Rhett Shull Thanks, Rhett for another amazing video that I had to come back and watch again. A quick question concerning your Skylark - are there any modifications to the amp, ie; 3 prong plug installed, tone sucking circuit removed etc? I’m in the market for a skylark tremolo like yours and am curious as to what you have to say about trying to pick these up. Thanks again, I absolutely love your channel.
Solution is use a power soak with it. I generally dont get it if Brian may can run three modded ac30s tbx amps revamped by mike hill, then you should be able to crank it like je does. I do. Even at church. I use the bm rig too. Fab!
There's an equivalent to this in the automotive world, too: It's more fun to drive a slow car fast than it is to drive a fast car slow. Keeping a lower-wattage amp cranked is more fun than keeping a high wattage amp at 1/4 volume. I ditched sold my Marshall half stack years ago and switched to a 25 watt Peavey combo amp. Everything gets mic'd and run through the PA anyhow.
Sold my Fender Custom Shop Tonemaster 120 Watt hand wired head with matching 4x12 cabinet. I was never able to crank it to work the tubes. Rocking a Vox AC-15c1 now and have never been happier. 🇺🇸
Great amp! I totally agree re wattage. In the "old days", as venues got bigger, and audiences got louder, the small amps couldn't be heard so well due to the P.A. s not taking guitar amps. So, the monster rigs developed. However, these days, with more efficient P.A.s and fold-back speakers, wee amps are becoming more popular again. Why have a 100w amp turned WAY down, when you can have a small amp cranked? For me, small amps all day! :)
Fuck 4/4 Yep couldn’t do it. I’m out of style in my relaxed jeans but I’m comfy. After 30 nobody expects you to be in style do they? My kids wouldn’t give me any credit even if I was in style. Haha
@@BeefNEggs057 yeah i feel yeah, my kids arent old enough to understand styles but im sure if they could they would make fun of me for wearing comfy pants lol
@@CocoKoi321 I had a '59 Champ that sat in a closet for decades. I got it for $10 in the 90's in my teens. Best amp I will ever own. A former friend stole it in 2001 and I swear I've never gotten over it.
It sounds like you could use new plate load resistors. That white noise is indicative of them going bad. Upgrade them 2w metal oxide and it will bullet proof forever.
Unfortunately it's pretty unavoidable when using carbon composition resistors, I learnt that the hard way after building a champ using nothing but carbon comps.
My favorite amp I’ve ever owned is a 4W Alamo Capri with a 10” Weber. It takes pedals unbelievably well, is super punchy at living room volumes, and breaks up gorgeously without killing the ears. I was so excited to see such an amazing guitarist preaching the same idea!
Thanks for reuniting me with the Skylark, my first amp. Paid $35 for it. Paired with an Epiphone electric hollow body non-cutaway Granada, the rig was dubbed "The Feedback Machine." Although wattage impaired, I was always being told to "turn that damned thing down!" Like you, I always ran it at 10.
1989 - i show up to a recording session with my two most AWESOME amps (I was SO proud): a 1987 25/50 watt Marshall Silver Jubilee with 2x12" Marshall cab and a 100 watt Mesa/Boogie MkIII Simul-Class 1x12" combo. Everyone ooh'ed and aah'ed over my "cool" amps. Two hours later we still were not getting the sounds we wanted. The engineer - my best friend to this day - said, "Hey, why dont we try my little '71 Fender Champ ?" After a few chuckles we set it up, mic'ed it up....and for the rest of the afternoon we were tracking the BEST tones I'd ever heard in my life!!!!!!!
_It wasn't very large,_ _There was just enough room to cram the drums in the corner over by the Dodge_ _(It was a '64 with a mashed up door)_ _And a cheesy little amp, with a sign on the front saying "Fender Champ"_ _And a second-hand guitar -- it was a Stratocaster with a whammy bar_ Frank Zappa, _Joe's Garage_
Rhett... for a good laugh ... go back and watch Marty crank up the amp in Doc's lab in Back to the Future..., the one that blows him off his feet,... when he's dialing up the knobs you'll catch site of the model ... its a GA-5 !! Hahahahah ... Great video and great playing as always :-) Thanks Rhett ...
@@user-s1o3nr532 Well, I don't think that's what he did. You have to play some guitar, with some pickup configuration into the amp, so you start right away with some variation -- the amp and the guitar affect the tone. Then, I think he is trying to show how this amp takes on pedals, which is the next part of your tone modifiers. I have a Gibson GA20 RVT "Minuteman," and it was modified before I bought it. It sounds pretty good over all, but the reverb & tremolo don't work at this time, so it would be odd for me to use it with no effect pedals.
I did the same thing. My first amplifier was a Fender Vibro Champ. It fell into non use and time took its toll. When I finally grew up a bit musically. I went back to that old Vibro Champ, but it was to late. I plugged it in and let the magic smoke out. I had the amplifier worked over by the guys at Kendricks. I use that old Vibro Champ for almost everything now. It's funny, but I feel that I have come full circle.
I've had your videos pop up in my recommendations regularly. At first I wasn't really into it, lots of fancy equipment, and whole lot of boutique, just a lot to take in at first. I will admit, your content has grown on me, this is probably the tenth video I've seen by you and I'm absolutely sold, very well put together, tons of information, and a lovely amplifier. Absolutely earned my sub after this vid.
I love my 5 amp monoprice tube amp. It has a switch to make it 1 amp too. I use pedals and other modifiers, preamps to make it sound good. Love it. Has a Celestron speaker and tube.
I agree with this video wholeheartedly, but lets face it- To get a loud, very clean tone, these low wattage amps just don't cut it. Depends on style and genre of course, on how important this is. I've played a lot of jazz and funk, where things need to stay pretty clean. Of course at home and in a studio with mics, not so much of an issue. More of a live performance issue.
This doesn't really matter if you have a mic and PA and know how to use your volume knob. Clapton kept a mic'd up Champ behind his inactive Marshalls back in the day.
@@TheAlpineProject Really? Why would I want my tone jacked up by an SM57 (frequency response looks like a rollercoaster) and some crappy house PA system when I can blast a place with a 30 watt combo? Very few local venues require more than that.
All the stuff he said he very true for a certain type of style of music. I play metal. I understand that 100watts of tube is not needed at all. But high wattage amps sound better and more clear when tuning lower then traditionally. And in metal pre amp distortion is what most guitarist are after. It's fun to have a low wattage amp and crank it though. Awesome video!
The bottom end and tightness of bigger amps is unmatched by small amps , you notice the chug esp from lower tunings from the different tubes , bigger transformer, higher wattage and power amp push compared to smaller amps . I have a 15 watt 30 and 90 watt amp , there is a difference . But for light blues , rnb it's fine not for metal like you say
@stephentherarabear get a big amp crank them side by side to a decent Drum level and come back and comment. Don't get lower than 30 for metal with a full band if you want tight low chugging
Rhett loves FX, and isn’t necessarily chained to analog ones either. But his comments are really directed to music styles that employ subtle approach’s. Metal is not noted for this, and higher wattage probably is better adapted to it. Punk would be another genre that isn’t going to benefit from what he is talking about. Nothing wrong with either type, and no one ever said one size fits all. But the headroom/breakup foundation that so many studio players want is in these smaller amps. Next time we’ll talk about schlepping big stacks around and what it does to the back.
@@Snoopdave2000 thats how I see it too, I gig a 22 watt fender and I can make it do most things from clean to searing leads. The one thing it simply wouldn't do well at all is metal, it just doesn't have the low end thump or the tightness, even when put through a bigger cab.
Totally agree! Small is the way to go! For gigging I use a Vox AC15, but even that can be too much in certain rooms. For practice and recording I have been using a Fender Champion 20 that I bought used at Guitar Center for $25. For a cheap little 20 watt solid state amp with an 8" speaker it sounds amazing. Thanks for the great videos. Always enjoy your perspective!
I brought a small amp recently for £40.... I wish I'd have done it sooner, they don't need to be fancy tube boutique amps to sound good. Mine needs help with a reverb pedal, I had been playing through 70 watt, 100watt amps turned low, and I wish I'd have just sold them after I stopped being in bands . Better late than never I guess.
Christmas, 1964: my dad received a Sears guitar and a Skylark GA-5 amp. The amp was missing for about 20 yrs after he & my mom broke up. My old man passed away in 1997. In 2003, I found his GA-5 and began trying to restore it. Back then, it took the amp tech a year to find NOS tubes! Crazy. I’ve spent some cash to have it restored but it’s been worth every penny. Now my son (a college student,semi-pro guitarist & Rhett’s biggest fan, LOL) uses it. Sure the amp sounds great but it’s cool to know three generations of family guitarists have been able to enjoy that little Skylark.
Within the last year I bought a Peavey Classic 20 MH (tweed) and a 1-12 matching cab. Could NOT be happier. Phenomenal attenuated amp that can be found for a steal.
I just discovered the Pignose amp used by Frank Zappa for example. That things sweet- My thought is that, you should go for smaller, and if you ever make it to a big stage you can plug up your head or small amp to bigger speakers for the occasion. Small amps are so much fun because they break up so soon and get you to pay attention to your dynamics more.
I’ve owned many amps big and small over the years. I finally settled on two that I use all the time. A Carvin V3 head which goes to a 412 cab. And my house jamming amp a fender hot Rod Deville with 212s. I also run a pedal called the little black amp. It’s a volume control that runs through my effects loop. This allows me to crank those 212 speakers and amp until break up and then I just lower the volume. It sounds great and saved me a lot of divorce fees.
Why Small Amps sound BIG in recording is because the Volume is not so loud the sound into the mic is more balanced and not so spiky as with big louder Amps...
I am a Jazz guy. I never play with distortion at all. I play a big fat Gibson L-5. I take a Mesa Studio 22 to every gig...it stays clean even over a drummer. 20 Watts is a lot. Outdoors, I use a Mesa Heart Breaker on 6L6s set to 60 watts and I have never taken it 5 on the volume. I bought it for outdoor gigs and large rooms but it is overkill. The studio 22 works great for non-painful stage volume and at bigger gigs there is a mic in front of it anyway.
I had one of those back in the late 70s and it sounded awesome! Never thought I'd see one again, but there it is, and it sounds just as good as it did then.
Love small amps. I can't afford some of the really great ones, but I've gigged and jammed many times with a VHT Special 6 and love it. The thing is bullet proof, and its design let's me experiment with a variety of tubes for different tones. Great little amp.
Broke down and bought a hot rod DeVille for my gigs after my band mate left for college and I could no longer fiend off his orange stack. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great amp, but it’s nearly unusable in bedroom recording settings and I always have to keep it quiet on stage. Just glad I’m learning this lesson at 17 instead of 37.
Im 54 and have been around the block,I use a Marshall combo 100w and a fender deluxe 100w and A B them toghether with my guitar processor so when i need lower sound for small gigs i can limit that with my volume peddle and when i have an outdoor gig i have the two amps opened up to make a full sound to cut through.also angle the fender in on the stage so the band gets a monitor feed..There is lots to learn
I run my Egnater at 1w with a hard hitting drummer and my bass player still thinks I’m too loud. And that’s with a lot of headroom to spare. Every time I buy what’s meant to. E a primary amp, I get one with less wattage: 100w Marshall-> 30w Vox-> 30w Egnater run low wattage. My next amp might be a 5-10w Fender or Vox... Also you can just about always mix it...
Try a 12AY7 in the first gain stage. Makes it a LOT more usable at lower volumes, which are there, now that there's not a 100 Mu 12AX7 in the first stage.
In the studio, all amps a huge amps. Always got the best sounds/results out of amps under 50 watt and with a single driver in my 40 plus years of recording.
I play mostly at home and I have a one watt Marshall JVM. It’s the 50th anniversary one made in England. Has an 8 inch speaker but I also have a 12 inch in a separate cab. I mostly use the clean channel with no master volume and I keep it cranked using the volume to clean it up if need be. I get the sound I crave to hear- real power amp distortion and speaker flap. It’s like going back in time. Now don’t get me wrong it can still be loud especially if I use a boost or go into the preamp channel. Most time I am on the half power setting ( yup .1 of a watt) and it’s a great volume for messing around. I can get champ sounds and basically cover the history of rock guitar with just the volume knob. People are in awe of a good one watt amp. There are 5 tubes in this mini beast and the quality of plug and play sound is amazing. Highly recommend low wattage amps
Well put, you have philosophized my cheat sheet for recording. Don't need those huge amps to get a recording level, and I get the proper break-up, tube sat, when turned up to those high levels on a "low" powered amp. My Fender Bassman 20 was a beautiful investment on this note! GREAT video and demo of rock n roll tech psychology! To boot, if you buy tubed gear the watts are a lot louder than not, there is less energy being emitted as heat instead of vacuumed signal, cleaner, purer, more efficient, but yes heavier - Arr, another reason to buy small! That was the dilemma with solid and modelers, hence, they had to increase the wattage to achieve similar levels. You just reaffirmed my decision to by an old fender of low watts! Thanx, Rhett, and God bless, friend.
Ha! I grew up with an 81 Les Paul custom and a Princeton reverb. My old man had an AC30 too but he sold it in like 1990. Still have the other gear along with his 70 something martin D-28, and his first guitar a 65 tele. Pretty cool growing up in a rock and roll household.
I agree so much. 4 years ago, I went to a tweed deluxe (5e3 circuit) clone build by a non-professional local tech. It sound incredible I use it live in outdoor stage without micing it and it was just great, I only raised the volume to 3 instead of 1.5 on rehearsal. Today I'm considering an even smaller amp like a champ or a priceton.
Great points Rhett. Such a common sense post. I have always been amazed when people take equipment meant for a stage and put it inside in a room that is essentially a small enclosure. Of course it will be a different experience. Great channel.
I giged my ancient tweed Champs for a long time. Ran her wide open with a mic. Used the guitar's volume knob as a channel selector. Let the monitors handle the stage volume and the PA handle the room.
Picked up a '66 Sound Projects R203 not long ago, 2.5 watts class A through an 8" alnico...if you ever get the chance to check one out, they're amazing
Great video! I remember the great Terry Kath of the band, Chicago used to use a small Pignose amp to get those great guitar sounds in the recording studio. Ah, “25 or 6 to 4”
My great grandfather bought one of these new in 1964. Im a blues and metal and hard rock player and i need too rehab his old amp but have always been afraid of hurting orginality or physically blowing it up. This video has inspired me too take it somewhere and get it professionally fixed
Before I watch the video: I love smallp amps, I find it easier to get a grittier tone but I can also get a lot of space from the room. I record at home and I use a small diaphragm condenser (some audio technica mike that comes bundled with others for a drum kit) an SM57 and I recently bought an AKG P420. I haven't used the AKG on an amp but it works wonderfully with the acoustic guitar, the mike being on omni with the dB pad on
The late great Rory Gallagher used an AC30 for his sound, miked up to Marshalls for the bigger gigs. That way he could always drive the Vox at its sweet spot.
J. Chandler Stewart in Media PA (outside of Philly) is an electrician who got sick of carrying around huge loud amps to gigs. He makes awesome hand-wired amps that sound great and won't break your back. He even tunes the amps individually for your tastes, so if you want to fuzz out you can. His amps are truly stellar.
I've owned quite a few tube amps over the decades, including 100 w and 50 w Marshalls, mostly combo's. But THE ONE AMP I wish I still had today, was my little black face Fender Champ. Everyone went nuts over that little amp, it was SO sweet.
Oh man, you're goddamn right! When I first started to look for an amp, small tube amps caught my attention, mostly 15w amps and even lower wattage amps, but when I told my cousin, my biggest refference on the subject, he told me "you'll need a bigger amp", "no one will hear your guitar with a 15 watt amp", "you need, at least 30w to cut through the mix", etc. Oh man, he was sooo wrong. See, I live in Mexico and most of the 30w tube amps are expensive as fu...n. So I thought " If I can't afford to buy a 30w amp, maybe I'll invest on my pedalboard" and that's what I did, naively thinking the wattage was everything. Anyway, the band splitted up, and finally I decided to get a small 4w amp, a Vox Ac4. Holly shi...ft! That thing is loud! My cousin couldn't believe how loud the amp is, but the most important thing, it sings! The tone, the warmth is finally there... I could have played all of my gigs with it and still, my bandmates would've asked me to turn the volume down (and they did, last year when we all met to gig and have some beers). Now that I've learned the lesson I try to warn people about the wattage myth: the most important thing is tone! If you gig regularly, you know that most decent venues have a soundboard, and if your volume is not enough you can alway throw a mic in front of your amp. But if you prioritize volume, you may not be able to reach its sweet volume spot, you may not like its tone, and if you reach the sweet tone/volume spot it may be too loud for most of your venues and you'll end up carriying a heavy set for a mediocre tone
Great Video Sir....I have been talking about little amps for the last decade and even got a Vox AC 15 Anniversary...(the 2007 model)... to replace my Marshall 50 Watt Baby...which I almost never use anymore either because it's even too loud!...My go to is the Blues Jr...for live, and a half dozen 6 Watt vintage amps for recording...
Rhett, a big part of what makes these small amps so great is that they are single-ended with very simple and short circuits from input to the speaker. Single-ended amps have unique qualities that give them great touch sensitivity, plentiful harmonics, smooth distortion, and natural compression. I love my GA-5T Skylark (an early white one from, I think 1960). Vox AC-4s and Fender Champs are also great for the same reasons. You are definitely onto something here.
I've got an 50's or 60's white Gibson tube amp. It's been completely rebuilt but has the original Jenson 12" speaker. It records extremely well, but it's not something I would want to gig with. Tubes don't travel well at all 🐱
@@rastanot Well, hundreds of thousands of musicians have regularly traveled with tube amps since they were invented and with little trouble. They're not as delicate as you seem to think. Properly packed and handled they travel just fine.
@@Glicksman1 I maintain they're a liability from personal experience. When I was touring out of a van in reggae bands an hauling in and out of janky loading docks, stumbling around in the dark behind the bars or venus. For my 800 and Plexy head's I had Anvil cases built for them at the same time we bought them. Now we use fender blues amps and they weigh at least a hundred thousand pounds, still need to have tube's resistance checked periodically before one of us has that uh-oh look on stage followed by a puff of stinky filament smoke and a shitty performing amp. I've seen plenty of power tubes go up in smoke, crackle and fizzel-out.
@@rastanot No doubt that if you're stumbling around in the dark at janky loading docks the equipment will suffer. In that case, even transistor amps will get broken. I traveled all over the country with Fender tube amps and later with HiWatt100s because we hadn't yet sufficiently destroyed our hearing. Our roadies never broke one of them. Of course, the tubes were checked regularly and sometimes a few were replaced, but we were really working those amps hard, so that was normal. So, what is the reasonable alternative?
Kool- Aid I would look into getting an Orange Rocker 32. Marvelous stereo sound in a more convenient package. I'm lovin my Rocker 15, but I've heard tremendous things about the 32, and the test videos you'll find on youtube will floor you
Oh man, then I can't recommend one enough if you already like the sounds you're getting with the or15. I'm gonna get one myself even though I already have the 15 watt version just to get the particular stereo sound it has, which is a little different than other amps. Ade designed it in a certain way that one speaker sounds, like I'm talking a microsecond or so behind the other one, which makes it sound very spacious. I'd check out the youtube clips to make sure that's what you're looking for, cause you might wanna go with a traditionally setup stereo amp
09:16 oh wow. WOWWWW oh and By the by I actually have a Skylark here at home thanks to your video, and I am still very happy that I followed your recommendations.
'71 and '73 Princeton Reverbs and (modified to not blow up) Trace Velocettes, have been my gigging amps. I also use a 59' Supro 1X8, and a '62 Ampeg Mercury. All great. In 99% of the cases, I will choose a small amp (or 2) over a large amp any day of the week.
My Fender Super Champ XD has been my go to amp for 13 years now. 15 watts. I spent 6 years accompanying a full orchestra playing mostly rhythm. Either miked it or used the line out and used the amp itself as a monitor. I can pick the darn thing up with a thumb and 2 fingers. Only mod is a speaker upgrade. My 40 and 50 watt amps collect dust! I well remember the days of "bigger is better". My dream back then was a Fender Dual Showman and a Marshall full stack. And of course, back in '72, the Fender 400 PS was the absolute Holy Grail! What the hell was I thinking?!?!!! Happy playing, everybody!!
Trying to find my first guitar amp. This helps alot. Was thinking about a Super REverb. Now expanding the search. Thank you and keep doing what you do. drb St. Augustine, FL
Had a Gibson GA5 thirty plus years ago, great amp. I went through the giant amp phase and they were great when I was young and. they didn't seem to weigh a ton. Now at 65 I just don't want to lug a ton of crap somewhere and play with the volume on 2. Nowadays I play through a 1971 Gibson G10 with a Jensen C10R speaker and mic this into a modified Fender Excelsior Pro. It's a great sound for the early 60's rock and roll that I love so much. Also the Fender won't break my back loading and unloading.
This was a great video. Thanks. Nice to have a support system for us small amp people...I always liked that you could crank a low wattage amp and get that saturation going on, but after this I may go even smaller than I've done before. I hit the sub. Interested to see what else you've got to say. It's an education just reading the comments you drew from this vid.
A few years ago I bought a Fender Greta, one of their Pawnshop series of amps, it's a little 1 or 2 watt amp that looks like an old tube radio. I'm a bass player and wanted a small amp for practicing guitar on. Later I got an Orange 1x8 8 ohm external speaker to use with it, adds a bit of volume and really improves the tone. When my band went into the studio last year to record, we were stuck on this one song that needed a heavy power chord rhythm guitar sound, so I set up my little Greta rig, the engineer mic'd it up, and I cranked it wide open and played the part we were looking for. Sounds awesome on the final recording. Sadly Fender discontinued the tiny Greta, but I got mine and plan on keeping it. Fits on a bookshelf and has actually proven useful for more than just living room practice.
I hear you Rhett. I started playing out on a 200 watt Fender Super Twin, full stack, then got a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier, 4x12, then a 50 watt boutique Dumble ods clone, 2x12, then a Vox Ac15, 1x12 and finally a 5 watt Fender Tweed Champ, 1x8. I am either done, or my next amp is going to be bigger than my last amp, and it will buck the trend. The nature of my gigs have changed over the years, and so my gear is a reflection of that change.
I've got a Gibson Falcon of the same era and I love it. It's trem is just amazing. It's not for everything, but it's got a great worn in Jensen and just sounds so "full".
My first amp was a Falcon I got for $50. It's a sin that we sell our old stuff to buy new stuff. I've stopped doing that, but not before selling a lot of stuff I regret. 😕 Oh, btw, I used the line out of the Falcon into my Dual Showman to get a more saturated sound. Both have been gone for over 40 years.
@@mateodelcastillo7186 It struggles a bit with rock too. It's a very clean amp. I prefer to not use pedals whenever possible but if I want some good solid rock tones out of the falcon I need to add a pedal. The clean sound is very good but it does have a bit of a nasal quality many don't like and I get why. Personally I don't mind it, but I'd admit the pure "fender" clean is a little nicer to my ear. But it's a unique sound with an amazing Tremolo and I like the fact it doesn't just sound like a Fender.
First amp I bought back in 1986 when I was a beginner was a 50 watt Marshall head. I didn't have a cabinet and thought I was going to plug in a home stereo speaker. Needless to say, I got it home and it was way louder than I expected. I packed it up and took it back and bought a Marshall 4203 30 watt combo. I remember telling the guy, "it's too loud!" I still have the 4203 which is also loud. It powers a 4x12 just fine.
Huge leads -little amps, when recording. A lot of Jimmy Page guitar solos, including Stairway to Heaven were done on like a 5 to 15 watt supro amp CRANKED
Lots of Queen's guitar solos were recorded with an amplifier that bassist John Deacon made out of a transistor radio circuit that ran off of a 9V battery. It can be heard as the lead tone on A Night At The Opera's 'God Save The Queen'
I am 100% sold. I've been toying around with getting a low-wattage amp because I kept being blown away by other bands' Super Champs and Blues Juniors. I sold my massive B-52 AT-100 and 4x12 cab a while ago, now to get something tiny!
for you metal players who think you need a full stack with 120w head; The lead guitarist in my band uses a 15w Prs head through a 212 cab and it easily keeps up with my 120w 5150!
Difference is you can turn 5150 up to 3 and it really loud , but you can crank the 15 watt. I realized this after I bought a 6505 100 watt head I literally never can turn it up past 2. I should have got a 50 watt and saved some cash
This is a lie , I had a 15 watt orange similar and my other guitarist had a 6505 most of the time drowned me out unless he was on 2 or something . Plus my clean headroom could not compete at all
Nothing sounds better than the swampy, boxy, bluesy drive sounds of a small vintagey amp screaming it's guts out. It just sounds so good for blues, blues rock, classic rock, SLIDE, etc. Bonus for it not blowing your walls down or knocking your house off it's foundation, lol. I currently have a Bassbreaker 15, which, unlike a lot of Fender tube amps, isn't insanely loud for it's wattage. What it does do well is deliver a great number of awesome tones. I ended up shelving all of my dirt pedals- because I don't need them. All I use now is a pedal tuner, a univibe, and a tremolo.
I have a Airline with a 6v6 and a couple of Challenger military PA's from the 40's and 50's converted to guitar amps. One had a Tweed Deluxe vibe with octal preamp tubes and 2 6V6's another is closer to a Tweed Harvard. All break up but still even as low watt as they are get loud. Great video.
Bigger is no means,no way better! Once you go big...you cant go small! Small amps are light years ahead in tone, and versatility.yes Those Gibson Skylarks are tone monsters! Yepper just mike it and now itsa big boy! Duane Allman,and Eric Clapton,Joe Walsh,nearly of the older bluesmen mojo used small amps, welcome home Grasshopper!
Afrojack well not necessarily. Fillmore East was a Marshall 50watt stack with 2 cabs... still tho, Duane’s session amps were either fender Champs or Deluxes so I guess it really comes down to the hands
I have an all original 1963 Fender Tweed Champ. Every time I start playing thru it, I cannot stop. It literally tears me up to turn it off and unplug. It sounds afreakingmazing!!!
For recording you are bang on the money with the Skylark. The Deluxe 5E3 circuit is my fav, as it will cut it live running a sensitive celestion or Jenson speaker. Sorry : cannot help myself perving over the Ampex 406. :-) :-)
Hmmm... I kinda wonder about the low end and overall range. Like what if you hooked it to a 4x12? That Pedal Show did a recent video on small amps through big speakers... would be curious with this one
1966 Ampeg reverberocket 2.. first amp to have built in reverb. Can find anywhere from $300-$500 has tube rectified echo (reverb) and tremolo. Takes pedals great and natural breakup. Reminds me of a supro. It’s 22 Watts! Perfect..
I just found you and I don't know why not sooner. Just got one more subscriber, with notifications bell turned on. Great playing and maybe even better sounds.
i bought a fender hot rod in 1996 and i still got it . a few years back i bought a marshall sl5 and a vox nighttrain . what an eye opener , all the sounds you want are there , instead of using the fender on volume 1 wich is still too loud but not loud enough to have a nice sound
Great video! I'm not a guitarist (I'm a musician who happens to play Drums and Percussion) but I've always studied other musicians and this topic reminds me of Jimmy Page in his days as a studio guitarist before Led Zeppelin. He used low wattage amps in that role. The amp would "break up" (distort) more quickly than larger amps. I believe Rush (both Geddy and Alex) used a similar approach for their rigs except the amps would be placed in a "doghouse" (essentially an ISO box for the amp) with a facade wall of Marshall stacks for rock star appearances. Anyway, great videos and I look forward to more!
Had one sitting in corner of my studio for 25 years. Finally replaced caps and put a Jensen c10q in it. Wow sounds great. Very clean cranked and bright therefore it is extremely pedal friendly and easy to sculpt the sound you want.
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My first video course, The Tone Course, is available now. Check it out below!
flatfiv.co/collections/rhett-shull/products/the-tone-course
Rhett Shull Thanks, Rhett for another amazing video that I had to come back and watch again. A quick question concerning your Skylark - are there any modifications to the amp, ie; 3 prong plug installed, tone sucking circuit removed etc? I’m in the market for a skylark tremolo like yours and am curious as to what you have to say about trying to pick these up. Thanks again, I absolutely love your channel.
Hey, love your videos. Big Fan. And here is the question, how did you deal with that "hiss" from the amp when you recording and produce your video.
@@HendryWong324 Yea how did you deal with that hissing sound comming from your skylark amp ?
Do you have a certain way you eq your tweeds? Just bought a 58 super and noticed my eq's are very high in order to get a great warm tone
Solution is use a power soak with it. I generally dont get it if Brian may can run three modded ac30s tbx amps revamped by mike hill, then you should be able to crank it like je does. I do. Even at church. I use the bm rig too. Fab!
There's an equivalent to this in the automotive world, too: It's more fun to drive a slow car fast than it is to drive a fast car slow. Keeping a lower-wattage amp cranked is more fun than keeping a high wattage amp at 1/4 volume. I ditched sold my Marshall half stack years ago and switched to a 25 watt Peavey combo amp. Everything gets mic'd and run through the PA anyhow.
Your miata is showing
Sold my Fender Custom Shop Tonemaster 120 Watt hand wired head with matching 4x12 cabinet. I was never able to crank it to work the tubes. Rocking a Vox AC-15c1 now and have never been happier. 🇺🇸
@@chuckdriver8269 That’s an insane rig, couldn’t even imagine that volume.
25 watts is still loud though
Great amp! I totally agree re wattage. In the "old days", as venues got bigger, and audiences got louder, the small amps couldn't be heard so well due to the P.A. s not taking guitar amps. So, the monster rigs developed. However, these days, with more efficient P.A.s and fold-back speakers, wee amps are becoming more popular again. Why have a 100w amp turned WAY down, when you can have a small amp cranked? For me, small amps all day! :)
"I've been wearing skinny jeans for a while..." sounds like the opening to a support group meeting. ;D
Hi, Im Rhett and I wear skinny jeans.
Skinny jeans squish my nuts lol no thanks
Fuck 4/4 Yep couldn’t do it. I’m out of style in my relaxed jeans but I’m comfy. After 30 nobody expects you to be in style do they? My kids wouldn’t give me any credit even if I was in style. Haha
@@BeefNEggs057 yeah i feel yeah, my kids arent old enough to understand styles but im sure if they could they would make fun of me for wearing comfy pants lol
Shane Gochenouer I’m skinny, so I just wear jeans...that fit
Man, you're putting the rest of us to shame with them cinematography chops! Great vid.
And you’re putting me to shame with them guitar chops!
I know ...right???
Playing and mix is also next level
Ya Rhett and Paul David’s great in that area
Layla... recorded with a Fender Champ 😉
Skylark prices just went up 25% on Reverb.
Lol
@@CocoKoi321 Best amp I ever heard or played through was a very early fender amp my best friend got from his grandfather. That thing SCREAMS!
@@CocoKoi321 I had a '59 Champ that sat in a closet for decades. I got it for $10 in the 90's in my teens. Best amp I will ever own. A former friend stole it in 2001 and I swear I've never gotten over it.
What hasn't gone up that greedy leader.
Dr. ew a ga5t is a lot cheaper than $990 ;p
It sounds like you could use new plate load resistors. That white noise is indicative of them going bad. Upgrade them 2w metal oxide and it will bullet proof forever.
Agreed that's annoying sounds like someone's taking a shower
White noise
Sounds like a skinhead band!
The amp is dimes you idiots!
Absolutely nothing wrong with that amp mijo’s
I have the same issue with my showman, gotta her looked at
Unfortunately it's pretty unavoidable when using carbon composition resistors, I learnt that the hard way after building a champ using nothing but carbon comps.
My favorite amp I’ve ever owned is a 4W Alamo Capri with a 10” Weber. It takes pedals unbelievably well, is super punchy at living room volumes, and breaks up gorgeously without killing the ears. I was so excited to see such an amazing guitarist preaching the same idea!
Thanks for reuniting me with the Skylark, my first amp. Paid $35 for it. Paired with an Epiphone electric hollow body non-cutaway Granada, the rig was dubbed "The Feedback Machine." Although wattage impaired, I was always being told to "turn that damned thing down!" Like you, I always ran it at 10.
1989 - i show up to a recording session with my two most AWESOME amps (I was SO proud): a 1987 25/50 watt Marshall Silver Jubilee with 2x12" Marshall cab and a 100 watt Mesa/Boogie MkIII Simul-Class 1x12" combo. Everyone ooh'ed and aah'ed over my "cool" amps. Two hours later we still were not getting the sounds we wanted. The engineer - my best friend to this day - said, "Hey, why dont we try my little '71 Fender Champ ?" After a few chuckles we set it up, mic'ed it up....and for the rest of the afternoon we were tracking the BEST tones I'd ever heard in my life!!!!!!!
_It wasn't very large,_
_There was just enough room to cram the drums in the corner over by the Dodge_
_(It was a '64 with a mashed up door)_
_And a cheesy little amp, with a sign on the front saying "Fender Champ"_
_And a second-hand guitar -- it was a Stratocaster with a whammy bar_
Frank Zappa, _Joe's Garage_
Rhett... for a good laugh ... go back and watch Marty crank up the amp in Doc's lab in Back to the Future..., the one that blows him off his feet,... when he's dialing up the knobs you'll catch site of the model ... its a GA-5 !! Hahahahah ... Great video and great playing as always :-) Thanks Rhett ...
3:42 If that's "a little spring reverb," what's a lot?
@@CocoKoi321 I am fine with different sounds, but to say that was a "little" makes me wonder where the upper edge is. :D
I never get why people demonstrate 1 piece of equipment while masking the sound with another
@@user-s1o3nr532 Well, I don't think that's what he did. You have to play some guitar, with some pickup configuration into the amp, so you start right away with some variation -- the amp and the guitar affect the tone. Then, I think he is trying to show how this amp takes on pedals, which is the next part of your tone modifiers. I have a Gibson GA20 RVT "Minuteman," and it was modified before I bought it. It sounds pretty good over all, but the reverb & tremolo don't work at this time, so it would be odd for me to use it with no effect pedals.
The purist in me says "that's not a spring reverb... THAT'S A DIGITAL PEDAL!"
It's a little spring reverb by Kevin Shields standards
I did the same thing. My first amplifier was a Fender Vibro Champ. It fell into non use and time took its toll. When I finally grew up a bit musically. I went back to that old Vibro Champ, but it was to late. I plugged it in and let the magic smoke out. I had the amplifier worked over by the guys at Kendricks. I use that old Vibro Champ for almost everything now.
It's funny, but I feel that I have come full circle.
I've had your videos pop up in my recommendations regularly. At first I wasn't really into it, lots of fancy equipment, and whole lot of boutique, just a lot to take in at first. I will admit, your content has grown on me, this is probably the tenth video I've seen by you and I'm absolutely sold, very well put together, tons of information, and a lovely amplifier. Absolutely earned my sub after this vid.
Thanks Casey!
I love my 5 amp monoprice tube amp. It has a switch to make it 1 amp too. I use pedals and other modifiers, preamps to make it sound good. Love it. Has a Celestron speaker and tube.
I agree with this video wholeheartedly, but lets face it- To get a loud, very clean tone, these low wattage amps just don't cut it. Depends on style and genre of course, on how important this is. I've played a lot of jazz and funk, where things need to stay pretty clean. Of course at home and in a studio with mics, not so much of an issue. More of a live performance issue.
Exactly...once you add a drummer, loud clean is out of the question!
That is what the '59 Bassman is for
@@fullclipaudio Hell yeah! A true legend.
This doesn't really matter if you have a mic and PA and know how to use your volume knob. Clapton kept a mic'd up Champ behind his inactive Marshalls back in the day.
@@TheAlpineProject Really? Why would I want my tone jacked up by an SM57 (frequency response looks like a rollercoaster) and some crappy house PA system when I can blast a place with a 30 watt combo? Very few local venues require more than that.
Whoa, what a monster tone! Sounds better with modulation than some 100w amps. Killer video, thank you! :)
I love these types of vids, “here’s why common perception is wrong”. Well done, sir.
All the stuff he said he very true for a certain type of style of music. I play metal. I understand that 100watts of tube is not needed at all. But high wattage amps sound better and more clear when tuning lower then traditionally. And in metal pre amp distortion is what most guitarist are after. It's fun to have a low wattage amp and crank it though. Awesome video!
The bottom end and tightness of bigger amps is unmatched by small amps , you notice the chug esp from lower tunings from the different tubes , bigger transformer, higher wattage and power amp push compared to smaller amps . I have a 15 watt 30 and 90 watt amp , there is a difference . But for light blues , rnb it's fine not for metal like you say
@stephentherarabear get a big amp crank them side by side to a decent Drum level and come back and comment. Don't get lower than 30 for metal with a full band if you want tight low chugging
Rhett loves FX, and isn’t necessarily chained to analog ones either. But his comments are really directed to music styles that employ subtle approach’s. Metal is not noted for this, and higher wattage probably is better adapted to it. Punk would be another genre that isn’t going to benefit from what he is talking about. Nothing wrong with either type, and no one ever said one size fits all. But the headroom/breakup foundation that so many studio players want is in these smaller amps. Next time we’ll talk about schlepping big stacks around and what it does to the back.
@@Snoopdave2000 thats how I see it too, I gig a 22 watt fender and I can make it do most things from clean to searing leads. The one thing it simply wouldn't do well at all is metal, it just doesn't have the low end thump or the tightness, even when put through a bigger cab.
Totally agree! Small is the way to go! For gigging I use a Vox AC15, but even that can be too much in certain rooms. For practice and recording I have been using a Fender Champion 20 that I bought used at Guitar Center for $25. For a cheap little 20 watt solid state amp with an 8" speaker it sounds amazing. Thanks for the great videos. Always enjoy your perspective!
Can you gig with this amp?
I brought a small amp recently for £40.... I wish I'd have done it sooner, they don't need to be fancy tube boutique amps to sound good. Mine needs help with a reverb pedal, I had been playing through 70 watt, 100watt amps turned low, and I wish I'd have just sold them after I stopped being in bands . Better late than never I guess.
Christmas, 1964: my dad received a Sears guitar and a Skylark GA-5 amp. The amp was missing for about 20 yrs after he & my mom broke up. My old man passed away in 1997.
In 2003, I found his GA-5 and began trying to restore it. Back then, it took the amp tech a year to find NOS tubes! Crazy.
I’ve spent some cash to have it restored but it’s been worth every penny. Now my son (a college student,semi-pro guitarist & Rhett’s biggest fan, LOL) uses it. Sure the amp sounds great but it’s cool to know three generations of family guitarists have been able to enjoy that little Skylark.
Within the last year I bought a Peavey Classic 20 MH (tweed) and a 1-12 matching cab. Could NOT be happier. Phenomenal attenuated amp that can be found for a steal.
I just discovered the Pignose amp used by Frank Zappa for example. That things sweet- My thought is that, you should go for smaller, and if you ever make it to a big stage you can plug up your head or small amp to bigger speakers for the occasion. Small amps are so much fun because they break up so soon and get you to pay attention to your dynamics more.
That why I love my old Silverface Champ so much; sounds great by itself, takes pedals very well, and the volume is not crazy, and it has tones!
I’ve owned many amps big and small over the years. I finally settled on two that I use all the time. A Carvin V3 head which goes to a 412 cab. And my house jamming amp a fender hot Rod Deville with 212s. I also run a pedal called the little black amp. It’s a volume control that runs through my effects loop. This allows me to crank those 212 speakers and amp until break up and then I just lower the volume. It sounds great and saved me a lot of divorce fees.
I use a 15 Watt Fender Rumble Bass amp, I love using it for recording. It is a great little amp and gives a great bass amp.
Vox AC10 here. Not sure what would make me upsize.
Why Small Amps sound BIG in recording is because the Volume is not so loud the sound into the mic is more balanced and not so spiky as with big louder Amps...
I am a Jazz guy. I never play with distortion at all. I play a big fat Gibson L-5. I take a Mesa Studio 22 to every gig...it stays clean even over a drummer. 20 Watts is a lot.
Outdoors, I use a Mesa Heart Breaker on 6L6s set to 60 watts and I have never taken it 5 on the volume. I bought it for outdoor gigs and large rooms but it is overkill. The studio 22 works great for non-painful stage volume and at bigger gigs there is a mic in front of it anyway.
I had one of those back in the late 70s and it sounded awesome! Never thought I'd see one again, but there it is, and it sounds just as good as it did then.
Love small amps. I can't afford some of the really great ones, but I've gigged and jammed many times with a VHT Special 6 and love it. The thing is bullet proof, and its design let's me experiment with a variety of tubes for different tones. Great little amp.
Broke down and bought a hot rod DeVille for my gigs after my band mate left for college and I could no longer fiend off his orange stack. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great amp, but it’s nearly unusable in bedroom recording settings and I always have to keep it quiet on stage. Just glad I’m learning this lesson at 17 instead of 37.
If the amp is too small the sound will be too thin and wont cut through the drums
Im 54 and have been around the block,I use a Marshall combo 100w and a fender deluxe 100w and A B them toghether with my guitar processor so when i need lower sound for small gigs i can limit that with my volume peddle and when i have an outdoor gig i have the two amps opened up to make a full sound to cut through.also angle the fender in on the stage so the band gets a monitor feed..There is lots to learn
I run my Egnater at 1w with a hard hitting drummer and my bass player still thinks I’m too loud. And that’s with a lot of headroom to spare. Every time I buy what’s meant to. E a primary amp, I get one with less wattage: 100w Marshall-> 30w Vox-> 30w Egnater run low wattage. My next amp might be a 5-10w Fender or Vox...
Also you can just about always mix it...
Try a 12AY7 in the first gain stage. Makes it a LOT more usable at lower volumes, which are there, now that there's not a 100 Mu 12AX7 in the first stage.
i use a fender blues deluxe and have NEVER had to push it past 4.
Your bass tones are overlooked. All your tracks you play bass on the tone is just killer
In the studio, all amps a huge amps.
Always got the best sounds/results out of amps under 50 watt and with a single driver
in my 40 plus years of recording.
The older you get, the more the amps shrink LOL
Ted Hoffman truth. I’ll never own a stack again unless I’m touring stadiums. Then again, probably not then either.
As some one who use to play out alot yes stack and even half stack are a pain to lug around all the time.
Drum sets too!!! I only carry the bare minimum to gigs. Turns out you don't get paid more to carry more lol!
Is your profile pic a 1950 fender Stratocaster sea foam that's 899.99$? If so how do you like it Im thinking about getting one
That's because our backs like to remind us of how old we're getting!
I play mostly at home and I have a one watt Marshall JVM. It’s the 50th anniversary one made in England. Has an 8 inch speaker but I also have a 12 inch in a separate cab. I mostly use the clean channel with no master volume and I keep it cranked using the volume to clean it up if need be. I get the sound I crave to hear- real power amp distortion and speaker flap. It’s like going back in time. Now don’t get me wrong it can still be loud especially if I use a boost or go into the preamp channel. Most time I am on the half power setting ( yup .1 of a watt) and it’s a great volume for messing around. I can get champ sounds and basically cover the history of rock guitar with just the volume knob. People are in awe of a good one watt amp. There are 5 tubes in this mini beast and the quality of plug and play sound is amazing. Highly recommend low wattage amps
Is that the one with gold plating everywhere?
I have the Class 5, which is still too loud for an apartment setting. Your review of the 1 watt amp might have convinced me to pick one up.
Well put, you have philosophized my cheat sheet for recording. Don't need those huge amps to get a recording level, and I get the proper break-up, tube sat, when turned up to those high levels on a "low" powered amp. My Fender Bassman 20 was a beautiful investment on this note! GREAT video and demo of rock n roll tech psychology! To boot, if you buy tubed gear the watts are a lot louder than not, there is less energy being emitted as heat instead of vacuumed signal, cleaner, purer, more efficient, but yes heavier - Arr, another reason to buy small! That was the dilemma with solid and modelers, hence, they had to increase the wattage to achieve similar levels. You just reaffirmed my decision to by an old fender of low watts! Thanx, Rhett, and God bless, friend.
Alright!..
*buys a fender mini tweed*
The OG of Tone.
I've recorded guitar from danelectro backon'n'eggs once. It's sounded right for this record 😂
*buys a marshall ms-2*
Niceee
Completely agree.Blackstar 5W here. I love it. Big places have PAs anyway, so you get your sm57 out and you're good.
I grew up with a Skylark in our living room, where there was also a heavy-a$$ Magnatone. Good times.
Ha! I grew up with an 81 Les Paul custom and a Princeton reverb. My old man had an AC30 too but he sold it in like 1990. Still have the other gear along with his 70 something martin D-28, and his first guitar a 65 tele. Pretty cool growing up in a rock and roll household.
I agree so much. 4 years ago, I went to a tweed deluxe (5e3 circuit) clone build by a non-professional local tech.
It sound incredible
I use it live in outdoor stage without micing it and it was just great, I only raised the volume to 3 instead of 1.5 on rehearsal.
Today I'm considering an even smaller amp like a champ or a priceton.
I have a '58, and a '64. I absolutely love them.
Great points Rhett. Such a common sense post. I have always been amazed when people take equipment meant for a stage and put it inside in a room that is essentially a small enclosure. Of course it will be a different experience. Great channel.
I have a GA 40-t Les Paul Crestline 1962. With receipt and schematic and original Gibson tubes.
I giged my ancient tweed Champs for a long time. Ran her wide open with a mic. Used the guitar's volume knob as a channel selector. Let the monitors handle the stage volume and the PA handle the room.
Built a 5w all tube amp a couple months ago and its amazing how loud even 5 watts is
I put a Smicz tube adapter on mine.. Drops it to 1+ watt of real pentode tone.
Picked up a '66 Sound Projects R203 not long ago, 2.5 watts class A through an 8" alnico...if you ever get the chance to check one out, they're amazing
@@jasondorsey7110 I'll have to look into that
Great video. The Skylark sounds really good. My go to recording amp is my silver face Champ for many of the same reasons you mention here.
Rock on.
Great video! I remember the great Terry Kath of the band, Chicago used to use a small Pignose amp to get those great guitar sounds in the recording studio. Ah, “25 or 6 to 4”
My great grandfather bought one of these new in 1964. Im a blues and metal and hard rock player and i need too rehab his old amp but have always been afraid of hurting orginality or physically blowing it up. This video has inspired me too take it somewhere and get it professionally fixed
It also only needs a fuse and apperently some wiring
Before I watch the video: I love smallp amps, I find it easier to get a grittier tone but I can also get a lot of space from the room. I record at home and I use a small diaphragm condenser (some audio technica mike that comes bundled with others for a drum kit) an SM57 and I recently bought an AKG P420.
I haven't used the AKG on an amp but it works wonderfully with the acoustic guitar, the mike being on omni with the dB pad on
Thank you-so glad you moonlight on Rick’s channel; what you add and offer on your own carries great value.
That and you play well too.
The late great Rory Gallagher used an AC30 for his sound, miked up to Marshalls for the bigger gigs. That way he could always drive the Vox at its sweet spot.
J. Chandler Stewart in Media PA (outside of Philly) is an electrician who got sick of carrying around huge loud amps to gigs. He makes awesome hand-wired amps that sound great and won't break your back. He even tunes the amps individually for your tastes, so if you want to fuzz out you can. His amps are truly stellar.
Just found you and have no idea who you are, but damn, Brother, you can jam! Nice video.
I've owned quite a few tube amps over the decades, including 100 w and 50 w Marshalls, mostly combo's. But THE ONE AMP I wish I still had today, was my little black face Fender Champ. Everyone went nuts over that little amp, it was SO sweet.
Oh man, you're goddamn right! When I first started to look for an amp, small tube amps caught my attention, mostly 15w amps and even lower wattage amps, but when I told my cousin, my biggest refference on the subject, he told me "you'll need a bigger amp", "no one will hear your guitar with a 15 watt amp", "you need, at least 30w to cut through the mix", etc. Oh man, he was sooo wrong. See, I live in Mexico and most of the 30w tube amps are expensive as fu...n. So I thought " If I can't afford to buy a 30w amp, maybe I'll invest on my pedalboard" and that's what I did, naively thinking the wattage was everything. Anyway, the band splitted up, and finally I decided to get a small 4w amp, a Vox Ac4. Holly shi...ft! That thing is loud! My cousin couldn't believe how loud the amp is, but the most important thing, it sings! The tone, the warmth is finally there... I could have played all of my gigs with it and still, my bandmates would've asked me to turn the volume down (and they did, last year when we all met to gig and have some beers).
Now that I've learned the lesson I try to warn people about the wattage myth: the most important thing is tone! If you gig regularly, you know that most decent venues have a soundboard, and if your volume is not enough you can alway throw a mic in front of your amp. But if you prioritize volume, you may not be able to reach its sweet volume spot, you may not like its tone, and if you reach the sweet tone/volume spot it may be too loud for most of your venues and you'll end up carriying a heavy set for a mediocre tone
Great Video Sir....I have been talking about little amps for the last decade and even got a Vox AC 15 Anniversary...(the 2007 model)... to replace my Marshall 50 Watt Baby...which I almost never use anymore either because it's even too loud!...My go to is the Blues Jr...for live, and a half dozen 6 Watt vintage amps for recording...
My little amp is an Alamo Challenger. I never miss my bigger amps when I plug that tone machine in.
Aaron Duck I had one of those suckers when I was a kid. Never realized what I had until much later after I sold it.
Rhett, a big part of what makes these small amps so great is that they are single-ended with very simple and short circuits from input to the speaker. Single-ended amps have unique qualities that give them great touch sensitivity, plentiful harmonics, smooth distortion, and natural compression. I love my GA-5T Skylark (an early white one from, I think 1960). Vox AC-4s and Fender Champs are also great for the same reasons. You are definitely onto something here.
I've got an 50's or 60's white Gibson tube amp. It's been completely rebuilt but has the original Jenson 12" speaker. It records extremely well, but it's not something I would want to gig with. Tubes don't travel well at all 🐱
@@rastanot Well, hundreds of thousands of musicians have regularly traveled with tube amps since they were invented and with little trouble. They're not as delicate as you seem to think. Properly packed and handled they travel just fine.
@@Glicksman1 I maintain they're a liability from personal experience. When I was touring out of a van in reggae bands an hauling in and out of janky loading docks, stumbling around in the dark behind the bars or venus. For my 800 and Plexy head's I had Anvil cases built for them at the same time we bought them. Now we use fender blues amps and they weigh at least a hundred thousand pounds, still need to have tube's resistance checked periodically before one of us has that uh-oh look on stage followed by a puff of stinky filament smoke and a shitty performing amp.
I've seen plenty of power tubes go up in smoke, crackle and fizzel-out.
@@rastanot No doubt that if you're stumbling around in the dark at janky loading docks the equipment will suffer. In that case, even transistor amps will get broken. I traveled all over the country with Fender tube amps and later with HiWatt100s because we hadn't yet sufficiently destroyed our hearing. Our roadies never broke one of them. Of course, the tubes were checked regularly and sometimes a few were replaced, but we were really working those amps hard, so that was normal. So, what is the reasonable alternative?
15 watts is great for small clubgigs. i get nice compliments on my sound since i retired my big fender amp.
I agree, but with that said I still want more stereo sound or at least more speakers pushing it so with a 4x12 cab it's nice.
Kool- Aid I would look into getting an Orange Rocker 32. Marvelous stereo sound in a more convenient package. I'm lovin my Rocker 15, but I've heard tremendous things about the 32, and the test videos you'll find on youtube will floor you
Oh man, then I can't recommend one enough if you already like the sounds you're getting with the or15. I'm gonna get one myself even though I already have the 15 watt version just to get the particular stereo sound it has, which is a little different than other amps. Ade designed it in a certain way that one speaker sounds, like I'm talking a microsecond or so behind the other one, which makes it sound very spacious. I'd check out the youtube clips to make sure that's what you're looking for, cause you might wanna go with a traditionally setup stereo amp
Exactly dude, that's so true
so , a vox pathfinder 10 is alrady good enough for giging? especially for a small show like college band?
i would love to hear your opinion.
You absolutely moved me with your playing and tone What you're saying about small, low-watt amps is true. I hadn't heard the Gibson until now.
09:16 oh wow. WOWWWW
oh and By the by I actually have a Skylark here at home thanks to your video, and I am still very happy that I followed your recommendations.
'71 and '73 Princeton Reverbs and (modified to not blow up) Trace Velocettes, have been my gigging amps. I also use a 59' Supro 1X8, and a '62 Ampeg Mercury. All great. In 99% of the cases, I will choose a small amp (or 2) over a large amp any day of the week.
Amazing tone... & great plain talk mate... definitely helps my search for a smaller, easy-lift rig...
Cheers for the high quality sound clips
My Fender Super Champ XD has been my go to amp for 13 years now. 15 watts.
I spent 6 years accompanying a full orchestra playing mostly rhythm. Either miked it or used the line out and used the amp itself as a monitor. I can pick the darn thing up with a thumb and 2 fingers. Only mod is a speaker upgrade. My 40 and 50 watt amps collect dust!
I well remember the days of "bigger is better". My dream back then was a Fender Dual Showman and a Marshall full stack. And of course, back in '72, the Fender 400 PS was the absolute Holy Grail! What the hell was I thinking?!?!!!
Happy playing, everybody!!
Trying to find my first guitar amp. This helps alot. Was thinking about a Super REverb. Now expanding the search. Thank you and keep doing what you do. drb St. Augustine, FL
get a princeton if you want those tones at a “quiet” volume. Not the quite the same but similar
Had a Gibson GA5 thirty plus years ago, great amp. I went through the giant amp phase and they were great when I was young and. they didn't seem to weigh a ton. Now at 65 I just don't want to lug a ton of crap somewhere and play with the volume on 2. Nowadays I play through a 1971 Gibson G10 with a Jensen C10R speaker and mic this into a modified Fender Excelsior Pro. It's a great sound for the early 60's rock and roll that I love so much. Also the Fender won't break my back loading and unloading.
This was a great video. Thanks. Nice to have a support system for us small amp people...I always liked that you could crank a low wattage amp and get that saturation going on, but after this I may go even smaller than I've done before. I hit the sub. Interested to see what else you've got to say. It's an education just reading the comments you drew from this vid.
A few years ago I bought a Fender Greta, one of their Pawnshop series of amps, it's a little 1 or 2 watt amp that looks like an old tube radio. I'm a bass player and wanted a small amp for practicing guitar on. Later I got an Orange 1x8 8 ohm external speaker to use with it, adds a bit of volume and really improves the tone. When my band went into the studio last year to record, we were stuck on this one song that needed a heavy power chord rhythm guitar sound, so I set up my little Greta rig, the engineer mic'd it up, and I cranked it wide open and played the part we were looking for. Sounds awesome on the final recording. Sadly Fender discontinued the tiny Greta, but I got mine and plan on keeping it. Fits on a bookshelf and has actually proven useful for more than just living room practice.
This amp sounds amazing! Must start lottery.
I hear you Rhett. I started playing out on a 200 watt Fender Super Twin, full stack, then got a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier, 4x12, then a 50 watt boutique Dumble ods clone, 2x12, then a Vox Ac15, 1x12 and finally a 5 watt Fender Tweed Champ, 1x8. I am either done, or my next amp is going to be bigger than my last amp, and it will buck the trend. The nature of my gigs have changed over the years, and so my gear is a reflection of that change.
I've got a Gibson Falcon of the same era and I love it. It's trem is just amazing. It's not for everything, but it's got a great worn in Jensen and just sounds so "full".
doublestrokeroll Gibson’s trem was the best of the bias trems hands down.
My first amp was a Falcon I got for $50. It's a sin that we sell our old stuff to buy new stuff. I've stopped doing that, but not before selling a lot of stuff I regret. 😕 Oh, btw, I used the line out of the Falcon into my Dual Showman to get a more saturated sound. Both have been gone for over 40 years.
doublestrokeroll it’s good for everything except metal.
@@mateodelcastillo7186 It struggles a bit with rock too. It's a very clean amp. I prefer to not use pedals whenever possible but if I want some good solid rock tones out of the falcon I need to add a pedal.
The clean sound is very good but it does have a bit of a nasal quality many don't like and I get why. Personally I don't mind it, but I'd admit the pure "fender" clean is a little nicer to my ear. But it's a unique sound with an amazing Tremolo and I like the fact it doesn't just sound like a Fender.
Falcons are amazing. I have one with a Weber alnico. Ridiculous amp for $300.
First amp I bought back in 1986 when I was a beginner was a 50 watt Marshall head. I didn't have a cabinet and thought I was going to plug in a home stereo speaker. Needless to say, I got it home and it was way louder than I expected. I packed it up and took it back and bought a Marshall 4203 30 watt combo. I remember telling the guy, "it's too loud!" I still have the 4203 which is also loud. It powers a 4x12 just fine.
Huge leads -little amps, when recording. A lot of Jimmy Page guitar solos, including Stairway to Heaven were done on like a 5 to 15 watt supro amp CRANKED
Yep, and Page never used any amp bigger than a Vox AC30 in the studio. He rented those Marshalls he used live.
I remember reading in Guitar Player years ago Billy Gibbons recording with a Pignose
HighSpeedirt1
I have a 40 watt 3 tube Pignose that I’ve I bought new around 18 years ago. Small and not heavy.
+1 Supro.....35/45/60 watt Jupiter is my live rig, and the little 14/6 watt Comet is what I record with.
Lots of Queen's guitar solos were recorded with an amplifier that bassist John Deacon made out of a transistor radio circuit that ran off of a 9V battery. It can be heard as the lead tone on A Night At The Opera's 'God Save The Queen'
I am 100% sold. I've been toying around with getting a low-wattage amp because I kept being blown away by other bands' Super Champs and Blues Juniors. I sold my massive B-52 AT-100 and 4x12 cab a while ago, now to get something tiny!
for you metal players who think you need a full stack with 120w head;
The lead guitarist in my band uses a 15w Prs head through a 212 cab and it easily keeps up with my 120w 5150!
Blaze Gulisack this, I use a orange 15w tiny terror through a 2x12. Have yet to play a venue it couldn’t handle
Difference is you can turn 5150 up to 3 and it really loud , but you can crank the 15 watt. I realized this after I bought a 6505 100 watt head I literally never can turn it up past 2. I should have got a 50 watt and saved some cash
@@obiequan6362 I just bought a EVH 5150iii lbx2 15w and I'm using that live! amazing tone and much easier to carry!
@@obiequan6362 there is only like 3db difference anyway
This is a lie , I had a 15 watt orange similar and my other guitarist had a 6505 most of the time drowned me out unless he was on 2 or something . Plus my clean headroom could not compete at all
Nothing sounds better than the swampy, boxy, bluesy drive sounds of a small vintagey amp screaming it's guts out. It just sounds so good for blues, blues rock, classic rock, SLIDE, etc. Bonus for it not blowing your walls down or knocking your house off it's foundation, lol. I currently have a Bassbreaker 15, which, unlike a lot of Fender tube amps, isn't insanely loud for it's wattage. What it does do well is deliver a great number of awesome tones. I ended up shelving all of my dirt pedals- because I don't need them. All I use now is a pedal tuner, a univibe, and a tremolo.
All you need is 15 watts. But I still like my half stack over a small amp. Looks cool to me; seeing a set up of big amps. It's metal.
totally agree. I went from 100 watt marshalls to 5-20 watt amps and get awesome tone and natural ovedrive without the decibel hangover
This is why Jimmy Page recorded with smaller Amps! ...sound great and you can dial into better tones easier
Gotta Peavey Classic 30 - U.S. made! Sounds great and covers everything from jazz to rawk!
I have a 1953 Magnatone that sounds similar to this Gibson. It's also a 5 watt beast!
I have a Airline with a 6v6 and a couple of Challenger military PA's from the 40's and 50's converted to guitar amps. One had a Tweed Deluxe vibe with octal preamp tubes and 2 6V6's another is closer to a Tweed Harvard. All break up but still even as low watt as they are get loud. Great video.
Bigger is no means,no way better! Once you go big...you cant go small! Small amps are light years ahead in tone, and versatility.yes Those Gibson Skylarks are tone monsters! Yepper just mike it and now itsa big boy! Duane Allman,and Eric Clapton,Joe Walsh,nearly of the older bluesmen mojo used small amps, welcome home Grasshopper!
Afrojack well not necessarily. Fillmore East was a Marshall 50watt stack with 2 cabs... still tho, Duane’s session amps were either fender Champs or Deluxes so I guess it really comes down to the hands
fender super reverbs sound real good on a big stage
I have an all original 1963 Fender Tweed Champ.
Every time I start playing thru it, I cannot stop.
It literally tears me up to turn it off and unplug.
It sounds afreakingmazing!!!
For recording you are bang on the money with the Skylark. The Deluxe 5E3 circuit is my fav, as it will cut it live running a sensitive celestion or Jenson speaker. Sorry : cannot help myself perving over the Ampex 406. :-) :-)
Great video, Rhett. With respect to the single-knob low-wattage amp category with headroom, check out the Benson Vinny (1W). Cheers!
That solo with the fuzz was awesome!
I use a 15 watt Fender Super Champ with a boost and it sounds awesome. Great video. Sounds amazing!
PJ Cobarrubias have you tried it with band practice?
I also have the Super Champ XD, killer amp..
Great lil amps for sure . Very versatile !
Crank the power section into breakup don't need the boost unless it has no preamp gain
I use a Blues Jr. to record with and I love it.
Hmmm... I kinda wonder about the low end and overall range. Like what if you hooked it to a 4x12? That Pedal Show did a recent video on small amps through big speakers... would be curious with this one
1966 Ampeg reverberocket 2.. first amp to have built in reverb. Can find anywhere from $300-$500 has tube rectified echo (reverb) and tremolo. Takes pedals great and natural breakup. Reminds me of a supro. It’s 22 Watts! Perfect..
I just found you and I don't know why not sooner. Just got one more subscriber, with notifications bell turned on. Great playing and maybe even better sounds.
i bought a fender hot rod in 1996 and i still got it . a few years back i bought a marshall sl5 and a vox nighttrain . what an eye opener , all the sounds you want are there , instead of using the fender on volume 1 wich is still too loud but not loud enough to have a nice sound
"RMS" that's the differnce between 37w and 37w RMS. Listen to how loud 1w RMS actually is if you get a chance ;)
The ending blew my f***ing brains out🤘😮💨
Frick. Now I need to buy another freaking amp.
Great video! I'm not a guitarist (I'm a musician who happens to play Drums and Percussion) but I've always studied other musicians and this topic reminds me of Jimmy Page in his days as a studio guitarist before Led Zeppelin. He used low wattage amps in that role. The amp would "break up" (distort) more quickly than larger amps. I believe Rush (both Geddy and Alex) used a similar approach for their rigs except the amps would be placed in a "doghouse" (essentially an ISO box for the amp) with a facade wall of Marshall stacks for rock star appearances. Anyway, great videos and I look forward to more!
In my opinion that amp has the best “tremolo” sound ever...I’ve owned 2 and foolishly got rid of them
Had one sitting in corner of my studio for 25 years. Finally replaced caps and put a Jensen c10q in it. Wow sounds great. Very clean cranked and bright therefore it is extremely pedal friendly and easy to sculpt the sound you want.