No High Wattage Amps For Me
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Hiwatts-n-Gibsons
Tele-Afflicted
This is my take too, but it really depends on the style of music and tones you like. I've had 6V6, EL84, and KT66 low to medium powered (7 to 32 watts) amps, and 6L6, EL34, 6550, and KT88 100+ watt amps.
In general and especially when cranked the lower powered amps tend to have a slinkier and more elastic sound, and significantly more compression. They also tend to mush out more (6V6 and KT66), or get more ratty (EL84) with the master cranked than high powered amps do. And do not take this as a negative, there are times that sound is perfect for what I am looking for.
I will also say that a cathode biased amp with EL84's has a very unique and glorious tone when it is cranked up just to the point before it starts losing it. On my Magnatone Panoramic with the volume anywhere between 1/2 to 3/4 up it was perfect for using your guitar volume to take the amp from beautiful roots cleans to '60s rock crunch. It had a beautiful harmonic complexity on both cleans and crunch tones. Hitting that with my Treble Booster took me straight into glorious Mick Ronson approved crunch tones. I will also say that all of my low wattage to medium wattage amps have been NMV designs. I've had a Champion 600, a Magnatone Panoramic, and a Dr Z Rt 66. Of the three the Dr Z was the only tube rectified amp, and had the thickest tones by a good margin. The Magnatone had the most articulate and complex tones until cranked up high where the Dr Z slightly edged it out.
With the high wattage big bottle amps they tend to retain more punch, and sound bolder with more articulation/clarity without flattening out as early on the volume dial. Even with the MV or NMV volume knob cranked my big amps keep their composure better. I've had a Yamaha T100, Mesa Tremoverb, Hiwatt Custom 100, Reeves Custom 100, Ampeg VT22, and Matamp GT150.
Each of the above had their own sounds, and particular volumes at which I seemed to be able to get the greatest range of tones out of just the amp, a guitar, and my volume and tone controls, but they still fall within those basic generalizations.
I will also say that of all the amps I've owned my old Mesa Tremoverb did the best job of copping both high powered and low powered amp vibes. Setting the amp on the "Spongy" power setting, and using the tube rectifiers instead of the silicone diode rectifiers gave the amp a lot of that vintage low to medium powered amp vibe. Pulling two power tubes increased that character quite a bit. With two tubes pulled on the Spongy/tube rectifier settings it dropped the wattage to around 35 watts of harmonically rich and smooth low powered amp vibe that was perfect for '50s-'60s amp sounds. It also held its composure at those settings better than the low to medium powered amps thanks to its larger transformer set which helped the amp yield the sonic benefits of a pushed low to medium powered amp while keeping most of that big amp composure at high volumes. Even cranked it always retained a bit more teeth and punch than my low to mid powered amps did.
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msalama
Poster Extraordinaire
I've got two amps in working order, a 1976 Fender Vibrolux Reverb and an early noughties Roland Cube 80X COSM. Either sounds good and moves enough air for any gig or session imaginable, so I, too, am all sorted these days.
For super quiet gigs like restaurant settings, I just use my Catalyst. No muss no fuss.
Everything else is my Budda SuperDrive. Clean channel. It’s 18 insanely loud watts. Thankfully it also has an extremely effective and great sounding MV. It’s gotta be the loudest 18 watter ever made. The 103 db speaker takes that to the next level.
OP- I’ve had a couple of those 35RT Orange amps. They defy the laws of physics. Plenty of power to gig with anyone.
Everything else is my Budda SuperDrive. Clean channel. It’s 18 insanely loud watts. Thankfully it also has an extremely effective and great sounding MV. It’s gotta be the loudest 18 watter ever made. The 103 db speaker takes that to the next level.
OP- I’ve had a couple of those 35RT Orange amps. They defy the laws of physics. Plenty of power to gig with anyone.
Well said, and I particularly agree about the EL84s. However, regardless of output, my favorite tone is a pair of EL34s getting pushed into next week.
(good thing I use attenuators)Hiwatts-n-Gibsons
Tele-Afflicted
The OG pre Peavey Buddha amps sound amazing. I'm not saying the Peavey ones don't, but I never played one for comparison.
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For all intents and purposes, they’re identical. Nothing changed except the building they were put together in.
Hiwatts-n-Gibsons
Tele-Afflicted
It depends on what you're using it for. When I want to get my heavy doom metal, or fast thrash metal riffing vibe going 35 watts just doesn't cut it. 50 watts gets you to the table, but 100+ watts gets the big payout.
I went down down down then up up up again but not back to 100w.
I use tube amps 35w or 50w and just loud enough for the feedback loop to close so the guitar is really electric with strings driven by the speaker.
I have 18w as well and may get smallish amps again but stuff like a 12w Princeton is a bit small for my value of the feedback loop.
Of course a 5w Champ gets that if VERY close to the strings, but not quite what I like and SE class A lacks definition and clarity, TO ME.
I use tube amps 35w or 50w and just loud enough for the feedback loop to close so the guitar is really electric with strings driven by the speaker.
I have 18w as well and may get smallish amps again but stuff like a 12w Princeton is a bit small for my value of the feedback loop.
Of course a 5w Champ gets that if VERY close to the strings, but not quite what I like and SE class A lacks definition and clarity, TO ME.
Esquire Jones
Tele-Holic
I’ve been pretty happy with my Origin 20 head. It’s close, though.
Running it through a Marshall 4x12 and it is great for what I’m using it for. Classic rock stuff with a Rat at the front.
It’s definitely not as explosive as a 50/100 watt. The low end is maybe a little bit light, comparatively.
It makes some big, beautiful, and even sweet noises.
Running it through a Marshall 4x12 and it is great for what I’m using it for. Classic rock stuff with a Rat at the front.
It’s definitely not as explosive as a 50/100 watt. The low end is maybe a little bit light, comparatively.
It makes some big, beautiful, and even sweet noises.
wulfenganck
Friend of Leo's
I've been playing 20 watt tube combos for the last 11 years. Mostly clubs and events in the range around 60 to maybe 200 people. Maybe 3 or 4 doing a bigger venue, where I used an extra 1x12 cab. Absolutely sufficient.
abcdefghijklmnop
Tele-Holic
My 79 Deluxe Reverb is my only "low watt" amp, and it does sound amazing. It had a problem this past week. I put a set of Tung-sol Reissue 6V6GTs in it, and one of the screen resistors and also the 100 ohm filament resistors immediately burned out. They were old carbon comps. The tube just totally died. So I replaced the tube with a newer one, and replaced those resistors and everything is fine. I checked the bias, and it was well within spec at about 60% plate dissipation and the plate voltage at 418 volts. Spec calls for 415. However the Tung-sol reissue just could not handle it. Perhaps the problem was just with that one tube.
Anyway that Deluxe Reverb sounds great with some old RCAs in it now. Bold, deep and nice.
The rest of my amps are all bigger iron. 63, 64, 67, 74 Bassmen heads, 3 Super Reverbs 64, 67, 69, 2 Twin Reverbs 66 and 67, 1 67 Pro Reverb.
All of those amps sound deep. The Twins with the 4 6L6s and 85W OT sound great even at low volumes. I use a Powerstation to attenuate, so I can crank up the amps at a low volume. My 67 Twin has a factory OT which is not Schumacher, its Better Coil, and it breaks up sooner than a Schumacher does for some reason. The amp also has more sag than the 1966 and I love that. This is why I have 2 Twins. One is tight and clean (66), the other looser and has more grit (67). The looser one has factory JBLs too.
I've decided to sell off a good portion of my collection this week. I will be selling the 67BFSR, 69SFSR, 74 Bassman Ten, and I am considering selling my 64 AA864 Bassman head and 67 AB165 Bassman head which is BF. I have too much redundant tones in my collection and those amps are taking up space. Im not sure if I will sell the 64 and 67 Bassman yet, but I don't play them that much so I probably will. All of it will be listed here as well as the other places online, Reverb, Ebay, CL etc.
Anyway that Deluxe Reverb sounds great with some old RCAs in it now. Bold, deep and nice.
The rest of my amps are all bigger iron. 63, 64, 67, 74 Bassmen heads, 3 Super Reverbs 64, 67, 69, 2 Twin Reverbs 66 and 67, 1 67 Pro Reverb.
All of those amps sound deep. The Twins with the 4 6L6s and 85W OT sound great even at low volumes. I use a Powerstation to attenuate, so I can crank up the amps at a low volume. My 67 Twin has a factory OT which is not Schumacher, its Better Coil, and it breaks up sooner than a Schumacher does for some reason. The amp also has more sag than the 1966 and I love that. This is why I have 2 Twins. One is tight and clean (66), the other looser and has more grit (67). The looser one has factory JBLs too.
I've decided to sell off a good portion of my collection this week. I will be selling the 67BFSR, 69SFSR, 74 Bassman Ten, and I am considering selling my 64 AA864 Bassman head and 67 AB165 Bassman head which is BF. I have too much redundant tones in my collection and those amps are taking up space. Im not sure if I will sell the 64 and 67 Bassman yet, but I don't play them that much so I probably will. All of it will be listed here as well as the other places online, Reverb, Ebay, CL etc.
Tim S
Friend of Leo's
Needs vs Likes.
I totally understand why a guitarist would need a low-, mid- or high-power amp for their particular situation. But that doesn’t mean you can’t appreciate what unique qualities other-powered amps provide too.
I guess I’m on “Team All-Of-The-Above”
I totally understand why a guitarist would need a low-, mid- or high-power amp for their particular situation. But that doesn’t mean you can’t appreciate what unique qualities other-powered amps provide too.
I guess I’m on “Team All-Of-The-Above”
bowman
Poster Extraordinaire
I have a 100 watt 2x12 that I used with my band for years, with a big pedalboard, and it was perfect for that. But at home where I now do most of my playing, I use a Princeton Reverb, EC Vibro Champ, or Excelsior - no need for anything bigger. I have an AC-15 that’s only 15 watts, but it’s insanely loud if you turn it up. Actually, all of those amps are.
Michael Smith
Tele-Afflicted
Hmmm, maybe I should consider something quieter.
I have about a dozen good amps ranging from about 4 watts to 50 watts. Only my Dr. Z Cure (a little over 15 watts), Down Brownie (a little under 20 watts), and Fuchs Blackjack (about 20 watts) ever get out of the house for jams and gigs. They're more than loud enough and have the sound that I want.
