From the Bedroom to the Stage...

OK.. This thread arises because I came into a small sum of money and I've been wanting to get a Mesa Mark IV. Well it just so happens that a good friend of mine owns one and has let me borrow it. So I'm thinking Metallica Black album, John Petrucci, Mark Morton... Well I have a young son who was in bed and I figured with all of those gain stages I could get something pretty nice right...

Wrong, I got something I could only describe as small brittle dry... Anyway, My question is: What Tube amp translates best from Low Volumes in the Bedroom to Higher Volumes on the stage.

Example, My Marshall Valvestate (yes I know it's not all tubes) sounds wonderful down low but it sings when you turn it up...

One you've heard a tube amp cranked at a gig or full volume band practice it will never sound anywhere near as good in the bedroom. And I find that especially the case if you are going for distortion as a major component of it is getting the speaker moving and hearing the 'thump' from the cab (i own a mesa single rectifier btw).

There might be some that do an ok job, but i would always have a low wattage home amp to play with rather than the gig rig (unless I lived in the middle of nowhere and noise didn't matter!)

You could use a Variac or some type of volume break.

Two different animals.
I don't know of any amp that does both well.

Egnater makes amps with built-in attenuators. I can dial my Rebel 30 from 1-30w. Way cool, and it sounds pretty darned good a low volume.

No affiliation, just a big fan.

Two different animals.
I don't know of any amp that does both well.
+1 Me either,, maybe for recording. To get good tube tone ya gotta put the juice to them. And that = volume

True tube-tone nirvana comes from driving the power stage, not the preamp stage.

AVT's (I have a 50 & 150 head) sound great alone at low volume but get thin and buzzy with the band. Swarm of bees is a good description.

My DSL100 heads sound great with the band but suck for low volume practice at home.


http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y11/jdc1358/EVHGuitar004.jpg

Two different animals.
I don't know of any amp that does both well.

I disagree. Some amps do both well. Unfortunately, they are two different things. You won't get the sound you liked at bedroom volume on stage, and vice versa.

My DSL100 heads sound great with the band but suck for low volume practice at home.


http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y11/jdc1358/EVHGuitar004.jpg

Uh, yeah, I could see where that could be an issue. :razz:

Using a broad brush, anything in the "15 watt" class of valve amp.

Anything smaller won't do stage. Anything bigger won't do bedroom.

Uh, yeah, I could see where that could be an issue. :razz:

Size of your house would be an issue, let alone the bedroom.

Using a broad brush, anything in the "15 watt" class of valve amp.

Anything smaller won't do stage. Anything bigger won't do bedroom.

I'll paint with that broad brush. There are exceptions, like some classic Fenders.

I recently bought a Marshall DSL401 and I feel it sounds amazing at bedroom levels.

True tube-tone nirvana comes from driving the power stage, not the preamp stage.

AVT's (I have a 50 & 150 head) sound great alone at low volume but get thin and buzzy with the band. Swarm of bees is a good description.

My DSL100 heads sound great with the band but suck for low volume practice at home.


http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y11/jdc1358/EVHGuitar004.jpg
I used to have one of those, but had to sell it for financial reasons. That was about 4 years ago, and I haven't stopped regretting it. Crank those beasts up and enjoy them for me once in a while.

Check out the Mesa Express 5:50. It runs on two 6L6 tubes in push-pull class A/B for 50 watts, but it has a switch to run just one tube in single-ended class A for 5 watts. That will get you a little less than 1/2 of the volume of the amp running at full power. Combine that with some adjustments on the amp and a smaller speaker cab, and you should be able to get close to the tone you want at home.

Once more with feeling - Ceriatone 1974xTMB. :cool:

Thank you guys! you all Rock, I'm thinking about a Marshall TSL 601 but I like the thought of an attenuator also. Anyone like attenuators in the bedroom? (that just sounds dirty) lol