole platform. You put so much effort in your videos and so much love, because you always use topics that really come from your heart and those are things that really make you think night and day. The way you explain what you think about some topics really just make me think „this guy loves what he does“ and so am I. You just speak directly out of my soul, the „Why I love The Edge of U2“ Video was just so amazingly done. Many people tried to explain the art of those „different“ guitarists like The Edge, but you just nailed it ! I‘m not a native English speaker, so I am a bit limited by what I want to express, but basically this is what it’s about . Thank you for your Channel mate. Cheers
Keyboard player all my life and as i approach 50 i'm finally getting on board with guitars. Of all the vids I've seen thus far on youtube, your channel appeals most. Great content, reviews and approach. Liked and subscribed.
I play through a Fender Hot Rod Deville 2x12, 50 watts. I love that amp. And I don’t care, I crank it up once in a while and the neighbors have never complained. Maybe it’s because I don’t do it so often and I only do it during the day, never at night.
Film audio post engineer here. Make your dialogue mono and pan it down the middle. You are welcome ;) Oh and thanks for this awesome content and your passion for gear!
I've had more amps than I can count (small and large). The best by far is my Marshall JTM1H. I run it on the 0.1 watt setting into a Vintage 30 loaded 4x12 and it sounds pretty much exactly like an old Marshall Plexi. I can't get satisfactory sound out of my Blues Junior Tweed or Princeton Reverb without having them way too loud for home use. Even 1 watt all valve amps can be very loud.
Yeah, I wished I would have had the money to buy some more of the 50th anniversary range then. It only was enough for the JCM-1 - but I have been playing the hell out of it. DSL-1 and JVM-1 weren't really good in my opinion, but the JTM-1 and JMP-1 are supposedly great.
I can hardly tell a difference when listening, but I can surely tell the difference when playing. There's something magical between a guitarist and a tube amp that I've yet to see replicated in all my years of playing, though Tech 21 is a close 2nd.
I agree tech 21 is really good for the small all in one package like the fly rig. Some solid state amps can be decent for the price. I have an old Peavey Transformer 112. It's not quite got the presence and quick response of a tube amp but the feel is good and the features make it the best small gigging amp for me. It's amazing to me that it 20 yrs old. I own a katana artist and a POD GO as well and those are close but to me just not as good as the aforementioned for what we need to present live.
I picked up a Monoprice 15-watt recently for only $200 and it is a real Blue Junior contender with a 1-watt attenuation switch and spring reverb. It could use a different preamp tube in the V1 position for more headroom, but it rocks. Dollar for dollar the best value amp I've ever tried.
At the start of the lockdown, I was using my Fender Princeton Reverb which hit most of the bases but was a bit too loud. My Yamaha THR was the right volume but a bit flat and obviously doesn't have tubes. Since it arrived, I've only used the Spark. My tone is basically clean with delay and reverb so I'm not really pushing tubes into distortion ever. But if I wanted tube distortion, I have an Orange Tiny Terror which, in 7W mode sounds amazing.
If your amp has an fx loop there’s an extremely easy solution for this. Put any digital volume pedal be it on an amp modeling pedal or whatever, in the loop. Volume control in the loop basically works exactly like an attenuators. Crank your tubes and turn the volume down as low as you want.
This is only true if you're driving the preamp tubes, which is usually simple. Smash the input with volume/boost, turn up the gain, etc. The magic comes from turning up the power amp tubes and you'll need an attenuator between the amp output and the speaker if you want the power tubes going and the volume low.
Oscar Richardson depends on the genre you are playing, as well as the tone you are going for. Power amp tube gain is a lot more of a fuzz type distortion than preamp tube gain is. If you are playing technical metal stuff the power amp saturation isn’t something you really want. If you’re playing some bluesy rock riffs it’s great.
Little note on the Blues Junior, since it doesn't have an effects loop I'd suggest going for de Hot Rod Deluxe. With a volume knob in the effects loop it really becomes a great home amp. More flexibility. And not too much more money to spend on. Anyways, keep it up, your videos are great. Cheers!!
I remember a few years ago talking to an amp tech on the phone because I was looking for a new amp at the time. He asked me a few questions and we talked about the style of music I liked to play. He mentioned the blues junior or the hot rod deluxe. I heard the hot rod deluxe and every time I hear it i'm like "this. This is my tone, this is what I need"
Another great video Rhett. I use my Victory Sherrif 22 regular in my youtube videos, and I had a Fender Blues Junior for many years. Both are phenomenal amps, very different to each other but both highly recommended! 🙌 🎸
@@allboutthemojo i have one of those unholy beasts and i play in the garage regularly on 10 and don't piss off any neighbours ..... keep the guitar vol on 1 😋
I recently just bought a used ORANGE Rocker 15 Combo & I couldn't be happier! Bought a few pedals - all Cailtlinbread (Sabba Cadabra (overdrive); Talisman (plate reverb); Echorec (Bison drum head echo); Coriolis Effect (sustainer, wah, filter, pitch shifter, and harmonizer rolled into one))
@Joey Macaroni I have a 15-watt amp and I play it at two on the volume. And I live in a house where I don't have to worry about noise. It's just that I don't need it that loud. You should be careful if you want to preserve your hearing.
I had 3 main home amps in the past: 1. a modeler (Yamaha THR), 2. a tube amp (Hughes & Ketter Tubemeister 18) and the third one actually blew my mind. It was a little Hotone Nano British Invasion plugged into a 1x12 with a V30 speaker, a reverb and delay on the fx-loop and an OCD driver plus a 7 band EQ in the front, and let tell you, WHAT A WALL OF SOUND that thing made! It was beautiful, i loved it so much that i sold the THR and the Tubemeister...
I have a Yamaha THR C It's not made anymore. I can't tell you how much I play that thing at home. It's pretty handy for practicing around the house. I also have some 5 watters, like a Gibson Goldtone Les Paul Jr. and the Marshall class 5 second generation. A Fender BJ tweed and a Princeton are handy too. Then my amp power goes up from there. I sold my Mesa Rectroverb 2x12 combo, which was an amazing amp at 98 lbs. I think that was even louder than a Fender Twin Reverb I have had for 40 years.
I love my Marshall Studio 15. (1985-1991) The Headphone Jack is on a .5 w atenuated circuit. You plug the speaker into that and when the power tubes are saturated you have way more than enough volume.. The key is a true attenuated .5w circuit. Great video Rhett.
I have a 15w Fender Super Champ xd. It has 2-6v6’s and 1-12xa7. It’s also a modeling amp. To me it’s the best of both worlds, especially when practicing rite below my family. EXCELLENT VIDEO! Thnx bro 🤘🏻
I must agree - had mine since 2007 and It is rock solid. (wish list if they bring it back - head phones jack , and like the X2 better interface to modern recording)
Same here, the XD is a great amp, very reliable, takes all manner of pedals on the clean channel. Although some features of the X2 are desirable (headphone socket, tap tempo, USB port), I like the simplicity of the XD...just switch on and rock. They sometimes get a bad press, I suspect that might be down variability of the stock speaker. I have two XDs (bought a spare because I liked the first so much). XD1 has JJ tubes, XD2 has stock Grove Tubes. XD1 sounds best, XD2 sounds brighter/harsher, I assumed this was down to the tubes. However, I then rigged them up with XD1 output connected to XD2 speaker (and vice-versa). This identified that the speaker in the spare XD2 was the reason; probably just needs to be played in more to wear it in.
xd is perfect for me too. I bought it new when they were first sold because I loved it when I tested it at the shop. Years later I got another one, a second hand unit. One is plugged to my Stratocaster and the other one to my acoustic guitar.
I have three fender combos. The one I’d grab if I had to leave a burning building? My 1971 silverface fender champ. I’ve never heard a better amp. Sadly it doesn’t have reverb. I’ll just play in the bathroom!
I use a customized-for-harmonica 5watt/8” Weber speaker for playing out in smaller clubs. It has a 1watt/5watt switch, and it is plenty loud enough for most gigs. If it’s needed, I can plug into a larger cab or, with the Line Out socket, I can go through the house. The smaller amps can sound huge with EQ and/or a larger speaker/cab. I don’t thing ya need more than 20Watts on any amp, even if you’re doing arenas. Great vids, Rhett. it always feels like you’re a knowledgeable friend letting me on some secret, valuable info.
I own a Fender Super Champ x2 and while it's not a pure tube amp (hybrid), it uses tubes and sounds really really good at almost any volume. Also, it has a bunch of built in effects like reverb, delay, chorus, trem etc. And my fav feature is amp simulation. You can enjoy that signature fender clean sound and then jump into dirty, marshally territory with a press of a button! Also, it's really cheap so that's pretty neat lol
Absolutely agree on the x2. That’s my main amp, it’s got a great clean channel and a few good models on the modeling/dirty channel. You can even get a great metal tone with separate pedals, not so much the metal models on the amp itself
@@toddkasuboske4646 I have the combo version with the celestion g10 greenback in it, and I love it. Great recording amp. No effects loop is not a problem because I use the clean channel, or either of the two Deluxe mods on the second channel. All three are outstanding clean tones, and sound great with pedals. On-board effects are crap, but I never use them. I could just get a '65 or '68 Deluxe reissue and lug around 20 extra pounds and a thousand extra dollars, but nah.
I use the Bugera V22 Infinium at home. It takes pedals nicely and has been trouble free since I got it 6 years ago. 3 12AX7's and 2 EL84's help me dial in those wonderful Alex Lifeson tones. Talk about a guy who has a lot of tone in all his material. Thanks for the tube amp demo.
Hey, Rhett! Just want to say I’ve been a big fan of you and your videos since you had around 15k subs, and I just wanted congratulate you on what you’ve made this channel into. You should be proud of yourself, and keep the awesomeness coming!
I bought a used Blues Jr in college. It was already a. Few years old at the time, the guy told me he never changed the tubes. I never changed the tubes and it’s still going strong.
A 1W head into a 2x12 cab is all need. The Bugera G5 I've got is Switchable to 0.1W if you need to be sort of quiet, and 5W makes your bedroom feel like Wembley arena...
Anyone who can crank a 10-watt amp in an apartment building or townhouse has very tolerant neighbours. I live in a condo building, and I can tell you that even my 5-watt Swart is WAY too loud for condo use. However, put the Swart Night Light Jr. attenuator on it and it's magic.
Even a 5 watt is quite loud. Wattage isn't a very good Idea tor of loudness. Amp manufacturers should give out spl levels (considering speaker sizes in case of heads).
@@sandrosadhukhan Speaker sensitivity plays too big a part in that. Not all 12" drivers are created equal when it comes to output, for example. And yes, 5W is way louder in a small room that most people realize, especially in a tube amp when the tube distortion adds a ton of "extra" information at the freqs that the ear is most sensitive to.
@@helotaxi Just to get really ridiculous, I also have one of the old Z-Vex Nano Heads, which are either one watt or a half watt (I can't remember), and that too is plenty loud connected to a 1X12 cabinet.
This is so cool! You asked about us, and I'm using a Laney L5T-112, because it's only 5 watts (single ended) and can make a ridiculous amount of different sorts of tones with no pedals or anything else at all. They have made a "Studio" version that is just a head, buy includes a passive loudspeaker dummy load, so you can record silently to your workstation, yet stay totally analog. I've never had one of those, but from this video, it sounds like it would be the perfect addition to your collection!
Other options are Hughes and Kettner tubemeister amps, like the 18 and 5 watt models. The 18 and 20 have attenuators that go down to 1 watt, red box DI ,FX loops, tube bias to prevent drift, a TSC circuit that makes sure your tubes get optimum power. They also have a tube bias circuit that's activated by inserting a pick into the slot provided, ,fantastic ! and very handy. The lead channel is superb and probably as good as it gets, ,you get a whole load of high quality features and bang for your buck with this little guy. I have one and gigged with it and it is just superb, all these above options are also worth checking out, ,it all depends on your budget. Great Vid Rhett.
I played for years through cheap amps and never got into it. When I found myself going for tone I realized that, while the sound on a playback may be better, playing through a valve amp is inspiring. It responds to my playing and I enjoy it more. I can't get that from the modeling home amps. Maybe the big jobs like the Nextone or something, but even the Katana didn't do it for me. Again, on a playback the tone is amazing, it just doesn't feel amazing like a valve amp. And I notice those who love them are the players who can just detach and play. They're not "feel" players, to me. If that's your style, you'll be happy. But if you're looking for an experience that inspires you to play spontaneously, you need that tube...
Fender's Excelsior Pro is a little-known gem. All tube, 13 watts, 15" Eminence speaker. Exceptional clean tones up to midway on the volume dial, then blooms into a growly blues tone then full-blown ZZ Top snarl at the top. Excellent pedal platform. And at between $300-$500, you cannot go wrong. Only found on the used market.
Never understood the „amp at home“ craze. I live in an apartment. No amp will do it for me. I have to watch when I play my acoustic guitar and sing along. Best sound at home is a good cab/amp sim through headphones. REVV D20 kills if you want to have one thing for home use AND gigging. Still a great video and very educational!
I can turn my HT5R mkii volume so low that the sound coming out of the guitar is louder than the amp. I use headphones when needed but during the day it's just perfect for playing at the volume I would put my stereo at.
I use the Bugera V22 (old model). You can limit the watts to make it sing with less volume. It has a very good clean sound with a ton of headroom and it works nice with pedals. Really no complaints on my side.
I have a Blackstar HT-5RH Mk II. It is switchable between 5W and 0.5W and has a simulated cab out which can go straight into my mixer so I can use it through my studio monitors. The functionality is really good and very convenient. Most importantly, my Strat just sounds great through it and really sparkly. 😊
Toneking Gremlin, the attenuation is badass for home and it’s loud enough to get over a drummer. Although it’s rather expensive, in a few years you’ll forget what it cost and still love how it sounds
I tamed my Fender (ish) Chinese amp chassis (new old stock) with a switchable H-Bridge on the output. Speaker + three 8 ohm power resistors. Drops the power to 7.5 watts for practice, without changing the sound. I also adjusted the bias voltage, modded the preamp and tone circuits, upgraded and rerouted the wiring, heavy gauge with twisted pair heater cable. Fitted JJ tubes and Fender Eminence 12in 8 Ohm speaker. Sounds great.
For my home use, I've found that the best candidate is the orange micro dark terror with its matching 1x8 cab. It's really really full amp feeling, with fx loop. And is I need to gig, it's powerful enough to power a 4x12 cab. Amazing little beast. Works really well also with loadboxes and IR Sim in my Daw. Love it!
And what do your metal string vibration sound like? Obviously orange amplifiers are producing a 1950's industrial metal string vibration sound. Its not the 1950's radio broadcast sound that Fender amplifiers make. You're not even aware your amplifier makes this type of sound. My randall amplifier makes the metal string vibration sound like metallica's CD amplifier sound OR like metallica's vinyl LP record sound. The contour feature allows me to adjust from 1 sound to the other. I can play along with the CD and have the same sound OR I can play along with the LP and play with that sound. When I play LIVE my metal string vibration sound, actually sounds like the CD sound or the LP sound. I don't have the industrial string vibration sound OR the 1950's radio broadcast sound like Fender produces. My metal strings sound like some kind of metallica CD OR LP sound.
It seems like eons ago, but it was after 10 yrs or so of playing I finally saw a small tube amp I liked and was gifted one for Christmas: 2007 Fender Superchamp XD. 15W 10" Speaker with "early" DSP amp voicings (in addition to the basics); 2 channels each w/ separate volume, and a few built in effects (reverb, tremelo). Not quite the full tube only amp; but a huge leap from the mid 90's solid state fenders that are the other options. While it has voicing - it rarely leaves the Fender blackface option, which is very much a true Fender sound. And it will keep up pretty close with the Blues JR until you really push it (which would be too much for at home but OK in a small venue, IMO). ... Like the video; good points on some of the others.
I own a Blues Jr III NOS Tweed.. and can confirm that it’s a good amp to battle loud neighbors with. At master volume 3.5 it’s def going thru my neighbors floors / walls lmao.
MONEY!!! Great job and very nice vid for home studio persons! I use a Peavey Valve King Micro. It has 3 switch settings for 20, 5 and 1 watt. Believe me, 20 watts is banging. I chase people out of my room when it is on 20. So I generally use it at 5w. It is amazing. I do want to switch out the speaker to a Celestion V30, but only because that is my favorite speaker. I've used a few different ones and always go back to it.
Yeah, I use my 1980 vibro champ 95% of the time at home. It's only 6 watts but cranked within in a townhouse can make your ears bleed and bring a notice from your HOA. That being said, I'd like another one so I can run in stereo. Vintage Champs are the archetypical small amp. Honestly, like many Fender's, it is somewhat of the blueprint for what every other company ever produced.
@@mikedenkinger9570 I just got myself a nice 80 champ week or two ago. I'm in a condo but haven't played it much yet, had some back surgery last week. Speaking of another one, I almost had a vibrochamp for a ridiculous price. A guy about 60-70 miles south of me had one on C/L. I didn't notice it till too late. he was selling it for 250 but said someone else was already on their way to pick it up. the startling thing though, he told me he originally started out at $50. someone told him it was worth more so he listed it at 250. Would have loved to pick that one up. Powered up and worked good too, so he says. Oh well, maybe another day.
@@scottym3 congrats on the new amp! I have to say that it's a great amp for practice and recording. I've lent it to a couple of friends to lay down tracks in their home studios as well. I find it The Sweet Spot on the amp is when the volume on six, treble on six, bass on five. I put a Jensen re-issue in probably about 20 years ago and has been a fairly good speaker all along. However, whatever speaker that you have may dictate where you need to to set it to get a little tube overdrive sag without the speaker flopping out. Also, I've never had a footswitch for the amp so the vibrato is technically on all the time. Typically it's set to zero. I know that a lot of guys intentionally do this to add a little more color to the sound, but I've never had a choice. I guess after 20 plus years of playing the amp, I should look into getting a footswitch!
Talks about the Blues Junior, changed everything in it, plays it to demonstrate, tube goes out. Love it. Should go on the Rick Beato show and share more wisdom
I was just thinking about how hard could it be to make some adjustments on my amp, when you warned me about the predictable dangers. You probably saved my life... So thank you!
Great review Rhett! After much research on a home/live amp, I bought a Boss Katana 100W 1X12. Has USB out for home recording, 0.5/15/50/100 watt attenuation. Built in effects if you want, or takes pedals well. Plenty loud enough for live usage. Very budget friendly too, especially used.
@spirit ._. The Katana is a great amp for high gain tone, portability, and flexibility. And it is very good value for money. I'd like to have one myself. But it won't sound as good as a tube amp does, especially for clean tones. And a tube amp with the right pedals will probably sound noticeably better than the all-in-one modelling solutions. As the models improve, tube amps and physical circuits are going to become harder to justify. So, getting back to your question, bedroom amps need a low output power mode that doesn't lose the cranked tone of the amp. Usually this is accomplished by either making a low powered amp, or putting an attenuator on a higher powered amp. I own a TubeMeister 18 watt amp with 18W-5W-1W-0W output. At 0W the full 18W is dissipated in the attenuator, with a very small signal sent to the built-in DI with a speaker cab simulator. I might have gone for the Katana instead if I had the option at the time I bought the TM18, but I'm happy with how things turned out.
I couldn't like boss katana clean sound no matter how long I messed with it. I'm looking for a chimey compressed Fender-clean tone, but Katana cannot do it. It is voiced more like jazz chorus, it doesn't compress enough even with a compressor effect used, spikes remain obtrusive and that's a deal-breaker to me. You can also saturate the clean channel but it gets muddy. Maybe it works for some people.
Just a heads up on the safety note of modifications: most electronics have capacitors that hold a charge almost like a battery. There are simple ways to discharge that stored charge safely (TH-cam it). Be safe.
Thanks for the interesting video Rhett. I personally use a Yamaha THR 30ii but that is of course not a tube amp. Sounds great, doesn't take up much space and you can have nice sounds at room level. For me therefore, the ideal amp for home use.
I bought a special addition 65 prinston reverb tweed reissue with the 12" Eminence canibus rex speaker from Sweetwater. I think I paid $800 during a promotional holiday sale. To my ears it sounds better than a blues junior. And it's a fantastic pedal platform. Set the volume at 3 and run an OCD order two overdrive pedals and I get awesome gain rich in harmonics at a very quiet comfortable levels.
Just bought one. I’m in an apartment. The HT1 MKII is perfect for this environment. I get a rich, warm tube sound an a very low volume. Also perfect to mic and record.
Great video Rhett, thank you ! In my opinion the SuperChampX2 is a better choice for home amp, because the sound is less "sparkling" that the one of the Blues Junior (or Hotrod Deluxe), which makes it more versatile (even sounds great for jazz!) and it has a distorsion channel with customizable presets). Kepp on the good work !
Too bad most of those amps are not affordable. Thankfully there are probably 20 tube amps, 20 watts or smaller that can be found used which will all will do a great job. I don't know why he left these out.
@@kaiserwilhelm1938 Good point Kaiser.....I think it's all down to what he's getting for free from companies and is then obliged to Hawk out. Lost in showbusiness springs to mind
@@kaiserwilhelm1938 well he did say right up front that this is not a comprehensive list, just a list of tube amps that he's played & owned and can attest to. Plus this topic is just as subjective as ford v Chevy, 9mm v .40 when ultimately it's all taste & preference the perfect amp for me maybe garbage to you
I have 3 amps by Wangs Amplification, the 2204HW (50 watt hand wired Marshall clone), OD-30 (30 watt modified Fender Bandmaster) and their Mini 5 (5 watt microhead) The Mini 5 is plenty loud and can still piss off the neighbors, spouse or roommates with the right speaker cabinet. Cranked, it gives this nice vintage style overdrive and responds well to the guitar controls. It takes pedals well too. I use all 3 for recording, but the Mini 5 is the amp I am most likely to use when my wife is home. The other amps mostly get used when I go out to jam with others.
I do agree with you that high wattage can can be great pedal platforms for home use. The Fender Hot Rod Deluxe is a perfect example, and you can also run it clean at a low volume by itself and obtain a beautiful Fender clean tone.
Best one to me is the Koch Studiotone, 20W class A, all tubes. Koch speaker made by Jensen. You can mute the speaker (load box inside), there's a dry line out (to chain with an IR) but also a line out with speaker emulation with the choice of one 12" or 4 x 12" (great sound). It's small and It's the most complete recording or practice amp with top notch quality sound. I love it.
I've one of those too and never liked it for years, then I was just sort of fiddling with idea of changing speaker and found the speaker in mine was connected backwards ( wrong +/-) not sure if that matters that much but after i fixed it I love it. Usually only use the first tweed voice
''The Blues Junior is so perfect, I changed everything''
Very boxy sound, can't stand it
LOL, I tried so many pedal combinations on the Blues Jr. and still I never got a decent sound out of that POS. You must have to mod the crap out of it, and at that point you might as well have bought a Mesa Boogie
Daniel Rodgerson Yep a couple of hundred in mods and speaker. Might as well get a deluxe or princeton.
Richard Nolan that was my thought, precisely.
$80 put a cannabis Rex my favourite for blues and blues rock
or Texas heat. They give blues Jnr a fantastic tone to it and if you set it up and use pedals correct. You can have fantastic sounds. The older black blues jnr 3 is better sounding. Master up volume to suit. Use your drive pedal volume to control it and you’ll have the great break up eq it.
As a former miata owner and racer I totally appreciated the reference.
In 1968 i heard a 68 twin and bassman. Love at first sight. The sound. the smell of the tubes and power was mind blowing.
"you can absolutely piss a lot of people off with a 15 watt amp" - been there, done that ✔️
Charles Patrick you can really piss off the neighbors if you don’t know how to play! I’m in the learning stages... my poor neighbors. :-)
@@KKMDStyle no wonder they hate me- I thought it was just cause I play my bass and guitar through a Marshall MB4210!
I’m surprised at the amount of guitar players that don’t realize how loud 15 watts is cranked. People in apartments aren’t paying attention to skill. Just the fact that they hear someone doing anything. Breathing Playing screwing anything.
Paul Raudenbush Jr Guitars and amps don’t work in an apartment environment? Listening to some moron learning to play Paranoid late at night is absolutely no fun.
Indeed, I had a Princeton reverb and was a beginner. Not only was it loud as hell but I sucked.
My wife demanded a change so now I play through a different setup and generally through headphones.
I have a Boss Me-80 and a nice set of monitor headphones and that pleases me and those around me. Eventually I may get a good amp again but my needs are met for now.
"This is one of the best amps out there, I've completely renovated and rehauled it."
And that's what I've done. Maintained it for 20 years. This old brooms had 17 new heads and 14 new handles in its time.
That's the point
@@eyedunno8462 No.
@@Cheeso888 That is the point! It's an affordable amp you can mod to your specs. Most of the amps everyone here is saying are so much better are 2-3 times the price. I have the BJ IV which I thought was too boxy when I first played through it but I did the tone stack mod (which cost $0) and put in the CR speaker (eBay for $54) and it sounds great. Add a couple of simple pedals to taste! Once you find the sweet spots on it It is a good versatile amp. If you want it to be a Marshall stack or a Princeton then buy that. Buy this for what it is.
@@davidreineke1758 If it's already a great amp, there's no need to modify it. And if you've modified it, it's not the same amp anymore. How are people missing this simple concept? LOL
I love living out of town, the freedom to crank tube amps without complaints at will is the best. I'm currently using a 50 watt custom built plexi clone and a custom built (Achillies amplification) tweed Bassman with 1/2 power mod and master volume controls added.
The only problem with that is you're able to play super loud 85+ dB so easily that you will be damaging your ears in the process.
I still play my ac30 in the house xD. Its like riding a motorcycle indoors.
Lol! I got my 100w tube Marshall in highschool around '06. My parents were thrilled. I couldn't get it close to a good sounding volumes before getting yelled at.
I use a Twin Reverb for home use and as a practice amp, and i'm starting to realize that using a Twin as a practice amp or house amp is like driving your ferarri to the grocery store lol
Same. It’s beautiful and will never be replaced by anything tiny (though I do practice on a katana on the half watt mode most of the time)
Haha, I played 100W Vox AC100 Custom with 4x12" cabinet ;D I'm pretty sure neighbours thought that the war just started :V I've also tried 200W Fender Twin Reverb silverface from '72, but that was really too much to handle ;D
I'm using a 100w fender twin-reverb. You're right, it's like riding a motorcycle, but you can't go over 1000 rpm xD
I rewatched the ac20 audio clip multiple times and am completely blown away. That tone is out of this world.
Because of this video, I just picked up the Junior IV and I am in love. Although it’s stock, I’m still glad to listen to a good recommendation. Very good purchase. Thank you for all you provide the guitarist community!
The IV is great.
Great video and great advice telling people not to open their amplifier up. Most people do not realize that an amplifier can bite you if do not drain the caps before working on it. I have also repaired several amplifiers that have been butchered from DiY attemps at repairing amplifiers. I enjoy your content hope you continue to put out quality content.
As a car guy, I can appreciate the miata reference 😂😂 miata is always the answer lmao
That was my little RCR tribute
I had a 92 Miata. That thing was as tight as a Swiss watch.
Luke nope lol. My last name starts with L. I’m not even that much of a miata guy, I’ve got a firebird and I’ve never owned one myself, but I’ve driven them and they’re fun little cars for sure
I have a 2006 Mazda Miata and love it. All my running around and teaching outside the home is done with that car. 6 speed trans. 3rd gen. I like it better than 4th gen. I think the looks are better and there is more room than in earlier versions.
I love Miatas in principle, but in practice they are a little too small for my butt (and a lot too small for my gut! :-( )
I'm a life long acoustic player who bought his first electric just two years ago. All of this is new to me and my head is reeling from all I've had to learn, and even more from all I still don't know. Your videos have been immensely helpful and much appreciated. I bought my guitar, and Ibanez AS93, without an amp. I began playing it through my Bose Comapct that I use for my acoustic act and it works pretty well at home. Some time ago, a friend gave me a Peavey Bandit 65 that I only use when I'm home alone, but it's been great for learning what all the knobs are supposed to do. Next on the list are some pedals. Thanks again.
You'll do yourself a massive favor if you ignore the tone snobs and just play what sounds good to you. I fell into the "only a tube amp will do" bs for a while- they have their place- if you play in a Zepplin cover band or a blues outfit, they have a huge place- but not everyone plays that style of music. The guys who do play that style- forget that quite often. They're a hammer and so- everything looks like a nail to them.
@@stoneysdead689 If he's using this channel as reference, it's too late for that advice for him lol.
I live in an apartment building. I have a 5e3 clone, with a Celestion Blue 12” speaker...WAY TOO LOUD. I got a Dr.Z Break Lite attenuator to play it during the day, when neighbors, wife and son are away.
These days, no one is away! I picked up a Strymon Iridium to play with headphones. That works pretty good? Upside, I get to have three different amps sounds that interact (well?) with my pedals, and I can play day, or night. Downside is the sweet old lady down the hall complains that “(she) never hears me playing guitar anymore”. Can’t please them all?
Would love to play my amp in a “safe” room, with a great band. Miss how the pedals interact with a real amp, and speaker. Miss feeling the sound in my body as well as my ears.
Hope everyone is safe out there. Peace
Lol about the sweet old lady. Older people like me, who grew up with Rock & Roll, love electric guitar!
Interesting!
I want to play easy (no computers), and with a wonderful clean-crunch sound at home.
What kind of FRFR would you like for your Iridium? Headrush, Line 6 power cab, Tech 21, or another? Thanks.
Have you tried to dial the guitar volume knob down with the 5E3?
Ride my volume on the amp all the time! One of the great things about that circuit is dialing in the tone! Very dynamic to how you play. When I use a Fuzzface type pedal, which cleans up great (adds some nice sparkling highs to the ‘clean’ tone), but gets extra thick when you bring up the volume. The amp and the effect are working in concert with each other.
The Strymon Iridium only does this to a degree?
My pedal board is very basic, and is never more than 7 effects deep, including my looper. Generally, Fuzz, Octave, Wah, modulation (vibe, rotary, etc.), delay, reverb, looper. Sometimes I forgo modulation for an overdrive, but generally the ‘Deluxe’ breaks up perfectly!
5:19 "This is the Mazda Miata of guitar amps"
Now you're speaking my language
Same here!
The blues junior is a tube amp standard. A Miata? They’re better than a Miata
@@gunkanjima3408 You're just sleeping on the glory of a good Miata matey driving one's a whole other thing to wanting to look tough to passers-by ;)
CurlsgetGurls I looked up where the term comes from it makes sense now. I bet they are fun to drive, compact and super light
Miata Is Always The Answer
For my birthday I took the plunge and bought a Morgan AC20 combo. OMG! I absolutely love the sound out of this amp!!!! I never would have found out about it without you Rhett! Thanks for all you do!
It's a scam. Don't reply
I live in an apartment, I manage to get by with my Fender Concert amp (40 Watts) plugged into the low gain input. Volume stays around 2, but I don't need alot of volume to practice. Works great for me. Great Video! informative and sounds good. Thanks Rhett.
You have so much power at your disposal
40 watts on 2 in an apartment? that's crazy loud.
I like the Peavey classic 20 and 6505 20 watt heads. Pretty affordable with all the modern features. Both heads cover all the music styles pretty much. Even with the amps Rhett mentions, your sound is going to depend on how well you set them up and the guitars you use as well as your playing ability.
Wrong.
It doesn't have the Contour feature.
That feature allows the sound from the amplifier to sound like a CD sound or a vinyl LP sound.
I am fortunate to have a 50's era tweed deluxe. 12 watts it's phenomenal.
Love my Badcat Mini Cat! It has a 10” speaker, 5W, and a master volume. Sounds pretty small in the room but you get it mic’d up and in the mix and it kills!
Jimmy Page recorded a lot of albums using a 5 W Orange amp. If I remember correctly.
I just a Boss Katana head with it’s integrated speaker. Tilt it on its side and can even sit next to your feet in a desk. For quick guitar recording, you can use the USB out. And it’s not too expensive so this can be a backup/home only amp
Orange Tiny Terror. Fully tubed 15W which can be switched to 7W. Fully screams at full level, but nice and clean and crisp when needed. Also just simply dial in the one tone knob for extra warmth and your enjoying sound. Great amp.
Rhett is right on, Capacitors are no joke when it comes to storing power.
Randy Stites Oh yeah, they will knock you on your Arse.
Could hold around 600V with tube amps. That isn't something I am keen on touching. Rather stay on the right side of the grass.
Its important to remember the voltage does not kill you its the amperage... getting zapped by a engine spark plug that has 40,000 volts will hurt but it won't kill you. Capacitors store electrical energy and release it very quickly in the form of Current (think amps) thats why they can kill you.... even at lower voltages
Randy Stites My brother works in the electronics industry and used to be a bench technician assembling gas detectors. A few years ago I asked him if he could do a capacitor mod on my Marshall DSL40C. His response, “Oh yeah. So I can get zapped instead of you!” I’m sure he would know what he’s doing but I’m still waiting. 😄
@@bimscutney1242 I hear ya
Excelent video, as usual. Something very important when talking about electric risks: I know an amp builder with more than 30 years of experience who got shocked when he was counting the caps of an open amp, pointing them with the pencil he was using to write notes down. Unfortunately, he slightly hit one of the caps with te tip of the pencil and he got a 400v shock coming through the graphite, right to his hand. His heart bit went down to 35, that was close! BE CAREFUL!
So how did he take 400V from a 120V circuit?
Had the Monoprice 5W tube amp (in Europe marketed by Thomann) for around € 100, put in a JJ preamp tube and a Warehouse 8" ceramic speaker - both for around € 50 an both notable improvements. Perfectlich happy with this for home use.
All good choices, but my fave’s the Vox AC10. It sounds amazing, and it’s small enough that it’s easy to bring to a band practice or a friend’s house just to jam. Thanks for another great video!
I had the AC10 in this video but cut it for time, because I dont have one and couldnt show me playing it. But I agree, the AC10 is FANTASTIC
I have one and it's LOUD. 10 angry watts. Love it.
i use a handwired AC15 as a low volume/apartment amp because it has a nice linear master volume and it sounds awesome with a transparent overdrive in front of it. it's generally a good pedal platform amp
AC10 is amazing. Also Matchless SC Mini.
I also have a Vox AC10 and it does sound awesome. I also gig with it on small venues and it does great.
I thought I was crazy liking the smell of warm tubes, One of my favourite smells.
A friend lets me (among others) use his original ‘65 deluxe reverb. At first I thought it was overheating, until I realized it was the amp equivalent of a good scotch, with its own comforting warm aroma. He always makes sure to put it on standby the second it gets carried in from the car, which may explain why it’s still essentially ALL original. It may sound weird, but it’s sort of comforting to me as I get older to use gear that is around my age. I have an ampeg SBT with 2-15” Altecs that’s in its sixth decade, bought because I could afford it, turned out to be awesome.
A yes, the comforting smell of ozone.
Yankee Candle should market the fragrance!
Probably not anyone’s first choice, but definitely great for anyone who’s a hobbyist or needs something for at home: Joyo Bantamp Blue Jay. It’s a micro hybrid tube amp voiced like a Fender Blues Jr. It’s super clean, has some of that tube magic, and is a great pedal platform amplifier for home use.
Joyo consistently punches above its weight. I have the Tauren and Aquarius and both are excellent pedals.
Its not a value amp, but for me ticks every criteria for a home amp: Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb. This is the first solid state amp I've owned in 30+ years of owning amps, and honestly, its almost perfect (just a bit expensive).
Totally agree with this and similar circumstances for me.
First time I have owned an amp that keeps my tone at bedroom levels and doesn't piss the wife off. I have yet to try a fuzz with it (lost it in my recent move) but blues breaker pedal and Klon style pedal both sound the same to my ears as previous tube amps I owned. Definitely not a value amp but I couldn't be happier purchasing a week before the quarantine began. It paid me back with sanity.
I am interested in those. How is it at low volume? For bedroom use I normally put my Marshall origin 20 on the low power mode (Think it's less than 1watt), any idea how the fender might compare?
I didn't like it, solid state digital belongs in my computer or my pedal board at the very least.
i wish they wernt so popular they might stop making the tube version and i wouldnt be happy lol
Newer and better tube amps are definitely something I think will easily motivated people to try more and play more. Amps of all kind are worth trying out, and there are endless possibilities! Awesome work!
For home use, I love the Vox ac10 amps. For my own home practice, I recently got a Joyo AC tone which has really amazed me. It's great because us guitarists need lots of repetition and if you live with anyone else, even those small amps are going to be heard by whoever else is there. It's better to get some good sounding, comfortable earbuds and you can play all you want and nobody else is forced to listen to your boring repetition.
I swear by my AC Tone, LOVE it
I have a Vox AC10C1, and I've managed to get a nice tone that's quiet enough to not bother people but loud enough for me.:D
I’ve got a Laney Lionheart L5T-112. Picked it up used. It’s one of the UK made ones before they started make them in China. Has a 12” greenback in it. Sounds great. Still really loud for 5 watts. I seldom go above 3 on the clean or drive channels.
A great amp. I had one and was quite impressed with it. The Laney Lionheart L5T-112 sounded like a Vox on the clean channel and a Marshall on the drive channel.
A really great amp for home use and small gigs. Great sounding and a lot of possibilities.
@@jonizeta Yep. It’s a hidden gem. Very responsive and versatile. Definitely an overlooked amp. Not as sure about the Chinese made ones, but I hear they are built to similar specs. My UK made one is built like a tank I think it weighs about 45 lbs. pretty hefty for a 5 watt amp.
Tone King amps are the Rolls Royce for home use imo. Particularly the Gremlin and the Falcon. They sound awesome, great build quality, and current ones all come with built in Iron Man attenuators.
The newer Roland Micro Cube is my go to practice and teaching amp. Amp models that are very accurate, ample effects, reverb and delay, and an auxiliary in to play along with tunes or just simply use as a “boom box”. I even plug my laptop into it to play video games.
Spot on. Bought my son one years ago, for house only. However, this amp has so many features for the money. In addition to having 2 volume controls, it has 3 for eq, a gain, and a four position knob for overdrive, distortion, metal, and metal stack. ( That last one kills me ) There’s a clean volume and finally, a record out( headphones) all through an 8” speaker. It can get loud, which is surprising for 15 watts. Pedalboard not included. Somehow, I convinced him to leave this one at my home, so I might enjoy his playing when visiting. His Marshall’s and Fender amps live with him. Now if I could get him to leave a LP or Strat behind. I see shopping in my future. Regards.
My Cube 20GX does right by me!!
I have a Blackstar HT1R and it is perfect for home use. It sounds fantastic and takes pedals really well. I have finally got my Spark 40 too, and while it isn’t a valve amp, it is fantastic.
To be completely honest.
You just make the (by far) best and most lovely Videos on this whole platform. You put so much effort in your videos and so much love, because you always use topics that really come from your heart and those are things that really make you think night and day. The way you explain what you think about some topics really just make me think „this guy loves what he does“ and so am I. You just speak directly out of my soul, the „Why I love The Edge of U2“ Video was just so amazingly done. Many people tried to explain the art of those „different“ guitarists like The Edge, but you just nailed it ! I‘m not a native English speaker, so I am a bit limited by what I want to express, but basically this is what it’s about . Thank you for your Channel mate. Cheers
Thank you Julian!
Rhett Shull by the way, what happened to the U2 Video ?
Keyboard player all my life and as i approach 50 i'm finally getting on board with guitars. Of all the vids I've seen thus far on youtube, your channel appeals most. Great content, reviews and approach. Liked and subscribed.
I play through a Fender Hot Rod Deville 2x12, 50 watts. I love that amp. And I don’t care, I crank it up once in a while and the neighbors have never complained. Maybe it’s because I don’t do it so often and I only do it during the day, never at night.
I had one, too friggin heavy man!
Film audio post engineer here. Make your dialogue mono and pan it down the middle. You are welcome ;)
Oh and thanks for this awesome content and your passion for gear!
What do you mean ? If it’s mono how does panning help? What does pan it down the middle mean? Do nothing ? Confused
I’ve had many tube amps , and one of my favourite is the Orange OR15. Very simple controls , and easy to dial in good tone.
I've had more amps than I can count (small and large). The best by far is my Marshall JTM1H. I run it on the 0.1 watt setting into a Vintage 30 loaded 4x12 and it sounds pretty much exactly like an old Marshall Plexi. I can't get satisfactory sound out of my Blues Junior Tweed or Princeton Reverb without having them way too loud for home use. Even 1 watt all valve amps can be very loud.
Hecho Vietnam o China?
I do the same but just with a 1x12" G12H... I sounds lovely. I wish I could play it on a 4x12 ! ;-)
Yeah, I wished I would have had the money to buy some more of the 50th anniversary range then. It only was enough for the JCM-1 - but I have been playing the hell out of it. DSL-1 and JVM-1 weren't really good in my opinion, but the JTM-1 and JMP-1 are supposedly great.
I can hardly tell a difference when listening, but I can surely tell the difference when playing. There's something magical between a guitarist and a tube amp that I've yet to see replicated in all my years of playing, though Tech 21 is a close 2nd.
I agree tech 21 is really good for the small all in one package like the fly rig. Some solid state amps can be decent for the price. I have an old Peavey Transformer 112. It's not quite got the presence and quick response of a tube amp but the feel is good and the features make it the best small gigging amp for me. It's amazing to me that it 20 yrs old. I own a katana artist and a POD GO as well and those are close but to me just not as good as the aforementioned for what we need to present live.
I picked up a Monoprice 15-watt recently for only $200 and it is a real Blue Junior contender with a 1-watt attenuation switch and spring reverb. It could use a different preamp tube in the V1 position for more headroom, but it rocks. Dollar for dollar the best value amp I've ever tried.
It also has an effects loop
At the start of the lockdown, I was using my Fender Princeton Reverb which hit most of the bases but was a bit too loud. My Yamaha THR was the right volume but a bit flat and obviously doesn't have tubes. Since it arrived, I've only used the Spark. My tone is basically clean with delay and reverb so I'm not really pushing tubes into distortion ever. But if I wanted tube distortion, I have an Orange Tiny Terror which, in 7W mode sounds amazing.
If your amp has an fx loop there’s an extremely easy solution for this. Put any digital volume pedal be it on an amp modeling pedal or whatever, in the loop. Volume control in the loop basically works exactly like an attenuators. Crank your tubes and turn the volume down as low as you want.
This is only true if you're driving the preamp tubes, which is usually simple. Smash the input with volume/boost, turn up the gain, etc. The magic comes from turning up the power amp tubes and you'll need an attenuator between the amp output and the speaker if you want the power tubes going and the volume low.
Oscar Richardson depends on the genre you are playing, as well as the tone you are going for. Power amp tube gain is a lot more of a fuzz type distortion than preamp tube gain is. If you are playing technical metal stuff the power amp saturation isn’t something you really want. If you’re playing some bluesy rock riffs it’s great.
Little note on the Blues Junior, since it doesn't have an effects loop I'd suggest going for de Hot Rod Deluxe. With a volume knob in the effects loop it really becomes a great home amp. More flexibility. And not too much more money to spend on. Anyways, keep it up, your videos are great. Cheers!!
Concur
Hot rod delux is loud for a practice amp.
@@spoudaois It is, but as I said, with a volume knob in the fx loop you can tame that volume. Cheers.
I remember a few years ago talking to an amp tech on the phone because I was looking for a new amp at the time. He asked me a few questions and we talked about the style of music I liked to play. He mentioned the blues junior or the hot rod deluxe. I heard the hot rod deluxe and every time I hear it i'm like "this. This is my tone, this is what I need"
Another great video Rhett. I use my Victory Sherrif 22 regular in my youtube videos, and I had a Fender Blues Junior for many years. Both are phenomenal amps, very different to each other but both highly recommended! 🙌 🎸
Thanks Andy!
Don't you mean "THE Sheriff!?" :-)
@@RhettShull see so many people buying the Marshall dsl 100 watt for home use, I only have the 20 and it is so loud that I can't play it above vol 3.5
@@allboutthemojo there's a lot of people who think they need the most expensive gear to play
@@allboutthemojo i have one of those unholy beasts and i play in the garage regularly on 10 and don't piss off any neighbours ..... keep the guitar vol on 1 😋
I recently just bought a used ORANGE Rocker 15 Combo & I couldn't be happier! Bought a few pedals - all Cailtlinbread (Sabba Cadabra (overdrive); Talisman (plate reverb); Echorec (Bison drum head echo); Coriolis Effect (sustainer, wah, filter, pitch shifter, and harmonizer rolled into one))
Rhett: "For home use, I recommend amps below 15 watts".
Also Rhett: proceeds to present only amps that are 15 watts or above
Yeahh. But the port city pearl tho!!
you forgot "unless they have some kind of master volume or power scaling features"
Which did any of the over 15W amps not have?
@@piratewhoisquiet I know. I wasn't trying to nitpick, just found it a little bit funny. Sorry if it sounded offensive.
@Joey Macaroni I have a 15-watt amp and I play it at two on the volume. And I live in a house where I don't have to worry about noise. It's just that I don't need it that loud. You should be careful if you want to preserve your hearing.
also rhett: "unless it has some kind of power attenuation or master volume...."
I had 3 main home amps in the past: 1. a modeler (Yamaha THR), 2. a tube amp (Hughes & Ketter Tubemeister 18) and the third one actually blew my mind. It was a little Hotone Nano British Invasion plugged into a 1x12 with a V30 speaker, a reverb and delay on the fx-loop and an OCD driver plus a 7 band EQ in the front, and let tell you, WHAT A WALL OF SOUND that thing made! It was beautiful, i loved it so much that i sold the THR and the Tubemeister...
I have a Yamaha THR C It's not made anymore. I can't tell you how much I play that thing at home. It's pretty handy for practicing around the house. I also have some 5 watters, like a Gibson Goldtone Les Paul Jr. and the Marshall class 5 second generation. A Fender BJ tweed and a Princeton are handy too. Then my amp power goes up from there. I sold my Mesa Rectroverb 2x12 combo, which was an amazing amp at 98 lbs. I think that was even louder than a Fender Twin Reverb I have had for 40 years.
Those Yamaha THR amps are fantastic for low volume playing.
I love my Marshall Studio 15. (1985-1991) The Headphone Jack is on a .5 w atenuated circuit. You plug the speaker into that and when the power tubes are saturated you have way more than enough volume.. The key is a true attenuated .5w circuit. Great video Rhett.
I have a 15w Fender Super Champ xd. It has 2-6v6’s and 1-12xa7. It’s also a modeling amp. To me it’s the best of both worlds, especially when practicing rite below my family. EXCELLENT VIDEO! Thnx bro 🤘🏻
I must agree - had mine since 2007 and It is rock solid. (wish list if they bring it back - head phones jack , and like the X2 better interface to modern recording)
Same here, the XD is a great amp, very reliable, takes all manner of pedals on the clean channel. Although some features of the X2 are desirable (headphone socket, tap tempo, USB port), I like the simplicity of the XD...just switch on and rock. They sometimes get a bad press, I suspect that might be down variability of the stock speaker. I have two XDs (bought a spare because I liked the first so much). XD1 has JJ tubes, XD2 has stock Grove Tubes. XD1 sounds best, XD2 sounds brighter/harsher, I assumed this was down to the tubes. However, I then rigged them up with XD1 output connected to XD2 speaker (and vice-versa). This identified that the speaker in the spare XD2 was the reason; probably just needs to be played in more to wear it in.
xd is perfect for me too.
I bought it new when they were first sold because I loved it when I tested it at the shop. Years later I got another one, a second hand unit. One is plugged to my Stratocaster and the other one to my acoustic guitar.
I have three fender combos. The one I’d grab if I had to leave a burning building? My 1971 silverface fender champ. I’ve never heard a better amp. Sadly it doesn’t have reverb. I’ll just play in the bathroom!
I use a customized-for-harmonica 5watt/8” Weber speaker for playing out in smaller clubs. It has a 1watt/5watt switch, and it is plenty loud enough for most gigs. If it’s needed, I can plug into a larger cab or, with the Line Out socket, I can go through the house. The smaller amps can sound huge with EQ and/or a larger speaker/cab. I don’t thing ya need more than 20Watts on any amp, even if you’re doing arenas. Great vids, Rhett. it always feels like you’re a knowledgeable friend letting me on some secret, valuable info.
My ht-5r with a vintage 30 has a great tone with great sustain and distortion.
I own a Fender Super Champ x2 and while it's not a pure tube amp (hybrid), it uses tubes and sounds really really good at almost any volume. Also, it has a bunch of built in effects like reverb, delay, chorus, trem etc. And my fav feature is amp simulation. You can enjoy that signature fender clean sound and then jump into dirty, marshally territory with a press of a button! Also, it's really cheap so that's pretty neat lol
Absolutely agree on the x2. That’s my main amp, it’s got a great clean channel and a few good models on the modeling/dirty channel. You can even get a great metal tone with separate pedals, not so much the metal models on the amp itself
Owned one and didn't like the tone and found it to not take pedals well.
@@briansrecordingarchive6579 I disagree, but I have the head. Maybe the crappy Chinese 10" speaker in the Combo was to blame.
@@toddkasuboske4646 I have the combo version with the celestion g10 greenback in it, and I love it. Great recording amp. No effects loop is not a problem because I use the clean channel, or either of the two Deluxe mods on the second channel. All three are outstanding clean tones, and sound great with pedals. On-board effects are crap, but I never use them. I could just get a '65 or '68 Deluxe reissue and lug around 20 extra pounds and a thousand extra dollars, but nah.
I use the Bugera V22 Infinium at home. It takes pedals nicely and has been trouble free since I got it 6 years ago. 3 12AX7's and 2 EL84's help me dial in those wonderful Alex Lifeson tones. Talk about a guy who has a lot of tone in all his material. Thanks for the tube amp demo.
Hey, Rhett! Just want to say I’ve been a big fan of you and your videos since you had around 15k subs, and I just wanted congratulate you on what you’ve made this channel into. You should be proud of yourself, and keep the awesomeness coming!
Thanks so much Clint!
I use a Laney Lionheart - 5 watts of pure valve tone goodness - perfect!
Laney LC 15 with spring reverb i missed on sphock. 110£ mint condition (
5 watts is all you need even if you're gigging but you have to use at least 2/12's I have a Tone King Gremlin Kicks ass too
Laney amplifiers are absolute shit ! I’ve had a laney amp and it was a terrible experience. I’m getting my Marshall DSL 5c
I bought a used Blues Jr in college. It was already a. Few years old at the time, the guy told me he never changed the tubes. I never changed the tubes and it’s still going strong.
A 1W head into a 2x12 cab is all need. The Bugera G5 I've got is Switchable to 0.1W if you need to be sort of quiet, and 5W makes your bedroom feel like Wembley arena...
I’ve got a V5… great little practice amp
Anyone who can crank a 10-watt amp in an apartment building or townhouse has very tolerant neighbours. I live in a condo building, and I can tell you that even my 5-watt Swart is WAY too loud for condo use. However, put the Swart Night Light Jr. attenuator on it and it's magic.
Even a 5 watt is quite loud. Wattage isn't a very good Idea tor of loudness. Amp manufacturers should give out spl levels (considering speaker sizes in case of heads).
@@sandrosadhukhan Speaker sensitivity plays too big a part in that. Not all 12" drivers are created equal when it comes to output, for example. And yes, 5W is way louder in a small room that most people realize, especially in a tube amp when the tube distortion adds a ton of "extra" information at the freqs that the ear is most sensitive to.
@@helotaxi And a 4x12 is definitely at least a little bit louder than a 1x12. Just guessing a little
I am using dsl 40, and I am think my neighbors are dead or deaf since they don’t complain
@@helotaxi Just to get really ridiculous, I also have one of the old Z-Vex Nano Heads, which are either one watt or a half watt (I can't remember), and that too is plenty loud connected to a 1X12 cabinet.
This is so cool! You asked about us, and I'm using a Laney L5T-112, because it's only 5 watts (single ended) and can make a ridiculous amount of different sorts of tones with no pedals or anything else at all. They have made a "Studio" version that is just a head, buy includes a passive loudspeaker dummy load, so you can record silently to your workstation, yet stay totally analog. I've never had one of those, but from this video, it sounds like it would be the perfect addition to your collection!
I play my Marshall stack at home with my master on 6. Yes it is the 100 watt.
I play my Peavy 6505+ stack at home around the same level as a 120 watt amp..... I guess we just don't give a fuck about our neighbors lol
Good man!
Or Lady!
Congratulations.
attenuator solves problem is one wants big amps at home.
I have recently got a blues junior, freaking love it.
I am puzzled why he doesn’t have millions + subscribers…. The content, the production and information is friggin awesome!
I love my little ZT Lunchbox for playing at home. Its solid state but it sounds beautiful.
My Blues Junior 3 falls second to it in every category.
A friend of mine in the 80’s had the Rockman by one of the Boston band members. Was a cool little home amp
that was 40 years ago.
@@thebutton7932 the 80’s was 40 years ago?! Wow!
Other options are Hughes and Kettner tubemeister amps, like the 18 and 5 watt models. The 18 and 20 have attenuators that go down to 1 watt, red box DI ,FX loops, tube bias to prevent drift, a TSC circuit that makes sure your tubes get optimum power. They also have a tube bias circuit that's activated by inserting a pick into the slot provided, ,fantastic ! and very handy. The lead channel is superb and probably as good as it gets, ,you get a whole load of high quality features and bang for your buck with this little guy. I have one and gigged with it and it is just superb, all these above options are also worth checking out, ,it all depends on your budget. Great Vid Rhett.
I played for years through cheap amps and never got into it. When I found myself going for tone I realized that, while the sound on a playback may be better, playing through a valve amp is inspiring. It responds to my playing and I enjoy it more. I can't get that from the modeling home amps. Maybe the big jobs like the Nextone or something, but even the Katana didn't do it for me. Again, on a playback the tone is amazing, it just doesn't feel amazing like a valve amp. And I notice those who love them are the players who can just detach and play. They're not "feel" players, to me. If that's your style, you'll be happy. But if you're looking for an experience that inspires you to play spontaneously, you need that tube...
I've got an Ibanez TSA15 and it's a great home amp, it's got a very Blues Junior vibe to it.
Fender's Excelsior Pro is a little-known gem. All tube, 13 watts, 15" Eminence speaker. Exceptional clean tones up to midway on the volume dial, then blooms into a growly blues tone then full-blown ZZ Top snarl at the top. Excellent pedal platform. And at between $300-$500, you cannot go wrong. Only found on the used market.
Never understood the „amp at home“ craze. I live in an apartment. No amp will do it for me. I have to watch when I play my acoustic guitar and sing along. Best sound at home is a good cab/amp sim through headphones. REVV D20 kills if you want to have one thing for home use AND gigging.
Still a great video and very educational!
I can turn my HT5R mkii volume so low that the sound coming out of the guitar is louder than the amp. I use headphones when needed but during the day it's just perfect for playing at the volume I would put my stereo at.
I use the Bugera V22 (old model). You can limit the watts to make it sing with less volume. It has a very good clean sound with a ton of headroom and it works nice with pedals. Really no complaints on my side.
It's a great amp with a solid feature-set and it's much more affordable for many of us.
That lead from PF Money sounded so beautiful! Great work Rhett!
I have a Blackstar HT-5RH Mk II. It is switchable between 5W and 0.5W and has a simulated cab out which can go straight into my mixer so I can use it through my studio monitors. The functionality is really good and very convenient. Most importantly, my Strat just sounds great through it and really sparkly. 😊
Agreed Blackstar HT5 is one of the best home use amps out there. Super versatile.
Perfect timing! I’m looking for a good home amp now.
Me too!
Get a Monoprice 15w tube amp. It’s a blues junior clone with a reverb tank for less than 200 bucks
Toneking Gremlin, the attenuation is badass for home and it’s loud enough to get over a drummer. Although it’s rather expensive, in a few years you’ll forget what it cost and still love how it sounds
Supro blues king 8 is very good. 1W and plenty loud enough for home use. Impressed with mine.
Vox AC15 is undefeated . do it
I tamed my Fender (ish) Chinese amp chassis (new old stock) with a switchable H-Bridge on the output. Speaker + three 8 ohm power resistors. Drops the power to 7.5 watts for practice, without changing the sound. I also adjusted the bias voltage, modded the preamp and tone circuits, upgraded and rerouted the wiring, heavy gauge with twisted pair heater cable. Fitted JJ tubes and Fender Eminence 12in 8 Ohm speaker. Sounds great.
For my home use, I've found that the best candidate is the orange micro dark terror with its matching 1x8 cab. It's really really full amp feeling, with fx loop. And is I need to gig, it's powerful enough to power a 4x12 cab. Amazing little beast. Works really well also with loadboxes and IR Sim in my Daw. Love it!
I have one just $60
And what do your metal string vibration sound like?
Obviously orange amplifiers are producing a 1950's industrial metal string vibration sound.
Its not the 1950's radio broadcast sound that Fender amplifiers make.
You're not even aware your amplifier makes this type of sound.
My randall amplifier makes the metal string vibration sound like metallica's CD amplifier sound OR like metallica's vinyl LP record sound.
The contour feature allows me to adjust from 1 sound to the other.
I can play along with the CD and have the same sound OR I can play along with the LP and play with that sound.
When I play LIVE my metal string vibration sound, actually sounds like the CD sound or the LP sound.
I don't have the industrial string vibration sound OR the 1950's radio broadcast sound like Fender produces.
My metal strings sound like some kind of metallica CD OR LP sound.
Rhett's intro reminds me of the commercial where the guy walks on screen and says "I love refrigerators"
haha
Never seen it, but I don't watch TV so...
Yes. Very cool
LMAO total needs a white background
It seems like eons ago, but it was after 10 yrs or so of playing I finally saw a small tube amp I liked and was gifted one for Christmas: 2007 Fender Superchamp XD. 15W 10" Speaker with "early" DSP amp voicings (in addition to the basics); 2 channels each w/ separate volume, and a few built in effects (reverb, tremelo). Not quite the full tube only amp; but a huge leap from the mid 90's solid state fenders that are the other options. While it has voicing - it rarely leaves the Fender blackface option, which is very much a true Fender sound. And it will keep up pretty close with the Blues JR until you really push it (which would be too much for at home but OK in a small venue, IMO). ... Like the video; good points on some of the others.
Rhett got his new /13! Really looking forward to that vid!
I own a Blues Jr III NOS Tweed.. and can confirm that it’s a good amp to battle loud neighbors with. At master volume 3.5 it’s def going thru my neighbors floors / walls lmao.
But...I think the point is to AVOID war with your neighbors.
MONEY!!! Great job and very nice vid for home studio persons! I use a Peavey Valve King Micro. It has 3 switch settings for 20, 5 and 1 watt. Believe me, 20 watts is banging. I chase people out of my room when it is on 20. So I generally use it at 5w. It is amazing. I do want to switch out the speaker to a Celestion V30, but only because that is my favorite speaker. I've used a few different ones and always go back to it.
Fender Champ and Pro Junior are fun, too.
Yeah, I use my 1980 vibro champ 95% of the time at home. It's only 6 watts but cranked within in a townhouse can make your ears bleed and bring a notice from your HOA. That being said, I'd like another one so I can run in stereo.
Vintage Champs are the archetypical small amp. Honestly, like many Fender's, it is somewhat of the blueprint for what every other company ever produced.
@@mikedenkinger9570 I just got myself a nice 80 champ week or two ago. I'm in a condo but haven't played it much yet, had some back surgery last week. Speaking of another one, I almost had a vibrochamp for a ridiculous price. A guy about 60-70 miles south of me had one on C/L. I didn't notice it till too late. he was selling it for 250 but said someone else was already on their way to pick it up. the startling thing though, he told me he originally started out at $50. someone told him it was worth more so he listed it at 250. Would have loved to pick that one up. Powered up and worked good too, so he says. Oh well, maybe another day.
@@scottym3 congrats on the new amp! I have to say that it's a great amp for practice and recording. I've lent it to a couple of friends to lay down tracks in their home studios as well.
I find it The Sweet Spot on the amp is when the volume on six, treble on six, bass on five. I put a Jensen re-issue in probably about 20 years ago and has been a fairly good speaker all along. However, whatever speaker that you have may dictate where you need to to set it to get a little tube overdrive sag without the speaker flopping out.
Also, I've never had a footswitch for the amp so the vibrato is technically on all the time. Typically it's set to zero. I know that a lot of guys intentionally do this to add a little more color to the sound, but I've never had a choice. I guess after 20 plus years of playing the amp, I should look into getting a footswitch!
Pro Jr is the best little amp.
I agree !
I use a 5 watt tweed champion 600 combo that's pretty freaking cool for a $49 all tube amp !
Talks about the Blues Junior, changed everything in it, plays it to demonstrate, tube goes out. Love it. Should go on the Rick Beato show and share more wisdom
I was just thinking about how hard could it be to make some adjustments on my amp, when you warned me about the predictable dangers. You probably saved my life... So thank you!
This is literally the exact video i was looking for. Thanks Rhett
Great review Rhett!
After much research on a home/live amp, I bought a Boss Katana 100W 1X12. Has USB out for home recording, 0.5/15/50/100 watt attenuation. Built in effects if you want, or takes pedals well. Plenty loud enough for live usage. Very budget friendly too, especially used.
Not a tube amp, though.
@spirit ._. The Katana is a great amp for high gain tone, portability, and flexibility. And it is very good value for money. I'd like to have one myself. But it won't sound as good as a tube amp does, especially for clean tones. And a tube amp with the right pedals will probably sound noticeably better than the all-in-one modelling solutions. As the models improve, tube amps and physical circuits are going to become harder to justify. So, getting back to your question, bedroom amps need a low output power mode that doesn't lose the cranked tone of the amp. Usually this is accomplished by either making a low powered amp, or putting an attenuator on a higher powered amp. I own a TubeMeister 18 watt amp with 18W-5W-1W-0W output. At 0W the full 18W is dissipated in the attenuator, with a very small signal sent to the built-in DI with a speaker cab simulator. I might have gone for the Katana instead if I had the option at the time I bought the TM18, but I'm happy with how things turned out.
I couldn't like boss katana clean sound no matter how long I messed with it. I'm looking for a chimey compressed Fender-clean tone, but Katana cannot do it. It is voiced more like jazz chorus, it doesn't compress enough even with a compressor effect used, spikes remain obtrusive and that's a deal-breaker to me. You can also saturate the clean channel but it gets muddy. Maybe it works for some people.
Dang! Those Gilmour licks on the Port City sold the HELL out of me! Gorgeous. Another great video, thanks Rhett.
Just a heads up on the safety note of modifications: most electronics have capacitors that hold a charge almost like a battery. There are simple ways to discharge that stored charge safely (TH-cam it).
Be safe.
Thanks for the interesting video Rhett. I personally use a Yamaha THR 30ii but that is of course not a tube amp. Sounds great, doesn't take up much space and you can have nice sounds at room level. For me therefore, the ideal amp for home use.
I love mine! Such incredible tones, it’s near perfect.
I have one as well and it is perfect for home use and portability.
I bought a special addition 65 prinston reverb tweed reissue with the 12" Eminence canibus rex speaker from Sweetwater. I think I paid $800 during a promotional holiday sale. To my ears it sounds better than a blues junior. And it's a fantastic pedal platform. Set the volume at 3 and run an OCD order two overdrive pedals and I get awesome gain rich in harmonics at a very quiet comfortable levels.
Blackstar HT1 is an amazing amp for the house.
Just bought one. I’m in an apartment. The HT1 MKII is perfect for this environment. I get a rich, warm tube sound an a very low volume. Also perfect to mic and record.
@@patzcuarokeibs Awesome man! I was so happy with mine I bought a HT1 head and cab in the blonde color. Play it in good health my friend.
Now that you mention it, the Marshall DSL1 head is great amp for living room and practice with home stereo system carrying the music to play to.
Great video Rhett, thank you ! In my opinion the SuperChampX2 is a better choice for home amp, because the sound is less "sparkling" that the one of the Blues Junior (or Hotrod Deluxe), which makes it more versatile (even sounds great for jazz!) and it has a distorsion channel with customizable presets). Kepp on the good work !
I love my SuperChamp X2!
Too bad most of those amps are not affordable. Thankfully there are probably 20 tube amps, 20 watts or smaller that can be found used which will all will do a great job. I don't know why he left these out.
I have a SuperChamp X2, not a bad amp at all
@@kaiserwilhelm1938 Good point Kaiser.....I think it's all down to what he's getting for free from companies and is then obliged to Hawk out. Lost in showbusiness springs to mind
@@kaiserwilhelm1938 well he did say right up front that this is not a comprehensive list, just a list of tube amps that he's played & owned and can attest to. Plus this topic is just as subjective as ford v Chevy, 9mm v .40 when ultimately it's all taste & preference the perfect amp for me maybe garbage to you
I have 3 amps by Wangs Amplification, the 2204HW (50 watt hand wired Marshall clone), OD-30 (30 watt modified Fender Bandmaster) and their Mini 5 (5 watt microhead)
The Mini 5 is plenty loud and can still piss off the neighbors, spouse or roommates with the right speaker cabinet. Cranked, it gives this nice vintage style overdrive and responds well to the guitar controls. It takes pedals well too.
I use all 3 for recording, but the Mini 5 is the amp I am most likely to use when my wife is home. The other amps mostly get used when I go out to jam with others.
I do agree with you that high wattage can can be great pedal platforms for home use. The Fender Hot Rod Deluxe is a perfect example, and you can also run it clean at a low volume by itself and obtain a beautiful Fender clean tone.
I'm not sure I can trust someone that would bypass a spring reverb.
Right !??!
I never used it until I realized how useful it was for leads.
@@GuitarsAndSynths It's all I used for a long time but I got a digital reverb and I prefer the plate setting over my amp's Fender reverb tank.
I like both plate and spring.
@ +1 ! Get that drip out of here! Plate all the way baby...
Best one to me is the Koch Studiotone, 20W class A, all tubes. Koch speaker made by Jensen. You can mute the speaker (load box inside), there's a dry line out (to chain with an IR) but also a line out with speaker emulation with the choice of one 12" or 4 x 12" (great sound). It's small and It's the most complete recording or practice amp with top notch quality sound. I love it.
I got one of those Vibro Champ XD's when they first came out. Aiyeee! It's really, really good.
I've one of those too and never liked it for years, then I was just sort of fiddling with idea of changing speaker and found the speaker in mine was connected backwards ( wrong +/-) not sure if that matters that much but after i fixed it I love it. Usually only use the first tweed voice