Recommend a Low Watt Tube Head

[Audiotrove]

I'm thinking about replacing a very loud combo amp for a low watt head tube head. By low wattage, I mean like below 15W. I tend to prefer clean Fender tones and something that takes pedals well.

 

[bgmacaw]

How much do you want to spend on this?

Monoprice has their tube amps that are very affordable. I have the 5w which is kind of a tweed Champ clone. It works well with pedals when you keep the volume rolled back but has it's own kind of overdriven sound when you crank it up. It can also work with an external cabinet.

 

[tomasz]

Have a look at the ENGL Gigmaster 15, if you are looking for tubes, it has a nice power scaling feature to 5 and 1 watt, without loosing the girth or definition. I recently fell in love with it's simplicity and sound. You can have some power tube compression on pretty low volumes.

Another head I used for years and that works pretty good is the DV Mark Galileo 15, it doesn't come with an attenuator, but I found the sounds always very useful. Besides, this one is surprisingly light

 

[Audiotrove]

How much do you want to spend on this?

Monoprice has their tube amps that are very affordable. I have the 5w which is kind of a tweed Champ clone. It works well with pedals when you keep the volume rolled back but has it's own kind of overdriven sound when you crank it up. It can also work with an external cabinet.

I’m trying to keep it affordable but I’m potentially willing to spend a little more depending on the quality. One of the things I was looking at is a Tone King Gremlin which is nearing the top end of my price range. Ideally I’m looking for a simple circuit and handwired, but I know handwired is a hard ask for affordable amps.

 

[puddin]

How about a Superbaby. 6 to 12 watts depending on tube recipe. Takes pedals well. cheers..

Voicing Rectifier Output Preamp

60's marshall clean, loose 5R4, 5AR4 KT66, EL34 12AX7, 5751
70's marshall boost 5AR4 EL34, 6550 12AX7
hi watt boost 5AR4 KT66, 6550 12AU7
50's small tweed loose 5Y3 6V6 12AY7,12AX7
early 50's big tweed clean 5R4 6L6, 5881 12AT7, 12AX7
late 50's big tweed loose, boost 5R4, 5AR4 6L6, 5881 12AT7, 12AX7
60's 70's small Fender clean, boost 5Y3 6V6 12AU7,12AT7
60's 70's big Fender clean, boost 5AR4 6L6 12AU7,12AT7
small vox loose 5Y3 EL84 12AX7

 

[scottser]

VHT Special 6.
I SAID VHT SPECIAL 6!!

 

[Audiotrove]

How about a Superbaby. 6 to 12 watts depending on tube recipe. Takes pedals well. cheers..

Voicing Rectifier Output Preamp

60's marshall clean, loose 5R4, 5AR4 KT66, EL34 12AX7, 5751
70's marshall boost 5AR4 EL34, 6550 12AX7
hi watt boost 5AR4 KT66, 6550 12AU7
50's small tweed loose 5Y3 6V6 12AY7,12AX7
early 50's big tweed clean 5R4 6L6, 5881 12AT7, 12AX7
late 50's big tweed loose, boost 5R4, 5AR4 6L6, 5881 12AT7, 12AX7
60's 70's small Fender clean, boost 5Y3 6V6 12AU7,12AT7
60's 70's big Fender clean, boost 5AR4 6L6 12AU7,12AT7
small vox loose 5Y3 EL84 12AX7

View attachment 1024184

Superbaby is at the top of my list. I tried emailing Curt Emery to no avail. His website hasn't been updated since 2018 and I read he was having medical issues in that time frame. I probably would go for a Superbaby if I can find one. If somebody knows how to get in touch with Curt Emery, I'd be grateful for the info.

 

[stormsedge]

VHT Special 6 Ultra. Great little, versatile amp. Has an Fx loop, and a boost that can be run by a foot switch. Variable wattage with depth, tone and texture adjustments. Drives 4, 8, and 16 ohm impedance with two speaker jacks. Takes pedals well. A multitude of mods available on the internet.

 

[puddin]

Superbaby is at the top of my list. I tried emailing Curt Emery to no avail. His website hasn't been updated since 2018 and I read he was having medical issues in that time frame. I probably would go for a Superbaby if I can find one. If somebody knows how to get in touch with Curt Emery, I'd be grateful for the info.

Yes he's had medical issues for Awhile.. If you want one just order, he has in stock. Also, I found one on reverb. Mint condition, in your neck of the woods... half price. Best of luck.

Emery Sound Superbaby | Reverb

Newest version Emery Sound Superbaby guitar head for sale. Head is in near mint condition and will come with the tubes pictured as well as a yellowjacket adapter for use with the included EL-84's. Single-ended amp that can accept a variety of power, preamp, and rectifier tubes. ...

reverb.com

 

[old wrench]

Superbaby is at the top of my list. I tried emailing Curt Emery to no avail. His website hasn't been updated since 2018 and I read he was having medical issues in that time frame. I probably would go for a Superbaby if I can find one. If somebody knows how to get in touch with Curt Emery, I'd be grateful for the info.

The Super Baby is a great amp - I have one, and I also have one of Curt's Micro Baby amps which is also great

The Super Baby will take such a wide variety of tubes - and it somehow manages to sound good with just about any tube you stick in it

It has a 3-stage gain control or voicing switch that gives it a very broad range of tones, and a simple tone control that you can switch "off" and take the tone control completely out of the circuit

I'm glad to hear that Curt is still around and still building amps

He does a real pretty and clean job on the point-to-point wiring on these amps, too

.

 

[RoscoeElegante]

I'm thinking about replacing a very loud combo amp for a low watt head tube head. By low wattage, I mean like below 15W. I tend to prefer clean Fender tones and something that takes pedals well.

https://reverb.com/item/266179-ibanez-tsa-15h-tube-screamer-15w-tube-guitar-amp-head
(Not affiliated w/ any sellers.)

Works great. Fender-ishly clear and clean. The boost works well. And if you don't like the on-board Tube Screamer, it takes dirt and other types of pedals very well, too.

Accommodates quite a range of speakers/cabs, w/ its
1 x 8 ohm
2 x 8 ohm
1 x 4 ohm
2 x 16 ohm
options. (I run mine into a rehabbed floor radio cabinet with a WGS G10 C/S. Crystal clear and lush, all at once....)

 

[Audiotrove]

Frenzel is another brand I'm looking at. They have a lot of options. Any thoughts on Frenzel, or Frenzel vs. Superbaby?

 

[VintageSG]

The VHT Special 6 is a truly fine sounding amp. It has four basic voices ( to simplify things )
Boost on and pentode mode ( boost bypasses the tone control )
Boost off and pentode
Boost on and triode
Boost off and triode.

Pentode gets ~5 Watts
Triode gets ~3 Watts and a different sound. The triode sound is, to my ears, harmonically richer at moderate volumes, but a bit mushy at full chat.

Hand wired, ply shell, affordable. Simple. There's the Ultra too, for not much more. I'm not familiar with the Ultra model, but I do own a Special 6.

You may chance across the Laney Cub 12r head. It's basically the donor for the Monoprice 15 Watt, but in head form and with a digital reverb. Laney have a newer model out, so run-outs of the older one may crop up. Low power or a full 15 Watts. Reverb. Gain, TMB, Master, overall tone control ( think 'top cut'-ish ) and an effects loop.
The newer 'Supertop' is broadly similar, but with a boost circuit up front, similar to the Ibanez in idea ( I think, not played a new SuperCub yet )

Wangs!

Chucklesome name, good products.

Does it have to be a hollow state?, the Hotone Nano solid state mini-heads have gain, TMB, master and an effects loop. Ignore the technology inside. They sound fantastic. Buy a few and have many flavours of amp to play with.

 

[Dismalhead]

Not sure about your budget, but I've got the combo version of this. It's a 5-watt Supro 1605RH. I'd say it's about 2/3 classic Fendery and 1/3 something ballsy and more in your face. Mine is capable of getting pretty loud - probably about the same as my Super Champ XD; keeps up with a drummer just fine. It's super simple, well made, and takes pedals well.

Supro 1605RH Reverb Tube Guitar Amp Head 5W | Reverb

The Supro 1605R Reverb amplifier head is a 5-Watt amp with tube-driven spring reverb. This ultra-compact and gig-ready amplifier provides independent gain and master volume controls, along with a 2-band EQ and three tube-driven line-outputs optimized for feeding another guitar amplifier or record...

reverb.com

 

[schmee]

Are you playing with others ? or...?
Don't they make a Princeton Reverb head now? Perfect.

 

[Audiotrove]

Are you playing with others ? or...?
Don't they make a Princeton Reverb head now? Perfect.

This is mostly going to be for solo home recording. If I play out, I've got other options.

There are Princeton Reverb style heads. I don't necessarily need reverb on the amp itself. I have a BK Butler Tube Reverb rack unit (fabulous box BTW) which is essentially a Blackface reverb circuit. Jerry Garcia had one, they sound great. I can run that with anything. I also have excellent reverb options in my DAW/interface setup. I think I'd rather spend my money on a really nice straight amp, maybe with some output tube options/switchable bias (6V6, 5881, 6L6 capabilities). Effects loop and/or line level out is a bonus. Variable speaker ohm outputs.

 

[Twang-ineer]

I really like the smallest Tubemeister. A ton of features and direct out for even quieter jamming.

 

[JustABluesGuy]

https://reverb.com/item/266179-ibanez-tsa-15h-tube-screamer-15w-tube-guitar-amp-head
(Not affiliated w/ any sellers.)

Works great. Fender-ishly clear and clean. The boost works well. And if you don't like the on-board Tube Screamer, it takes dirt and other types of pedals very well, too.

Accommodates quite a range of speakers/cabs, w/ its
1 x 8 ohm
2 x 8 ohm
1 x 4 ohm
2 x 16 ohm
options. (I run mine into a rehabbed floor radio cabinet with a WGS G12 C/S. Crystal clear and lush, all at once....)

I have this amp and it’s a very nice “clean” machine! It’s what I use for low volume Blackface type “Fenderish” cleans.

Oddly, my actual Fender amps are more tweedy and Marshally.

 

[slider313]

The first version of the Fuchs Lucky 7. One EL34 (fixed bias adjustable) and two 12ax7's. A very full, clean and loud 7 watts.

 

[63 vibroverb]

If you can find one, an Allen Brown Sugar head would be a good candidate. It can take 6L6’s, EL34’s, 6V6’s, EL84’s, etc. Great master volume and raw control. Reverb is gorgeous too.

Another option, which may seem strange, would be a Fender Prosonic head. Despite the fire-breathing drive channel, the clean channel is really nice with the right tubes and settings. They used to go for $400-500 all day last time I looked at them.