I need something not expensive (or DIY!), low power, and good sounding.
I currently use a marshall MS2, 2W, enough power and volume for me, but sounds shitty. Any better option you know?
Thanks!
btw, don't care if it doesn't have overdrive option, got some cool pedals for that ;D
Epiphone Valve Junior ? Takes pedals nicely and can get loud if needs be
I've always thought the Egnater Rebel 20 was a great little amp for low volume stuff. Really small form factor, too. I think a couple of folks on here actually own one.
A fun, cheap DIY build would be the 20 W Tiny Giant amp from musicpcb.
Quote from: Kinki fuzz on June 25, 2013, 11:17:32 AM
I need something not expensive (or DIY!), low power, and good sounding.
I currently use a marshall MS2, 2W, enough power and volume for me, but sounds shitty. Any better option you know?
Thanks!
Since these terms mean different things to different people, can you tell us what you mean by low power and good sounding? A couple of examples would be good. Do you need it to be low power with a saturated power amp tube distortion or just low volume while clean?
I have a Marshall Class 5. It's relatively cheap and does sound good. But, low power is a relative term here. When it's in 5 Watt mode, it is still way too loud for living room levels. When I use the low power switch which is supposed to knock it down to well less than a watt, it still is loud. Too loud to play late at night with closed windows for example. But, it is quite enough to practice with during the day and still sound like a Marshall.
I mucked around with one of the little Blackstar amps in a shop. If you are looking for modern high gain at practice levels, it would be worth checking out.
I have been using my ss Fender Mustang 1 a lot lately. For under $100 I consider it fantastic for what it does. The clean sounds are very good. It takes certain pedals pretty good and also sounds decent for recording ideas. Not to sound too fanboy, but probably the best 100 bux I've spent on guitar equipment in a long time.
-Tim is selling a Supro clone in the emporium for an absurdly low price.
-I think the AC 4 with an upgraded speaker is the best distorted cheap production small amp I've ever heard. It has basically no headroom at all and it sounds very alive.
-The Valve Junior is a beloved modding platform, and it sounds pretty good on its own.
"Power" is largely irrelevant. It matters what the manufacturer did with that power and what kind of speaker you run it through. A 2W amp can put out insane amounts of volume if you let it (and the 2W amp by East Amps is a good example of that ... it's louder than my Imperial's rhythm channel). Sometimes simply running a small amp through a bigger speaker (like a 12" for something that normally has an 8") can make a big difference. And in any case, 2W is only 50% as loud as 20W, not ... 10%.
Sometimes a simple tube change can also run the gain on a bigger amp down enough to make the difference. I use 12AY7s in place of 12AX7s. The gain is 40% vs. 100%. Hrmmm, what other ratio is that close to? :) And you can swap out preamp tubes before a show if you need the extra volume back. Picked up that trick with my HRD.
Quote from: drezdn on June 25, 2013, 12:55:23 PM
A fun, cheap DIY build would be the 20 W Tiny Giant amp from musicpcb.
+1
Quote from: RobA on June 25, 2013, 01:57:03 PM
Quote from: Kinki fuzz on June 25, 2013, 11:17:32 AM
I need something not expensive (or DIY!), low power, and good sounding.
I currently use a marshall MS2, 2W, enough power and volume for me, but sounds shitty. Any better option you know?
Thanks!
Since these terms mean different things to different people, can you tell us what you mean by low power and good sounding? A couple of examples would be good. Do you need it to be low power with a saturated power amp tube distortion or just low volume while clean?
I have a Marshall Class 5. It's relatively cheap and does sound good. But, low power is a relative term here. When it's in 5 Watt mode, it is still way too loud for living room levels. When I use the low power switch which is supposed to knock it down to well less than a watt, it still is loud. Too loud to play late at night with closed windows for example. But, it is quite enough to practice with during the day and still sound like a Marshall.
I mucked around with one of the little Blackstar amps in a shop. If you are looking for modern high gain at practice levels, it would be worth checking out.
Feature side, I need something that will take pedals well, not joking, I will use them even for clean sounds. Don't need saturation at all, will use pedals for that. Don't need tubes.
Volume side (yeah, power was not the best word), don't need much. As much as a home radio or a stereo at normal listening room volumes.
Quote from: drezdn on June 25, 2013, 12:55:23 PM
A fun, cheap DIY build would be the 20 W Tiny Giant amp from musicpcb.
Interesting... and what could I use as speaker/cabinet for one of those?
Here's what the Tiny Giant build doc says...
"The Tiny Giant will put out 20 watts into a 4 ohm speaker cabinet, and 12 watts into an 8 ohm cabinet. "
I use mine with a cheap 8ohm speaker I got from a surplus store.
Personally I don't think you can beat the firefly, 1.5 watts of tubey DIY goodness.
I have on in my office, its really perfect for small rooms.
you could build a ruby or little gem and run it through a computer speaker or any handy speaker. If you need a 386 chip I could mail you one. They both sound really good.
Quote from: midwayfair on June 25, 2013, 02:58:01 PM
-Tim is selling a Supro clone in the emporium for an absurdly low price.
This link? http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=10214.0 (http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=10214.0)
Oooh! That looks cool!
Quote from: aballen on June 25, 2013, 08:52:01 PM
Personally I don't think you can beat the firefly, 1.5 watts of tubey DIY goodness.
I have on in my office, its really perfect for small rooms.
Oooooohh, that seems just perfect!!!
I've been googleing it for a couple minutes, but I don't find any pcb or build doc, got something you can share?
Quote from: atreidesheir on June 25, 2013, 09:00:16 PM
you could build a ruby or little gem and run it through a computer speaker or any handy speaker. If you need a 386 chip I could mail you one. They both sound really good.
Where can I find more info about them? thanks!
runoffgroove :
http://www.runoffgroove.com/littlegem.html
http://www.runoffgroove.com/ruby.html
Quote from: Kinki fuzz on June 25, 2013, 10:00:39 PM
Quote from: aballen on June 25, 2013, 08:52:01 PM
Personally I don't think you can beat the firefly, 1.5 watts of tubey DIY goodness.
Oooooohh, that seems just perfect!!!
I've been googleing it for a couple minutes, but I don't find any pcb or build doc, got something you can share?
Ronsound sells the PCB: http://ronsound.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=129&products_id=882
...he's currently sold out, but he indicated on diystompboxes that he'd ordered more. It costs most builders upwards of $150 to build, not including a speaker cabinet. I have about that much in it so far; hopefully I'll finish it this summer. :P
I was going to suggest a small non-tube amp with an accessible speaker, so you can upgrade the speaker for potentially better sound. Any small Fender/Peavey/Crate/Kustom combo with a 10" or 12" speaker would take care of the hard part--boxing it up nice and convenient. You could replace the electronics with a Ruby, etc, to get more travel from your volume knob and still play unobtrusively. That is, if you don't need distortion from the amp.
The Ronsound pcb is very nice. I built tow I them(I actually provided the BOM on his site)
I think I built mine for $150 with speakers
Nthing that the Firefly is awesome
Quote from: croquet hoop on June 25, 2013, 10:32:36 PM
runoffgroove :
http://www.runoffgroove.com/littlegem.html
http://www.runoffgroove.com/ruby.html
Hey thanks!! this is the kind of stuff i was looking for, then I got somewhat shocked by the firefly thing, but I will probably start with something like this... do they sound nice?
Quote from: atreidesheir on June 25, 2013, 09:00:16 PM
you could build a ruby or little gem and run it through a computer speaker or any handy speaker. If you need a 386 chip I could mail you one. They both sound really good.
OH! I see they sound good!, ok!, I'll try one of these, I think I have a radio speaker somewhere...
And thanks for the offer, but I have to purchase some components soon, so I'll order some of these ;)
Quote from: derevaun on June 25, 2013, 10:33:00 PM
Quote from: Kinki fuzz on June 25, 2013, 10:00:39 PM
Quote from: aballen on June 25, 2013, 08:52:01 PM
Personally I don't think you can beat the firefly, 1.5 watts of tubey DIY goodness.
Oooooohh, that seems just perfect!!!
I've been googleing it for a couple minutes, but I don't find any pcb or build doc, got something you can share?
Ronsound sells the PCB: http://ronsound.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=129&products_id=882
Thanks!!
I made a Ruby, and for what it is, its impressive. You have to remember though it is a chip amp made with ~$10-$15 in parts... pretty amazing when you look at it that way.
Build a firefly though, and you will never touch your ruby again. The firefly will cost you 10x the price... but I have to say it is an amazing little amp.
Quote from: midwayfair on June 25, 2013, 02:58:01 PM
-Tim is selling a Supro clone in the emporium for an absurdly low price.
i cant find this on the web... can you point it?
Thx
Sergio
Quote from: gtangas on June 26, 2013, 03:32:37 PM
Quote from: midwayfair on June 25, 2013, 02:58:01 PM
-Tim is selling a Supro clone in the emporium for an absurdly low price.
i cant find this on the web... can you point it?
Thx
Sergio
I think he means this one http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=10214.0 (http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=10214.0).
Sounds like you're going the diy route which is a good choice. I built a little gem and it sounded great for such an easy build. Still have a ruby on my to do list. FWIW I bought a used and beat up peavey bandit for $30 not too long ago. It sounds really good and I find having a solid state amp for pedal testing is a little more convenient than firing up a tube amp.
Quote from: muehring on June 26, 2013, 08:52:26 PM
Sounds like you're going the diy route which is a good choice. I built a little gem and it sounded great for such an easy build. Still have a ruby on my to do list. FWIW I bought a used and beat up peavey bandit for $30 not too long ago. It sounds really good and I find having a solid state amp for pedal testing is a little more convenient than firing up a tube amp.
Definitely on the DIY route! That's a good point, when it come to playing at home "convenience" is something to have in mind!, I will try one of those solid state options!
I found this from nzCdog, which I think is a great mix between tone and convenience!!
http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=6904.0
VOX VT 20+ is a awesome little amp lots of cool things on it. I was debating between the vox and a line 6 - 30 watter and the vox won hands down
Quote from: marmaliser on June 25, 2013, 11:49:43 AM
Epiphone Valve Junior ? Takes pedals nicely and can get loud if needs be
My old amp tech Eric from Euthymia Electronics came up with some cool mods for the Value Jr. that supposedly make it a pretty sweet amp. Or sweater then it already is..
Quote from: Beedoola on July 05, 2013, 03:32:17 AM
Quote from: marmaliser on June 25, 2013, 11:49:43 AM
Epiphone Valve Junior ? Takes pedals nicely and can get loud if needs be
My old amp tech Eric from Euthymia Electronics came up with some cool mods for the Value Jr. that supposedly make it a pretty sweet amp. Or sweater then it already is..
Can you get some more information? I have access to one and might snag it to play around with.
turretboards.com has some good Vjr drop in turret boards to make it a great little amp.