FIVE WATT TWEED TUBE AMP AT A LIVE CLUB GIG. How did it go?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ต.ค. 2024
- I took my 5 watt Tweed amp (Princeton 5f2a) to a live concert as my only amp. It's loud enough so no stage monitor was needed, but it was mic'ed to the PA - as I would have with any amp. A bit nervous about doing a gig with a low wattage amp, but it really went well.
Gear used at the concert:
Fraser Guitars Vintage Series Sunburst Medium Relic Ash ‘60s S-Style
Pickups in the Fraser: Evil Sheep Guitar Pickups: '63 Formvar set.
Overdrive pedal: Mad Professor Sweet Honey Overdrive
In the talking part of the video:
Amps
Clone of a Dumble/Fuchs 50W ODS (Overdrive Special / Overdrive Supreme)
5 w Tweed tube amp (Princeton 5f2a circuit)
2001 GIBSON ES-335 DOT FLAMETOP CHERRY RED
Mad Professor Sweet Honey Overdrive (when playing through the 50W ODS)
Mad Professor Royal Blue Overdrive (when playing through the 5 W Tweed amp)
Specs for the 5 watt tube amp:
5 wattage Tweed amp clone (Princeton 5F2A).
Single-ended Class A design
Handwired turret board construction all tube circuit
5 watts via single 6V6 output tube
Single 12AX7 preamp tube
Single 6Z4 vacuum tube rectifier
Volume and Tone controls
I have replaced the stock speaker for a Ted Weber 8" speaker and the preamp and power tubes are replaced with JJ's.
Tiny Thor:
youtube channel: / @tinythorband
facebook: / tinythortiny
Instagram: / tinythor_norway
That ODS sounds superb! All the tone and dynamics you need just in your fingers and a volume knob. Great playing!
Hi Brian, I had forgotten that I also played the ODS in this video. But yes, it really is the best amp I have ever owned. All my amps are great sounding but the Dumble inspired ODS has something special and is also consistently delivering under any condition and with any guitar or pedal. I've been thinking about if I should try it with the wonderful Celestion Blue that I got from you. Could end up needing another one of those if I do so 😅 Cheers!
Superb!!! 5 stars! Tasty awesome, skilled jamming. thru a 5 watter. Great skill building.
Playing to the amp. Cheers. !!
Thank you 😀
That was great watching you “in the wild” so to speak! Your band sounds tight Thor. I’d have happily sat and sipped my wine, enjoying those tones. If I ever return to Norway, I want to combine it with a date your band is playing! I’ll be the guy at the front with the big Scottish grin on his face 😊👍
Thanks Paul, it's always nice when you come by 😊I will be almost in your hood in a couple of weeks. Me and my wife will spend an extended weekend in Aberdeen. I'd love to drop by Princes street a couple of hours south to see if I'd catch you busking, but I'm afraid I won't get the opportunity this time around. Would be great to sit down over a pint at some point in time. Cheers, Thor
Hey! I have just discovered your channel and it's great. Subscribed! I have a similar dilemma. My main amp is a JTM45 style amp head with an oversized 2x12" cab. Very cool but very loud and heavy. I also have a similar Princeton tweed style amp with an 8" speaker (ss rectified though) that I use at home. It sounds fantastic and I was thinking if I could use it live too. I was really looking forward to hearing your opinion after using it live and I was a bit saddened that your impression is kind of mixed. As a player, you're missing the headroom of the larger amp but, the recording sounds good with a similar Derek and the Dominos vibe to it. I liked it. It'd be good to see if you get used to using the 5F2A amp on a regular basis. It would be a lifesaver for many of us. Thank you!!
Cool, I just subscribed right back at ya 🙂I think if we manage to play at a bit lower volume at stage much of the challenge with the headroom will be solved. For the gig here it was just on the limit of being too loud, and I had to push the amp a bit more than ideal. It can also be solved if you're cool with having your guitar from the stage monitor, but I tend to not be comfortable with that. Cheers, Thor
@@GUITARSGIZMOS thanks man. The band sounds tight by the way. Loved it.
I love 5 watt tweed
As the player, sure, a tottaly different experience than a larger amp. But as an audience member, I would've been absolutely happy, I would have listened to a tight band and I wouldn't miss anything from the guitar part 👌
Pleasantly surprised to see you using Evil Sheep. I remember when they were just one crusty old bloke in his shed.. I mean they still are but you get me. 😁 Edit: The solution to better dynamics is to use a 10 or 12" speaker extension obviously but you know that ..
Hi, yes I believe Evil Sheep pickups will do well in comparison with the best brands. I dig the set I'm using. Your point about better dynamics with larger speakers in an extension cabinet is something I just testet, and indeed it makes a difference. For this particular gig my intention was to see if I could get away with dragging less gear. Cheers!
Thank you again for an honest video! If 6V6 powertube is replaced (by technician) with EL34 or 6L6 (or similar) powertube, the wattage rises from 5 watts to circa 10 watts. This mod would add some headroom.
Thank you, and that's interesting. It's good that you mentioned that you should have a technician do it if you'd wanna try it. Cheers!
@@GUITARSGIZMOS EL34 (or 6L6) may need a bigger transformer because it consumes more power than 6V6.
Thoddi, I am probably way too biased ... but i think EVERYTHING you do sounds awesome. And as one of your bass players over quite a number of years, I have to say that the progress you have gained since ... probably when you started this channel ... is pretty immense. Impressive. Well done, Mistah Guitah Geezah. What a great video, informative as ever and the tune has a marvellous stop. I felt it!
Thanks mate! You da man, but as Charlie Watts would've agreed on, you're not MY bass player, but a bass player I 'm lucky to get to play music together with. Thanks for the nice words!
I think the footage sounds great. The only way low wattage works is if your drummer is controlled , there is monitor support if you need , and you don’t need super clean that’s super loud.
It stinks when you feel like the amp hits a wall and all you get is one tone from it no matter how you attack the strings. Like every thing else, there is always a compromise depending on the choice you make.
I prefer smaller, lighter gear whenever it’s possible myself.
5 watts is plenty loud if they have a sound system with monitors and mic it up. You could easily do a gig with a 1 watt amp...
I'm amplifying small venues and the guitar players are afraid they are not gonna be heard with my peavey valveking 112 Wich is not so loud. I just mic it with the PA and they don't like the fact on doing so, they rather want a 100w transistor amp Wich is also gonna be microphoned and you won't dial it to the max neither, then they realized they sound better with the peavey.
@@annukurios When I was gigging I was using a 50w jcm800 half stack. But I never really cared about the stage volume as long as everything was clear and loud enough in the monitors...
Volume isn’t the issue. The issue is dynamic response from the differences in picking strength. If you pick at one strength level all the time, wattage won’t matter. If you play with dynamic nuance, more headroom is your friend, at least 10-15 watts for a tube amp being mic’d for a performance.
If the speaker can be upgraded to 10 in, and a more efficient speaker can be installed you could push more db which would in theory allow you to turn down. Maybe that can save the dynamic range?
That’s an interesting suggestion. I will look into if it is possible. I guess connecting the amp to an extension cab will work, and I will probably make a video of the prosess. Thanks for your comment. Cheers, Thor
@@GUITARSGIZMOS
Agreed! I did that , bypassed my 8” speaker in my 5 w amp, and use a 1x12 greenback cab… you would sound incredible of course!
@@dwstoeckel4740 Sounds great. I'm gonna try this now, and I'm very curious to find out how it will make the amp sound. Cheers!
Sounds really good at bands mix
I’ve got a Kay 703 I’m thinking of taking out live
But it sounded great, with lots of dynamics miked in your room. Just play at the gig with the same volume and tell the sound guy to turn *his* volume up so you retain headroom.
A Champ sounds great kept at the nine o'clock position.
Hi, the thing is that I like better to hear the amp itself on stage and not from the PA system's monitor. With the drummer and bass player here it was not possible without cranking the amp all the way. For the guitar sound that goes out to the audience in the PA it's of course more than loud enough when mic'ed. Cheers!
@@GUITARSGIZMOS ah, so really you reduced the quality of the sound to the audience to keep using it as a monitor - contradictory goals. You'd be better off with an angled monitor on stage from the PA. But it's easy for us here on the internet to spend someone else's money, and alter their workflow! :)
Love your playing, by the way, and thank you for the video.
@@iancclark1 Yes, it was an experiment to see if I could get away with bringing this little amp to my gigs instead of the bigger amp. As I'm quite picky on the tones I get from my gear, the stage tone is vital for me. I think it worked OK as the video conveys, but it was not an optimal experience for me. I know many players that live well with the tones from the house PA monitor, so if you do, this would work well. It's just not for me. Thanks for your kind words on my playing😊. Cheers!
I may be weird but since micing up my amp i prefer hearing it through a monitor in front of me. Which means i could easily gig with a 5 watt amp.
Dynamic might come from reactifier tube in 5f2 , i dont know if dumble have it, but when i changed for solid state that was audible difference in dynamic.
That's quite interesting. I might have to check that 😀Cheers, Thor
The 5f2a circuit is Class A. That poor output valve is flat-out all the time. There's precious little change in draw playing '1' or '12' with that topology. The 6Z4 Sino rectifier isn't wonderful. There's a Soviet equivalent (6C4p-EV ) which is more reliable, or get a tech to rewire it for the American/European 'EZ90' rough equivalent.
While they work though, the 6Z4 are OK. I have a little bit of a downer on them as I had a couple arc'n'spark after ~1200 hours in a teeny home stereo build. The Soviet equivalents don't have any issues. Yet.
Nothing wrong with solid state though. You'll get far less voltage drop than with the 6Z4, so account for that.
I'd like to hear it without being in the PA and put the recording mic in the middle of the room.... So we can get an honest feel for the tone and loudness in a live setting
Mic it into the monitors?
Is it a alnico speaker? Considering ordering
Hi, yes it is a Weber Alnico Signature 8S. If you haven't seen it, I have a video comparing the stock speaker (and tubes) with the new Ted Weber speaker and also new tubes in this amp here: th-cam.com/video/nYkbx0ZX7hw/w-d-xo.html
great video! I have an all tube 7w combo with a 12'' speaker, I guess the speaker is 50w or 60w, what do you think that would do? 1 tube12ax7 and 1tube 6l6
it's a brand called Borne, from Brazil where I'm from, you can look it up: borne clássico t7
@@gayeocu Hi, thanks 😃 I'm no expert on amp/speaker technology, but I read that you’ll want a speaker with about 1.5 to 2 times the rated power of your guitar amp. I'm afraid I have no experience in trying out speakers with higher rated power. My guess would be that the amp would be very clean in tone and harder to get to break up. That Borne amp looks to be cool! Cheers, Thor
It would be cool if u would have done a 10 watt then a 15 watt then a 20 watt...u get the idea. I think that would give everyone a better idea of how the headroom & dynamics improve throughout. Instead of giving 1 sqaushed amp & 1 wide open amp. They may get the idea but it's so much cooler to see all of the above. Anyways great video.
Put it in a cab with a Jensen p12q 25w. It will be perfect. Speaker is the issue.
Wrong
i just can't enjoy an 8" speaker tone. i wonder if the 5Watt would sound better through your speaker box.
by the way, the dynamics of your touch on the guitar is beautiful.
@@MRxr400 Thanks, that's very kind of you to say 😊
Funny you should say that. I'm just testing it with a 10" and a 12" as we speak. I will of course make a video of the test. And you're quite right, it makes a difference.
I like the champ better
Nice, tasty playing! Did you gig it with out mic’ing it?
Never mind, I saw the it when I actually looked!
I love my low wattage tube amps. I do mostly living room jams with acoustics and no drummer.